Lets Revive!!!

Its been a pregnant pause with the updates on the blog. And since I am in the mode of revival, I decided to place a mark on this slumbery-blog too :)

Let me kick start with a tried and tested happy recipe from my end -

Thair-idli ( dahi - buttons... as I would coin it )

Ingredients -
Idli batter ( enough to make 30 button idlis )
Ginger ( 1 inch cube ) Finely shopped
Green chillies ( 8 to 10 ) Finely chopped
Hing
Mustard
Curry leaves
Handful of dessicated coconut (frozen preferred to dry) Imp ingredient
Cashewnuts
2 cups of beaten curds

Procedure -
Steam the idlis and arrange them on a flat bowl.
Prepare the tempering - In warm oil crackle mustards and add all ingredients, except coconut and let it fry.
To the beaten curd, add sufficient salt and red chilly powder.
Add coconut just minute before finishing the tadka and take care to not let it brown.
Add the tempering to the curd after around 5 to 6 min or once its cooled down. If added hot to the curd, it may curdle.
Pour the curd over the idlis. Garnish with red chilly powder and cilantro.

Keep aside for 1 to 2 hours before serving.
Enjoy!! :)

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On other notes -

The run-baby-run is long forgotten. Shall I remove it to replace with resolutions for coming year??
Probably a new template to signify the winter and fall and kick start the blog again??

Wonder if anyone is reading at all.. but, hey, it is not that hard :)

Summers Thirst quenchers

Summer's here in full swing and with it comes that perpetually thirsty feeling, when you never want to eat anything thats not cold and refreshing. Here are a few things i've been going after, what are your favorites?

1. Freshly squeezed apple/orange juice with breakfast, no added sugar.

2. Yogurt with a dash of blueberries & Walnuts for added flavor

3. Yogurt blended indian style with hing, salt, green chillies & corriander, seasoned with mustard & cumin seeds. Cucumber works well in the blend too!

4. Nimbu pani - Fresh Lemonade with Salt & sugar for the kick.

Finally, A fun fact, did you know that veggies with higher water content can fill you up faster than a glass of water during a meal? More reason to veg out all over!

Love of greens

I did some experimenting yesterday. Instead of trashing the gorgeous pink-veined leaves of the beetroot bunch, I chopped it up and tossed it into saag-ki-dal recipe. Believe me, these leaves taste awesome. I have also eaten the pink radish's leaves as part of a salad sometime and that is going into my next dal recipe! :)

Here is how i made it -

Toor dal - 1 cup cooked with one large tomato until mashed

Beetroot leaves - one generous bunch, chopped till the stalk gets too fibery

Onion - one cut lengthwise

For seasoning -

Mustard

Jeera

Amchur powder for 'Khatta', tangy twist

chilly powder, coriander powder.

Procedure -

Tadka the ingredients in seasoning, add the cut leaves. Let the raw smell disseminate. Add the tadka and salt to cooked dal. Add enough water and let boil for about 5 min. Once it cools, add about a tsp of lemon juice. serve Hot.

Goes great with rotis and curd.

So have you tried any new ingredient in your dishes? How did it turn out?

Black bean soup

Black bean soup is one of my most preferred soup for Dinner. Its so filling and easy to make !

Ingredients:

* 1 onion, finely chopped
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 Vegetable/chicken broth carton ( then don't have to add water) or
1 small chicken/veg bouillon cubes
* 1/4 large red bell pepper, finely chopped
* 1-1 1/2 cup boiling water
* 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon cumin
* 1/2 lemon, juice of
* 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch (optional)
* 1/2 chilli powder ( as desired )
* 1 tsp Olive oil (optional)

Directions:

1. In a pot, saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil or combine the first five ingredients; simmer for 10 -15 minutes.

2. Add half a can of beans, salt and cumin; cook for 5 minutes.

3. Puree soup ie press the bean down using a flat spoon or use a blender

4. Add the rest of the beans to the soup.

5. combine the cornstarch with 1 1/2 tablespoons of water.

6. Add the lemon and the cornstarch to the soup; cook until thickened.

Dress up: For crisp lovers, add the crispy corn tortilla chips just before u serve. You could also add coriander leaves / grated cheese.

Last weekend, I started off to make brownies then decided why not make brownie bites (my creation !). I thought it didn't come out well but over time I loved it. Will post the recipe soon.

The dum aloo success story

I have been so excited about my kashmiri dum aloo inspired dish, I knew i had to blog about it! So i drew inspiration from vah re vah video and peppered in my own style and here is how it looked and tasted awesome.

Before you venture, i must admit it is not a very healthy dish for the potatoes floating in there. But anything had in sufficient quantities is healthy even potatoes! :)

Ingredients

Onion finely chopped- 1

Potatoes ( small ) - 8 to 10

Chilly powder - 2 tsp heaps (or to your spice level)

Garam masala - 1/4th tsp ( i am not a huge fan of garam masala, hence lesso of it )

Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp

Amchur powder- 1/8th tsp ( can be substituted with tamarind )

Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp

Kasoori methi - 1 tsp
Elaichi ( cardamom ) - 2 green and 1 black

Curd - 1/2 cup thick beaten

Procedure 

• Boil the potatoes until half cooked ( i let it in the pressure cooker for 1 whistle )
• In the meanwhile fry the onion + ginger garlic paste + crushed elaichis and kasoori methi in a spoon of oil.
• Heat water in a bowl such that it is near boiling and add the masala powders to it. Let sit.
• Peel the potatoes and fork-poke them so that they have sufficient holes to let the masala seep through.
• Now add the potatoes to the fried onions and fry until they are light brown and are coated with onions and methi.
• Now pour the masala mix. Add salt. Add enough hot water such that the potatoes are almost submerged. Let it simmer until the gravy thickens and the raw masala smell leaves.
• Once the gravy is sufficiently thick ( takes about 20 min to get there ), lower the flame and simmer without the lid.
• Now pour the beaten curd to the mixture. Make sure the gravy is not pipping hot when you add the curd, or the curd with break.
• Simmer for another 2 to 3 min in low flame. Sprinkle finely chopped coriander leaves.

Enjoy with rice or parathas

Final Variations -

•  I added a dollop of kulfi icecream before taking the dish off the stove. It gave a smooth malai touch to the dish
• Cooking for a party, make a cahew paste and pour into the gravy. top it with cream.

Well its not a healthy dish... But then.. what the hell? You have to treat yourself once in a while! :)

Few summer recipes

Seems like the demise of the blog is in sight! Ladies, lets not let that happen! what say?

I know most of us have been busy, travelling or simply plain lazy! So here is my effort in resurrecting -

Avocado parathas -

I decided to substitute, ghee /butter ingredient in flour with 1/4th of ripe avocado.

2 cups of wheat flour

hot water

1 tsp of chilly power (optional)

salt to taste

half of a small avocado OR 1/3rd of large one.

Knead the dough like usual with the buttery avocado. No need of oil/ghee and the parathas are simply delectable. Melts in the mouth. I had them with mirchi ka salan

Tofu grills

We have been into a lots of grilling since summer and though i agree that "grill" often refers to meat, I have tried veggie options and loved it too. Tofu has been a good hit and here is how it is made -

Get extra firm tofu from store.

for marinade -

mix olive oil, chilly powder, salt, mixture of coriander+pudina. Mix and match this to you taste and ingredients. I never add the same ingredients twice! :)

smear the tofu pieces, cut in cuboidal slabs. Let sit for one hour. they are ready to be grilled! :)

Beach Sandwiches -

I name them so, since last week i had them at NC beach, made by my friend sapu and they tasted heavenly! So here is how i repeated/modified her recipe -

Whip 2 Tbps light mayo, 2 tsps of red chilly flakes, pepper and salt to taste. toss in grated carrots/grated cucumber/grated capsicum and tomato. Spread lightly, so that the sandwiches arent thick. Makes a great outdoor picnic snack. nyum!

Blue potato chips

This is not a recipe. Incase i raised that question!

I am a huge fan of terra chips. The exotic veggies in their chips are truly awesome and some taste very similar to tapioca and jackfruit chips we get in kerala. Thats another reason i love them.

I had their blue potato chips on the flight. they are made from naturally blue potatoes and they had a nutty flavor. yum!

I say try the terra chips for a change from the usual ones!

Hope summer is treating everyone well!

For love of rotis

My love for rotis, different types and sizes, is my only trait thats not evidently south-indian :) I can practically go without rice for months without temptation. It caught on from my mother, who had in quest for a healthier family meal, learnt the art of making perfect bubbled phulkas during her years in Pune. She can fix the rotis from almost anytype of flour. Later she moved to carrot parathas, cabbage teplas, kulchas, aaloo parathas, rumali rotis and more.

Her phulkas still remained a master piece with every roti practically round and bubbling like a dream on the gas flame. And when smothered with a spoonful of ghee, I would gobble down way more than the stomach's capacity. I took a while to get my rotis in shape and another pregnant pause to get them to "phul" completely and the gas flame is a huge weakness for the phulka lover in me!For the same reason, gujju and marwadi food! :)

Considering N is a cringer for rotis and it is with utmost pain he manages to eat them for lunch every weekday, I ensure I give him the complete benefit of hogging rice on weekends. That also means my experiments with rotis are eaten by me alone; while N sticks to the traditional phulka and doesnt venture further. I have tried jowar and besan -di- roti and loved both. I have also ventured a lot into kakdi/beetroot/methi/pudina parathas.

So this time it was Bajra ki roti on the menu. I had it many years before at a rajasthani place in hyd. I hadnt realised it was an art to make it. Since the flour doesnt have enough gluten to hold it, it cannot be spread with the roti roller. It has to be done by hand. Nevertheless, I struggled quiet a bit, youtubed for help and finally managed it just fine in the end. It was totally yum with punjabi rajma with dahi on the side :)

Are you a roti fan too? Have you tried making anyhing new? How did it turn out?

Healthy eating everyone! Hope to see more posts.

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In case you are interested -

Running for your life!

My weight issues were/are almost always a sinusoidal curve.  I have had moments when I could fit into size 2 and other when even size 8 would seem tight (I sit in the comfort curve, if you may )  And going by that, my exercise regimen also followed a similar pattern of rigorous followed by lull activity times.

I was never much of a runner.  I did disastrous relays at sports days and played kho-kho like no tomorrow, but that was it. Later it was only at 18, I treaded the Gold gym and enjoyed the aerobics sessions in the open terrace with the welcoming sea breeze of sultry Chennai. Later there were many moments of hot-yoga, kick boxing, boot camps, treadmills, weights et all and the gym genre had caught on in my twenties, although very haphazardly.

