Vegetable Noodles and rice

Today we were in a mood for a nice brunch instead of the usual breakfasts we have been having lately. So I came up with a fusion of noodles and rice(actually I didn't have enough noodles, so I had to use some instant rice to boost up the volume of the dish). But it turned out to be great and it was an instant hit.






Ingredients
Chinese noodles - 2 cups, cooked and drained
Uncle Ben's Instant 5 min Rice - 1 cup, cooked and drained
Broccoli - 2 cups, washed and chopped finely
Carrots - 2, washed, peeled and crinkle cut(I just use the Indian type of grater that we use to make potato chips, and use the crinkle side to grate the carrot length-wise)
Cabbage - 2 cups, finely chopped
oil- 1 tbsp
Soy sauce - 3 tbsp(I use the low-sodium variety)
vinegar - 1 tbsp
Black pepper - 1 tbsp
Crushed red pepper - 1 tsp(more if you like spicy)
Ginger - 1 tbsp, grated
salt - to taste(remember soy sauce has enough salt, so make sure you are just adjusting the salt)

Method:
In a large wide wok, heat 1 tbsp oil, when hot enough add carrots, broccoli and stir for a minute, and then add cabbage and stir for another minute. Now add soy sauce, vinegar, red pepper, black pepper, salt, mix well, add the cooked noodles and rice and stir well. Add ginger and toss, drizzle some more oil, if you think its getting too dry. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot.

Spinach Daal (Muddipalya, Muddabhaji, Palak pappu)

Today I had made the typical karnataka food, spinach dal or muddipalya as we call it and Hasi Tomato Chutney(green tomato chutney). Usually this dal and chutney go well with Bhakri(Jowar roti), but I couldn't get good jowar flour, so we managed with wheat rotis. Although there are many ways of making spinach daal, I like my mom's version of spicy daal with garlic, green chillies and tamarind. Yum! doesn't that sound appetizing, well as for us we just overate today and I had to take a good 2 hr nap to digest all the food, but it was worth it. So here comes the recipe for Muddipalya and Hasi Tomato Chutney.



Muddipalya(Spinach Daal)
Ingredients:
Spinach - 1 bunch, washed and chopped finely (you can also use the pre-washed and bagged spinach, and I personally don't like the frozen spinach, but you can go ahead and use it if you really can't get the fresh one)
Toor daal - 2 cups
Green chillies - 5-6, chopped finely or ground into a paste
Garlic - 5-6 pods, crushed coarsely
Tamarind - 1 big lime size, saoked and squeezed to get the pulp, or if using tamarind paste - 1 tbsp
Peanuts - 1 tbsp
Besan(gram flour or chickpea flour) - 1 tbsp
Oil- 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Jeera seeds - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
salt - to taste
curd chillies - 5-6(optional)

Method:
Pressure cook the daal with 4 cups of water to two whistles, you don't want the daal to get too mushy. In a large deep pan heat 1 tbsp oil, when hot add mustard seeds, jeera seeds, let them splutter and then add garlic, stir till garlic gets light brown, now add peanuts(if you are using raw peanuts add them at this stage, if you are using the roasted peanuts you can add them at the end). Fry till the peanuts are light brown, now add the besan and fry till you can smell the besan, about 5 minutes, don't let the besan burn. Now add chopped spinach, green chillie paste, tamarind pulp and salt. Mix well and cover for about 5 minutes on low heat, the daal at this stage tends to splutter everywhere, so use the pot lid and stay at a distance from the pot to avoid spluttering on your face.
In another small pan take 2 tsp oil, when hot add curd chillies and fry till dark brown and pour this over the daal.
This daal tastes great with roti or rice.


