Spinach Crepes (Palak greens Ragi Rava Dosai)

I am trying as much as I can to replace processed grains in my diet with vegetables and grains with a lower GI. I decided that an easy way to do this was to increase the amount of prepped vegetables I have in the fridge. Cleaned spinach; chopped cabbage, peppers, carrots- you know the drill.

Today, I had ‘Karacha maavu dosai’ ( Flour batter crepes) on my menu for dinner. Usually, this refers to a dosai (a crepe) made of wheat flour, yogurt, with salt, mustard-cumin seasoning and cilantro. It came to me that I should try to replace the water in my batter with spinach juice. I quickly ran a cup of spinach through the processor.

I set up my batter like this:

Ragi (Millet) flour: 1/4 cup

Rava (Cream of wheat): 1/2 cup

Whole wheat flour: 1/2 cup

Yogurt: 1/2 cup

Salt: 1 tsp

Spinach juice: 1 cup of spinach run through a processor with about 1/2 cup of water and 5-6 curry leaves.

Garnish: Gingelly oil with popped mustard seeds, cumin seeds, red chilli flakes, asafoetida

I let the mixture sit for 30-40 minutes, but I would even give it an hour.

Making the crepe:

I used a non stick pan. Iron griddles take a while to work with cream of wheat or any Karacha maavu dosai, and a bit of oil. Go for it if you have the patience and the a love for cooking oil!

My mother likes adding broken cashew nut to her batter just before making her crepes, it adds stochastic soft crunches(trademark on alliteration pending), which is an interesting contrast.

I made my first crepe (it seemed a bit runny but also a bit thick at the same time. Stuff can be SO weird)

I sprinkled on my chopped vegetables and cilantro.

I greased the circumference(although I do not claim that this is a circle)  with some oil. I let it cook on a high flame for about 1 minute and began testing the edges. It’s important to check if the dosai is ready to leave the pan. For two things that just met, the pan and dosai may show a great attachment to one another. But, it’s important that the pan meet both sides of our crepe.

Flip using a spatula, slowly.

Do you see how my dosai broke a bit from separation anxiety? I pressed the broken bits into each other and led it to believe that it was okay.

Voila! Yay! Spinach crepes are ours to eat. Well really, they were mine. Make them yours today! Maybe tomorrow.

Meanwhile, here’s this collage I made on Instagram.

Given proportions make about 6 medium sized dosais. Okay, chop chop (getit?)

Smoked Eggplant Chutney

Smoked eggplant is like a pen pal that you have so much in common with but you just can’t seem to trust. You seem to agree upon many things, but when push comes to shove, you don’t want to count on it.

Smoked eggplant is intense. It’s a strong flavour to eat. A lot of times, we try to smoothen it out, but I say- pack it up with everything you’ve got, and face it head on. You won’t be disappointed. 

I used half a medium sized eggplant for this chutney and ate it with a moong-Proso millet Kitchadi, and I was so happy. Here’s some happiness for you. 

Okay. Recipe for half an Italian eggplant (a medium-big one) 

Rub a drop of oil (I used sesame) on your eggplant, and roast it over a flame. I used a tiny grate that I use to make rotis, and alternatingly smoked the eggplant on high and low flame. Stop when you see the peel black, and a mushy eggplant hugging you from inside. 

 Next- grind coarsely/fine, depending on the texture you’re looking for: 3 tbsp peanuts, 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds (if you bought it raw, toast on dry hot pan for a min until it begins to pop, toss and cool), 1tsp red chili flakes. Set aside. 

Then, take as much of the black peel off the smoked eggplant. Slowly mash it into your processor. To this, add 2 tbsp of grated coconut if you desire. 1 tbsp of thick coconut milk will be okay as well. 

Grind this(add water to liquefy if you please) mix with your previous mixture, salt, add the juice of one small-medium lemon. Taste. Now, we add the fun stuff.

In your pan, heat (on low heat)- 1 tsp sesame oil, and as it gets hot, add 1 tsp coconut oil. To this, add mustard seeds, red chilli flakes, and- 3-4 garlic cloves, minced. Your mustard seeds won’t pop in coconut oil. Instead, they will foam over and fry well. Quickly turn off the stove and let the flavors infuse into the oil.

Add the oil with seeds et al to the chutney, enjoy over pita, naan, breads, with rice, quinoa, carrots, small chicken bits, anything in life.

PS: As I lay on the couch thinking what else you could eat this with, I imagine a sandwich- whole wheat, a tbsp of chutney mixed with a tbsp of yogurt or mayonnaise, with roasted sweet potatoes and carrot, fresh spinach with a sweet, lemony dressing. 

Be a dear and try it? 

Baingan Bartha: Smoked Eggplant Curry

I have recently begun to cook for myself again, and I find myself reaching for vegetables I love, suddenly, I remember foods that have played in the undercurrents of my mind, and also, I found a fat, gorgeous eggplant.

