Spring Vegetable Risotto

Blogging Marathon# 64: Week 2/ Day 1
Theme: Cook from 1 European Cuisine -- Italian

Dish: Spring Vegetable Risotto

We are on to our second week of blogging marathon today and my theme for this week is to 'Cook from 1 European Country' and I picked Italian cuisine. When I think of Italian food, pizza and pasta are the first to come to mind. But there is so much more to the world of Italian cooking. The many regions in Italy have distinctive cuisines based on the local ingredients available, cooking styles and eating habits.

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For the first day, I have this Spring Vegetable risotto. Risotto is a north Italian rice dish that is cooked in broth to a creamy consistency. Arborio, Carnaroli etc are the principal varieties of rice used to risotto. These are high in starch, round medium or short grained white rice -- they have the ability to absorb liquids and release starch, so they are stickier than the long grain varieties.

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Ghugni (Bengali Street food with Dried Peas)

BM# 63: Journey through the Cuisines 
Week 1: Bengali Cuisine
Day 7: G for Ghugni
Today I have a very popular street food from Bengal, called Ghugni. It is also quite popular in Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa too. I've made the Jharkhand version for one of the earlier mega marathons. There it is served with dhuska or a lentil based flatbread.

Bengali version is almost similar to that of Jharkhand except it's made with white peas instead of black chickpeas. Read Sandeepa's post to learn more about Ghugni and how it is an integral part of Bengali food. It is like Chole to the North Indians.

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Green Quinoa Salad with Peas and Avocado

After a week of Indian dishes, here's a healthy Quinoa salad with peas, avocado and lots of herbs. I like to make this kind of simple dishes when I'm cooking for myself -- everything goes into 1 bowl, mix and eat -- that's it, no fuss, no mess.

This recipe is from Vegetarian Times magazine and I made it as soon as I saw the recipe. It is definitely going to be in rotation in my home going forward.

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Cuban Style Yellow Rice (Vegan recipe)

The second Cuban dish I made for #Food of the World challenge is this quick, simple and delicious Cuban style Yellow rice. Recipe is from All recipes and it needs just a few ingredients.

Rice gets its yellow color from annatto seed powder and paprika. Annatto is an orange-red condiment and food coloring derived from the seeds of the achiote tree. It imparts a yellow or orange color to foods and is also used to give flavor and aroma to dishes.

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Fresh Green Peas & Carrot Curry with Coconut

Blogging Marathon# 52: Week 2/ Day 2

Theme: Seasonal Veggies & Fruits

Dish: Green Peas & Carrot Curry

Fresh green peas in the pod are something I look forward to buy in Spring. They are super sweet and delicious. Even though peeling them is time consuming, I think well worth every minute for these little jewels.
I add these fresh peas in simple ghee rice, or jeera rice. I don't like to add too many spices and overpower the taste of the peas, so I usually keep the dish very simple.

Today's dish is a dry curry with sweet green peas, carrots and some grated coconut. This is a very quick and easy dish that gets done in a jiffy. Fresh green peas hardly take any time to cook and if diced small, carrots don't take too long either.

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Vegetarian Lebanese Stew with Peas and Rice (Bazelle with Riz) for #Food of the World

For this month's Food of the World event, we are going to Lebanon. While browsing through the internet for vegetarian Lebanese dishes, I landed on this page with a ton of recipes to choose from. I finally narrowed the whole list down to about 10 dishes, but more than half of them were desserts and I had to resist the temptation of making those rich and creamy desserts. I have them bookmarked and will pace them out and try them in the future.

At the end, I made this vegetarian version of Lebanese Stew with Peas. Traditionally this dish is made with beef or lamb mince. I used soy granules/ TVP instead. The highlight of the dish is the Baharat spice blend that is added to the stew. It is a mix of ground spices and it adds a nice warmth and lot of flavor to the dish.

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Methi Matar Masala Curry

Blogging Marathon# 50: Week 2/ Day 1

Theme: Methi Dishes

Dish: Methi Matar Masala Curry

We are starting our second week of blogging marathon today and my theme for this week is 'Methi dishes'. I like methi quite a bit -- what I don't like about it is that it takes (almost) forever to take the leaves out, especially the store bought bunches which have tougher stems. I grow my own methi in summer and try to pluck them out when they are still young, so the whole plant can be used in cooking.

Other than that the cleaning part I have no issues with methi, I like it's slightly bitter taste while I know some people who stay away from it because it's bitter. So for the next 3 days, I tried to use methi in 3 interesting dishes that are both easy to make and taste delicious too.

