Radish Raita

Radish Raita - A summer delight!

The temperatures this summer seem to be soaring to an all time high! I personally love the summer - the hotter it is, the fun of jumping in the swimming pool multiples! :D However, it has been extremely hot consistently and air conditioning has become a necessity - which means less natural air! :(

This is also the time for some yummy cooling foods like buttermilk, cucumbers, other fresh salads and loads of fruits! Here is a very simple recipe for Radish raita -packed with iron and a delightful cooling side dish with any meal. You could use either white radish or the red radish. I find red radish to have a milder taste compared to the white variation. Personally I love them both. But if you don't like the the strong raw taste/smell of raw white radish, try the red one.

What you need: (for a small portion)

Red radishes - 4, grated

Curds (Plain yogurt) - 2 tbsp, slightly beaten.

Green chillies -1, sliced lengthwise

Cilantro/coriander leaves - 2 tsp, finely chopped

Salt to taste

Method:
Mix all the ingredients together and adjust salt.

Optional Tempering: 

Heat 1/2 tsp oil, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and allow them to splutter. Add this tempering to the raita.

Enjoy the cooling raita with rice/dal or roti sabzi! :)

High Protein Dosa

Healthy/different dosa

The protein fixation continues!! :-D Mixed some dals and chana with brown rice and made dosa out of it. Was pleasantly surprised at the results! I made these a particular way - with onions and chillies and stuck to this all the time as it turned out tastier than making normal dosas out of it.

What you need :

Batter:

Urad Dal - 1/2 cup

Kala Chana (black chana) - 1/2 cup

Split green moong dal - 1/2 cup

Brown Rice - 1 1/2 cup

White rice - 1 1/2 cup

Fenugreek(methi) seeds - 2 tsp

Poha - small handful - optional

Dosa:
Onion - finely chopped
Green chilles - finely chopped or green chilly paste
Coriander leaves/cilantro - finely chopped
Salt - as per taste
Sugar -1 or 2 spoons
Oil

Method : 

1. Wash the dals and rice together, changing water multiple times.

2. Soak the rice and dal mixture with fenugreek seeds and Poha for 8-10 hours. You can soak the rice and dals separately or better mixing/smoother batter.

3. Grind it to a paste.

4. Keep the batter for fermentation overnight/depending on the weather. I usually keep the batter in oven with the light on for faster fermentation. The batter is ready when it is light and fluffy, with air bubbles formed on the surface.

5. Once the batter is ready add the onions, chillies, cilantro, salt and sugar. 

6. Make dosas out of this batter. 

Notes : The dosas are a little thicker than the normal thin dosas. Roast on both sides with oil to get the crispy crunchy taste.

Protein rich beans curry

Black and White Beans curry

Even though I'm a big fan of fresh spice mixes, busy schedules and laziness always forces me to use readymade masalas in most of my cooking. One of those times when you take that little extra time and effort to grind masalas(and then take care of the soiled mixie :P ), the results are soooooohooooo worth it! In my quest to have enough protein in my veggie diet I have been using different kinds of dried beans. I made this dish of black beans and black eyes peas with freshly ground masala paste. Boy, was I happy with the end product!! :D It actually forced me to create a blog post (not to mention HOW lazy I have been and not posted here in forever! :-| ), only so that I can remember exactly what I did and re create it later. 

What you need : 

Black beans - 1/2 cup

Black eyes peas - 1/2 cup

Onion - 1 small (chopped coarsely)

Tomato - 1 large (chopped coarsely) or 3 tbsp tomato puree

Dry Roast:

Dry grated coconut - 2 to 3 tbsp

Coriander seeds - 2 tsp

Green cardamom - 1

Cinnanom - 1/2 inch (small piece)

Cloves - 3-4 (Depending on how spicy you want)

Whole Black pepper - 1 tsp

Cumin sees - 1 tsp

Shahjeera (black cumin) - 1/4 to 1/2 tsp

Dry red chillies - 2 (more if you want more heat :D )

Fennel seeds (Saunf) - about 1/4 tsp - I've added more in the past and didn't like how it has an overpowering taste

Method :

1. Soak the beans in water for about 4-6 hours. Drain and wash by changing water a few times.

2. Dry roast all the masala ingredients on low heat till they release aroma. Add coconut in the end as it might roast very quickly. Keep aside.

3. Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan. Add onion and saute till it is light brown.If using tomato puree, skip to step 5.

4. Then add the chopped tomatoes and fry for some time.

5. Grind together the dry roasted masala and onion mixture to a smooth paste.

6. Heat 1 tbsp oil. Add masala paste, tomato puree and beans.

7. Add salt to taste and enough water to cover the beans completely.

8. Pressure cook the beans mixture for 2 to 3 whistles.

Serve with rice or rotis. :) To add to the taste, top it off with some ghee.

PS: I didn't take any pictures of this. Will upload pics some time soon. ;)