Welcome Uthra - my new partner in crime :)

Hi guys,
I am so happy that uthra decided to come on board as my co-blogger for this site. I have known her for let's seeee :) wayyyy too many years and I'm excited about her deciding to blog here.
-Kanch

Tawa Pulao

This recipe was taken from a blog called Chef In You.(http://chefinyou.com/)

Ingredients:
1. Onions - 1, cut into small pieces.
2. Tomatoes -  4, cut into small pieces.
3. Peas - 1 cup (I used the frozen one)
4. Red and green bell pepper - 1/2 each. (if you do not have red you can just use 1 green bell pepper), cut   into small pieces.
5. Ginger - grated
6. Garlic - 2 cloves (chopped fine)
7. Green chilies - 2 (chopped fine)
7. Cumin seeds, Fennel seeds
8. Turmeric powder - 1 tsp, Red chili powder - 1 tsp (for some extra spice; optional); Paav bhaji masala (I used the sanjeev kapoor's masala) - 1 spoon
7. Butter and oil
8. Salt to taste
9. Cilantro for garnishing.
10. Cooked rice - 2 cups.

Method:
1. In a pan heat some butter and oil.
2. Add the fennel and cumin seeds.
3. When it starts to sizzle, saute the green chilies, garlic and ginger for 2 mins.
4. Add the onions and saute till they become transparent.
5. Add the tomatoes and saute till they become a little mushy.
6. Add bell peppers and saute for 2 mins. Add a little water and cook till the raw smell for the mixture disappears.
7. Add turmeric and paav bhaji masala powder and salt.
8. When all this comes together , add the rice and peas.
9. Mix well and garnish with cilantro and serve hot.

I think this goes well with onion raita and potato chips. I sauteed the onions in oil before adding the yogurt since I don't like the taste of raw onions.

Trail-mix oat bars

Hi all,
Yesterday I baked the walnut-dates cake (again!!!!) but this time from a different recipe.
While I was baking that it stuck me that I could something else with the "dates paste." Something marginally healthier than the cake and this bar was born.

Ingredients
Oats (Quaker Quick) - 4 cups
Dates - 20
Raisins - 1/2 cup
Cranberries - 1/4 cup
Walnuts -  chopped 1/4 cup
Almonds - chopped 1/4 cup
Dark chocolate chips + Butter scotch chips - 2/3rds cup
Water - 3/4 cup
Method
1) Cook the water, dates, raisins  in the microwave for 2 min and then let it sit for about 3-4 minutes and grind to a fine paste
2) Toast the chopped walnuts and almonds in a 400 degree oven until golden brown
3) Toast the oats in a 400 degree oven for about 5 minutes
4) Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.
5) Pat it down into a 9 inch square pan. Make sure that it is tightly packed.
6) Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes (or until the top looks golden brown)

PS: The key is to make sure that the pan is tightly packed and so modify the measurements depending on the pan size.

Pictures...Sorry, I forgot to take pictures when it was in the pan

Buttermilk scones

I am a big fan of scones and always wanted to give it a try.
So I tried the Chocolate chip buttermilk scones from here
Pictures:

Indo-chinese Fried Rice with Chili Tofu

I got the Indo-chinese fried rice recipe from here.

The changes I made were as follows:
1) Used whatever celery was available in my local market
2) Use this tomato chili sauce (see here) and not chili and tomato sauce separately

I got my Chili Tofu recipe idea from here.

The changes I made were as follows:

1) Use this tomato chili sauce (see here) and not chili and tomato sauce separately
2) Used tofu instead of paneer
3) Did not marinate and fry tofu instead I  cut tofu into pieces and placed them in a colander for an hour to drain out the water. Once I was done with frying my veggies for the fried rice and before I mixed in the rice, I removed the veggie mixture from the non-stick pan and placed these tofu pieces and continued to cook on high till they browned. Turned them from time to time to allow even browning on all sides.
4) I had to use up my celery stalks and so cut up three long stalks into tiny pieces and added the pieces along with the onions and bell peppers.
5) Did not add tomato paster but added 3 fresh tomatoes cut into tiny pieces right before adding all the sauces.


Tip for chili tofu: If you are okay with eating food from a previous day/night, I would suggest you allow the flavors to develop overnight. It makes a lot of difference.

