Mushroom Curry in Cashew Gravy

Mushrooms are a rich source of many nutrients and lend themselves to curries easily. Here is a recipe for a mushroom curry in a rich cashew gravy that works well when served with rice or breads like Naan, Pita, Lavash, and Roti! My cousin loves this curry and I hope you do too!

To serve a table set for two, you will need:

1 packet of mushrooms, washed, and diced lengthwise or in quarters.
2 tsp of ginger-garlic paste (fresh works best, made with a fine grater)
2 tsp of curry powder
1/4 cup ground cashews
1/4 cup yogurt, whisked
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, washed, chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
Oil to saute
1 small onion, chopped
1 or 2 tomatoes, washed, seeded, diced
1/4 tsp of turmeric, 1/4 tsp of red chili powder (optional)
Salt to taste, 1/2 tsp sugar

Sputter cumin seeds in the heated oil in a large saucepan. Saute the onions, and let them turn a golden brown. Now add the curry powder, turmeric and ginger-garlic paste . Fry for about 30 seconds and add the diced tomatoes and mushrooms. Cover and cook until mushrooms are just cooked, do not add water, since mushrooms tend to sweat as they cook. Now add the ground cashews and about 1/8-1/4 cup water. Cover, and bring to a boil. Season with salt, sugar and red chili powder and turn the stove off. After the curry cools slightly, add the whisked yogurt, garnish with cilantro and serve!

Parfaits in Strawberry Season

A splash of deep red, amidst a white background, dotted with earthy browns. I am a dessert, who am I? Why, a parfait of course. I am delicious, healthy and loaded with nutrients.

Parfaits have to be my favorite breakfast on hot summer days. All you need is homemade yogurt, homemade granola, and loads of fresh summer berries. To assemble a parfait is easy. A bit of planning and it can be your go to breakfast on any day really. I make my weekly batch of yogurt on a Sunday typically. Many people ask me where I get my starter culture from. I normally rely on store bought yogurt that contains only cultured milk. Mind you, not buttermilk, but store bought yogurt whose only ingredient is pasteurized milk that is cultured. Typically, for two cups of milk that has been brought to a gentle boil and cooled, I used about 4 tablespoons of yogurt. Remember to remove any cream that you see on top of the milk that has been boiled and cooled. This thin layer should be removed before adding the yogurt to the milk. I tend to place the milk that has the yogurt mixed in it, in the oven, with the light on for about 6 to 8 hours. There should be no lumps of the yogurt in the milk. The heat from the oven light is enough to help the bacteria in the yogurt to ferment the milk. The yogurt sets really well. That's it! Once you get your first batch of home made yogurt, your culture remains if you make yogurt regularly. It is that simple.

Homemade granola is equally easy. I use about 1.5 cups of rolled oats with 1/8 cup of honey, 1/8 cup of sunflower oil and about 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. I mix these ingredients with my hand in a glass baking dish, and toast the oats at about 350 F until they are lightly browned. I tend to mix the oats around several times. I also often add various nuts like almonds and walnuts to the oats as they roast in the oven. Once the oats are done, just remove the baking dish from the oven and add a 1/4 cup of raisins and a 1/4 cup of chopped dried figs to this oat and nut ensemble. Voila! Your home made granola is ready. Cool this granola to room temperature and store in an airtight box. It should last a week or so. This volume will make about six single serving parfaits each with a 1/4 cup of granola or so.

To assemble to parfait, I use dessert cups and layer the granola with yogurt, add chopped strawberries and then drizzle some honey on top.

Enjoy!!

Hello Breakfast!

Time flies, or may be runs, perhaps does this really dramatic sprint...and boom! A year has gone by. I have been busy, but who isn't right? It has been a wonderfully productive year though. New recipes, new ideas and loads of new posts coming along I promise!

