Macaroni in spinach-pumpkin seeds pesto

Although authentic pesto sauce calls for pine nuts & basil, I have tried creating pesto using Thai Basil (it has a strong aroma), Chinese spinach (Phuay Leng) & various seeds like pumpkin seeds, cashews & almonds. Whatever combo I tried became a huge hit at home. My hubby felt the aroma is very strong for Thai Basil but loved eating them. My son who is a big fan of pasta loves to eat this pesto sauce too (I'm happy that this way some leafy vegetables make way to his stomach :p)

 Ingredients: (Will serve 2-3)

Macaroni: 2 cups
Salt: According to taste
Capsicum: 1/2 cup (cut into 1 cm squares)
Olive oil: 1 tsp
Parmesan cheese: 1 tbsp (optional)

For pesto sauce:

Spinach : 1 bunch (around 200gms)
Pumpkin seeds: 2 tbsp
Garlic: 2 cloves
Green chillies: 2 nos (Authentic pesto sauce doesn't call for it, but to match our taste buds I add!)
Parmesan cheese: 1 tbsp (it is better to add it, if you can't find it add more of olive oil)
Olive oil: 2 tbsp
Salt: According to taste

Method:

• Cook macaroni according to the package instructions. Drain the water & keep aside 1 cup of the boiled water.

Sauce preparation:

• Blanch the spinach.Make a smooth paste of pumpkin seeds, blanched spinach, garlic, green chillies, Parmesan cheese, olive oil & salt. Finally add the lemon juice & keep it aside.
• Heat  oil in a broad pan. When oil is hot, throw in the capsicum & cook on a medium-high heat for 2-3 mins. When the capsicum is cooked & yet firm, add the spinach sauce, cooked pasta & 1/2 cup of water. Mix them gently & cook on a low heat for 3-4mins. Adjust the salt (note: both the cooked pasta & the sauce has salt in it).
• Finally garnish it with cheese & serve hot.

Notes:

• Refer this if you are blanching the spinach for the first time.
• Pumpkin seeds could be replaced with cashew nuts, almonds, walnuts or pine nuts.

Gorikayi Bhath (Spicy Cluster beans rice)

This is a traditional Karnataka dish which is a very similar to the famous 'Vangi bhath'. The spice powder mentioned here is also a close second to the vangi bhath powder. You can use the same powder for vangi bhath too.
Gorikai/Gorikayi/Javalikayi : Kannada
Cluster beans: English
Gawaar: Hindi & Marathi. For other language translations, refer here.

Ingredients:
Rice: 2 cups
Gorikayi/Gorikai/Cluster beans/Guar: 2 cups (finely chopped)
Peas: A fistful or approximately 1/2 cup (optional)
Jaggery: A big pinch (optional)
Tamarind: 1 or 1.5 tsp (extract thick juice)
Oil: 1 tsp
Salt: According to taste.

For spice powder:
Gram dal/Channa dal: 2 tsp
Urad dal: 1 tsp
Coriander seeds/dhania: 1/2 tsp
Red chillies: 4-5 (I normally use 2 spicier chillies & 3 Kashmiri chillies for color)
Cinnamon: 1inch stick
Cardamom: 1 no
Marati moggu: 1 no
Cloves: 3 nos

For tempering:

Oil: 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp
Peanuts/Groundnuts: 1 tbsp
Curry leaves: 8-10 ( 2 strings)
Red chilli: 1 no (broken)
Asafoetida: A pinch

For garneshing:
Grated coconut: 2 tbsp
Coriander leaves: 1 tbsp (finely chopped)

Method:
Step 1: Prepare the rice by adding double the amount of water & allow it to cool.
Step 2: Meantime, heat oil on a broad pan. When oil is hot, add the finely chopped cluster beans & saute for a minute. Add few drops of oil & let it cook. When the beans are half cooked, add the peas & cook until both are soft yet crunchy.
Step 3: Paralelly when the beans are getting cooked, prepare the spice powder. Dry roast all the ingredients mentioned for the spice powder & allow it to cool. When it is cool, prepare a powder out of it & scoop out the powder.
Step 4: Boil the tamarind juice for a minute. This is done to remove the raw smell of the tamarind. The juice thickens. Keep it aside.
Step 5: When the beans are cooked, add the spice powder (around a tbsp of the powder should be sufficient) & salt. Mix well & turn off the flame.
Step 6: Prepare the tempering. Heat oil in a small pan. When oil is hot, add mustard seeds. When mustard seeds splutter, add peanuts. Roast till the peanuts are golden brown. Add the curry leaves, asafoetida, red chilli & cook for 3-5 secs. Turn off the flame.
Step 7: Spread the rice in broad vessel (the rice must have reached the room temperature). Add the cooked spicier beans (cooked at step 5), tamarind paste (step 4), tempering (step 6) to the rice. Adjust the salt (note you have added salt to the beans already). Add the grated coconut, coriander leaves & mix the rice thoroughly. Serve it warm or at room temperature. Enjoy it with a raitha/papad or as is.

