Escarole Wali Dal - Escarole and Red Lentils

Escarole and Red Lentils

Escarole according to Wikipedia is a broad-leaved Endive(Endive is a leafy vegetable). It has pale green leaves and is less bitter than the other varieties like Bavarian endive, Batavian endive, grumolo, scarola, and scarole. Escarole is rich in fiber, folic acid, vitamin A and vitamin K.

The inspiration for this preparation was Palak dal (Spinach Dal). Since I'm always excited to try out new recipes and combinations, this combination was put to the test and this dal was an instant hit at our house.

Split Masoor dal - Red lentils

Ingredients :

• 1 cup split Masoor dal /red lentils
• 1 bunch of Escarole chopped
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 2 large tomatoes chopped
• 4 green chillies slit
• 1 tbsp ginger-garlic freshly grated
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• pinch of hing / asafoetida
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin-cilantro powder
• 1/2 tsp amchur powder/dry mango powder
• 3 tbsp oil
• salt to taste

Preparation :

• Wash the dal. Wash and chop the escarole. Pressure cook it with 4 cups of water, salt and turmeric till cooked.
• For the seasoning/Tadka - Heat oil in a pan. Add the cumin seeds. When they splutter add hing. Add the chopped onion and saute till no longer get the raw smell. Add the grated ginger-garlic and fry for about 1 minute. Add the chopped tomatoes and slit green chillies. Fry for about 2 minutes and add red chili powder, cumin-cilantro powder and amchur powder. Fry till the oil leaves the masala. To this add the cooked dal and escarole and bring it to a boil. Adjust the seasoning and let it simmer on low heat for another 2-3 minutes.
• Your Escarole Wali Dal is ready to serve. This goes well with rice or any Indian bread of your choice.
• This recipe serves 4.

Carrot and Honey Milkshake

When I eat fresh fruits and vegetables I just feel healthy already. I know we should exercise as well. I'm guilty as I don't exercise as often as I should. So at least I try to eat right. This morning as I looked at my fresh vibrant orangy carrots I could'nt resist the temptation for a chilled glass of Carrot and Honey Milkshake. Also its been pretty hot since last couple days..But I'm not complaining since I love when the sun's out and everything around you looks gorgeous. Lets toast to this beautiful sunny weather...

Even Mr. Carrot here approves of this healthy Milkshake. !!!! This has been inspired by my dear blogpal Padhu from Padhu's Kitchen , who is a queen of vegetable and fruit carving and ofcourse has a wonderful collection of delicious and creative recipes.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups grated carrot (2 large carrots)
• 4 cups milk
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1/2 cup ice
  

Procedure :

• Wash, peel and grate the carrots.
• In a Blender , add the grated carrots and about a cup of milk and blend till smooth. Now add the rest of the milk , honey and ice and blend.
• Serve immediately. This recipe serves 3-4.

Now you could strain the milkshake through a fine strainer before serving or serve as is. Also you could add a little sugar if the carrots are not sweet enough.

Bhindi Masala- Okra Masala

This Bhindi/Okra recipe is quick and easy to prepare. The main key ingredient is Cilantro/Coriander. This recipe uses freshly chopped Cilantro and also uses dried powdered Cilantro.

Ingredients :

• 1 pound Bhindi/Okra
• 1 onion finely sliced
• 1 large tomato chopped
• 1 " piece of ginger cut into julienne
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp cumin-cilantro powder
• 2 tbsp freshly chopped cilantro
• 3 tbsp oil
• salt to taste
  

Preparation:

• Wash and dry the Bhindi/Okra. Cut both the ends and slit them horizontally.
• Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. When they splutter add the onion and fry till golden brown. Add the chopped tomato and ginger. Fry for about a minute.
• Add turmeric powder, cumin-cilantro powder and freshly chopped cilantro. Fry for about 2-3 minutes.
• Add the Bhindi/Okra and salt. Mix well. Cook covered over medium to low flame till almost cooked. Stir occasionally. Cook uncovered on high flame for the last 2-3 minutes till Bhindi Masala is fully cooked.
• Bhindi Masala is ready to be served. This recipe serves 4.

Easter Bunny Cake.

Wishing Everyone A HAPPY EASTER. We baked an Easter Bunny Cake today and it was a great fun project especially frosting our bunny cake. Its basically a simple vanilla cake recipe adapted from here and we used Betty Crocker's Rich and Creamy Vanilla Frosting.

