Muhammara - Roasted Pepper and Walnut Dip

NOLA - truly a place for R&R. We had a great time eating, walking around the town ogling at beautiful mansions and strolling along the Mississippi riverfront. We skipped the usual things that 1st time visitors do (read getting drunk at Bourbon street :-)) and instead did lots of walking around the town so we were truly primed well to enjoy the food scene. We had great dining experiences despite our initial reservations about finding vegetarian food in a city where shrimp and sausage rule. Though we missed eating vegan jambalaya and gumbo (yes, you read that right!), we managed to indulge in different ethnic cuisines ranging from Greek to Ethiopian to Middle-eastern - not to forget the amazing French macaroons from Sucre'.  My first meal there was a plate of roasted vegetables with muhammara. It was simply out of this world - vegetables roasted to perfection, fruits at room temperature (NO cold fruits for me!!) and I also discovered another oft heard but never tried vegetable - Heart of Palms. That was a revelation as well but that story is for another day. Overall this trip turned out much better than we had expected and we already have a list to things to do if/when we get a chance to go back to NOLA, enjoy some of the local flavors that we missed - Cajun/Creole cooking, Blues/Jazz. Hoping we get to do that some day.

Here's the recipe for Muhammara, easy to make and all it requires is a few whirls in the processor.

Notes:

• Pomegranate molasses makes this dip very authentic but I am yet to find one for my kitchen. I used honey and though it may not be authentic it tasted just as if not better.
• I used roasted red peppers from the store but you can roast your own in a 450F oven for 20 min or until the skin turns black.
• Serving suggestions for this dip are endless - it is great as a sandwich spread, with pita chips, fresh pitas, roasted or raw vegetables. Or best yet its amazing with hot basmati rice !! Almost like eating South Indian "thogayal" :-)

 
Ingredients
4-5 Roasted red or yellow peppers, cut into bite sized chunks
1/3 cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
1/3 cup plain bread crumbs
2-3 garlic cloves
1 tbsp pomegranate molasses (or honey)
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp red chilli flakes (adjust to taste)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (more if needed)
Salt to taste
2 tbsp lemon juice

Method

1. In a food processor pulse the walnuts to a coarse powder. 
2. Now add rest of the ingredients and pulse just until all the ingredients are well combined. Take care not to pulse it into a fine paste.
3. Taste and adjust seasoning (salt and lemon juice). 
4. Serve with pita chips, roasted or raw vegetables.

Enjoy !!

Fall Vegetable Soup

We had a lovely thanksgiving this year, with unseasonably warm weather and enjoyable company. As always its also a holiday to indulge in the fall bounties and so we did. Here's a few pictures from our Thanksgiving dinner. After all the rich food over the weekend, "cyber Monday" is "lean" Monday in our household. I usually end up having a good number of vegetables leftover from the big dinner. This year I had some squash, one sweet potato, corn etc which I put to good use by making this fall vegetable soup. The ingredient that makes this soup a bit different from the ordinary is the use of apple cider. I made some mulled cider and had a few cups of unsweetened cider leftover. Used that instead of the vegetable stock to get the tang and the sweet aromatic flavor of the apple. The outcome was a pretty filling yet light enough kind of a soup to start the detox regime post-thanksgiving :-)

Notes:

• Any combination of fall vegetables will work. Feel free to substitute with other fall vegetables like turnip, pumpkin etc.
• The vegetables can be diced large or small as long as they are evenly sized.

Ingredients

Butternut squash - 1 cup diced
1 Sweet potato diced
1 Medium Potato, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 medium red onion. finely chopped
2 tomatoes, diced
1 cup corn kernels (fresh or frozen, thawed)
1 tsp ginger minced
1 clove of garlic minced
3-4 leaves of fresh basil, finely chopped
1/2 tsp cayenne powder
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cumin powder
2 cups apple cider, unsweetened
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt, to taste

Method

1. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a big pot. Add onions, ginger and garlic. Saute till the onions are translucent. 
2. Add the chopped vegetables except corn kernels and saute for 2 minutes. 
3. Now add the spices (cayenne, paprika, basil, cumin powder and salt). Saute for 2 more minutes. 
4. Now add 2 cups of apple cider and one cup of water. 
5. Cover and simmer over medium flame. Add more water to get the consistency you like. I added 4 cups water in total. 
6. After the vegetables are cooked tender but not falling apart (about 15 min or so), add corn kernels, taste, adjust seasoning.
7. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the corn is tender. 
8. Serve hot with some rustic bread on the side. 

Enjoy !!

MMC Challenge Part 10 - Peanut Crusted Oven Roasted Turnips

 Here's the ingredient 10 of MMC challenge 
 

From the judge - "Congratulations on completing challenge 8 and 9. 

Your next ingredient, ingredient number 10 is one of the predominant exports of Gaul civilization and a very important part of Obelix's (as in Asterix and Obelix) diet.

                                 Turnip http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turnip 

As you know Obelix is a very happy guy and likes to eat a lot, we expect your final product to do the same, provide a sumptuous recipe that pleases a guy with picky taste and a big stomach. :)"

M's request/order to make a sumptuous recipe using turnip proved to be harder than I had imagined. The usual traditional sambar, curry recipes were ruled out by him deeming it to be tasty but too ordinary.

When describing the flavor of turnip, its not uncommon to hear that turnip tastes like potatoes when cooked, though I would like to think it tastes pretty unique (in a good way!!). A skim through the world wide web for recipes suggests turnip is often cooked with or like potatoes (think soups, creamed turnip etc). So I decided to cook turnips the way I would potatoes. And roasting them like potatoes was what I did. Simple turnip roast with a bit of oil and spice would be amazing but it still would not qualify for the "out of the box" thinking required for the challenge. I tried to jazz up the texture and taste of the turnips by crusting them with some peanuts and flax meal. This brings an extra dimension to the taste and texture not to mention the exceptional nutritional value of both the peanuts and flax meal. It was a win-win all the way and am sure Obelix will be pleased as well to munch on the crunchy snack!!

