Week #41 Moroccan Tagine with Root Vegetables

Cant believe its been 41 weeks already with this blog!Next few weeks will be Fall inspired recipes.Here in the US, pumpkin is big at this time, but so are root vegetables like turnips and squashes of different kinds.
Tagine is actually a kind of special vessel designed to make this dish. This pot usually has the stew simmering in the bottom while the steam and aroma from the stew cooks the couscous on top of this dish. Usually its meat thats cooked in the stew below, but here I have attempted a Vegetable Tagine.This is Morocco's most famous dish and I had this dish in Paris which has a big North African population. I dont have this vessel, and I know it will never taste like they do it, but its a humble attempt at one of my favorite dishes.

Ingredients :
1 bunch- spinach
chickpeas- cooked- 3/4 cup
garlic- minced 1 tablespoon
turnips,zucchini,squash, potatoes, carrots 2.5 cups- cut into cubes
onions- 1 cup
parsley-1/2 cup
Good quality olive oil- 2 tablespoons
paprika- 1-2 tablespoons
Tomato sauce- 1 cup
chilli flakes- as needed
couscous- 2 cups

Method:
Boil 2 cups water. Add 1 teapsoon salt and olive oil. Put couscous in the boiling water and stir. Remove from heat, covera nd let it rest for 5 minutes and then fluff with fork. Couscous is ready. You can use veggie or chicken broth for more flavor.
Heat olive oil in medium to big pan. Add garlic and then onions and saute for 3 minutes. Add the turnips,carrots, potaoes and stir. Add salt and sprinkle water and reduce heat. Cover and cook for about 8-10 minutes until cooked. Then add spinach and chick peas. Add the tomato sauce, paprika and parsley and let it come to a slow boil. Add chilli flakes and finish it with a good round of olive oil around the pot. Serve hot with couscous and enjoy!

Week #40 is Tiramisu-

For those who havent had Tiramisu, I will tell you is one unique dessert because its amazing how the alcohol, eggs, cocoa, coffee and cream combine for this ultimate treat. I had this first when I was staying with a Swedish family in Luxembour. For those of who who ahve read my book, I didnt have the best of times living there, but one thing that the landlady made that was simply outstanding was the tiramisu. She used spinge cake instead of Italian ladyfingers, but result was just as good. She saved me some many times and that was probably one of the ver few kind gestures I remember of her.
I just use rum instead of marsala wine and make a zabaglione which is a must for this ( yolk custard).If you dont get mascarpone cheese, plain cream cheese should work too. My hubby loves it and i made it for his birthday last week.

Ingredients -
7 egg yolks
Sugar 3/4 cup
rum - 3/4 cup
cocoa- 2 tablespoons
Thick coffee liquid- 1 cup
milk chocolate shavings- 2 tablespoons
vanilla essence- 1 tablespoon
ladies fingers or sponge cake-5-6 cups
mascarpone- 10 ounces at room temperature
cream- 1 cup

Method:

Zabaglione: Put a pot of simmerign water. Water should not be boiling and heat should be low. Take egg yolks and sugar in a bigger bowl and place on top of simmering water. Take an electric beater and beat it till it doubles in volume and changes color. Add vanila essence, 2 tablespoons rum and keep beating for 1-2 minutes more. Remove from heat and add the mascarpone and combine properly. The zabaglione is now ready.
In a cool vessel, beat cream till it forms stiff peaks.


Now add the rest of the rum to the thick coffee and mix. Add 1/2 teaspoon of the cocoa to this and dunk the sponge cake or ladyfinger and place them in a long dish. Slather the zabaglione on top of the ladygingers or cake. add the cream on top of that and use a strainer and sprinkle cocoa on top of the cream. Repeat theis entire process one more time. Then add the chocolate shavings. Close this with foil and refridegerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
Enjoy!!

Week #39 Nasi Goreng- Indonesian Fried Rice

This week we have Siva, a winner 3 times!! No competition for him this time...
When I started playing pro tournaments, Dad and I traveled to Bandung, Indonesia and Solo, Indonesia to play 2 pro circuit events. These were the lowest tier of events, but at that time there were no pro women tournaments in India. Both these places were small towns with really nothing going on. The TV was all in Bahasa, the local language and in general, these events were surely not easy or fun. The 2 dishes that we got used to in Indonesia were Nasi Goreng and Bami Goreng, Fried Rice and Noodles. Since we ate eggs, this was our staple during our two weeks there.
Nowadays in Asian markets, you get Nasi Goreng mix packets just like Thai Green or Thai Red Curry packets. Its actually very easy to assemble, but quite unique in taste. Its served with scrambled omlette and cucumbers and tomatoes. Its a good rice dish thats a abit out of the ordinary. The easiest way I would describe it is its in between biriyani and fried rice.

