Black-eyed Peas with freshly ground spices

It is said that eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day brings prosperity in the new year. Some believe it brings you good luck. I did make it couple days later. Hoping it still brings me and all my readers some prosperity and good luck. 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups dried Black-eyed peas /Lobiya/Chowli
• 1 cup tomato puree
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• salt to taste
• oil

For the freshly ground Spice blend

• 1 tblsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 6 black peppercorns
• 4 whole dried red chillies
• 1/2" cinnamon stick
• 3 cloves 

Dry roast all the above whole dry spices in a pan.Cool and grind in a food processor until well blended. I like my texture to be a bit coarse. Keep this spice blend aside.

Preparation:

• Soak the dried black-eyed peas in about 5-6 cups water and keep it over night. If you are pressed for time as I was , I did the quick soak method. I heated 6 cups water in a pan and when it came to a rolling boil, got it off the flame and added the washed dried black eyed peas. Cover and keep this aside for about 30-40 minutes. In the time its soaking I had enough time to make my tomato puree and my spice blend.Now in a pressure cooker add the soaked black-eyed peas with the water. Add salt to taste and turmeric powder. Add 2 cups more water so that the black-eyed peas do not get burnt. Cook for 5-6 whistles or until the Black-eyed peas are tender. Take it off the heat and keep it aside. 

• Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan or Kadai. Add the tomato puree and let it cook on medium flame for about 3-4 minutes. Stir from time to time. Soon the oil will separate which indicates the puree is cooked. Add your freshly ground spices. Mix it well. Add the cooked Black-eyed peas along with the cooking liquid into the pan. Mix it well. Adjust the salt. (If you are planning to serve this with rice, I do add about 1-2 cups water at this point and then bring it to a boil.) Cover and cook on low heat for about 7-8 minutes. 
•  Black-eyed peas with freshly ground spices is ready to be served. Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro. Serve it with cumin rice or plain rice. Goes well with hot phulkas/roti/chapati (Indian flat bread) as well. This recipes serves 6-8. If you happen to have leftovers , it tastes just as good. Especially on a cold wintry day, just enjoy a warm bowl of this Spicy black-eyed peas with some chopped red onions, chopped tomatoes, cilantro, and some freshly squeezed lemon juice. 

Badam aur Gajar ki Kheer - Almond & Carrot Kheer

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year.  

 

What better way to begin the new year other than with this lip-smacking and  delicious dessert !!!   Badam kheer or almond kheer is best enjoyed during winter in India. The consistency is not as thick as Rice Kheer or Semiya Kheer (Seviyan).  You could also call it Badam Milk - Almond and Cardamom infused Milk. Traditionally they use Saffron. It gives it a beautiful color and makes it more exotic. Since I did not have saffron,  I have used  grated carrot for that beautiful color and perhaps making it healthier in the process. 

Ingredients:

• 3 cups milk
• 1/4 cup almonds(Badam)
• 1/4 cup grated carrot
• 1/2 cup sugar
• handful broken cashews
• 1/4 tsp cardamom powder
• 1 tbsp Ghee/unsalted butter

 Preparation :

• Soak the almonds in boiling hot water for about 10-15 minutes and peel them. (Be very careful here as to not burn yourself with the hot water).
• Next grind the grated carrot and peeled almonds to a paste. Use 1/4 cup milk as well. This makes the grinding much easier. 
• In a thick bottomed pan /Kadai  melt the ghee and fry the cashews. Next add the almond/carrot paste. Fry on low-medium heat for about a minute. Now add the remaining milk. Bring it to a boil on medium flame. Add sugar and cardamom powder. Let it simmer on low heat for about 6-8 minutes.  
• Badam aur Gajar Ki Kheer is ready to be served. This could be served warm or chilled. It just tastes divine either way. 

Broccoli and Cheese Soup

I know I say this too often now, that this again is another of my quick and easy recipe. What can I do I just fall in love with recipes which could be made in a jiffy and still taste delicious. I have used Ragu cheesy double cheddar sauce in this recipe. You could use Cheddar cheese or Velvetta cheese if you do not have this. Enjoy this soup. 

Ingredients :

• 3 cups Broccoli florets (steamed or blanched) *
• 1/2 cup Ragu Cheesy double Cheddar sauce
• 1 small red onion finely chopped
• 2-3 cloves of garlic minced
• 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup All purpose flour
• 2 cups low fat milk
• 2-3 tbsp butter
• black pepper
• salt

* If you want to save some more time, just cook/steam the broccoli in microwave for 3-4 minutes. I just wash the broccoli and cook/steam it covered. No need to add any water as when you wash the broccoli it will retain some water. 

Preparation :

• In a saucepan melt butter on medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute till you no longer get the raw smell.
•  Add  flour and mix it really well and cook it for about couple minutes ( Keep stirring continuously or else the flour will stick to the bottom of the pan and will burn easily.) The flour will get a beautiful golden color
•  Add milk and mix it well making sure no lumps are formed. Next add the vegetable broth and bring it to a boil. Add your broccoli and season with salt and pepper. Cover and let it cook for about 4-5 minutes.     
• Finally add the Ragu cheesy double Cheddar Sauce. Mix it well. Let it simmer for about 2-3 minutes. Your Broccoli and Cheese soup is ready to be served. This recipe serves 4.    

