Lentil Quinoa Soup

Happy New Year 2018!!!

Starting this new year with a resolution to eat healthier. The plan is to focus more on vegetarian one dish meals.

I picked this recipe from a dear friend and tweaked it a little to make it gluten free.
Its a protein rich, simple nourishing one dish meal that can be made in minutes.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Toor Dal (Split pigeon peas)
1/2 cup Moong Dal (Split Green Gram)
1/4 cup Quinoa
1/2 cup diced onions
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced tomatoes
2 cups chopped kale
3 green chilies (adjust to taste)
1/2 tsp crushed or finely chopped ginger
1/2 cup chopped coriander (cilantro)
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
salt to taste
6 cups water

Seasoning:

1 tsp crushed or finely chopped garlic
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 broken red chilies
spring of curry leaves (optional)
1 tsp oil

Juice of  half a lemon

Procedure:

Place all the ingredients in a pressure cooker or instant pot and cook just long enough for the lentils to cook.
In instant pot you can cook it on high pressure for 7 - 8 minutes.
Heat oil add crushed garlic followed by mustard, cumin, red chilies and curry leaves and stir for a minute making sure not to burn.
Add this seasoning to the cooked lentils and vegetables.
Add lemon juice.

Note:
Choose vegetables of your choice.  Make sure not to skip tomato.

Palakura --Spinach Curry

Spinach simmered with sautéed onion, ginger, garlic and spices.

Ingredients:

1 lb chopped spinach (preferably frozen)

2 medium or 1 large onion chopped

2 tbsp oil

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

¾ tsp chili powder

¼ tsp turmeric

¼ tsp garam masala

Salt to taste

½ cup milk

Tempering:

¼ tsp mustard seeds

¼ tsp cumin seeds

½ tsp urad dal

1 red chili broken

1 spring of curry leaves

Heat oil in a sauce pan. Add tempering, when it starts to crackle add onions.

Saute for few minutes until the onions are semi transparent.

Add turmeric, chili powder, salt and sauté till the onions are transparent.

Add spinach and sauté for few minutes on medium to high till the spinach is totally defrosted and is well sautéed.

Add milk, when it starts to cook reduce flame and let it simmer.

Half way through simmering add garam masala.

Simmer to desired consistency.

Variation 1

 Bangaladumpa Palakura --Potato Spinach Curry

1 Large or 2 medium potatoes cut into chunks.

Add potatoes after adding turmeric, chili powder and salt.

Sauté till potatoes are semi cooked before adding spinach.

Increase chili powder to 1 – 1 ¼ tsp.

Increase garam masala to ½ tsp.

Increase milk to 1 cup.

Variation 2

Kodi guddu Palakura --Spinach Egg Curry

Add 2 boiled eggs after the spinach is sautéed, stir it for a minute and then add milk. 

Tomato Pappu --Tomato with lentils (Tomato Dal)

Tomato dal is easy to make, highly nutritious and a super comfort food.

Toor dal cooked with onions and tomatoes and topped with aromatic tampering.

Ingredients:

1 cup Toor Dal (Pigeon peas)

2.5 cups water

3 medium tomatoes (cut into large pieces)

½ cup large onion chunks

1 tsp chili powder

¼ tsp turmeric

Salt to taste

Tempering:

2 tsp oil

½ tsp mustard seeds

½ tsp cumin seeds

1 broken red chili

1 spring curry leaves

¼ tsp asafetida (hing)

Wash toor dal. Add 2.5 cups of water to dal in a pressure cooker.

Add tomatoes and onions. Cook on high for two whistles and set the heat to low and let it cook for 10 – 12 mins. 

Once the pressure is off, remove lid. If there is excessive water, cook for few minutes without cover to get it to the desired consistency.

Add chili powder, turmeric and salt.

In a separate pan heat oil, add mustard, cumin, red chili and curry leaves followed by hing. Once the mustard starts spluttering, add the tempering to dal and mix will.

Enjoy it with hot rice and ghee. 

Egg Pulusu --Eggs in tamarind sauce

My boys and many nephews and nieces are entering into their new phase of life at schools and new jobs. I have decided to post recipes that are very basic and easy to make for novice chefs. Most of the recipes will be of simple Andhra dishes for the days when these newbie cooks miss their home food.

The recipe today is Egg pulusu.

Boiled eggs cooked in sautéed onion and tamarind sauce. 

Ingredients:

4 eggs

1 tbsp oil

1 large onion chopped into tiny pieces

1 heaped tsp of tamarind paste (adjust to taste)

1 inch cube of jaggery or 2 tsp sugar (reduce if you do not like sweet)

1 tsp chili powder

¼ tsp turmeric

Salt to taste

2 cups water

Tempering:

¼ tsp mustard seeds

¼ tsp cumin seeds

¼ tsp fenugreek seeds

1 dry red chili broken

1 spring curry leaves

1 mashed garlic (optional)

Boil and shell eggs. Set them aside.