Notes:

1. The thinner the turnip slices, the crispier the end product. So cut the turnips according to the level of crispiness you would like. 
2. Be generous with the crust. A lot of the crust will end up on the baking tray. The toasted crumbs do taste very yummy.
3. Baking tips - Each oven behaves differently. So make sure you keep a  close eye on the dish after the 20 min mark. The longer it stays in the oven crispier it gets. So adjust the time according to your preference.

 Ingredients
1 medium sized turnip (peeled and cut into half moon slices, see notes)
2 tbsp Peanut or other oil
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (sherry or balsamic can be used)
1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp red chili powder (cayenne or paprika can be substituted)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup crushed roasted peanuts
1/2 cup Flax meal (or flax seeds coarsely ground)

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 370 F.
2. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
3. In a wide bowl mix all the ingredients except turnips until well mixed.
4. Now dredge the turnips evenly with the above mixture. Make sure the trunip pieces are evenly and generously coated with the mixture. 
5. Place the turnips on the prepared baking sheet.
6. Do not over crowd the baking sheet and ensure the turnip pieces do not overlap. 
7. Bake for 30 - 40 min and turn the pieces over mid way through the baking (around 12-15 min mark). 
8. The roasting is done when the crust dries out and is golden brown in color and aromatic. 
9. Serve as a side or a snack.

Enjoy !!

Coconut Milk Pulao (Pilaf) - Rice Cooker method

Coconut milk pilaf/pulao is yet another of my favorite one pot meal. This is a sure shot crowd pleaser and I make it for potlucks or parties. This is one of the recipes that I never had tasted when I was growing up - my mom very rarely made dishes using coconut milk. On the other hand my husband loves this dish. It's is one of his favorite "Mom's dish". I havent had a chance to taste my MIL's coconut biryani yet, so am not sure how the traditional recipe tastes like. But my husband assures me that mine taste really good and pretty close to what his mom makes. I think that's a good enough compliment for a dish I havent even tasted before I actually started making it myself.


Notes:

1. Soak basmati rice in generous quantities of salted water. This helps to keep the rice white as well as make sure the rice doesnt turn sticky on cooking.
2. Adjust the spices according to your tastes. Following measurements give a mildly flavored biryani.
3. Adjust green chilies according to the heat level you'd prefer.
   
4. I used rice cooker but am sure microwave or pressure cooker methods should work fine as well.
5. 2 cups liquid (1 cup coconut milk and 1 cup water) was just sufficient to get my rice well cooked. But if you feel the need for more water, do so at the very end if the rice is still under cooked.

Ingredients
2 cups basmati rice (see notes)
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup water
1/4 cup finely chopped onions
1/4 cup diced carrots and peas (frozen or fresh)
1 tsp cumin (Jeera)
5 cloves
4 cardamom
1 bay leaf
4-6 green chilies (or as per taste)
1 tsp ginger, minced
8-10 Cashews, halved
1 tbsp butter or oil
Salt

Method

1. Soak rice in salted water for 15-30 minutes.
2. In a saute pan heat oil/butter. Add all the ingredients from cumin to cashews. Let the cashews turn light brown.
3. Add onions, saute it for 2 minutes or just until onions turn translucent.
4. Drain rice. Add this to the rice cooker. Add sauteed vegetables and 2 cups of water.
5. Switch the rice cooker on and let it cook. Add salt just before the rice is completely done. Stir.
   
6. Garnish with cilantro.
7. Serve with a spicy korma or curry.

Enjoy !!

Spring Orzo Salad

We have been reeling under damp and gloomy weather for the past couple of days. Spring here refuses to go away and its unseasonably cold. Maybe I angered the "Spring gods" with my ramble a few posts ago, claiming my less than friendly relations with the spring season :-) So if an apology will make this cold spring go away and warm summer to arrive, I can very well offer a thousand "Sorrys" :-) And if sorry wont cut it, here's a salad honoring the season !!


Farmer's market hasnt sprung up yet in our region what with the cold spring, frost etc. But there are some really fresh vegetables that have started arriving in the grocery stores. I havent been cooking much of late and I've been looking for ways to avoid cooking or even if I do, spend as little time as possible in the kitchen. I have subsisted on sandwiches (with hummus or cheese) for the past few days but realized I wasnt getting much veggies. Also, I had some green squash and bell peppers that needed my immediate attention before they lose their freshness. I wanted a complete quick-cooking meal using up the vegetables I had on hand. I figured salad was probably my best option to both use up the vegetables and do so in minimum amount of time. So I cut them up, sauteed a little bit to take the edge off and tossed them with some orzo and a very simple dressing. There was my quick dinner, all healthy and tasty.

Notes:

1. Asparagus or any other spring vegetable will work fine in this salad.
2. If you like the "garlicky" taste, add an extra clove of garlic.
3. Fresh herbs like basil or parsley can be used as a garnish.
4. I made a very simple dressing but feel free to use any oil/vinegar based dressing.

Ingredients
3/4 cup Whole wheat orzo
1 medium-sized Zucchini
1 medium sized bell pepper
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
Basil or parsley (optional)
Parmesan Cheese (optional)

Dressing:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice (or as required)
1/2 tsp sugar
1 pinch red chili flakes (adjust according to taste)
Salt to taste

Method

1. Cook orzo in a large pot of boiling water for about 7-9 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. In a bowl whisk all ingredients under dressing. Taste, adjust salt and lemon juice. Set aside.
3. In a saute pan, heat 1 tbsp oil. Add red chili flakes and garlic.
4. Add chopped vegetables. Saute for 5-7 minutes. Just until the vegetables are tender but firm.
5. Add salt, taste and remove from heat.
6. In a large bowl, mix the cooked orzo and veggies. Add the dressing, toss well. Taste, adjust seasoning.
7. Garnish with fresh basil/parsley and/or parmesan.

This will be my entry to Preeti's "Green gourmet" event.

Enjoy !!

Moong Dal Dosa (Yellow Split Pea Crepes)

When I started blogging almost 2 years ago, I didn't realize what I was getting into. All I knew was I needed a place to document my recipes and so I started out with using Google documents. Then someone suggested giving blogging a shot. I wasn't sure if I was up for it, both time wise and also doling out new/interesting recipes every so often. At some point my husband managed to convince me to give it a shot and said I might even start enjoying it. He even offered to be my critic as well as the editor and that was an offer I couldn't refuse :-) Looking back, I am glad he said what he said for I think this is one of the best hobbies I have taken up in recent times. I sure haven't been as regular as I would like to be. In fact, I have had times where I slacked off, felt guilty for not giving enough attention to blogging. But hey, its supposed to be a hobby and not a chore. So I figured its ok for me to blog as and when I like and how much ever I like.