I really have been meaning to do a series of posts on oatmeal, rolled oats, oat bran, you name it. Breakfast specific mind you. I kind of started that trend with the oats dosa recipe, but this post is all about a breakfast full of warm oatmeal loaded with dried fruits, nuts and fresh fruit like green apples. Oh, and loads of cinnamon. This breakfast option is a big hit with my little one, and it gives us a lot of energy for busy mornings on weekends. Delicious to the core, here are my go to staples for a warm breakfast dish.

To prepare oat meal just follow the directions on the package. I stick to Bob's Red Mill rolled oats (organic), or their oat bran (organic). Loaded with fiber, protein and iron, the porridge can be made with water. I add the cinnamon powder when the oats are cooking in the water. I add milk only before serving. Chopped dried dates and figs, slivered almonds and chopped walnuts, and diced fresh apples, complete the meal for me. No added sugar mind you, but honey drizzled on the fruit make for a mouth watering meal. You can't go wrong.

Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Spice Cake

Sweet potatoes are a staple in my kitchen. The other day, I had some left over sweet potato (the orange flesh variety) and I decided to bake a cake with the cooked flesh. Sweet potatoes are pretty versatile vegetables and I wanted to make a breakfast type of a cake, with almond meal for added protein value. The end result was a surprisingly moist cake that was highly appreciated by the family. This recipe will be a keeper. Try it out! You can make this cake gluten free by substituting the whole wheat pastry flour with amaranth flour (toast the flour prior to using it for a nice, nutty flavor).

Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup almond meal
1/4-1/2 cup canola oil
1/4-1/2 cup maple syrup (to suit your palette for sweetness)
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1/2 inch fresh ginger grated
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 egg
2 small, red-skinned orange flesh sweet potatoes cooked (steamed or baked)

Method
Combine all the dry ingredients including the cinnamon. Beat the egg in a separate bowl and then add the oil, followed by the maple syrup.Now, add the vanilla and freshly grated ginger to the wet ingredients. Mix well and add the dry ingredients slowly to the wet ingredients. Mix gently and pour the batter in a greased oven safe cake tin or glass bowl. Bake for about 35 minutes at 350 F or until a fork comes out clean when inserted into the baked cake.

Cool and cut into wedges. Serve with vanilla ice cream if you like but we ate it straight for breakfast!

Enjoy!

Amaranth and Date Pancakes

Pancakes and fall weather seem to go hand in hand. Out here in the SF Bay Area, fall has arrived with cooler weather, some welcome rain and farmer's markets full of persimmons and apples. So it seems like pumpkins are the flavor of the season (Halloween was just a month ago), but after eating pumpkin waffles and pumpkin muffins I was in the mood for something different. Since I have been making a conscious effort to include a variety of gluten free flours in my diet, in a recent chat with my aunt, Ameeta, she mentioned that I could try to make pancakes with amaranth flour. She gave me her recipe, I tweaked it to include dates and almonds and the result was a wholesome, gluten free, morning breakfast recipe that my toddler loved! Go ahead and try it, it will not disappoint you.

For four pancakes, you will need:

1/4 cup rice flour
1/4 ground almonds
1/2 cup amaranth flour
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 tsp baking powder
A generous amount of cinammon
Sugar or honey to taste (I used about 2 tbsp of sugar.)
2 Mejdool dates, pitted, chopped
One banana and chocolate syrup (Midnight Moo from Trader Joe's)

Beat the egg and then add the milk and sugar (or honey). Mix the dry ingredients and spoon in the dates. Add the dry ingredients to the egg-milk mixture and mix to form a smooth batter. Pour the batter into a preheated nonstick pan that has been greased with a small amount of butter. Cook the pancake covered with a lid until small holes form. Flip and cook again until the second side is done.

Serve warm with chocolate syrup and chopped bananas.

Yummy!

Mixed Nuts and Ragi-Rawa Ladoos

Mixed Nuts and Ragi-Rawa Ladoos

I am always looking for ways to make healthy treats in a jiffy. One day my toddler asked me to make some "ladoos", a sweet made in India for festive occasions and for a quick afternoon snack. Traditionally, ladoos are made using a significant amount of ghee and sugar. I decided to whip up some ladoos for the family using "ragi flour" and ground peanuts and almonds. These ladoos make a great snack and provide protein and energy to active toddlers. Moreover, jaggery and cardamom add a very earthy flavor to these wonderful and traditional sweets.