Heat the oil either in pressure pan or sauce pan.

When the oil is hot add the ingredients under tempering. When mustard starts spluttering add chopped onions and sauté till transparent. Add chilli powder, turmeric, salt followed by eggs and sauté for a minute. Add jaggery and tamarind paste and 2 cups water (add 1 cup of water and based on your desired consistency add more). If using pressure cooker, cook it until one whistle. If sauce pan cover and cook on medium for 10 mins.

This is a great side dish for white or brown rice. I recommend eating it with rice and plain or tomato dal. I will post the tomato dal recipe soon. 

Kale Pappu - Kale with lentils (Kale Dal)

After a looong hiatus, I am planning on reviving the blog with Kale Dal.

Nutrition rich kale combined with protein rich dal is both healthy and delicious.

Ingredients
1 cup toor dal

3 tightly packed cups of chopped kale

½ a small onion chopped thin and long

2 – 3 green chilies slit (adjust to taste)

3 tsp oil

Juice of one lime

¼ tsp Turmeric

¼ tsp red chili powder (optional)

Salt to taste

Seasoning

½ tsp mustard

½ tsp cumin

1 red chili broken

Pinch of asafetida

1 spring curry leaves

Cook dal in pressure cooker

Heat oil in a large pan, add seasoning followed by onions and green chilies and sauté.

When onions are half done add kale and sauté till it wilts.

Add turmeric, red chili powder and salt.

Add the cooked dal, add water to get it to stew consistency.

Cook until the dal and kale blended well together.

Add lemon juice after you remove dal from heat.

Cooking time of kale can be adjusted to your choice. I do not like to over cook onions and kale. It gives a nice texture to the dish.

Enjoy it with hot rice and ghee. For a carb free meal try adding little more water while cooking and eat it as a soup. 

Beetroot with yogurt

Beetroot, though known for all its health benefits, was not my choice of vegetable. I felt the cutting was tedious and the color gets on to all the utensils. That was until I came across this recipe which made it a highly desirable dish. It is extremely easy to make (with the help of a food processor with shredding disc) and too yummy to eat. Grated beetroot along with ginger is sautéed till done and yogurt is added before serving. Ginger and asafetida in tampering play a major role in this recipe. Do not attempt this recipe if you do not have those two ingredients.

Ingredients:
2 big beetroots
2 inches ginger
4 green chilies slit (adjust to taste)
½ tsp turmeric
Salt to taste
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp ghee or butter
1 ½ cups thick yogurt

Tampering:
½ tsp mustard
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp asafetida or hing
Few curry leaves

Grate beetroot and ginger together.

Heat oil and ghee in a wide pan.

Add mustard, cumin, curry leaves and asafetida followed by green chilies.

Add grated beetroot and ginger.

Sauté till done.

Add salt and turmeric and remove from heat.

When it reaches room temperature add yogurt and mix well.
It has a simple, lite, healthy feel to it. Tastes wonderful with roti or all by itself.

Scrambled Tilapia

After a very long break, today I am back with an easy to make, nutritious recipe. Steamed and flaked Tilapia fillets are sautéed with onions, ginger garlic and garam masala. Lemon juice and cilantro are added at the end for added flavor and aroma. Kids love this easy to eat boneless fish fry.


Ingredients:

1 lb Tilapia fillets
1 medium onion chopped fine
3 – 4 green chilies (optional)
2 tsp ginger garlic paste
½ tsp garam masala
1 tsp red chili powder (adjust to taste)
½ tsp turmeric
Salt to taste
1 tbsp oil
Juice of one lemon
Cilantro for garnishing

Tampering:

½ tsp mustard
½ tsp cumin
2 red chilies broken
Few curry leaves

Steam fillets in steamer of pressure cooker for 8 minutes. Do not over cook, they should be soft and moist not hard and dry.

In the mean time heat oil in a pan, add tampering, followed by onions and green chilies.

When onions are about half way cooked add turmeric, chili powder, salt and ginger garlic paste.

Transfer the fish fillets from the steamer into a bowl and scramble them with a fork.

Add fish to the pan when onion, ginger and garlic are well cooked. Sauté for 2 minutes and add garam masala.

Sauté for another 2 minutes, and remove from the flame.

Add lemon juice and cilantro.


Scrambled Tilapia tastes wonderful with rice or roti.

Note: Do not let red chili powder and garam masala over power the taste of the fish. Use them scarcely. For fresh garam masala powder 4 cloves, ½ inch cinnamon, 1 tsp poppy seeds, 1 tbsp coriander seeds.

Egg Kheema

Egg is a power house of nutrients, vitamins and minerals. It’s an ingredient in numerous recipes. Egg kheema is one of the many egg curry recipes. Boiled and chopped eggs are simmered in sautéed onions and tomatoes with ginger garlic paste and garam masala.