It was in the last couple of years that I had pressured N to join me and we had taken to hitting the road during the warmer months of the east coast. Although now, it’s a great mutual push for both of us and anything seems fun with company doesn’t it? This year we decided to get it in focus and took up the 5K challenge and completed it successfully and N did brilliantly (as I have already raved on that social networking site )

But, this time around I have established a completely different outlook. The only thing that used to keep me ticking before were the pretty dresses displayed at the consumerist-jingoism of the malls in the US. The feeling that you are never perfect for the standards set (by who or what is unfortunately never questioned). I am sure I am not alone when  I say that. Let me digress to say that it is for this very reason I developed a phobia to shopping and malls until recently.

So this time, running was a completely different experience – it taught me patience, endurance and focus. It no longer concerned me to crib about a gazillion people who could eat their heart’s content and never show up an iota heavier. It didn’t concern me that Ann Taylor has displayed a new range of dresses for the weak-hearted. It also didn’t concern me that I should strive to fit into my older skinny jeans to feel younger.

been there. Done that.

Running has kept me motivated, healthier, happier and definitely more fit! And that’s whats keeping my purposes in life on check! I am sure there many more challenges to go. 10K is hopefully my next aim before the end of the year. I totally love running now, for it seems to define who I am and not what I am expected to be. The shoes. the road. the iPod. the confidence. I am sure I can conquer the world if need be!

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When I had expressed doubts about finishing a 5K race, this is what drove(ran) the point home.

“Even if you finish last, remember you still beat the world parked on the couch“.  

Cross Posted here.

Updates from me!

So here I am after more than a month I guess.. The non contribution being due to alas too much to do at work/home. I have realized that overworking is one of the easiest ways to lose track of health goals, especially when you dont get out of work early enough to see sunlight. Though I haven't been eating like crazy, I haven't really worked out in a while either, save for the few miles of walks each week by taking the boat instead of the train. Hoping to change that in the next few weeks & get back on the gym class rosters.

Sudan & I have discovered a new snack we both love, especially for that sweet tooth, baby oranges! They are soo yummy & great to enjoy after/before or as a mini meal!

I discovered a new salad place near work that makes a killer pear, olive oil, frisee, walnut & gorgonzola salad. The sweet & sour makes a great combo!

Saying no to rice does help in a big way to eating healthy. It makes you feel light all the time too!

Our newest love in the kitchen has to be tomatillos. These green tomato like fruit from mexico are sour & taste wonderful in dals, chutneys & kootu. Give it a try!

Apparently cutting about 50-70 calories a day helps a lot in the long term for your overall health.. try replacing your sugar with splenda or your cookie with an orange. Your body will thank you!

mettre à jour

No. It is not a spam post. On the contrary, - it means "updates" in french...It was a crass effort to bring some life back to the blogpage. :)

I believe its been a lull spring, with not many posts springing... I hope the blog has done its job and turned us all hail and healthy and fit... Or not??

Anyways, here are some updates from me -

• N and I have been on a running spree, irrespective of rain/frost/sun/cloud (touch wood!). And hopefully we will not suck at the 5K event this sunday! (fingers crossed)
• Although, I have been running, I havent subjected myself to any stringent diet. Just following regular regime. an extra pizza slice means running an additional 0.25miles.
• I made a big blunder while making muffins. I didnt "butter" the butter-cups. I thought thats done automatically because it is called "butter-cups" in the first place. So I ended up losing a lot of cake to the paper.
•  I have been having a great time grilling, with the weather and all. Some efforts on 'butta' here. Otherwise grilled asparagus is the new love. And of course N's specials are awesome too.
•  Been gardening on and off. Tomato plants are in the offing. Yet to replant in the upside-down endeavor.
• Been escatic that I have lost 9 Lbs since jan. Wii fit vouched for it and recommends losing another 7 Lbs atleast to hit the "perfect" weight. Oh well.. thats not going to be easy I am sure!

Ladies, How about sending an update post our way? What you been upto?

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Food for thought -

There is a 10K run for women in october. I know most of us have no idea where we will be around that time. But do give it a thought and let me know. It will be great if I can do it with company? again the course is charles river. So do keep it in mind and let me know if anyone is interested?

Link here http://www.tuftshealthplan.com/tufts10k/index.php.

The Kindest Cut

In an effort to participate in the "kindest cut" program that is run my pantene, I have been wearing my hair long since almost a year. And hopefully by the end of next month I should have the stipulated 8 inches to donate and still have some length to retain...

Considering we all so often have a hair cut and the locks simply find their way to a broom and basket.. I thought why not make a difference for a change... Long hair does take some maintenance..But then, if you are not much of a stylist, spray, blow dry, straightening kind of person.. but someone who simply does a wash, brush and wear it the way it is.. it's a lot easier to let it grow.... Here is what i do -

1. wash hair twice a week, thrice in summer

2. Once a week deep condition (coconut oil massage and leave it for one to two hours. Then wash it as usual)

3. Always condition the hair after shampoo

4. Try to use a soft shampoo/conditioner (organic if you can) . I use Dove and it has suited me just fine. 

( From experience i have noticed garnier and tressemme are the worst.. too strong)

5. towel dry with a soft towel and docile-like 

So before I make the cut next month.. if any of you can tell me of any salon they know where they donate hair, I'd be glad to take an appointment there, or have to do the 'pantene kindest cut' and make the cut myself and then head to the salon to shape it up...

So, anyone got any other tips for maintaining hair?? Anyone else willing to make the kindest cut??

May be we can start by spreading the word.. i just did :)

Chocolate Nut Bread

To add to the flavorful bread recipes so far in this blog, here is my version of the Chocolate Nut Bread. I found this recipe on the back cover of Nestle chocolate Morsels which I customized. To my surprise this recipe doesn’t use butter except for greasing.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 large eggs
• 1 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla syrup
• 1/3 cup or 4-5 tsp of canola oil or vegetable oil
• 1 cups NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
• 1 cups chopped walnuts

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease one 9 x 5-inch loaf pans with butter.

