Mangalorean Fish Fry (Kaidina Meen)

While growing up I was never a big fish eater, but I always loved this dish made by mom, even during those picky eating days. Now I enjoy fish dishes prepared with generous spices and flavor, sometimes even more than chicken. I guess fish feels a lot lighter on your tummy and not to forget it is loaded with protein, is known to lower cholesterol if cooked with less or no oil. It is rich in omega 3 fatty acids which is good for heart. So as we grow don't we like a meal that is yummy, nutritious with fewer calories. Plus lean protein meals are good for your immune system too, as antibodies are made of protein, eating protein definitely helps them fight better. Just watch out, what kind of fish you are eating due to the mercury in water, some are high in mercury (man-made pollution).

I would like to share this recipe with you all, it's been a timeless favorite for me. It is basically my mom's recipe. Every Mangalorean household may have it's own twist. It is very simple to make too. I like dishes that are quick to prepare and yummy to devour.

Ingredients:

•  2 -4 Fish of your choice prepared; sliced, whole or filet (I used 2 large salmon filets)---Originally you can use 2 pomfrets or 4 mackerels cleaned well but whatever is available locally will do, lesser the fish bones better to enjoy it.
• 1 tbsp Kashmiri red chili powder (I did not have it at hand so used 2 tsp regular hot red chili powder-- Kashmiri chili powder will give you a nice paste and won't be super hot)
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• Juice from one lemon
• Salt to taste
• Semolina/ rava to coat the fish
• Oil to fry

Directions:

• Make slits on the fish if using whole or filets and coat the fish nicely with red chili powder, turmeric powder, salt and lemon juice. Rub the spices really well on the fish and marinate it for at least one hour or overnight.

• When ready to make the fish, take generous amount of semolina on a plate and coat the marinated fish on both sides.
• Heat a griddle with oil to shallow fry the fish and when the oil is hot, fry the fish well on both sides till the fish is cooked and taking care that it does not burn. Nonstick pans, like mine, will use less oil

• Enjoy as a side with dal rice or roti sabzi whatever you prefer, it will add a zing to your meal.

Ragi Manni (ragi halva)

This is a Mangalorean dessert packed with nutrition. It is also a coolant and easy to digest. So in the south of India, it is often a baby's first solid food, but now this power food is gaining popularity and I have seen that everyone is at least aware about ragi. Having my origins from Karnataka, I have seen my mom make ragi mudde (ragi balls made by cooking in boiling water), ragi rotti, ragi dosa and ragi manni. In the sweet form, ragi can be made into kheer, pudding or halva depending upon the consistency of the finished product and the amount of ragi flour used in the recipe. I think if you are watching your weight and want to have something sweet, ragi manni would be the answer to your dilemma. It is low in fat and just adjust sweetness, make it milder and you will do good to your body.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup finger millet flour/ ragi flour
• 1 cup jaggery/ sugar or brown sugar (can reduce the amount to half if you do not mind less sweet)
• 1 cup coconut milk or 2 tbsp coconut powder
• 1 cup milk (optional but manni will be more creamy)
• 2 cups water (if not using milk increase it to 3)
• 1 tbsp ghee
• 1/4 tsp cardamom powder
• Chopped nuts (almonds, cashewnuts- if making for babies omit or grind the nuts and add) 

Directions:

• Mix ragi flour and water. If your flour is in fine powdered form you do not have to strain it, but if you see husks strain the mixture before using. I skip this step as I get very fine ragi at my local grocery store.
• Now start heating this liquid ragi in a thick bottomed, non-stick pan. Add coconut milk and milk and keep stirring on medium flame. When it start getting thicker add jaggery and ghee and mix.
• Ensure that there is no settling at the bottom and keep on stirring. Try to keep it smooth, mixing lumps when formed.
• Keep on cooking till the mixture is thick like halva. At this stage mix nuts and cardamom powder, mix well.
• Remove from heat and pour it into greased casserole or Indian thali. Garnish with nuts if you want.
• Let it cool completely, cut it into desired shape and serve, or refrigerate and have later. It tastes good warm or cool.
• Enjoy!

Baked Flan

I made this special treat for our seventh wedding anniversary, gosh we have put up with each other for seven years now. I think that was only possible because of the friendship we share. I like the fact that I have the chance to spend my life with my closest friend, with whom I can share anything, fight anytime with no hard feelings and most importantly be myself. I can never handle a pretend relationship where you have to try to please everyone. I had read somewhere, " It is better to be hated for what you are, than being loved for what you are not." So knowing each other really well and letting each other just be, rather than trying to change each other is key to any relationship. If you are in a pretentious relationship no matter how happy others are with you, you will never be at peace. So I thought this special friendship deserves a special treat and I decided on the flan.

My husband and I- Our headbobbles

Well the flan was apt for many reasons, last year, this time we were in Puerto Rico celebrating our anniversary. This time we were spending it at home but the flan revived the memories of our vacation last year. We had tried flan in the restaurant of our resort there. Also the flan is creamy, smooth, rich and sweet, so I just hope this dessert adds its qualities into our relationship!

