Spinach & Mushroom Rotini

Spinach and mushroom make for a wonderful combination. And with whole grain rotini, the taste is almost heavenly. This is one of my favourite recipes, one I created on one of those long winter evenings when I had a craving for a hearty yet healthy meal!! I am sharing this with all pasta lovers via Presto Pasta Night, hosted by the lovely Ruth.

Ingredients:
3 cups whole grain rotini
1 cup frozen spinach
1 1/2 cups mushrooms, sliced
1 medium onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup milk
1 cup vegetable stock
2 tbsp low fat cream cheese
1/4 cup pepper jack cheese, grated
Parmesan cheese, shaved
1 small green pepper, sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cornflour
Salt, to taste
Black Pepper, freshly ground

Method:

1. Boil the pasta as per instructions on the packet in plenty of water and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
2. Heat the oil in a large heavy bottomed saucepan. Add the garlic and stir. Next add the onions and and fry until golden brown.
3. Add the peppers and mushrooms, stir and cover the pan and let the vegetables cook for 3 minutes.
4. Microwave the spinach for 6 minutes on high, and add to the saucepan. Mix well with the peppers, mushrooms, and onions.
5. In a separate bowl, blend together the stock, milk, and cornflour. Pour into the pan and stir to make a sauce with the cooked vegetables. When the liquid begins to thicken, blend in the cheeses, and season with the salt and pepper. Your spinach and mushroom pasta sauce is now ready.
6. Now add the cooked rotini to the pasta sauce. Mix well.

Serve this deliciously creamy pasta very hot, topped with shavings of Parmesan cheese.

All text and photographs in this blog, unless otherwise noted, are Copyright of © Annarasa 2007. All Rights Reserved. Kindly do not reproduce without permission.

A Perfectly Delicious Start for a New Daring Baker

Hello Everyone,
I am delighted to announce that I have successfully completed my very first Daring Bakers Challenge. I have been a silent admirer of this great blogging community since I began my blog in December 2007. Baking and I have a long and happy history. I began baking fairly regularly when I was in high school - cakes, biscuits, pastry, bread! My love affair with baking continued well into my University years, when the demands of career and travel left me with little time to boil an egg, let alone bake. Slowly, yet steadily now and with much encouragement from my husband :) I am returning to this great passion - and so I welcome Daring Bakers into my life!!

Here's my experience with the very first challenge. A couple of weeks before the challenge was posted, I ran across Dorie Greenspan's book Baking: From My Home to Yours at my local library. Browsing through, I found several recipes I was keen on trying. However, as we were expecting visitors from out of town in March, I knew there would never be enough time to get started. And then I thought I'd better wait for the recipe from the Daring Bakers, and focus on my very first challenge. To my complete and utter delight, Morven chose a recipe from the very same book!!

The Perfect Party Cake was simply a breeze to bake. Its one of the simplest recipes I've seen and without doubt a guaranteed success. Its also incredibly versatile, and given citrus addition to the batter makes it a wonderful base for any recipe requiring a slab of cake! A few notes on the process:

• I did bake the cakes the day before I iced them. They stayed well overnight.
• I put both lemon and orange rind in the batter and as a result got a wonderfully fresh flavour in the cake!
• The icing is fresh cream. It turned out delicious, except that I am not so fond of vanilla essence and I doubt that I will use it again to flavour the cream.
• I filled the cake with home-made cranberry and apple preserve which gave a great tangy taste twist to this otherwise sweet treat.
• Finally, the blueberries and blackberries on the top were perfect to give both a fresh look and taste to the cake.

So, presenting Berry Delight with Cranberry Preserve, my version of Dorie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake. A big Thank You to the Daring Bakers for organizing this event!! P.S. For the original recipe, look here March Challenge and Blog on....


All text and photographs in this blog, unless otherwise noted, are Copyright of © Annarasa 2007. All Rights Reserved. Kindly do not reproduce without permission.

Dreamy Vegetarian Pizza

So, I was surfing the internet for interesting food events.... Yup, feels like I have been doing a lot of that lately!! But then there are so many wonderfully enthusiastic chefs out there, each dreaming up new ways to challenge our skills and creativity!! I still continue to be quite literally gobsmacked at the variety and range of food events online.

