Get Vegasconed!!

When Suganya announced that November was Vegan month and she wanted us to submit vegan fare to her event..i decided to make something that would usually contain eggs or milk and veganise it. I love scones and have stopped eating them from 3 years..after i gave up eggs....and i never bothered to make them at home..coz frankly i was a wee bit intimidated!!..but i guess i decided to take the scone
head-on!!

I really like the Farmgirl fare blog Farmgirl Fare and do visit her quite often and i remembered bookmarking this recipe of Savoury Cheese and Scallion Scones. I of-course made tons of changes and here is my recipe :)

Ingredients:

All-purpose flour - 3 cups.
Baking powder - 1 tbls.
Baking soda- 1 tsp.
Salt - 1 1/2 tsp.
Tofutti Cream Cheese - 8 oz. (this is a vegan cream cheese)
Leeks - 2 small or 1 large (finely chopped)
Mint leaves- 1/2 cup- (finely chopped)
Red Pepper flakes - 1 tbls.
Lite soy milk - 1 cup
Flax meal - 2 tbls

Glaze on scones
2 tbls soy milk

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 400F.

2. Mix the flour,b.soda,b.powder and salt.

3. Nuke the cream-cheese in the microwave for a minute till it softens. Add it to the above and mix it in with a fork...do not get rough on it :)

4. Whisk the flax-meal and the soy milk till it gets frothy and add to the above. Also add the leeks,mink and the red-chilly flakes to the semi- dough.

5. Knead this lightly.. and form a large circle on a well floured surface.

6. Divide into 8-10 wedges...and place it on a parchment lines cookie-sheet.

7. Brush the top with soy-milk for a glazed look and bake for 25 mts.

8. Cool this on a wire rack and eat it up. I made mine into a sandwich...green chutney,sweet chutney and cukes..yum!

Notes:

1. Please do not knead like how u would knead for rotis..be gentle for a flaky scone.

2. I think i should have added cumin or ajwain..it would have been even better.

3. I used a serrated knife to cut into wedges..i think a sharp-knife will do the same trick...just cut it firmly...

4. To know more about Tofutti ...go here




This is off to the talented Suganya who blogs at
Tasty Palettes and is hosting the Vegan Ventures event.

Salad...

I think in this season of eating...there is an overwhelming sense of guilt..esp. when you go hogging at the cookies and pies and what not... placed very
lovingly ?? (i don't think) at strategic points in the office.... I mean you cannot escape the food no matter how you try...unless you have self-restraint...which i sadly lack.

I usually try to balance a day of over-indulgence with a yummy soup or salad..so that i do not feel deprived... So here is my recipe for a quick and yummy salad..please feel free to adding and take out what you like...

Ingredients:

Steamed Corn - 1 cup
Raw Mango - 1/2 cup (diced)(It was not too sour...but i was happy when i saw it ;)
Carrots -1/2 cup (diced)
Cucumber - 1/2 cup (diced)
Onions - 1/2 cup (diced)
Black Beans - 1/2 cup (drained)
Dried Cherries - 1/2 cup (you can use any dried fruit)
Chat Powder - 1 tsp.
Lemon Juice - from one lemon
Red Chilly Powder - 1/2 tsp.
Cilantro - 2 tbls (chopped)

Method:

1.Boil the corn in minimum water for a couple of minutes without salt. If you are using frozen corn...do not add any water..let it just cook in the little
ice-crystals they carry...

2.Mix all the above together except the lemon and let it marinate for 10 mts in the fridge.

3.Before eating, squeeze the lemon juice.

Notes:

Do not let this marinate for too long..or it will get soggy.

Try to use veggies that do not give out too much water.

Try cutting all the veggies the same size if possible..

I tried to minimize the salt by just using the chat-powder and not adding more salt..as chat powder is pretty salty.




This is off to the powerless cooking event hosted by easy crafts who blogs at
an easy cooking blog.

Lemon Pickle with Ginger and Green Chillies

Okay here it goes..i wanted to make something fun and exotic for the ginger theme..some glaze or a fancy drink and as the days went..i kept thinking of what to make..how to present and the usual stuff..esp. when people posted for the ginger event. Then i thought..long weekend..yep! i will dish out something on those 4 days...but we had friends over...but i want to participate :(..so what does a fanatic do???...dig up old recipes not blogged from folders and submit :)..