Let me warn you that it is a rich dessert so do not consume if counting calories. I think it is a good food for young kids as it has all the protein, calcium, iron and fat that they need at their age. Most of my flan is definitely for my daughter, I will try to keep self-control with that yummy thing lurking in my fridge. When I made flan I thought it came quite close to caramel custard but was more creamy and richer than it. I just did a bit of reading to find similarities or differences between all the desserts of this family. This is what I understood from my readings:

• Custard- It is basically made with milk, eggs and sweetener.  Eggless versions may use cornstarch or flour as thickeners. It can be made on stove top or baked in oven with a water bath, as making a custard is temperature sensitive, if the temperature gets too high it can get overcooked or curdled.
• Creme brulee- The name has French origins and this again is a custard base with hardened caramel on top. I think it will be nice to have that torch as a toy and burn sugar on top of the custard, gives you that childish excitement to do that!
• Flan- I would say flan is a rich custard made with condensed milk, evaporated milk, heavy cream or milk. I think that is why it comes out much creamier than regular custard. It has caramel added to the bottom so that you get nice caramel sauce on top when you invert it after it is done. Flan is generally associated with hispanic countries.It is sometimes baked in a shortcrust pastry shell.
• Cheesecake- Cheesecake, although it has cake in its name, is a form of custard which uses cream cheese or ricotta cheese as it's chief ingredient. The cream cheese one is NY style while Italian versions use ricotta. It can be made in wide variety of flavors and it's not so sweet taste makes it a favorite.

I think there are others like pudding, Bavarian cream, mousse and maybe many more that use similar ingredients, resulting in similar texture. I love dishes with creamy texture and subtle sweet taste. So the flan that I made, naturally made my and my husband's day. I adapted a recipe for the flan from Allrecipes by Beth. Here it goes..

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup milk (I used 1% fat reduced and it still came out great)
• 5 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
• Heat sugar in a non-stick pan on medium heat. This is bit tricky if you are making caramel for the first time. Medium heat is important and patience is important, low heat will not melt sugar just brown it and crystallize it and high heat will burn it and cause it to taste bitter. So on medium heat let the sugar melt and resist the temptation to stir too often, rather swirl the pan to distribute heat. Once the sugar starts melting be on top of it till it is smooth brown liquid, else it will burn.
• Pour the liquid caramel into a glass or ceramic one and half quart casserole. Please be quick at pouring and swirling to coat the bottom evenly or the caramel will cool and harden before you coat the bottom completely. I used an 8" x 8" glass bake ware, you can use a round one and I think that looks prettier for a flan. Use whatever you have in hand.
• Blend all the remaining liquid ingredients in a blender (be careful it is a lot of liquid so ensure that you have the lid on well before you whirl it) or use the stand or hand mixer. Blend for a minute.
• Pour the mixture over caramelized sugar.
• Put this casserole in a larger baking pan with one inch of hot water in the outer pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 60 - 90 minutes.  Mine took almost one and half hour. The center should feel set when you put a knife inside. It should not come out all liquid.
• Remove from oven and water-bath and let it cool for an hour. Then put it in the refrigerator to cool and set completely, at least 4- 5 hours.
• run a knife on the edges of the baked flan. Put the platter in which you intend to serve the flan over the casserole and invert it. You will get your beautiful flan with caramel around it.
• Slice and serve with spooned caramel and fruits of your choice.
• Enjoy!

Mangalorean Chicken Curry (Kori Gassi)

This curry is usually had with thin rice wafers made out of boiled rice, called rotti and the meal is called kori rotti, which is a classic Mangalorean  fare. Kori rotti which translates into chicken curry with rotti happens to be my favorite dish still, after having tried cuisines all over the world. The spicy gravy made with a paste of red chillies, coconut and other spices along with the subtle crispy wafers is definitely an experience. 

Here in New Jersey I have visited lot of restaurants and there are lot of Indian restaurants too here, unfortunately not a single restaurant serves this Mangalorean style gravy. I guess we need some coastal Karnataka restaurateurs from Mumbai here. Neither do I get those crispy rottis here. So ultimately to get some of this curry I guess the only place would have been, creating it in my kitchen. So I tried it, it came out well and I had some leftover rottis, which mom had got for me on her last visit here, and I had the amazing kori rotti after a long time. The basic recipe is my mom's but I have made little bit changes as per taste. This curry also tastes good with rice if you do not have rottis.

Ingredients:

For masala paste:

• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• 2 tbsp coriander seeds
• 7-8 dry red chillies (use as per the chili strength and your preference)
• 10 fenugreek seeds
• 7-8 peppercorns

• 1 onion, sliced
• 5-6 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 1 tsp oil

For the gravy:

• 2 pounds chicken
• 2 tsp oil
• 1 onion chopped fine
• 1 tomato chopped fine
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tbsp tamarind concentrate
• salt to taste

Directions:

For masala paste:

• Dry roast first section of the spices for the masala. When you get a nice aroma stop roasting, let it cool and grind into fine powder in a blender.
• In the same pan, take oil, heat it and add onions and garlic. When the onions become soft and transluscent, add coconut and roast for some time. Then let it cool and add it to the blender with the powdered spices and blend again till you get a smooth and fine paste.