As much as I love blogging, it is still work - getting the recipe right, making sure I remember the measurements, take good pictures and finally put it down in words. I really admire a lot of my fellow bloggers who blog in spite of a busy schedule (with kids, full-time jobs just to mention a few) and blog they do very regularly. So hats off to all you guys out there and I should say you guys are a big motivation. I am ever so grateful to my readers who actually take time to go through my ramblings and leave their wonderful comments. And to see "# comments to be moderated" in my dashboard really makes my day and makes me want to blog more !! To add yet another dimension to my blog, I am grateful that my friend stepped forward to start MMC challenge. Because of him I have experimented with some interesting ingredient combinations and he's been kind enough to spend his time testing my recipes and giving his feedback. I am hoping we will continue this little venture of ours and make it even more interesting.

I think I got nostalgic because it will be 2 yrs this June since I started blogging. That probably is the reason for my senti acknowledgment today !! Guess I should stop rambling now and jump to my recipe of the day. The following recipe is one of the dosa varieties and relatively quick cooking one. I love dosa and idlis in any form more so now than when I was growing up. I especially love the instant varieties where I don't have to plan ahead. Moong dal dosa is a pretty simple, relatively quick cooking dinner and a very healthful one as well. Split moong dal soaks pretty fast when compared to the whole green moong that we use to make pesarattu. Also, I find moong dal dosa lighter than the regular adai where I use 3 different type of lentils. Served with chutney and yogurt, this makes a complete and a satisfying meal.

Note:

1. I soak moong dal for 3-4 hrs, but I have gotten away with soaking it for as little as 2 hrs.
2. I make the batter pretty thick. This way I can use the batter to make dosa or fry it in oil to make lentil fritters (similar to vada).
3. For dosa: I take a part of it out and dilute the batter to a dosa/pancake consistency.
4. For fritters: Add chopped onions and drop a spoon full into an appam pan or ebelskiver pan.

Ingredients:
3 cups moong dal, split
1 cup rice flour
4 green chillies (or to taste)
1 tsp coarsely chopped ginger
Water as required
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Soak moong dal for 3-4 hours.
2. Grind the moong dal with green chillies and ginger to a smooth paste. Add just enough water to facilitate the grinding process.
3. Add the rice flour to this mixture. Mix well by hand or in the food processor.
4. For dosa, dilute the batter with enough water to get a pancake/dosa batter consistency.
5. Take a ladle full of the batter and spread it into a thin circle on a hot griddle.
6. Drizzle a few drops of oil along the edges. Let it cook till the bottom browns.
7. Flip, cook for another 30 seconds or so.
8. Remove it on to a plate.
9. Serve with chutney and yogurt.

Enjoy !!

Cauliflower Sambar

"Confessions of a cook book-aholic?" I am a sucker for cook books. I go weak in my knees when I walk through a book store and see all those colorful cook books adorning the shelves. Don't know what I am addicted to - the glossy prints, tempting pictures, smell of the fresh print? Whatever it is, I find it very hard to resist the temptation. Thank god for Amazon - the wish list option and a great spouse who actually is very kind towards my obsession (hope he takes the hint..lol..). I can proudly say I am an avid cook book collector and my loot is prominently displayed in the house. But the most intriguing part of all this is I seldom follow the recipe to the "T", most of the time am in a hurry or just plain lazy to open the book measure the ingredients etc. I curl up with my cook books and read it like I would a regular novel/fiction and if something interests me I make it a point to try it out before it is displaced from my memory. Am sure most of you out there will relate to this. But to be fair, I do once in a while have the cookbook open and follow the recipe meticulously - with great results.

I can categorize my cook books depending on how I use them. For instance, books such as Mark Bittman's How to cook Everything Vegetarian and Jacques Pepin's Complete techniques are my bible/encyclopedia category. There are a few other which I use to look at the pictures and drool :-) And some more which are my go-to books for authentic Indian cooking such as Dakshin by Chandra Padmanabhan and Cooking at home with Pedatha. I love the simplicity of the recipes and the lovely pictures in Dakshin especially.

The following recipe, cauliflower sambar, is my adaptation of the original recipe found in Dakshin. I took a shortcut by substituting sambar powder where the original recipe calls for grinding the masala. But the end result was very tasty. My husband says it tastes like a hybrid between sambar and korma !!

Ingredients
1 medium sized cauliflower (washed, separated into florets)
2 tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup toor dal
1/4-1/2 cup thick tamarind water (or as required)
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
3 tbsp Sambar Powder
1 tsp turmeric
asafoetida, a pinch

Tempering
1 tsp urad dal
2 tsp mustard
4-6 curry leaves
2 red chillies
2 tsp oil
A pinch of asafoetida

Method

1. Pressure cook toor dal along with one cup water and tomatoes, until the dal is well-cooked (normally 4 whistles and wait for the steam to be released naturally). Alternatively, you can cook the dal on the stove top for 30 minutes. Mash the dal and tomatoes well. Set aside.
2. In a quart pan, heat oil. Add urad dal. Let it turn light brown in color. Now add the mustard. Wait until it starts spluttering. Now add red chillies, curry leaves and asafoetida.
3. Add cauliflower, turmeric, asafoetida and some salt. Saute for a few minutes, until cauliflower is tender.
4. Add tamarind water. Boil for for 3 minutes or until the raw smell of the tamarind disappears.
5. Add sambar powder. Mix well.
6. Now add the mashed dal/tomatoes. Taste, adjust salt and seasoning (add more sambar powder if required).
7. Allow it to boil for a few more minutes. Add the coconut milk. Allow it to boil just for a minute.
8. Remove from heat. Serve hot with rice, idli, dosa or aappam.

Enjoy !!