Ingredients:

• 2 round vanilla cakes (9" each)
• 1 can Betty Crocker's Rich and Creamy Vanilla frosting( 160z)
• M&Ms and Twizzlers for the decoration(eyes,nose,mouth and whiskers)
• Yellow food coloring for the bow tie(optional)
  

Preparation : Assembling of the Easter bunny cake can be done as follows:

Bake two round cakes. Let them cool for about an hour before you begin frosting.
Now cut one of the round cakes as per the click below. This will be the bunny's ears and the bow tie.

Now assemble them on a cookie sheet or cardboard lined with aluminium foil.

Let the fun begin. Frost the cake and give some character to our bunny.

Tomato Rasam and Awards

Today's recipe is a quick and easy recipe. Tomato Rasam goes well with plain hot rice. It could also be served as is as a Soup.

Also today is April 1st, which is also known as April Fools' Day. So do you believe in this day and enjoy pulling pranks on your friends and loved ones. I have to confess I do..and I love this day...I'm not telling you what mischief I'm upto today..maybe in my next post...Enjoy and be careful the day is not over yet... You still have time for some mischief and to FOOL someone or be Fooled and I know its all in good faith...Its alright to have some fun, right ....

Ingredients:

• 4-5 tomatoes
• 1 tbsp grated ginger
• 2-3 green chillies slit
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp Sambhar powder
• 1/2 mustard seeds
• pinch of asafoetida/hing
• 2 tsp oil/ghee
• 2-3 curry leaves
• 5-6 black peppercorns freshly crushed
• 1 tbsp fresh cilantro freshly chopped
• 3-4 cups water
• salt to taste

Preparation :

• Boil enough water in a pan. Add the whole tomatoes to the boiling water. Bring it off the flame and let it cool. Within minutes the tomato skin will peel off. Now chop these tomatoes.
• In another pan add 3-4 cups of water and let it boil for 2 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes, grated ginger, green chillies, turmeric power, salt and freshly crushed peppercorns and let it cook on medium flame till the tomatoes are cooked and look well incorporated (for 8-10 minutes).
• Now add the Sambhar powder and chopped cilantro and mix well.
• Next is the tempering, take a small tempering pan/Kadai and heat the oil/ghee. Add the mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the curry leaves and asafoetida . Add this to the rasam. Mix well.
• Tomato Rasam is ready to serve. This recipe serves 4.
  

Its Award Time now..... I'm a bit embarassed that I took so long to collect my awards. I love each and every one of them. It shows the love and support of my fellow blogpals. As always Its an humbling feeling. Thanks !!!!

Shahana from Me N my Apron is a dear blogpal who has passed me the following awards. I can't thank her enough for her kindness and friendship. I love her blog and her repertoire of recipes combined with her awesome eyecatching photography.

Shahana and Vineetha from Ruchi have gifted me with this awesome sunshine award. Thanks Vineetha you are a sweetheart and I enjoy visiting your space with a diverse range of recipes.

Shahana and Cecily Anthony has passed me this , "Honest Scrap award". Thanks a lot. When I visit Cecily's blog I'm always impressed by her cake creations. They are just Perfect... and so detailed. Her other recipes are equally impressive too !!!.

Rules for accepting the Honest Scrap award:
Thank the giver, display the award , say 10 honest new things about yourself and pass it on to 10 people.

10 honest new things about me....Believe me its so hard to write about oneself.

1. I admire my mom and dad for the way they raised us and I try to instill the same values in my kids.
2. I'm very impatient and I am married to a guy who has tons of patience. I guess after being married I'm developing my patience..but there's a long way to go.
3. I 'm a outdoorsy kind of a girl. I love going for long walks and hiking and being out admiring nature.
4. I could be impulsive at times.
5. I love drinking tea and I am always looking for some company for tea...Interesting gupshup(chitchat) over tea never hurt anybody. In fact I can never really understand when occasionally I'll meet someone who says he/she does not drink tea/coffee.
6. I love listening to music. Be it in my car or at home. It could be any kind of music. My favorite though still are Kishoreda's old songs.
7. I must say I'm very sensitive and get affected by mean remarks and manipulative people. I'm also surprised as to how a few people could be so vicious when life has so many beautiful things to offer.
8. I collect a lot of costume jewelry and my favorite attire is Salwar Kameez. Its so elegant and classic and you could go from being casual to formal and I love to match it up with the matching costume jewelry.
9. I could get angry so quick and lose my temper and within minutes be back to normal. My mom used to call me a pressure cooker. I have gotten much better at this (thats what they all tell me).
10. I like to say a prayer before going to bed every night and I have my kids do the same. I feel its our way to show gratitute to God and be thankful for all that we have.