For the gravy:

• In a large pot, take 2tsp oil and heat it. Add onions and saute well. After onions are soft add tomatoes and let it cook till mushy.
• Add the masala paste and mix well. Add salt, turmeric powder and chicken and let the chicken get coated in the masala. Add water say around 1-2 cups, depending upon how thick you want your gravy. Let it simmer covered, so that all the spices blend well and the chicken gets cooked in the spices.
• When the chicken is cooked add tamarind concentrate and let it simmer for some time. Adjust thickness of the gravy and cook for some time.
• Enjoy this gravy with rice, rotti, neer dosa or idlis. This gravy always tastes better the next day when the flavors get fully absorbed and enhanced.

Note: Please do not use chicken breasts to make this curry, do  not ask me how I know, since it has dense meat it gets very hard when cooked in the curry. Thighs are a good option if you are buying frozen packs.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

My first introduction to cookies were the Indian ones called nankhatai and love those cookies. Here in US I tasted chocolate chip, oatmeal raisins, sugar cookies and I like those too. But I have to admit that chocolate chip cookies are my favorite due to the addition of those yummy chocolates speckles in them. I am not a fan of decorated sugar cookies, it feels too sugary. In short give me any cookie that is not decorated, and nankhatais and chocolate chip cookies any day.

I baked these cookies with an intention that my 3 year old will have it too, since she loves chocolate too but she hardly ate one cookie and I ended up finishing most of it. So sometimes it gets dangerous for me to bake such sinful delights. But what is life if you do not err occasionally, plus if that error was totally worth it, go for it. So let me entice you to have some of these cookies by sharing this recipe. It is the popular nestle toll house recipe, not my own, but if you have never come across it then here it goes.

Ingredients:

• 2-1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (12-oz pkg) semi sweet chocolate chip morsels
• 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degree F
• Mix all purpose flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.
• Cream together butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar by beating well.
• Add eggs one at a time and beat well till they are well incorporated.
• Gradually add the dry flour mixture and beat well.
• Add chocolate morsels and nuts, if using, at this point and mix well with a spatula. 
• Drop by rounded tablespoon on ungreased baking sheet and bake for 9 to 11 minutes.
• Remove and let it cool for a minute or two and enjoy your cookies.

Tip:

• I feel that if you bake the cookies immediately after making the cookie dough using this recipe your cookie will spread too much so I follow the method of dividing the dough in half, wrapping in wax paper and refrigerating it for at least one hour. Then shape it into a log and wrap it in wax paper and put it back in fridge for half an hour. Then cut it in half inch slices and bake in the preheated oven. You will get perfectly shaped cookies using this method.
• If you do not have time,  then substitute 1/2 cup of butter with shortening and bake. This way too the cookies won't spread as much as all butter cookies.
• Reserve some chocolate chips to add on top of the cookies arranged on baking sheet, before baking. When you mix the chocolate chips in the dough they get coated with dough and will not show after they are baked but you can still taste them inside. By adding some chocolate on top before baking you will get picture perfect chocolate chip cookies.

Vegetarian Chili

This is a comfort food and especially during winter you will find great comfort in this spicy hot bowl of chili. The Mexican flavors will kick your taste-buds. My husband and I are up for anything from the south of US, except for beef and pork dishes, like most of the Indians.

I am a carnivore (have eaten lamb and goat, but now I limit myself to chicken and seafood) and my husband is now a herbivore (used to eat chicken before), so being a carnivore I cannot stand boring food that makes me miss the meat. So I try to cook vegetarian dishes that are so flavorful that I do not miss meat (which I do enjoy occasionally). Also thankfully being an Indian gives me the advantage of having loads of yummy vegetarian dishes as a part of our culture.  So we can preserve our personal choices without changing each other. I thank dishes like this vegetarian chili to make our marriage work!

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion chopped fine
• 5-6 garlic cloves minced (I like lot of garlic)
• 2 carrots chopped fine
• 1 red bell pepper chopped fine
• 1 green bell pepper chopped fine
• 1 stalk celery chopped
• 3/4 cup corn
• 3-4 tomatoes chopped fine
• 2- 1/2 cups cooked beans (after soaking overnight) like pinto, red/ pink or black beans
• 1 green chili (Serrano or jalapeno) seeded and chopped fine
• 1/4 tsp red chili powder (optional) 
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• Salt to taste
• Sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese to serve (optional)
• 4 tsp cooking oil

Directions:

• In a large pot, heat oil. Add chopped green chili, minced garlic, chopped onions and saute.
• Add chopped carrots, red and green bell peppers, celery and corn. Mix well, add salt and let them cook till they are soft.
• Add chopped tomatoes, red chili powder and cumin powder. Mix and let the tomato release all its juice.
• Add the well cooked beans (they should be so well cooked that they mash up at the slightest touch) and add 3-4 cups of water and let the chili simmer on low heat for 5-10 minutes, so that the flavors get blended well. Do not add too much water or your chili will become watery. You can always add more water if you feel your chili is too thick and simmer for some time. Adjust salt and seasoning as per your taste.
• Take the chili in a bowl and top it with a blob of sour cream and some shredded cheddar cheese.
• It really tastes yum, enjoy!!

Serving suggestions:

To make it a complete meal you can bake quarters of corn tortillas or leftover/ fresh rotis, till crispy and serve with the chili. Just crumble them into the chili  and there you have a nutritious and more importantly, delicious;) meal.

