Bounrvita Fudge In 5 Minutes

Its has been a hectic summer with travels and summer camps. In a week or so life will be normal with schools reopening. Though it is back to school time I have been busy de-cluttering big time and getting ready for the new school year. With all the clearing out, my kitchen benefited the most. I was able to find things that were left unused and I had to either come up with something interesting to do with the left over things or give them away. Last week I made dosa batter with wild rice, I thought it turned out fine,then I found two cups of solidified bournvita chunk. Had to do something with it because nobody wanted to have some hot chocolate. So decided to make a fudge out of it. The fudge took me 5 minutes to prepare and the end result was yummy. More than the taste the texture of the fudge really impressed me. It was soft, chewy and almost resembled a brownie. I decided to blog about it because the next time you find yourself in a similar situation with boost or any such drink instead of junking it one can use it to prepare something delicious. This fudge was not too sweet so if you want to make it very sweet add more brown sugar to it. The fudge scored an 8.5 from my daughter and husband which I thought was great for a left over bournvita.

Gadgets:

Heavy Bottom Vessel

Measuring cups and spoons

Spatula

Tray 

Knife

Ingredients:

Bournvita solidified

Hot Water - 1/2 cup

Brown sugar - 1/3 cup

All Purpose Flour - 1 1/2 cups

Butter - 1/4 cup

Sugar - 1 tbsp to sprinkle

Preparation:

1. Heat water and pour over solidified bournvita. It makes a very thick chocolate syrup of 1 cup.

2. Heat the heavy bottom vessel and add butter and allow to melt.

3. When it turns into ghee or burnt butter add APF(all purpose flour) and roast it well to remove the raw smell.

4. Add the chocolate syrup and brown sugar and mix well to form a soft dough. The mix should come together.

5. Transfer into a buttered tray and spread it out with a buttered hands and pat it flat.

6. Cut into pieces and sprinkle with sugar and place in the fridge for it to set. 

Couscous Pulao: An Israeli Indian Fusion

Ever since I tasted the Israeli couscous at Trader Joe's a year ago, I have been making them more often. Sometimes I try out new flavors with it apart from the recipe on the back of the box. For dinner I used the couscous with Indian spices and made a nut and fruit garnished pulao. Apart from the added flavors, I must say that I am very fond of the couscous, tapioca and quinoa textures and always love to create new dishes with them. What I love about this pulao  is that, it has a crunch from the nuts, a sweetness from the raisins, a salty and spicy taste from the couscous which comes together in perfect harmony.

Gadgets:
Cutting Board
Knife
Heavy bottom pan
Measuring cups and spoons
Spatula

Ingredients:
Israeli Couscous - 1 1/2 cups
Vegetable Broth - 1 3/4 cup
Onion - 1
Ginger - 1 inch
Garlic Powder - 1/2 tsp
Mint Leaves - 1/4 cup chopped
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Cinnamon - 1 inch stick
Cloves - 3
Cardamom Pods - 2
Salt
Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
Pepper Powder - 1/4 tsp
Almonds - 1/2 cup
Slithered Raisins - 1/4 cup
Butter - 2 tbsp
Olive Oil - 1 tbsp

Preparation:

1. Heat the heavy bottom vessel with 1 tbsp of butter. Lightly roast the almonds and remove it from the pan and place in a bowl.

2. Add another tbsp of butter, olive oil and diced onions to the pan and cook the onions until it turns transparent. Add the ginger, garlic powder, cloves, cinnamon, cardamon, mint, turmeric powder, chilli powder, salt and pepper and cook until all the flavors are infused.

3. Add the couscous and roast it until it looks slightly toasted. Add the vegetable broth and raisins, turn the flame to med low, cover and cook until all the liquid is absorbed.