Here is the Lemon pickle that my amma makes..she also makes one with red chilly powder..but as this version has good amounts of ginger..i am submitting for the Think Spice event hosted by the energetic Sunita who blogs at Sunita's world.



Here is the recipe...all the measurements are given in 'cups'..so you can use smaller cups or regular sized ones..depending on how much you want.

Ingredients:

Lemons: 10 (appx)
Ginger: 1/2 cup cut in pcs.
Green Chilly: 1/2 cup cut in pcs
Salt: 1/2 cup
LG - 1/2 tsp.
Methi powder (roasted and powdered):1/2 tsp.

Method:

1. Reserve 4 lemons to be used later. Dice the remaining lemons in cubes.

2. Dice the ginger and green chilly in medium pcs.

3. Place the lemons,green chilly,ginger in a large bottle.

4. Add salt,methi powder and LG to the above. Add the juice of the reserved 4 lemons and mix well with a wooden spoon.

5. Now place the lemon pickle in the sun for 10-15 days...then the pickle is ready to eat!!

Notes:

1. After the lemon pickle has been placed in the sun for the 10-15 day period..store the pickle in the fridge for a long shelf life.

2. Please make sure that u do not put the stalks of the green chillies..it is a pain to eat..can u guess how i know this...i know..i am such a moron!!

3. I made my pickle using a regular sized cup..so the lemons are specified for that qty..please adjust to yours.

Oh! yeah...and i have removed the word-verification for a nutty buddy of mine..so that she does not get mad when she is commenting on my food ;)

Semiya Payasam

I love semiya payasam...and hate every other milky payasams out there...sorry if i hurt sentiments of any of my readers...but i wanted to be honest about it ;)..as a kid i actually liked sago payasam too..which turned into dislike after i had my p'amma's payasam :(. The reason being..i hate aadai (cream, malai....) in my payasam and when i sipped what pariamma made and i got some aadai in my mouth...less said the better..but the payasam was on the floor and my mom pretty mad at me..coz she thought i was over-reacting ( honestly..i was..just a wee bit ;)

Hima has announced WYF- sweet..in reality it is bahdusha...i love it..but since i have no energy to make it i thought i will settle for the semiya payasam which i also happen to love.

Ingredients:

Semia - 1/2 cup, roasted with 1 tsp. ghee.
Fat Free evaporated milk - 1 tin
1% milk -2 cups
Sugar - 2 cups
Dry fruits - 1/2 cup (coz a like a bite of dry fruit with every sip)
Ghee - 1 tbls
Saffron - a pinch

Method:

1. In a kadai, melt 2 tsp. of ghee and fry the dry fruits till the raisins plump up. Strain the fruits from the ghee adn keep aside.

2. Melt the remaining ghee and roast the semia till it turns light golden..if you have pre-roasted semia..i would suggest you roast it lightly in ghee to get extra flavor.

3. Add the evaporated milk to the above and cook on medium heat till the semia gets soft.

4. Then add the remainder of the milk, sugar and crumble the saffron and cook till the milk gets reduced a little and becomes rich and creamy.

5. Add the reserved dry fruits, mix well and switch off the gas.

6. You can serve this piping hot or cool it..place it in the fridge and have it cold..like the way i do :)

Notes:

1. I used cashews and raisins for the nuts..please feel free to add in what u like.

2. Jeeves likes super sweet payasam...please reduce the sugar to 1 1/2 cups..unless you want a sugar-shock ;)

3. I feel adding the fat free evaporated milk gave the payasam some body and a really good color...you can of-course make with full fat or 1%,2% milk. I do not think fat-free cuts it tho

This is off to Hima who blogs at SnackoRama and is hosting the fun event WYF-Sweet

Omapodi

I love this snack and i guess so do many...I usually abstain from making deep fried food...but sometimes i prefer to make than to buy..b'coz of the huge packets we get in indian stores. Really!! why don't they keep smaller packets..it is not that smaller sizes are not available..the haldiram packet is huuuge and i think for a family of 2 it is waay too much. I am not one who can take a handfull and stop..i keep going for seconds and thirds..and in no time the packet is finished and i feel sick..and i mean really sick..coz too much of oil is just nasty...