Ingredients :
1 packet Nasi Goreng mix
cooked chicken, shrimp or tofu ( as needed)
Cooked rice- 3 cups
eggs- beaten - 4
cucumbers and tomatoes- diced- 3 tablespoons
oil- 3 tablespoons
shallots, garlic- minced- 1 tablespoon
chilli paste- 1/2 teaspoon or as needed
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Take a non stick wok and add 2 tablespoons oil. Add beaten aggs and let it cook without touching it. Flip it over after 2 minutes and add salt and pepper. Once egg is done, take it out and let it rest. Add the rest fo the oil and saute the shallots and garlic. Add the cooked shrimp, chicken or tofu and saute for 2-3 minutes minutes with chilli paste. Switch off heat and in the same wok, add rice and nasi goreng mix and mix thoroughly. Cut strips of egg and garnish with Cucumbers and tomatoes. Enjoy.

Week #38 Potato & peas pockets with chickpeas stew aka Samosa with punjabi chole

I have the say this is my first attempt at this dish at home. It's just so easy to just go and buy this dish outside, but the potato filling is usually never the way we want it to be. My hubby and I like the potato filling to be quite spicy, and the other fixings make it much better at home. Its not that difficult, though it takes a bit of time....But its totally worth it as you can see from the pictures. I paired this with some cooling Mojitos and it made for a nice weekend relaxed meal.

Ingredients :
Chickpeas stew or Chole
Chickpeas- 1.5 cups soaked overnight and pressure cooked with 1 teabag
Tomato puree- 4 tablespoons
ginger garlic paste- 2 tablespoons
Garam masala- 5 tablespoons
Coriander powder- 5 tablespoons
Red Chilly powder- 1 tablespoon or as needed
Cumin seeds- 1 tablespoon
Samosas
Potatoes bolied and mashed- 1.5 cups
Green Peas- 1/2 cup boiled
Red Chilly powder- 1 tablespoon or as needed
Green chillies- minced 2 tablespoons
Cumin seeds- 1 tablespoon
Salt- as needed
All purpose flour- 2 cups
ghee or oil- 1 tablespoon
Oil- for frying
Condiments :Cilantro or coariander leaves or green chutney, tamarind chutney, sev

Method:
Pour ghee on the allpurpose flour and combine. Then add salt and -3 tablespoons cold water and start kneading it. Add little water if needed and keep kneading till it forms a ball. Knead it for 3-4 minutes more and cover and let it rest until we complete everything else.
We will make the chole first-
Take a pan and heat 3 tablespoons oil and cumin seeds. Once it starts splutering, add tomato puree and cook for 3 minutes, then add ginger-garlic paste. keep cooking for 3-4 more minutes until oil separates. Now add garam masala powder,salt, chilli powder,coriander powder and cook for 1 minute. Add the cooked chickpeas and 1/2 cup water and allow them to simmer for about3 minutes. Chole is done...
Take a smaller wok and heat 1 tablespoon oil. Add cumin seeds and when it splutters, add the green chillies and peas and then garam masala. cook for 1 minute and add salt, chilly powder as needed and 1 spoon coriander powder. Now add the smashed potaoes and combine. Taste and add salt if needed.
Preheat oil for frying samosas.Take the dough and make small balls from it.Take a rolling pin and start rolling it out.Roll it out just like a roti or chappati about 3 inch diameter. Cut it into half and fill the potato and seal the edges with little water or just seal the edges with a fork.Basically you are making a pocket. I didnt use water, just made sure they r sealed properly.
Deep fry the samosas in oil and drain in paper towels.
Assembly can be two different ways. My hubby likes the samosas all broken up and the chole all over and sev on top with all the chutneys. Here is a pic
I prefer it this way, but either way...its pretty awesome- Enjoy

Easy home made Mojitos :
Mint leaves- 10-15 leaves
Sugar- 4 tablespoons
Soda- 2 bottles
Fresh Lime 4-5
Rum- 1/2 cup
Ice -
Take a glass. Squeeze fresh lime juice with its pulp and add 2 -3 tablespoons sugar. Add mint leaves and mush the ingredients together. Add ice and about 3 tabelspoons rum. Add soda and serve. At home, we never have sugar cane or cane syrup handy, and this is just simple and good enough. You can completely avoid the rum if you want to make it alcohol less.