Ragi Dosa (Finger Millet Crepes)

Ragi or Finger millet is very healthy and I remember my mom making porridge or kanji with ragi. One other dish that I remember from my "wonder" years, though only vaguely is Ragi urundai or Ragi Mudha where boiled raagi is mixed with jaggery. Since I do not seem to remember much about the ragi urundai, I think its safe to assume it wasn't one of my favorites. Maybe if I try it now, I might have a different opinion but that's for another day. Anyway, coming back to the present, I am trying to include a variety whole grains in our diet to make a healthy meal without sacrificing the taste. I find that the best way to incorporate these without having to try too hard is to substitute whole grains in places where we use rice or refined flour. Thus was born Ragi dosa.


I wanted to try the instant dosa variety but surprisingly I had the mood and enthusiasm to actually make fermented idli/dosa batter. So I decided to use ragi in place of rice and grind it along with urad dal, ferment it for 12 hrs or so as we would do for the traditional idli. Looking up online I found a number of recipes for making ragi idli/dosa batter and I realized it might not be wise to remove rice completely from the equation. So I used 2 parts ragi, one part rice and one part urad dal for my batter. I should say I am pretty pleased with the result.

Note:

1. Ragi flour is widely available in Indian grocery stores. You can also use whole ragi if you have them on hand. Soak it for a few hours and then grind it separately.
   
2. Fermentation of this ragi containing batter took longer than my usual idli batter. I had to wait almost 18 hrs or so before I could say it was fermented enough.
3. Once the dal is well soaked, decant the water. Set aside half a cup of this water and discard the rest. I find that using the water that the urad dal soaked in, while grinding helps the fermentation process.
   
4. I started out with making idlis with this batter as soon it was fermented enough, 2 days later I made dosa and a few more days later I made uttapam. All three dishes came out just fine.

Ingredient
2 cups ragi flour (Finger Millet flour)
1 cup Idli rava (Cream of rice)
1 cup whole urad dal (White lentils)
Salt to taste

Method

1. Soak urad dal for 5-6 hrs in water. Set aside half a cup of the water that the urad dal soaked in. Discard the rest. Grind it to a smooth paste with just enough water in a food processor, a blender or a wet grinder.
2. Mix the idli rava and ragi flour (or ground ragi, if using whole grain) to the urad dal paste. Add more water to get a thick consistency. You can mix it by hand but I find using a food processor much easier to mix all the ingredients evenly.
3. Transfer to a large bowl. Add salt, mix well. Make sure your bowl is large enough to hold the batter once it ferments and rises.
4. Place the bowl in a warm place and let ferment. This takes anywhere between 12-24 hrs.
5. Now you can use this batter to make either dosa, idli or uthappam.

For Dosa:
For dosa, pour a ladle full of the batter on a hot griddle and spread it into a thin circle.
Drizzle a tsp of oil (preferably sesame oil) around the dosa. Flip when the bottom turns light brown in color and cook the other side for a minute or so.
Remove the dosa from the pan. Serve hot with sambar, chutney and/or milagai podi.

This will be my entry to Divya's "Show me your whole grain" event.

Enjoy !!

White Beans and Chickpeas Burger

MMC Challenge is on a brief hiatus until Mid-April as our judge is going back home on an important mission :-) In the meantime I thought its a good idea for me to get back to my usual blogging. This week's recipe is one version of the vegetarian burger I make at home. I normally make burger with veggies and any type of beans that I have on hand. I like my burger without too many toppings or condiments. So the best way for me to incorporate veggies is to use them up to make my burger. This particular version uses white beans and chickpeas with tahini paste to give it a Middle-Eastern flair or falafel like taste. Following is just a method, you can experiment with any type of beans/veggie combination along with fresh or dried herbs that you have on hand.

Note:

1. I have used canned beans here since I didn't plan ahead to soak the beans. If you have dried beans soak it in water overnight and then boil until the beans are cooked.
   
2. I normally do not like to add bread crumbs, eggs or flour in my burger and hence my burgers turn out softer than the normal frozen burger that you'd normally get in the stores.
3. Having said that, feel free to add any of the above ingredient if you dont like a soft burger.
4. I have used stove top method to cook the burger but am sure using an oven would also work fine.
   

Ingredients:
11/2 cups White beans/Cannellini beans (boiled or canned)
11/2 cups garbanzo beans (boiled or canned)
1 clove garlic
1 small onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 cup fresh mint leaves
3 tsp red chili flakes
2 tsp cumin powder
11/2 tbsp tahini paste
2 tbsp olive oil
salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan, add garlic, onions and carrots.
2. Saute until the carrots are tender.
3. Add chili flakes, cumin powder and saute lightly.
4. Now add the mint leaves and turn off the heat.
5. In a food processor with the steel blade attachment, add the beans and the cooked mixture.
6. Run the food processor just until the mixture blends well (take care not to make it into a smooth paste).
7. Make half an inch patties and refrigerate for few hours.
8. Heat 1 tsp of olive oil in a skillet and brown the burgers.
9. Serve on a english muffin, hamburger bun or multigrain bread with onions, tomatoes or any other topping of your choice.

This is my entry to Susan's event MLLA-21 guest hosted by Super Chef of Mirch Masala blog.

Enjoy !!

MMC Ingredient 2 - Pearl Onion

The second MMC challenge is:

Sunday Lunch from Mom's Kitchen:
Pearl Onion Sambar/Chinni vengaya Sambar/ Chummna Kandhecha Sambar

For the 2nd week of our MMC challenge, M brought a twist to the story. He gave me a choice of 3 ingredients out of which I had to pick one and give my reasons for choosing it. The three ingredients are:

1. Pearl Onion
2. Dates
3 Orange Juice

As soon as I heard the choices, I thought I knew right away what I was going to choose - Pearl Onions. I wanted to share with you all one of my mom's signature dishes - Sambar with Pearl Onions. But just a few minutes later, I could hear the Dates calling my name :-) I always wanted to use Dates other than in sweet chutney that we use for Chaat. So I thought this challenge is a good platform to use Dates in a innovative way. But the nostalgia & "Mom sentiment" won over innovation and I decided to go ahead and choose Pearl onion. So I am hoping "Mom senti" will sway the judge as well as it did me :-)

When I was young, this sambar was our Sunday special lunch with Aloo subji or with idlis for the Diwali eve dinner that my mom makes. Pearl onions also known as "Madras Onions" are widely available in Madras where I grew up. These tiny ones have a very different taste, much less pungent and sweeter than their larger counterpart. But the main problem with these is peeling them. Though these onions dont bring as much tears to your eyes like the bigger ones, they still are pretty potent and added to this was the miniature size that makes it hard to peel. So before we actually got to enjoy the dish we had to go through the grueling work of peeling the onions.