Anyway, the first site to pop out from the blogosphere was Stephanie's blog announcing a Pizza Party. Just perfect I thought. And then, almost simultaneously - what exactly is a pizza? I mean I know what a pizza is, I have eaten it often enough, I bake it at home quite frequently - and yet - what is a pizza?? Quite simply, a pizza as we know it today is an Italian open pie usually made of thin bread dough spread with a spiced mixture of a.k.a tomato sauce and cheese. According to the Smithsonian, the pizza could be said to be a descendant of the focaccia or bread rounds covered with herbs and spice which made their debut in Naples around 1000 years ago. Essentially a peasant food, it was a way of recycling leftovers by placing them over thin crusts of dough and the baking them. Indeed there was no tomato on the earliest pizzas as Europeans came to know of this beautiful fruit sometime in the 16th century, and it was added to the pizza only sunsequently.

The world's first pizzeria Port'Alba opened in 1830 pizza. The pizzas there were cooked in ovens lined with lava from Mount Vesuvius. Talk about gourmet! The first truly modern pizza was the Margherita Pizza. Named to honour when Queen Margherita Teresa Giovanni, the consort to the Italian King in 1889, it featured fresh tomatoes, mozzarella cheese (used for the very first time on a pizza), and basil - ingredients that reflected the colors red, white and green for the Italian flag. Pizza was brought to the USA by the Italian immigrants. The first pizzeria in the USA was called Pizzeria Neapolitan and opened in 1905 in New York City. It however gained currency only towards the end of WW II when American servicemen returning from Europe popularised it in the States. More recently, Ike Sewell invented the deep-dish pizza. You can still find it at the Pizzeria Uno in Chicago.

Fun facts about Pizza:

• Americans eat almost 350 slices of pizza each second! With 3 billion pizzas being sold annually, it is no wonder that pizza is a $30 billion industry today.
• Close to 40 per cent of all pizzas sold are pepperoni pizzas. Other popular toppings include onions, extra cheese, and green pepper. The least popular topping is - you guessed it - anchovies.
• Some intriguing topping that one might be tempted to sample include oysters, dandelions, and peanut butter and jelly!!!!
• While Americans prefer meat toppings, a popular pizza topping in Japan is squid and tofu. In India tandoori chicken and chilli paneer are favourites. Brazilians enjoy green peas on a pizza while Russians top it with mockba - a mix of sardines, tuna, mackerel, salmon and onions.
• The original Italian pizza was made with green peppers and mozzarella cheese. The original Greek pizza was simply crust and vegetables - no cheese!!
• And you might be interested to note that October is National Pizza Month.

Now if that's whet your appetite, here's the real deal!!


Ingredients:
Ready prepared pizza dough (I used Pillsbury)
1 can tomato paste
1 red onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp Italian herbs
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt & Pepper, to taste
2 large tomatoes, sliced fine
1 large Spanish onion, sliced fine
1 large green pepper, sliced fine
1 Jalapeno pepper, sliced fine
1/2 cup black olives, halved
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

Method:

1. First, prepare the pizza sauce. Pour the oil into a saucepan. When warm, add the crushed garlic, and then after a minute the minced red onion. Fry until transparent. Now add the tomato puree, a cup of water, the Italian herbs, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 10-15 minutes until you get a sauce of medium thick consistency. Set aside to cool.
2. Roll out the pizza dough as per instructions on a large cookie sheet. Set the oven at 350F.
3. Pour the sauce over the dough and spread evenly. Layer the vegetables over the sauce starting with half the cheese and green peppers. Next place the tomatoes, onions, Jalapeno peppers and olives. Lastly sprinkle remaining cheese over the pizza.
4. Bake for 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted and the crust begins to turn golden and crispy.
5. Slice and serve your dreamy vegetarian pizza hot with your choice of condiments!!
   
   All text and photographs in this blog, unless otherwise noted, are Copyright of © Annarasa 2007. All Rights Reserved. Kindly do not reproduce without permission.

