Broccoli Tofu stuffed paratha (Stuffed flatbread)

This is one delicious dose of health! Broccoli, tofu, whole wheat flour.. What more can you ask for in a meal? :) And good news is, my broccoli-averse  hub loves this! And everyone would! Its just so yummy! I usually make the stuffing in advance and making parathas in the morning is quick.

The thing with parathas is I can never go by a set quantity of ingredients. Just mix some amount of basic ingredient (broccoli and tofu), adjust seasonings as per taste. Ended up making more stuffing, great! Reuse it to make grilled sandwiches with cheese. :) Less stuffing = plain chapatis. :) So, there are no quantities specified in the ingredient list.

What you need :

Dough:

Wheat flour

Water

Ajwain seeds (Carom seeds) - optional

Stuffing:

Broccoli

Tofu - mashed 

Ginger

Garlic

Green chillies

Cumin powder

Pepper powder

Cilantro - finely chopped

Garam masala, a pinch - optional

Salt

Method:

1. Make a soft dough by mixing flour and water. Almost double the amount of water to flour. Mix in some crushed carom seeds if you like the flavor. You could add other ingredients to the flour like salt, oil, seasoning. But I just used flour, water and carom seeds.

2. Knead the dough well. Apply about half a teaspoon of oil to the dough and keep it covered for about 15 mins. Knead again and your dough is ready.

3. For the stuffing : Pulse Broccoli + green chilly+ ginger + garlic in a food processor till its coarsely powdered. Alternatively you could grate broccoli and mix in ginger garlic chilly paste. Microwave this mixture for 3 - 5 mins till the raw smell goes away.

4. Mix in the crumbled tofu, spices, finely chopped cilantro, salt and mix well. Adjust seasoning.

5. Make parathas by stuffing the broccoli mixture in the dough.

6. Roast with few drops of oil.

7. Serve hot with raita! YUM! :)

Thai Basil Noodles with Tofu

Thai Basil Noodles

My version of Thai basil noodles - with the preferred amount of spiciness, preferred veggies, smaller cut tofu pieces - sauteed to a lovely golden brown and tonnes of flavor from the basil! :) YUMMM... And of course added peanuts for hubby! (NOT YUM!) :P  

 

What you need :

Noodles - Rice noodles/Thai flat noodles

Tofu - cubed and shallow fried/sauteed
Fresh Basil leaves - About a handful
Salt
Pepper powder
Oil

Veggies:
Capsicum
Carrots
Broccoli
Mushrooms

Finely chopped or ground to a paste: Ginger + Garlic + Green chillies

Sauce: Mix together. Vary the proportions based on your liking for how sour/spicy you want.
Soy sauce 2 tsp
Vinegar 1 tsp
Sugar 3 tsp
Fresh Lemon juice 2 tsp
Chilli Sauce 2 tsp
Salt

Scallions/Spring onions
Coarsely ground peanuts for topping if desired

Method:

 
1. Soak/cook noodles as per packet instructions. You could use fresh noodles too, me thinks it might be tastier.
2. Heat Oil in a wok. Stir fry the veggies with a little bit of salt till almost cooked. You want the veggies to be crunchy yet done. Keep aside.
3. Heat oil in a wok. Add the ginger garlic green chillies mixture. Add fried/sauteed tofu and the sauce mixture. Then add half the basil leaves. Cook for about a minute.
4. Add the stir fried veggies and cooked noodles.
5. Keep stirring until well mixed and noodles are a little fried.
Note: Depending on the type of noodles you are using, the frying time will vary. Check that the noodles don't get soggy.
6. I used flat rice noodles and fried them for about 4-5 mins.
7. Check seasoning. Finally add the remaining basil leaves, chopped scallions and mix well for about a minute.

DONE! :)

Serve hot hot with a dash of lime, ground peanuts and some chilli sauce if desired! :)

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. ;)

Kale Indianized!

Eggs in green gravy / Anda Saagwala

Kale is another green leafy veggie from the cabbage family. Kale, according to wikipedia is one of the most nutritional vegetables in the world with powerful antioxidant properties! (WOW!) I heard about how healthy this veggie is and decided to experiment with it. Kale is said to go great in soups.