You will need:

1/4 cup shredded jaggery and powdered brown sugar each
1/3 cup of ground almonds and roasted peanuts
1/4 cup ragi flour
3/4 cups rawa (semolina)
1 tsp cardamom
A few saffron threads (optional)
3 tbsp fresh ghee
1.5 cups of water

Roast the rawa and ragi in a skillet with 1 tsp of ghee. Once roasted, add the mixture of ground nuts and the remaining ghee. Stir thoroughly and add the cardamom. In a saucepan, heat the water with the jaggery and sugar. Once the water comes to a rolling boil, reduce the heat and continue to boil this sugar syrup until it reduces to about a cup in volume. Add a few saffron threads to the water. Now add the sugar syrup to the skillet and mix the nut/ragi/rawa mixture with the water. The rawa will cook slightly. Continue mixing until the rawa softens in the heat of the water. Let the mixture cool. Mix with your hands and roll into small balls. Place a raisin on each ladoo. These should last for a few days at room temperature (in a steel container) or in the refrigerator (please do not cover them, place them in a plate).

Enjoy!

Ragi Cardamom Cake - Delicious and Oh So Simple!

The image of a cake made with Ragi (Finger Millet) flour can evoke a not so happy response from most people who think of cake as a sweet treat that is either made with lots of chocolate or then, is light and fluffy and has tons of icing on it.

Hello! Cakes can be healthy too, and with the right ingredients, can make a wonderful and delicious afternoon snack. Finger millet or "Ragi" as it is popularly know in the southern states of India, is a highly underutilized grain. It is packed with nutrition and is unfortunately associated by many as a breakfast grain, to be used to make porridge. Actually, it lends itself to baking very well and I have realized that it is a wholesome flour to use to make an eggless cake that is infused with cardamom.

Here is a the recipe. It was devoured very quickly by all at home and this is a recipe that I will get back to again and again. I was inspired by the chocolate cake recipe from Padhu to come up with my own take on the use of Ragi flour.

Dry Ingredients:
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour.
1/2 cup ragi flour (I used the organic flour from 24 Mantra).
1/2 cup dried sweetened coconut.
1/4 cup ground almonds (blanched).
3/4 tsp baking soda.
1 and 1/4 tsp cardamom.
Pinch of salt.
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp of powdered brown sugar (this amount can be varied to suit your sweet tooth).

Wet Ingredients:

1/2 cup full fat yogurt.
1 cup reduced fat milk (infused with saffron).
1/4 cup canola oil

Method:

Take about three table spoons of the milk and warm it in the microwave. Place a few strands of saffron in the milk. The milk should get a lovely yellow color and aroma from the saffron in 15 minutes. Now mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients including the saffron infused milk. Now pour the wet ingredients' mixture in the dry ingredients and use a spatula to form a fluid batter. This is more fluid than most cake batter. Pour the batter in a greased (I use butter), square glass baking pan (8 inch by 8 inch), and bake in a preheated oven (350 F) for about 30 minutes or until done just enough to get a toothpick out clean, when inserted in the cake. This cake is meant to be moist. Cool and cut into desired size pieces. Enjoy with a hot cup of coffee!

Cabbage Salad with Cranberries

Yes, a healthy salad can be tasty. A little imagination can go a long way in sprucing up the not so favorite, but immensely nutritious Cabbage. Fresh cabbage adds a unique crunch to salads while adding fiber and a bunch of essential nutrients like vitamin K,C and A along with plenty of manganese, vitamin B6 and manganese. This recipe us inspired by my grandfather's original contribution to the family dinner table.

To make this salad, you will need:

1/2 a cabbage: finely shredded

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup raisins

1 apple: chopped into bite size pieces

1/2 cup of peanut powder: roasted peanuts ground to a powder using a standard food processor

Salt, pepper and jaggery to taste: you can use golden brown sugar as a fantastic substitute for jaggery

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice: you can add more than this if you like your salad tangy.