What you need:

-Eggplant (Italian-type, large): 1

– Green chilies: 2

– Onion: 1

– Tomatoes: 2

– Garlic: 4-5 cloves

– Green peas (fresh/thawed): 1/2 cup

– Cilantro: to garnish

For the spice mix:

– Dhaniya (coriander) powder: 1 tsp

– Turmeric powder: 1/4tsp

– Garam Masala: 1/4 tsp

For the tadka:

– Cumin seeds: 1/2tsp

– Fennel seeds: 1/2 tsp

– Oil

What I did:

Barta is usually made with a smoked eggplant. You could roast your eggplant in the oven. Just rub a couple drops of oil on it,place it in a pan, and roast for about 15-20 minutes at 250 F, until you can see the peel come off.

In Chennai, in my oven-free apartment, I did this:

I used a pair of tongs, a kitchen towel, turned the stove off and back on, but made sure that I got all the parts of the eggplant, and none of my hand, on the fire.

Here’s what happened:

Roasted Eggplant

 

The purple peels right off, leaving you with a soft, delicious mush, your heart on a plate.

I quickly grated the onion and garlic.

Then, I heated some oil in a pan, added the cumin and fennel seeds, (I think that eggplant and fennel have the most curious, wondrous marriage) the onion, garlic, chopped chilies, chopped tomatoes, and let it cook, with a lid on. Meanwhile, I scored the eggplant with a butter knife, and broke it down with the grain of the vegetable. I added this to the pan.

Once, a friend and I had driven to a ‘tea festival’ on the outskirts of Atlanta, only to leave disappointed, hungry and exhausted. We stopped at a Nepali restaurant, and tried to order food off the menu, but as it turned out, it was so late that they had no vegetarian food left. That was when the kindly old chef walked to me and said that he would whip me up a baingan barta, and it was the sweetest, kindest lunch I had eaten. Since then, I decided to always include peas in my baingan barta, like he had in his, that day. It is a great sweet offset to the smokiness, and breaks the mushiness in the texture.

I blanched my peas and added them to the mixture, and let it simmer.

I covered it for a bit, and voila! Ready to be eaten and shared.

Red Quinoa Winter Casserole

I found beautiful rainbow carrots and jicama at the farmer’s market in Palo Alto, and inspired by how delicious they tasted oven-roasted last night, threw together this red quinoa casserole for lunch today.

What I used:

Quinoa: 1 cup, uncooked

Vegetable broth: 1 cup

Rainbow carrots: 2, big

Jicama: 10-12 strips, about 3/4 of a regular sized vegetable

Garlic: 4-5 cloves, cut in halves/ chopped roughly

Cayenne: 1 tsp

Black pepper: 1 tsp

Salt: To taste

Olive oil: 2 tbsp

Parmesan & Pecans: Optional, grated over.

What I did:

In a saucepan, I heated one cup of water, and added one cup of broth when it was warm. To this, I added one cup of red quinoa. While this was cooking, I cleaned and peeled my carrots and jicama, dicing them into chunky bits. I like chunky roasted garlic in my food, so I sliced the cloves into 2-3 big bits each.

In a bowl, I mixed together a tablespoon of EVOO, a teaspoon of salt, a teaspoon of cayenne, and 1/2 a teaspoon of black pepper. I microwaved this for 30 seconds to make the oil easier to move, and then tossed the vegetables in this mixture and let it sit until the quinoa was done.

I greased a pan with the rest of the EVOO and preheated the oven to 425 F. I added a layer of quinoa to the bottom, and poured in any leftover broth/water from the saucepan. A pinch of salt and black pepper over this make it come together with the rest. A layer of vegetables, and quinoa alternatively and finally some crushed pecans on top with sliced parmesan make it all better!

Baked this at 400 F for about 20 minutes, and voila!

Topped it off with some chopped chives for color.

Enjoy happy quinoa times, but not without:

Kale and Coconut milk soup

This was quite straightforward to make, really. A handful of ingredients and you end up with delicious soup. I used half a bag of kale, about a pound. Here’s what to do.

 

Makes 6 large servings

Kale- 4-5 cups

Jumbo yellow onion- 1

Garlic- 4-5 cloves

Tarragon- 2 tsp (best if fresh; I used fresh tarragon that I had frozen)

Light Coconut milk- 1 small can

Olive Oil- 1- 2 tbsp

Salt and Pepper to taste

 

Sweat chopped onions and garlic with the olive oil in a heavy bottomed pan with a lid. Throw in the massaged and chopped kale and continue to sweat. Add water slowly as the greens reduce. Overall, I added 2 cups of water while the greens were cooking. Add the tarragon and cook while keeping the lid on the pan. Once the kale is softened, allow it to cool and puree in a blender or with a pureer. Add in the can of coconut milk as you puree, and add more water if you want. I added about 1.5 can fulls after I mixed in the coconut milk.

