Palak Thepla

For the last day of our week long blogging marathon, Valli paired us with a fellow marathoner and we have to choose a dish that fits our theme from their blog. I got paired with Jayashree @ Luvgoodfood and I found this healthy & delicious Methi theplas that are just perfect as picnic food. They are filling, nutritious and easy to pack AND eat.

I didn’t have enough methi in my container garden, but I had a bunch of spinach that was waiting to be used up, so I made palak/ spinach theplas instead. I changed the recipe a little bit because I was short of time and increased the ingredients. These were an instant hit at home and most of them were eaten before I took my pictures. I had one and half theplas left that I had to use for the pictures.

Ingredients:
Wheat flour – 3 cups
Besan (Chickpea flour) – ¾ cup (I used kala chana besan)
Spinach – 3 cups, finely chopped
Yogurt – 1 cup
Red chili powder – 1 tsp
Cumin powder – 1tsp
Salt – to taste

Method:

• Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl. Add warm water if needed to make a smooth and pliable dough. Cover with damp kitchen towel and let it rest for at least 30 – 45 minutes.
• Divide the dough into lemon size balls and roll them into slightly thick rotis.
• Cook on preheated griddle until brown spots are formed on both sides. Smear some oil or ghee if desired. Serve hot with yogurt or pickle of choice.

Big thanks to Jay for a delicious recipe. Thanks to Valli for organizing the Marathon and looking forward to the next edition.

Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have been cooking up for the last day of BM#6.

Curried Brown Rice Salad

After indulging in some chocolate cupcakes & creamy egg salad, today I have a healthy brown rice salad that is perfect for picnics or make-ahead lunches. Recipe is from here. I followed the recipe to the T and the end result was a super hit at home. Slight sweetness from the dressing is complimented very well by the raisins and the addition of toasted almonds gives the required crunch to the salad. A must try for all salad lovers and also for those you are not into green salads (just like me).

I soak brown rice before I leave for work and cook it after I come back in the evening; I found that the rice has a better texture this way.

Ingredients:
Brown Rice – 1 cup (I used brown basmati)
Red onion – ½ cup, finely chopped
Red pepper – ½ cup, finely diced
Chickpeas – 1 cup (½ of a 15 oz. can), rinsed and drained
Cilantro – ¼ cup, finely chopped
Raisins – ¼ cup
Sliced Almonds – 2tbsp, toasted

For the dressing:
Lime juice – 3tbsp (from one medium sized lime)
Agave nectar – 2tbsp (original recipe used honey)
Extra virgin olive oil – 2tbsp
Curry powder – 2tsp (I used MTR brand curry powder)
Salt & Pepper – to taste

Method:

• Cook brown rice and set aside in a wide bowl to cool. (I use 1:2 rice:water ratio-bring the mixture to a boil and simmer covered for 25-30minutes until all the water is absorbed and rice is completely cooked).
• Add all the other ingredients for the salad except for the toasted almonds to the rice and mix gently to combine. In a small bowl, whisk all the ingredients listed under dressing.
• Pour the dressing over the rice and mix gently, taking care not to mush the grains. Garnish with toasted almonds and serve either at room temperature or chilled.

Let’s check what my fellow marathoners have been cooking up for Day 6 of BM#6 (Can’t believe we are almost at the end of the marathon—time just flies!!).

Egg salad with Caramelized Onions

Cole slaws, potato salads & egg salads are not highly preferred dishes for picnics since these are mayonnaise based and at higher temperatures mayo tends to go bad. But I could not stop myself from making this dish, since I love egg salad and caramelized onions and I was sure the combination of both would be delicious. I wasn't wrong; the end result was creamy, yummy and irresistible. You could serve it as is or with bread, wrapped or sandwiched. I enjoyed it with bread as a late afternoon snack with whole-wheat bread.

Recipe adapted from Vegetarian Times magazine.
Ingredients:
Eggs – 4, boiled, cooled and peeled
Onions – 2 medium, thinly sliced
Garlic – 1 clove, finely minced
Dried thyme – ½tsp
Mayonnaise – 2-3tbsp
Dijon mustard – 1tsp
Hot sauce – ½tsp (or more if you are adventurous)
Salt & Pepper – to taste

Method:

• Heat 1tbsp oil in a medium sauté pan; add chopped onions and cook on low flame, stirring occasionally until onions are nicely browned (not burned) and caramelized, takes about 15-20 minutes.
• Add the minced garlic and thyme; cook for couple of minutes. Season the onions with salt and pepper. If the onions start to stick to the pan, add a couple of tablespoons of water and scrape up the brown bits. Once completely cooked, set the onions aside until cooled.
• Cube the boiled eggs.
• Add cooled caramelized onions, mayo, mustard, hot sauce, salt and pepper to the eggs and mix gently to incorporate.

That’s it the dish is ready to serve or take-along. Make sure that egg salad is kept as cool as possible or eat it as soon as you can (just like I did, right after making it ;-))

Let’s check out what my fellow marathoners have been cooking up for Day 5 of BM#6.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Oreo Frosting

For Day 4 of the Blogging marathon, I have these sweet little cupcakes that I made for our picnic last weekend. These are rich chocolaty cupcakes with some oreo cookie frosting. I know I had to make these cupcakes when I saw the drool-worthy pictures on Kirbie's cravings blog. I was very excited when my host told me later that the kids really enjoyed these cupcakes with the frosting ending up on all their faces. :-)

I wanted to pipe the frosting neatly on the cupcakes, but as luck has it, I didn't have any heavy cream in the fridge and by the time I ran to the store and bought, we were almost ready to go to the picnic. So I ended up smearing the frosting on the cupcakes. So make sure you have enough time to frost the cupcakes beautifully like Kirby did.

Here's how I made these:

Ingredients:

Bread flour - ¾cup

Unsweetened chocolate - 3 oz. chopped

Dutch processed cocoa - 1/3 cup

Hot, strong-brewed coffee - ¾cup (or use ¾cup of hot water instead, but using coffee is advisable since brings out the chocolate flavor better)

Sugar - ¾ cup

Salt - ½tsp

Baking Soda - ½tsp

Vegetable oil - 6tbsp

Eggs - 2 large

Vanilla extract - 1tsp

White Vinegar - 2tsp

For the Frosting:

Heavy cream - small ½ pint carton, about 250 ml

Confectioners sugar - 3-4tbsp

Oreo cookies - 6

Vanilla extract - 1tsp

Oreo Cookies - 12, for topping

Method:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line the muffin baking tin with paper liners.
  
• In a large mixing bowl, add chopped chocolate and cocoa. Pour the hot coffee/ water and mix well until smooth. Set aside to cool completely or refrigerate to cool. I set it aside for about 15-20 minutes on the counter.
• In the meantime get all the other ingredients together for the cake batter. Whisk bread flour, salt, sugar and baking soda in a medium bowl and set aside.
• In a measuring cup, whisk together oil, eggs and vanilla. Pour this mixture on to the cooled chocolate and mix well.
• Finally add the flour mixture to the chocolate mixture and mix well until smooth.
• Divide the batter evenly in the prepared muffin pan, pouring to about ¾ full.
• Bake for 17 - 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out only with very few crumbs.
• Remove from the muffin pan after 5 minutes and cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.
• For the frosting: Blend the oreo cookies in a food processor into very fine powder, make sure that there are no pieces visible. Whip the heavy cream with confectioners sugar in a stand mixer with whip attachment or with a hand mixer until stiff peaks form.
• Add vanilla and the oreo cookie powder, mix very gently to incorporate.
• Put the frosting in a piping bag with a decorative tip and pipe on to the cupcakes (or if you are like me just smear using a spatula or bread knife).
• Decorate with extra oreo cookies on top.

Notes: Make sure that these cupcakes are kept as cold as possible in the picnic. Since the frosting is made of cream, under the sun frosting can easily melt.

Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have been cooking up for Day 4 of our BM#6.

Pulihora & Daddojanam (Tamarind Rice & Curd Rice)

After posting two American sandwiches as picnic food, today I have two South Indian dishes that are great make-ahead meals and perfect picnic food. I remember my mom making these for our school picnics and we would be happy campers eating them on site.