Corn Bread

This post reminds me of summer because it is the result of one of our summer trips to the Amish village in Pennsylvania. It was good and relaxing, a nice buggy ride and steam engine ride through the scenic village. We missed the homemade ice-cream though, because we went there on a Sunday and the Amish don't work on Sundays for Sabbath. I envy those Amish guys, how do they manage to live their life without TV, electricity, hats off to them. We have all gadgets and amenities but can't enjoy the beauty of nature, also suffer health wise having all the impure stuff in our bodies in the cities. I know it will not be easy for us as we are spoiled with all the modern luxuries but fresh air, fresh homemade goodies from fresh farm grown bounty, no wonder the Amish people seemed so simple and fresh. I picked up an Amish bread book from the visitors store and tried the corn bread, it is amazing.

Well it is winter now and we are left with just great memories from summer. However this corn bread will definitely warm homes, hearts and taste buds. The book called this corn bread as corn pone but it definitely tasted like those little corn breads you get in restaurants and grocery stores, much better actually. So to not confuse myself I am going to call it corn bread.

Source: "Breads" Cookbooks from Amish kitchens

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter or shortening
• 2 eggs
• 1-1/2 cups cornmeal
• 1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1-1/2 cups milk

Directions:

• Preheat oven at 450 degrees F.
• Cream sugar and shortening. Add eggs and beat well.
• Combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt. Mix it with the sugar and shortening cream alternately with milk, till you have batter with no lumps.
• Pour into greased and floured 9" x 13" cake pan. Bake at 450 degree F for 30-35 minutes.

Fresh corn bread and broccoli soup, YUM

• Enjoy!

Ragi/ Finger Millet Vermicelli Dessert

The other day on my regular visit to the Indian grocery store I found this pack of Ragi vermicelli. Hmm.. interesting I thought to myself. It is a known fact that Ragi is loaded with nutrients. So I thought I should try Ragi in this new way. I like to experiment with products that attract my attention for being healthy or maybe unique or just different.

Some people have an aversion towards Ragi and I think that is because of it's unappetizing color. Taste wise like any flour it will take the flavors very well and give out the flavors that you add to it. So don't judge Ragi by it's look, taste it and apart from finding it tasty you will do your body some good with all the health benefits it offers. Ragi is extensively used in Karnataka and there is a dish called Ragi mudde, which is, cooked ragi flour balls served with sambhar or chicken curry. As a child when I used to visit my aunt's place in Bangalore I could not stand my cousin brother devouring ragi muddes with chicken curry so lovingly. I hated it. I do not hate it now but somehow that dish will never be on my favorites list. I do not mind having Ragi in the form of dosas, rotis, kheer and my new found vermicelli.

Ragi is high in protein and fiber and very low in fat, making it an ideal diet for people (like me) wanting to lose some weight. This ragi vermicelli can be made as a breakfast item by making it savory like upma or as a dessert in the form of kheer or dry, which I made for the occasion of Dussehra.

Ingredients:

• 1 pack Ragi vermicelli (180 g)
• 1/2 cup sugar (you can add more if you like it more sweet)
• 3 tbsp cashew nuts roughly chopped
• 3 tbsp walnuts/ almonds/ pistachios roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp golden raisins
• a pinch of saffron
• 1 tsp cardamom powder
• 1-1/2 tbsp ghee

Directions:

• Prepare vermicelli as per package directions, it calls for soaking the vermicelli for 3 minutes in water. Then steam the vermicelli after draining water for 5 minutes. The vermicelli is then ready to be used the way you want.
• Heat ghee in a deep pan and add saffron, cashew nuts, other nuts and raisins. Let the nuts get lightly brown.
• Add sugar and prepared vermicelli and mix well.
• Add cardamom powder and mix well.
• You can garnish with slivered almonds and serve warm.
• Enjoy! Happy Dussehra everyone.

** You can saute green chillies and onions in oil and add the prepared vermicelli with salt for a savory version.

Shrimp/ Prawn Masala

When I was a kid I liked chicken but was not much into seafood. Except certain Indian fishes like Mackerel (Bhangda) and Pomfret in fried form, I was not interested in fish. However I loved prawns. My mom had no complaints about me finishing off my plate, the day she made it. I enjoy a wide variety of seafood now but my love for shrimps and prawns, is still the same. I think it has a taste that not many who eat it can hate. 

I prepare a very simple, quick dish with shrimps these days. It is just peeled, deveined shrimp tossed together with Indian spices. Simple to make but the taste is elaborate. With my husband being a vegetarian, I can have this dish without sharing :-)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups shrimp (peeled and deveined)
• 1 large onion chopped
• 1 large tomato chopped
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 3 tsp oil
• Salt to taste

Directions:

• In a deep pan, take oil and heat it. Add mustard seeds and when they splutter, add onions and saute.
• When onions are browned, add tomatoes and cook.
• Add chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and cumin powder. Mix well.
• Add the shrimps or prawns, whatever you have in hand. 
• Add salt and garam masala and mix well.
• Cover and cook the shrimps with the spices on low heat.
• When the shrimps are done, remove from heat and serve warm with rotis or rice.
• Enjoy

* You can garnish it with cilantro, as it will make a better presentation with some green color in the dish.