I really wanted to eat alu chat and wanted a sprinkle of sev on top..so i decided to fry-up a small batch. I thought the noodles came out look wierd!! but they tasted good..so i was a happy camper...

This gives only 2 to 3 circles...so it is good for portion control :)

Recipe:

1.Besan - 3/4 cup
2.Rice flour - 1 tsp.
3.Ajwain - 1/2 tsp.
4.Red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp.
5.Salt - to taste...about 1/2 tsp.
6.Hot oil - 1 tbls
7.Oil- for deep frying

Method:

1. Make a tight dough with ingredients 1-6 using some warm water.

2. Take a sev press and press out in a circular fashion in hot oil.

3. Deep fry till golden brown and drain on a colander that has been lined with lots of oil absorbant paper.

4. When they are cooled, transfer the omapodi to closed dabbas and try doing portion-control ;)...

Notes:

1. When you make the dough..let it not be too hard..or ur hands will really hurt when you press.

2. When you press, let the oil be on high..but when you start to fry make the flame medium high..b'coz you do not want the omapodi to brown out too quick.




I am also submitting the above pic to the Click event started by the Jugalbandi team.

Creamy Lasagna

I love stouffer's vegetable lasagna....it is creamy,rich and oh! so unhealthy for you ;)..i have tried recipes from many books but nothing came to the richness and the ooey-gooey stuff...all the recipes asked for thawing spinach..or grated zucchini and seriously never made the cut.
It was last week when i saw madame garten of food tv who never cooks for less than a stick of butter...made a bechamel sauce for macaroni and cheese and i thought..yes! bechamel for lasagna...that will make it rich. I really do not have a dead conscience that i will use a stick of butter..i used 1 tbls of butter and the results i must say came out pretty good. Now as nags has opted the WBB ingredient as cornflakes...i ditched the bread crumb topping and moved to cornflakes lightly crushed..and i think i am going to use the same in future too.

The recipe:

Marinara Sauce:

I love things spicy and so i used a home made indian flavored marinara i had on hand..you can go ahead and use store bought....

Bechamel Sauce:

1 tbls butter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup fat free milk
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper powder


Melt butter in a pan. Then add the flour and cook till the flour turns light brown..it usually forms to a ball in this phase. Slowly add the milk and whisk it well to ensure there are no lumps and cook on medium flame for a few mts..till it coats a spoon lightly. Switch of the gas...grate the nutmeg and add salt and pepper.

Filling:

2 cups spinach - packed
1/2 onion - thinly sliced
1/4 cup peas
1 cup grated carrots
2 pods garlic
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp.red chilly powder
salt - to taste

Add oil in a pan..then add cumin and garlic. When the cumin jumps..add the veggies and saute them lightly adding salt,red-chilly powder and turmeric. When all the liquid from the spinach evaporates...keep the filling aside to cool.

Balance

7 sheets of lasagna - par-boiled in plenty of salted water
1 cup mozzarella cheese
4 tbls cornflakes - crushed lightly and toasted lightly with 1 tsp. olive oil

Assembly:

1.Preheat the oven to 375 F

2. Take a shallow baking pan and ladle marinara sauce on the bottom. This ensures that you do not have to butter the pan.

3. Take a tbls of filling and place it on the lasagna roll about 2 inches away from the end and roll the sheet loosely and place the roll in the pan with the open end facing down. Do the same with all the six sheets.

4. Pour the bechamel sauce on top of the rolls making sure all the sheets are wet with it.

5. Then sprinkle the cheese on the rolls..making sure all the rolls have cheese on them and then top with the toasted cornflakes mixture.

6. Bake this for 30 mts or till the cheese bubbles and get a lil brown.

Notes:

1. This freezes well.

2. The bechamel sauce does not get thick in the pan..it should lightly coat the ladle/spoon..but when you bake it gets really yummy.