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Uttar Pradesh -- Nimona (Green Pea & Potato Curry)

Blogging Marathon# 39 - Indian States: Day 28
State: Uttar Pradesh
Dish: Nimona (Green Peas & Potato Curry)

We are almost at the home stretch now, only 2 more days to go and we will be done with our month long marathon exploring the Indian States. Today we are going to Uttar Pradesh or UP for short, located in northern India. UP was home to powerful empires of ancient and medieval India, including Magadha, Gupta, Mughal and Nawabs of Awadh.
UP is a very touristy place with a number of historical, natural and religious tourist destinations. We visited UP twice and visited Agra (home of Taj Mahal), Mathura (birth place of Lord Krishna) and Fatehpur Sikhri. Though it has been more than 20 years, I still remember the beautiful sites.
Cuisine: Awadhi and Mughlai are the two major cuisines in UP and the cooking style in the state is similar to that of rest of Northern India. The cuisine consists of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. Uttar Pradesh has been greatly influenced by the Mughal cooking techniques. Awadhi cuisine is similar to that of Kashmir and Punjab.
UP, especially Lucknow, is famous for Nawabi foods and use of rich spices, paneer and meats. Kebabs, dum biryani are some of the famous dishes. Chaat, samosa and pakora are some popular snacks in all of India, that are originally from Uttar Pradesh.
Wheat is the staple food of the state and breads are very significant. Breads are made of different types of flour and can be made in several different ways. Some popular breads are tandoori naan, kulcha, taftan, sheermal, lachha paratha.

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Maharashtra -- Vada Pav (famous Street food from Mumbai)

Blogging Marathon# 39 - Indian States: Day 16
State: Maharashtra
Dish: Vada Pav

We are going to Maharashtra, in the western coast of India. It is the second most populous state and the third largest state by area in India. Maharashtra occupies the western and central part of the country and has a long coastline nearly 720kms along the Arabian sea.
Maharashtra is divided into 5 geographic regions: Konkan is the western coastal region. Kandesh is the northwestern region. Desh is the center of the state. Marathwada is located in the southeastern part of the state. Vidarbha is the easternmost region of the state.
Maharashtra is the most industrialized state and has maintained its leading position in the industrial sector in India. The state is pioneer in small scale industries.
Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay) is the capital of the State and is the financial capital of India. I have never visited Mumbai, but from what I've heard and seen in movies, it sounds like it is almost like New York -- crowded and always bustling with activity. India's main stock exchange, capital market and commodity exchange are all located in Mumbai. It is also the home of India movie industry, Bollywood.

Cuisine: Maharashtrian cuisine covers a range from being mild to very spicy dishes.
Staple Food: Wheat, rice, jowar, bajri, lentils, vegetables and fruit.
Specialties: Puran Poli, Ukdiche Modak, Batata wada, Thalipeeth, Misal Pav, Bhadang, Ukad, Amti etc.

Today's Dish: Street food is one of the characteristic of Mumbai. Mumbai is known for its distinctive street foods and people from all economic, religious and ethnic backgrounds enjoy their street food in Mumbai. So I decided to make one of the most popular street food from Mumbai, Vada Pav. Other favorites include Pani puri, Bhel puri, Sandwiches, Ragda pattice, Pav bhaji etc.,

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An Ayurvedic Meal (Thali)

With the ongoing BM mega marathon, thalis have become quite popular among our BM group. I wish I had more time to make thalis for some of the states. But it is what it is, so I decided to make a thali for Cooking from Cookbook Challenge instead. Today's thali is an Ayurvedic Thali from Sukham Ayu.

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Broccoli, Rice & Cheese Casserole

Blogging Marathon# 38: Week 2/ Day 3
Theme: Gourmet Rice Dishes 
Dish: Broccoli Rice & Cheese Casserole

Today's rice dish is a kid friendly dish that my 18 month old really enjoyed a lot. She loves broccoli and cheese, so this was a perfect dish for her to enjoy.

When my husband's away traveling and when I have to cook for just me and the little one, I look for dishes that are both easy to make and kid friendly. Rice is cooked along with broccoli and cheese, then baked off in the oven to get the crispy crust.

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Dal Kootu (Poritha Kootu)

Dal is something that is made almost every other day in my household. Not just my home, but that is the case in almost every Indian households. Lentils form one of the main source of protein to vegetarians. I am always looking for new ways of making the same old pappu/ dal.

My everyday dals are usually very simple like this tomato pappu or this palakura pappu. But occasionally I do make kootu where dal is cooked with vegetables and coconut-peppercorn masala paste. My mom learned it from a Tamil neighbor.

Today's recipe is from the cookbook, Dakshin by Chandra Padmanabhan. Masala pasta is almost similar to what my mom makes, but the addition of mixed vegetables was interesting to me. This is a perfect recipe to make when you have those odds and ends of veggies in the fridge that need to be used up. Any combination of veggies can be used here -- apart from the ones I have used potato, zucchini, cauliflower can also be added to the kootu.

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Baby Corn-Peas Masala Curry

Blogging Marathon# 35: Week 1/ Day 2
Theme: Cooking with Corn
Dish: Baby Corn-Peas Masala Curry

I bookmarked this recipe from Valli's blog the minute I saw it. For some reason the combination of baby corn and peas sounded very appealing. We get canned baby corn here and I usually keep a can in the pantry, so it comes in handy when I'm running out of fresh veggies. Baby corn is also a great addition to Indo-Chinese dishes.