Stuffed Broccoli Paratha

I love stuffed parathas and I will never be bored of having a paratha, in fact I bet there would be no desi, who does not like stuffed parathas. Broccoli is not an Indian dish vegetable but with all the good nutrients and health benefits, we Indians would be happy to borrow it into our meals. I went one step ahead and instead of making the western version of steamed, stir-fries and soups, made a stuffed paratha out of it. I hope broccoli was happy with it's new Indian avatar. I have no idea whether broccoli was happy but my husband and I, we were definitely two happy souls after having it.

Broccoli is definitely the healthiest of all the veggies in the market. In States, it is also easily available throughout the year. So there is no excuse for not including it in your meal. Broccoli has many health benefits, it is high in calcium, fibre, vitamin C (helping iron absorption), folic acid (good for women) and potassium (useful for hypertension). Furthermore it has sulforaphane and  indol-3 carbinol, both are anti-cancer agents. Having cancer in the family makes us see this benefit more. Since his mom is going through lymphoma now, hubby has to have a good diet to ensure good health in future. Broccoli is also known to control aging signs in the body because of its benefits. Now that I am interested in, with me hitting thirty this year :(

While making these parathas I used a method which I came across in the blog, Veggie Foodist. It is a life saver, time saver for me. I thank Bharti for this unique method of making parathas, which is quicker and also gives you a paratha with uniform filling. I managed to make parathas the traditional way, but always struggled getting the filling evenly distributed. This method works like a charm in having your filling evenly distributed and also it is just a one fold and roll method. I am not going back to the traditional method and am able to enjoy more parathas now. I only changed the shape of my parathas so I got triangular parathas rather than football shaped ones.

If you roll the dough circular and fold, you will get football shaped parathas

If you roll your dough oblong then you will get triangular parathas

Frankly I do not mind the shape till the end result is yummy.

Ingredients:

For the dough:

• 4 cups whole wheat flour
• Salt to taste
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1and 1/2 cup warm water 

For the stuffing:

• 3-4 heads of broccoli
• 1-2 green chillies
• 1/2 inch piece ginger
• 1/2 onion chopped fine
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp dry mango powder (aamchur)
• salt to taste
• 2 tsp oil

Directions:

For the dough:

• Mix salt and flour well. 
• Add 1 cup water first and start mixing. Then carefully add more water only if needed, say 1/4 cup at a time till you feel that the mix has enough water to knead it into a dough. If you add more water than needed and the dough is sticky add little flour and knead. Similarly if you feel the dough is dry add a tablespoons of water, to get it right.
• Now add 1 tbsp oil and knead it into smooth dough. If you have a food processor use it by all means. Keep aside for half an hour.

For the stuffing:

• Cut broccoli florets into small pieces and blend it with green chillies and ginger, without water. A food processor does this job well but if you do not have it, like me, then you just have to spend some time in chopping everything up into small pieces and then blend it.

Blended broccoli, ginger and chili mixture

• Add salt, garam masala and aamchur powder to the broccoli mixture.
• In a deep nonstick pan, heat oil, saute onions till soft and add the broccoli mixture
• Keep stirring occasionally. I think 3-5 minutes on heat is good enough for the moisture to escape from the mixture and cook it, as it will again get cooked when you are making parathas. Let it cool.

The final broccoli stuffing

Making parathas:

• Divide the dough into plum sized balls, also divide the broccoli mixture into equal or a tad smaller balls.
• Roll the dough longish like a naan, use flour to prevent sticking. Place the stuffing on one half of the rolled dough, not in the center like the traditional way, leaving space on the edges.

• Now fold the unfilled half over the filled one and seal the edges with your finger.

• Start rolling it till you get a flat paratha, applying even pressure all over, gently to retain filling
• You will get triangular parathas, which you then place on a hot griddle and cook on both sides applying oil on each side and flip as needed, till you get nice brown spots on both sides.
• Serve hot with yogurt and it is a complete meal, veggie, whole grain and protein.
• Enjoy!

Rajgira Aloo Paratha (Amaranth flour and potato flat bread)

My husband fasts every Saturday, and though he won't admit why he started doing that, I know the reason. He says it is for health reasons. Well you don't need to do a ritual fast for that! He actually started doing it after his mom was diagnosed with lymphoma. It was early this year and I knew the news was tough on him. My mother-in -law is in Mumbai and we are residing here in US. While she was under the care of my sister-in-law, due to the distance we could not do much for her. I think that is why he started fasting, maybe it was his way of doing something for her. I personally am a non-believer of fasts because I just don't get it, you can have cumin seeds but not mustard seeds, and all such funny rules don't make me feel  close to God. Plus most of the fasting foods are unhealthy, except fruits.