Salt and enjoy! I think it tastes best with toasted cracked pepper. Try red pepper flakes or enjoy as it is.

I initially made this as a side for pasta but have not been able to finish this because it is so filling!

 

 

Curried tofu Scramble wrap

Sweat onions in a non stick pan with oil until they brown. Add diced tofu, a tbsp of tomato sauce (or a 1/4 tomato) and 2 tsp curry powder.
Add salt and mix the spice and sauce in while mashing the tofu. To this, add some frozen peas/carrots/corn/beans and a pinch of turmeric. Cook until browned.

I used a garden herb spinach wrap for color. Alternatively use a tortilla!
Here are some pictures

Easy-Peasy: Simple Matar Paneer

Thai Scroodle Salad

I was hungry and needed a pasta fix. There is an awesome thai pasta recipe that I love to make, but it involves marinating and waiting and everything else patient. So I tried to do this instead– except I made it a salad so I can lie about how it may be healthier. Here goes!

What I used:

• Uncooked Pasta- 1 cup
• Onions, peppers- I put in like 1/4 onion, chopped, and like 1/2 a pepper, chopped
• Soy sauce (I used Lite)- 3 tbsp
• Peanut butter(I used Jif’s creamy reduced fat– crunchy works very well too!)- 1 tbsp
• Garlic salt- 1/4 tsp (alternatively just garlic powder, if the soy is enough salt for you)
• Crushed red chillies- 1.5 tsp (I love crushed red chillies)
• Toasted sesame seeds- To season with- 1 tsp (I am partial to black ones)
• White/black pepper- to taste

I set water on the stove and once it started boiling, I added the vegetables– this blanched them. I also cooked the pasta in the same water. While this was happening, I added the soy sauce, peanut butter, garlic powder, red chillies and black pepper to a large bowl. I microwaved it for about 1 minute, taking it out and stirring the mixture at 20 second intervals. When stirred well, this resembles a thickened pad thai sauce.

Once the pasta was cooked (the vegetables were still in there), I strained, rinsed and added it to the bowl with dressing and tossed away like nobody’s business. Then, I seasoned it with sesame seeds. You can also throw in sliced green onions. If you like your onions and peppers raw, you needn’t blanch them.

This made two servings, and the whole process took about 15 mins.

Other suggestions:

You could also add snow peas, chopped chinese lettuce, cooked shredded chicken.

I used Rotini whole wheat pasta (so I can make a clever name) but whole wheat pasta is baloney, so use the real deal.

Fish sauce will be a fun addition, obviously. Just throw it into the bowl– I would add 1 tbsp to get a slight hint.

Maybe it’s the carb load but I loved it and I am very happy right now.

Also, please enjoy:

The Atlantanberg Fennel : Bowtie Pasta with roasted fennel and cracked black pepper

Pasta is awesome. It is delicious and it is versatile and you want to eat it and it’s simply the best. It is humankind’s creatively-shaped, carb-filled, double-edged sword.

The hardest part about eating pasta knowing how many carbs it brings is the sauce you have to dunk it in to make it edible. An easy task for tomato lovers, you say. Agreed. Some of us don’t love tomatoes. They are mushy and taste weird raw and overwhelming when cooked. Moving on from hating on tomato based pasta sauces, why not pesto or alfredo, you ask. Fair enough. Pesto is oily and herb filled and delicious. Alfredo is cheesy and cheese filled and delicious. But sometimes you are craving a flavorful 500-600 calorie  pasta meal that need not be eaten in a tiny portion because it is laden with cheese or oil.

Here is a pasta I made today that may be one option.

Before I opened my fridge to look at what I had inside, I boiled some water and added bow tie pasta (farfalle are so pretty) to it so it would cook.

Then, I put one yellow onion in a bowl of hot water and submerged it completely. I also cut a quarter bulb of fennel.

I heated a pan and added a tablespoon of olive oil. I added the chopped onions, fennel and 3 cloves of sliced garlic. I sweated these in the pan for a bit and turned them in the pan to get a roast going, and added the cracked black pepper.

After cooking this mixture in a closed pan (it smelled delicious, I couldn’t let the aroma escape), I added the pasta to it and closed it again.

To this, I added a cube of mozzarella, diced and sprinkled all over the pasta. I closed it again so the cheese would melt and then tossed it for a bit. Here is a picture I took that clearly does no justice to the food, as you will know when you try this.

You can also add minced broccoli florets for added vegetable related health benefits. Alternatively, you can add cauliflower florets and substitute tarragon for fennel.

Also, enjoy:

Broken wheat vegetable upma

Recipe coming soon!