Coconut-Walnut Chutney

For this week's recipes I am going to borrow recipes from Tamalapaku  for the theme "Cook from fellow BM-ers". It was difficult to narrow down to just one blog..it was a tough task.

For today, I wanted to start off with a chutney recipe perfect for Idli, Dosa, Pongal, Upma or almost any Indian breakfast items. The base recipe is Tamalapaku's Walnut Chutney that kind of evolved into this recipe. I have seen my friends totally give up on coconut and simply substitute walnut paste instead. I am/was surprised to see that I couldn't tell much difference and I finally made the transition too... Well, I am half way there but I like when I am at- I can't completely give up on coconut which is why you see that I have thrown some grated coconut balls into the mix. :). Oh yes, it all can be done in under 30 minutes.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Cup Walnuts
• 4 Tbsp Fresh/Frozen Grated Coconut (2 grated coconut balls)
• 2 Hot Green Chili
• 2 Dry Red Chili
• 1 Stalk Curry Leaf
• 2 Tbsp Red Lentil/Masoor Dhal
• 1 Large or 2 Small Cloves Garlic, roughly cut
• Marble-sized Tamarind
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• Salt as needed

For Seasoning:

• 1 Tsp Split Hulled Black Gram "Urad dhal"
• 1/2 Tsp Mustard Seeds
• 1 Stalk Curry Leaf
• A pinch of Asafoetida/Hing ( I used L.G brand)

Procedure:

• Gather all the ingredients needed. 

• In a tbsp of Olive Oil, lightly brown the red lentils. A minute later add the roughly cut garlic cloves, both the chilies and a stalk of curry leaf.

• Add the walnuts and saute them for a minute of so. Switch off the stove and add the coconut and tamarind. Mix and let it cool. Move the cooled mixture into a blender jar and add a little salt. Grind it to a thick (slightly gritty or smooth, its all personal preference) paste.

• Season the chutney with the seasoning ingredients.

• Pour over the chutney. Enjoy with Idli, Dosa etc.

Enjoy!
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 19

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Lychee, Peach and Coconut Water Elixir

Inspired by Naked Juice's "East-Meets-West" Lychee-Coconut Water juice, I set out to make a similar version at home with the addition of peaches. The Lychee is super sweet, so is the coconut water so there is no need to add sugar. A true elixir for anyone having a summer meltdown.
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Ingredients(1 Large or 2 Small Servings:

• 12 Lychee, peeled and stoned
• 1 Cup Chopped Fresh/Packed Peaches (Fresh is Better as packed is too sweet)
• 1-1/2 to 2 Cups Coconut Water
• 1 Cup Ice Cubes/Crushed Ice

Procedure:

• Gather all the ingredients.



• Holding the Lychee in one hand, cut the tip off with a sharp knife. Start peeling. 

• Cut open and remove the stone. 

• Repeat for the remaining fruits. 
• Add the peeled-stoned Lychee and all  the other ingredients into the blender. 

• Blend until smooth and pour into serving glasses.Drink immediately or refrigerate. Perfect summer drink! 

Umm delicious. Enjoy!

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Cracked Wheat Upma With Oven Roasted Vegetables

Cracked Wheat Upma with Roasted Vegetables is a match made in heaven. We love it at our house. My husband never warmed up to anything brown until recently(say 1-2 yrs n counting). To make him eat brown rice, wheat bread, Whole-Wheat Roti,Wholegrain cereals, I had to do just about everything shy of walking upside down. Now I am happy to say he has acquired the taste and tolerance for them and let me tell you, its a blessing!

How it can be made in 30 minutes:
The night before: Peel the carrots, sweet potato and a whole head of garlic. Snip the beans for Upma and peel the carrrot and onions for Upma
Minute 1- Minute 8: Preaheat the Oven to 400 degrees F, Chop the vegetables to be baked, Coat them with the Olive oil drizzle and stick it into the oven to be bake for 20 minutes.
Minute 9 - Minute 18:  (While the vegetables are baking) Cut the Onions and other vegetables for the upma.
Minute 18 - Minute 22: Saute the veggies, Microwave the water for Upma for 4 minutes
Minute 22- Minute 30: Cook the Upma.
End of 30th Minute: Upma and Roasted Veggies are done cooking. **Ding**

Ingredients:
For the Oven-Roasted Vegetables

• 2 Sweet Potato, peeled
• 2 Carrots, Peeled
• ~12 - 15 #s Brussels Sprouts
• 1 Summer Squash
• 3-4 Garlic Clove, minced
• 3/4 Tbsp Cracked Black Pepper
• 3-4 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 Tbsp Dried Rosemary
• Salt as needed

For the Cracked Wheat Upma:

• 1 Medium Red Onion
• 6 String Beans, ends snipped
• 2 Small Red or Yellow Potatoes, skin-on
• 1 Carrot
• 1/3 Cup Fresh/Frozen Green Peas
• 3-4 Hot Green Chilies
• 1 Tbsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
• 1 Cup Coarse Cracked Wheat
• 2 to 2-1/4 Cups Hot Water

Procedure:

• Roast the Vegetables in the Oven: Preaheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Slice and dice the vegetables into bite sized pieces and add it in a wide shallow bowl. 