Tips:

• Tamarind extract can be replaced with lemon juice too, however the authentic taste comes from the tamarind.
• Replace fresh grated coconut with dry coconut/copra, if you wish to preserve this rice for a day or two.
• Excess spice powder can be preserved in air tight containers for later use.
• For quicker version, MTR vangi bhath powder can be used to prepare this dish.

Perganji/Kayihalu ganji(Coconut milk porridge)

Per is a Tulu word for milk. The name of this dish is unlike its ingredients. Here milk refers to coconut milk. This is one special dish that can be consumed for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Very easy to prepare & tasty to eat. Coconut lovers can hook on to this dish for ever.

                                                                      (Pic: Porridge served with carrot pickle)

 I got this recipe from hubby's aunt during my last visit to India. I tried using store bought coconut milk, but somehow didnot like the taste of it. Freshly extracted coconut milk would taste & smell many times better than the store bought coconut milk.

Ingredients:(Serves 1-2)
Rice: 1 cup (Use ponni rice, raw rice or sona masoori)
Water: 3 cups
Coconut milk: 1/2 cup (thick)
Coconut milk: 1 cup (thin)

Method:

• Soak the rice for 30mins.
• Meantime bring water to a boil. When water starts boiling, add the rice & cook it on a low heat until rice is 3/4th done. Add the thin coconut milk & cook again. When rice is completely done, it becomes mushy.
• At this point, add thick coconut milk & cook for another 3-5mins.
• Perganji/Coconut milk porridge is ready. Serve it with pickle or chutney or palya/stirfry/poriyal.

 Tips:

• Donot add ghee while serving this porridge as coconut milk & ghee donot go hand-in-hand.
• Salt is not generally added to this porridge, but if your family prefers, go ahead & add. 

Pineapple Menaskai (Pineapple in sesame coconut sauce)

Menaskai(Curry) is a real treat to your taste buds. For those who love the combination of sour, sweet & spice.., this is the perfect dish. Everytime I eat this , i feel rejuvenated.

This is again a Udupi cuisine. During the weddings, naming ceremony or any festivities, this dish is again one of the must in the innumerable items prepared & served. There is pineapple gojju(gravy/curry) also prepared during Karnataka weddings (Mysore/Bangalore side). I do not know if both menaskai & gojju use the same ingredients. Will check with my grandmom during my next visit to India & update here.

Ingredients: (Recipe source: Mom-in-law)
Chopped pineapple: 1 cup
Tamarind: 1 medium lemon sized ball (adjust according to the sourness of the pineapple)
Jaggery: 1 medium lemon sized ball or 1.5 tsp (adjust according to the sourness of the pineapple)
Water: 1 to 1.5 cups
Salt: According to taste

 

For the spice paste/masala paste:
Grated dry coconut: 1 cup
Sesame seeds: 1.5 tbsp (I use white sesame)
Dry red chilli: 6-8nos (adjust according to your family needs)

 

For tempering:
Oil: 1 tsp
Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves: 4-6 nos
Dry red chilli: 1 broken
Asafetida: a pinch

Method:

• Soak the tamarind in warm water(about 1/4th cup water)  for 10mins. Extract the thick juice from the tamarind & discard the pulp.
• Boil the pineapple in 1/2 cup of water. When pineapple is half cooked, add tamarind extract, jaggery, salt to the pineapple & cook again until soft.
• Meantime, dry roast the sesame seeds & red chilli seperately. Allow them to cool.
• Make a fine paste of coconut, sesame seeds & red chilli.
• Pour the paste to the pineapple mixture, 1/4th cup water & cook it on a low heat for another 5-7mins.
• Prepare the tempering. Add oil to a small pan, when oil is hot, add mustard seeds. When mustard seeds splutter, add curry leaves, red chilli & saute for 5-8secs. Finally add the asafoetida & turn off the heat.
• Pour this tempering to the prepared pineapple menaskayi/curry.
• Serve it hot/warm as a side dish to rice.