Preparing the onions prior to cooking was a big chore; obviously those were the days before the comfort of frozen or ready to cook vegetables was readily available. My dad used to soak it in cold water to remove the dirt/mud and then all us kids had to sit down and help him peel. Wet onions, sticky peel - not a good combination; I used to hate this chore. But.. oh so in love was I with the dish that I didnt mind all the trouble. Me being the enforcer of gender equality in the household, I would fight really hard with my brothers accusing them of not doing the chore but getting to enjoy the reward alone. As any of you who grew up with brothers might know, Sunday morning will invariably have a few different cricket matches that my brothers had to run too. So it was pretty convenient for them that they'd be out the whole morning and show up just in time for the sumptuous lunch. I used to get so angry at them then but thinking of it now brings a smile to my face thinking of all that silliness :-)

So here's the Sambar with Pearl Onion the way my mom makes but in my kitchen. My mom never gives me exact measurement for any recipe coz as most mom's, she herself doesnt use any standard measurement. Its always a handful of this or a handful of that. So I have tried a few different version and have standardized it to our taste.

Note:

1. I like the taste of Dhaniya/coriander. So I have been a bit liberal with it.
2. I have used frozen red pearl onions (thawed in the microwave for a few min). You can use fresh ones as well if available.
   
3. The speciality of this dish is the inclusion of cloves and cinnamon bark. These two spices sets this recipe apart from the Tamilian/Keralite "arachivitta sambar" (Sambar with ground coconut based masala).
4. I love my pressure cooker for cooking dal as it saves me lotsa time. If you dont have a pressure cooker, boil the dal with or without onions for 20 to 30 minutes until well cooked. Soaking the toor dal in warm water for 1/2 hr prior to cooking it will help quicken the cooking process.
   
5. My husband does not share my love for the pearl onions the way I do. He is not too keen the whole pearl onions but loves the flavor when they are cooked into the dal. So I normally pressure cook the onions with dal. But if you want to retain the wholeness of the onions, I would suggest sauteing it with the mustard and jeera (step 3), wait until it gets tender before adding tamarind water.
6. I find it easy to use tamarind concentrate. But if you have tamarind, soak it in water and extract the pulp. Use 1/4 cup thick pulp in place of 1 tbsp tamarind concentrate. Depending on the sourness you'd like, adjust the amount of tamarind in the recipe. I normally go easy on the tamarind.
   
7. Masala can be made ahead of time. Can be refrigerated for a couple of days or may be frozen for almost a month.
   

Ingredients
12 oz red pearl onions (white ones are fine as well. Save a few to be blended with the masala)
3/4 cup toor dal
1 cup water
1 to 11/4 tbsp tamarind concentrate (dissolve it in 1/4 cup water)
1 tsp turmeric
A few pinches of asafoetida
Salt to taste

Masala -
1/2 cup dhaniya (coriander seeds)
2 tbsp chana dal
2 tsp Jeera (cumin seeds)
1/2 tsp methi seeds (Fenugreek)
1 inch stick cinnamon bark
6 cloves
5-6 red chillies
1/4 cup coconut (dessicated, fresh or frozen)
3-4 nos. pearl onions
1/4 cup water (or as needed)

Tadka
2 tbsp oil
2 tsp chana dal
2 red chillies
1 tsp Jeera (cumin)
1 tsp mustard seeds
4-5 curry leaves

Method

1. For masala: Dry roast each ingredient given under Masala (except water, obviously) until they turn light brown and aromatic. Let it cool. Grind into a smooth paste with water. Set aside.
2. Pressure cook the dal and onions with one cup water, a pinch of turmeric and a few drops of oil. I normally allow 3-4 whistle and this works best for my cooker. Turn off the heat and let the pressure release naturally.
   
3. In a medium sized pot, heat oil and add all the ingredient for tadka starting with the dals. Let the mustard and curry leaves splutter.
4. Now add the tamarind concentrate dissolved in water. Add turmeric and asafoetida. Allow this to boil until the raw smell of tamarind disappears. (5 min or so)
5. Now add the cooked dal and the ground masala. Add more water only if necessary. Stir frequently.
   
6. Adjust seasoning, simmer for another 5 min to 10 min, until the masala gets cooked.
   
7. Garnish with a few drops of sesame oil. Serve with hot rice. Goes well with Idlis or Dosas too.

Enjoy !!

MMC: Ingredient 1 - Fennel

Here's my first MMC challenge - fennel

Fennel & Carrot Soup

Fennel is good for health in many ways and as we Indians know, is a good palate cleanser and is very good for digestion. A quick google search gives a whole slew of websites packed with helpful healthful info on fennel. I wanted to bring out the natural goodness of fennel yet didnt want it to be overpowering. Hence, I paired it with carrots and kept the flavorings to the minimum. This is a extremely simple soup that contains ingredients that are easily available and one that you'd most likely have in your pantry. What better way to start a dinner...


Note:

1. Wash and cut the stem/fronds off the fennel bulb (Save a tsp of fronds to garnish before you discard them). Quarter it and remove the hard center part (core). Dice each quarter into half, you will end up with eight pieces.
2. I find it very easy to use my oven to roast veggies, 'coz this gives me whole a half-hour to do a bunch of other things. If you do not have an oven or dont want to use it for some reason, no problemo. Just saute the veggies on the stove top and let it brown a bit, then continue with step 4.
   
3. I have used frozen corn in my recipe. My husband who usually does the taste testing for my recipes thought corn would make a great addition. So I incorporated his suggestion. Corn has a tendency to thicken the soup. If you'd prefer a thinner version, I would suggest adding the corn kernels (thawed) at the final step as a garnish and NOT blend it with the roasted veggies (step 4).
4. Avoid sour cream/yogurt for a vegan version of this recipe.
   