3. I made the lasagna is 2 individual baking pans...this way i made sure i was not basically hogging all the topping ;)



This is off to Nags who blogs at .For the Cook in me and who is hosting the WBB

Navrattan Kurma

I am usually dissapointed at Indian restaurants here...i guess because i know what the real deal is. It is rare that we eat at indian places because i get mad when i see a badly prepared dish served and charged to boot...i am usually forgiving when it comes to bad food cooked by a person at home but not an establishment who claim to know how to cook and serve great food....

But, last week i was really bored to cook..which seriously is rare for me and ordered indian food to go. When we order carry-out jeeves and me order dishes we never make at home so it was navrattan kurma for me (as he is not a fan sweet-hot combo) and bhendi-fry for him (yuck!) and malai kofta for us ( coz i will grossly overeat it if i make it at home :)..well..the navrattan kurma was delicious..just like i always imagined gum-paste would be...my childhood desire was seen through by the good desi folks at the restaurant who made me realise that i was wise to stay away from tasting it at a tender age...grr..I really can never understand how can people serve bad food!!

But, now my heart was set on the kurma and when sra announced the event of making grindless gravy...i decided to give this a go.....and i was pleased with the results....

Now navrattan means nine gems...well i do not know if these were gems...but combination of veggies, fruits and nuts nuts came to nine...err...plus some lil extras for taste enhancement :)


Ingredients:

1. Potatoes - 1/2 cup- diced
2. Carrots - 1/2 cup - diced
3. Beans - 1/2 cup - cut in thirds
4. Peas - 1/2 cup
5. Butternut squash - 1/2 cup
6. Cauliflower - 1 cup - floweretts
7. Pineapple - 1/2 cup (i used tinned - medium diced)
8. Raisins - 1/4 cup
9. Cashews - 1/4 cup

Onions - 1 meduim - finely chopped
Tomato - 1 large - finely chopped
Ginger - 1 medium pc.
Garlic - 3
Green Chilly - 3
Fat free milk - 1/2 cup
Curry Leaves - 4 - torn

Jeera - 1 tsp.
Garam Masala powder - 1 tsp.
Red chilly powder - 1 tsp.
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp.
Salt - to taste

Grated paneer - 2 tbls
Oil - 1 tbls

Method:

1. Boil all the veggies 1-6 with the reqd. salt and keep aside. Make sure they do not get mushy...

2. Make a rough paste of the ginger-garlic-green chilly (GGG) in the mortar-pestle..add about 1/4 tsp salt to help it along.

3. In a large pan, heat oil, add the jeera, then add the GGG paste. When it starts to smell really nice :) add the onions which are diced really fine and cook on meduim flame till soft.You can add some of the pineapple juice to help along..if the onions start to brown.

4. Add the tomatoes with the turmeric powder, raisins and cashews and cook on medium flame till the tomatoes and onions turn to a pulpy mess...you can mash it lightly with the back of your ladle to help the process.

5. Add the cooked veggies and pineapple. Add the red chilly powder, garam masala, curry leaves and salt if needed and cook this mix till it is thick but not dry.

6. Add the milk and let it cook for a few more minutes and switch off the gas.

7. Garnish it with grated paneer and eat with rotis.

Notes:

1. Dice the onions and tomatoes really small...else u have to put a little muscle in the kadhai while cooking..it is up to you where u want to put the effort.

2. If you do not have a mortar-pestle..chop the GGG very finely..it will do.

3. The paneer grating is purely optional...but it does absorb some of the extra liquid...and is yummy too ;)

Here is my entry to the
Grindless Gravy event hosted by sra of When my soup came alive

Keerai (Spinach) Molagutal

This is second on the list of fav. food for me. My amma is obsessed with making leafy greens atleast twice a week and so we used to get to eat this once a week and the other time it was thota-kura or some other leafy greens that the sabjiwali would get.