Tips:

• The dish is usually made using fresh coconut. I replace it with dry coconut because that way I can preserve it for 3-5days in my refrigirator. If you are sure to use this in a day or two, feel free to add fresh coconut.
• Pineapple could be replaced with mango, bittergourd, ambade/amtekayi(Thanks to Shilpa of Aayisrecipe for this picture) or capsicum.
• This dish tastes better the next day. Donot forget to boil this once a day, cool it & then store it in the refrigirator.

Bhindi Dopyaza (Ladies-Finger & Onion Stir-fry)

Couple of weeks before, we went to Phuket, an Island in the south of Thailand. Here are some of the pictures. White sand, crystal clear water, beautiful beaches & great food. Exotic place to say the least. We were in water for almost 5-6 hours a day & got tanned to the core. We normally do not experiment with food since my hubby prefers Indian vegetarian food. But, this time, we tried Thai veg food and I was thoroughly impressed with it.

Now coming to today's recipe. I have love/hate relationship with okra/ladies finger. If it is not properly cooked, I hate it , otherwise I love all the dishes with okra. My mom, mom-in-law & sis-in-law all have their own secrets to fry the okra to reduce the slimness. My mom fries the okra on a high flame for sometime. My mom-in-law usually cook the okra in tamarind water & avoid frying them. My sis-in-law adds a little hulipudi/amchur powder while frying the okra as it helps to reduce the stickyness. I have found that all these methods work.

This recipe is adapted from the great cook Tarla Dalal.I followed her recipe, except for adding the curd/yogurt at the end. I added lemon juice instead. Also, I caramelize the onion to get a sweetish tinge to the dish. Our family loves it this way. 

Ingredients:

Okra/Ladies Finger: 30-40 (tender & small ones)

Onion: 2 medium sized (sliced)

Ginger paste: 1 tsp

Green chilli : 2 no (finely chopped)

Oil: 1 tbsp

Cumin seeds: 1/2 tsp

Kalonji/Nigella seeds: 1/2 tsp

Red chilli powder: a pinch (optional)

Sugar: a pinch (optional)

Lemon juice: 1 tsp

Coriander leaves: 1 tbsp (for garnishing)

Salt: According to taste

For frying the okra:

Oil: 2 tsp

Amchur powder/huli pudi/tamarind powder: a pinch (optional)

Method:

• Wash the okra & pat them dry. Ensure no moisture on the okra. Clean & dry the knife too. Cut them into 1cm rings or slice them. 
• Frying the okra/ladies finger: Heat the oil in a broad pan. When oil is hot, add the okra & fry them on a medium. After a minute or two, add the amchur powder & continue frying until the stickiness of the okra is completely removed. It might take around 5 minutes. Also, fry the okra in batches if you are planning to prepare in bulk. Remove the okra from flame & place the fried okra on a plate (ensure plate is dry).
• Wipe the pan with the kitchen towel & heat the pan again. Add oil. When oil is hot, add cumin seeds. When cumin seeds turn golden brown, add kalonji & fry for 3-5 secs. Add sliced onion, ginger, green chilli & saute for a minute or two.
• At this stage, I would like to caramelize the onion. Hence add a pinch of sugar & saute for a min on high flame
• Now add the fried okra, salt, red chilli powder & cook for another 2-3 minutes. 
• Finally add the lemon juice & coriander leaves & mix well.
• Serve it hot with roti or any other Indian bread. 

Tips:

• I personally feel caramelizing the onion adds a zing to the dish. But you can skip it if you do not prefer it. 
• Ensure to use a broad pan to fry the okra as it helps to reduce the sliminess of okra faster.

Vegetable Fried Rice (Indo Chinese)

Chinese food(Actually Indianized version of Chinese food) is available as street food in most parts of Karnataka, India. We get veg noodles, fried rice, gobi manchurian just like the golgappe & churmuri by the roadside vendors.Those street vendors are very creative & to attract the crowd they make various & delicious versions of the normal fried rice.

Though I am not a great fan of this Indian version of the Chinese food, my hubby just loves to eat them. He craves for the gobi manchurian & other Chinese food too.  BTW, Chinese food served in Singapore is completely different than what we used to taste back in India.

Today I'm presenting Sush's version of Chinese fried rice. I have tried many versions & found this version suiting our taste buds. So, I always stick to this now.

