Mint Chutney

Mint Chutney (pudhina/podhina)

Mint (Pudhina) Chutney

This recipe was given to us girls by our cooking teacher when we were 16.  It became an instant hit in our home...and the recipe spread.
When hubby dearest met me for the first time he complimented my sister on this chutney and asked for the recipe.  With a twinkle in her eye she told him it was ‘my’ recipe. I guess the twinkle meant she saw a happy future for us as long as I kept making this chutney!
This chutney enhances lamb dishes and biriyani.  It is delicious  with potato/veggie cutlets.
Add a few leaves to a pulao (Indian fried rice), with a chopped  semi-cooked potato while frying the onions, and it will taste yummy.

A few tips about mint:
When buying mint pick it up and smell the bunch...if it doesn’t have a strong aroma it isn’t right for this chutney.  The best bunches I get are in the Middle Eastern and Mexican supermarkets.
When you do buy a bunch of ‘good’ leaves, put a few stalks in a glass/jar of water in a partly sunny location.  Remember strong sunshine through glass can burn the plant.  
The stalks will grow roots in a few days and you can re-pot it indoors or out, depending on the weather in your area.
Mint in the ground takes over the yard with it’s long roots and our freshly mowed lawn, at one time, had a minty smell, so be careful where you plant it.
Even in a pot, it’s roots come out and spread so move your pot from time to time.
Trim your leaves by taking off the top half of the plant or more to encourage fresh growth.
In summer when your plant is going gangbusters, take the leaves, wash and freeze them for the times you can’t find any.
When the leaves in your pot wilt it is time to re-pot the plants or pull up half of them to give the rest room to grow.

So finally, here’s the chutney recipe:

½ cup mint leaves (wash in 3 batches of water as mint attracts insects)
1 cup cilantro leaves ( wash in 3 batches of water)
½ cup grated coconut
½ medium onion (chop)
2 green chillies
½ - 1 tsp tamarind concentrate
1 tsp rai (mustard seed)
2 tsp urad dal
1 Tbsp oil.
Salt to taste

In a non stick pan, heat oil, add rai.
When it splutters add urad dal.
Fry golden brown.
Add chopped onion...fry till transparent.
Add mint leaves and green chillies... fry till leaves wilt completely.
Place in blender with washed cilantro leaves, coconut, tamarind, salt.
Blend till slightly coarse.
Taste, adjust salt, chillies and tamarind if needed.
Blend for one more minute and enjoy!

Curry In a Hurry 'N Rice Pulao

Though I haven't posted here for a while because of enjoyable distractions of writing, family and travel, I've been collecting and trying out lots of old and new recipes.
Recently a relative mentioned a friend was going to try some Indian recipes and this reminded me of this recipe, written up years ago for friends who wanted to try their hand at Indian cooking.
I invited these friends for an Indian lunch and gave them a gift of a printed copy of these recipes and an inexpensive plastic box containing the whole spices, a couple of spoons of the curry mix and some Basmati rice so they could try the recipes out themselves.
They were really surprised and delighted and I hope others who want to try Indian curries will too.


Curries, contrary to the picture that seems to go with the word are not burning hot.
The original word is from Tamil Nadu in South India was 'kari' and meant a blend of spices.

Years ago every Indian household started the day with using a roller stone on a flat stone platform and grinding fresh spices for the day. Now the whir of the blender and the availability of all these spices in the stores have made the stone grinders of yesteryears obsolete in most households...but with the mod conveniences and lack of time and a servant to grind the spices emerges on fact: the curries don't taste the same.

To get back to the present, curries should not be dominated by oil or chilli powder. Flavoring should be so subtle that no one flavor stands out and the final result is a harmony of spices that delight the palate. In the South of India where my roots are, curry and rice go together so here are two recipes for you.

CURRY IN A HURRY 'N RICE PILAF

Ingredients (TSP: teaspoon, TBSP: tablespoon, med: medium.)

(1 lb chicken or 2 cups of mixed, chopped vegetables like cauliflower, beans, peas carrots,
potatoes).
3 Tbsps olive oil
1 bay leaf
1 stick cinnamon
3 cloves
1 medium sized onion
4 med. tomatoes
Cilantro
Curry powder mix ( ½ teaspoon chilli powder, ¾ tsp cumin powder, 1/2 tsp coriander seed powder, ⅛ tsp turmeric, ¾ tsp garam masala, ½ tsp pepper powder).

