Tofu, Carrot & Cucumber Sushi

I already have a recipe for Sushi on my blog and this is just a slight variation. I used Baked Sweet Chili Tofu along with some fresh vegetables such as Carrots, Cucumber and Avocado. 

The vegetables to use are a combination of crunchy & fresh, such as cucumber, carrots and the creamy& fatty such as an avocado or a mango.

Here's a link to the Recipe:

Sushi Recipe

Mango and Avocado Sushi - Vegan

This is a delayed post, since Sushi makes a regular appearance on our dinner table. I only make the Veggie ones at home and I have not ventured into making the ones with fish yet. Yeah, ok, I haven't even tasted the ones with fish. Maybe one day I will. I really enjoy the vegetarian ones though. 

I use some baked sweet potato to make it a hearty roll.

The Mango and the Avocado give it the texture that can mimic a fresh fish.Cucumber and Carrots give it the needed freshness and Crunch.

I buy most of my Asian ingredients from the Asian Market - HMart. They have endless Isles of Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese.........and many more.

The Nori sheets are available at some regular grocery stores too. Sushi rice is good to use, if not, regular short grain or Jasmine rice will work too. The most important ingredient for Sushi in my opinion is Wasabi :) 

I love that hit that the Wasabi has and sometimes I love to go overboard!

Ingredients:
Nori Sheets - 4
Sushi Rice - 1 Cup
Water - 1 1/2 Cups
Vinegar - 1/2 Cup
Sugar - 3 tbsp
Salt - To taste
Sweet Potatoes - 2
Jalapeno - 1
Carrot - 1 big
Cucumber - 1
Ripe Mango - 1
Avocado - 1

For Flavor:
Wasabi
Soy Sauce
Pickled Ginger

Cook the Sushi Rice with the 1: 1.5 Cup water. When hot, mix the Sugar and Vinegar and some salt. Add to the rice and mix well. The rice should not become mushy.

Peel and cut the Sweet Potatoes into 1 inch thick and long strips. Season the Sweet Potatoes with some oil, salt and paprika. Bake in a 400F oven until soft and cooked through.

Cut all the vegetables into thin long strips.

Place a Nori sheet on a Sushi bamboo mat.Place a big scoop of rice on the nori and spread into a thin layer. 1/3 of the way in, place the Sweet potato strips, Cucumber, Mango and Avocado slices.

Place the end of the sheet over the vegetables, pull with the bamboo mat until tight and then roll the rest of the sheet. Wet the edges with water and complete the roll. 

Close with the bamboo mat and pull to tighten. Cut into 1 to 2 inch pieces using a sharp knife.

Serve with the Soy Sauce, Wasabi and Pickled Ginger.

Falafel patties with Chickpeas and Black beans

This is a good protein dish for vegetarians and it tastes great as an appetizer or a light meal with a side of a salad.

Ingredients:
Chickpeas/Garbanzo Beans - 1/2 Cup dry
Black beans: 1/2 Cup dry
Onion - 1 small or half big
Jalapeno/Green Chili - 1
Red pepper flakes - 1 tsp
Garlic - 2 to 3 cloves
Parsley/Cilantro - A small bunch
Salt - To taste
Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp
Cumin Powder - 2 tsp

Soak the Chickpeas and Black beans overnight. Alternatively, use canned beans. Drain and wash before use.
All all the ingredients into a food processor and pulse until the mixture is coarse ground. Mix all the ingredients until well incorporated.
Make patties and bake them or pan fry using very little oil.

Serve with salad or in a pita with Tzatziki and Hummus.

Tofu and hummus bagelwich

I used store bought baked tofu and hummus. I love love love Trader Joe's and there is some great stuff in there, to have on hand for a quick meal when you are strapped on time. This sandwich tastes amazing, and the lesser the toppings, the better it tastes. I can never get baked tofu as amazing as the one at Joe's. It tastes amazing.

Bagel thins - 2

Tofu - 1/2 pack from picture

Hummus - 2 to 3 tbsp

Chopped lettuce and onions

Slice the tofu and heat through on a non-stick pan. Toast the bagel halves and generously spread the hummus. 

Place the baked tofu slices, onion and lettuce and top with some hot sauce if desired.

Mock Carrot Pasta

I came up with this dish while I was peeling a carrot. The peel looked just like a flat noodle. I peeled the entire carrot into thin strips and they looked just like pasta. So I decided to try making a pasta dish with the peeled carrots as the pasta. The dish looked just like any other pasta dish, and it tasted good too. But being just carrots, we were satisfied, but ended up hungry in a couple of hours. So it would work well as a side dish, or as an additional entrée.

Carrots (Large) - 6

Onion - 1

Garlic Cloves - 3

Ginger - 1 inch

Red chilis/Red pepper flakes - 3 to 4

Peanuts - 2 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Black Pepper - 1 tsp

Chopped Cilantro - to garnish

Oil - 1 tsp

Peel the carrots and continue to peel, to get thin strips that look like flat noodles.