Ingredients:
Basmati rice: 3 cups (Other long grain rice should also be fine)
Water: 6 cups
Vegetables of your choice: 1 cup (I have used carrots, peas, snowpeas,  sweet corn, beans, paneer(cottage cheese))
Cabbage: 1/2 cup (shredded)
Spring onion: 2 tbsp (finely chopped white portion)
Garlic: 3 pods (minced)
Light soy sauce: 2 tbsp
Tomato ketchup: 1 tbsp
Green chilli sauce: 1 tbsp (adjust according to your family needs)
Vinegar: 1 tbsp
Ajinomoto/MSG: A small pinch (optional)
Salt: According to taste
Green chilli: 2 nos (finely chopped)
Oil: 1.5 tbsp

For garnishing:
Parsley: 1 tbsp (finely chopped)
Spring onion greens: 2 tbsp (finely chopped)

Method:

• Cook the rice & allow it to cool. Gently scoop out the rice & spread it for the rice to cool.
• Meantime, chop the carrots & snowpeas lengthwise. Cook the vegetables, peas, sweet corn for 2-3 minutes until a little soft & crunchy. Drain the water
• Heat oil in a broad wok. When oil is hot, add garlic & saute till they turn golden. Then add spring onion whites & fry till they are soft. Follow spring onion whites by green chilli, cabbage & saute the cabbage until it is soft & yet firm (It would take around 2-3 minutes). Add the cooked vegetables & paneer & saute for 30secs.
• Add the rice, soy sauce, tomato ketchup, vinegar, green chilli sauce, salt, MSG & mix them well. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
• Finally garnish it with parsley & spring onion greens. Mix & serve it hot.

Tips:

• Few people prefer to eat it with chilli sauce or with tomato sauce. So, feel free to serve it with whatever your loved ones prefer. I love to eat it as is. 
• Feel free to add vegetables of your choice. Some other vegetables that go well are cauliflower, mushroom, tofu & baby corn.

Churmuri (Spicy Puffed Rice)

I can see so many people drooling just by reading the name Churmuri. Just like golgappe/pani poori is for North Indians, I feel churmuri is for Kannadigas (people from Karnataka State, India). I am not saying, Kannadigas donot like golgappe, they love to eat golgappe too :D Churmuri is a street food/chaat of Karnataka. Street vendors sell puffed rice mixed with seasonings and served in a newspaper rolled into a cone. Churmuri can have a number of toppings. The combination of finely chopped onions, chopped cilantro, grated carrots and dry roasted peanuts is one of the most popular toppings for churmuri.(Courtesy: Wikipedia) This street food doesnot call for perfect measurements. Throw in carrots, tomatoes, onions grated mango, chopped cucumber, murukku ( a fried snack) or fried dhal according to your choice & believe me it tastes great :D

Note: Sorry for the delay in posting a recipe. I was on a trip for 5 days & later the sea sickness hit me hard. I will write more about my trip in my next post. Also, I need to catch up with so many recipes posted by my blogger friends.

  

Ingredients: (Serves 3-4)
Puffed rice/Puri/Murmura/Mandakki:  4 cups
Finely chopped onion: 3 tbsp
Grated carrot: 2 tbsp
Congress/roasted peanuts: 1-2 tbsp
Green chilli paste: 1/4 tsp (adjust according to your family needs)
Chaat masala: a pinch (optional)
Red chilli powder: 1/2 tsp (adjust according to your family needs)
Salt: According to taste
Cumin seeds powder: 1/4 tsp
Chopped tomato: 2 tbsp (optional, but recommended)
Sev: 2 tbsp
Oil: 1 tsp
Coriander leaves: 1 tbsp (finely chopped)
Lemon juice: 1 tbsp (adjust according to your family needs)

Method:

• Heat the puffed rice in the microwave for a minute for more crispness (Note: this step is completely optional. if you use a puffed rice that is already crisp & fresh, no need for this. I always do this as I donot find the puffed rice fresh here in Singapore).
• Take a large bowl. Throw in the onions, carrots. green chilli paste, red chilli powder, chaat masala, cumin seeds powder & mix well. Now add the puffed rice, salt, roasted peanuts, oil & mix again. Finally add the tomato, sev, lemon juice, coriander leaves. Mix them thoroughly & serve immediately. 

Note:

• Because of the addition of tomatoes, the puffed rice becomes soggy very fast. Hence, it is advised to be consumed immediately.
• Throw in grated raw mangoes or finely chopped cucumbers for different versions of churmuri.