In a large mixing bowl combine the cabbage, cranberries and raisins.

Then, add the diced apple, salt, pepper, lemon juice and jaggery. Mix thoroughly.

Finally, add the peanut powder, mix, and let the salad sit to marinate in the lemon juice for about 30 minutes before serving.

ENJOY!

Whole Mung Bean Flour and Almond Meal Ladoos

Just in time for Diwali........

I was looking for a relatively healthy recipe to make an Indian sweet called a "Ladoo" - it is a round ball of cooked flour (chickpea flour, wheat flour) or semolina and powdered coconut. Ghee is a basic ingredient. On a visit to my cousin's sister-in law's house (Swati Deshpande), she offered me these ladoos that she had made with whole mung bean flour. They were delicious and I was hooked. The recipe was immediately handed over to me to try. So here I am sharing it with you. This is not my original recipe. I have tweaked it by reducing the amount of ghee and sugar. To compensate, I increased the amount of reduced fat milk.

Whole mung bean flour is very healthy, and the recipe also called for almond meal. So you have a sweet treat that is packed with calcium, iron and the goodness of almond meal. You can look up the nutritional data on mung bean flour to get a complete list of nutrients.

You will need:

2 cups of mung bean flour.
1/2 cup almond meal.
1.5 cups of sugar (I used Trader Joe's dark brown sugar).
1 cup of ghee.
1/2-3/4 cup reduced fat milk.
1/2 teaspoon of powdered cardamom and nutmeg each (fresh powders of the whole spice work the best).

Preheat a thick bottom pan and add the ghee. It will melt instantly. Note that the pan should be warm enough to melt the ghee and not burn it. Now add the mung bean flour and saute it in the ghee using a wire whisk or a slotted spoon. I prefer to use a silicone spatula. Make sure that the flour is evenly cooked and gives off an earthy fragrance as it cooks. At this point, you are ready to add the other ingredients. I like to slightly brown the flour, it gives the ladoos an amazing flavor. Now add the almond meal and continue roasting the flour. After two to three minutes of roasting the almond meal add the sugar. Let the sugar melt and add the milk immediately. It may bubble. Let it calm down. Mix all the ingredients thoroughly. Now add the spice powders and give one final stir to distribute the spices in the mixture.

Allow the cooked flour mixture to cool down to a temperature that you can handle with your fingers and palms. Mix the flour once more, thoroughly with your hands. No take small amounts of the mixture in your hand and roll into small balls. Place each ball into a small muffin cup.

The ladoos are ready to serve! These ladoos store very well in the fridge for up to two weeks.

ENJOY!

Healthy Wheat Puffs Chivda with Walnuts, Peanuts and Raisins

I often crave for healthy snacks! Between caring for a toddler, managing to do some work and keeping the house running, where is the time to eat! A nutritious snack around 3 pm is all I need to keep me going for the rest of the evening and while sweet snacky ideas abound (I am thinking muffins, cookies and cakes), savory snacks can carry as much a punch. I had puffed wheat cereal in my pantry (Arrowhead Mills brand) and decided to make a wholesome savory dish called "Chivda" with it. Its a crispy, crunchy snack and can be made with many different puffed grains.

I used:

1/2 packet of the wheat puffs lightly roasted in a pan on the stove to make them crisp. This can get tricky, constant stirring of the puffs is recommended to avoid them from getting burnt.
1/2 cup of walnuts.
1/2 cup of dry, roasted peanuts, unsalted.
1/2 cup of raisins.

For the 'tadka', you will need:

1/4 cup canola oil (this can be reduced to about 1/8 cup if you want).
4 dried red chillies.
5 curry leaves.
1 tsp cumin seeds.
1/2 tsp cumin powder.
1/2 tsp coriander powder.
1 tsp fennel seeds.
1/4 tsp asafoetida and turmeric each.
Salt and sugar to taste.