The news of my mother-in law having cancer has changed our life too. We have decided to go back to India for good, because it gets difficult managing family issues from here. With all the visa hassles and work pressure, you also can't travel anytime and stay for long, when needed. I loved my stay here in US and kind of feel bad to go back. It is an amazing country. I love its values of independence, I like american sense of humor and its 'work hard party hard' attitude. Not to forget I also picked up cake decorating skills here and would be open to make it a career option in future. I came here as a girl, at twenty-three with my husband, not knowing much about cooking. I explored cuisines from all over the world in my little kitchen here and what would be a better place than US, which is a melting pot of cultures from all over the world, to blend flavors. I have seen, and learnt a lot from, my mother and mother-in -law cooking, but I found my own style of cooking here, and fell in love with cooking. My daughter, too, was born here. So overall I have lot of good memories in this country. However I came here on H4 visa and that has always been a bone of contention during my stay here. So a part of me is also looking forward to go back. I am happy to know I will be going back a woman enriched with experience and skills. I was born and raised an Indian but US will always have a special place in my heart. Well for now we are just praying for my mother-in-law's health and for strength, while going through all the changes in our lives, we know it's not going to be easy.

Well, since my husband is fasting I still want him to eat healthy during that time. Having someone go through cancer in your family reminds you all the more, to eat healthy. Amaranth flour is very nutritious. It is high in iron, is fiber rich, has calcium and protein too. Amaranth is also gluten free. If you mix amaranth flour and whole wheat flour in equal proportions and make roti out of it, it will be healthier than your regular roti. To make rotis out of amaranth flour it is better to have some kind of binder since it is a gluten free flour. Since whole wheat is not allowed as per those fasting rules, I make these Amaranth parathas with potatoes and not only is it healthy, but tasty too.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup amaranth flour (Rajgira atta)
• 2 medium potatoes, cooked and mashed
• 2 green chillies, minced
• a handful cilantro chopped
• salt to taste

Directions:

• Mix everything together and knead into dough, without water. If you think you need water add 1 teaspoon  at a time, the potatoes give the needed moisture and binding to form the dough.
• Divide it into equal parts to make 2"-2-1/2" diameter balls. 
• Roll each ball to make a flat tortilla shaped roti. Roll it very gently flouring it well. If you put too much pressure or try to roll it too thin, it will get very sticky. You will get a 5"- 6" paratha after rolling.
• Cook it on a hot griddle on each side, applying little oil on both sides, till brown spots appear.
• Serve hot with yogurt or vegetable or gravy of your choice.
• Enjoy

Idli Masala

This is a great way of having leftover idlis. All the additional spices and flavor from onion and tomatoes give a zing to the old idlis.  I had tried oats idli from mix to match blogspot by Anudivya. It was great, plus I was happy with including fiber in the meal. I always end up making anything more than we can attempt to finish. We had oat idlis and sambhar for dinner and next day for breakfast turned them into these yummy idli masala.

Ingredients:

• Leftover idlis chopped into 1" cubes, around 2 cups
• 1 large onion chopped
• 1 large tomato chopped
• 1 tsp red chili powder 
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/4 tsp asafoetida
• 5-6 curry leaves
• 2-3 tsp oil
• salt to taste
• chopped cilantro for garnish

Directions:

• In a deep non-stick pan, heat oil. Add mustard seeds, when they crackle add asafoetida and curry leaves.
• Add onions and when they are soft, add tomatoes and let it cook till mushy.
• Add chili powder, turmeric powder, garam masala and salt to taste. Mix well.
• Add the chopped idlis, mix well and let it stay on low heat for around 5 minutes, covered.
• Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot.

Pau Bhaji (Veggies with bread roll)

I think it is very apt that the post for vada pau is being followed bu pau bhaji. Pau bhaji is also an inseparable part of the Mumbai food culture. It originated during the days when mills were flourishing in Mumbai. It offered the mill workers a light but filling lunch so that they can get back to work actively. Gone are the mill days but the pau bhaji remains and is loved by all, rich and poor, foodies and health-freaks, and young and old. 

When you have pau bhaji outside it is definitely laden with butter. At home you can go light with the butter and you have a healthy and nutritious quick meal.

I will give you the recipe for bhaji - the thick vegetable gravy, which is to be enjoyed with the Bombay pau but you can use any bread roll that is available to you. The hamburger roll, hot dog rolls or specialty rolls like the sub or grinder roll, etc from bakery. You can also use whole wheat buns to make the meal more healthy.

Ingredients:

• 4 potatoes peeled and chopped roughly
• 3 carrots chopped
• 1/2 cup green peas
• 1 cup cauliflower florets
• 12-15 green beans, stringed and chopped
• 1/4 of a beetroot (this gives nice color to the gravy)
• 1 large onion chopped fine
• 1 bell pepper chopped fine
• 2 large tomatoes chopped fine
• 7-8 garlic minced
• 1 green chili finely chopped (optional)
• 3-4 tsp pau bhaji masala (it is hot so it is as per taste)
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• 1 tbsp butter
• 3 tsp oil
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• salt to taste

For garnishing and serving-

• Chopped onion
• Chopped cilantro
• Lemon wedge

Directions:

• In a pressure cooker, cook potatoes, carrots, green peas, cauliflower, green beans and beet root, with little water. When they are done, remove the beetroot aside, let it cool and mash the veggies with a masher. Keep the mashed veggies aside. Puree the beetroot separately and keep.
• In a deep non stick vessel take oil, heat it and add green chili if you are using it and garlic and onions. When the onions change color add bell pepper and cook well. Add tomatoes and let it cook well and become mushy.
• Add pau bhaji masala, red chili powder, salt and mix well. Add the mashed vegetables and mix all together. Adjust salt, add lemon juice and butter and mix. Add little water if the gravy is too thick. Add the beetroot puree. You will get a lovely red color gravy. Let the gravy simmer for sometime and your bhaji is ready.
• In a griddle take some butter and add split bread on it. When the bread is buttery and hot take it on a serving plate and serve it with bhaji and all the garnishing ingredients.
• Enjoy

** Do not put too much beet root because it will make your gravy sweet, just 1/4 to 1/2 would be good depending upon the portion of your gravy.