Khaman Dhokla

As my husband and I simply adore Khaman, I thought this might be the best treat to share on International Women's Day 2008. Thanks to Zorra, the web today has been flooded with warm, fragrant, and delicious messages of awareness and love!


Ingredients:
1 cup chickpea flour
3/4 cup water
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp ginger-chilli paste
1/4 tsp asafetida
1 tsp baking soda
Salt, to taste

Method:

1. Mix all the dry ingredients except the baking soda in a large mixing bowl.
2. To this mix, add the oil, water, and ginger-chilli paste and blend well to make a lump-free paste.
3. Put 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker or a steamer, and bring to a boil. Meanwhile grease a cake pan or pie dish that will fit into the steamer such that it can also be easily removed with a few drops of oil.
4. Now add the baking soda and lemon to the chickpea flour mix, blend well and pour into the pan. Leave at least a 3/4 inch space in the pan above the batter.
5. Lower pan carefully into the steamer. If using pressure cooker, do not place the weight. Cook for 15 minutes.
6. Remove the cake pan from the streamer. Let the dhokla cool. Turn out, cut into squares.
7. Serve warm or cold with your favourite chutney or sauce.

All text and photographs in this blog, unless otherwise noted, are Copyright of © Annarasa 2007. All Rights Reserved. Kindly do not reproduce without permission.

Pasta with Chickpeas and Parsley

There is nothing quite like having a few recipes for quick and easy one dish dinners handy. Amongst my favourite recipes is Pasta with Chickpeas & Parsley. This is a deliciously spicy pasta with a tremendously hearty flavour. Its completely no-fuss to make. It was perfect for our move last week - fast to make and truly yummy!!

Ingredients:
3 cups mixed pasta
1 large can chickpeas
2 small onions, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 large bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp hot red pepper flakes
Salt, to taste
Pepper, freshly ground


Method:

1. Boil the pasta with a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of olive oil in plenty of water. Set aside when ready.
2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the garlic and onions and cook until transparent.
3. Drain the chickpeas and add to the pan. mix well cook covered on medium heat for 2 minutes.
4. Now add the pepper flakes (you can reduce or increase the quantity according to taste), and the parsley. Blend in and cook for another 5-8 minutes or until the chickpeas are warmed through.
5. Season with salt and pepper and toss the cooked pasta into the chickpea mix.
6. Serve hot with extra freshly ground black pepper and red chilli flakes.

I am sending this across to Meeta's Monthly Mingle One Dish Dinners. This recipe is also my very first entry to Ruth fabulous event Presto Pasta Nights!!

All text and photographs in this blog, unless otherwise noted, are Copyright of © Annarasa 2007. All Rights Reserved. Kindly do not reproduce without permission.

Watercress & Potato Soup

Now there's nothing quite like warm soup on a cold winter's day. And here in the Great Lakes area we appear to be having the coldest, snowiest winter ever. In fact, not only do we have 3 feet snow on the ground, the branches of trees have frozen over and are glittering like shiny ornaments in the bright winter sun! Yes I spent the better half of my day admiring this sight and taking loads of photographs. With the setting sun, I decided to get back in and get some hot soup going.

We love soup so much around here that I have taught myself to prepare it 'from scratch'!! Yes, I make my own soup stock, freeze it, and keep it handy to boil up a steaming hot favourite in a snap. Here's my recipe for our favourite Watercress & Potato Soup.


Ingredients:
2 tbsp butter
1 oinion, chopped fine
1 potato, diced
5 oz watercress
2 cups vegetable stock
11/2 cups milk
Lemon juice, to taste
Salt to taste

To Serve:
Pepper, to season
Sour Cream
Orange peel

Method:

1. Warm the butter in a large non-stick saucepan. Add the onion and fry over low heat until it becomes translucent. Add the potato and fry for 3-5 minutes. Cover the pan, and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
2. Wash the watercress, strip the leaves, and chop the stems.
3. Add the stock and milk to the pan and once they are warm, add the watercress. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.
4. Season with salt and pepper, then process in a blender. Return to the saucepan and heat.
5. Adjust seasoning, pour into warmed soup bowls, garnish with sour cream and orange peel.
6. Serve with warmed crusty bread or freshly baked biscuits.

