A.W.E.D. is going to Spain !!!

Hello friends,


Firstly, I would like to thank DK of Chef In You to give me this opportunity to host this month's A.W.E.D, which is taking a tour of Spain. Yes, friends, July month's AWED will feature Spanish Cuisine.


Spain is known for its culturally diverse heritage, having been influenced by many nations and peoples throughout its history. Spanish culture has its origins in the Iberian, Celtiberian, Latin, Roman Catholic, and Islamic cultures.


(Source Wikipedia)

Spanish cuisine consists of a great variety of dishes which stem from differences in geography, culture and climate. It is heavily influenced by seafood available from the waters that surround the country, and reflects the country's deep Mediterranean roots. Spain's extensive history with many cultural influences has led to a unique cuisine. In particular, three main divisions are easily identified:

• Mediterranean Spain – all such coastal regions, from Catalonia to Andalusia: heavy use of seafood, such as pescaíto frito; several cold soups like gazpacho; and many rice-based dishes like paella and arroz negro.
• Inner Spain – Castile and Madrid: hot, thick soups such as the bread and garlic-based Castilian soup, along with substantious stews such as cocido madrileño. Food is traditionally conserved by salting, like Spanish ham, or immersed in olive oil, like Manchego cheese.
• Atlantic Spain – the whole Northern coast, from Galicia to Navarre: vegetable and fish-based stews likepote gallego and marmitako. Also, the lightly cured lacón ham.

Here are the simple rules to participate in this lovely event.

1) Prepare any vegetarian recipe from Spanish Cuisine (no fish, seafood or any of kind of meat allowed, eggs are only allowed in baking). Here are some of the links you can go through to get ideas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_cuisine
http://spanishfood.about.com/
http://www.spain-recipes.com/


Google it for the rest that you want to check out for.
2) Archived recipes are welcome if updated with the logo and this announcement (no need to repost it), but I would suggest and prefer if you make a new recipe that you haven't tried before.
2) Post it on your blog & link it to this announcement and DK's announcement.
3) Send me an email with AWED - Spain in the subject line with these details:-

Your Name
Name of your blog
Recipe Name
Link of the recipe
Picture of the recipe

at priyaDOTmitharwalATgmailDOTcom

4) Last Date for sending entries is July 31st 2010.




























I hope to see a lots of varieties. Let your recipes keep flowing. 

Till next post, take care. Have a wonderful weekend.

Jau Ki Kheer - जौ की खीर (Barley Pudding)

Hello friends,


I have been meaning to make it for past whole month and just got the time today.  I have never made or had it before, but just wanted to give it a try.


I am glad that I tried as I loved it. I made it in a very similar manner to how we will make rice pudding.


Jau Ki Kheer - जौ की खीर (Barley Pudding)

Ingredients
Pearl Barley - 1/2 cup
Milk - 8 cups (I used skimmed, but use anything you prefer)
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Ilaichi (Green Cardamom) Powder - 1/2 tsp
Raisin and Cashew (Kishmish and Kaju) - 1 tbsp each
Ghee (Clarified Butter) - 1 tbsp
Preparation

• Wash and soak barley for 3-4 hours.
• Boil milk in a heavy bottomed pan or pressure cooker and cook till barley is well cooked (not mushy, but well cooked).
• Add sugar, ilaichi powder and let it cook for another 10-15 minutes.
• Switch off the heat.
• Take ghee in a small pan and fry kaju and kishmish.
• Garnish kheer with fried kaju and kishmish.

Serving
Serve it warm or chilled as you prefer for dessert. As you all know, we like it warm :)


I am sending this to Kiran's Cooking With Whole Foods - Barley event.





That's all for now. Take care till next post.

