Spaghetti and Tofu balls

Ah! After a real long time… I still am not sure if I will keep my pace again. But I’m definitely going to try and keep every bit of it up. My life now has changed completely. With a little one who needs constant attention, cooking has become more of a tummy-filling thing. I still take time out to try out lots of new dishes but just not enough time to post them and keep track. Anyways, this Tofu balls has been on my to-do list for a long time and never had that go to try them once, until that day when we really wanted to eat something very different and not the usual pasta with sauce. Just got terribly bored and sick of it. This tofu balls is now our favorite which is yummy, filling, crisp with oodles of flavor.

For the tofu balls:
1/2 onion
1/2 block firm tofu
1/4 block paneer (Or replace with tofu itself)
1/4 cup toasted walnuts
2 big garlic pod chopped
pinch of italian seasoning (dried or fresh)
pinch of parsley (dried or fresh)
salt
pepper
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp low sodium soy sauce
Olive oil
Bread crumbs about 1 cup

Tomato sauce 4 cups (Home made or store bought)
Sphagetti cooked as per directions on the box.

Method:
1. Add about 2 tbsp of oil to the pan and when hot, add garlic and saute. Then add onions and saute until translucent. Add the soy sauce and simmer for a minute and cool and grind.
2. Take the tofu block and pinch small balls and keep squeezing excess water until they become tad dry.
3. In a large mixing bowl, add the tofu, onion mixture, toasted chopped walnuts, dijon mustard, crumbled paneer, seasonings and check for salt and pepper.
4. Mix them well and if you like just run them in a blender until well incorporated. Add the bread crumbs and mix well until you can start forming a firm ball.
5. Brush them olive oil, and broil them in a 425 deg oven for about 20 minutes, turning them once in between.
6. If you like, cook them in a square baking dish, and towards the end (when 5 minutes left), add about 2 cups of sauce until the balls submerge and return to the oven and cook for another additional 10 minutes.

For the pasta:

1. Cook the spaghetti as per directions on the box.
2. Drain and heat a pan with about 1 cup of the sauce. Add the pasta and cook them for about 2 minutes swirling in between.
3. Transfer pasta to a plate and serve with tofu balls and pour sauce on top.

Radish Curry

I saw this recipe on the net and wanted to try it for quite sometime. Radish always ends up in sambar for me. So never bothered to try this unless the “right” time came.

1 medium radish, peeled, finely chopped
Radish greens, washed and finely chopped (Just pick the leaves and trash the stem)
1/4 cup moong dal, washed, soaked, cooked until half done (Do not cook it mushy. We want it to be crunchy)
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp each of mustard seeds, urad dal
Pinch of hing
Pinch of turmeric
4 dry red chilli
2 tbsp grated coconut
1 tsp lemon juice (optional)

Method:
1. Add oil to the pan and when hot add mustard seeds and allow to crack. Then add urad dal, hing, red chilli and fry for a minute.
2. Add the radish greens and saute until it wilts out.
3. Then add radish, turmeric, salt and cook covered for about 5 minutes.
4. Add moong dal and mix well. Cover and cook on medium flame for another 5 minutes.
5. Garnish with coconut and lemon juice. Serve with roti or rice.

Turnip Curry

All measurements are to serve 1 or max 2 person.

1 medium turnip, peeled chopped finely (like onions)
1 Carrot peeled, grated
1/2 bunch turnip greens or any spinach, washed and chopped
2 tbsp grated/shredded coconut
1/4 cup boiled black chana
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp each of mustard seeds, urad dal
Pinch of hing
Pinch of turmeric
5 dried red chilli
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Add oil to pan and when hot add mustard seeds and when they crack add urad dal, hing, red chilli and saute for few second.
2. Add chopped turnip, pinch of turmeric and saute. Sprinkle some water and cook covered for 2 minutes.
3. Add grated carrots, salt, greens, chana and saute well. Cook covered on low flame for about 5 minutes stirring in between and sprinkling some water once.
4. Garnish with coconut and serve with rice or roti.

I used to have about 1/2 cup of this veggie and it might be about 1 carb serving or less. Only carb content in this is chana, some oil and probably veggies together.

Eggless Fruit Cake

Actually there is a long list of posts pending before this one could even sneak into my blog! But Alas!!! The richness, amazing flavor and versatility of this cake bowled me over! Frankly, I tried the traditional Christmas Plum Cake with alcohol, eggs, caramalized sugar and had some dried fruits left over. Also, I wanted to try something w/o eggs and alcohol so that my parents can also hog over! So after a lot of search I stumbled upon the original recipe at this website Aayi’s Recipe . But it so happened that, I was not in a mood to prepare a detailed caramalized sugar. I didn’t have orange juice or even a fresh orange to squeeze from! And then, I wanted to use whole wheat flour instead of AP and Olive oil instead of butter, apple sauce instead of jam and ended up totally changing the recipe. When I mixed everything, for the first time ever, I wanted to taste the batter, which I never do! But this time, since the whole recipe was something totally different from the original, I HAD TO do a TASTE TESTING! And man!!!! I was at a loss for words to describe how good it tasted. And it took way less time to bake, and so can I call this my original recipe?!?!?!?!?!?!