I am sending this delicious and nutritious recipe over to Lisa for her wonderful new food event No Croutons Required....

I am also sending this great winter warmer to Jen at the The Left Over Queen. Jen hosts the delightful and very easily accessible web resource: The Foodie Blogroll. It is a superb link, indeed must-have for all Food Bloggers in the Blogosphere!! Thanks Jen!!

All text and photographs in this blog, unless otherwise noted, are Copyright of © Annarasa 2007. All Rights Reserved. Kindly do not reproduce without permission.

Rose-Coloured Kalakand Hearts

Kalakand is a much-loved sweet in Indian homes. It is milk-based treat that graces festivals, marriages, and many more celebratory events.

Kalakand has a melt-in-the mouth feel. It is grainy in texture often due to the multiple milk based ingredients that make it up. The best Kalakand is that which is gently sweetened and allows the combination of both flavour and texture to explode simultaneously in a single bite. Though almonds, cashews, and indeed even walnuts can be added to Kalakand, I find that this indulgent sweet holds its flavour best when paired with pistachio nuts! Needless to say, this sweet is for everyone who loves milk, adores fudge, and has the desire to give in to toothsome delights every so often. And with Valentine's Day round the corner, what better treat for your sweet than these dainty Rose-Coloured Kalakand Hearts!


Ingredients:
340 gms (12oz) khoya/mava
1 cup full-fat milk
3/4 cup Ricotta cheese
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/4 tsp pistachio nuts, chopped coarsely
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
1/2 tsp ghee (clarified butter)


Method:

1. Coarsely grate the khoya.
2. In a heavy-bottomed pan, heat the milk until it begins to boil. Add the grated khoya to the milk. Reduce heat, and blend well, stirring constantly.
3. Once the khoya melts completely, add the ricotta cheese one tablespoon at a time and mix well.
4. Cook this mixture on medium-high heat until it begins to thicken. Now add the cardamom powder, pistachios, and the condensed milk, stirring constantly.
5. When the mixture starts to dry out and it will begin to leave the sides of the pan. Lower heat and cook till the mix dries out completely and begins to take the shape of a lump. You will notice the mixture change colour and acquire a faint rose shade.
6. Grease a cookie sheet or square cake pan with ghee. Remove the Kalakand on to the sheet, pat down to achieve desired thickness, and let it cool.
7. Using a sharp knife or cookie cutter, cut into desired shapes.

I am sending this recipe over to Zorra's Valentine's Day: A heart for Your Valentine and to Pooja at Theme of the Week - Valentine's Day. Enjoy the Kalakand with the entire family and friends. Mine can testify - there's no better way to say: I love You!!

All text and photographs in this blog, unless otherwise noted, are Copyright of © Annarasa 2007. All Rights Reserved. Kindly do not reproduce without permission.

Mumra Wale Kanda Pohe

Pohe is an all-round favourite at breakfast on weekends or for a heavy tea. My current favourite is a recipe that I learnt from a friend but have tweaked to taste. This pohe is made not with Pohe Rice (flattened rice) but with Mumra or Puffed Rice. It has a different and unique flavour and texture. But I found that the puffed rice absorbed the flavours better than the flattened rice. Also it retained a moisture and softness that pohe rice tends to lose if not served immediately. This recipe of Mumra Wale Kanda Pohe is for Jhiva for Ingredients: Onions, which this time has been hosted by Radhika of Radhi's Kitchen.


Ingredients:
6 cups Mumra (Puffed Rice)
1 tbsp oil
2 large onions, sliced finely
2 green chillies, slit
6-8 curry leaves
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
Salt, to taste

Method:

1. Take 2 cups of Mumra in a large bowl. Pour enough tap water over the Mumra tosoak them through. You may have to use your hands to push the Mumra under the water. Allow to soak for 1-2 minutes until they lose their crispness and become soft. Taking one handful at a time, squeeze the water out of the Mumra completely. The Mumra should not retain any water yet hold its shape at this point. Spread out in a large colander.
2. Repeat this until all the Mumra are in the colander.
3. Heat the oil in a large pan. To this, add the mustard seeds, and when they pop add the cumin, curry leaves, sliced onions, and green chillies. Cook on medium heat until the onions become transparent.
4. Now add the prepared Mumra, turmeric, red chilli powder, and salt to taste. Stir in the spices so that all the ingredients are blended well. Cover and cook for 2 minutes.
5. Remove the cover of the pan, stir, and keep on the heat until the Mumra is completely cooked - about 5 minutes.