Sabut Masoor ki Masale Wali Dal - साबुत मसूर की मसाले वाली दाल (Spicy Whole Brown Lentils)

Hello friends,


Here is one more very favorite recipe of Whole Brown Lentils. I love these whole lentils or grains :)


Sabut Masoor ki Masale Wali Dal - साबुत मसूर की मसाले वाली दाल (Spicy Whole Brown Lentils)

Ingredients

Sabut Masoor (Whole Brown Lentils) - 1 cup, washed

Onion - 1 cup finely chopped

Tomato - 1 cup chopped

Hari Mirch (Green Chillies) - 3-4 finely sliced (increase or decrease based on your taste)

Ginger - 1 inch piece grated

Garlic - 4-5 cloves

Haldi (Turmeric Powder) - 1 tsp

Lal Mirch (Red Chilli Powder) - 1/2 tsp

Dhaniya (Coriander) Powder - 1 tsp

Jeera (Cumin) Powder - 1 tsp

Amchur - 1/2 tsp

Garam Masala Powder - 1 tsp

Rai (Mustard Seeds) - 1 tsp

Jeera (Cumin Seeds) - 1 tsp

Salt - as per taste

Lemon juice - 1-2 tsp (based on your taste)

Cilantro - 1/2 cup finely chopped

Ghee - 2 tsps

Preparation

• Take cooker (I ideally use cooker so that I can use the same to cook the final product as well and do not have to change it into a cooker later), add oil
• Add rai and jeera and let them splutter
• Add hari mirch, ginger and garlic and fry for 1 min.
• Add chopped onion and fry them till they are transulcent
• Add all dry masalas (except garam masala) and fry for 1 min.
• Add chopped tomatoes and fry for 1 min . (no need to wait till they are all mushy)
• Add sabut masoor and mix well.
• Add enough water to cover the dal and a little extra.
• Put the lid on the cooker (or transfer it to cooker if you didn't take a cooker to begin with) and let it cook for about 15-20 min. (depending on how mushy you would like your dal to be, but make sure your masoor holds shape and does not become beaten)
• After removing the lid, mix dal, add lemon juice, garam masala and cilantro to the cooked dal and cover the lid again (do not mix after adding garnishings at this point). Let it be like that at least for 10-15 min. 
• Add water to change consistency. Remember, this dal is not very runny, but used little thicker.

Serving

Serve it with rice or roti/paratha. I can actually eat it just like that and it is a great meal on its own.

I am sending this to MLLA # 24 hosted by Diana and started by Susan.

 

That's all for now. Take care till next post.

Bajre Ki Roti - बाजरे की रोटी (Millet Flour Flatbread)

Hello friends,


This is how a typical Rajasthani Village Thali looks. It has bajre ki roti, methi ki kadhi (i will post the recipe soon), lahsan ki chutney and some pieces of onion. In villages and towns, even now, they use bajre ki roti more than whole wheat.


Bajre Ki Roti - बाजरे की रोटी (Millet Flour Flatbread)

Ingredients
Bajre Ka Aata (Millet Flour) - 1 cup
Gehun Ka Aata (Whole Wheat Flour) - 1/4 cup
Ajwain (Carom Seeds) - 1 tsp
Ghee (Clarified Butter) or Oil - 2 tbsp (I used olive oil)
Salt - as per taste
Preparation

• Mix all the ingredients first in a crumbly mixture.
• Add warm water little by little and mix it in a soft dough.
• Pinch a lemon size ball from the dough, dust it with some bajra flour and roll it into a desired sized circle. Remember, you won't be able to make a perfect circle because this dough is just of that nature.
• Now, put this rolled roti on a hot griddle and let it cook on both sides till golden brown. 
• There are 2 options here, you can either put some ghee while cooking the roti or add it on top while serving. (My son doesn't like to see ghee on top of his roti, so I prefer adding it while cooking itself so that he doesn't notice it :), sneaky mom)
• Make remaining rotis, just like the above. You should be able to make about 3-4 rotis with this dough.

Serving
Serve it topped with some fresh salt less butter or ghee along with some kadhi gravy curry and some lahsan chutney and onion slices.


Note: Traditionally these are made very thick, but, I tried my best to make them thinner. Rest is your liking. Traditionally, wheat flour is not mixed in it, but that is just because in villages, ladies make circles with hand, so no issues in making roti. But, as we use rolling pin and if you don't add wheat flour, the roti just won't hold the shape together. The end product is usually crispier than regular whole wheat roti.


That's all for now. Take care till next post.

Onion Chutney - T & T from Dil Se..

Hello friends,


Here I come with another entry for  Tried and Tasted event for this month hosted by Champa started by Zlamushka. 


Yet another wonderful recipe from Divya. We loved this Onion Chutney recipe with our idli breakfast. Please click the recipe link to visit Divya's blog to see the details. I used it exactly like hers, so I haven't re-posted it here.