Thinly slice the onions and chop the ginger and garlic.

In a non-stick pan, heat the oil and add the red chilis, ginger and garlic.

When they are lightly brown add the onions and cook till they are wilted.

Add the carrots and stir fry till the carrots are soft. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the peanuts and cilantro.

Serve hot.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

If you are into sweet and savory combinations, these sweet potato fries will work. Sweet potatoes are high in nutrition content and this would be a good way to get the kids to eat them too. They do not crisp up like the regular potato fries, but they do taste good.

Sweet Potatoes - 4

Oil - 1 tsp

Red Chili powder - 1 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Cumin powder - 1 tsp

Black pepper powder - 1 tsp

Peel and cut the potatoes into thin strips or like regular French fries.

Coat with the spices and oil. Pre-heat the oven to 400F and spread these in a single layer on a foil or a baking pan.

Bake for 25 to 30 min or until golden brown and turn them mid-way. 

Serve hot.

Sev and Ribbon Pakode

Crunchy, spicy, melt in your mouth. I don't have a sweet tooth, and love my savory stuff. I tried to make this healthier too...baking them instead of frying them. Trust me, somethings are best left to the deep fryer :) The same batter can be used for both. Also, you could make any shape in the press with the same. My mom would make these with double the besan to rice flour. I noticed that this is not the usual ratio. I like hers, so using the same ratio.

Besan - 2 cups

Rice Flour - 1 cup

Hing - 1 tsp

Carom seeds (Ajwain/Omam/Vamu) - 2 tbsp

Salt - To taste

Butter or Ghee - 2 tbsp (Melted)

Red chili powder - 2 tbsp

Oil - To fry

Water - To mix the dough

Muruku press

Method:

Mix all the ingredients except the ajwain and  oil in a bowl. Add water and mix till it forms a dough. This will be soft, yet firm.

Heat the oil. Use the sev attachment in the press, and fill it with the dough. Press into the hot oil, making a large round.

Wait till the bubbles subside and turn once. Fry till golden brown and remove onto an absorbant paper.

For the Ribbon pakoda, add the carom seeds to the rest of the batter and mix. 

Change the attachment in the muruku press and make the pakodas similar to the sev.

Cool and store in an air tight container.

Aloo matar - Potato peas fry

Simple, yummy and quick to prepare. There are hundreds of variations of potatoes, and each as delicious as the other. This one goes well with rotis, stuffed in samosas, or as a side dish with rice.

Potatoes - 4
Onions - 2
Green chilis - 3
Peas - 1/2 cup
Jeera powder - 1 tbsp
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Chili powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Sha jeera - 1 tsp
Amchur powder - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 to 2 tbsp
Cinnamon - 1 inch piece
Cardamom and cloves - 2 each
Cilantro - For garnish

Peel and cube the potatoes and boil for 12 to 15 min. They should be cooked through but not too soft.
Chop the onions and chilis.
In a pan, add oil and add the sha jeera, cinnamom, cloves and cardamom. When the jeera splutters, add the onions and green chilis. Fry till golden brown. Add the ginger garlic paste, peas and cook till peas are soft.
Now add the chili powder, salt,  garam masala, cumin powder and amchur powder. Fry till the raw smell disappears and add the potatoes.
Serve hot.
Fry till well mixed and garnish with chopped cilantro.

Sambar

One of the most popular and well loved dishes from the southern part of India is sambar, and each of the 4 states have their own slight variations of it. I lived in chennai most of my life, so naturally my sambar gravitates toward the tamil version. Here's the recipe:

Toor daal - 1 cup

Shallots - 5 to 6 (else 12 small onions, or 1 big onion)

Green chilis - 4

Carrot - 1

Tomatoes -2

Eggplants - 2

Okra - 2

Bottle gourd or Sorakai - 1/2 small

Sambar powder - 1 1/2 tbsp

Tamarind paste - 2 tbsp

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Chili powder - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

Sugar - 1 tsp

Cilantro - for garnish

Hing - a big pinch

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Oil - 2 tbsp

Water - 8 cups or more

Cook the daal with about 2 1/2 cups water in a pressure cooker for about 10 whistles, till it is really mushy and smooth. In a pan, add a tbsp oil and add the onions and chilis. Chop all the veggies into cubes. Fry till the onions are translucent and add all the other veggies. Fry till tender. In the cooked daal, add the sambar powder, chili powder, salt, turmeric powder, tamarind paste, sugar and some water. Mix well. Now add that to the veggies and pour the rest of the water. Let it simmer for about 10 min. In a seperate pan, add 1 tbsp oil  and add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and the hing. Once it starts to splutter add the tadka to the sambar. Garnish with cilantro.