Serve Mumra Wale Kanda Pohe hot with a squeeze of fresh lime and your favourite pickle!

All text and photographs in this blog, unless otherwise noted, are Copyright of © Annarasa 2007. All Rights Reserved. Kindly do not reproduce without permission.

Lasun Parathas (Garlicky Parathas)

Garlic is part of the onion family and is packed with antibiotic and antifungal properties, Vitamin B, minerals, and flavanoids! It is believed to have several health benefits and is believed to help prevent heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, cancer, and even regulate blood sugar levels.

Garlic is used extensively in Indian foods. Its sharp, pungent taste adds much flavour and richness to vegetables, lentils, and curries. It is sometimes though rarely incorporated in Indian breads, and I have often wondered why this is the case. I love different kinds of rotis and parathas and am always experimenting with them. Here's my recipe of Lasun Parathas for Think Spice... Think Garlic!!


Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup wheat flour for rolling the bread
1 tsp ghee (clarified butter)
1 tbsp garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp cilantro, finely chopped
1/4 tsp turmeric
Salt, to taste
Water
Ghee/oil, as needed

Method:

1. Mix all the dry ingredients except the wheat flour for rolling. Add the garlic and cilantro to these ingredients and mix well using both hands. Knead the dough by adding the 1 tsp ghee and water as needed to these ingredients.
2. Divide the dough into equal-sized ball (size of a key lime). Roll each into a flat disc (paratha) around 3 inches in diameter.
3. Heat a griddle/frying pan, place one paratha on it. Cook both sides evenly on medium heat. When cooked, remove on a plate, smear with ghee, and keep warm in aluminium foil.
4. Make all the parathas in the same way.
5. Serve warm with your favourite vegetable or curry!
   
   
   All text and photographs in this blog, unless otherwise noted, are Copyright of © Annarasa 2007. All Rights Reserved. Kindly do not reproduce without permission.

Cranberry Orange Relish

For Taste & Create V, I have been paired with Jill of Hey, That Tastes Good! Eagerly, I browsed through Jill's site for a recipe to create. Jill's site was an education for me - it was my first encounter with a blogger who blogs gluten free. Hmmmm, I thought, here's a challenge for me!! After reviewing several recipes that appeared delicious, I settled on the Cranberry-Orange Relish, for several reasons! Firstly, I love cranberries. Secondly, I adore oranges. Thirdly, I am fanatical about relishes. And last but not the least, I had never tried making anything with cranberries thus far.

Jill's original recipe can be found at: Cranberry Orange Relish. It calls for the pulp and zest of 1 orange, 3 cups cranberries, and 11/2 cups sugar to be whisked together in the food processor, refrigerated to blend well, and then enjoyed.


Much as I liked this recipe, I found that I could not follow it exactly. Firstly, my food processor had just given way. And secondly, an uncooked relish would not do too well in my home! I had tried a chutney with pineapples recently, and learnt a lot from the experience. Besides, the moment I saw Jill's recipe, my creative cap came on and I could not resist the cook's licence to create. Here's my version of this wonderful relish.

Ingredients:
11/2 cups cranberries
2 oranges
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1" stick cinnamon
1/2 star anise
2tbsp lemon juice

Method:

1. Peel the oranges, remove any seeds, and chop roughly.
2. In a large saucepan, combine the cranberries, chopped oranges, water, and sugar. Cook until the sugar melts and the fruit is soft.
3. Add the star anise and the cinnamon stick, and cool the relish until it reduces in half. Now add the lemon juice. Stir well, and cook till all the liquid is gone and the relish acquires a jelly like mass.
4. Turn off the heat. Allow the relish to cool, bottle, and refrigerate. Leave for a few days before use.

