Culinary Adventures

It has been ages since I did a post and about time I got back to blogging. Well I have also started writing for Suite101, so do go and check out my recipe for Ulava Charu at their Site. I have also added a little description of how it is made traditionally. I love exploring the origins of a dish, and the process behind making Ulava Charu has always facinated me. It can also be made in a pressure cooker, but it just would not be the same for me.

I am always on the lookout for tasty and healthy vegetarian recipes. I love to entertain and as most of my friends are vegetarians, I try to find vegetarian dishes which will be universally liked. Recently I stumbled across a blog called The Raw and The Cooked. Opal has some really yummy looking recipes and the latest one caught my eye. The Zucchini Cutlets are inspired from Opal’s Zucchini Burgers.

Ingredients

1 medium Zucchini, grated

1 medium Onion, grated

1/2 tsp seasoning salt

1 tsp ground mustard powder

1/4 tsp ginger garlic paste

1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce

2 tsp minced Cilantro

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 egg

Method

1. Mix the grated Zucchini and Onion with the seasoning salt and let it stand for a minute.

2. Lightly squeeze and drain out all excess water.

3. Next mix in all other ingredients except egg and flour.

4. Beat the egg and mix well into the mixture.

5. Add the flour and mix well.

6. Heat a pan and lightly cover its base with oil.

7.Put a heaped tablespoon of the mixture in the pan and spread lightly.

8. Repeat to make more cutlets.

9. Cook on each side for about 2- 3 min.

10. Serve hot.

This is a childhood favorite of mine. I made it for Aditya and he loved it. I served it with strawberries and syrup. He could hardly wait for me to finish taking the picture before he dug in.

Ingredients

2 slices bread

1 egg

2 tbsp half and half or milk

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

oil for cooking

Method

1. Combine the eggs, half and half, salt and sugar in a flat bottomed bowl.

2. Soak a slice of bread in the egg mixture. I usually let it soak for a minute and flip it over in the middle to coat both sides well.

3. Heat a little oil in a pan and cook the bread in it for about 2-3 min on each side.

4. Repeat with the second slice.

5. Serve plain or with fresh berries and syrup or whipped cream.

This is a simple dish to prepare and the Pulihora mix can be kept refrigerated for a few days.

Ingredients

1/4 cup thick tamrind paste

1/2 cup water

2 tbsp Urad dhal

2 Tbsp Channa dhal

1 tsp mustard

2 pinches hing

8 red chillis

10 green chilis

5 sprigs curry leaves

2 tsp Turmeric

1/4 cup oil

Salt to taste

2 Cups cooked rice

Method

1. Heat the oil and fry urad dhal, channa dhal, mustard seeds and red chillis in it.

2. After a min add the hing and curry leaves

3. Next add the green chillis and turmeric.

4. After another min add the tamrind paste, water and salt.

5. Cook for about 12-15 min.

6. Remove from heat and let it cool a bit.

7. Mix approx half the prepared paste into the rice.

8. Serve either hot or at room temperature.

Notes:

1.Many prefers this dish the next day, and say it tastes better after 12 hrs or so.

2. About 1/4 cup peanuts can also be added. I omit them as my son is allergic to peanuts.

This dish got reasonably good reviews and I actually managed to make S like a cabbage curry for once.

Ingredients

1 small cabbage, chopped fine

1 medium onion, chopped fine

1 pkt frozen Baby Lima Beans

1 dry red chilli

1 tsp jeera ( cumin seeds)

1 tsp rai ( mustard seeds)

1 sprig curry leaves

1 tsp urad dhal

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

3 tbsp oil

1 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp jeera powder

1 tsp dhania powder ( coriander seed powder )

salt to taste

Method

1. Put the cabbage in a microwave safe bowl, add salt and toss well. Microwave on high for 10 min, stirring once after 5 min. Put aside
2. Add salt to the lima beans in a microwave safe bowl and cook on high for 6 min.

3. Meanwhile heat the oil in a pan and add the red chilli, rai, jeera, urad dhal and curry leaves.

4. Next add onions and cook till they are translucent.

5. Add the ginger garlic paste and stir well.

6. Then add the cabbage and lima beans. Mix well and cook for a few min.

7. Add the jeera powder, dhania powder and red chilli powder. Stir to mix well, cook for another min and remove from heat.

8. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot.

It goes well with both rice and roti.

Wednesday night dinner plan was creamy orzo with mustard chicken and steamed veggies. I could not resist deviating a bit. The main ingredients were the same but final results were something totally new. I served homemade rice a roni with foil packet veggie and chicken bake.

Ingredients

1 cup - rice

1 cup - orzo

1 tbsp - chicken bullion

1/2 tsp - seasoning salt

1 tbsp - butter

3 cups water

Method

1. Add the orzo and rice to a pan with the butter and toast lightly.
2. Next add the water, seasoning salt and bullion .
3. Stir well and bring it to a boil.
4. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 - 12 min or till rice is cooked.
5. Stir in fresh chopped herbs if desired and serve hot.

Notes:

Any white rice can be used and one needs to know the water quantity required to cook the rice. I had used Basmati rice and I usually put 1 1/2 cups of water for every cup of rice. Old Sona Masoori usually take about 2 cups of water for every cup of rice. Long grain white rice and jasmine rice also take about 1 1/2 cups of water per cup of rice.
Rice a roni is a favorite in our house and this was my first attempt at making it from scratch rather than using the prepackaged product. It turned out pretty good and I will be experimenting adding other flavors to it. One of Aditya’s favorites is the broccoli cheese flavor.