Heat 3 Tbsps oil, put in one bay leaf, one stick cinnamon, 3 cloves.
(remove the bud of the clove as it will burst in hot oil)
Fry spices on medium heat till you get a good aroma and bay leaf turns brown. (1-2 mins)
Slice one medium sized onion.
Add to bay leaf etc. and fry till golden brown.
Add 4 chopped tomatoes, ¼ cup chopped cilantro, curry mix and vegetables.
Fry for 10-15 mins. Aroma should be great.
Add enough water to cover vegetables and let them simmer till done.
If using frozen peas etc, fry potatoes and cauliflower first for 5 mins
Or if using all frozen veggies, zap potatoes in microwave with little water for 3 mins to soften.
Add salt, one tbsp ketchup, pepper powder, simmer, taste...enjoy!

***This is a red curry...you can turn it into a ‘coconut white curry’ by adding a small (5-6 oz) can of coconut milk.
*** this can become a green curry by blending and adding ½ bunch of cilantro leaves and one green chilly instead of red chilli powder.  Other powders in the ‘mix’ must be included in recipe.
Chilli powder in American supermarkets, gives a red color to curries and isn’t too hot.

Where spices/powders are concerned err on the side of caution as less is more if you aren’t used to them.  Increase usage if your palate demands more spice.

THIS GOES WELL WITH:

PULAO (PILAF)


Ingredients
Basmati rice (available from Indian grocery stores...the long grained, fragrant quality of this rice enhances this dish.)
Olive oil
Bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cloves.
1/2 medium onion
Garlic paste
Frozen peas
Water and salt.
Turmeric...one pinch

Wash and drain rice.
Heat 3 tbsp oil, fry bay leaf, cinnamon stick and three cloves as above.
Add ½ sliced onion and fry till light brown.
Add 1 tbsp garlic paste and ⅓ cup frozen peas and rice.
Fry 3-5 mins on medium heat.
Add water and salt (double water to rice) and bring to a boil.
Lower to medium and cook for 8 mins or till water is absorbed.
Grains of rice should be separate but when a grain is pressed between thumb and forefinger it
should be soft.
Enjoy.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Happy THANKSGIVING everyone.

I've taken a hiatus from the blog as I've been busy with revising and publishing my books on Amazon through Kindle Publishing..

I hope you'll look for my latest book, 'Prescription for Love' on Amazon and read it on your Kindle Reader or iPad, iPhone or even on Mozilla on your computer.

It is a traditional romance set in California.

I am also working on revising the six books I published with Silhouette in the 90's and am working on these six romances coming out under my Homespun Romance Series.

I do apologize for neglecting the blog...I have been cooking and plan on getting back to posting easy recipes that cut our cooking time in half so we can get on with the other things we want/have to do.

Here's a good recipe for a happy, safe holiday season with:

1 cup joy

1 cup thoughtfulness

1 cup peace and

4 cups contentment.

Easy Breezy Shrimp

EASY BREEZY SHRIMP

A recent guest and friend gave me the perfect gift...a recipe so easy and quick PLUS one that meets the great taste requirements of all spoiled Indian taste buds!

I have made it so many times since Sridevi's visit but just put off sharing it as I kept forgetting to get a photograph before they all vanished.

So here's the recipe for your eating pleasure. Remember I'm making this dish for one so the portions are small.

As for the vegetarians, this works great with sliced zucchini and sliced eggplant too!

5 large frozen shrimp.

1-2 tablespoon medium sooji/rawa.

Chilli powder and salt to taste.

A pinch of hing/asafoetedia.

Mix sooji, chilli powder, salt and hing on a plate.

Rinse shrimp in warm water and place on plate.

The coating will stick to the wet shrimp...if they don't pat gently, turn and do the same to the other side.

In a small non-stick skillet heat two teaspoons olive oil.

Place shrimp in oil.

After 3-4 mins turn and cook other side for 3-4 mins.

I turn the stove down to medium after putting the shrimp in as I want them to cook slowly.

Leave for longer if you want the coating to get darker but I love the golden brown color with parts of the shrimp peeping out.

From freezer to mouth this dish takes 10 minutes, tops.

Leftover coating mix can be placed in a sandwich bag, labelled and stored in the freezer for next time.

The coating is crunchy and delicious; surprisingly so. Next I'm going to try it with a fillet of tialpia and report back when I remember to do it.

5 star Vegetarian Burritos, Indian Style

5 star Vegetarian Burritos, Indian style.