Enjoy this relish with biscuits, cheese, and cold meats or on a sandwich! Thanks to Jill for an inspiring recipe.

All text and photographs in this blog, unless otherwise noted, are Copyright of © Annarasa 2007. All Rights Reserved. Kindly do not reproduce without permission.

Kulhad Wali Chai (Masala Tea in Earthenware Pots)

Anyone with any experience of travelling by rail in India will be all too familiar with 'Kulhad Wali Chai'. Served in earthenware glasses which are baked by potters in wood-fired furnaces, this syrupy and spicy Chai carries with it the sweet smell of the earth.


Without doubt, 'Kulhad Wali Chai' beckons the weary traveller and is the ultimate liquid comfort in a glass. I have had a passionate love for tea since I first sipped this concoction as a child travelling between Nagpur and Aurangabad!! For me, chilly winter mornings are synonymous with holding a warm tea glass in my bare hands, slowly sipping this soothing liquid. As comforting as the strum of the guitar to Simon & Garfunkel lyrics:

But look around, leaves are brown now
And the sky is a hazy shade of winter

This one's for jugalbandi Click: Liquid Comfort, January 2008.

All text and photographs in this blog, unless otherwise noted, are Copyright of © Annarasa 2007. All Rights Reserved. Kindly do not reproduce without permission.

Rocking The Nutty Boat!!

A simple entry for jugalbandi Click: Show us your nuts, December 2007.

All text and photographs in this blog, unless otherwise noted, are Copyright of © Annarasa 2007. All Rights Reserved. Kindly do not reproduce without permission.

Christmas Cookies: Cinnamon-Chocolate Swirls

Now home-baked cookies and I have a history of sorts. I developed an avid interest in baked goodies early on, and as time went by it turned into a passion of sorts. Yes, there's always a time for a story and this is one for Christmas cookies. As I stumbled across Susan's Christmas Cookies from Around the World 2007, I was inspired to dig out my old faithful - a treasured recipe book which holds a collection of my very favourite tried and trusted cookie recipes. Just a turn of the page and memories of baking batches of cookies for school events, for family, friends all came flooding back. Just as much as I loved the aroma of my Mum's kitchen every time I loaded in a fresh batch to bake, the fact remains that I really have not had the time or the opportunity to indulge in this joy for several years. Now thanks to Susan I have come back to delight in baking cookies. Of course half the joy of baking cookies at home (read from scratch) lies in the sharing. With every fresh batch I have been counting off friends and family to whom I am shipping off these delectable delights. May be that is the true spirit of a Christmas cookie - its sharing!! I have picked my favourite cookies - Cinnamon-Chocolate Swirls to share with everyone at Eat Christmas Cookies!

Two of my favourite flavours spliced together to create an aromatic and tasteful cookie. I used cocoa powder for the chocolate part of the dough. If you prefer a sweeter taste in chocolate you can substitute the cocoa powder for semi-sweet chocolate or sweet milk chocolate.


Ingredients:
11/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
Pinch of Salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
3 oz demerara sugar
1 large egg
1tsp vanilla extract

For the Cinnamon Dough:
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 level tsp cinnamon powder

For the Chocolate Dough:
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar


Method:
1. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and soda.
2. Beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Next add the egg and the vanilla extract. Beat until well mixed.
3. Gradually add the flour, blend well into a pliable dough. Divide the dough into 2 equal halves.
4. Stir the flour and cinnamon into one half, and the cocoa powder and sugar into the other.
5. On a sheet of wax paper, roll out the chocolate dough into a rectangle just around 1/8" thick. On a separate sheet of waxed paper do the same for the cinnamon dough.
6. Now, pick up the cinnamon dough using the waxed paper beneath it and place it on the chocolate dough, dough side down. Take care to align the sides correctly. Remove the top sheet of wax paper.
7. Starting with the length of the rectangle, roll the dough to form a log.
8. Cut log crosswise in half. With a sharp knife cut the log into 1/6 inch slices. Place them 1 inch apart on a cookie sheet.
9. Bake at 350F for around 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer onto wire racks to cool. Repeat with the remaining logs.
10. Store in air-tight jar and enjoy for up to a week.