COMBINE flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla syrup and salt in large bowl. Combine eggs, milk and vegetable oil in medium bowl. Add to flour mixture; mix just until moistened. Stir in morsels and nuts. Spoon into prepared loaf pans.

BAKE for 50 to 60 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes; remove from pans.

TIP: If you are looking for even more chocolate flavor, try drizzling the cooled loaves with chocolate! Microwave 1/2 cup semi-sweet morsels in heavy-duty plastic bag on HIGH (100%) power for 45 seconds; knead bag to mix. Microwave at additional 10- to 20-second intervals, kneading until smooth. Cut a small hole in corner of bag; squeeze to drizzle over bread.

Next time I plan to add more chocolate :)

Tip of the day!

Look for spring onions, leeks and ramps (a wild onion) in your supermarkets this month. They make great omlette toppers. Eating whats in season is usually the way to go!
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Try bananas or dates before working out. It is an instant and healthy source of energy. Banana if you are working out for over an hour, otherwise like me for running for half an hour first thing in empty stomach in the mornings, one date should suffice. Way healthier than energy drinks that people gobble... don't you think?

****** I am adding a sidebar to keep the tip of the day or tips in general going.Post your tips there******

New Ideas?

Hi everyone!

I am back after a little while following a good vacation and some writer's block as well! Divya's entry motivated me to spring in as well ;) pun intended!

so here are some ideas:

1. How about a tip of the day item? I love reading tips, they are always fun!

2. This idea comes from the foodie in me.. post pics from great restaurants you visit/visited and rate them. I love reading picture blogs and I'm sure you do too!

what do you guys think?

Onion Fritters

Its been raining cats and dogs in the east coast and all I seem to think of is making (and ofcourse eating) pakodis aka fritters. I was happy to see a change in weather but did not take too long before I was wishing that it stopped raining.. turns out I am never happy with any weather ;). Since I always have a more-than-happy-to-eat-fried-food husband at home, I wasted no time and quickly whipped up the batter to make onion(one vegetable I always always n always have in my kitchen) pakodi. I am sure there are many many more variations of the batter for this recipe but me being very lazy did the quick and the easiest one :)

Ingredients
1/2 cup Rice flour
1/2 cup Besan
1          Medium onion
Oil for frying
Salt
Chilli powder

Procedure
1. Mix the rice flour, besan, salt and chilli powder with water until you have a batter with the consistency to coat the onions.
2. Peel and cut the onions in rings. Seperate the layers or rings.
3. Dip the onion rings in the batter and deep fry them in hot oil until brown.
4. Enjoy hot with Maggie Hot and Sweet sauce.

Note: I am used to only using besan for making the batter but I found rice flour gives a little crispness to the pakodi.

Spring is here....

err... almost. Once we have respite from all the rain that is pouring down like no tomorrow in the east coast and giving us a glimpse of the Indian monsoon, which I love by-the-way...

I digress...

Spring means a a lot of garden work, weeds blooming in contention, appreciating N for all this lawn mowing efforts et all... With my particular disaster of vegetable garden last year - I managed to save one tomato, amidst tomato, okra, bell peppers, cilantro plants. I blame it on the hail storm that hit northern Mass.. but in reality, I was stretching my green-thumb-dreams too far - So moral of the story; this year i have decided to experiment only tomato and try the upside down plant instead of pots. So with the 70s weather this weekend, you know where I will be spending most of my time!

So has anyone begun the spring-prep? Here are a few things I am planning on doing/done -

* Found a farm nearby for the strawberry/rasberry/apple/peach pickings ( 6 miles away ) Lots of baking in the offing!

* Closing in on a grill purchase. Will send out invites for a barbecue weekend once thats done.

* Ready with my tomato seedlings/pots/starting soil/ potting mix et all... The first bout of sunshine this week  and they are getting planted.

* Find trekking / hiking trails nearby. Bike purchase is indefinitely postponed.

* Gear up for the 5K in june!

So have your SPRUNG your list?

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On another note, anyone got ideas for a new event on the blog? Baking is going great, we can have another event running in paralell.. Let me know if anyone has got some ideas.

A few recipes

I did two things over the weekend -

One, tried my hand at baking a healthy cake ; made maple walnut and I was glad it turned out yum; glad because i had followed my instincts for the measurement and was a little apprehensive!

Secondly, I had the most awesome crepe at AppleSeed. I will definitely recommend the spinach crepe there.

So here is my Healthy Maple Walnut cake recipe.

Ingredients -

* 1 and half cup all purpose flour

* 1 cup buttermilk

* 2 Tbsp butter melted

* 2 eggs

* 1/3 cup light brown sugar

* 1/4 cup maple syrup

* 1 tsp vanilla essence

* 1/4 cup broken walnut

* 1 tsp baking powder

Procedure -

Beat eggs, butter milk, sugar, maple syrup and vanilla essence. Wisk it with all purpose flour and bking powder. Plop in the walnuts. Bake in a greased vessel for about 50 minutes at 350F. Makes a great companion for strawberry icecream.

