Category: RECIPES

Posted on

BEET GREENS AND LENTILS

For as long as I remember, after breakfast, my mother or grandmother would forage for greens in our garden or the neighbourhood. We always had to have greens on the menu at lunch time. It is only natural that any edible greens were treated as a bonus and among unusual things my mum cooked, remember radish greens or moringa (drumstick) greens. In the same tradition, I have started using the beet greens – sometimes I cook on their own and smother it with roasted peanuts. This variation is spicy, nourishing (incidentally beet greens are high in iron and other essential vitamins and minerals) and so easy to make.

Beet Greens

INGREDIENTS

125g lentils, rinsed

250g beet greens

150g onions, sliced thinly

4-5 garlic, peeled and crushed

Continue reading “BEET GREENS AND LENTILS”

Posted on

MALABARI POTATO ISTEW

This dish brings back lots of childhood memories for me. My parents were good friends with a couple from Kerala who were closer to my grandparent’s age. We would all go to their place occasionally for the odd treat. On one such occasion, we were treated to homemade idiyappam and this potato istew. My mother got the recipe and made it a few times. This recipe is based from that memory. The idiyappam requires special equipment to make so I have just used store bought rice vermicelli making this fairly simple and easy to prepare.

Malabari Potato Istew

INGREDIENTS FOR THE ISTEW

600g waxy potatoes

200g onion, thinly sliced

3tbsps coconut oil

1tsp mustard seeds

½-1tsp turmeric powder

Continue reading “MALABARI POTATO ISTEW”

Posted on

MALABARI CHICKEN ISTEW

In several parts of the Indian subcontinent, the word ‘stew’ has been adopted in to the mainstream vernacular as istew or ishtu. In Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the istew is served with appam (rice pancakes) or idiyappam (rice noodles or string hoppers). My version is adapted from Camellia Panjabi’s 50 Great Curries of India book.

Malabari chicken istew

INGREDIENTS

800g boneless thigh fillets, cut into bite size pieces

2tbsp vegetable oil

1tbsp ghee

200g onions

5cms piece of ginger

1 teaspoon peppercorns

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

2-3 green chillies

400mls coconut milk

Continue reading “MALABARI CHICKEN ISTEW”

Posted on

MY GAZPACHO

My Gazpacho

This is a refreshing cold soup to have on a hot day. I was rummaging my refrigerator and had bits or this and that along with stale sour dough all of which got converted to this soup.

INGREDIENTS

100g Fennel, diced (white portion only)

75g Hungarian green pepper, seeds discarded and diced

600g tomatoes, diced

2 slices of sour dough bread, roughly torn

1 clove garlic, peeled

Continue reading “MY GAZPACHO”

Posted on

BUCKWHEAT STOUP

Buckwheat Stoup

This is a hearty and delicious stew of vegetables and buckwheat. It is a bit thick and chunky to call it a soup and hence stoup.

INGREDIENTS

3 small carrots, peeled and diced

2 sticks celery, peeled and sliced thin

1 medium onion, peeled and diced

1 medium potato, peeled and diced

Continue reading “BUCKWHEAT STOUP”

Posted on

CORN FRITTERS

Corn Fritters

These fritters are so yummy and a huge bonus is that they are gluten free and vegan! I made them a few weekends back and it was a big hit with the family.

INGREDIENTS

5 fresh corns on the cob

½ cup chickpea flour

¼ cup coarse corn grits

¼ cup corn flour

2-3 green chillies, chopped

5-7cms piece of ginger, chopped

4 shallots finely chopped

Continue reading “CORN FRITTERS”

Posted on

KATI ROLL (ROTI WRAP)

A kati roll is a street-food dish originating from Kolkata, West Bengal. In its original form, it is a skewer-roasted kebab wrapped in a paratha bread, although over the years many variants have evolved all of which now go under the generic name of kati roll. There are other names for this like roti wrap or frankie or even a Bombay Burrito.

My recipe uses amaranth flour for the rotis making it gluten free and protein rich. The filling is spicy and the combination of mashed chick peas makes this a complete vegan and gluten free meal.

Kati roll

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE ROTIS

1 cup amaranth flour

¼ cup chickpea flour (besan)

¼ cup buckwheat flour

1 teaspoon coconut oil

Continue reading “KATI ROLL (ROTI WRAP)”

Posted on

BAGARE BAIGAN

Hyderabad is an epitome of India’s unity in diversity culture. Very few cities in India have the privilege of having a distinctive cuisine. The Nizams governed this city for over two hundred years until 1948 and one of their princely legacies was establishing a Hyderabadi cuisine. This is a famous Hyderabadi vegetarian dish, the combination of spices representative of both Northern and Southern regions of India.   

Bagare Baigan

INGREDIENTS

600g small round eggplants (brinjals)

75ml vegetable oil like sunflower oil

1 x 5cm piece of ginger

5-6 plump garlic cloves

¼ tsp turmeric powder

Continue reading “BAGARE BAIGAN”

Posted on

BIRCHER MUESLI

Bircher Muesli

Eating oats daily can lower bad cholesterol because of the soluble fibre, help control high blood pressure and maintain your blood glucose level, all the while making you feel fuller for longer. That’s not too bad for one of the cheapest and most versatile grains on the supermarket shelf. I sometimes wonder why we don’t call this a super food.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups rolled oats

2 tablespoons chia seeds

1/3 cup of desiccated coconut

Continue reading “BIRCHER MUESLI”