Mom's Mixed vegetable kurma

This dish takes a bit of time, but very rewarding at the end of it!

Ingredients 

1/4 cup desiccated coconut 

2 tbsp sesame seeds

1 tbsp Khus khus ( white poppy seeds)

3 byadgi red chillies ( more if you want spicier)

2 medium tomatoes ( use tomato purée if you have) 

1 medium onion chopped 

1 tbsp ginger paste

1 tbsp garlic paste

1/4 cup diced carrot

1/4 cup diced green beans

1/4 cup diced green bell pepper

1/3 cup peas 

You can use fresh peas or dried peas that are soaked overnight and pressure cooked

Masalas

1/2. Tsp turmeric 

1 tbsp Garam masala 

Salt to taste

Red chili powder if needed

Tempering 

Method :

1. Roast sesame seeds, poppy seeds and coconut together in a pan without any oil, take and keep aside , 

2. Sauté the onions and keep aside

3. Grind the red chilies, roasted seed mix, sautéed onions with ginger and garlic paste and keep aside

4. Add olive oil to a pot , put in the tempering mix wait for mustard to splutter, 

5. If you are using fresh tomatoes, then cut and sautéed them till the water is gone and stop smelling raw, if using purée then skip this step

6. Sautéed the veggies till they are a bit tender, you don't have to cook through

7. Put in the masalas, salt, ground mix and tomato purée if you are using and may be 1/2 cup water( if you want thicker then pour lesser) 

8. Put on medium flame till boiling point

9. Add a little tamarind if more sourness is desired.

10. I usually add a tsp of Thai red curry mix but it's optional 

11. Boil the kurma for at least 20 mins on slow to med flame or pour into slow cooker and cook for 2 hours on high 

The consistency should be that of thick dal fry.

Before serving , garnish with cilantro and a swirl of cream or yogurt.

Best eaten with chappati, malabar paratha, ne'er dosa or idiyappam.

Slow cooker Chana Ghashi

Before my family tree extended to the Konkan coast of India, coconut was an ingredient in sweets and an occasional addition as a topping to boiled and roasted chickpeas (Sundal).

But my MIL's cooking makes use of  coconut in so many many ways, sweet and savory, it amazes me every time with its versatility!

Best off all, coconut adds a lot of fiber and protein ( yes carbs too, but benefits outweigh it easily ) to the dish!

Chananghashi ( ghashi of Chana) can in corporate any one of these vegetables :

1.  Raw jackfruit ( yes it's a fruit not a vegetable but it tastes like one when raw and we get canned or fresh based on great season ), but I have seen my MIL add this only for special occasions 
2. Watery vegetables : bottle gourd, white pumpkin.

I just make the plain one :) tastes wonderful when slow cooked too!

Ingredients

1.5 cups black chickpeas ( kala chana)
4 cups of water
Salt
Fresh coconut 1/2 cup
6 dried red chilies byadgi type
1 tbsp Corriander powder
Tempering materials (mustard, used,red chilies, curry leaves)
Tamarind small quarter size)
Vegetable of choice see notes above ( optional)

Method:

o In the slow cooker , place the Chana , water and salt to taste and set timber for 7 hours on high
o half way through add the vegetable of choice.
o After timer is done, check that the Chana can be easily crushed with the back of a spoon if not extend another hour.
o Make a smooth paste out of the coconut , redchillies and coriander powder.
o Add to the cooked chana and simmer either in slow cooker( 1/2hr) or stove top(10min)
o Finally heat oil and fry the tempering materials and add to the Ghashi.

Enjoy with Rice and Pappad!

Cheese Stuffed Baby Bellas

The cute button like mushrooms called Baby Bellas are available in every store and are fun to make and eat for kids and adults alike.

A note about mushrooms if you are picking them yourself from the pile ( non boxed) make sure they don't have too much black /grey portion in the "hollow", indicating a mature mushroom.. I have found that  as the mushroom matures it does not cook fast enough and loses some flavor but adds more texture...

There are many combinations for this .. see foot notes for more variety !

Ingredients
1 box of Baby Bellas ( black/brown) usually has about 10 count mushrooms

Stuffing
1/3 cup Mozzerella Cheese
McCormick's Italian Spice ( or any Italian mix that has oregano, thyme , basil ), available in most stores.
1 or 2 Finely chopped red sweet pepper ( optional) you can use red/green  bell pepper too.

