Thai Vegetable Red Curry

Thai Red Curry

Ingredients:
Baby corns - 3 (pieces)
Small brinjals - 2 (diced)
Broccoli florets - From a medium bunch
Mushrooms - 10 (sliced)
Bamboo shoots - ¼ cup (optional)
Red curry paste - 5 tbsp.
Coconut milk - 2 cup
Soya sauce - ½ tsp.
Basil leaves - 10 (chopped)
Oil
Salt (to taste)
Brown sugar - 1/2 tsp.
Corn flour - 1 tbsp.

Method:
Obviously I didn’t add brinjal and bamboo shoots.
Heat oil and add the red curry paste and fry for 5 minutes in low flame or till oil separates.
Add ¼ cup of coconut milk and vegetables. Cooks for 2 minutes.
Add the remaining coconut milk, soy sauce & chopped basil leaves.
Cover and cook the vegetables in low flame until they become tender.
Add salt & sugar to taste.
Mix corn flour with water and add it.
Mix well. Let it boil for 2 minutes.
Serve hot with steamed rice.
Adapted from Nita Mehta’s Book.
Note: Adjust( reduce) the red curry paste according to your taste.

Red Curry Paste
Got it from here.

Ingredients:
Onion - ¼ cup (chopped)
Lemon grass - 1 stalk (minced)
Kashmiri red chilies - 1 (BIG-chopped)
Garlic - 4 cloves
Galangal - 1 (thumb-size)
Tomato ketchup - 2 tbsp.
Cumin powder - ½ tbsp.
Coriander powder - 1 tsp.
White pepper powder - ¼ tsp
Fish sauce -3 tbsp. (or) Soy sauce - 4 tbsp. (I added soy sauce)
Shrimp paste -1 tsp. (didn’t add)
Sugar - 1 tsp.
Regular chili powder - 2 tbsp. (I added 1 tbsp. chili powder + 1 tbsp. kashmiri red chili)
Coconut milk - ¼ cup
Lime juice - 1 tbsp.
Kaffir lime leaves - 1

Method:
Blend all the ingredients into a paste.
Place it in a container in the refrigerator up to a week and freeze thereafter.

Note:
I used Kashmiri red chilies. Thai red chilies are extremely small and cute. You can use them if you want to.

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Sweet & Sour Vegetables

Ingredients:

Onions - 1 (diced)
Ginger - 1 tsp. (grated)
Tomatoes - 2 (scoop out the seeds)
Carrots - 1 (medium)
Capsicum - 1
Baby corns - 3
Broccoli florets - from a small bunch
Green chilies - 2 (slit half)
Sesame seeds - 1 to 1 ½ tsp.
Chinese sweet and sour mix - 1/3 cup
Oil

Method:
Cut baby corn, carrot and capsicum into bite sizes.
Dry roast the sesame seeds lightly and keep aside.
Add water to the Chinese sweet and sour mix (without any lumps) and bring it to a boil. Remove from heat.
(Sorry, I forgot the measurement of water)
Heat oil and add carrot, broccoli florets and baby corn.
Fry in high heat for 3 minutes by stirring and tossing.
Reduce the heat, cook the veggies till tender by covering with a lid.
Remove from heat and keep the veggies on a plate.
Again heat oil and add onion, ginger.
Fry till the onions are translucent.
Add the capsicum, tomato, green chilies and fry for a minute.
Add the sweet and sour water.
Add the veggies and bring it a boil.
Finally add the sesame seeds and serve hot.

Note:
The sweet and sour mix has enough salt. If you want, you can add more salt to the dish.
Source: Magazine

Sent off to Priya's "Cooking with Seeds" event.

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Karamani Vada(i) & Dosa

Karamani Vada

Ingredients:
Karamani (red)/Thattai payir/cow peas - 1 cup
Urad dal - 1 cup
Rice - 1 tbsp.
Onion - 2 (chopped)
Ginger - 1 inch
Green chilies - 4
Coriander leaves - 4 tbsp. (chopped)
Salt
Curry leaves - few
Oil (for deep frying)

Method:
Dry roast the black-eyed peas for 4 minutes.
Soak them for 4 hours along with urad dal and rice.
Grind them into a thick batter.
In a blender pulse the ginger pieces, green chilies, curry leaves coarsely.
Add this coarse mixture, coriander leaves, onion pieces & salt to the batter.
Mix the batter.
Oil the plastic sheets and keep aside.
Form a ball from the batter and flatten on the plastic sheet with wet fingers. Make a hole in center.
Continue with the remaining batter.
Heat the oil in a kadai.
Slowly slip the vadas and deep fry them till they turn golden brown.
Serve with coconut chutney.

Karamani Dosa

Ingredients:
Left over vadai batter - 2 ½ cups
Left over dosai batter - 2 cups

Method:
Mix both the batters by adding little water.
Prepare yummy dosas from this batter.
Enjoy with your fav. side dish.

Sent off to 'MLLA-19' event hosted by EC and originally started by Susan.

