Watermelon-Banana Juice

This juice is extremely simple to make and loaded with nutrients. I'm not a big watermelon fan and have always avoided it as a kid. But I started liking the juice better the fruit itself. This time I added a banana to give watermelon little more flavor.

Ingredients:
Watermelon cubes – 3 cups
Banana – 2, ripe
Lemon juice – 1
Sugar – 3 tsp (optional)

Method: Put all the ingredients in a blender and just blend till everything looks well mixed. Serve cold.

Green Tomato Pachadi

Uragaya or pickle, pachadi or chutney find a special place on any Andhraiite plate. It is a tradition in many families to have some kind of a pickle or chutney for almost every meal. It is not an exaggeration to say that a meal is not complete with either of above for these pickle aficionados.

Basic difference between a pickle and a chutney is the shelf life: pickles can be stored at room temperature for almost a year whereas chutneys are generally consumed within a day or two of making. Also pickles use raw veggies, more salt and oil for preservation purposes, while chutneys can be more "figure friendly". Pickles generally need almost 3-4 days marination before tasting, chutneys can be eaten right away.

There is another class in between pickle and chutney, also called pachadi for lack of another word. These resemble pickles because they use raw veggies and lot more chili powder and salt compared to chutneys. Easy to make, can be eaten after 1 day marination and last up to a month in the refrigerator or at room temperature (with enough salt).
The idea to make Tomato pachadi in Dosa avakai style (Cucumber pickle, a very famous Andhra pachadi) came from my mom. She tasted it recently at one of our relatives place and was very impressed with the new idea that she passed it onto me. I decided to use Green tomatoes or Tomatillos instead of the red ones. The reason being tomatillos have a more tart flavor and are crisper than regular tomatoes.

(Picture courtesy Gourmet Sleuth)

Ingredients:
Tomatillos - 4 medium
Red chili powder - 2 tbsp
Mustard powder - 2 tbsp
Salt - 2 tbsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Vinegar (Lemon juice)- 1 tsp
Method:

• Remove the outer papery skin around the tomatillos and rinse them thoroughly. They tend to be sticky, so make sure to thoroughly clean them. Dry them completely, before finely dicing them.
• In a clean, dry dish, add chili powder, mustard powder (grind mustard seeds in the spice grinder or blender) and salt. Mix well.
• Add vinegar, tomato pieces and oil (you can use any oil sesame seed oil, vegetable, canola etc.). Mix well with a clean, dry spoon.
• Let it sit for atleast 1 whole day and enjoy the spicy pachadi with plain rice and dal.
  

You can find Dosa avakai recipe from Sailu's Kitchen here.
I made the pickle in a steel dish and I transfered into a sterile glass bottle after 1 day. Vinegar is added to keep veggie pieces crisp longer (Mom's tip) and also for that extra zing (my tip :0)
This is my entry to Pooja's Vegetable of the Week series, over at Creative Ideas.

Ratatouille: WCC - Stew

As I was looking for a “Stew recipe” for this month’s Weekend Cookbook Challenge (WCC), I saw this colorful, full of veggies stew in my “Best Ever Vegetarian Cookbook” (edited by Nicola Graimes). Name of the dish sounded a little funny, Ratatouille, so I decided to do a little digging and this is what I found out from wikipedia.

The name of the dish appears to have derived from the French verb touiller, to stir, although the root of the first element "rat-" is a slang from the French Army meaning chunky stew. The word ratatouille has also come to be used in non-culinary contexts in English to refer to a (generally colourful) mixture of any kind. Ratatouille is a traditional French Provençal stewed vegetable dish which can be served as a meal on its own (accompanied by rice, potatoes, or simply French bread), or as a side dish.
There is a also a animated movie being made with the same name. More info and story here.

Ingredients:
Eggplant – 1, roughly chopped
Zucchini – 2, roughly chopped
Onions – 2, sliced
Green pepper – 1, chopped
Red pepper – 1, chopped
Chopped tomatoes – 1 15 oz. can
Garlic cloves – 2
Red pepper flakes – 1 tsp (or to taste)
Fresh thyme – 1 sprig (I used dried thyme)
Fresh rosemary – 1 sprig (I used dried)
Coriander seeds – 1 tsp, crushed
Basil leaves - 8, torn
Salt & Pepper – to taste

Method:

• Sprinkle eggplant and zucchini pieces with salt, then put them in a colander with a plate and a weight on top to extract the bitter juices. Leave for about 30 minutes.
  
• Heat 4tbsp olive oil (recipe called for 2/3 cups oil, I reduced it to 4tbsp, you may want to use even less oil) in a large saucepan, saute onions for 6-7 minutes or until just softened, add garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
• Rinse the eggplant and zucchini pieces and pat dry with a clean dish towel. Add these to the pan along with the peppers, increase the heat and saute until the peppers are just turning brown, about 8-10 minutes.
• Add the herbs and coriander seeds, cover and cook gently for about 20-30 minutes.
  
• Add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Cook gently for a further 10 minutes, until the veggies are soft but not mushy.
• Remove the sprigs of rosemary and thyme herbs. Stir in the torn basil leaves and check the seasoning. Leave to cool slightly and serve warm or cold.

This recipe is adapted from The Greatest Ever Vegetarian Cookbook, Edited by Nicola Graimes.

Red Lentil & Coconut Soup

This month's JFI is hosted by lovely Ashwini at Food for Thought and has thought of a very interesting ingredient - Coconut. To be honest, I don't use a lot of fresh coconut in my cooking. This is mainly because of lack of coconut breaking skills or special gadgets. I remember the very first time I bought a coconut, we went into a corner in our apartment parking lot for an undisturbed breaking ritual. For some reason, I feel all the surfaces in my apartment are too fragile for breaking the big nut.

I use grated coconut in most of the dishes and for recipes that call for fresh coconut, I usually soak the same in small amount of warm water for about 15-20 minutes. This soaked coconut tastes almost fresh.

My entry for this month's Jihva for Ingredients is a Spiced Red Lentil and Coconut Soup. This recipe is from my "The Greatest ever Vegetarian Cookbook", edited by Nicola Graimes. This soup is very hearty and a meal in itself (with chunks of warmed naan bread or thick slices of toast).
Ingredients:

• Red Onions - 2, finely chopped
• Jalapeño chili - 1, seeded and finely sliced
• Garlic cloves - 2, chopped
• Lemon grass - 1" piece, finely sliced
• Red Lentils - 1 cup, rinsed
• Ground Coriander - 1 tsp
• Paprika - 1 tsp
• Coconut milk - 1 16 oz. can
• Lime - 1
• Spring onions - 3, chopped
• Cilantro - 1 cup, finely chopped
• Salt and Pepper - to taste

Method:

• Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large pan and add the onions, chili, garlic and lemon grass. Cook for 5 minutes or until the onions have softened, stirring occasionally.
• Add the lentils and spices. Pour in the coconut milk and 900ml (3 3/4 cups) water, and stir. Bring to the boil, stir, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the lentils are soft and mushy.
• Pour in the lime juice and add the spring onions and fresh coriander, reserving a little of each for the garnish. Season, then ladle into bowls. Garnish with the reserved spring onions and coriander.

This recipe is adapted from The Greatest Ever Vegetarian Cookbook, Edited by Nicola Graimes.