Tuesday, December 28, 2010

How healthy are you?

If you are asked to rate your health between 1-10 where would you stand? I am sure this question would arise for everyone including me and I am guessing on an average people would call themselves healthy, rating them anywhere above 7.

There are so many factors that each one of us may consider before rating him/herself. Some of the common factors which come up include what you eat, how much you sleep, your lifestyle, stress, environmental factors and so many more. It is only when a person falls sick he or she starts feeling they are not healthy. For that matter nobody is healthy and nobody can be a 10/10. In my opinion purity in every form is lost as generations went by, years passed by. Purity in the food we eat, in the air we breathe, purity in our heart and soul and even the purity of our genes has gone. I agree the world cannot be the same 10-20 years later, since it has not been the same 10-20 years back from now. A positive push and a negative pull keep acting and impacting the world we live in, in every little form. But somehow this balance gets lost over a period of time and that is when every other life form is impacted from it in a negative way. I feel the world is starting to feel it already with many factors impacting one another and one of them being health. No matter how much ever we try to enforce the law of purity on us, it has come to a point that you can’t really do much to stay healthy. Even if you do, you may not be able to keep it going for long, for some reason or other. All of us can call ourselves healthy, likewise if our mind says it; our hearts accept it and that makes it one positive vibe in the air.

I am sure everyone will be able to accept at least a portion of what I feel. Hope I didn’t complicate it….;-)

Cutlet

The ultimate vegetable cutlet recipe which turned out to be a success in the first attempt. Crisp on the outside and soft and full of flavor on the inside makes it a yummy snack any day. Of course if you are truly health conscious you could choose to use less oil for frying. But unless you use the required amount of oil for shallow frying you might not get the end result like the one in the picture. 


You need
Carrots - 2 (diced)
Potatoes - 2 (diced)
Beetroot - 1/2 (finely chopped)
Peas - a handful
Cauliflower - few florets
Onions - 1/2 (finely chopped)
Coriander leaves
Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Amchur powder - 1 teaspoon
Coriander powder - 1 tablespoon
Chilli powder - 1 teaspoon
Salt
All purpose flour - 2 tablespoons
Bread crumbs - 4 tablespoons
Bread slices - 2
Oil


Method
  • Boil the chopped vegetables and set aside.
  • In a medium frying pan start by adding oil followed by cumin seeds, onions, boiled vegetables without water, turmeric powder, coriander powder, chilli powder, salt, amchur powder and mix well.
  • Mash them well and saute until they come together and loose all the water. 
  • Soak the 2 slices of bread in water and squeeze out all the water from the bread and add it to the vegetables in a bowl. Add coriander leaves.
  • When the vegetables get cool mix them together and make patties.
  • Place the bread crumbs in one plate.
  • Mix the all purpose in water and make a paste and place it in another plate.
  • In a frying pan pour oil for shallow frying and allow to heat.
  • When the oil is hot enough, dip the patties in all purpose paste and then roll them over bread crumbs and drop them in hot oil.
  • Fry until both sides turn golden brown
  • Remove onto paper towel 
  • Serve warm with tomato ketchup.

Mushroom Chettinad

This was an instant hit on the table. You could choose to use any kind of mushroom, or even a mix of mushroom varieties to make it extra special. The uniqueness of Chettinad flavor stands with the curry leaves and the use of spices, especially pepper. Be a little generous in using curry leaves in any Chettinad cooking.


You need
Mushrooms - 2 packs (quartered)
Curry leaves 
Green chillies - 2-3 (slit)
Pepper corns - 1 teaspoon
Channa dal - 1 tablespoon
Coriander seeds - 1-2 tablespoons
Oil
Salt
Mustard - 1 teaspoon
Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tablespoon


Method

  • Wash and cut the mushrooms into bite sized pieces.
  • Fry pepper corns, channa dal and coriander seeds in a dry pan and grind them to a fine powder and set aside.
  • In a frying pan start by adding oil followed by mustard seeds, green chillies, curry leaves and ginger garlic paste and saute for a minute.
  • Add the mushrooms and salt and cook until the mushrooms shrink and get fried.
  • Remember mushrooms will let out water while cooking. So don't panic, keep cooking until all the water goes.
  • Half way down the sauteing process add the fine powder made in the 2nd step and mix well.
  • Keep sauteing until the mushrooms are well coated with the spices and all the water has gone.
  • Final product will look like the one in the picture (to be uploaded soon)
  • Serve as starter.




Bhindi fry (Okra fry)

Probably not a fried dish as the name suggests, but requires a little more oil than the usual. Here instead of kasoori methi you could choose to use fresh methi leaves too. Again to make it more softer use tomatoes and onions. And further variations you could add in some potatoes too and make it Aloo methi Bhindi.


