Healthy Moong Dal Dahi Vada

Moong dal dahi vada

The story of the moong dal vadas. When I was back in India last year this time, my mom made some amazingly soft vadas and made buffalo milk yoghurt. If you haven had buffalo milk, it is thick more creamier and richer than cow's milk, so obviously the yoghurt will be thick and creamy. That dahi vada was the best I have ever had. Fast forward to May , I tried making the vadas at home and they turn out hard as ever. Turns out I was using the wrong type of moong dal, the yellow split moong dal without the skin is the right one to make the vadas. This time round the vadas were super soft and tasted delicious. I hate deep frying because of the fear of hot oil, so i used an appe pan to shallow fry the vadas and they turned out great. 

Ingredients:

1 cup Moong Dal

1 cup Dahi 

4-5 pepper corns

ginger grated approx 1 tsp 

To garnish:

Roasted & Coarsely crushed jeera

Pomegranate seeds

Chopped coriander

Chili powder

Recipe:

* Soak the moong dal for 3-4 hours or preferably overnight. Drain the water and in a blender / wet grinder grind the dal till it is soft and smooth. Do not use any water. Add the pepper corns , grated ginger and salt as it is grinding. I used a wet grinder to grind the daal smoothly and get a batter which will yield fluffy vadas. It should take around 15-20 mins for the daal to grind smoothly and fluff up using a wet grinder.

* Heat the appe pan and add oil to the moulds. Drop spoonfuls of the batter into the moulds.
To help the vadas cook evenly close light with a lid. Check to see if one side is done then flip the vadas.

* Once the vadas are done soak them immediately in warm water for a few minutes. They will absorb the water and swell up.

* In the meanwhile beat the dahi with a large spoon, add salt. Squeeze out as much water as you can and add the vadas to the seasoned dahi.

* Add crushed jeera, chili powder, pomegranate seeds and chopped coriander. Chili in the fridge and serve.

Easy Cucumber Carrot Stir Fry

My grand mother is a great cook. She makes any vegetable taste delicious. She has magic in her fingers. She makes this salad type stir-fry very often to go with rotis. I hope you enjoy her recipe. 

Cucumber Carrot Stir Fry 

Time: 15 mins 

Serves: 2 

Ingredients:

* 1 cucumber - peeled and sliced lengthwise

* 1 Carrot - peeled and sliced lengthwise

* 2 green chilies

* 1 tsp olive oil

* 1 tsp mustard 

* 1 tsp jeera ( cumin )

* Salt to taste.

* Dash of Lemon juice

* Cilantro - handful chopped

Recipe:

1. Place a pan on medium heat and add olive oil. Add mustard , once it starts spluttering add the jeera. 

2. Add the cucumber, carrot and green chillies. Make sure all the vegetables are coated with the olive oil. 

3. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 5 mins or until the cucumber looks transparent. Add salt to taste. 

4. Serve hot with chopped cilantro and a dash of freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Broken Wheat Vegetable Delight

How has your weekend been? Mine was good. We did quiet a few things, caught up with friends, went on a long hike after a long time, went shopping at IKEA and tried to watch a movie using Chromecast. Every time I go shopping at IKEA I have to buy a few more air-tight jars for my pantry. I have an obsession for jars, any size, shape and color jar and have quiet a collection in my pantry.

Broken Wheat also called Bulgar wheat, Fada, Dalia is high in fiber and is made from whole raw wheat kernels. I am not a big fan of broken wheat and enjoy it if its cooked the right way and eaten hot. This is an easy one pot meal. Broken wheat can be substituted with rice as well in this recipe.

I had a small cauliflower, one potato and one carrot lying in the pantry and were used up in this dish. The recipe is a good way to finish up leftover veggies and also eat healthy.

Recipe:

Serves: 2-3 adults

Time: 20 mins

Special Kitchenware: Pressure cooker or  Electrical Rice Cooker.

Ingredients:
1 cup broken wheat / rice
1/4 cup chopped onions
1 tsp ginger garlic paste *
2-3 green chillies
1-2 cup mixed vegetables ( potatoes, carrots, french beans, peas)
Salt to taste
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp chili powder/paprika
Cilantro chopped finely to garnish.