In a large pan, heat the oil and add the cumin seeds, red chillies and curry leaves. When the cumin seeds sputter add the fennel seeds, asafoetida and turmeric. Now, add the cumin and coriander powders. Stir briefly and add the nuts and raisins. Stir the mixture for about a minute, the raisins may swell, but that is perfectly normal. On cooling they will regain their original shape. Finally, add the roasted wheat puffs. Sprinkle salt and sugar to taste. Mix, stir well (at this point turn of the heat on the stove) and allow to cool. Store in a air tight container. This chivda remains fresh for about 10 days. It never really lasts that long in my house. Its gone in about three days!

Easy Dairy Free Orange Almond Cake

I often have requests for cakes that are either dairy free or gluten free. So I decided to make a cake with orange juice and egg whites. The result, a cake that was not too sweet, a perfect accompaniment to afternoon tea or coffee!

You will need:
1 cup of Odwalla orange juice.
Two and a half cups of Trader Joe's Multi-grain Baking mix.
2 tbsp powdered almonds.
1/4 cup cane sugar (brown).
1 tbsp honey.
1 tsp cake spice from Penzeys.
1/3 cup egg whites.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix the flour, almond powder and cake spice in a large bowl. Whip the egg whites and orange juice together, add the honey and sugar, mix thoroughly. Pour this liquid mixture into the dry ingredients, mixing constantly to avoid any lumps. Pour the cake batter in a round cake pan or in an eight inch by eight inch, baking dish. Bake until a toothpick or a fork comes out clean when inserted in the cake. Note that this cake is not very sweet, and has a decidedly spicy flavor to it. Just increase the amount of sugar by another 1/4 cup if you prefer a sweeter version of this cake.

Cool, cut into pieces and serve with Chai or Coffee. Enjoy!

Decadent Pineapple-Coconut-Macadamia Nut Cake

Hello World! Its been so long since I posted a new recipe. I have been very busy with family and it has been a hectic two years. I have been cooking, a lot actually, but with little time to devote to my collection here. Life has now returned to a slightly slower pace so I am back, with more recipes for the vegetarian palate.

I have been baking for quite some time now, and some time ago, a friend of mine mentioned to me that her daughters love to eat cake. Well, which young kid doesn't right? But I needed to whip up something without using eggs. So I decided to bake a cake with pineapple juice, coconut and macadamia nuts, a classic combination in my opinion. The cake came out beautifully and and my friend's kids loved it. We did too, and it was all polished off in a couple of days.

Here are the ingredients:

1 cup - whole wheat pastry flour.
1/4 cup - all purpose flour.
1 can of condensed milk.
1 tsp baking powder.
1/2 tsp baking soda.
1/4 tsp cardamom powder.
1/4 tsp salt.
1/4 cup melted butter.
1/2 cup pure pineapple juice.
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut (I use the one from Bob's Red Mill).
1/4 cup chopped (toasted) macadamia nuts (and walnuts if you like).
Note - all the sugar comes from the sweetened condensed milk for this recipe.

Grease a cake pan with some melted butter and preheat the oven to 350 degree Celsius. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flours, the baking soda, baking powder, cardamom powder, salt and the unsweetened coconut. Mix thoroughly. In a separate bowl, combine the condensed milk, melted butter and pineapple juice. Now, pour this liquid mixture slowly into the mixed dry ingredients and blend together with a spatula. Pour this cake mixture into the cake pan and top off with the macadamia nuts. Bake until cooked, i.e. when a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the baked cake.

Enjoy with some vanilla ice cream if you wish. We ate it straight and it was delicious.

Dried Fruits, Nuts and Seeds - All in a Bread

I have been wanting to bake a bread with dried fruits for a while now. I have this wonderful vegetarian cook book called: Vegetarian: Over 300 Healthy and Wholesome Recipes Chosen from Around the World, that I have been referring to quite often over the past several years. The book is edited by Nicola Graimes and has a wonderful recipe for a fruit and nut bread. I halved the proportions of most of the ingredients from the original recipe in this book (page 496) so that I could make a loaf that would yield biscotti size pieces which would be ideal for an afternoon snack or morning breakfast with a cup of hot tea! The bread is quite nutritious too, see the ingredients below and you'll know why! 