Ingredients

4 eggs boiled shelled and chopped
1 large onion finely chopped
2 – 3 tomatoes finely chopped
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
½ tsp garam masala
1 tsp chili powder (adjust to taste)
¼ tsp turmeric
Salt to taste
1 tbsp oil

Tampering

½ tsp mustard
½ tsp cumin
Curry leaves

Heat oil in a pan. Add tampering. Add onions and sauté. Add ginger garlic paste and sauté till it looses its raw smell.

Add tomatoes and cook for about 3 – 4 minutes. Add salt, turmeric, chili powder and cook till the tomatoes and mushy.

Add chopped eggs, garam masala and mix well. Simmer for about five minutes till the tastes are well incorporated.

Great side dish for Rice or Roti.

Note: You can prepare this when time is of the essence. Start with boiling the eggs, while they are boiling chop onions and tomatoes. When sautéing onions and tomatoes shell and chop the eggs. This is a quick n easy recipe.

Anapakaya Perugu Kura --Bottle Gourd in Yogurt Sauce

I have always been fascinated by yogurt based curries. The rich creamy texture of yogurt with a chili and coconut flavor is an absolute delight. Bottle gourd with its mild taste and high water content, though thought as a bland veggie by many has a great ability to absorb the flavors of spices and other ingredients it is cooked with.

When I came across bottle gourd cooked in yogurt sauce http://www.nandyala.org/mahanandi/archives/2006/07/19/bottle-gourd-in-yogurt-kaalan/ on Indira’s blog I had to try it right away. This turned out to be a perfectly delicious dish with very few ingredients.

Thank You Indira for a wonderful recipe.


Ingredients:
1 small bottle gourd cut into ½ inch cubes or about 2 - 3 cups
1 to 1 ½ cups of yogurt
3 green chilies
2 tbsp of grated coconut
½ tsp turmeric
Salt to taste
2 tsp oil

For Seasoning
½ tsp mustard
½ tsp cumin
1 red chili
Curry leaves

Grind coconut and green chilies into a fine paste.

Heat oil in a saucepan. Add mustard followed by cumin red chilies and curry leaves.

When mustard starts to pop add bottle gourd pieces, sauté for 2 minutes, add turmeric salt and coconut green chili paste.

Sauté for couple more minutes, then add ¼ to ½ cup water and cook covered on medium to low heat.

When the bottle gourd pieces are tender remove from heat and stir in the yogurt.

Let it sit covered for few minutes before serving.

Serve it with hot rice and you are sure to polish your plates.

Tips: I made few adjustments to the quantities of ingredients to suit my taste. I recommend all of you the same, especially with green chilies.

Quick n Easy Veg Pulao

Pulao is a very common dish in our house. Since we have unlimited variations of making pulao, though made often we do not need to repeat the same recipe for a long long time.

For this Sunday’s lunch I made a very simple and quick veg pulao which is wholesome and delicious, with a side of baked salmon, raita and sambhar.

Ingredients:
3 cups basmati rice
1 pack frozen mixed vegetables
2 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp pulao masala (4 cloves, 1” cinnamon, 2 cardamoms, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tbsp coriander ground into a fine powder)
3 green chilies
½ cup of chopped cilantro
2 red chilies
4 tbsp oil
Salt to taste

Heat oil in pressure cooker or any other heavy bottomed vessel, add red chilies followed by green chilies and frozen vegetables. Sauté for 5 to10 minutes.

Add ginger garlic paste, pulao masala and salt. Sauté for couple more minutes.

Add washed and well drained basmati rice and stir gently for 3 to 4 minutes.

Add cilantro.

Add required amount of water and cook till the rice is done.

Tips: Water has to be one and half to two cups for each cup of rice, depending on how you are cooking. In case of pressure cooking one and half cups of water for every cup of rice is plenty.

Enjoy it with a side of raita which is extremely simple. Add finely chopped onions and cilantro to fresh yogurt with a dash of salt. Tomatoes can be added too.

Recipe for Baked Salmon

Recipe for sambhar will be posted soon :)

Beans stir fry with peanut flavor

Cooking is a joy, but time is precious. We don’t always have enough time to indulge in cooking. For those days I come up with quick n easy recipes. Frozen french beans are something I always have in my freezer. French beans fry is what I make in a snap when I am in a hurry.


Ingredients:
One frozen pack of French cut beans
1 medium onion sliced thin
2 tbsp roasted peanuts coarsely ground
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
¼ tsp turmeric
½ tsp mustard
½ tsp cumin
2 tsp oil
Salt to taste


Heat oil in a wok, add mustard and cumin.

When mustard starts to pop add onions fry for couple minutes.

Add frozen beans and fry on medium heat.

When the beans look cooked add turmeric, chilli powder, salt, coriander powder and cook for couple more minutes.

Add ground peanuts, stir until it is evenly mixed with the beans.

Tastes great with roti or white rice.