I got a bunch of kale in my shopping expedition and successfully finished & relished it! :D I feel healthy ;) I stir fried a portion of it and used it in noodles and the other portion was Indianized to yield a saag! I made a simple kale puree with spices and added some red peppers for the puree. It gave a nice flavor. I used hard boiled eggs in this gravy. Substitute the eggs with any protein - soy chunks, paneer, tofu or even potatoes. The end result was reaaaally tasty and I'm sure I'm gonna bring Kale home again :)

Ingredients:

Cook together and grind to make a puree (I put it in the pressure cooker - 1/2 whistle):

A small bunch of kale  - A medium sized bowl full of leaves

Tomato - 1 small

Whole pepper corns - about half a teaspoon

Cloves - 3-4

Cinnamon stick - 1/2 inch

Fresh ginger chopped - 1/2 tsp

1 Red Bell pepper small sized - or half of a medium sized

Other ingredients:

Hard boiled eggs - 4

Oil - 1 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp (Jeera)

Kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves) - 1 tsp

Green chilly- 1 finely chopped (Adjust heat. Avoid if u prefer it mild. The puree already has some heat with the cloves and ginger)

Garlic - 2 cloves finely chopped

Salt to taste

Method:

1) Cook all the ingredients for the puree and grind to a paste.

2) Heat oil in a pan.

3) Add cumin seeds and let them splutter.

4) Add the green chillies and chopped garlic if any.

5) Carefully pour the puree in(to avoid splattering from the heat) and stir. Add water if required.

6) Let it cook for a minute. Then add the kasoori methi, salt and check for seasoning.

7) Drop in the sliced eggs and serve hot.

Easy Yummy Birthday Cake!

Black Forest Cake simplified.

Waow!That was a long break from blogging for me! I can use work, India trip, laziness as excuses for this hiatus. ;) But now, summer is here, am done with shifting to a new place and the birthday season is here! All this inspired me to increase my recipe collection at iDhaba! 

In the recent years, I have been exposed to a massive variety of desserts. Though I don't have a sweet tooth, these gorgeous looking delicacies you find scattered in cafes and bakeries tempt me to try them. In spite of this, I badly miss the fresh cream cakes you find in India. The Indian black forest and fresh cream pineapple cakes are sooooo YUMMY - Light and fluffy with the right amount of sweetness (as opposed to some pastries with unbearable density of sugar). Bangaloreans need just one name to relate to this - Sweet chariot! :) IMHO, this bakery chain dishes out the best of these heavenly fresh cream cakes. 

Here is my humble attempt to recreate that magical cake. The expert bakers/ dessert champs out there might find this version of my cake unacceptable! I use the store bought cake mix. And pretty much all I do is assemble the cake. I made this cake 3 times during the last 3 months and I must say, everyone absolutely loved it!! Looks fab, tastes AMAZING and hey, for the effort you put in, its magically good! Made this for my hubby's birthday last week and simply put, he was elated. :) Try it, and you'll know what I'm talking about! :)  

Needless to say, if you have more time and skills, you could make your own chocolate cake and go from there. :D

What you need: 

Chocolate cake mix - I got Duncan Hines chocolate cake mix. - 1 pack. Tip: Look for mixes that say extra moist cake.

Eggs + water + oil/butter as per the cake mix instructions.

All purpose whipping cream 

Fresh strawberries - chopped in small pieces

Chocolate bar - grated

Vanilla essence

Confectioners sugar

Any other decoration for cake as desired - nuts, fruits, chocolate chips etc.

 Procedure:

1) Bake the cake by exactly following the instructions on the pack. Use 2 8-inch pans so you end up with 2 cakes for the layering. Let the cakes cool down.

2) Mix whipping cream with vanilla essence and confectioners sugar. The proportions really depend on how sweet you want the cream to be. I added about 2 spoons sugar and 2 drops of essence for about 1 cup of whipping cream. 

3) Beat this mixture with a hand blender till its fluffy and stiff peaks form.  

To put the cake together :

1) Place one cake with flat side up on a tray/large plate. (If the cake has a substantial dome shape rise, cut some off to get a flat even surface).

2) Coat the flat surface completely with about 1 cm thick layer of the whipped cream icing. 

3) Evenly distribute the chopped strawberries on this icing.

4) Now put the other cake on top - flat surface on the icing.

5) With the remaining icing, completely coat the entire cake.

6) Decorate the cake with chocolate shavings. 

Use your creativity to decorate this further as you like it.

Chill for a couple of hours and then serve! :)

I saw a lot of recipes which suggested using sugar syrup or some juice to moisten the cake. I didn't use any.