Menu Planning is something I have been doing on and off for a while now. I decided to start again. I recently came across Laura’s blog I’m an Organized Junkie where she hosts Menu Planning Monday every week. Its a good way to get new ideas and I have decided to participate.

I doubt I will be sticking to the plan strictly as my mom is still around and depending on what she cooks I will have to change my Menu. But at the same time I will be able to ensure that sufficient variety is available as Mom prefers to cook mostly Andhra food.

Well here is my plan for the week.

Monday

Breakfast - Multigrain cereal with fruit
Lunch - egg sandwich with potato salad
Dinner - rice with curry( moms choice), rasam and yoghurt

Tuesday

Breakfast - English muffin with poached egg
Lunch - broccoli cheese soup with biscuit
Dinner - rice and curry

Wednesday

Breakfast - savory pancakes, fruit
Lunch - chicken sandwich
Dinner - creamy orzo with mustard chicken and steamed veggies

Thursday

Breakfast - Tomato Upma
Lunch - broccoli cheese orzo with mustard chicken
Dinner - rice and curry or leftovers

Friday

Breakfast - farina cereal
Lunch - veggie soup with biscuits
Dinner - Leftovers

As you will most probably notice, I am not really bothered with dinner. That meal will be currently taken care of by mom. After she leaves I will start planning dinners too.

Breakfast is a meal I have planned mostly for myself and Aditya. Shilpesh seems to prefer upma almost every day.

Lunch needs to be also carefully planned. Anything dry and Shilpesh won’t eat it. Aditya has his lunch at the preschool, so I need not worry about him.

Here is a recipe for an easy potato soup made by using the Instant Potato Soup Mix.

Ingredients

1 medium potato, diced

2 tbsp TVP bacon bits

4 cups water

1/2 cup Instant Potato Soup Mix

1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese, optional

oil for cooking

Method

1. Heat oil in a pan and add the bacon bits. Saute for a min and then add the diced potatoes.
2. Cook the potatoes for a min and add the water. Bring it to a boil.
3. Cook for 10 min or till the potatoes are done.
4. Add the Soup mix and stir well till no lumps remain.
5. Stir in the cheddar cheese and remove from heat.

Notes:

You can reserve some bacon bits for garnishing and also add some fresh parsley for garnish.

I did not peel the potatoes. This helps retain more of the rich nutrients in the potatoes. Here is a link to the National Potato Council describing the nutritive value of potatoes. This soup is my contribution to Cate’s ARF / 5-A-Day Roundup.

Today morning I was contemplating making savory pancakes, but on taking inventory of my pantry I found a few leftover hot dog buns. As today is Friday I knew we wouldn’t be touching them until next Monday. It was time to put them to good use, but how was the question? Again as I mentioned earlier my intention is to make breakfast a healthy meal if possible. So I decide to make scrambled egg with onions and tomato and serve them with the rolls.

I again used my Vidalia Chop Wizard today and that does make measuring ingredients easier. So I will be able give more accurate measurements in terms of cups. (i.e. as long as I remember to make a quick note while cooking ).

Ingredients

½ cup onion, diced fine

¼ cup tomato, diced fine

3 eggs

½ tsp ginger garlic paste

1 tbsp cilantro, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

3 hot dog rolls

garlic butter

oil for cooking

Method

1. Drizzle a little oil onto a hot pan. Sauté onions in it till they begin to sweat.
2. Next add the ginger garlic paste and tomatoes. Cook for a minute on medium high.
3. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Break the eggs in a separate bowl and beat well. Add them to the pan and stir constantly.
5. When the eggs are almost cooked, add the chopped cilantro and stir.
6. remove from heat immediately.

To prepare the rolls

1. split and apply garlic butter.
2. toast them on a pan.
3. Spoon in 1/3^rd egg mixture in each bun, cut the bun at an angle and serve hot.

A little Cilantro can go a long way by adding lots of flavor, and the same applies to the tomato. Though tomato is not a herb, it has a strong flavor which can overshadow other flavors if used in excess. This entry is I think perfect for Weekend Herb Blogging which is being hosted by Chris from Mele Cotte.

This is a very standard recipe, which you can find almost all over the web. I omitted two ingredients as I did not have one and just for got about the other. Any way here is my version of the recipe.

Ingredients

1 3/4 Cups Instant Mashed Potatoes

1 1/2 Cups Dry Milk

2 Tablespoons Instant Chicken Bullion

2 Teaspoons Dried Minced Onion

1 Teaspoon Dried Parsley

1/4 Teaspoon Ground White Pepper

1 1/2 Teaspoons Seasoning Salt

Method

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix. Store in an air tight container.
2. To Serve place 1/2 cup mix in soup bowl and add 1 cup boiling water. Stir until smooth.

Verdict:

I guess it’s not too bad and tastes like an instant soup mix. But it’s not what a pregnant woman craving a creamy potato soup would like. Aditya tasted it and liked it, so I can always keep it as a nice back up for those days where I need a soup in a hurry. I do plan to add a few fresh ingredients and try making a stove top version using the same mix.