Ingredients:
1 big fennel bulb, (cut into 8 pieces)
2 carrots, diced
1/4 cup white onions, sliced
1 clove garlic
1 tsp thyme (fresh or dried)
2 tbsp frozen corn kernel, thawed (see note)
2 tsp black pepper powder
salt, pepper to taste
1 - 1 1/2 cups water or vegetable stock
2 tbsp olive oil
Lime juice from one small lime
1-2 tbsp sour cream/yogurt/greek yogurt (optional)
1 tsp fennel fronds (optional)

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 450-500F.
2. Take 2 tbsp of olive oil in a bowl, add carrot, fennel, onion and garlic. Sprinkle some salt, thyme and black pepper. Mix well.
3. Roast this in a sheet pan for 30 - 40 min or until tender, just beginning to brown at the edges.
4. Allow it to cool a bit. Blend the roasted vegetables with corn and 1 cup stock/water. For a thinner soup increase the amount of liquid you use.
5. Adjust salt and pepper as per taste. Add lime juice (add more or less of the lime juice depending on the sourness you'd like).
6. Garnish with a few drops of olive oil, fennel fronds and sour cream. Serve warm.

This will be my entry to the "Healthy Inspirations event - soup" hosted by Usha.

MMC judge has spoken !!! Click here for the result.

Enjoy !!

Dhaniya Podi (Coriander Powder)

When I was growing up, I used to despise these 'podi's and chutneys. Given that my mom was born and brought up in Secundrabad, making podis and chutneys were second nature to her. She can make podi out of dried orange peel or chutney out of ridge gourd skin, as long as its tender !! I used to give her such a hard time saying she is depriving the cows outside of their daily food :-) Little did I know then that those were the exact things that I would crave for a decade later. Oh.....I miss those awesome and exotic podis and chutneys. A few of these do appear in my cooking though not so frequently but I can never find a ridge gourd that is so tender that I can use the peel, nor remember to save those orange peels to make the podi. And of course I don't think I'd ever manage to get the flavor of my mom's cooking in mine. So now when ever I go to India, I give her a long list of podis and chutneys that she has to cram into my three weeks vacation. Its amazing the way our tastes change with time.... things I used to dislike as an adolescent have become exotic now. Go figure :-)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup dhaniya seeds (coriander seeds)
2 tbsp split urad dal
2 tbsp chana dal
2 tsp Jeera (cumin)
1/2 tsp methi seeds (Fenugreek)
4 red chillies
Asafoetida 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Roast ingredients (except asafoetida and salt) separately till they turn golden brown in color.
2. Let it cool and grind all of them together with salt and asafoetida to fine powder.
3. Mix with hot cooked rice and a few tsp of seasme oil.

Enjoy !!

Sol Kadi (Coconut milk and kokum gravy)

Sol kadi is a konkani dish made out of coconut milk, kokum and cilantro. This makes a complete meal when served along with rice or khichdi. A thinner version of this dish makes a very good soup. There are a few different ways of making this dish and the recipe I follow is from one of my friends who got it from her mom.

My love affair with sol kadi started almost 7 yrs ago when my friend introduced me to this tasty concoction. It was our first year in grad school, all of us students trying to live & learn together, far away from our family and taking care of way too many things than what we thought we had signed up for. On one of our very busy weekday, when we were craving for some comfort food, my friend served us sol kadi with khichdi. Her mom used to make it with coconut milk extracted out of coconut and a paste made of cilantro and green chillies. But here we were, pressed for time and with a ill-equiped kitchen. She made do with a bottle of the cilantro chutney that you get in the Indian store and canned coconut milk. And for the rest of the evening we forgot all our troubles and were licking the pot clean :-)

Now that I have graduated in more than one way, with a better kitchen: I grind my own masala with cilantro though I still seek the comfort of using coconut milk from the can. Kokum is very easily available in most of the Indian grocery stores. Kokum imparts the sour flavor to the dish. You can extract its juice by soaking it in warm water. However, I add Kokum directly to the Kadi and it does taste yummy with all the coconuty goodness. Wash the Kokum well to get rid of the dirt that is normally found in the store bought ones. If you like coconut/coconut milk you will love this dish and it is unbelievable that a dish this simple can taste so yummy....

Ingredients
1 can coconut milk
5-8 kokum pieces
4 green chillies
1 medium bunch cilantro/coriander leaves
1 clove garlic
1/4 inch ginger
salt to taste
1 tsp jeera
2 tsp oil

Method

1. Grind chillies, garlic, ginger and cilantro into a smooth paste. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a pan, add jeera and when it starts to splutter add the ground paste.
3. Saute for 2-3 min and then add kokum.
4. Now add coconut milk and allow it to cook for a few min (3-4 min).
5. Adjust seasoning and turn off the heat.

Serve with plain rice or khichidi.

To make a lighter version for soup, dilute half a can of coconut milk with half a cup water.

Enjoy !!

Leftover Rotis - No Problem !!

I love one pot meals anytime - be it a busy workday or just a lazy weekend when I just dont feel like getting out of my cozy couch !! Dinner gets done quickly with less pots and pans to clean afterwards. Hence I try my best to blend my veggies, protein and carbs in one mighty dish :-) On weekdays we get our carb from rotis and our weekends are mostly reserved for rice. So it was Friday night, I was too tired with all the running around during the week that I didnt have the energy to cook much of a dinner. It clearly was one-pot-dinner time! - as I was racking my brains thinking about what to make for dinner, I noticed I had a few extra rotis left over from the whole week's supply. Call it serendipity but at the same time I remembered my mom making upma out of leftover idlis or even stale bread back home in India when she was in a similar situation. So I figured if idlis can transform into upma why cant rotis. And thats how this roti upma came into existence. Since this was all we are going to have for dinner, I added some veggies along so it would make a filling meal and that it did. We were pretty happy the way it turned out and I plan to add it to my cooking routine...


Ingredients:
8 rotis, cut into medium sized pieces
1 small onion
2 tomatoes
2 green chillies
Few curry leaves
3 tsp oil
1 tsp split urad dal
1 tsp jeera (cumin)
1 tsp mustard
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp red chillies (adjust as per taste)
salt to taste
cilantro to garnish

Method:
Heat oil in a saute pan.
Add urad dal, jeera, mustard and curry leaves. Let it splutter and urad dal turn golden brown.
Now add green chillies and onion. Saute until the onions are well cooked.
Add tomatoes and cook until the raw smell of tomatoes disappear.
Add turmeric, salt and red chilli powder. Saute for 2 min.
Now add the roti pieces and stir until all the ingredients are well mixed.
Garnish with cilantro.
Serve warm with yogurt.