All text and photographs in this blog, unless otherwise noted, are Copyright of © Annarasa 2007. All Rights Reserved. Kindly do not reproduce without permission.

Winter Warmers: Hot Mango Salsa

Mango is a great favourite on the Indian sub-continent. Indeed, as a mango lover one can't help but be passionate about this beautiful fruit. Every summer, desis in the US bemoan lack of access to the over a 100 varieties of mango available freely on the Indian sub-continent. And every so often I get a mango craving and I am tempted to buy one of the beautiful orange, yellow, and green mangoes in the local supermarket. Yet, these mangoes are very fibrous they don't do too well on a dessert plate. So to satisfy my mango cravings I began to experiment using these sweet fleshy fruits in new ways. I remember standing in my kitchen, mango staring at me when memories of eating sour kairi (raw mango) with rock salt and red chilli powder on a hot summer's day, flashed back to me. Mmmmm, the texture of the raw mango mingling with the sharp and mellow flavours was just heaven. And well, just like that I decided to do the same to the nice ripe mango on the kitchen table. An onion here, tomatoes there, green chillies, cilantro, and freshly squeezed key lime juice - hey presto - utterly delicious mango salsa.

This cool salsa is a surprisingly welcome winter warmer. While winter is a time for stews, soups, curries, and hearty cooked meals, I found it really satisfied that desire for fresh uncooked vegetables that I inevitably experience every winter. Serve with your favourite low-fat chips or top your bean burrito with it. This salsa also goes really well with cold cuts and is an excellent accompaniment to fresh grilled fish and prawns. An ideally refreshing accompaniment for a celebratory meal!!!!

Ingredients:
1 large ripe mango, pulp removed
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 cup cilantro, diced
1 Jalapeno chilli, diced
2 key limes
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp roasted cumin, crushed coarsely
Salt to taste

Method:

Place the chopped onions, tomatoes, diced garlic, cilantro, and Jalapeno in a deep bowl. Add the mango pulp and mix will.
Season with salt, cumin, and cayenne pepper to taste.
Squeeze the juice of the two key limes into the salsa, and blend well.
Adjust seasoning to taste and serve.

Now if you were wondering about the nutritional value of a mango, you might be interested to know that the mango is an excellent source of nutrition. It is chock full of vitamins particularly Vitamins A, B, and C. Minerals and antioxidants like Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium, and Zinc are also found in mangoes. This fruit is also know for aiding in digestion and improving intestinal health. This is largely due to the presence of enzymes such as magneferin and lactese in the fruit. And you know, some of the other stuff in the salsa isn't too bad for you either!!

I am sending my Salsa Recipe in for HotM 10 - Quick and Easy!

All text and photographs in this blog, unless otherwise noted, are Copyright of © Annarasa 2007. All Rights Reserved. Kindly do not reproduce without permission.

That Feeling of Coming Home! JFI Toor Dal

You can eat any cuisine in the world, you can travel the globe, you can eat out for days on end - but there is nothing quite like the feeling of coming back home!! Of course, coming home means different things to different people. But in my parents home - it had one simple meaning: "Ghar ka Khana" or simple food cooked at home.

I remember as a child we would go for our annual trek in the Himalayas, or on summer vacations across the country only to return home to the deliciously heart-warming dal-chawal. Now you can guess that dal on the occasion meant the humble arhar dal or toor dal, served hot with basmati chawal, and methi-aloo bhaji. Over the years this has become my most abiding memory of coming home. Now when ever we travel, the first meal on our return echos that memory.

In fact, this meal is a great favourite in my family. I tend to make toor dal thick and creamy, and top it with a great dollop "ghee ka tarka". Here's my recipe.