Week #37 Baked Veg or Veg AuGratin

We have 2 winners this week!!Priya Anandprasad and Smita Sundar! You got it right! Its one of my hubby's fav dishes. When we make it at home, its surely healthier as I am sure I use just half the butter and cheese.

Ingredients
Veggies- 2 cups cut into bite size pieces ( onions,carrots,potatoes,green beans and cauliflower)
garlic- minced 1 tablespoon
Butter- 3.5 tablespoons
Flour- 2 tablespoons
Milk- 3 cups
Cooked pasta- 2 cups( Macaroni,penne,rigatoni)
Dried oregano,thyme- 1 teaspoon each
Cheese- 1 cup or as needed
Panko breadcrumbs- 1 cup or as needed
salt and pepper as needed

Method:
Preheat Oven to 450 degrees F.
Add 1 tablespoon butter in heated wok and saute the veggies and garlic in butter and reduce heat. Close the pan and let the veggies team and cook. Keep it aside. In the same wok add remaining butter and flour. We are creating a roux for the white sauce. Fr the flour on low heat for 3-4 minute until it starts to slightly brown. It will be all crumbly. Now add milk slowly and use a whisk vigorously to combine them all. Completely add the milk and add oregano and thyme and salt and pepper as needed. Make sure to not overdo the salt as there is salt in the cheese you will add later. Once this mixture comes to a boil, it will start to thicken. Switch off and keep aside.The white sauce is now ready. Now to assemble the dish.
Take a casserole dish and slightly rub with butter. Add some white sauce in the bottom, then fill with pasta, then veggies and sprinkle some cheese. Repeat this until the top finishign with cheese and then combine breadcrums with some oil or butter and salt and pepper. Spread the breadcrumbs on the top throughout and put in oven for 15 minute or until the top if browned. Serve with a side salad. Enjoy!

Week #36 My latest creation Idfu :)

I attended anutrition seminar a few months and was shocked at what is termed starch in this country. Chick Peas or Channa is regarded a starch here, whereas in India everyone talks about how much protein it has. All the dals that are supposed to contain protein has a lot of carbohydrates too. So, I wanted to add some real protein to our Idli ( steamed rice cakes) and so here is IDFU (Idli+Tofu). I had two fussy eaters try this out and I got great reviews from them both. So,let me know what you all think!

Ingredients:
Extra firm tofu-diced- 1/2 cup
onions,carrots,broccoli,cauliflower diced- 1/3 cup
oil- 1 tablespoon
salt and pepper to taste
Idli flour- 1 1/3 cup
Idli steaming vessels

Method:
Saute tofu in non stick pan and allow it to brown. Add salt and pepper and then add onions followed by veggies. Saute them all
until cooked. Set aside and add idli flour in a greased plate or in the usual idli plates. Add 1 teaspoon of veggies or more if using greased plate. Steam them for 10 min on medium heat and serve with your favourite chutney or sambar! Enjoy!

Week #35- Protein packed payyasam

This week, we have 2 winners,Bhuvi Sringari and Siva. Well done guys!
I just wanted to add some oomph to the traditional payasam or kheer recipe. I cut back on the sugar and added some
really awesome ingredients. I added Flax meal, chia seeds, cranberries, sunflower seeeds, pecans and almonds. The result
was a very healthy payasam that turned out to be a great breakfast!! If you dont have chia seeds or flax meal or seeds, you can do without.

Ingredients
Vermicelli- 1 cup
ghee- 1 tablespoon
sugar- 2 tablespoons
chia seeds,sunflower seeds, cranberries, almonds,pecans,flax seeds or meal-2 tablespoons each
milk- 3 cups

Method- Toast the vermicelli in ghee until it turns brown. Allow to cool first. Boil the milk,add the sugar and
reduce flame. Add the vermicelli and boil for 10 minutes until the vermicelli is cooked. Add rest of the ingredients and
mix well. Enjoy!