4. Serve with warm as a part of a meal or you can feast on the couscous alone like I did.

Chipotle Hummus - A Mediterranean Mexican Fusion

These days I have been preparing a lot of Mexican food inspired by Chef Rick Bayless. It calls for preparation of all sorts of sauces from that cuisine and I love the chipotle sauce that I made a week ago. Using fresh tomatoes and a can of chipotle peppers the sauce turned out to be very spicy. I had some left over chipotle sauce and I decided to use it to create a new kind of hummus. If you are a big fan of spicy food, then this might be the kind of hummus that you might enjoy. For lunch yesterday I prepared a pita wrap filled with roasted garlic hummus, chipotle hummus and sauteed veggies topped with sour cream. It was so perfect and light and had the perfect marriage of flavor. It has become a very popular hummus in our household.

Gadgets:

Cutting board
Wok
Heavy bottom pan
Spatula
Knife
Blender
Griddle
Bowls
Measuring cups and spoons

Ingredients:

Pita Bread - 4

Sour Cream - 1/2 cup

Roasted Garlic Hummus:
Garbanzo Beans - 2 cups soaked and pressure cooked or cans
Garlic - 5 pods
Green chillies - 1
Salt
Tahini Sauce - 3 tbsp
Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
Water - 1/2 cup
Chipotle Hummus:
Roasted garlic Hummus - 1 cup
Chipotle Sauce - 2 tbsp
Olive Oil - 1 tbsp

Sauteed Veggies:
Broccoli - 2 cups chopped into smaller flowers
Onion - 1 medium cut into julienne
Mini Bell Pepper - sliced
Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt
Pepper

Preparation:

1. For making the roasted garlic hummus, roast the garlic and green chillies in a wok until you see brown roasted spots on the garlic peal and the green chillies look roasted. Add all the ingredients for the hummus preparation and blend it into a fine paste. Transfer a portion of it into a bowl and drizzle with olive oil.

2. To the remaining portion add chipotle sauce to it and blend. Place in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil.

3. Heat the heavy bottom pan with some oil . Add onions and cook it until they are transparent. Add broccoli and bell pepper to it and cook it on medium high heat until they look almost cooked. Add salt and pepper in the end and remove from heat.

4. Heat up the griddle and warm the pita bread. spread half the pita with roasted garlic hummus and the other with chipotle hummus. Add the sauteed veggies and top them with some sour cream. Roll them and serve them warm. 

Mango Slushy/ Slurpee

This afternoon my daughter was asking me for a snack and I kept offering her junk snacks like chips to very healthy dry fruits. She was not too happy with the various choices offered to her. Just then looking into our fruit basket I found some super ripe mangoes. I suggested making her some mango lassi which she was very fond of. But, she wanted something different and suggested that we make mango slushy. Hence we created our own version of the slushy. We loved it and she suggested that I blog about it. I am enjoying it as I blog about it today. It is such a perfect thing to have on a warm summer day. Slushy or Slurpee is usually prepared with carbonated drinks. But today we made something without it and still loved it.

Gadgets:

Blender
Measuring Cups and Spoons
Cutting Board
Knife

Ingredients:

Ripe Mango - 2 pealed and cubed
Brown sugar - 2 tbsp
Ice - 2 cups

Preparation:

1. Add the ice and mango along with sugar into the blender and blend until the ice is fully crushed. Transfer into a glass add a straw and you are good to go.

Note: If you have time freeze the mango and then add, it helps to keep it in slushy form longer.

Tomato Chutney

This tomato chutney was born out of misunderstanding a recipe. For some reason I thought this is how my mother in law prepared the chutney and found out in the end that it was something totally different. Anyways, I shared this recipe with my sister and she was really impressed that I decided to share with you all. I make it often these days because it has become very popular in my household. I make it sometimes with Tukas tomato paste, sometimes with regular tomatoes and sometimes I mix tukas and tomatoes together. I can assure you that whatever method you use, the results always produce very taste chutney.