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp each of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, clove, all spice powder
1 tblsp vanilla extract
3 cups of chopped dry fruits and nuts (I used dates, prunes, raisins, cherry, cashew and badam)
1 medium apple, peeled, cubed, microwaved for about 10 mins on power 6
2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 cup warm milk
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup white granulated sugar

Method:
Pre-heat oven to 350 deg F

1. Chop dry fruits and nuts.
2. Microwave and mash apples.
3. Add the chopped nuts/fruit mixture. Add about 1/3 cup water and milk, honey and maple syrup. MW for another 2 minutes until dry fruits turn soft. Let it cool.
4. Add oil and mix well.
5. Add salt, baking powder, spice powders, vanilla extract, lemon juice, sugar and mix well.
6. Add flour in parts to this mixture and blend well. The whole batter will not be like a normal cake batter of pouring or a ribbon consistency. It will be a little thick like a muffin batter. If its too dry or way too thick, sprinkle some warm water and mix well.
7. Grease baking tray and place a parchment paper at the bottom alone. This will prevent the cake/dry fruits from sticking to the pan. Spread evenly and cook on a pre heated oven for 30 minutes until skewer comes out clean.

Thiruvadhirai

What a wonderful journey it has been. It was the same thiruvadhirai kali and kootu I started my blog with Jan 2010. Thiruvadhirai brings back wonderful memories of Arudhra Dharisanam in Chidambaram. We lived in Chidambaram for a brief period of 1 year way back in 1990. Though I was just a kid, there are certain memories that is etched and would never fade. The “ther thiruvizha”, pulling the “ther” of Lord Nataraja on the streets, with such pomp and show. The clear picture that comes to my mind is of those huge elephants that would so powerfully break open those coconuts/poosanikkais and gulp them down those massive mouth! And those shopping with Rs.5 or Rs.10 that our parents would allocate us exclusively during this Arudhra Dharisanam. Festivities galore, the early morning abishekam to Lord Nataraja in “Aairam Kaal mandapam”, the “kalkandu sakkarai pongal” and of course kali and kootu at home. Its been almost 20 years now and I never had the opportunity again to visit the temple for another Arudhra Dharisanam.

Stories apart , this is a re-post of my first ever Kali and kootu recipe with added picture.

Black eyed peas curry

This has been on my post list for quite sometime. Recently my thirst for beans and proteins seem to be a never ending thing. So I try and incorporate all kind of dry/sprouted beans in my day-to-day recipe and one such is black eyed peas. I like it better when my hubby makes it and so today as well, it’s his recipe!

1 cup black eyed peas, soaked overnight
2 small or 1-1/2 medium sized tomatoes chopped
1 small onion finely chopped
1″ ginger chopped
2 garlic cloves chopped
1 or 2 green chillies slit length-wise
Coriander leaves chopped, for garnish
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander-cumin powder
3/4 teaspoon red chilli powder
Pinch of turmeric
Salt to taste
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoon oil

Method:
1. Add oil to a pressure cooker and when hot add cumin seeds. When they crack add onion and fry for about 2 minutes until they turn translucent.
2. Then add ginger-garlic-green chilly and fry for a minute. Add all the dry powders and fry until they blend well and raw smell leaves. This takes about 2-3 minutes.
3. Add chopped tomatoes and fry again for 2 minutes. Add soaked/drained bean and fry for another 1 minute.
4. Add milk, salt, water and pressure cook for 2 whistle. If the curry is too watery, boil on medium flame after opening the cooker for 5 minutes. If its too thick, add water and boil for another 2-3 minutes. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot with rice or roti.

Vazhakkai-Raw Plantain Seppankezhangu-Taro root kootu

I always have a liking to try out traditional recipes that comes through generations. This recipe was given to my mom by her mother in law and now to me by my mom. I keep pestering my mother to write down all the recipes that she has learnt over a period of…I guess almost 45years of cooking! But so humbly she would say….”Naan enna perusa panitten ellarum pannathatha….” But look at me! I would make such a simple thing and I would immediately call her up and boast about it! Yuck………………..And still she would give me all due credits and applause and I think that’s what keeps me going each day!

Now to the recipe.