If you would like, you can break some eggs on the rotis at the final step and mix until the eggs are cooked. If you are from South India, you may recognize the similarity with Kothu Parota except that Kothu Parota is made with Parota instead of rotis.

Enjoy!

Baingan (eggplant) Masala

Summer this year has, like every summer before it, gone by too fast and fall is knocking at the door. As much as I love fall and the festive season it brings, I cant help but be sad when summer comes to an end. To add to my end-of-summer blues, this season I couldn't even do as much farmer's-market-shopping as I would've liked to. Makes me envious of the blessed few in CA who enjoy farmer's markets all through the year. Sighs apart, I feel thankful for friends that do manage to go vegetable-picking and share their little bounties from such trips. One such friend went vegetable-picking on one of those rare sunny weekends (this summer was such a washout for us in the East Coast) and she shared the veggies that she'd picked - delightful eggplant, robust-looking potatoes and ...
Here is the recipe for Eggplant masala I made with those yummy freshly picked eggplants. I love eggplant but bitter ones are a major turnoff for me (so are the ones filled with seeds). As all eggplant aficianados know, one bitter eggplant is sufficient to spoil the entire dish - so, I am extra careful in choosing them. For the small Indian variety, I prefer the lovely tender ones without spots - but these tend to be seasonal (even in our trusty local Indian grocery shops). However, I have almost always had good luck with the more readily available Italian or Japanese variety as well. The following recipe works well for the Indian, Japanese and Italian varieties quite well.

Note: Cut eggplant into 1" cubes and drop them into salted warm water. This helps reduce the bitterness if any in the eggplant.

Ingredients:
6 medium sized eggplant (baingan)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 tsp jeera (cumin)
1 tsp mustard
2 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp red chilli powder
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp amchoor powder (dry mango powder)
2 tsp dhaniya-jeera (cumin-coriander) powder
Cilantro, finely chopped for garnish (optional)
1 tbsp oil
salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan, when it gets hot add jeera, mustard, minced ginger and garlic.
2. Once garlic gets golden brown, add onions. Saute it for a few minutes until onions brown.
3. Now add tomatoes, turmeric and salt. Cook until the raw smell of tomatoes disappears.
4. Now add the cut pieces of eggplant and cook for about 5 min until the pieces are tender and well-cooked.
5. Now add amchoor powder, red chilli powder, garam masala and dhaniya-jeera powder.
6. Saute for a few more minutes until the spices get incorporated well.
7. Garnish with cilantro.
8. Serve hot with rotis/rice.

This will be my entry to "IAVW: Indian" hosted by Erbe in cucina. This event is a part of the series "It's a Vegan World: A food event" started by Vaishali of Holy Cow - Recipes from a vegan Kitchen.
Enjoy !

Simple Tomato Chutney

Everytime I make tomato chutney, it brings back memories of grad school. A small university town, harsh winters, chugging along trying to finish grad school would make even the bravest of souls depressed. The best anti-depressants we had to tide over those blues were food and friends. Put the two together and you have potluck parties - our secret to tasty yet inexpensive entertainment. Each one of our friends had different specialities; even the ones that paid only ceremonial visits to the kitchen had some yummy little recipe up their sleeve. And tomato chutney was one such specialty of one of my friends. He made it almost always unless he decided that we needed a change and switched over to rasam. And needless to say we always licked the bowl clean !! :-)
Here is my recipe for making tomato chutney really quick. I use it with everything from rice to rotis/parathas to dosa/idlies. This is the chutney I had mentioned in my previous blog to go with the buckwheat crepes.
I have used methi powder to give this chutney a pickle like taste. But if you dont have it, no worries. The chutney tastes perfectly good even without it.

To make the methi powder: Dry roast the methi seeds and grind it into a powder. Store the powder in an air-tight container. Stays well in the fridge for months.

Ingredients:
4-5 medium sized tomatoes or 1 14oz can diced tomatoes
1 small onion
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp chana dal or yellow split peas
1 tbsp split urad dal
1 tsp jeera (cumin)
1 tsp mustard seeds
4-5 red chillies
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp methi powder (fenugreek powder) - optional
salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat oil in a saute pan.
2. When it is hot add chana dal and urad dal. Then add jeera and mustard seeds.
3. When they start to sputter, add red chillies, then onions.
4. Saute until onions turn light brown. Now add the tomatoes, sugar, salt and turmeric.
5. Let it cook for 5 to 10 min or until raw smell of tomato disappears and oil oozes out on the sides.
6. Now add methi powder, stir once and then switch off the flame.
7. Serve with rice, rotis, idlis or dosa.

Enjoy !!

Basil Flavored Vegetable Pulao

Vegetable pulao is one of those dishes I have been making since my first experiments with cooking and the one I do not get bored with. Its a great dish to make for a quick meal or even for one of the big meal events such as a dinner party or a pot luck. So it was one of those days where I opened my fridge to see an assorted variety of vegetables staring at me. I decided to make pulao but didnt have mint to make my usual version. But then, my grind-and-freeze habit came to my rescue (whenever I have an excess of mint, cilantro or basil I try to grind it up and store the paste in freezer) - I had some ground basil in the freezer. Time for some improvisation !!! - I decided to give my pulao recipe an Italian twist, with basil instead of mint. As with such improvisations (the ones done under "duress" :)) - the basil pulao turned out to be quite flavorful and I sure plan to make this recipe more often.

A few things to note - basil flavor is pretty subtle here so make sure to limit the amount of garam masala as it can easily overpower the basil flavor. Soaking rice in salted water ensures that the grains remain separate and the rice doesnt turn mushy. Use a 1:1 measure of rice to water if you are going to soak the rice. You can always add more along the way. But if you do not have time to soak the rice, do go ahead and use the usual 1:2 (rice:water) or the measure you would normally use.