Ingredients:

Heavy bottom vessel

Cutting board

Knife

Measuring spoons and cups

Blender/Mixer

Ingredients:

Tomato - 4

Tukas tomato paste - 2 tbsp ( if you do not have the paste substitute it with 2 tomatoes)

Onion - 1 large 

Garlic - 2 pods

Dry chillies or green - 2 

Cilantro - a  tbsp chopped 

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt

Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp 

Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp

Channa Dhal - 1/4 cup

Udad Dhal - 1/4 cup

Oil - 1 tbsp

Preparation:

1. Heat the oil in the wok. Add the channa and udad dhal and roast until they are golden brown. Remove and dhal and place them in a cup.

2. Add to the remaining oil asafoetida and mustard seeds. When the mustard pops add green chillies, garlic and onions. Cook the onions well. 

3. When the onions are done add tukas paste mix well with the onions and then add the tomatoes, turmeric powder, salt and allow to cook.

4. Once the tomatoes are well done allow to cool. Add them to a blender along with the roasted dhal and grind them into a chutney and garnish with cilantro.

Aviyal

Aviyal is a side dish that is delicious and is very common to South Indian cuisine.The dish is very simple to prepare and goes well with rice, sambar, rasam or adai ( lentil crepes). A mixture of vegetables cooked with yogurt, coconut and chillies is a true comfort food to most people from that region. Each family has its own recipe. It differs mainly in the kind of spices added..This avial recipe comes from my mother in  law Mrs.Pushpa Yegneswaran's  kitchen. I have made it often and decided to document it. 

Gadgets:

Cutting Board
Knife
Measuring cup and spoons
Spatula
Blender
Heavy bottom vessel


Ingredients:

Vegetables ( potato, raw banana(vazhakkai), carrot, beans, egg plant, Sweet pumpkin, Winter pumpkin, Drum stick) cut thin and even - 5 cups
Fresh coconut - 1/2 coconut grated
Chillies (red or green ) - 1 ( add more for spice)
Yogurt - 2 cups
Salt
Coconut oil - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves- a few

Preparation:

1. Cook the veggies in a heavy bottom vessel with some salt.
2. Grind the coconut, chillies with a little yogurt into a paste.
3. Add this paste to the cooked veggies and allow to cook for 5 minutes.
4. Add the yogurt on top and mix well.
5. Heat the coconut oil in a spoon, ad curry leaves and add it to vegetable mix. Serve it hot with rice.

Pav Bhaji For 100 or For 4

Its been a while since I blogged or visited blogs, if you ever wondered what happened I have to confess that with end of school programes, summer vacation and travel blogging took a back seat. I have been trying to post about pav bhaji for some time and at last was able to take the photos to post it. Pav Bhaji is the easiest to serve for over 100 people or 4. A month ago I made them for 100 people and kept them very warm in a crock pot. It was just a perfect street food to have on a cold night in La Jolla, Ca. One always wonders how much to prepare to serve 100 people. Typically 2 rectangle (larger) or four, 4 quart aluminum trays would serve 100 people. Once the veggies are chopped and all the prep work is done, believe me its super easy to prepare the pav bhaji with a help of a pressure cooker.

Gadgets:

Pressure cookers
Cutting Board
Knife
Onion Choppers
Aluminum Trays - 4 (4 quart) or 2 Rectangle
Wok
Spatula
Measuring Cups and Spoons


Ingredients:

Potato - 1 (4 quart) tray pealed and chopped chunky
Onion - 1 ( 4 quart ) tray finely chopped plus 1/4 tray for topping (white onions or brown onions)
Bell Peppers ( red, yellow, green, orange, red) - 1/2 (4 quart) tray chopped
Tomato - 1/2 (of 4 quart) tray
Cauliflower - 3/4 (of 4 quart ) tray
Peas and Carrots - 1/4 (quart) tray
Garlic - 3 bulbs chopped
Ginger - 4 inches grated
Cilantro - 3 bunches plus 3 cups of chopped for topping
Tomato Paste (tukas) - 1/2 cup
Kasthuri Methi - 4 tbsp crushed
Green Chillies - 2 chopped roughly ( seeds removed)
Shah Jeera (Cumin Seeds)- 1 tbsp
MTR Pav Bhaji Masala - 5 tsp ( add more for more spice)
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tbsp
Salt
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Water - 1/4 of the presure cooker plus more ( 2 cup)
Butter - 2 tbsp for Bhaji
Chillied/ Frozen Buter - 1/4 inch cubes for garnish.

