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.

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.

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.

Rasedaar Aloo-Gobhi (Fragrant Potato-Cauliflower Curry)

Aloo-Gobhi sabzi (Potato-Cauliflower Vegetable) happens to be one of my favourite vegetable combinations. There are so very many ways in which this vegetable combination is cooked and dished out. Yet it is only in winter that one gets the opportunity of enjoying it in this fragrant curry form. Primarily because this recipe uses loads of Dalchini or Cinnamon. Cinnamon which is an essential spice in Indian cooking, is regarded by Ayurveda as a warming spice. It is, in general, used in combination with other spices that complement its flavour and often in its bark form. Also it is used to flavour savoury vegetables and meats from the main course rather than sweets and desserts! Cauliflower curry with cinnamon is a perfect example of this. I find it to be a comfort food - tasty, warming, and utterly delicious once served on a bed of Basmati rice.

Ingredients:
1 medium-size cauliflower
4 small red potatoes
2 medium onions
1 tin tomato puree
1 tsp tamarind extract
8 Curry leaves
4 tbsp dried unsweetened coconut
1" cinnamon stick
4 black peppercorns
2-4 dried red chillies
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp ghee
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Wash, clean, and divide the cauliflower into florets. Quarter the potatoes, and slice the onions.
2. In a saucepan, roast the cinnamon, peppercorns, red chillies, and cumin. Set aside to cool.
3. Pour the oil in the pan, heat, then add the onions and dried coconut and fry till brownish in colour.
4. Meanwhile, dry grind the cooled spices to a powder. To this powder, add the fried onions and coconut. Grind further till well blended.
5. Heat the ghee in the saucepan. Add the mustard seeds and curry leaves.
6. Once the mustard seeds begin to pop add the freshly prepared spice paste and fry till the ghee begins to separate.
7. Now add the potatoes, cauliflower florets, salt, and just enough water to make up a curry. Cook till the vegetable is tender. Add the tomato puree and tamarind extract and cook for another 5 minutes.
8. Serve hot with Basmati rice.

I am sending this Winter Warmer in to Sunita's Think Spice.... think Cinnamon .

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.