You need
Okra (Bhindi) -2-3 cups (cut long and slit half way)
Onions - (cut long optional)
Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon
Kasoori methi - 1-2 tablespoons
Coriander powder - 1 tablespoon
Chilli powder - 1 teaspoon
Salt
Oil


Method

  • Cut the bhindi to about a finger size long and slit them half way so the spices get into the bhindi while cooking.
  • In a pan start by adding oil followed by cumin seeds, optional onions and saute.
  • Add the bhindi, turmeric powder, chilli powder, salt, coriander powder and mix well. Cook in medium to low heat.
  • Saute until the bhindi shrinks, becomes soft and is cooked well.
  • You might need to add oil little by little to help the bhindi cook.
  • Towards the end add kasoori methi, mix well and cook for another 5 minutes.
  • Serve hot with roti or rice.




Boondi raita

A fancy raita suitable for parties.
You need
Boondi - 2 tablespoons
Yogurt - 1-2 cups
Salt
Chaat masala - a pinch
Pepper powder - a pinch
Coriander leaves


Method

  • Mix together yogurt, salt, chaat masala, coriander leaves and pepper powder.
  • Before serving add the boondi to the raita and serve cold.

Pavakkai pitlai (bittergourd curry)

Another traditional southern recipe made out of bittergourd, has a mix of spiciness, sweetness and sourness in it. Probably a good way to eat bittergourd.


You need
Bittergourd (pavakkai) - 1 cup (finely diced)
Channa dal - 1 tablespoon
Coriander seeds - 1.5 tablespoon
Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon
Pepper corn - 1 teaspoon
Red chilly - 1
Urad dal - 1 tablespoon
Salt
Oil - (Sesame oil prefered)
Tamarind paste - 1 teaspoon
Toor dal (Cooked) - 1/2 cup
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Curry leaves 
Coconut - 2 tablespoons
Asafoetida - 1 pinch
Turmeric powder - 1 pinch
Ghee - 1 tablespoon
Jaggery - 1-2 tablespoon


Method

  • In a frying pan add little oil and fry channa dal, pepper corns, red chilly, coriander seeds, cumin seeds and urad dal and finally coconut until light golden yellow and blend into a fine paste with required water.
  • In a medium saucepan start by adding oil followed by mustard seeds, curry leaves and turmeric powder.
  • Add the bittergourd and boil it in water. 
  • When the bittergourd is cooked well add the tamarind paste and cook for a few minutes.
  • Now add the fine paste made in step 1, salt, Asafoetida and jaggery and mix well. 
  • Allow to cook for 5 minutes, stirring between until the raw smell of all the spices leave.
  • Finally add the cooked toor dal, mix well and cook for another 5-8 minutes and turn off the heat.
  • Add a tablespoon of ghee to finish off.
  • Serve over rice.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Happy Holidays!!

The holidays are here!! Maybe I should start posting holiday cooking and painting this season.


And my blog reached a total of 120 recipes since August and still going. Shows a lot of cooking since I started blogging...phew. But never mind, the excitement is still on and the holiday fever is catching on. There is going to be a lot more coming up on my blog, some of which include party planning, party recipes, table setting, more of my new painting series, gallery pictures, writes on healthy eating and other topics I feel like.


So keep an eye on 'Painting in the Kitchen' my friends. 

Appalam kozhambu (Papad in tamarind gravy)

You need
Papad/appalam - 1-2 (quartered)
  • Instead of vathals (sundried vegetables) in vatha kozhambu use the appalams/papads here.
  • Saute the papads until they puff up a little.
  • Rest recipe of Vatha kozhambu.

Mint pulav

This is going to be a green rice pilaf. It is your choice to use vegetables in the recipe. 

You need
Basmati rice - 1 cup
Mint leaves - a bunch/a handful
Coriander leaves - less than a bunch
Green chillies -2
Garlic - 1
Ginger - 1 small piece
Coconut - 1/2 a handful (grated)
Bay leaves - 2
Star anise - 1
Cloves - 4
Cinnamon stick - 1
Onions - 1/4 cup (finely chopped)
Salt
Ghee - 1 tablespoon
Oil


Method
  • Soak the basmati rice in water and set aside for at least 30 min.
  • Blend together mint leaves, coriander leaves, green chillies, garlic cloves, ginger and coconut with little water to make a fine paste.
  • In a medium saucepan start by adding oil followed by bay leaves, star anise, cloves, onions, cinnamon stick and saute for few minutes. Add a pinch of salt to bring out the flavor from the onions.
  • Pour in the mint paste into the pan and saute well until the color changes to dark green and oil starts to ooze out. At this point the raw smell of mint will also go away.
  • Add 2.5 cups of water to the pan and bring this to a boil. 
  • When the water boils, drain the rice and add it into the pan. 
  • Add required salt, ghee, cover and cook on medium heat until you see holes on top of the rice.
  • At this point reduce the heat to low and cook until rice is done.
  • Serve warm with raita/yogurt.