Ingredients:
2 cups toor dal
1 medium onion
1" piece ginger
3-4 cloves garlic
1 level tsp turmeric`
1/4 tsp asafetida (hing)
1 tsp cumin seeds
3-4 dried red chillies
Salt to taste
1 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)

Method:

1. Soak the toor dal in water for 2-4 hours.
2. Pressure cook the dal with the ginger, tumeric, 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, a pinch of salt. Once cooked, continue to boil the dal until it thickens and becomes heavy. Adjust the salt to taste.
3. For the tarka, heat the ghee in a small pan. Finely chop the onion and garlic. Add to the heated ghee and fry until onions become brownish. Then add the remaining cumin seeds, red chillies, and asafetida.
4. Remove the ready dal into a serving bowl. Season with tarka. Serve with fresh hot Basmati rice which has been seasoned with salty butter and a pickle to tickle your tastebuds!!!!
   
   

All text and photographs in this blog, unless otherwise noted, are Copyright of © Annarasa 2007. All Rights Reserved. Kindly do not reproduce without permission.

Fasting & Feasting: Sabudana Khichiri

In India, feasting very often follows fasting. It is customary to observe fasts on numerous days throughout the year. Indeed, people fast on particular days of a week, month, and year to please and honour particular Gods and Goddesses, to give thanks for blessings received, or to pray for that their wishes be granted.

A fast usually begins at dawn and broken at dusk. During this time those undertaking the fast tend to partake of only water, fruits, nuts and milk. Yet, the entire day is often filled with the joy and camaraderie that accompanies a shared kitchen. Family members regardless of age come together to prepare for the feast that inevitably accompanies the successful completion of a fast. Some feasts are humble and traditional meals where only certain categories of foods permitted on fasts are prepared. And others are grand meals where the host's largess is shared with friends and neighbours.

Sabudana Khichiri or Sago Kedgeree is a traditional dish that is most commonly prepared to end a fast with. This simple yet delicious dish is viewed as a complete meal and oftentimes as the ultimate treat at the end of a day characterised by abstinence from carbohydrates and salt. I developed a taste for Sabudana Khichiri early in life and though it was prepared in several different ways by my Mum and my Grandmum, I choose to make it the traditional way.



Sago itself is tricky to cook. A little over soaking, a little overcooking and it has a tendency to dissolve into a gelatinous, gluey, and sadly inedible mass. My experience with sago has seen all these phases, and after numerous misses (considerably more) and hits, I have this recipe down to a T! Trial and error are a great methodology, yet in the end I have come to believe that it turns out best whenever I trust my instinct.

Ingredients:
2 cups sago
3/4 cup raw peanuts
2 medium sized potatoes
6-8 curry leaves
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
2 tbsp oil
2 green chillies
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
1 level tsp red chilli powder
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Clean the sago, and soak it in cold water overnight in a deep bowl. The water should cover all the sago in the bowl and should be at least 1 inch over the level of the dry sago. In the morning the sago should be plump and soft. If you see any excess water, drain it completely. Alternatively if the sago is still hard, sprinkle with more water and let sit for a few minutes longer.
2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large frying pan.
3. When oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and curry leafs. Stir them till they begin to pop.
4. Chop the green chillies; peel and cube the potatoes. Stir them into the seasoning in the pan. Cover the pan and and cook for 10 minutes or until tender.
5. Coarsely grind the raw peanuts.
6. Mix the ground peanuts, red chilli powder, and salt into the soaked sago.
7. Turn this mixture into the frying pan.
8. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Then remove the cover, add 1 tbsp oil and cook another 10 minutes on medium heat. Stir occasionally. The sago will acquire a translucent appearance once it is fully cooked.
9. Garnish with finely chopped cilantro. Serve with freshly set yogurt.

My husband adores Sabudana Khichiri, and so I do make it with a comforting regularity every weekend and usually during the Navratras. But it will always remain for me a childhood memory where this simple fare would become the feast after the fast. And as I am new to the world of Food Blogging, I am dedicating this entry to all you fabulous food bloggers out there who have inspired me to create my own food blog. As a part of this dedication I am sending this recipe out as an entry to Meeta's Monthly Mingle - Traditional Feasts, 3 December 2007.


All text and photographs in this blog, unless otherwise noted, are Copyright of © Annarasa 2007. All Rights Reserved. Kindly do not reproduce without permission.