Note: I tend to use less sugar than called for due to the sugar content of the dried fruits.

1 cup pancake and baking mix; I used the multigrain mix from Trader Joe's.
1 egg, beaten.
1/3 cup low fat milk.
1/2 tsp baking powder.
1/8 cup sugar.
1/2 cup chopped raisins.
1/4 cup cranberries.
1/2 cup mixed nuts and seeds (sunflower seeds, pistachios, almonds, walnut pieces).
7 dried figs, chopped.
1/2 tsp Cinnamon powder.
1/4 tsp ground cloves and cardamom powder.
A dash of freshly grated nutmeg.

The oven will need to be preheated to 350 degrees C. Apply a light coating of butter to a bread loaf dish (I use the Anchor Hocking 5 Inch x 9 Inch Glass Loaf Dish). Now mix the baking mix, baking powder, spices, nuts, and seeds in a large bowl. Mix the sugar and dried fruits in a separate bowl. Now, add the beaten egg and milk to the dried fruit and sugar bowl. Stir. Pour this into the large bowl containing the baking mix with the nuts and spices. Mix gently to make sure that the the mixture is homogeneous and has no lumps of flour. I use a spatula for this and make clockwise turns and flip over the spatula after every turn. Spoon the mixture into the prepared loaf dish and bake for about 20 minutes. Use a fork to test whether the loaf is done. It should come out clean when inserted into the loaf. Remove from the oven and cool.

To cut the loaf into biscotti size slices, use a spatula to release the loaf from the sides of the dish and lift the loaf. It lifts pretty easily. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was. Cut  into 1 inch wide slices.

Serve with butter on top! Yummy.....

Ricotta Cheese Cake with an Almond Meal Crust

FOR THE HOLIDAYS - A PERFECT DESSERT

I have been reading up about the health benefits of Ricotta Cheese and while I admit that this cheese is high in saturated fat, a controlled portion can contribute to your daily intake of B-vitamins, selenium, protein and calcium. I came up with this recipe for a cheese cake when I was looking for wholesome and nutritious non-Indian dessert recipes. I used almond meal (from Trader Joe's) to make the crust of the cake. The end product was an immensely satisfying dessert that you can whip up in less than an hour of prep time, about 30-40 minutes of bake time and more importantly, it can be made the day before you entertain family or friends because it stores very well in the refrigerator. Just bring it to room temperature before serving and make the berry sauce fresh! Some of the photographs below are courtesy of my spouse.

Here are the ingredients:

Cheese filling:
1.5 cups Ricotta cheese

1.5 - 2 tbsp all purpose flour

3 egg whites

6 tbsp honey

3-4 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp cinnamon powder
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Crust:

1.5 cups almond meal

1.5 tbsp fresh melted butter

2 tbsp brown molasses sugar

Berry Sauce:
1/2 cup frozen blueberries (strawberries will do to, or you can try a mix of frozen berries)
1/2 - 1 cup water
1 clove
1 small piece of cinnamon bark
1 tbsp brown sugar

To make the crust, brown the almond meal slightly in a pan. To this add the butter and sugar. Mix thoroughly. Once the mixture is cool enough that you can touch the flour, place the mixture in a pre-greased (with very little melted butter) pie dish.



Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Then, in a large bowl, beat the egg whites and add the ricotta cheese. Blend thoroughly. Then sequentially, add the fl our, honey and vanilla extract, blending at each addition. I used a spatula to blend the ingredients. Finally add the spices.

Now, pour this cheese filling onto the pie crust and bake at 350 F for about 30 minutes or until when a fork, when inserted into the cheese filling comes out clean.

In the mean time, make the berry sauce by combining all the ingredients in a sauce pan and cooking the berries un til they are soft (but nor squishy!). Make sure you have some liquid in the sauce pan, it can be handy for decoration.

Serve a piece of the cheese cake in a serving dish and decorate with the berry sauce.

ENJOY!