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Before I forget, Wish everyone a happy Ugadi! And today was ugadi potluck at work and we had an assortment of rice varieties ( Mango rice, Pulihora, Lemon rice, curd rice, pudina rice) I was the contributor of pudina rice (mint rice) and this is one recipe I have never gone wrong with (touch wood) and here you go; Thats how I make it!  :)

Ingredients -

To grind -

* Generous fistful bunch of mint stalk with leaves

* cup of grated coconut

* 1 inch cube of ginger

* 3 large garlic pods

* 7 to 10 green chillies ( according to spice level tolerance)

Spices -

4 cardamom pods

2 cloves

1 star anise

bay leaves

One 3 inch cinnamon stick

3 cups Basmati Rice

Beat the above mentioned ingredients under 'To grind' in a food processor until it is a smooth paste. Add as little water as possible. It should not be smooth like chutney, but slightly granulated to touch.

In a large pan, add about 2 tsps of ghee. Add the 'Spices'. Once they sizzle, add the ground paste. Keep it on a low flame, so that the pudina paste doesnot darken, but cooks evenly. 

While the paste is getting done, get the 3 cups of rice cooked. I usually soak the rice for about an hour. Then allow sufficient water to boil in a heavy bottom vessel. To the boiling water I pop in broken cardamom, 1 cm long cinnamon stick and sufficient salt. Once the water boils, I add the rice and let it cook for about 15 minutes or until it is separate grained but well cooked. Drain the rice.

Now slowly mix the rice with the pudina paste. Garnish with brown fried onions cut long and cashews.

Enjoy! Happy cooking everyone!

A dallop of avial

I am surprised that this is my first Kerala recipe on the blog. I was sure I would flood it with them! :P

So I decided to start with the easiest and most popular. I agree that kerala recipes are an acquired taste and do not appease everyone in one go. And I know it well, for N isnt an instant lover of any food in general and I have modified my traditional kerala cooking to suit a 'generic' taste bud!

If you are looking for a lot of nutrition, lots of veggies and a filling meal, there is nothing better than avial. Here is the list of veggies you can add to the authentic avial recipes. But feel free to add any veggie which you think might blend in -

1. Raw hard banana (green)

2. Carrots

3. Cucumber ( all kinds )

4, Melons ( all kinds)

5. yam (chennai kezangu)

6. Koorkai ( chinese potato )

7. Chakka kuru ( jackfruit seeds.. they are yum!)

8. Cashew fruit

9. Drumstick

10. Snake gourd

11. Raw mango

I usually make it quick and easy with cucumber, carrot and raw mango. If I get good drumsticks I pop them in.

Procedure  (this is going to be real easy!)

1. Cut the veggies lengthwise about half the size of your little finger

2. Allow the veggies except raw mango to boil in enough water just to immerse the veggies.

3. Sprinkle some haldi (turmeric) on top pf the sunk veggies.

4. Generously add a spoonful of coconut oil to this boiling mixture. Add salt to taste.

( I get the coconut oil from Hannaford; you can find it in any organic food store. These ones have great flavor, but do not emanate the smell which usually puts every non-mallu off from kerala food! Trust me, because N cannot stand coconut oil and he loves my avial! :) )

5. Throw in at least 7 to 8 curry leaves to this medley.

While the veggies cook,

6. In a mixer, add about a cup of shredded coconut, half teaspoon of jeera and 5 to 6 green chillies

7. Blend it without adding any water until it is smooth like a thick chutney like consistency.

8. When the veggies are half cooked, add the cut raw mango.

9. Once the veggies are cooked add the coconut mix.

10. Dribble another half spoon of coconut oil. Take the mixture off the stove after about five minutes.

Usually avial is thick like a lasagna consistency, but I make it a little gravy like by adding more water in the end, as you can see in the picture. It is my mother's recipe and it is foolproof !

Points to note:

1. Ensure you add one sour/bitter veggie ( raw mango fits the bill well ) Other options, which i know of, haven't tried are bitter gourd,tinda.
2. DONT even think of substituting coconut oil for any other oil. You will not end up with an avial end product
3. My mother makes it with beaten curds too, if you dont have the raw mango in hand. I will post that variation, once I watch her make.
4. Its a flavorful dish, but not a spicy chatpata one. So be warned.

Avial is best enjoyed with adai ( pesarattu). I love it with chapati too! N likes it with rice :)

Happy eating, let me know if you know a different recipe!

Happy weather makes me hungry!

Seems like the mile meter is stalled... I am hoping it is everyone not finding time to update the spreadsheet and not the more un-encouraging reason! :(

Although in my case, I have been transcending to couch potato status for the past week and gave it a kick start by jogging outside in 50s weather yesterday. With the early onset of spring, I seem to be delving in many guilty pleasures, in hope of burning them all by running in the sun, eventually! :)

Last night it was a basket of fries and today a huge IHOP brunch! And if thats not enough, topping dinners with home baked banana bread and icecream :D

We can keep the bake-a-thon going; considering we have many new ideas popping. I bought the muffin tray recently and hoping to try that next! I was thinking we can come up with another new event for this month. Anyone got any ideas? Post it!

Until next time....

For love of Quiche

Pending our vacation, we wanted to have a week of healthy eating to pre compensate for the sinful munching to come.. so it was a week sans rice or heavy carbs of any kind. So lunchtimes had me running to Financier pattiserie, a french bakery known for their petite cakes and yum food in lower Manhattan. They have daily lunch specials of soups & quiche.

Mmm quiche.. fluffy eggs with great salad is quite a treat. I especially love their truffled mushroom version. I am planning to try my hand at baking on upon my return.

Have you guys ever tried quiche recipes? If so, do share..

Visit financier here

Also posting a pic of Sudan's birthday cake that I ordered here..

That's the way the cookie crumbles :) !

I already made it pretty clear that I am a big time chocoholic.. Anything that has chocolate in it, it becomes my instant favourite :) Infact I have turned my husband into a choco-addict as well.. Muuuhahaha (u know.. the devilish laugh).  He literally begs me to make chocolate treats/desserts now.. Life is bliss :D. Today while I was drinking green tea, I had this craving for a cookie with warm melting chocolate inside.,the next thing I know, I was on a search for some recipe with the ingredients from my baking shelf and preferrably a heathier version  and I found this.. It boasts of 21% fewer calories, 42% less saturated fat and 14% less fat than the original recipe but I personally felt there was nothing major under the healthy category except for the whole wheat flour and the amount of butter used.. that's good enough for me.. all the mind game I say! It also fits in  the bake-a-thon month thingie we have going here (I am under the impression that month = till there are enough contributions or till somebody comes up with a different concept :D). Also following suggestions of Divya and inspirations of other blog sites, I decided to venture into a new hobby.. photographing food! This is my debut, using Sandeep's SLR.. I am pretty excited about the whole deal.. So please comment/suggest on any pictures and recipes..will be happy and humble to accept them. I guess I have listed all my excuses and buried my guilt for indulging in chocolate pleasures so lets get started with the recipe..

Ingredients

3/4    cup granulated sugar

3/4    cup packed brown sugar

1/2    cup butter, softened

1/2    cup canola oil

1       teaspoon vanilla

1       egg

2       cups whole wheat flour

1       teaspoon baking soda

1/4    teaspoon salt

3/4    cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Procedure

1.    Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, beat sugars, butter, oil, vanilla and egg with electric mixer on low speed until blended. Beat in flour, baking soda and salt until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips.

2.    On ungreased cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, drop dough by rounded measuring tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart.

3.    Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until very light golden brown (centers will be soft). Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack.

This recipe yields 3 1/2 dozen cookies.

Source:Eat Better America

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Looks like someone has been patient enough to teach novices about food photography. Thought I should share the link. It looked really useful.

http://www.cookingandme.com/2006/07/food-photography-for-food-bloggers.html

Banana Bread with a chocolate twist

I am totally aware that there have been 2-3 recipes of Banana nut bread that have already been posted on green tea....Nevertheless I am posting the one I use very very often for a couple of reasons :

a. My cousin Divu told me to....since every recipe has something different in it and it is true.You will see why!!
b. It is a Banana bread with choco chips rather than nuts recipe!! See I told you its different.

Well I will cut the crap here and get to the main point of the blog. Here is the recipe:

* 3 ripe bananas, mashed
* 1 egg, well beaten
* 4 ounces (1 stick) butter, melted, cooled
* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 cup granulated sugar
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 cup chopped nuts : I like to use a lot (as much as you want) of semi-sweet chocolate morsels in place of nuts....tastes WAAAAYYYY better. Nuts are ubiquitous and get pretty monotonous!!

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the mashed bananas, beaten egg, and melted butter. Sift together the flour, sugar, salt, and soda and stir into banana mixture until well blended. Stir in semi-sweet chocolate morsels (more the merrier)

Pour banana nut bread batter into a 9x5-inch loaf pan and bake at 350° for 55 to 60 minutes, until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Have fun baking!!

Fridays + Friends + Food + Fun

Last weekend I had friends over at home(quite a gang I should say). In such occasions(especially with a group of hungry boys) usually I like to experiment some new dishes because even if something goes wrong in the process, there are still no leftovers and I really can not see food go waste(which is why I am trying hard to finish the box of chocolate covered rice crispy treats at home despite the fact that I am trying hard to loose the last few pounds of my monthly goal). I made chicken 65 which was applauded by everybody that evening. It was definitely a HUGE hit.. I mean who doesn't like spicy fried chicken? ;). It was really easy to make and I wanted to share the recipe with you here. Next time you are looking to please a crowd, go ahead and make this. You'll be star of the evening :). This recipe is definitely a keeper.

Ingredients:

Boneless skinless chicken  - 1lb (Cut into 1" cubes. I used both the breast and thigh meat)

Corn Flour                       - 3tbspns

Egg                                - 1

Ginger Garlic paste           - 1 1/2 tspn

Salt                                - To taste

Pepper                            - 1 tspn

Red food color                  - 8 drops

For Gravy/Sauce:

Canola oil                - 3 tbspns

Ginger                     - 1 tbspn (finely chopped))

Garlic                      - 5 Cloves (finely chopped)

Green Chillies           - 5

Chilli Sauce              - 2 tbspns

Cumin seeds            - 1 tspn

Cumin powder          - 1 tspn

Ginger Garlic paste   - 1/2 tspn

Curry leaves             - 6-7 leaves torn in half

Chilli powder            - 1/2 tspn

Pepper powder          - 1/2 tspn

Red food color           - 10-12 drops

Salt                          - To taste

Water                       - 1/2 cup

Procedure:

• In a bowl, take the chicken and add the cornflour, ginger garlic paste, salt, pepper, egg, red food color and mix till the chicken is coated well. If you find the mixture too liquidy then add some more cornflour.
• Heat oil in a deep bottom pan and deep fry the chicken in the oil.
• After all the chicken is fried, heat a skillet on medium flame, add oil and let it heat up a little.
• Now add the cumin seeds. After they sputter a little, add the ginger and garlic and let it fry for a minute.
• Now add the green chillies and the curry leaves to pan and fry for another minute.
• Add the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw flavor goes away.
• Add the chilli sauce, chilli powder, cumin powder, pepper powder, salt at this stage and fry for a minute.
• Add the red color, water and the fried chicken at this point. Mix well so the gravy coats the chicken and wait for the chicken to heat up in the sauce.
• Serve hot.

Sadly, I do not have a picture of this recipe :(

This recipe was inspired from my neighbor and adapted from wahreywah.com

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I had the pic I had posted on facebook! Though it is notthe perfect pic, you can see that 1/4th of the dish is already hogged.. :) I vouch the chicken was awesome!
-Div

The pink health

Food habits and exercise alone cannot comprise a healthy life.Personal hygiene goes a long way and  I thought I should share a few things, which i learnt the hard way and hope it helps someone else without having to face it with difficulty like i did-

1. Floss. I have inherited bad teeth, had braces as a fifteen year old, cheated brushing a million times, even after seeing my mother suffer through many painful root canals. Two wisdom tooth extractions and three fillings and after, I have turned over a new 'teeth'... Do brush at least twice a day. And dont neglect flossing. I wont go into the benefits of flossing; the web is filled with that. But if you have never tried flossing before, try this product. Its battery operated, soft on your gums and really useful and I am sure you will never go back to regular brushing once you realise how useful it is.

2. Q-tips. I would run away from them as a child. Hence more than often, I would suffer immense ear pain due to a wax solidified attack and undergo the wax-melting medicine being poured down my ears at least once every month.I have come into terms with being regular on the usage of q-tip, though I am still working towards not letting it slip my mind!

3. Pedicure: No, I am not refering to the exorbitant 40$ pedicure at the nearest Nails you get done when you want to pamper yourself. I am talking about keeping your feet happy and breathing even otherwise. I learnt it from my cousin Villus and her older sisters. All you need is a dallop of shampoo, a small basin with warm/hot water, a squeeze of face scrub. Give your feet a treat every fortnight! Is a great help during summer.

Have you learnt something new that has helped make your life healthy and happy? Do share!

Tofu recipes

The email chain floating around with shritu's suggestions for tofu recipes, I thought I will add it as a post instead...

Divya's experiment -

I made tofu sandwich. I got the extra firm tofu from traders joe. But, the tofu still needs to be handled delicately or it will easily break. If you open the pack, make sure you change the water in which the tofu is immersed everyday of refrigeration.

Procedure -

• Cut the tofu into slabs thick enough for your sandwich/burger bread. Gently squeeze out as much water as you can.
• In a flat vessel, add spices of your choice - I added oregano, basil, ground pepper, ground cumin, red chilly flakes. Add 2 tsp of olive oil and mix the spices so that it forms a "dosa-podi" type consistency. Add salt.
• Smother the tofu pieces with this marinade. Keep it aside for atleast 1 hour. I had it marinated for 3 hours.
• Toast the tofu in a flat bottom pan. To make it more crunchy, you can add more oil. I was surprised myself that the marinade powders stuck to the tofu really well and didnt wither away while toasting. Toast until it is a golden brown.
• Enjoy it with honey mustard/ketchup/pickles/ other veggies in your sandwich

My cousin Villus suggests -

Add the tofu pieces like you would add paneer to the paneer mutter recipe. Add them towards the end of the preparation however.

Sandhya's plans-

I was looking for Kung-Pao-tofu recipe last week as I was planning on making one. I got the Kung-Pao sauce from the grocery store to start with :) http://appetiteforchina.com/recipes/kung-pao-tofu

Have you tried any recipe with tofu lately, something you have never cooked before or often do? If so post the recipe. Simply edit this post and add on to it or leave a comment.

Mithra's tips

I like firm tofu crumbles with my salad.. a signature one would be to add mesculun greens, cherry tomatoes, sunflower seeds & tofu tossed with Olive oil or balsamic vinaigrette for a crisp snack or side.

I've heard a lot about these tofu noodles as a great pasta substitute, but I haven't had the courage to try yet!

Healthy Frying!

In response to Divyas' question, I read this relevant article this week: healthy frying

Hope this helps! I was pleasantly surprised to discover how health(ier) bajjis were in the fried category.

My frequented food blogs on the internet:

Some nice recipes

A must visit for New yorkers

A nice blog on travel food. I found it very unique

My friends food blog

Run Baby Run - Update

Its great to see some wonderful progress on the miles! Though i admit, I grossly underestimated the miles :-)

I bet many of the participants are going to zoom past the required 95 way before the end of the year!

So here are a few things to note -

• I have created a spreadsheet to make it easier to track your miles on a everyday basis. Here is the link to it. The link is also available below the label of Run Baby Run on the left bottom of the blog where the mile meter is. I will be checking the spreadsheet every Friday and updating the mile-meter.
• You can continue way beyond 95 miles and the mile meter would simply show over a 100%. I bet we all love that. So i am not changing the miles or requirements. Let keep the good work going!

I am thinking of adding a mini-challenge part of the mile meter. Since its possible to get weary of the treadmill and other such indoor recycled air workouts, we can aim to do an activity other than machines and play some games. Be it squash, BB, FB, badminton anything you dig. The challenge is to aim to be part of at least one sport activity every week. Let me know if you have other ideas to build towards the mile-meter...

Happy workout everyone!

Bagara Baingan,Bakes,BlockOfLard

When it comes to cooking, I am more of a follower. I prefer the recipes scribbled on the diary, with words of wisdom doled out by my mother in law and mother, to experiments. I also love the colorful cookery books, exact proportions and a few culinary websites I frequent; so like I term it, I am a bookish-cook. Going by the norm, I found the perfect bagara baingan recipe suiting our taste buds and N and I slurped it clean with home-made parathas yesterday for lunch. You can find the recipe here. I vouch it is foolproof! =)

A few other websites I love and frequent are -

Priya's Akshayapatram

Solai chidambaram for chettinad cooking (especially chicken varieties)

Mahanandi for the andhra veggie fix

Most evidently, my second favorite cuisine (first being kerala, of course!) is the andhra bone, hyderabadi to be specific!

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So, I make my entry to the bake-a-thon by following sush's simple recipe of vanilla flavor cake. For my first ever bake it turned out pretty yum and believe it or not, there is just one-eighth of the loaf (as seen in the picture) left. Saiz and sandhya were also party to the cake-eating.

The whole nuts peeping out is N's doing! He plopped them into the batter before I could break them! So as we let the soft cake melt in the mouth, we were rudely awakened by a huge almond to crunch into, from time to time.

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Before you wonder if this section is about a 'block of lard', let me clarify that it is about me feeling like one!

I am a deep-fry-hater. Other than the waist-watch perspective, it is the oil clinging to the carpets rendering the house into a greasy rancor that is a put off. Hence, I stick to the frying bit only on special occasions like N's birthday when I cannot veto the idea. This year, it seems I have become more lenient and ventured for the second time deep frying bajjis and paruppu vadais last evening. Company for the evening coffee made up for the incentive. Knowing fried items are a delicacy; N often makes the best of the deep-fry-occasions to fry anything he can lay hands on, until the oil turns a savage red and retching slick.

I bet two molaga bajjis (green waxy chilly bajjis), few handfuls onion pakodas, couple of paruppu vadais were more than unwelcome to the stomach that hadn't feasted to oil in a long time. Gone are the days when in the name of group-studies, I would wolf down desi french-fries and onion bajjis, which my mother would make for the "hard-working" students.

I was an acidic mess by the time I retired to bed feeling like a completely useless piece of  lard swearing to never deep fry ever again! Until next time….

Hope everyone else had a healthy weekend! =)

Questions – 

How do you balance deep frying and healthy eating? 

What are the options for making deep frying healthy?(now that's an oxymoron! :D )

Totally unrelated

This post has no relation whatsover to the blog except for another common passion of its readers, that of Books! I read an article in NYTimes yesterday which made me think a little about what to do. I have been wanting to clean out my bookshelf for a while now; and this article suggested that people shouldn't donate books to the library if they don't feel passionate about them. It said that we are doing a disservice to someone by making them read a book that we didn't care about in the first place, and that they'd have read one better book in their lifetime.

What do you girls think? Would you rather donate to the library or recycle? Do share your thoughts..

What kind of hungry are you?

Yesterday I spent  hours "working-from-home" by the window, expecting a snow-white scene to unfold and a blizzard to envelope my brownish yellow grass. But, as the day unwound, I watched the warning on weather.com turn from red to orange to nothing and was left with 8 mm of snow instead of the predicted 8 inches! Like someone said.."they just messed up the metrics"! 

The point of the post wasn't the snow or the lack of it really... but the hunger pangs that seemed to gnaw harder while I was at home! Almost four years back, when I had gained a lousy fifteen pounds in three months (blame it on the overdose of dating one does strictly pre-marriage times, sadly with the same guy..) anyways.. I am still trying to lose the left overs from that era and striving hard to fit into my skinny jeans again!

My first intitiative to lose the pounds was to barely run 1.25 miles, pant like a dog, drink an iota of milk in the name of breakfast, let the stomach rumble until it hurt, eat a meagre lunch, feel proud of it and then 3 pm would strike; the hunger devil (as coined by my cousin villus) would cause me to burn and crash. I would give in to a heavy dinner and feel guilty. The cycle would continue. No surprises - I gained more in the bargain.

Over time, I have finally come into consensus with my body and learnt to manage the food-health-fitness cycle. Although, I am still hit with between-meals hunger accompanied by a pity-emanating-stomach-rumbling noise that can be heard two cubes away! I have tamed the beast to fat free fruit yogurt or a bowl of fresh veggies or a fruit or handful of nuts for the past sixteen months or so.

But yesterday, being home and having a shelf of haldirams displayed for the benefit of the weak-hearted, I was tempted to take more between-meal breaks and pop a spoon of snacks down my throat. When one spoon gave way to one too many, I had decided that WFH wasn't good for the heart (figuratively and literally). I finally tied the growling beast and many crunchy carrots were eaten instead and ran the risk of being called a "cow" by N (technically it should have been rabbit.. but whatever!) .

So here is what I figured about hunger in general yesterday -

1. Hungry every two hours - eat meager meals every two hours.

2. Ravenous during meal times - eat like no tomorrow each of these times

3. Balance hunger - crazy-I-will-die during breakfast, I-will-eat--to-survive at lunch, I-will-eat-because-its-dinner-time during dinner.

4. Snacker - eat whenever i please even if I am not hungry. My heart wants it.

5. Un-foodie - never know when it is meal-time. Who needs food, I say?
6. Skipper - I am too busy to be wasting time eating.. I will skip now and hog later when famished

7. the in-between - Big hungry during meal times. Small hungry between meal times.
8. superman err... super-human hungry (for fear of sounding politically incorrect!) - interleaved, cyclic, biological clock keeping, scrupulous, always fit hunger! phew!

So what kind of hungry are you?? How do you deal with hunger pangs? How do you deal with cravings that have nothing to do with hunger pangs?

Share your thoughts and let it be a help and inspiration for better or worse! =)

Mail/chat/facebook me the miles for the week tomorrow!