Green Tomato Chutney
Ingredients:
Green Tomato - 2, chopped into big cubes
Green chillies - 6-8 (according to taste)
Jeera seeds - 1 tsp
Roasted sesame powder - 2 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Hing(asafoetida) - 1 pinch
Turmeric - 1 pinch
Curry leaves - 4-5

Method:
In a shallow pan, heat 1/2 tbsp oil, add chopped green tomatoes, green chillies, jeera and cover and cook for 10-15 min, stirring in between till the tomatoes and chillies get very soft. Let it cool down a bit, and then transfer them to a blender, add salt, sesame powder and blend to a smooth paste, if you like the chutney coarse then just pulse it in the blender. Take it out in a bowl and mix well. In a small pan, heat another 1/2 tbsp oil, when hot add mustard seeds, when the seeds splutter add hing, turmeric and curry leaves and pour over the chutney. Enjoy!

Saabudana Kheer (Tapioca pudding)

My sister-in-law was fasting today and I told her I'll make something nice for her with saabudana, since saabudana(tapioca) can be taken on days when you fast. Well one reason why we used to wait for sivarathri or other days when we all had to fast when we were children, because mom wouldnt cook anything all day, but she used to make varieties of snacks with sabudana. When I was a kid I was not a great fan of sabudana paayasa(kheer), but now with a little variation I've started liking it. And today my sis-in-law really liked the kheer and was impressed that saabudana kheer can be done this way too!

Saabudana Paayasa
Ingredients:
Sabudana(tapioca) - 1 cup, washed and soaked in water for about 2 hrs
Fresh coconut - 2 cups/Coconut milk - 2 cup
Condensed Milk - 1 can
Elaichi(cardamom) powder - 1 tsp
Khus Khus(poppy seeds) - 2 tsp
saffron - 4-5 strands(optional, I like it because it gives a light color to the pudding)
cashews - 1 tbsp(broken into small pieces)
ghee/butter - 1 tsp

Method:
Grind the coconut with 2 cups water till you get a nice paste and then strain it through a strainer. Blend the leftover meat again with 1/2 cup water and strain again. You should be getting about 2 cups of coconut milk. In a large heavy bottomed pot, bring to boil 1 cup of water. When the water is boiling rapidly add soaked sabudana and keep stirring till the sabudana becomes transparent, now add coconut milk, condensed milk, khus khus, elaichi powder, saffron and keep stirring on low heat. In another small frying pan heat ghee/butter, when hot add cashews fry till light brown and the add to the paayasa. Serve hot and enjoy!

Hints: Fresh coconut milk tastes better than canned coconut milk.
The elaichi powder should be grounded coarsely to get a good taste of elaichi while eating your paayasa.

Mango Rice (Maavinkaayi anna)

Well I've been a bit busy last week with relatives from India and we had gone sight seeing and all that, so didn't find time to really put in some recipes, though I've been cooking a lot last week for the guests. One of the recipes that I made last week was the typical south-indian rice the way my mom used to make, we call it maavinkaayi anna. In mango season, mom used to make all kind of dishes that include mango and this was one of my favorites. Me and my brothers used to finish all the rice before evening. Sorry couldn't click pics, but will try to put in on the blog next time I make the rice. Anyways, the recipe is on the way for now.

Mango Rice
Ingredients:
Raw Mango - 1, washed, peeled and grated
Rice - 2 cups, washed and cooked(not too soft)
Mustard powder - 2 tbsp
Fresh/Frozen coconut - 1 tbsp
Peanuts - 1 tbsp
Cashews - 1/2 tbsp, broken into small pieces
Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Jeera seeds - 1 tsp
Chana Dal - 2 tsp
Green chillies - 4-5, slit lenghtwise
Curry leaves - 5-6
Hing(asafoetida) - 1 pinch
Turmeric - 1 pinch
salt - to taste
Coriander leaves - finely chopped to garnish

Method:
Heat oil, add mustard seeds and jeera seeds, when they splutter add chana dal. When the dal gets light golden color, add green chillies and curry leaves, fry till green chillies get crisp, add peanuts and cashews, when the cashews are golden color add hing, haldi and grated mango and fry for a minute till the mango gets soft. In a large bowl take cooked rice, add salt, mustard powder and the cooked mango mixture and mix well. Garnish with coriander and fresh coconut and serve with yogurt.