Peanut Chutney

Ingredients:
Peanuts - 1 Cup
Green Chilis - 6 to 8 (depending on how hot you like the chutney)
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Garlic Clove - 1
Salt - to taste
Tamarind Paste - 1 tsp

Tempering:
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Red Chili - 1
Chana daal - 1 tbsp
Garlic clove - 1
Curry Leaves - 1 sprig

Dry fry the peanuts and grind with the rest of the ingredients, adding water as you go. Use water based on how thick you want the consistency of the chutney to be.
Temper with Mustard Seeds, Cumin Seeds, Crushed Garlic Clove, broken Red Clili, Chana Daal and Curry leaves.

Soft Idlis with Idli Rawa

Idlis have been rated amongst the best breakfast foods in the world. I fall into the category of people who thought that an Idli was the bane of my existence as a kid, but I have begun to like them as an adult. My mom used to make the combined batter that was used to make Idlis and dosas too. The batter would be used for making Idlis for day 1 to 3 and then dosas from 4 to 6. if there was more batter left after day 6, we would have ootappams. These are spongy idlis and very different from the ones that you make with Idli rawa. 

I discovered the Idlis with Idli rawa and I fell in love with them. They are easy to make and the best part is, they turn out soft even when the batter is made in a blender or a mixie instead of a wet grinder. The boys are really fond of Idlis with Peanut Chutney and I make it often. Well, I love it too :)

Idlis:
Ingredients:
Idli Rawa - 3 Cups
Urad Daal - 1 Cup
Fenugreek Seeds - a big pinch
Salt - To taste

Wash and soak the daal for about 4 hours of more. When you are ready to grind, soak the Rawa in water. Grind to a smooth batter, adding water as you go. In a grinder, this could take a half hour or more. Wash the rawa a couple times and squeeze out the water, a handful at a time and add to the batter. Mix well. The batter should not be runny but semi solid.  Add salt and mix well.

Ferement over night. If you live in a colder climate, pre-heat the oven to it's lowest setting or in keep warm and turn off. When it's still warm, place the batter inside and let it sit over night.

The batter will raise and become fluffy. Mix and make the idlis and store in the refrigerator.

To make the Idlis:
Place and Idli Steamer or a regular Rice cooker with 2 cups of water on the stove on Medium heat. Grease the idli moulds and add about 1.5 heaping tbsp of batter into each mould. Place in the steamer and steam for about 12 min or so. Open and check for doneness. It will be firm but slightly wet on top. Remove, wait for a minute and them take the idlis out with a sharp spoon.

Serve the Idlis with Chutney or Sambar of your choice.

Mango Cream - Quick and Easy Dessert

This is a quick and easy dessert to satisfy the sweet tooth. Not a great dish but it's tasty and simple to make. Especially during the mango season, this will be a good dessert that highlights the flavor of the mangoes.

Ripe Mangoes -2

Whipped Cream - 1 cup

(or)

Heavy Cream - 1 cup

Powdered Sugar - 1/4 cup

Walnuts - 1/4 cup chopped

Cube the mangoes and mash a few pieces. In a bowl, add the cream and the sugar and whip till there are soft peaks. 

Add the mangoes and the mashed pulp, top with the whipped cream and add some chopped walnuts. 

Serve Chilled.

Paneer/Chicken Enchiladas

A good dish for a nice dinner with friends. It's one of those dishes, that works good served by itself. A side salad and my quick nachos from my earlier post would make this a complete and impressive meal. I made this for my friends who were visiting this weekend, and they were really impressed.

I got store bought enchilada sauce, but it tasted really bad, so I made it from scratch. The re fried beans however taste really good from the can. Taco bell's re fried beans work really well here.

Update: I made this dish again with paneer instead of chicken. It tasted really good too. Just substitute the chicken with panner. The rest of the process is the same.

Chicken Filling:
Ground chicken/Paneer - 1 pound
Onion - 1
Green chilis - 2
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Taco seasoning - 1 pack
Salt - to taste
Red chili powder - 1 tsp
Cilantro - few sprigs
Oil - 1 tbsp

In a pan, add the oil and fry the chopped onions and green chilis. When soft ad the chicken/Paneer and fry till slightly browned. Add the taco seasoning, cumin powder, salt, red chili powder and fry till done. Add the chopped cilantro and keep aside.

Enchilada sauce:
Tomato puree - 1 cup
Chili powder - 1 tbsp
Instant coffee powder - 1 tsp
Dried Oregano - 1/2 tsp
Garlic powder - 1 tsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Chicken stock/Water - 1/2 cup

Simmer all the ingredients together until well incorporated. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Re fried beans - 1 Can
Flour tortillas - 6
Onion - 1 chopped
Cilantro - small bunch - chopped
Sharp cheddar cheese - 1 pack grated

Heat the tortillas on a pan until heated through. lay them on a chopping board and spoon 2 tbsp of re fried beans on each of the tortillas and spread evenly. Add a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the chicken/Paneer filling on each of the tortillas and top with onions, cilantro and some cheese.
Roll the tortillas and place them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Spoon the sauce on the tortillas and cover evenly. Spread the grated cheese on top and bake in a pre-heated 400F oven for 15 to 20 min.
The tortillas will start to get crisp at the ends and the cheese will be melted and bubbly.
Serve with shredded lettuce, sour cream, and guacamole.

It is well worth the effort as this is a really tasty dish.