When we were young my mother would take the hot chappattis off the tawa, smeared it with ghee, sprinkled it with sugar and give us each a 'roly-poly' to eat.

These burritos are like roly-poly's, with a different filling.

I tried this recipe for the first time, a while back when I had guests from India stopping by for brunch. I wanted to make a dish in one, something different and yet one that appealed to Indian taste buds and this turned out to be a hit.

Yesterday I made it again, after a year or more, to take to a friend's place for lunch.

(The original recipe came from : http://kitchen-goddess.yumsugar.com/Baked-Smothered-Burritos-107864 but is no longer available for viewing.)

8" whole wheat/flour/corn tortillas.
1 can vegetarian refried beans ( if you are vegetarian check it has no lard).
1 onion sliced or chopped
1/2 onion chopped fine.
1 can Mexican canned chillies chopped fine.
2  large firm ripe tomatoes chopped.
1 cup cilantro chopped
Olives...optional
1/2 tsp cumin powder (per 16 oz can).
1 tsp grated garlic per can or to taste.
Chili powder and salt to taste.
1 cup bottled Picante sauce or Google recipe for making your own.

1 pkt  grated 5 blend Mexican cheese (or cheddar will do).

The first time I used canned, vegetarian refried beans.

For the second time, I soaked fresh pinto beans overnight, then cooked them for 2-3 hours and then used a food processor to make then into a paste (it's a little watery and should be).
Either way is fine.

Fry a large chopped onion till translucent, added grated garlic, chilli powder, cumin and salt and the bean mixture and let it cook till it was thick (about five-seven minutes).  Don't let it harden too much.

Add chopped Mexican canned chillies.

Add a couple of tablespoons of the vinegar the chillies come in as it enhances the taste.

I left out the olives but that was just a personal choice.
Cool bean mixture.

I used whole wheat tortillas to make the dish more nutritious and reduce the size of the burritos.
Warm tortillas in a skillet on each side...lay out on counter.
Place 1 heaping Tbsp of baked bean mixture spread out like a log in the middle, top with tomatoes, cilantro, cheese, a little raw onion and 1 tsp Picante sauce. 

I used mild Picante sauce and that had enough heat in it for this dish for us. I guess the chilli powder had already added some heat.
Roll up burritos and place in baking pan.
Sprinkle with more grated cheese on top.
Bake in a 300 degree oven till cheese melts or microwave.

TIPS
If I'm making a large batch I heat up 2-4 for dinner with the grated cheese on top and freeze the rest.

Making the pinto beans from scratch did make a difference to the taste.

While all the prep (fine chopping, grating) takes a while it is worth it as the end result is great.

The payoff to the effort invested is that even if you bake the whole batch, these burritos freeze and re-heat excellently and one of them is a great lunch or dinner for a diabetic.

Changes to a recipe are supposed to make it one's own but I still want Yumsugar to have 80% of the credit for this one. It has joined my 5 star club of top of the line dishes.

Compliments followed every bite with this dish, and I hope you'll try it out.

Cut in half, the burritos make a good appetizer too with all the tangy tastes that appeal to Indian taste buds. One could serve two dipping Picante sauces: mild and hot, on the side.

5 star Zucchini Bread

This is my daughter's recipe taken over by me, when she married and left home. We can't believe it's a 'bread' recipe...it's more like a fruit cake or, to be really accurate, I should say vegetable cake. Call it by any name...it's yummylicious!

I grew zucchini in my garden for years and she discovered the recipe in a Betty Crocker Cookbook and we've kept changing/adding to it over the years.

Recently I tweaked the recipe for a friend who doesn't eat eggs.

For those of you who don't get zucchini where you are, it is similar to 'lauki'. I have often used zucchini in sambar as if it were lauki.

They are close cousins.

I'm giving you both the original recipe and the new shortcut; adapted to my 'easily-tired' stage.

I hope you'll try the original recipe too because it's on the topmost rung of 'Tried and True Recipes', in our family.

lan, the flowers were added with you in mind...the nasturtiums have run amok in my garden this year with all the rain we've been having.

5 star zucchini bread

This zucchini bread recipe makes two large loaves or four mini loaves.