Tamarind rice is perfect for picnics since the flavor gets time to meld and the more time the rice has a chance to absorb all the tangy & spicy flavors the better it tastes. Curd rice, if made with half yogurt & half milk, tastes sweet and not sour at all. All in all both these dishes are really close to heart and bring a ton of memories associated with picnics.

Tamarind Rice

Ingredients:

Rice - 2 cups (I use sona masoori rice)

Tamarind - ¼cup

Peanuts - 3tbsp

Chana dal - 2tbsp

Urad dal - 2tbsp

Mustard seeds - 2tsp

Dry red chilies - 4, broken

Hing - 1/8tsp

Curry leaves - 8-10

Turmeric - 1/8tsp

Green chilies - 4

Ginger - 2tbsp (optional)

Salt - to taste

Method:

• Cook rice so that each grain is separate. Remove in a large, wide bowl to cool. Add a pinch of turmeric and salt, mix gently and set aside.
• Add 1 cup of hot water to tamarind and set aside until tamarind is soft. Squeeze and remove the stringy matter and keep the pulp to the side.
• Add 2tbsp oil in a medium pan, add peanuts and fry them on medium flame, stirring constantly until reddish and nicely fried on all sides. Keep aside.
• Add 1tbsp more oil to the same pan, add the dals and fry until they turn golden, next add mustard seeds and once the seeds start to splutter, add dry red chilies and hing.
• Once the red chilies turn slightly darker, add green chilies, curry leaves and ginger (if using). As soon as the mixture starts to smell fragrant, return the fried peanuts to the pan. Next slowly pour in the tamarind pulp.
• Lower the heat and simmer the mixture until thickened, takes about 8-10 minutes.
• Add the cooked tamarind mixture to the rice, season with salt; mix well, be gentle. Take care not to break the grains.

Cover and let the rice sit for at least 30 minutes to an hour before serving.

Notes: If you think the rice is not sour/ tangy enough, add some lemon juice. No one would even know that the sourness is coming from lemon.

Curd Rice

Ingredients:

Rice - 1cup

Yogurt - ¾cup

Milk - ½cup (or more if necessary)

Green chilies - 2, slit

Ginger - 1" piece, finely grated

Carrot -3tbsp, grated

Salt - to taste

For tempering:

Chana dal - 1tsp

Urad dal - 1tsp

Mustard seeds - 1tsp

Hing - a pinch

Dry red chili -1, broken

Curry leaves - 6-8

Turmeric - a pinch

Salt - to taste

Method:

• Mash rice a little bit, add turmeric, salt, yogurt and milk. Set aside.
• Heat 1tsp oil in a small sauce pan, add chana and urad dals and once they turn golden, add mustard seeds. Add dry red chili and hing once the seeds start to splutter. Next add ginger, green chilies and curry leaves. Fry until it starts to smell fragrant.
• Add the tempering to the rice mixture. Mix well. Check the seasonings and garnish with grated carrot.

Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Notes: If the rice soaks up all the yogurt and milk and seems dry, add some milk to make it more soupy.

Now lets see what my fellow marathoners have been cooking up for Day 3 of BM#6.

Roasted Veggie Sandwich

Here's another great picnic food that is colorful, filling and extremely easy to make. Sandwiches are perfect picnic food as they don't require the use of any cutlery and most don't have to be refrigerated. This is a pressed sandwich that can be made at least 4 hours or even the night before the picnic, giving you time to get other things ready for the picnic.

The choice of veggies used in the sandwich is endless, any roasted, grilled or blanched veggie can be used in the filling. I used eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash and roasted peppers, but mushrooms, blanched asparagus or green beans etc. taste awesome too. I saw a recipe in Vegetarian Times that had boiled eggs, so feel free add some protein to your sandwich but make sure that you have a good cooler to keep the sandwich chilled.

Any crusty bread like french baguette or ciabatta can be used. Pressing the sandwich lets the crusty bread soak up the juices from the roasted vegetable juices and the make them super delicious by the time you get to the picnic.

Ingredients:

Crusty bread - 1 loaf (12" long)

Eggplant - 1 small, cut into ¼" slices

Zucchini - 1 medium, cut into ¼" slices

Yellow Squash - 1 medium, cut into ¼" slices

Roasted Peppers - 3-4, drained (Or roast 1 large red pepper chopped along with the other veggies)

Cheese - 4-5 slices (I used vegetable jack cheese, but mozzarella/ pepper jack or monterey jack can also be used)

Salt & Pepper - to taste

Balsamic Vinegar - 2tsp

Olive oil - 2tsp

For the pesto:

Basil leaves - 2 cups packed

Pine nuts - 3tbsp, lightly roasted

Garlic - 2 cloves, crushed

Extra virgin olive oil - 3tbsp (or more to make a smooth paste)

Salt & Pepper - to taste

Method:

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with foil and place the chopped veggies. Spray with cooking spray and season the veggies with salt & pepper. Roast for 18-20 minutes or until browned around the edges and they turn tender.
• Place all the ingredients for the pesto in a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Keep aside.
• Cut the bread in half and hollow inside to make room for the vegetables.
• Spread both sides with the pesto, arrange the vegetables on the pesto and pour the balsamic vinegar and olive oil on the veggies.
• Place the cheese slices on the veggies. Close the sandwich and wrap tightly with a plastic wrap.
• Put the sandwich on a plate and put some weight on it and refrigerate for at least 4 hour or up to 12 hours.

Enjoy with some baked chips for a delicious picnic meal.

Lets see what my fellow marathoners have cooked up for Day 2 of BM# 6.

Update 6.30.11: Sending these wraps over to Valli's Sandwich Mela.

Vegetarian Wrap Sandwiches for Picnic

Time for another Blogging Marathon, BM# 6, and I’m part of group 2 that’s starting the marathon today with 19 fellow bloggers. Big thanks to Valli for organizing this edition. I’m super excited about this edition since I’ve taken “Picnic Food” as my theme. Picnics are so much fun, good time with friends & family and lots of good food.

We recently had a Father’s day picnic in a park close to where we live and we enjoyed it a LOT. Our dear host is an excellent organizer and we had everything from food to games all pre-planned and everybody had loads of fun.

Summer is already here in our neck of woods and what’s more perfect than having a picnic to enjoy the lovely summer weather. But while planning the food for a picnic, there are certain things to remember: do you have a cooler to keep the food chilled – if not then items that have eggs/ meat/ dairy etc. are NOT advisable to make. Do you plan to take silverware? If not then don’t make rice/ salads etc. that need spoons and forks to serve. Will the picnic spot have at least tables (if not chairs)? If not then don’t make anything elaborate to serve like a make yourself salad or rice and side dishes to go with it, portable sandwiches are perfect in this situation. So bottom line is do some research of the picnic area you will be visiting and carry food accordingly. Don’t forget to have lots of fun.

So for the next 7 days I’ll be posting recipes that are appropriate for picnics. Today I have these wraps that I made for our recent picnic. I made two fillings: Palak- Chole (Spinach-chickpea) & Teriyaki tofu. I took the spinach-chickpea filling idea from Nupur’s recipe here. Teriyaki tofu recipe is from Sala’s recipe here.

Here’s how I made the wraps:

Ingredients:
Tortillas – 12 (I used spinach and roasted garlic flavored)

Cabbage - 1 cup, finely grated

Lemon juice - 2 tbsp

Broccoli slaw - 1 cup (this is packaged grated broccoli, carrots and red cabbage)

Jasmine rice - 1 cup, cooked

For Spinach – chickpea filling:
Chickpeas – 1 cup
Onion – 2 medium, finely chopped
Spinach – ½ bag of frozen chopped spinach (or 4-5 cups of fresh spinach)
Tomato puree – ¼ cup
Ginger+garlic paste – ½ tsp
Chana masala – ½ tsp
Red chili powder – 1 tsp
Turmeric – pinch
Salt – to taste

Method:

• Soak chickpeas in lots of water for at least 6 hours and pressure cook until soft. Keep aside.
• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a sauté pan, add ½ tsp cumin seeds and once the seeds start to splutter add onions and sauté until lightly browned around the edges.
• Add g+g paste and turmeric, cook for a minute. Add thawed spinach and tomato puree, cook until spinach is cooked and tomatoes don’t smell raw, about 5-6 minutes.
• Next add channa masala, red chili powder, salt; mix well.
• Add the cooked chickpeas and cook until the heated through and the curry is almost dry.
• Check the seasonings and adjust accordingly.