Pictures:

Brown Rice Brown Sugar Pongal

Brown Rice - 1/2 cup
Moong Dal - 1/4 cup
Dark Brown Sugar - 3/4 cup
Almond Milk - 1 cup
Water - 1/4 cup
Raisins - 1/4 cup
Ghee - 2 tsp

Method
1) Pressure cook Brown rice and Moong Dal using milk and water until it gets mushy (5-6 whistles)
2) Add Sugar and water to a pan and bring to boil and stir from time to time until you get a thick syrup
3) Add the raisins to the syrup and boil for a couple of minutes
4) Add the cooked rice+dal mixture and bring to boil
5) Finish by adding ghee and serve hot

Picture:

Channa Daal with Zucchini, Whole Moong Dal Gravy, Cabbage Peas Gravy

Today was my lucky day. I hit upon three awesome recipes :)

1. Channa Daal with Zucchini from here.
2. Whole Moong Dal Gravy from here.
3. Cabbage Peas Gravy from here (I substituted Almonds for Coconut).

 

Khaman Dhokla - Did not know it was this easy :)

The crazy cookie is back :) and this time with a dhokla recipe from here.

Of course there are some things I had to change.

1. 1 tsp of oil instead of the 1 Tbl sp
2. 3 tsp of sugar instead of the 3 Tbl sp
3. After some research gathered that Eno fruit salt is 60:40 ratio of baking soda and citric acid and so I substituted it with approx 1 and 1/4 tsp of baking soda and a little more than 3/4 tsp of lemon juice (from the yellow bottle :))

Pictures:

PS:

1. The inner side of the dhoklas turned out to be red colored. Of course, I had to go back and research and found out from here and here, that tumeric in contact with baking soda causes the change in color. Suggestions were to increase the amount of citric acid or reduce the amount of turmeric. I will give both of these a try in the future.
2. I decided not to add any tadka to avoid that extra bit of oil :) It tastes great as is and I have store bought sweet and green chutney to go with it.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chickpeas, Avocado, and Applesauce

Note: My sister tried the recipe and said she had difficulty getting it out of the pan. Will try to make it again and see If I can replicate my previous trial. Hopefully, I did not add some ingredient that I have forgotten to take account.

This recipe is adapted from here and here. Of course, it has my additions and omissions :)

You did read the title right. Before you raise an eyebrow skeptically, I would urge you to give it a try. :)

Ingredients
Chickpeas - 1 can
Cocoa Powder - 1/2 cup
Brown sugar - 1/4 cup packed
Applesauce - 2 Tbl sp (as a substitute for the Oil)
Avocado - 0.5 medium size (as a substitute for Eggs)
Baking powder - 1 tsp
 Water - 1/3 cup ( I infused it with coffee. Alas! The coffee flavor refuses to show up in my final product.)

Method:
1. Puree chickpeas, water, applesauce, and avocado.
2. Take this puree in a mixing bowl and sift in the cocoa powder and baking powder. Mix well.
3. Add in the brown sugar. Mix well. The batter will feel light and airy.
4. Scoop into 10 muffin tins and bake at 350 degree until tooth pick comes out clean (I baked for around 35 minutes).

PS:
1. Increase the amount of sugar or add chocolate chips or use sweetened cocoa powder, if sugar levels have to be increased. I love the  bitterness of the cocoa but it is not everyone's cup of tea :)
2. In the future I would fill the cupcake tins up to the top. These cupcakes do not puff up as much as the regular cupcakes do and mine look flatter than most regular cupcakes :). Probably has to do something with the substitutions.
3. Why am I baking and cooking this much? I'm not sure. This baking thingy has turned into an obsession :) Hopefully, with school beginning Monday, I will be out of it :)
4. In the future, would definitely use cupcake liners.
5. Traditionally, they ask you not to substitute all of the butter or oil but I did and cupcakes tasted fine :)
6. Do not tell your kids what's in it because they won't find out if you don't tell :)
7. Did I mention its Vegan??
8. In the future, will add 1 tsp of baking soda as well to help my cupcakes puff up more.



Pictures:

Semolina Muffins with Onion Sambar

Semolina muffins - I found this super interesting recipe from here. I avoided the addition of shredded paneer.

Onion Sambar - Made it with MTR Madras Sambar powder, Masoor Dal, Frozen Red Onions, and cup of frozen Peas&Carrot