I would love to pass on this "Honest Scrap award" to - Vinolia, Sangeetha , Sangeetha , Ms. Chitchat, Sayantani, Vineetha, San's Kitchen, Asha, Tina, Sarah Naveen.

Rajma - Curried Red Kidney Beans

Welcome Spring. !!! Finally Spring is here and I hope you are enjoying the great weather as much as we are here in Philadelphia. My son had his Spring break and so I took a short blogging break as well. The highlight of my break was that I got to see in person none other than President Obama himself and I'm still in that happy and excited phase. He was rallying for his health reform bill at the George Mason University in Virginia and since we were visiting some friends there it was a perfect opportunity to hear his speech first hand. I was impressed and since I have been and still am a great fan of President Obama , this was a great occasion for me. So thought about sharing this with my blogpals. Hope I'm not sounding boastful..LOL...
Here is a proof I was there, Moi posing for the Big Event!!!!. This only took a few seconds and I did listen to the President for the entire time except when clicking a few pictures...

Alright lets get down to the Recipe part of the post. Today's recipe is one of our favorites at out house. Its Rajma or Red Kidney Beans. Best combination to enjoy Rajma is with Chawal(Rice). Rajma-Chawal is comfort food to me and I'm sure there are many more who will agree with me. This Recipe was requested by one of my friend's daughter Richa, who really encourages me a lot by her feedback and she is also very passionate about cooking and trying out recipes on her. Stay tuned for her recipe in tomorrow's post. So, Dear Richa This is for you ......

Ingredients :

• 1 cup Rajma/Red Kidney beans
• 1 cup onion puree
• 1 1/2 cup tomato puree
• 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 black cardamom
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp cumin-cilantro powder
• salt to taste
• 3-4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp freshly chopped Cilantro

You could substitute 1 cup dried Red Kidney beans for two 14 0z cans of Red Kidney beans. For the onion puree I don't grind it too fine, its like a finely grated texture. You could even just grate the onions.

Preparation :

• Wash the Rajma/kidney beans and soak them in about 4-5 cups water overnight.
• Pressure cook the Rajma with enough water(4-5 cups), turmeric and salt for upto 4 whistles or until cooked. If you were to use canned Rajma/Red Kidney beans you would skip this step. Just wash the canned beans in a colander and discard the stock(canned liquid).
• Heat oil in a pan. Add the Bay leaves and cardamom.
• Next add the onion paste. Saute the onion till it becomes golden brown .
• Add the garlic/ginger paste. Saute for about 2 minutes and then add the tomato puree. Fry for another 2 minutes.
• Add the red chilli powder and the cumin-cilantro powder. Let it cook until the oil leaves the surface (about 5-6 minutes). Now add the Rajma/Red kidney beans with the liquid and let it simmer covered for about 10-12 minutes. (At this step you could add a little water if you think the consistency is too thick and adjust the salt).
• Garnish with freshly chopped cilantro leaves and serve with rice. Enjoy my comfort food- Rajma Chawal with plain Yogurt or Boondi Raita.
• This recipe serves 4.

Corn Bread

This is the recipe I had promised in my last post. This was the corn bread which really complimented our lettuce soup. Now if you are not really a fan of lettuce soup, thats alright you can still give this Corn Bread a try and you will love it just as is. I did add a little red chilli flakes and in my opinion it balanced the sweetness of this corn bread.

Ingredients :

• 1/2 cup Indian Head Yellow Corn Meal
• 1/2 cup sifted all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 tsp red chilli flakes

Preparation :

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• In a bowl combine corn meal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and red chilli flakes.
• Add the butter at room temperature and mix.
• Mix egg and milk together and add to dry ingredients with a few swift strokes.
• Bake in greased bread pan for about 25 minutes.
• Corn bread is ready to serve. You could serve it warm right from the oven or cold.
• This recipe yields 10- 12 slices.