1 medium sized vazhaikkai (Raw plantain) (Peel and cut into small cubes)
3-4 seppankezhangu (Taro root)
2 teaspoon freshly made sambar powder
1 small gooseberry sized tamarind, soaked and squeezed
1 teaspoon mustard seeds, urad dal, pinch of hing, spring of curry leaves, 1 teaspoon oil for tempering
1 cup soaked, boiled karamani (Or any kind of bean)
2 cups water

To grind:
2 tablespoon cumin seeds (jeera)
3 tablespoon grated coconut

Method:
1. Boil seppankezhangu with salt. Cool, peel, cut into small chunks and keep aside.
2. Now add 1 tsp oil to a kadai and when hot temper with mustard seeds, urad dal, hing and cury leaves.
3. Vazhaikkai, little turmeric and saute a little. Then add salt, water, tamarind extract, sambar powder and cook on medium flame until vazhaikkai is cooked to 3/4th.
4. Then add boiled karamani, boiled and cubed seppankezhangu and cook for another 5 minutes.
5. Add the cumin-coconut paste, cook until raw smell of jeera fades. Serve hot with paruppu/dal rice.

Chocolate chip cookie II

My recent finding… www.joyofbaking.com . Here is where I managed to find another version of the age old chocolate chip cookie. This one turned out nicely crisp at the edges and wonderfully chewy inside. I was little skeptic about the recipe because I used whole wheat flour (chapathi flour) instead of all purpose flour and so halved the recipe. But this tasted much better than my previous attempts. This is the exact recipe from joy of baking except whole wheat flour.

1 stick (1/4 cup) butter (room temp)
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoon granulated white sugar
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoon brown sugar
1 egg (room temp)
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup + 2 tablespoon whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chip

Method:
Pre-heat oven to 350 deg F.
1. Mix all the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda) and keep aside.
2. Cream butter first until smooth. Then add sugar and beat for another 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and beat for another 1 minute.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and half way through add the choc chips. Do not over beat. Just enough to blend well. Refrigerate for 30 minutes if the dough is too soft.
4. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. I used my tablespoon scoop to drop the cookies. Space them 2″ inches apart as they spread really well. Bake for 14 minutes, cool in sheet for 3 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an air tight container. This makes about 20 cookies.

Potato Cauliflower Curry

A simple and quick spicy curry for those really boring cooking days. I made keerai with karamani for roti and wanted something crispy and spicy to go along with my rice and keerai. Potato and Cauliflower always comes to my rescue.

1 potato diced into 1/2″ cubes
Cauliflower florets of bite size
2 teaspoon sambar powder
Salt to taste
Pinch of turmeric
1/2 teaspoon of mustard seeds and urad dal
Pinch of hing
3 tablespoon oil

Method:
1. Add 1 teaspoon oil to the pan and when hot add mustard seeds, urad dal and hing. Add the washed cauliflower and potato chunks.
2. Add a pinch of turmeric and saute them on low-medium heat and cover the pan for about 3 minutes.
3. Then add salt and mix well. Cook covered again for another 5 minutes. Then add sambar powder and saute. Add remaining 2 tablespoon oil and cook on medium flame uncovered until veggies crisps evenly.

Sambar Rice / Spicy vegetables cooked with Lentils and Rice

Sambar sadam……There are lotsa places in chennai famous only for its sambar sadam! Saravana Bhavana, Komalas. I’ve tried making them with the homemade/ready made sambar powder, but it never tasted as good as it looked. But this time, my mom asked me to make a fresh powder and use it immediately for this. Ah!! Divine! It took me so many days to master this simple dish.

For the Powder:
4 tablespoon chana dal
1 teaspoon urad dal
4 tablespoon dhania
10-12 red chillies
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
Pinch of hing powder/ katti perungayam
1 teaspoon oil
3 tablespoon dry/freshly grated coconut

1. Fry the above ingredients except coconut (chana dal first, followed by urad dal, fenugreek, dhania, red chillies, hing) in oil.
2. Let it cool completely. Add coconut and grind to a fine powder (do not add water) and keep aside.

2 cups mixed vegetables (Carrot, green beans, radish, peas, murungakkai)
1/2 cup toor dal
Pinch of turmeric

Pressure cook vegetables with toor dal and turmeric. Separate the cooked vegetables and mash dal well. Keep aside.

1/2 cup thick tamarind paste
1 medium tomato
4-5 pearl onions/chinna vengayam
2 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon each mustard seeds, urad dal
pinch of hing
2 red chillies
1 spring curry leaves
2 cups water
Salt to taste
2 tablespoon ghee
4 cups well cooked rice

1. Add oil to the deep pan or use a cooker. When hot temper with mustard seeds, urad dal, hing, red chillie and curry leaves.
2. Add onion and saute for a minute. Add tomato and saute.
3. Add tamarind paste, water, salt, 4 tablespoon freshly made sambar powder and cook on medium heat until onions are cooked partially.
4. Now add the separated vegetables and bring it to a boil. Then add the toor dal and bring it to a boil and simmer for few minutes. Check for water/salt/sambar powder. Add more if required.
5. Finally add cooked rice and mix well. Add dollop of ghee and serve hot.