Diwali Sweets- Ladoos

Happy festivities !!! If you are looking for a recipe for Ladoos, look no further. Have five different kinds of ladoos to choose from. If you are like me and still looking around for last minute ideas for Diwali sweets, these recipes could come handy. Hoping all of you have a joyous Diwali.  Shubh Deepawali  

Besan Rava Ladoos- Ladoos made of Chickpea flour and Semolina

Besan Ladoos- Chickpea flour ladoos

Rava ladoos - Semolina/Sooji Ladoos

Poha Ladoos- Aval/Flattened Rice Flakes Ladoos

Dalia Dal Ladoos- Roasted Gram/Maladdu

Dalia Dal Ladoos / Maladdu

Wishing you all a Very Happy, Prosperous and Safe Diwali.

It's that time of the year already. Time does have the tendency to go unbelievably fast. This used to be and still is my favorite festival of all. Diwali is a time when I'm so thankful for the gift of family here and back home. Growing up in India I remember making preparations for Diwali a month in advance. People cleaning their houses and maybe getting them painted. Everybody looked forward to wearing their festive best clothes on Diwali day. Lots and lots of delicious sweets and savory snacks. Of course as kids we had fireworks  Kids and  adults would get together in the evening and light all the fireworks. It would be a beautiful display and the sky would be all lit up magnificently. It is the festival of lights so its an usual sight to see the houses have diyas lit up. Some have the diyas adorning the entrance to the house or apartments. Not to forget the beautiful Rangolis welcoming you to their house. Its a five day festival. People exchange sweets and visit family and friends. Have lots of happy and sweet memories. How my heart yearns to just magically be transferred to my beautiful and vibrant India(Mumbai) and be with my extended family this Holiday season. 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Dalia dal - Roasted Gram
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup warm ghee
• 1/4 cup cashews fried in 1 tbsp ghee

Preparation: 

• Dry roast Dalia dal on medium heat for about 3-4 minutes. Grind and keep it aside. Grind the sugar so as to make it a super fine consistency. 
• Now add the ground dalia dal  , sugar, fried cashews and the warm ghee.
• Mix it well and make ladoos immediately. This makes 21 ladoos.  

Kakdi ki Subzi - Tangy and Spicy Cucumber

I always associated Cucumbers with Salads and Raitas(Dip). I would never have thought about cooking with  cucumbers/kakdi. This is my sister's recipe. Once on a phone call with my sister I happened to mention to her I have no vegetables in the house and it was almost time to make lunch. I said my fridge just has some cucumbers, tomatoes and jalapenos. She said make Kakdi (Cucumber) ki subzi. That was the first time I heard of such kind of subzi. I made it and it was super delicious and super easy to make. I've been making this subzi since then and its become a regular at out house now. It  goes well with hot phulkas (Indian bread). 

Ingredients : 

• 2-3 medium sized Cucumbers (Kakdi) peeled and chopped
• 1 large tomato chopped
• *2 jalapenos chopped
• 2-3 curry leaves
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• 1 tbsp cumin-coriander powder
• salt to taste
• oil

* You can reduce the heat of this dish by just using 1 jalapeno. If you do not have jalapenos use 2-3 green chillies instead.

Preparation:

• Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds. When they crackle add curry leaves followed by tomatoes and chopped jalapenos.Let it cook on medium heat for about 2 minutes.
• Now add the dry spices- turmeric powder , red chili powder, cumin-coriander powder and salt. Give  it a good stir. Add the chopped cucumber and mix it well. Cook covered on medium-low heat for about 7-8 minutes. Just keep stirring from time to time and sprinkle a little water if required. 
• When cooked take it off the heat and garnish with freshly chopped Cilantro. Serve this tangy and spicy Kakdi (Cucumber) Ki Subzi with hot phulkas.   

Peanut butter and Nutella Milkshake

This could be a quick and delicious breakfast option if you are pressed for time. It's a great snack. It's easy and so delicious that the kids love it. I must admit I wasn't really into peanut butter and  could not really understand how its such a favorite here in the US. But now so many years later I'm transformed,  now I absolutely have to have a jar of peanut butter in my pantry.  My kids love Peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches and I from time to time eat them too. It's an easy and delicious snack or breakfast option. With kids constantly on the go from school and back and their extra curricular activities, we busy mothers do need such easy choices. 

Another thing I also have in my pantry is Nutella . It's another of my kids favorite snack/breakfast option. I just make plain Nutella sandwiches or make Peanut Butter and Nutella sandwiches. They are awesome. So it wasn't a       surprise when my kids suggested we make Peanut butter and Nutella milkshake. We tried making it and loved it.   

Ingredients : 

• 2 cups milk
• 2 tbsp creamy peanut butter
• 2 tbsp Nutella
• 1 cup crushed ice 

Preparation : Blend all the above ingredients in a blender until smooth. That's it. Your Peanut Butter and Nutella Milkshake is ready. This recipe serves 2.