For teriyaki tofu:

Ingredients:

Extra firm tofu – 1 15 oz. package

Soy sauce – ½ cup

Mirin – ¼ cup

Brown Sugar – ¼ cup

Rice vinegar – ¼ cup

Fresh ginger – 2tbsp, grated

Method:

• Drain and press tofu for at leave an hour to remove all the extra moisture. See here for Sala’s excellent pictorial on how to press tofu.
• Once ready, cut them into 1" long pieces and sauté until lightly browned on all sides.
• In the meantime make the teriyaki sauce: bring rest of the ingredients to a gentle boil in a small non stick sauce pan. Simmer for couple of minutes or until sugar is dissolved and thickens a little bit.
• When the tofu pieces are evenly browned on all sides, pour in the teriyaki sauce and let the mixture bubble and thicken on low flame for 2-3 minutes. Turn the tofu pieces around to coat with the sauce. Turn off the heat and keep the tofu ready for making the wraps.

Assembling the wraps:

• Microwave the tortillas for 25-30 seconds to make them pliable.
• Spinach-Chickpea wrap: Mix grated cabbage with some lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Place 2-3 tbsp spinach-chickpea curry filling and some cabbage mixture on the bottom half of the tortilla and fold the ends over the filling and roll and wrap to make the sandwich.
• Teriyaki Tofu Wrap: Mix broccoli slaw with some lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Place 2-3 tbsp jasmine rice, lay 3-4 tofu pieces and some broccoli slaw on the rice, fold, roll and wrap to make the sandwich.
• Cut the wraps in half for easy handling.

Notes: Choice of fillings for the wraps is endless, just make sure that fillings don't make the wraps soggy. ortillas can be easily substituted with rotis/ chapathis for a kathi roll kind of wraps. These wraps can stay out for may be 4-6 hours and should be refrigerated after that.

Lets check out what my fellow marathoners are cooking for Day 1 of Blogging Marathon 6.

Update 6.30.11: Sending these wraps over to Valli's Sandwich Mela.

Quick & Easy Egg Curry

I am an EGG lover and so is my son and hubby. If it is left to my son and DH, they can eat eggs everyday and never complain. I make egg-fried rice for my son at least once a week if not more. With that kind of egg loving, I couldn’t pass up on this easy egg curry dish from Madhur Jaffrey’s cookbook, “At Home with Madhur Jaffrey”.

Indian curries/ gravies usually need a lot of prep work and cook time, but this curry the gravy/ sauce is made in the blender and then cooked, which cuts down on the prep & cook time significantly. A great dish for impromptu egg-loving guests.

Ingredients:
Eggs – 6, boiled and peeled
Yogurt – ¼ cup
Tomatoes – 4, coarsely chopped (or use 1 cup tomato puree)
Ginger – 1” piece
Besan (Chickpea flour) – 3tbsp
Curry powder – 2tsp (or more to taste) (I used MTR brand curry powder)
Salt – to taste

For tempering:
Cumin seeds – ½ tsp
Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
Fennel seeds – ¼ tsp

Method:

• Blend yogurt, tomatoes, ginger, besan, curry powder and salt along with 1 cup of water to form a smooth sauce.
• Heat 2tbsp oil in a large sauté pan, add the tempering ingredients and once the seeds start to splutter, take the pan off the heat and add 1 cup of water and the curry sauce.
• Put the pan back on heat and bring the sauce to a simmer on medium heat. Reduce the flame to very low, cover and gently simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add the boiled eggs and cook until heated through. Serve with rice.

Khara Biscuit for ICC-May

For this month’s Indian Cooking Challenge (ICC), Srivalli wanted us to make an Indian baked goodie. We are using Champa’s Khara biscuit recipe that makes savory, melt in your mouth cookies that are a snap to make.