Preparation:

1. In a pressure cooker add potato, cauliflower, carrot, peas, bell pepper,green chillies, water and salt.   Pressure cook on medium low to 4 to 5 whistles.

2. In a big wok add oil and shah jeera. Allow it to splatter. Then add onions, ginger and garlic and cook well. Add tomato paste and tomato and cook well. Add chilli powder, turmeric powder, pav bhaji masala, kasthuri methi and cook on low heat until the masala is well incorporated.

3. Once the pressure releases on the cooker add it to the onion tomato mix and mis well. With a masher or electric hand blender roughly. Add cilantro and sugar and butter . Taste for salt etc and store away in aluminum trays or 3 crock pots and serve them hot with butter toasted bun or pav.

4. Top the bhaji with green chillies, fresh cilantro, raw onions, a small cube of frozen butter and slice.

Thair Quinoa / Quinoa in Yogurt Sauce

I realized that for most people apart from the taste of food and appearance of food, the texture of food is very important. Quinoa has a nutty taste, has a texture of a crunchy grain but smells a little to me like poppy seeds or kasa kasa. When most rice eaters try it, they will not consider it as an alternative to rice.They might have great resistance to it because the distinct smell is kind of strong.Though I have known and used quinoa a lot, I still did not use it as a perfect substitute for rice.

 But all that changed when my sister served me quinoa with onion sambar and potato curry. I was sold. All the smell disappeared and the texture was similar to rice and actually tasted good. Thanks to Indian cooking that has a great smell killer Asafoetida. It is so over powering that it takes away any mild or subtle smell. I have been using quinoa as a substitute for rice and I love it. I have made payasam, puliodharai, lemon and yogurt quinoa, had it with rasam, kozhambu and sambar. I am so glad that it cooks like rice in a rice cooker and tastes great. A very healthy alternative to rice especially for those who have blood sugar issues. 

Today I made Thair/Yogurt Quinoa for dinner and we loved it. Cannot ask for more on a very hot day.The yogurt, onion and cucumber will totally cool your system. A perfect alternative to regular yogurt rice. Next time you have people over for lunch or dinner give this one a try.

Gadgets:

Pan with lid

Bowl

Rice Cooker

Cutting Board

Knife

Measuring Cups and Spoons

Spatula

Ingredients:

For Making Quinoa:

Organic Quinoa (from Costco) - 1 cup

Water - 3 cups plus 1 1/2 cups for rice cooker

For Yogurt Sauce:

Yogurt - 2 1/2 cups 

Milk- 1/2 cup

Oil- 1 tbsp

Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp

Cashew Nut - 8 (optional)

Salt

Green Chillies- 1 (deseed to reduce spice)

Asafoetida powder - 1/8th tsp

Curry Leaves - a few

Cilantro - 2 tbsp chopped

Persian Cucumber - 2 diced into small cubes

Ginger - 1/2 tsp grated

Onion - 1 diced into small cubes

Preparation:

1.  In a rice cooker add 1 1/2 cups water. Plug it in and allow the water to warm up.

2. In a bowl add quinoa and wash it well. Add 3 cups of water to the quinoa and place this bowl in the rice cooker and allow the quinoa to cook.

3. In a pan, add oil and when it warms up add asafoetida, and mustard seeds. The mustard seeds will pop so cover it with a lid. When it is done popping add cashew nuts, greens chillies, curry leaves, onions, ginger and salt. Cover and allow it to cook on low heat for a few minutes. The onions will turn translucent. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

4. When the quinoa is done remove the bowl and spread it out in a plate and allow to cool.

5. Add the cooled quinoa to a bigger bowl, add milk, yogurt, cucumber, cilantro and mix well. Add the onion mix and mix well. Taste and add salt if required. Serve it cold or at room temperature with pickles, grapes or cooked veggies.