Rice crackers/Chekkalu

Rice Flour - 1 1/2 cups
AP Flour/Maida - 1/2 cup
Ginger - 1 inch
Green Chilis - 5
Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Chana daal - 1/4 cup
Curry leaves(torn) - few
Peanuts - handful
Butter - 2 tbsp
Oil - for frying

Grind the ginger and green chilis with some water. Soak the chana daal in some water for 1/2 hr. Break the peanuts into smaller pieces. Mix all the ingredients well except the oil. This should form a soft dough.
Spray some non-stick spray or add a few drops of oil on a plastic sheet or a large ziploc bag. Form gooseberry sized balls for the dough and place on one side of the plastic bag, fold over the other end and press to form flat discs. Alternately use your hands to do this. Heat a heavy bottom pan with oil and fry them until golden brown. Drain, cool and store in an air-tight container.

If you mix the dough to the right consistency and fry at the right temperature, they do not absorb more than a few tbsps of oil.

Gavvalu

AP Flour/Maida - 2 cups
Salt - a pinch
Butter/Ghee - 2 tbsp
Sugar - 1 1/2 cups
Water - 3/4 cup + water to knead the dough
Oil - for frying

Mix the maida with salt and melted butter. Knead with water, to form a soft dough. Make chickpea sized balls of the dough and press on the end of a fork. Roll out the dough, to form the shape of the gavva. Alternately, if you have the wooden block to make these, use the block. The fork method work great here. I could not take pictures during this step. Heat a deep bottomed pan with oil and fry them. Make these gavvas ahead and cover with a damp cloth. I tried making some while the rest were frying, but it was a stretch. Fry them and set aside. In another pan, heat the sugar with 3/4 cup water and mix till the sugar dissolves. Cook till the mixture thickens and reaches a 1 string consistency. When you touch the solution with your fingers, a sting should form. Else, add a few drops of this solution to a bowl filled with water, and it should hold its shape.
Pour this solution on the fried gavvas and mix well. When the coating starts to harden and turn white, mix again. Stir once every 5 mins, till they are completely cooled down. This will ensure that they do not lump together. Store in an air tight container when they are completely cool.

Mini Pancake Muffins

This recipe is inspired from a post in the Pioneer Woman's blog. She has some amazing recipes and I haven't tried many, but this one is a sure winner. It's extremely easy, quick and the kids will love them.

I have a recipe for Pancakes on my blog. It's the same recipe that we can use for this dish as well.

Mini Muffin Pan
Pancake Batter
Blueberries or Chocolate Chips

Spray the Muffin pan generously and add the pancake batter to the moulds up to 3/4 full. Top with blueberries or chocolate chips.
Pre-heat the oven to 400F and bake for 8 to 10 min until baked through.

Remove and cool. Remove and serve with some syrup. This is also a good lunch box recipe for kids.

Vegetable Momos

Ingredients:
Filling:
Chopped cabbage- 2 cups
Carrot - 1
Red pepper - 1/2
Green onions - 2
Ginger - 1 inch
Garlic cloves: 2
Salt - to taste
Black pepper - a pinch
Soy sauce - 1 tbsp
Hot sauce - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 tbp

Wrapper:
All Purpose Flour - 1 Cup
Salt - a big pinch
Oil - 2 tbsp

In a pan, bring a cup of water to boil.
Add the veggies and close the lid.
Let them cook till the raw smell disappears, but still remain crunchy.

In a pan, heat the oil and add grated ginger and garlic.
Add the black pepper powder and the sauces and the vegetables and check for seasoning.
Add more salt if needed.
Saute for a couple minutes and turn off the flame.

 Knead the flour with salt, oil and water until it's soft. Make small round 1 inch balls and flatten into thin disks. Add the filling and keep pinching the ends until the entire momo is closed. (Refer to picture for shape). Make all the momos.
Heat the steamer or a pressure cooker with water and add the momos in a single layer. Steam for about 13 minutes.

Remove and serve hot with Garlic Chili sauce.

Flan- Custard

I used ready mix Custard powder for this recipe and it saves a bunch of time. I have never made custard from scratch, so I cannot vouch if the store bought custard powder tastes as good as the one made from scratch. However, this is a really tasty version too.

To make it more fancy, I added some caramel on top before I steamed the custard.

This is very similar to a Flan, the only difference is, the Caramel on top is not as thick and we steam this instead of baking it.

Custard Powder - 1 pack

Caramel:
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Water - 3 tbsp

Mix the sugar with water in a thick bottom pan and heat till golden brown. Don't stir.
Pour the Caramel into a dish that fits into the pressure cooker.

Prepare the custard mix according to instructions on the box. Pour on top of the caramel.

Place in the steamer/cooker and steam for about 20 to 25 min. Open and check if it's set.
Remove and cool and invert onto a serving plate.

I love this when it's chilled.

Dips: Tahini, Hummus and Tzatziki Sauce

My upcoming post is going to be a mediterranean platter and I am a fan of these sauces. Hummus is a must in our home and we use it in sandwiches, as dips, in wraps and just about anything we want to add some flavor to.

I love Sabre Hummus and if I don't have some on hand, I can quickly whip some up using canned beans.

Tahini:

Sesame Seeds - 1/2 cup

Olive Oil - 1 Tbsp

Water -  1 to 2 Tbsp

Salt - To taste

Black Peppe - 1 Tsp

Lemon  - A few drops

Dry roast the sesame seeds on medium heat until fragrant. Cool and grind with the rest of the ingredients. Add water as needed, based on how thick the sauce is.

Tzatziki Sauce:

Greek/Hung Yogurt - 1 Cup

Lemon Juice - 1 tsp

Salt - To Taste

Black Pepper - 1 Tsp

Dill . - 1 Tbsp chopped

English Cucumber - Finely minced - 1/2

Beat the yogurt until smooth and mix all the ingredients.

Hummus:

I have the recipe for Hummus on my blog and adding the link here:                         

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus Recipe