Healthy Batata Vada (Potato fritters)

Vada Pau (potato fritter with bread) is my husband's favorite food item. He just resists to have it because they are deep fried potato fritters served with chutney in a bread roll. It is Mumbai's very popular, tasty street food. If you have lived in Mumbai you obviously know about vada paus. However if you have not tasted it and are planning to visit Mumbai, you should put it in your to do list in the city. A true Mumbaiite cannot imagine the city without it. Even if you are not in the city or planning to visit Mumbai, you can easily make it in your own kitchen. This dish is on the spicy side but you can adjust it as per your preference.

Well as I am sharing a healthier version of batata vadas I have omitted deep frying it and have made use of the sandwich maker to get yummy batata vadas without the grease. So you can have these guiltfree.

Tools Needed: Sandwich Maker

Ingredients:

For the potato mixture-

• 4 large potatoes (cooked, peeled and mashed)
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 1-1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 3 tsp urad dal
• 7-8 curry leaves
• 3-4 green chillies finely chopped(as per preference)
• 7-8 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp asafoetida
• Salt to taste
• 2 tsp lemon juice

For the coating batter-

• 1 -1/2 cups chick pea flour/ besan
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp oil
• salt to taste
• water as per need

Directions:

For the potato mixture-

• Take oil in a deep vessel and heat it.
• Add mustard seeds, when they crackle add urad dal, asfoetida, curry leaves, green chillies and garlic. Fry them in oil really well taking care not to burn it.
• Add mashed potatoes, turmeric powder, salt and lemon juice. Mix really well. Remove from heat.
• Keep the mixture aside to cool. Then make small balls little bigger than golf balls from the potato mixture

For the coating batter-

• Take chick pea flour in a small deep bowl.
• Add salt, turmeric powder, red chili powder and mix well.
• Add water slowly to make a thick pancake like batter that will coat the potato balls well
• Take a tsp of lemon juice in a spoon and add baking soda on it. Add this fizzy mixture to the batter and mix well.

For the healthy vadas-

• Traditionally the potato balls are coated with the chick pea four batter and deep fried in oil. However to make it healthy just flatten each ball of potato mixture in your palms and dip it in chickpea flour and put it in the groove of a sandwich maker. 
• You can lightly coat the the inside of the sandwich maker with oil to make the vada a bit crispy.
• Just use the sandwich maker as you normally make sandwiches in it. Let it heat and when the green light goes on put in the vadas and let the batter cook. You can make 4 vadas at a time. I sometimes let 2 heating cycles pass to make the vadas crispy. Depends on how much time you have in hand.
• When done remove the vadas with a help of a wooden or nonstick spatula to protect the coating of your sandwich maker.
• Serve it in pau/ bun with chutneys of your choice cilantro chutney, garlic chutney (which is an essential part of vada pau) or tamarind chutney or all three.
• Enjoy it guilt free.

** If you have a panini press maybe you can try that too, to make healthy vadas. Let me know how they come out in it, if you try.

Oats Dosa

This dosa can really be called Oats Dosa because of the proportion of oats that goes into making it. The source for this recipe is "show me the curry". I have enjoyed watching lot of their recipes. They have very professional quality videos in spite of being homemade. This recipe makes amazing dosas and for all you oat lovers out there, this will be a new way to have your oats, if you are used to Indian cooking. Basically like any dosa this recipe calls for advance planning but when you have the batter ready it makes for a quick breakfast, lunch or dinner. Serve it with your choice of vegetable, sambhar or chutney. You can have a balanced meal in between a rushed day, if you can store the batter in refrigerator or freeze it. I got 2 meals for my family with the batter.

Friday dinner: Oats dosa with kanda bhaji (onion stir-fried in yogurt) & apple chutney

Sunday afternoon lunch: Oats dosa with potato masala stuffing and tomato chutney

Ingredients:

• 3 cups oats (old fashioned or instant)
• 2-1/2 cups water
• 1 cup rice with 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
• 1 cup urad dal
• salt to taste
• Water as per need

Directions:

• Wash rice and urad dal lightly.
• Soak them with 1 tsp fenugreek seeds in sufficient water so that they can double easily soaking water. Let rice and dal soak for about 6 hours.
• Just one hour before you are ready to grind dal and rice, soak oats in 2-1/2 cups of water.
• Drain water from rice and dal, and grind them to fine paste. Add water as needed to facilitate grinding. 
• Now grind the oats into fine paste with the water it was soaked in.
• Mix the two paste together and adjust consistency, it should be like dosa batter, should be able to spread on griddle.
• Put this batter in a deep pot with cover and let it ferment for 8-10 hours in a warm place like lightly preheated oven or just leave it in oven with light on. 
• Because of the presence of oats the batter will not double in size but will be bubbly and you can see that it has fermented. But still allow some room in the pot in which you will be fermenting your batter.
• Add salt as per taste to the fermented batter.
• Heat a flat griddle and pour a ladle full of batter and spread it with the ladle in circular motion making a thin crepe.
• Let it get crispy and brown below and when the edges start coming off griddle on their own, you can flip it and cook on the other side.
• Serve hot with chutney, sambhar or potato masala or all :)

* For a quicker version I have used 1 cup rice flour and 1 cup urad flour as a substitute for the grains. Jut add water as needed and grind it with oats. Then keep it for fermentation  and enjoy dosas.