• Make the drizzle by combining the Oil, minced garlic, salt, cracked pepper and rosemary. Pour it over the veggies and using hands combine.

• Spread the veggies in a single layer on a aluminum-foil lined baking sheet or pizza pan. Stick it in the bottom rack of the oven. Midway(10 minutes) rotate the pan so the veggies are evenly baked.

• Watch carefully after 18 minutes cause the edges of the brussels sprouts start to blacken.After 20-22 minutes of roasting, remove it from the oven.

• While the veggies are getting roasted, Make the Upma: Microwave the water in a bowl for 4 minutes until it is hot. Prick the green chillies in several places. Quickly chop the onion, beans,carrot and potatoes into small chunks.Heat the Oil and saute all the cut vegetables along with green chillies, ginger-garlic paste for 4 minutes on medium high flame. Add the fresh/frozen peas.Sprinkle salt and stir to incorporate.

• Soonafter, add the coarse cracked wheat. Stir to incorporate.

• Stir to incoporate.

• Pour the hot water and check for taste. Add more salt and cracked pepper, if needed. Lid the pan and cook at medium flame for 6-7 minutes.

•  Cracked wheat cooks quickly. Gently fluffy the cooked cracked wheat and switch off the stove. 

• Serve the delicious upma with roasted vegetables. Super healthy and super-yum and all in 30 minutes. How cool is that?

Enjoy!
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 19

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Spiced Flaxseed-Oatmeal With Plum Strawberry Compote and Honey

Having a nutritious and wholesome breakfast is an awesome way to kick start the day. This is certainly one such dish and it is a breeze to whip it up - Both the Compote and spiced Oatmeal can be done in under 30 minutes.

Plum-Strawberry Compote: Recipe here (Cooking time: Start to finish ~ 15 minutes, if cutting fruits in the food procesor)

Ingredients: (Makes 1 healthy Serving. Cooking Time: ~ 12 minutes, start to finish)

• 1/2 Cup Old-Fashioned Oats
• 1 Tbsp Flaxseed Meal
• 1-1/2 Cup Skimmed Milk
• 1/4 Tsp All-Spice
• A few Wlanuts, for topping
• Wild Flower Honey
• 1/2 Cup Plum-Strawberry Compote, for Topping

Procedure:

• While, the compote is cooking away, add the oatmeal and all-spice to a non-stick pan.

• Pour the milk and start cooking at medium-high flame. Add the flaxseeds and continue to stir.

• Switch off once the oatmeal reaches a "desired" consistency. Usually the oatmeal gets cooked in ~3-5 minutes.

• Transfer the oatmeal to a serving dish. Top it with the compote and squirt the wild flower honey over it. Top it with a few walnuts and enjoy!

Enjoy!

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 19

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Pressure Cooker Coconut-Chicken Curry

Its been a quiet 2+ weeks on the blogging front as I was tied up with plenty of personal stuff. Its good to be back for this month's Blogging Marathon for the theme "Under 30 minute meals".

It is so hot around this time of the year and the less time I spend in the kitchen, the better for me which is probably why I chose this theme this month.This is the quickest Chicken Curry that I have ever made and I am making it frequently too -- Simply fabulous Chicke Curry in Under 30 minutes (n cutting it too close too). Thanks to my girlfriend SP. One might wonder how this is possible, but I assure you that I have attempted and succeeded too.

To make it possible you need these 3 tools:

• Blender - To Grind the gravy ingredients
• Farberware All-Purpose Kitchen Shears - Trimming fat and cutting the Chicken has never been this easy! I have only ever used the shears to trim fat. Then the ever resourceful 'SP' was cutting the thawed chicken with shears. This eliminates the use of a cutting board! I can't tell you how much fun I am having cutting chicken these days. I used to cringe everytime when the time came to clean the cutting board.. chicken fat clinging to the cutting board like puss on wound that took several minutes to let go and not to mention how much water I had to use up. This is a much easier and greener way.
• Pressure Cooker - To cook the Chicken in a matter of minutes.

If you are upto the challenge, I suggest you try making the Chicken and the Pongal(SouthIndian Rice-Lentil Risotto) under 30 minutes too.