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Moong Dal Halwa-Indian Cooking Challenge (ICC)

Indian Cooking Challenge

Ingredients:

Moong dal -1 cup
Sugar - ¾ cup
Ghee - ½ cup
Milk - ½ cup
Cashews and raisins

Method:
Soak the moong dal overnight.
Next day grind them into paste with a little water.
Roast the cashews and raisins in 1 tsp. of ghee.
Heat a thick non-stick kadai and heat ¼ cup of ghee.
Add the ground paste and start to fry without any lumps.
Add another ¼ cup of ghee intermittently.
This is a long process, so we need a lot of patience and energy.
Meanwhile mix sugar to the milk and bring it to a boil. Keep aside.
Keep the flame in low while frying the dal (don’t sneak out of the kitchen meanwhile).
Once the ghee starts to ooze out (at this stage you can enjoy the nice aroma of fried dal with ghee) and add the milk to the dal slowly.
Mix without any lumps.
Once the halwa leaves the side of the pan, remove from heat and add the cashews and raisins.
Serve warm.

Note:
Halwa tends to thicken when it cools down.
Next day the halwa gets very dry, so increase the amount of ghee.
It is good to add ghee from ¾ cup to 1 cup for 1 cup of moong dal.
I didn’t add any food color.
You can also soak a few saffron strands in the milk.

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Sakkara/Sweet Pongal (Version 2.0)

HAPPY PONGAL!!!!!!!!!!

Ingredients:

Raw rice - 1 cup
Moong dal - ½ cup
Jaggery - 2 cups (powdered)
Milk - 1 cup
Ghee - 2 tbsp.
Cardamom powder - ¼ tsp.
Cashew nuts - 12
Raisin (golden) - 12
Saffron strands - 1 pinch
Warm milk - 1 tbsp. (to soak saffron)
Cooking camphor - 1 pinch
Coconut pieces - 1 tbsp.
Ghee (for frying nuts and raisins)

Method:
Dry roast the moong dal till the aroma rises without burning. Remove from heat.
Now wash both rice and moong dal.
Add 3 cups of water and pressure cook.
Fry the cashews till they turn golden color and raisins till puffed up.
Fry the coconut pieces for 3 minutes. Keep it aside.
Soak the saffron strands in the warm milk.
In a pan add the powdered jaggery and ½ cup of water.
Dissolve the jaggery and run through the strainer to remove the dirt.
Keep it in heat and bring it to a boil. Simmer it for 5 minutes. Keep the jaggery syrup aside.
Now in a thick sauce pan add the boiled rice, dal and milk.
Stir it.
Add the jaggery syrup and mix well.
Add cashews, raisins, cardamom powder, coconut pieces and stir to mix well.
Sprinkle the cooking camphor, saffron milk and ghee. Again mix well.
Let the pongal cook in medium-low flame for 5 minutes (without burning).
To avoid burning, mix in between.
Remove from heat.
Enjoy!

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Mexican Salsa Burger

Ingredients:
Kidney beans/Rajma - 1 cup
Onions - 1 (chopped)
Capsicum - 1 (chopped)
Carrot - ¼ cup (grated)
Home-made salsa - ½ cup
Fresh bread crumbs - 1 ½ cup
Whole wheat flour - ½ cup
Cubes of veggie seasoning - 2 (powdered)

Ingredients for-
Coating:
Oats - ¾ cup to 1 cup

Burger:
Cheese slices - 6
Home-made salsa - 6 tbsp.
Burger buns - 6
Lettuce leaves

Method:
For patty:
Soak the beans overnight.
Pressure cook the beans with required salt & water.
Drain. Cool.
Churn boiled beans in a blender to get a rough mixture.
Mix all the ingredients for the patty with the beans.
Divide the mixture into 6 balls. Press them into patties.
Coat them with oats. Keep in fridge for 30 minutes.
Heat oven at 200°C. Bake for 20 minutes or till they turn golden color.
On each piece of bottom half of bun, place lettuce leaves, one cheese slice and the patty. Top with 1 tbsp. of salsa.
Cover with top half of the bun. Serve hot.

Roasted Tomato Salsa

Ingredients:
Tomatoes - 5
Oil - 1 tbsp.
Onions - 1 (chopped finely)
Green chilies - 2 (chopped)
Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp. (chopped)
Vinegar - 1 tsp.
Pepper - ¼ tsp.
Salt - ½ tsp.
Sugar to taste or ½ tsp.
Tomato ketchup - 1 tbsp.

Method:
Pierce the tomato with a fork.
Hold it over the gas flame till the skin turns blackish and charred.
Roast all the tomatoes like this.
Cool and peel.
Do not wash after peeling.
Chop 2 tomatoes.
Puree the other 3 tomatoes.
Heat oil and add the onions and green chilies.
Cook till onion turn soft.
Add all other ingredients one by one and cook for 2 minutes.
Remove from heat. Salsa is ready.
RB

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