Tempering:
1/4 tsp Mustard seeds
1/4 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tsp Olive Oil

* If you do not have ginger garlic paste. Add finely chopped garlic and grated ginger where the recipe calls for this ingredient.

Broken wheat vegetable delight

• Wash the broken wheat thoroughly in a bowl and keep it aside. 

• In a thick bottomed vessel / pressure cooker add olive oil, mustard and cumin seeds. The mustard seeds will start sizzling in the hot oil. 

• At this time add the chopped onions, Sautee for 2-3 mins with a pinch of salt. The ginger-garlic paste should be added now. Cook until the raw garlic smell goes away. 

• Add all the vegetables along with green chillies to the pot now. Let them cook for a minute or two and then add the spices - turmeric, chili powder and salt. Stir until the spices and vegetables are blended together. 

• Now add two and half cups of hot water to the pot or pressure cooker. If you are using an electric cooker, transfer the mixture to the electric cooker now. For a pressure cooker cook on medium flame for 2 whistles.

You can see my reflection and that of the food on the spoon

• Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with papad or raita. Make sure to serve this dish hot ! 

Tell me how did you like the dish and also if you have a jar obsession like I do :). 

Quinoa Peas Pulao

On a glommy fall evening, all you want to do is snuggle by the fireplace and read a book or watch a movie. Cooking is the last thing you want to do. This Quinoa Pulao is easy, healthy and delicious. It takes only a few minutes to cook and most of the ingredients are in your pantry already ! So lets start cooking.

Recipe:

Time : 20 mins
Preparation : 5 mins
Serves : 2

Ingredients:

Quinoa - 1cup
Water or Vegetable Broth - 2 cups

Peas - 1/4 cup

Onion - chopped finely - 1/4 cup.
Paneer - 10 pieces ( cubed) - optional

Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tsp

Green chili - 2-3 ( depending on your spice level)

Mint leaves - a handful 

Gharam masala - 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil - 1 tsp

To Temper:
Jeera - 1 tsp

Cloves - 2-3

Cinnamon - 1/2 inch piece

* In a pot or dutch oven add olive oil and all the ingredients under the 'to temper ' list.

* The jerra will turn a golden brown, add the chopped onions to it with a pinch of salt. The salt will help the onions sweat and cook faster.

* When the onions have a pink tinge on them, add ginger-garlic paste, sauté for 2-3 mins. Add the paneer now if you have it. Sauté for few more mins.

* Add the green chili, peas, gharam masala, and mint leaves and sauté for a min or so. 

* Rinse the quinoa using a kitchen strainer. Add the washed quinoa to the pot.

* For every 1 cup of quinoa you will require 2 cups of water or broth. Let the quinoa cook until you can see the germ of the quinoa around it. The quinoa should have a ring around it, it is called the germ of the quinoa.

* To make quinoa fluffy, close the lid of the vessel after you switch off the stove and let it sit for a few minutes. Fluff the quinoa gently with a fork. Serve with Fava beans raita.

Here are more tips on how to make your quinoa fluffy.

Cucumber Cups

Cucumber Cups :) 

For halloween this year, I made these cucumber cups as an appetizer for our party. They looked good, are easy to make and are a crowd pleaser. Great for your vegan and gluten free friends . There are just three ingredients in this dish Cucumbers, Sabra brand hummus and paprika.
Oh, and I forgot to mention I had won a party pack by Sabra and so decided to make something using the hummus. I hope you do enjoy making and serving these cucumber cups to your family.

Recipe:
Seedless Cucumber ( peeled and cut into chunks)
Melon baller
Hummus ( I used Sabra garlic hummus)
Paprika

Once you have peeled the cucumbers, and cut them into chunks, use a mellon baller to remove a small portion from the middle of the chunk and fill it with hummus. Do the same with other remaining chunks. Sprinkle paprika on the hummus to get it a twist. Your appetizer is now ready to be enjoyed.

 Do you have a special easy appetizer, that you love making and your friends enjoy? Do post your comments and feedback, I would love to know what you all think.