A day-to-day menu of most Indians is vegetarian and many Indians are in fact Lacto-Vegetarians. A little secret many Indians have not observed or non-Indians do not know is that Indian Food is mostly Vegan. Vegan Thursdays is a concept conceived by Priya, a well known food blogger and a dear friend. Every month, the first and last thursdays, we a group of food blogger will be posting a vegan recipe. Here I am with a simple side dish for Idli for my first entry to the Vegan Thursdays!
If you are looking for a quick side dish for idli/dosa look no further. This is a simple and easy to make sambar with chickpea flour which is super tasty. Back home in India this sambar used to feature whenever we make idlis. Some steaming hot idlis dunked in this sambar... delicious!!
Ingredients:
Chickpea flour / Besan / Kadala maavu - 3 tbsp heaped
Water - 3-4 cups
Onion - 1 cup - sliced thin
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp (Use 3/4 tsp if extra hot chilli powder)
Salt - to taste
Curry leaves - a few
Cilantro / Coriander leaves - a little
For Tempering:
Oil - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Urad dhal - 1 tsp
Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
Method:
Mix besan with 1 cup of water such that there are no lumps. Add turmeric powder and set aside. Heat oil in a kadai and splutter the mustard seeds and urad dhal. When the mustard splutters add the curry leaves and asafoetida. Add the sliced onions and saute in medium high heat until the onions are soft. Now sprinkle the chilli powder and fry for a minute. Pour the besan mixture with the remaining water and allow it to come to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the raw smell of the besan disappears. Remove from heat and garnish with coriander leaves. This is a great side dish for Idli / Dosa.
I am taking a break from blogging for the next few weeks for my India trip. I have scheduled some posts though.. Keep visiting and supporting as always.
Spinach and Chickpeas are one delightful combination. Don't you think? Be it in a salad, soup, curry or this rice it tastes awesome. I had come across this simple spinach pulav somewhere in the blog world before many years. I did not bookmark it then but just made a mental note of the recipe which had potatoes in the place of chickpeas. I make this rice often and this time tried chickpeas instead of potatoes to up the protein quotient.
Ingredients:
Serves - 3
Basmati Rice - 2 cups (rice cooker cup) - 1 1/3 in standard cup
Spinach - 3 cups - tightly packed
Chickpeas / Garbanzo beans - 1 can or approx 2 1/2 cups cooked - Click here to see how to make canned beans at home
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Onion - 1 cup - thinly sliced
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 2 tbsp
Method:
Wash and soak the rice in plenty of water for 30 minutes. Heat oil in heavy bottomed pan / pressure cooker. Splutter the cumin seeds and add onion. Saute until light brown and add the ginger-garlic paste and cook for 2 minutes in medium heat. Now add the spice powders and spinach. When the spinach starts to wilt add the chickpeas and drained rice. Add 4 cups of water and salt and do a taste check. Cover and cook for 3 whistles in pressure cooker. If cooking in a pan, cover and cook in medium-high heat for 20 minutes until the rice is done. Serve hot with raitha or any curry of your choice.
Linking this delightful rice to MLLA #59 event by Susan and Lisa.
Summer is here and it calls for healthy and simple salads. What if there is something that makes you spend less time in the kitchen. Well, I would definitely go for it, especially if it is packed with goodness bursting with flavors. This is a salad with all the ingredients of summer. Warmth, Fresh and Colorful.
Ingredients:
Serves - 2
Chickpeas - cooked - 2 cups or 1 can - Check out how I made canned chickpeas at home
Cucumber - 1 - chopped
Avocado - 1/2 chopped
Tomato - 1 - chopped
Mango - 1/2 of a big one - chopped
Cilantro - a handful
Dressing:
Cumin powder - 3/4 tsp
Lime juice - from 1 lime
Extra Virgin Olive oil - 3 tbsp
Salt and pepper - to taste
Method:
Reserve about 1 tsp of lime juice and whisk the remaining with olive oil, cumin, salt and pepper to make the dressing. Toss the avocado pieces with the reserved lime juice. Mix all the ingredients with the dressing and serve.
Linking this up to Jagruti's My Bowl of Salad, MLLA #59 by Susan & Lisa, Healthy Salads event by Priya.
This is a simple and easy recipe for a south indian style fish fry. The ingredients are those which are readily available in the pantry. A little planning and preparation for marination the previous day or earlier the same day is all the effort that is needed for this tasty fish fry. Back home grandma used to make this with king fish. I tried making the same rub for salmon. Salmon tastes great without much masala or spices. It was after making tandoori salmon once that I realised that salmon would be excellent with Indian spices.
Ingredients:
Serves - 2
Salmon - 12 oz ~ 350 gms
Chilli powder - 1 tsp (I used 1-1/2 tsp of Kashmiri chilli powder)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 1/2 tsp
Method:
Mix all the ingredients for marination in a bowl / ziploc bag. Add the salmon and mix until well coated. Keep covered in an airtight bowl for a minimum of 6 hours in the refrigerator. Heat oil in a shallow pan and add the salmon piece. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side. Serve.
Back home in India, Rasam is a must have in our daily lunch menu. After coming to US I do not make it quite often as it has to be featured in a South Indian Kitchen. The goodness of rasam / chaaru cannot be forgotten. It is a comforting soup which aids in digestion and regulates metabolism. Kavin loves rasam and so I make it very often. This paruppu rasam is a simple recipe and his favorite with ghee. As in many (okay, most) of my recipes I have used my favorite kitchen gadget, the pressure cooker.
Ingredients:
Toor dhal / split pigeon peas - 1/3 cup
Garlic - 2 cloves
Tomato - 1 - medium sized - cut into half
Olive oil / Castor oil - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Tamarind - size of half a lime - Soak in 1 cup of water and extract juice
Rasam powder - 1 tsp - 1 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
Tempering:
Olive oil / Ghee - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - a pinch
Cumin seeds - a pinch
Curry leaves - a few
Method:
Wash and soak toor dhal for 30 minutes. Cook the dhal and garlic, tomato, oil, salt, turmeric powder with 3 times water until it is fully cooked and turns mushy when pressed with a ladle. I used my pressure cooker to cook for 3 whistles. When done, drain the water and reserve. Mash the dhal, garlic and tomato with the back of a wooden spoon or ladle until fully mashed. Return the reserved liquid back to the pan and add the tamarind extract and rasam powder. The rasam should be watery at this stage. Add half to one cup of water until desired consistency is reached. Do a taste check for salt and spice (from rasam powder) and allow it to boil in medium heat. When it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to simmer and continue to heat for a couple of minutes. Remove from heat. In another small pan heat ghee and add the ingredients for tempering viz. mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves. When the curry leaves splutters pour the tempering over the rasam. Serve steaming hot with steamed rice or as a soup before meal.
Ingredients:
Method:
