Palak(Spinach) Chapathi & Subzi

Making chapathis with palak is the best and easy way to include it in our diet.Many of you like me often get bored of consuming greens in the form of stir fries,dal,etc.This one will surely please you..Th spinach not only adds nice color to the chapathi but also gives softness to the roti.Even if you consume is after few hours,they remain soft.In my home,everybody appreciated this one ..So green chapathi is gonna be a frequenter here.

For the side dish,I first planned to make 'Aloo baingan' but later realised there were two turnips sitting on the fridge and asking me to pick them up too.So finally i settled down  making a simple stir fry with the three vegetables.

Palak(Spinach) Chapathi :

You will need:

3 Cups of wheat flour

2 bunches of Palak

3 green chillies

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

1/2 tsp of chilli powder

A pinch of turmeric powder

1/4 tsp of  garam masala

1/4 tsp of Coriander powder

1 tsp of ghee

Salt

oil 

Remove the stems off from the spinach.Wash the leaves in water and chop them .

In a wide pan,heat a tsp of oil.Add cumin seeds and let is splutter.Add the green chillies and the chopped leaves.Cover for 3-4 mins until the leaves are cooked.

Cool and puree the leaves in a blender.

In a mixing bowl,mix the flour,salt,coriander powder,chilli powder,turmeric powder and garam masala.Add ghee and mix in the flour..

Add the pureed spinach to the flour and mix...

Knead and make a soft,pilable dough...

Take a lemon sized ball from the dough and dust it in flour.Roll the ball to make a 5-6 inch disc.

Heat a tawa,and place the rolled out dough.When you see small bubbles on top,flip it on other side.The chapathi willl start to puff.If doesn't puff nothing to worry.Drizzle 1/2 tsp of oil either side.Keep the chapathis in a cloth/Napkin lined dish .

Subzi :

Chop the eggplant,potato and turnip into bite sized pieces..

In a big pan,heat a tbsp of oil..Add 1/2 tsp of cumin seeds and mustard..let it splutter.

Add the chopped vegetables.Add required salt,chilli powder,coriander powder ,turmeric powder and garam masala.Mix well and cook covered until its soft.

Enjoy!

Ratatouille~Anyone Can Cook!

The recipe 'Ratatouille' is known to me only after I watched the movie 'Ratatouille' a few years ago.The movie became my favourite and my love for cooking increased after watching the movie.The animated character 'Remy'(the rat) prepares the lovely french dish Ratatouille in a unconventional way which is originally created by Thomas Keller,a Chef from The French Laundry Restaurant.I wanted to recreate Remy's recipe at home.Remy's recipe calls for layering the roundels of vegetables in a spiral fashion in a baking tray and it is baked to perfection with tomato based sauce.I don't own a proper mandoline so I couldn't attempt it.But today ,I tried the traditional Ratatouille recipe.Fresh vegetables simmered in tomato paste with Herbes de provence..hmm..Its more than satisfying..

You will need:

1 zucchini

1 small Red bell pepper

1 small yellow bell pepper

1 big onion

1 small Eggplant

2 Large tomatoes

2 cloves garlic,finely chopped

150 ml of tomato puree

1 bay leaf

1 tsp of Herbes de provence

Salt and pepper

1 tbsp Olive oil

Roughly chop the vegetables.Heat oil in a pan,add the bay leaf and onion.Saute for a min.Add the garlic.Fry for a min.

Add the peppers,zucchini and eggplant.Fry for a couple of min.Add the tomatoes and tomato puree.

Sprinkle salt and pepper.Add the herbes de provence.Mix well.Simmer and cook covered for 30 mins or until tender.

Have this as main course or as a side dish ..I had it with buns.Loved it..

Sending this lovely recipe to DK's A.W.E.D France

Falafel Sandwich-Pita bread,Falafel,French fries,Grilled Eggplant & Tahini sauce

I was quite busy with my exams and was out of town for few days.Pardon me for my inconsistent blogging.I was literally away from cooking for a long time :(.So yesterday I was in the kitchen for considerably longer time.

It was in my mind since I visited Kuwait that someday I must try Falafel sandwich.My Dad boasts about this sandwich everyday when I was at Kuwait.But I couldn't taste it and it was in my heart as a deepest regret.Even this time when he visited India, he made me jealous.He said to me that his everyday lunch is a Falafel sandwich.

This vegeterian sandwich is so popular in middle eastern countries.A perfect wholesome sandwich which I guess would be a favourite of all.I made this yesterday and invited few of my friends and cousins to try it.They asked me to make it again..That itself is a great success to this sandwich.I won't  advise to make this for a few becoz it involves lot of effort and time(I spent half a day making this)..But if you wanted to invite many of your friends for this falafel party then you can definitely give this a shot.I made around 7 sandwiches which were vanished in less than no time.

First let me tell you about this sandwich.A middle eastern bread called 'Pita' is used to make this sandwich.Pita bread is locally called as 'Khubz' in arabian countries.This puffed bread is similar to Indian Naan but it is in circular shape and has pocket(puffed).Traditionally,the pocket is slit open and stuffed with falafel(A patty made of chickpeas),french fries,pickle,lettuce,tomato wedges,cucumber cubes,grilled eggplant rounds and tahini sauce (A middle eastern sauce made with tahini(sesame paste) and lemon juice).

I will explain each of them one by one.

Pita Bread(Khubz):

You will need:

2 1/2 cups of flour(Maida/all purpose) + 1/4 cup for kneading/dusting

2 tbsp active dry yeast

1 cup warm water

A pinch of sugar

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp olive oil

Take the warm water in a cup.Make sure that the water is not too hot.Add the yeast and sugar.Stir and cover and keep in a warm place for 10 mins.The yeast mixture gets frothy.

In a large mixing bowl,take the flour and add salt.Mix well.

Make a small well in the center add oil.Rub the flour with the oil.Add the yeast mixture.Mix until all the ingredients are nicely incorporated.Add more flour if sticky.Divide them into 7 equal portions.

Keep them in a plate and cover with the wide mouthed bowl.Keep this in a warm place for 1 hour.I preheated my oven and turn it off.Kept the dough inside the oven .It became double in size.

After an hour,punch down each portion.Dust in the flour and make as a ball.Using a rolling pin spread as a circle of even thickness.Bake in a 250 C preheated oven until it puffs up and you see brown spots.Keep other portion of dough covered while rolling/baking pita.

Baked one..

As many do not have an oven,they have an alternate way.Heat the tawa ,place the rolled dough on it.When you see white spots on side flip on the other side.Wait for the white spots on other side too.Now place the pita on direct flame ,you can see it puffing beautifully.Transfer on a cloth lined basket.The procedure is same as you do for Phulka.No need to apply oil/butter for pita.

Note:Pita pocket will be frim when it is baked.And you do not get the black small dots.

            Look the picture below for baked Pita.

                            'Stove top' Pita breads are softer and spotted as shown below.

Tahini Sauce:

You will need:

1/2 cup Tahini paste

2 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 cup water

1 glove of garlice,finely minced

1 tbsp of finely chopped corainder

1/4 tsp of cumin powder

Salt

For Tahini paste:

1 cup of white sesame seeds

2 tbsp sesame oil/peanut oil

Dry roast sesame seeds on a pan for few mins on medium heat.

Grind the sesame seeds along with oil in a mixer until you get a smooth paste.This paste is Tahini.

In a bowl,add the tahini and water.Whisk until it become a homogenous mixture.

Add lemon juice,garlic,salt and coriander.Whisk until all are incorporated.Add ore water if you want it more watery.

Tahini sauce is ready.

Falafel

You will need:

1 cup of Chickpeas

1 medium sized onion

2 red chillies

1 tbsp pepper

3 gloves of garlic

1/2 tsp of baking powder

4-5 sprigs of coriander

1/4 cup of bread crumbs

salt

oil for frying

Soak chickpeas overnight.In a blender,coaresely grind all the ingredients from chickpeas to corainder.

Add the bread crumbs to the corasely ground mixture and mix well.

In a heavy pan,heat oil,make a patty out of the chickpea mixture.I used a 'Falafel maker'.If you dont have one,you can shape like 'Masala vada' and drop in oil.

Cook in medium flame.Remove from oil when it is browned.

French Fries:

 

You will need:

1/2 Kg of Potatoes(Russet vareity is very good for frying)

salt

oil for frying

Peel the potatoes.To cut the potato into strips,keep the potato in longitudinal postion and slice them into 2 mm thick ovals.You will get 4-5 ovals.Lay each oval flat and cut them into strips.

Wash the potato strip in water to remove starch.Fill a vessel with 3/4th of water,add genorous amount of salt and bring it to boil.Add the potato strips.Cook for exactly 7 mins.Now the potato strips will cooked for 60-70% only.

Strain the potato strips and spread them on a kitchen towels.Pat them dry.

Heat oil.The temp(270.C) can be higher for frying french chips as it already cooked.We just need to be crispy in the outer.I fried the chips following the falafel.Fry until you get nice golden color on the edges.Transfer on a paper towel to remove excess oil.

Grilled Eggplant:

You will need:

Eggplant

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp curry powder

1/2 tbsp cumin powder

1/4 tsp pepper powder

2-3 tbsp oil

Cut the eggplant into thin round slices.

Mix the curry powder,cumin powder,pepper ,salt and oil to a paste.

Rub the paste on either sides of  the eggplant slices .Marinate for 1/2 hour.

In grill mode,grill the slices for 10 mins.5 mins on each side.

Or heat a tawa,place the slices on tawa and roast each sides until you get it crispy and browned.

Falafel Sandwich:

Peel and chop 1 cucumber.

Cut 2 tomatoes into wedges.

One can use lettuce.I dont get lettuce here.So i used strips of cabbage.

For pickle ,I used Jalapeno in vinegar..

Traditionally,the pita is cut cross -  sectionally,and all the goodies are sutffed in the pocket.As I have puffed the pita on direct flame,they are soft and flexible so i made as a wrap.

I placed 2 falafel slightly smashed.Some french fries,1 grilled eggplant,1 tomato wedge,2 pieces of cucmber,few cabbage strip,1 small piece of pickle,and of course some good amount of tahini sauce drizzled over them.Wrapped and inserted a tooth pick to hold them.

Served the with tomato ketchup and more tahini sauce.

In few mins,

The plate looked 'Khallas' !

A Chunky Curry...

For a quite a long time I was posting only cake recipes.So here comes for a change a very rich n spicy Chunky curry.This would be a real treat for the chilly weather and nutritious too.I assume everyone is aware of the nutritious benefits of Soya chunks.Its a great substitute for meat.

Many don't like Soya chunks.But when made in a proper way,it would be a keeper.A week ago one of my friend asked me for some recipes of 'Soya Chunks'.As i was away from home,I couldn't post or send the recipes at that time .Long before I was thinking of posting a recipe of soya chunks.Thanks to him for reminding of it.Surprisingly,my male friends follow my blog regularly than my female friends!Its a sign of good change that men are into cooking too ;)..

Many of us do not like the smell of the Soya Chunks.Thats why its always recommended to wash the boiled  chunks for so many times.I have pressure cooked the soya chunks with 2 cloves of garlic,1 stick of cinnamon and 2 cloves.By doing this,we can get rid of the awful smell of the soya and instead we get good smell of the spices infused in it.

You will need:

1 Cup of Soya Chunks

1 Big onion

2 Big tomatoes

1 cup green peas

1/4 cup grated coconut

1 tbsp chilly powder

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

1/4 tsp garam masala

1 tbsp pepper

1 tbsp coriander seeds

A pinch of Saunf(fennel) Powder (optional)

2 cloves garlic

1 inch cinnamon stick

2 Cloves

Salt

oil

Pressure cook the Soya chunks with 3 cups water,2 cloves of garlic,cinnamom and cloves as I have mentioned earlier.

Squeeze the excess water from the chunks completely..

Grind together onion,tomato,coconut,coriander seeds,pepper,ginger-garlic paste,chilly powder,turmeric powder ,salt and garam masala to a smooth paste.(tip:Frist grind the coriander seeds n pepper.Then add the rest and grind in the same jar)

Heat 3-4 tbsp of oil.Add the paste and cook until the oil separates.

Add the green peas and chunks.Cook until the peas are done.

Sprinkle the fennel powder and serve.

This spicy curry was accompained with the milder Saffron Pulao and sliced carrots.It was indeed a visual treat too!

Have a great weekend :)