Week #17 of 52 recipes in 52 weeks

This week's recipe is the Tabouli recipe but again with slightly different ingredients like quinoa and matta rice which is my own concoction. Matta rice is mainly used in Kerala, Southern India and has a very low glycemic index. But if you dont have that handy, just use quinoa. Quinoa and lemon and parsley makes for a very healthful and filling salad recipe which can easily be a main dish when combined with a couple of tofu strips or some fish or chicken.

Ingredients :
Broken Matta Rice and Quinoa- 1/4 cup each
Parsley- 2 bunches (1-1/2 cups)
Mint-1 bunch
Lemon- juice of 2 big lemons
cucumber- 1 diced
onion- -1 diced
tomatoes- 1 diced
salt and pepper to taste.

Method:

Cook Matta Rice and Quinoa together with 2 cups water and cook in rice cooker. Allow to cool. Cut parsley into very small bits and pour lemon juice over it and let it rest for at least 30 minutes to an hr. Cut mint up and Now add all other ingredients together and mix well. This salad is best served cool the next day when all the flavors mix and combine...
Enjoy!

Week #17 Guess the recipe!

Matta Broken rice, quinoa and lime or lemons...

Week #16 Thenga,Manga,Pattani,Sundal (Coconut,Raw Mango,Peas Salad)

My buddy Siva again came up with the best guess, but I am going to nitpick and not give him full points because he said "chickpeas". :) :)
Whenever there is an Indian festival, I get nostalgic. Thats the time I am reminded of spending time with family and having all the wonderful delicacies mom makes at home. While this particular dish is not usually eaten at home, I was truly excited to serve this to my guests this week because it is so hard core Tamil and only people who grew up in Tamil Nadu will understand its significance. Thenga Manga Pattani Sundal is mostly sold in beaches and parks and the vendor usually does a singsong to announce it. Its usually served in a newspaper cone. While I have to be honest, I havent eaten it too much in India while I was growing up, the aroma that comes from that truck is truly nostalgic. Its actually very easy to make and quite nutritious too and it made a stellar accompaniment to my luncheon menu. Here it goes:

Ingredients:

Yellow peas- 2 cups (available in Indian grocery stores)
Carrot grated- 1 cup
Raw Mango- Peeled and grated- 1 cup
Fresh Coconut Grated- 1/2 cup
Shallots or red onions- Minced-1 cup
Mustard seeds- 1 teaspoon
Green Chillies- minced- 2
Cilantro washed and minced- 1/2 cup
Salt- 1 tabelspoon

Method:
Wash and Soak Yelllow peas in plenty of water overnight. Pressure cook them for just one whistle with salt. You dont want to overcook the peas. Drain the water and immediately put it in a container surrounded by ice- meaning an ice bath. This will stop the cooking process and your peas will be cooked, yet wont turn mushy.
Heat oil in a wok and add mustard seeds. After they splutter, add green chillies. Cook on low flame and add shallots. You dont need to cook the shallots very much. Now add the coconut and saute for just 30 seconds.. Turn off the gas and add this to the peas. Add carrots, raw mango and cilantro and mix well. Adjust salt and pepper accordingly. You can serve it in newspaper cones to get the real feel or just as a salad like I did!! Enjoy!

Week #16 is all about nostalgia...Its one of the dishes from the picture

I know there are lot of dishes in the picture, but you have to guess which is this Week #16's featured dish?

Week #15 of 52 recipes in 52 weeks

When I visited Puerto Rico a couple of years ago, I tasted their authentic Black Bean soup and the mofongos. Mofongos are made out of plaintain banana which is fried in oil and then mushed up with spices. I kinda liked it, but my favorite was the Black Bean soup. The texture was exteremely creamy and it was quite filling . The amazing thing is that they use ground cumin(jeera) which I never thought was used in Latin cooking.This was served with some white rice, but this could easily be eaten just as a soup or a meal without any accompaniments....

Black Bean Soup is a Cuban and Puerta Rican comfort food

Ingredients:

Black Beans- 2 cups- no need to soak them
Green pepper- 1 diced
Onions- diced 1 cup
Cumin powder- 2 tablespoons
Chilli powder- 1 tablespoon
Garlic- 3 cloves minced
Apple cider vinegar- 1 tablespoon.
Olive oil-2 tablespoons
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Wash black beans thoroughly. Pour oil in a pre heated saucepan. Add onions and garlic and saute for 3-4 minutes. Put one tablespoon of cumin and then add the black beans and salt and pepper. Pour 4-5 cups water and bring it to a boil. Then reduce heat to medium and let it cook for 1 -1.5 hrs untilt the beans are soft. You can also cook this in a pressure cooker, but make sure not to overcook it also. Take one laddle of the beans out and mush them up with the back of a laddle. Add it back to the soup and bring it to a boil. Add the chilli powder, apple cider vinegar and remaining cumin powder. The soup will now be creamy and delicous. Serve with a bowl of white rice or with spring onions on top!!

Week #14 of 52 weeks of 52 recipes is Chilaquiles- The Mexican Version of Egg Bhurji!

Hi all, I am so excited to share this recipe with you all. While my bro KV came close, Siva, my buddy from school got it totally right! This is Siva's 3rd correct guess. I think I might have to send him something over the mail to Australia once I am done with this project for all his correct guesses!

Firstly, I had this dish for the first time NOT in Mexico, but in a tex-mex restaurant in Dallas, Texas. I fell in love with it because you could eat this for breakfast, lunch or dinner!! It has some of my fav ingredients and has so much flavor and pizzazz. Its also a one pot meal with protein, carbohydrate and veggies all in one. ( You could add more veggies in this if you wish) But one key thing is that it needs to be eaten as soon as its made.

Ingredients :
1 cup- good quality salsa or here is an easy recipe( http://allrecipes.com/recipe/easy-blender-salsa)
4 tortillas or 4 chapathis
Jalapeno chilli fresh- half- sliced
Any kind of cheese- as needed(1/2 cup)
eggs- 4-5 beaten
Onion- 1 diced or sliced lenghtwise
Salt and pepper- to taste
Oil- 4 tablespoons

Method:
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a non stick frying pan. Cut up tortillas or rotis in bite size pieces and shallow fry in oil abt 2 minutes on each side. You want them to be golden brown. Remove and repeat till all tortillas strips are crisp.


Place them in a paper towels. To the same pan add 2 tabelspoons oil and add Jalapeno and onion and saute for 4 minutes till they r brown. Add beaten eggs and salt and peper and scarmble them and let them cook for about 5-7 minutes until they r no longer runny.


Take the eggs out in a bowl and add the tortilla strips and the salsa together and stir on low heat for 2-3 minutes.


Take an oven safe dish and place some tortilla strips in the bottom, stack some eggs on top and add some cheese and repeat this till you have tortill strips on top. Sprinkle some more cheese and broil in the oven at high heat for 2 minutes till the cheese is bubbly and melted. Serve with a side salad and enjoy a beer with it if you make this for dinner!!! :) :)

Week #14 Guess the dish!

Salsa, Tortillas and cheese......what dish do you think this is???