Tossing
Olive oil for tossing
Sea Salt or table salt to taste

Garnish: cilantro or parley ( optional)

Prep

1. Preheat the oven to 350F
2. Wash mushrooms well, leave no traces of mud. Cut off the stems of the mushrooms ( don't discard)
3. Let the mushrooms dry as you prep the inside filling
4. Roast the finely chopped peppers on high heat with very little oil for 1 min ( charred is ok)
4. Mix the cheese , a good sprinkling of Italian spice , (I usually ask my daughter to sprinkle and she does a good 5 or six shakes before I grab the spice bottle out of her hands ;) and the peppers
5. Now toss the mushrooms and the stems with about a tablespoon of olive oil and a 1-2 shakes of the Italian spice the mushrooms should be well coated with oil and spice
6. In a baking tray , lined with parchment paper ,  arrange all the mushroomss bit towards the edges of the tray ( this is what the original recipe said ) , stems can go into middle
7. Fill the hollows with stuffing mix just to the brim ( if you fill up the cheese will drip but some like it that way )

Cook:

1.  Bake with covection roast for about 10-12 min , when you look through the oven door and the cheese has browned a bit is when the mushrooms are done.
2. The mushrooms will brown up quite a bit on the outside when baked. It's normal.

Serve as appetizer with a sprinkling of parsley on top!

Notes

If using cheddar instead of Mozerella , try Cajun spice instead of Italian
Also cheddar and cranberries make a good sour/sweet combination

For adults , a mix of cheese, Italian spice, Garlic powder and  with green chilli pieces or red chili flakes ( the type you put on pizzas )  instead of sweet peppers works well too.

Superfood pancake muffins

This is my go to quick recipe for my baby's muffin fixes 😊, those times when she dreams about Muffins during her nap and demands muffins for evening snack!



Ingredients

1 cup Kodiak Cakes superfoods flapjack mix ( any pancake mix will do, I specially like this one because of its clean ingredients and super food grains)
1 egg
1 ripe banana
1 tbsp butter ( can sub with apple sauce if you want healthier options)
sprinkling of cinnamon powder
1 tbsp chocolate chips ( I use dark chocolate)
Optional:   walnuts, 1/2 cup.
Prep

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees bake
2. In your blender mix banana, egg, cinnamon, butter/apple sauce
3. In a bowl measure and pour the pancake mix.
4.  Add the wet blend to the dry ingredients
5. Mix well.
6. Fold in the chocolate chips and nuts if using
7. Grease the muffin tins or ramekins if you don't have muffin tins
8. Put in the oven, for 14 mins. Cool for 5 mins before serving !

Bón appetité

Cauliflower 'Steaks'

I found this recipe on Pinterest , and thought I can Indianize it a bit.

Ingredients

1 small head of cauliflower cut into sections , not florets
1 tbsp rice flour
2 tsp rasam power
1/4 spoon Garlic paste
Oil for coating

Prep:
Choose a cauliflower which has its florets closely binded , the closeness of the florets indicates the tenderness
Green cauliflower tastes even better
I cut the cauliflower slowly with a sharp knife  vertically into 1 inch thick sections
Pre heat the oven to 350 F

Place them on a parchment paper and put all the seasoning and mix well with hand until it's fully spread out and all parts of the cauliflower are coated

Place the parchment paper on to a baking tray and roast ( if you have a pizza setting or convection roast setting use that) for 10 min

Take out and flip on to the other side and let it stay another 10 min

Serve with rice, couscous ..  or eat as is :)

Slow cooker minestrone soup

Ingredients :serves 6

1.5 cups Small white beans
5 cups water
1 Zucchini medium sized, chopped into 2" pieces
2-3 baby carrots ( not the packet, real baby carrots with leaves ) chopped
1/4 cup Cauliflower , broken into florets
2-3 sprigs of carrot leaves for garnish
2 cubes of vegetable boullion ( I use Rapunzel brand)
4-5 tbsp Marinara sauce
1 tsp Thai Red Curry ( optional)
Rock Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper/spice of choice
Regular salt
McCormick Italian spice for seasoning
McCormick Garlic powder for seasoning
( can use garlic or garlic paste too)

Method:

Very simple!

Put all the ingredients into the slow cooker except carrot leaves and regular salt , cook on high for 6 hours at minimum and more if you want thicker.

We don't want to cook with much salt because it prevents the beans from breaking down well .

Once done taste and make adjustments , add more salt, seasoning , paprika as needed. Garnish with carrot leaves.