• 3 eggs
  
• 1 cup vegetable oil
  
• 2 cups granulated sugar (I use 11/2 c. as raisins add sweetness too)
  
• 2 cups peeled & grated zucchini ( use medium sized grater)
  
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
  
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
  
• (I use 1 ½ cups all purpose and 1 ½ cups chapatti atta (whole wheat flour) from the Indian grocery store).
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
  
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
  
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
  
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
  
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
  
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
  
• 1 cup raisins
  

Beat eggs until light and foamy; add vegetable oil, sugar, zucchini and vanilla. Mix lightly but blend thoroughly.

Mix together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and spices; mix lightly. Add dry ingredients to first mixture, stirring to blend. Stir in nuts and raisins.
Pour batter into two loaf pans, 9x5x3-inches in size. Bake at 325° for 50 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted near center of a loaf comes out clean.

I used foil mini loaf pans and it baked in 35-40 mins.

**********************************.

New Zucchini Bread Recipe

One box yellow cake mix.

(you could use the spice cake mix and omit the cinnamon, cloves and allspice).

2 cups peeled & grated zucchini. (I use the medium sized hand grater/Cuisinart medium grater).

½ cup raisins

2/3 cup walnuts (Chopped by hand).

1 level tablesppon ground cinnamon.

1 level teaspoon ground cloves

1 level teaspoon allspice

(Next time I'll use 1 cup walnuts, 2/3 cup raisins.)

Follow directions on cake mix box for other ingredients like oil and water.

ADD 1/3 cup oil and 1/3 cup water extra to mix.

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

I substituted 3 Tbsps yogurt for the 3 eggs.

(In our home it's supposed to be buttermilk that's substituted for eggs, but I use yogurt and add a couple of tablespoon of water so it mixes up in the food processor.)

When the cake mix, oil, water and buttermilk is blended, add the raisins, walnuts and grated zucchini and ran the food processor for 30 seconds.

Do not over beat.

Check the consistency of the batter… we all know what the consistency of cake batter from a box should be…if too thick add a little water.

Pour into well-greased loaf pans or a baking dish. (I use mini foil pans as I have standing orders from friends for gifts of zucchini bread.)

Bake at 350 for 45-50 mins or till a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Check after 30 mins.

Remember baking time depends on the kind of oven you have and this cake took a long time though it was in 4 mini loaf pans.

Enjoy…your friends and family will never guess this bread/cake has zucchini in it so you might want to play a 'guess the secret ingredient' game, before you tell them.

TRIFLE WITHOUT MILK

A friend's comment that she was having adverse reaction to dairy foods (particularly milk), made me work out my favorite trifle without milk. I tried not to compromise the taste so it took three tries and many tastings (my favorite part), to get this right.

Trifle Without Milk

One box white cake mix (comes out the best and lightest).
One pound fresh strawberries, sliced. (You can used canned, frozen fruit).
4 cups water
4 Tbsps cornstarch
4 Tbsps splenda/sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Pinch cardamom (optional)
1/2 cup strawberry jam.
Juice of one lemon...2 Tbsps
Sherry (optional)
1 small can pineapple juice or if you're using canned fruit then juice from can.
1 tub whipped non-dairy topping.
Hershey's chocolate syrup for decoration.

Bake cake according to package directions.
Allow to cool.
(I use about half of the cake baked in a 9 by 11 pan for a large bowl of trifle for 6-8 people and all the cake for 16-20 people).
If making it for 16-20 people double the custard recipe.
First set aside some strawberry slices for decoration.
In a small bowl mix cornstarch with cold water till smooth.
Bring rest of water to boil in a saucepan, add cornstarch, keep stirring till it boils for 2 mins.
Add Splenda/sugar, sliced fruit, vanilla essence, cardamom, jam and cook till fruit is soft.
Add lemon juice.
Taste. It should be sweet but not TOO sweet with just a hint of lemon.
Mix should be thick but not too thick...if it is, add some more water.
It should be like a custard at this stage or thick idli batter.

Arrange cake slices in one layer...I layer it with 2" cubes as I just have one layer...you can do slices if you want to repeat layers.
Pour sherry evenly over cake, add pineapple juice to wet cake but don't drown it.
Pour strawberry mix over it...this too will go into the cake but the rest will set as an even layer.
Refrigerate till cool.
Spread whipped topping in a layer.
Decorate with chocolate and strawberry slices.
Serve well chilled.

The last time I made it the trifle in ready-to-serve individual glass bowls and the layers showed up well. The friend who doesn't tolerate milk was thrilled and other friends I've made it for didn't miss the custard. Everyone agrees this is a scrumptious dessert.