Homemade Granola

This is a simple recipe, just have to mix up things and let oven do the rest of the job for you. I found this recipe while going through cake designs on the blog "I am mommy/ i am baker". It was like you get the best things when you are not looking for it. It is healthy, homemade so you know what goes into it, inexpensive and versatile- eat it with milk for breakfast, have it as a topping on yogurt/ frozen yogurt or ice-cream or just have it as it is for a quick healthy snack. I do not like most of the cereals because they get mushy in milk and I hate that texture in mouth. I love this granola with milk for breakfast or snack.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups old fashioned oats
• 2 cups quick cook oats
• 2-4 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1 tsp clove powder
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup dried fruit of your choice (dried cranberries, blueberries, etc)
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/2 cup canola / vegetable oil

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 250 degree F.
• Mix all the ingredients and spread them out on a baking sheet.
• Bake for about an hour. After 30 minutes just sift it so that it gets baked evenly.
• Cool for an hour before transferring into an airtight container.

* I have tried it with maple syrup and honey too. So if you don't have maple syrup available around you honey works.

* I just had old fashioned oats so I just used 4 cups of it and still works great.

Meen Kalumbu (Fish Curry)

As I have mentioned in my posts before, I grew up eating mangalorean food and I love chicken curry with rice chips (kori rotti), dry chicken (kori sukka), fish fry (kaidina meen), all mangalorean delicacies. I will post recipes for each one when I get to them. Today I am posting a recipe for meen kalumbu, which is not authentic mangalorean but comes little close to it. I tried it once when I was craving fish and got hooked to it. I can say that it is the best fish curry rather the fish curry which I enjoy the most. I think its roots can be traced to Chettinad (Tamilnadu) cooking.

Ingredients:

• 6-7 pieces tilapia/ salmon pieces
• 2 big onions (one chopped fine)
• 1 tomato chopped fine
• 1/4 cup grated coconut
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp methi/ fenugreek seeds
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 1 green chilly chopped
• 1 tbsp tamarind pulp
• 4-5 tsp cooking oil
• few curry leaves
• salt to taste

Directions:

• Grind together one onion, coconut and fennel seeds and keep aside
• In a deep pot heat oil and add methi seeds, green chilly, curry leaves and chopped onion. Saute well.
• When the onions lose its color add tomatoes and cook till mushy.
• Add red chili powder, turmeric and coriander powder and mix well.
• Add the ground paste and saute till raw smell of onion goes away.
• Add salt and tamarind pulp, mix well and adjust the consistency of your curry.
• Add the fish pieces.
• Keep cooking with a closed lid on medium flame till the fish is cooked.
• Garnish with cilantro (optional)
• Enjoy the yummy fish curry with rice or rotis.

Bajil (Mangalorean poha)

I have fond memories of Bajil, because it is not only a delicious snack but it reminds me of my mom fondly making it for us during tea-time. These days for tea-time is not even an elaborate affair for me. Tea-time is equal to stuffing into mouth anything edible I have in the pantry, while  struggling with my daughter to finish off her milk and cooking dinner. With husband commuting to New York city for work, we get to have relaxed breakfast or tea only during weekends.

Coming back to bajil, it is a quintessential Mangalorean snack. I grew up in Mumbai but my parents being from Mangalore, I grew up on authentic Mangalorean food. So any Mangalorean food draws the strings of my heart as well as tummy. Bajil is made from thin poha (beaten rice flakes) and the flavors used in it, give it a spicy, sweet and tangy taste.... a combination for success of any dish. It is a median between poha and chivda because it is chewy, neither very soft nor crispy. Why don't I start with the recipe, so that if you get a chance to try it, you can feel it for yourself.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups thin poha
• 3-4 dried red chillies
• 1 tbsp coriander and cumin seeds crushed in a blender/ food processor
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 2 tsp urad dal
• 2 tbsp peanuts
• 1 tsp chana dal
• 7-8 curry leaves
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 cup fresh/ frozen shredded coconut
• 1 tbsp jaggery (this is as per taste)
• 1/2 tbsp oil

Directions:

• In a deep pan, take oil and heat it. Add mustard seeds and when they splutter, add urad dal, chana dal and peanuts. Add red chillies and curry leaves. When the dals start changing color and the peanuts are fried well, add chopped onion.
• When onions become soft, add jaggery and let it melt, mixing well.
• Add poha, crushed cumin and coriander seeds, turmeric powder and shredded coconut. Mix well.
• The poha will absorb the moisture from coconut and onions, and your bajil is ready.
• You can add around 3/4 cup of soaked and cooked garbanzo beans or black grams to bajil and make it more nutritious. This is called as kadle bajil in mangalore.