I prepared it along with Almond Chutney recipe that I posted before.


There are many more recipes from her blog that I want to try, so, let's see how many I can in time for the event. Do participate in the event, if you get a chance. Last date is June 30th 2010.


That's all for now. Take care till next post.

Badam Ki Chutney - बादाम की चटनी (Almond Chutney)

Hello Friends,


Today, I want to introduce a sweet and wonderful blogger friend Sivapriya Ramakrishnan who has an amazing collection of recipes in her blog Eliachi. Isn't the name of the blog itself very tempting? Please do visit her and follow her recipes. I can bet you will love it :)


Here is one of her recipes that I tried this morning to go with my rava idlis and wow, what a different recipe. I have always prepared chutneys with different ingredients like peanut, onion, tomato etc., but never with almonds. Badam Ki Chutney - बादाम की चटनी (Almond Chutney) is such a lovely recipe that you must try it out. As I have tried her recipe word by word, I am not going to repeat if here and you should check it in her blog itself.

That's all for now. Take care till next post.

A Wonderful Gift from Preeti Kashyap

Hello friends,


Many of you may know already about the "Green Gourmet" event that I won (by some luck...lol).   Please do visit her blog to check her delicious recipes and mouth watering pictures.


For winning that event, my blogger friend, dear Preeti Kashyap, who had hosted the event, sent me a wonderful, beautiful Straw Tote with a lovely note :)

Thank you, thank you, thank you Preeti. Love you. 

Cheese Stuffed Jalapenos - T & T from Dil Se..

Hello friends,


I was so happy when I read the Tried and Tasted event for this month hosted by Champa started by Zlamushka. This month, we get to try recipes of Divya. I have so many of her recipes bookmarked that I was wondering where to start and yet see, I have procrastinating it till now. It looks like I may not be able to make all within the deadline. Anyways, will try whatever I can and I will still keep making them as they are simply delicious. Do check her blog for mouth watering recipes she has posted.


Cheese Stuffed Jalapeños won the race of being made first...lol. I encourage you to check her pics which will definitely tempt you to make them immediately. I tried her recipe almost exactly except for cheese mixes (which she herself says we can put any cheeses there) because I didn't have what she added. So, I mixed, 1/2 cup of Mexican 3 cheese blend from Kraft, 2 pieces of Laughing Cow Cheese, 2 tbsps of Sour Cream and 2 tbsp of Yogurt. It was mmm...mmm...mmm... My husband usually doesn't like things very hot (I am sure you already heard me that I try to put red chili powderwherever I need to put chopped chili, so that he doesn't have eat the chili piece. But, still stuffed jalapeños are our favorite since we first ate them in a Mexican chain restaurant called "On The Borders" which is more commonly located in East Coast of US. Anyways, long story short, we loved it... lol, wasn't that easy to say, but that whole story was much needed... ha ha ha.

Once again, do visit Divya's blog and try out her recipes.


That's all for now. Take care till next post.

Avocado Poori - अवोकेडो पूरी (Avocado Fried Bed)

Hello friends,


When looking for Avocado recipes, I stumbled upon this wonderful recipe of Avocado Poori at my blogger friend's blog. I made slight changes to it to suite my taste.


Avocado Poori - अवोकेडो पूरी (Avocado Fried Bed)

Ingredients
Avocado - 1, Ripe
Whole Wheat Flour - 2 cups
Ajwain (Carom Seeds) - 1 tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Salt - as per taste
Oil - 2 tbsp (to mix in pooris)
Oil - to deep fry
Preparation

• Scoop out the flesh of the avocado and mash it lightly with a fork. I did not paste it all the way, but left very very small pieces which you can kind of see in my dough.
• Take the rest of the ingredients (except oil to deep fry) and mix well.
• Add avocado pulp and mix it well (don't start adding water at this step).
• Now, add warm water little by little and mix it into a smooth dough.
• Keep it aside for few minutes, covered.
• Once the oil for pooris is hot, pinch a small lemon size ball and roll it into a small circle of 3 inches in diameter or per your liking.
• Slowly add it in the hot oil and press it lightly with the ladle at the top, the poori should puff up.
• Cook it till both sides are golden brown about 15 seconds each side (usually).
• Drain on paper towel.