I have had baby corn in rice dishes and fried as appetizer, but never cooked by itself in a curry. I remember eating Chili Baby corn in a restaurant in Hyderabad and it tasted awesome. There are a ton of recipes online and may be one when I'm ready to deep fry I'll make this.

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Sweet Pea Kheer

Blogging Marathon# 34: Week 3/ Day 3
Theme: Desserts with Vegetables
Dish: Sweet Pea Kheer

So for the final day of this week's BM# 34, I decided to make something different for 'Desserts with Vegetables'. I saw this sweet pea kheer on a Telugu cooking show and remember thinking to myself 'why would anyone use sweet peas to make kheer!!!!' But of course when Valli announced the themes, I knew I had to experiment with a vegetable that I have never used in desserts before, so here it is a kheer with sweet peas.

On the cooking show the kheer had a beautiful minty green color, but mine didn't turn out that color. I guess I didn't grind the sweet peas into a smooth enough paste to get that color.

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Rajma Mutter (Kidney Beans & Green Peas with Yogurt & Cream)

Blogging Marathon# 30: Week 1/ Day 3
Theme: Cooking with Curd
Dish: Rajma Mutter (Kidney Beans & Green Peas with Yogurt & Cream)

As I was looking through 660 Curries for dishes to make with yogurt/ curd, I found a recipe that used Lotus root and I wanted to make because I've never cooked lotus root before. I remember seeing it in my local Korean store and went there this morning, but I was totally disappointed seeing dried out and almost rotten lotus roots.

Came home and went back to 660 Curries. I love beans and I found Rajma and Mutter curry with yogurt and cream. I was skeptical on how the combination of yogurt and cream would take like, but I trusted Raghavan Iyer enough to give the dish a try. I'm glad I did, it turned out to be a spicy and creamy dish that is unlike I've ever tasted. The textural difference between the nutty bite of kidney beans and the soft squishy green peas was very appealing especially with the creamy-tart yogurt base.

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Penne with Asparagus & Pistachio Pesto

Blogging Marathon# 27: Week 3/ Day 1
Theme: Seasonal Dishes - Spring Entree
Dish: Penne with Asparagus and Pistachio Pesto

Growing up in South India, the only seasons I knew were Summer and Rainy. There was winter, but it wasn't 'really' winter by any standards. There was no seasonal cooking and I don't think I even heard of such a thing while in India.
Living on the east coast of US for the past 12+ years, we enjoy (or not) all 4 seasons. My favorites being Spring and Fall. I especially like Spring and love seeing the little buds on the trees, the greenery and the nature waking up from long harsh winter. Spring makes me really happy, I guess it's because I start to feel life around and it just gives me pure joy.

We start our 3rd week of our month long blogging marathon and the theme for next 8 days is "Seasonal dishes". I'm planning to showcase dishes for all the 4 seasons we experience in our neck of woods. These dishes either use seasonal ingredients or are made during that season for various reasons.

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Dimer Dalna (Bengali Egg & Potato Curry)

My theme for the fourth and final week of Blogging marathon# 22 is "Bookmarked Recipes" for this month's themes. Today's recipe is a Bengali dish that is a quick and easy egg curry for those days when there is little time to cook and the fridge is practically empty.

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Oats Upma with Carrot & Peas

VeganMofo Day 12: Breakfast on a weekday in our household used to be a quick toast with pb&j or cereal. Being home and having my mom around, we have started to have more substantial breakfasts now. 

Today morning I made this quick and healthy Oats Upma (porridge). I was planning on using Steel Cut Oats, but ran short of time, so ended up using Rolled oats for a quicker breakfast. Also I grated a carrot and added it, so it cooks faster. Veggies like potato, peppers, green beans, shredded cabbage etc can also be added.

 

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Paneer Pudina Pulao (Paneer-Mint Pilaf)

I hope you noticed the alliteration in the post title, the actual title for this post should have been Paneer-Pudina-Potato-Peas-Pulao. That seemed too long, so I took just the 2 main ingredients for the title.

I wanted to put my bounty of mint plant to a good use, so I used a lot of mint (as you can tell from the pictures), but the quantity can be easily reduced if you don’t like the pronounced mint flavor. For this dish I cooked the rice separately and added it to the mint masala mix (another alliteration). Other vegetables or beans like carrots, green beans, cauliflower or chickpeas etc. can also be added. 

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Baked Manicotti

For Day 3 of BM, I made this hearty and comforting baked pasta dish. Turning on the oven makes the kitchen nice and toasty -- perfect for chilly winter nights, so you know where I spend most of my time in winters ;-). This is a stuffed pasta dish with creamy Swiss chard and ricotta filling smothered in spicy tomato sauce and topped with lots of cheese -- great to please a crowd.

Stuffing traditional manicotti/ canneloni pasta can be tricky since cooked pasta tubes are very delicate and have a tendency to tear. So to make life easy I used no-boil lasagna noodles, an idea borrowed from Cook's Country magazine. Filling recipe is adapted from Giada's Swiss Chard & Pea Manicotti. Here's how I made it.

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