This is the first time ever we baked for ICC and I was really excited about the challenge, since I’ve never made savory cookies before. The recipe also requires very few ingredients and needs less than 30 minutes of hands on time.

Even though the recipe is simple enough to make, I had to get some help to make these yummy goodies. My 3 year old had a blast making (messing up) the cookies. Here’s how I made them.

Champa's Original recipe here.

Ingredients:
All purpose flour – 2 cups
Butter – 1/3 cup, softened
Yogurt – 4tbsp (original recipe had only 2-3 tbsp, but I added a little more than 4tbsp to get the correct consistency of the dough)
Sugar – 4tsp
Salt – 1tsp
Pepper – 2tsp
Cilantro – 2tbsp, finely chopped

Method:

• Preheat oven to 325°F. Cover 2 baking sheets with parchment papers and set aside.
• Whisk flour, salt and pepper in a small bowl and set aside.
• Cream butter and sugar in a medium bowl, until light and fluffy. Add 2tbsp yogurt and continue to beat.
• Next add flour mixture and beat slowly. The mixture was pretty dry, so I used my hands to incorporate all the ingredients and added an additional 2tbsp of yogurt to make a smooth, non-sticky dough. Add chopped cilantro and work it into the dough.
• Roll the dough into ¼” thickness.
• Use cookie cutter or bottle lids to cut the cookies. Place them on the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake for 18-20 minutes.

Enjoy with a cup of tea (You can tell from my half filled cup that I'm not a tea drinker :-) . We usually serve a sweet (dessert) with a hot (savory) when serving tea, so I made Champa's Ricotta coconut fudge. The only modification I made to the recipe is that I added 1 cup of coconut powder along with 1 cup of roasted ground cashews, this is one quick and easy dessert that can whipped up in no time. Thanks to Champa for both the recipes and thanks to Valli for choosing this savory snack for ICC.

Quinoa Upma

Quinoa is such a versatile grain, just like rice, but nutritionally way better than rice. I love the way quinoa swells up with the distinct white ring and the kernel turning transparent – it’s just beautiful. I also like the slightly nutty bite and taste that the cooked grains have. I use quinoa pretty much like rice and make pilafs or even pulihora with it.

When I saw this recipe for Quinoa upma in India Cookbook by Pushpesh Pant, I wanted to try it right away. I don’t know if it happens to you too but sometimes when I see a recipe I can just feel it is going to be yummy and sometimes I know right away that a recipe will not work just by reading. But there are sometimes when I think it is going to turn out awesome, the end result just lets your intuition down. Well I’m happy to report that this recipe definitely falls in the first category and the end result was truly delicious.

Ingredients (makes just about 2 servings**):
Quinoa – 2/3 cup

Dry Red chili - 1

Mustard seeds - 1tsp

Curry leaves - 20

Onion - 1 large, finely chopped

Green chili - 1, slit vertically

Ginger - ½" piece, finely grated
Tomato - 1, coarsely chopped

Red chili powder - ¼tsp (or to taste)
Cilantro - 1tbsp, finely chopped

Sugar - ½tsp

Salt - to taste

Lemon juice - 1tbsp

Method:

• Soak quinoa for 15 minutes. Then drain and rinse with cold water. Add quinoa and 1¼ cups of water to a heavy-bottom pan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer covered for about 18-20 minutes or until the grains are cooked and the characteristic white ring around the kernel is formed.
• Heat tbsp oil in a sauté pan over medium heat, add the dry red chili and mustard seeds and once the seeds start to splutter, add the curry leaves and fry till they are nice and crisp.
• Add the onions and cook until they start to turn golden, about 6-8 minutes. Next add the green chili and ginger and stir for 1 minute.
• Add the chopped tomato, salt and red chili powder and cook until tomatoes turn mushy and the mixture starts to dry out.
• Add the cooked quinoa and cook until heated through.
• Finish with sugar, sprinkling of cilantro and lemon juice. Mix well and serve hot.

** I say about 2 servings because this upma filled only 1½ lunch boxes for my husband and me and I ended up taking something else for lunch. So the recipe will probably make 2 servings if eating with other dishes, otherwise increase the proportions accordingly.