Serving
Serve it with any kind of gravy curry. Yum, yum, yum !!! I am sure you can prepare avocado roti also this way, have to try it out. 


One thing to mention here is that if you eat poori, it had no indication of avocado, so good thing to sneak it into your kids' food, as usually kids love pooris :)


I am sending this to my own event Veggie/Fruit A Month - Avocado.


That's all for now. Take care till next post.

Baya Kyaw - Yellow Split Pea Fritters (Burmese Cuisine)

Hello friends,


With A.W.E.D - Burma hosted by Swathi and brainchild of DK, wanted to try some Burmese cuisine which I will admit, I have never eaten before, but heard that it is very close to Indian cuisine and is actually influenced by quite a few neighboring countries.





While, I was searching for the recipe to make, this one caught my eye as it is a fritter and I could guess the results, so went ahead with trying it out :) I used recipe from here.


Baya Kyaw - Yellow Split Pea Fritters

Ingredients
Yellow Split Peas - 1 cup (Washed and Soaked overnight)
Onion - 1 cup (finely chopped)
Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Cilantro - 1/4 cup, finely chopped
Salt - as per taste
Oil - for deep frying only
Preparation

• Drain yellow split peas. Take half of it and coarsely grind with no water.
• Take the other half and fine grind it with very little water (we don't want a runny batter).
• Now, mix all other ingredients (except oil) and keep aside.
• Once oil is hot, take a spoonful of batter or use your hand and drop it in hot oil.
• Let it fry to golden brown on medium flame.
• Drain on a paper towel.

Serving
Serve it as a perfect snack for tea time or as an appetizer before main course.  Enjoy !!!


I had to stop my son from eating further as I also made some pooris (recipe later) which are his favorite.

I am sending this to MLLA # 24 hosted by Diana and started by Susan.

 

Thats's all for now. Take care till next post.

Aloo Mangodi Ki Sabzi - आलू मंगोड़ी की सब्जी (Potato and Sun Dried Split Green Lentil Fritters Curry)

Hello friends,


Here is my first recipe using Mangodi that I had prepared over the weekend.


Aloo Mangodi Ki Sabzi - आलू मंगोड़ी की सब्जी (Potato and Sun Dried Split Green Lentil Fritters Curry)

Ingredients
Mangodi - 1 cup
Aloo (Potatoes) - 2 medium sized, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
Pyaaz (Onion) - 1.5 cups
Tomatoes - 1.5 cups
Adrakh (Ginger) - 1 inch piece, grated
Lahsan (Garlic) - 5-6 cloves, minced
Haldi (Turmeric Powder) - 1/2 tsp
Lal Mirch (Red Chilli) Powder - 1 tsp
Dhaniya (Coriander) Powder - 1 tsp
Jeera (Cumin) Powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala -3/4 tsp
Amchur (Dry Mango Powder) - 1/2 tsp
Kasoori Methi (Dry Fenugreek Leaves) - 1 tbsp (crushed)
Jeera (Cumin Seeds) - 1 tsp
Rai (Mustard Seeds) - 1 tsp
Salt - as per taste
Oil - 2 tbsp
Preparation

• Use a pressure cooker to cook it for better results.
• Dry roast mangodis in a pan till they are golden brown and slightly crispy, this will greatly reduce the cooking time of mangodi.
• Now, in the pressure cook, take oil, add rai, jeera and let them splutter.
• Add onions, ginger and garlic let them fry till onions become translucent.
• Add salt, all dry masalas along with kasoori methi and let the mix fry for about a min.
• Add chopped tomatoes and let it cook for another 2 min.
• Add potatoes and let it fry for 2 min.
• Add roasted mangodi, mix well, add enough water for the curry to cook (I usually add such that my curry is almost inside water).
• Let it pressure cook for about 15 min. (or till it is well cooked). It doesn't have to be mushy, but not very hard either. Sun drying makes mangodis very hard.
• If you like the gravy little runny, adjust it to your liking by adding or reducing the amount of water.

Serving
Serve warm them with roti/paratha.

I am sending this to Healing Foods - Onions event hosted by Priya and started by Siri and to Think Spice Think Garam Masala event hosted by Sara and started by Sunitha of Sunitha's World.

 

That's all for now. Take care till next post.