Ingredients:

• 8 Chicken Thighs, thawed
• 1 Medium Yellow Onion
• 2-3 Small Tomatoes
• 1 Tsp Fennel Seeds
• 2 Tbsp Ginger-Garlic Paste (Or) 1/2" Ginger + 5 Cloves peeled Garlic
• 4 Tbsp Coriander Powder
• 1 Tbsp Chilli Powder or less/more (Note: Heat of the powder differs from brand to brand)
• 1 Tbsp Chicken Masala Powder (I Use Sakthi brand)
• 1/4 Tsp Turmeric Powder
• 3-4 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 2-3 Grated Coconut Balls (Ground to a smooth paste with little water)
• 1-1/2 Cups Water
• Salt as needed

Procedure:

• Peel and roughly cut the onions. Grind it along with tomatoes plus whole ginger-garlic(if using). In a pressure cooker pan, heat the Oil. Add the fennel seeds. Pour the ground paste, ginger-garlic paste(if using) and saute. Turn the heat to "low" and partially cover the pan so it doesn't splash.

• While the contents of the pan are cooking away, use the Kitchen Shears, trim the fat, cut the chicken into small pieces. Do not cut it too small as it will completely disintegrate under high pressure+ contained heat in the pressure cooker. This step takes about 10 minutes tops.

• Meanwhile the contents of the pan are cooked and have lost their raw smell.

• Transfer the chicken and all the powders. Stir well to coat the chicken. Add water and sprinkle salt. Note: Water amount can be reduced if a thicker consistency is desired.

• Lid the pan, put the weight and let it cook for 2 whistles or 8 minutes at medium to high  flame.  Meanwhile grind the grated coconut with little water. Set aside.

• The chicken is well cooked at this point.

• Pour the ground coconut paste, stir and let it cook for 3-4 minutes. Switch off the stove. Check for taste. Add more salt or pepper powder(to spike the heat)

• Serve this with creamy Pongal for Sunday brunch or lunch. Goes well with Idli or Dosai too. Yum!

How my friend made it at her home:: She added less water and slightly more coconut and the gravy was much thicker than mine and equally delicious if not more.

Enjoy!

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 19

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South Indian "Rasam"

I almost always have Rasam in the fridge, for many reasons-- This is the Indian dish that my son loves the most. He likes it best with slightly smashed white rice, drizzled with a tsp of Ghee and plenty of Rasam, topped with scrambled eggs.. I love to drink it on rainy days and when my tummy needs helps with digestion. Or when I am sick and my taste buds yearns for a little tang. Rasam has it all. Seasoning it with  "Sun-dried Seasoning ball" (Picture posted with a little history here) takes the taste and smell to a whole new level. Now, that is my kind of rasam (and my family's too)!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 to 1/3 Cup Mashed Split-Pigeon Peas/Tuvar Dhal
• Marble-sized Tamarind -> 1-1/2 Cups Tamarind Extract
• 4-1/2 Cups Water
• 1-1/2 Tbsp MTR Rasam Powder
• 2 Campari Tomatoes
• 4-5 Garlic Cloves with Skin
• 1 Tbsp Cumin Seeds
• 1 Tsp Peppercorns
• 1 Stalk Curry Leaves
• 2-3 Green Chilies, poked at several place
• Several Stalk Coriander Leaves

For Seasoning/Tempering:

• 3 Dry Red Chilies
• 1 Tbsp Crushed pieces from the Seasoning Ball "Vadagam"
• Few pinches of Asafoetida ( I use LG brand powder)
• 1-1/2 Tbsp Oil

Procedure:

• Prick the tomatoes in several places. Microwave the tamarind, tomatoes in a cup of water for about 2 minutes. This softens the tamarind to facilitate easy extract of juice/pulp from it.

• Crush the softened tomatoes and add it to a deep sauce pan. Roughly smash garlic cloves with skin, peppercorns, cumin seeds in a mortar and pestle.Add it to the sauce pan.

• Follow-up with the smashed dhal, tamarind juice, turmeric powder, MTR rasam powder, curry leaves and green chilies.

• Add salt and check for taste. Stir well to incorporate. Place it on the stove and bring to a boil.

• Meanwhile, keep the asofoetida, red chili and few pieces of the seasoning ball. Clean and chop the cilantro.

• Once the mixture boils and bubbles which takes about 10 minutes or so, reduce the flame and let it cook for 2-3 more minutes.

• In a small shallow pan, temper the ingredients under "tempering" and pour it over the bubbling mixture in the saucepan.

• Add the finely chopped Cilantro.

• Enjoy it with warm rice and scrambled eggs. 

Enjoy! 
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#17

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