Ingredients

2 cups basmati rice
11/2 cups mixed vegetables (carrots, cauliflower, peas, beans, bell peppers etc)
2 medium onions, chopped
4 green chillies, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tsp finely chopped ginger
4 tbsp basil paste
2 tsp jeera
2 tsp fennel seeds
6 cloves
3 pods cardomam
2" stick cinnamon
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp oil
2 tsp garam masala powder(optional)
Fried cashews (optional)

Method

1. Soak rice in generous amounts of salted cold water for 30 - 45 min. Then drain the rice and set it aside (this is optional, see above for more details).
   
2. Heat oil in a pan, add all the ingredients from jeera to bay leaves. Saute until the mixture turns brown taking care not to burn the same.
   
3. Now add the chopped onions, basil paste, green chillies, garlic and ginger and saute until onions turn golden brown.
4. Add all the vegetables, sprinkle garam masala and saute for 5 min.
5. Transfer the contents into a microwave safe bowl or the rice cooker, add rice, required amount of salt.
6. Pour 2 cups of water and cook until the rice is done.
7. Garnish with fried cashews and serve with raita.

This is my entry to Srivalli's "Rice Mela".
Enjoy!!

Moong Dal Kheer (Yellow Lentil Dessert) - A Vegan Fare

Can't believe its been almost a month since I blogged. Past few weeks have been crazy and sadly one of the things that had to be pushed to the back burner was blogging and blog surfing. I think I have missed most part of the Dussera goodies that have been posted on the blogosphere. But I do hope to catch up with all of them very soon.

Here is a quick and tasty kheer I made for Dussera. Traditionally kheer is made with lots of milk but I wanted to make a dessert that would qualify for the "Sweet Vegan" event hosted by Vaishali. There is no doubt that being vegan is much more challenging than being a vegetarian but it is also fun to come up with a recipe which does not involve any dairy product. I wanted to make a traditional Indian dessert with a vegan twist and also something that did not require me squeezing my brain out trying to come up with one :-) My first attempt was jangiri which is very much a vegan dessert as is made traditionally if ghee be substituted with oil for frying. It came out well for the first attempt but I think it needs a bit more work before I can post it. I hope to do so pretty soon.

No festival goes without having some kind of kheer and in my family important festivals must always be celebrated with kheer made of jaggery (we call it "gulacha kheer"). So as per the tradition, I decided to make moong dal kheer which I so love. The long version of this kheer, the way my mom makes is using khus-khus/coconut paste, milk, moong or channa dal and jaggery. In order to make this a vegan recipe I substituted milk with coconut milk. I find it very hard to make a smooth paste of khus-khus with the food processor I have and I hate the grainy texture of partially ground khus-khus. Hence I skipped it altogether and there was no soaking or grinding involved which make this a perfect recipe for a weekday celebrations. Also molasses works amazingly well as a substitute for jaggery. And finally, need I say this dish is very healthy. It is almost fat free...er... if you discount the fat from the coconut milk :-)

Ingredients
1/4 cup moong dal
1/4 cup jaggery or as required
1 tbsp slivered cashew
1 tbsp slivered almonds
4 pods cardamom
1 cup coconut milk

Method

1. Dissolve jaggery in 1/4 cup water, boil for 3-5min or until the jaggery is well-dissolved.
2. Remove from heat, strain to remove any dirt and set it aside.
3. Dry roast moong dal until it starts to turn light brown and aromatic.
4. Dry roast cashews and almonds until light brown.
5. Boil moong dal, cashews, almonds and cardamom in 1/2 cup (or just enough) water.
6. When the moong dal is cooked but still firm add the dissolved jaggery.
7. Boil for 5 min and then add coconut milk.
8. Let this boil for another 3 min or so.
9. Serve this warm or cold.

And then there was this sweet surprise from Usha a few weeks ago. I should apologize for not having shared this award earlier, but guess its better late than never.
Thanks Usha for the lovely Dussera gift and I would like to extend my friendship award to these wonderful people: Anudivya, Sagari, Sireesha, VIJ, Arundathi.

Curried Tomato Soup

This particular recipe is adapted from Mark Bittman's Curried Carrot soup that appeared in his Bitten column in NYTimes. I am a huge fan of Mark Bittman, I love his show on PBS , his column Bitten in NYT and also his book "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian". And the book, it' s a bible..no - encyclopedia...oh well... I'll just say its one of the most resourceful books yet in my collection. I have never made a recipe exactly as given in his book but I have used them as a foundation to build my own version. And the result has always been wonderful... Speaking about Bittman, I cant wait to watch the show on PBS "Spain...On the Road Again". Looks like it will be a good show given that it has Mario Batali as well who is yet another of my fav TV chefs .....

Coming back to the soup...the great thing about this soup is that it is simple as well as light. Soup has become an integral part of our eating lifestyle. After a weekend of overloading the digestive system, Mondays are the perfect day to stick to a simple meal of hot soup. It doesn't take too long to cook a pot of soup and what better way to ease into the next few days of grinding work.

To make this soup really light go easy on the coconut milk. I have used half a can, which gives a good flavor without inducing a heaviness to the dish. But if you like the soup to be really heavy on the coconut flavor, go ahead and add a little more....

Ingredients:

3 tsp olive oil
1 small onion, roughly chopped
10-15 cherry tomatoes or 5-6 medium sized tomatoes
1 clove garlic
1" piece ginger, grated
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cayenne pepper, or as required
1 cup vegetable stock or water
1/2 can coconut milk or even less if you prefer
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Cilantro (optional)


Method:

1. Heat oil in a large pan, add cumin seeds, coriander seeds, diced chopped onions, garlic, ginger, cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
2. Add tomatoes, turmeric, salt and let it cook until tomatoes are well cooked.
3. Add cayenne pepper, stock and let it boil 10 min or so. Now add coconut milk.
4. Allow the mixture to cool and puree it in a blender or food processor. Adjust the consistency of the soup by adding more stock.
5. Boil the pureed soup for 5 more minutes, adjust salt and pepper as per taste.
6. Garnish with cilantro and serve.

Another version of this soup is to substitute the coconut milk with buttermilk. This version is a bit tangy but still yummy.

And this week's recipe is my entry to the "WYF:Salad/starter/soup" event hosted by EC of Simple Indian Food blog.

Happy Slurping :-)