This dish a total palghat iyer dish and i am not aware if proper tamilians (u know what i mean) or keralites make this...if i am wrong about this..feel free to correct me...make me eat crow in public :(

My fav. way of eating this is lots of molagutal with some curd and avvakai- cut in mini bits stirred in it..but i have some peculiar eating habits...normally at my home it is eaten with rice and a curry...like potato fry or even curd-pachhadi (not the andhra style..somewhat like raita with coconut ground in it)

Here is the recipe:

Toor Dal - 1 cup
Spinach - 1 packet or 4-6 bunches.... i use baby spinach....much tastier
Red Chilly whole - 3
Jeera - 1 tsp
Coconut - 1/2 cup
Urad dal - 2 tsp.
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp.
Salt - to taste
Jaggery - a small pc....optional
Oil - 1 tsp.

For tadka:

Oil - 1 tsp.
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp.

Method:

1. Pressure cook the dal and keep aside.

2. Chop the spinach finely and cook it in a kadai with some salt and turmeric powder.

3. Mash the spinach well in the kadai...(u can also puree this in a blender if you like a smooth texture)

4. Fry the red chilly and urad dal in a tsp. of oil and then blend it with jeera and coconut to a smooth paste.(do not fry the jeera)

5. Add the above ground mixture to the dal and mix them well and add to the mashed/pureed spinach.

6. Keep the molagutal in medium-high heat and allow it to boil for 5 minute..u can now add the haggery if you want.

7. Do tadka with rai using a tsp. of oil.

Notes:

1. If you are planning to puree it..do not bother chopping it finely...just cut in huge chunks and let it cook down in the kadai...if you are planning to just mash it..chopping it finely makes the mashing easier....

This is off to Linda who blogs at
Out of the garden and who is hosting JFI - Toor dal

Vegan Cinnamon Cake...meme....thank-you...

Well...i am posting in the exact reverse order of the heading because.......i feel like doing so :)

A few day back one of my fav. bloggers Ms.Stylish of
Live to Eat passed me the nice matters award...thnks girl..appreciate it.



I really want to pass this on to every one who reads my blog regularly and are always sweet to comment (sometimes gang up on me) and appreciate and tell me that my photos look pretty fabulous..tho i think they are not that great.....and have no questions on my credibility... :)


Then a few days back another fav.blogger girl Ms.Effervescent of Ambrosia...Indian Indulgences tagged me for the Fantastic Four meme....now for it being fantastic..we will see...

My Fantastic Four Meme


4 Places I have lived

Delhi - when i was a kid

Hyderabad

Troy,Michigan

Well...i am hoping NY...but i do not see it happening...


4 Jobs I (wish)had

Psychologist - love to help people out

Painter - wish i could capture beauty and give it my own signature

Interior Decorator - know where to get amazing stuff at discount prices

Personal Trainer - forced to keep in fantastic shape....and if a client pisses me off..i can say..give me 20 pushups ;)

All the above jobs are just wishes..i real life i am a boring accountant!!



4 Favorite places I have holidayed

Kodaikanal - with my parents,sis and my darling nephews

Las Vegas - with jeeves..drinking and going to tons of shows

Araku Valley (A.P)- with my friends...had a blast

Niagra Falls- with my parents and jeeves


4 Favorite foods

as told by everybody before me..a toughie!!...but i associate fav. food with the people who make it..so here it is

Mambazam Morukootan and Olan - by amma

Hakka Noodles and Manchurian - by my sis

Tomato Rasam and Alu curry - by my appa (the only dish he knows and it rocks!)

Bhelpuri - by my nephews

Jeeves... unfortunately can cook well ( had great food just once) but lacks the patience to stay more than 10 mts in the kitchen..his speciality is to do tadka and pressure cook...now you know why he is not on the list!!


4 Favorite places I would rather be

In my kitchen cooking and watching 'I Love Lucy' dvd...and jeeves playing base in the basement

At my parents home, eating great food prepared by my amma...discussing politics with appa, fighting with my sis and spoiling my nephews.

At my best bud's home in boston where we can talk non-stop...about everything and everybody

In my bed, reading a book, eating snacks and watching tv..simultaneously!!


4 Bloggers I like to tag

Namratha

Sandeepa

Madhu

Sivani



A few days back i had a hankering for cake something lite and easy. I remember reading about a cinnamon cake a few days back and had scribbled it down...but as usual misplaced it. All i could remember were a couple of ingredients and looking at other cake recipes and i was so desperate to eat a light cake i decided to take the risk...and give it a go...and i was pretty happy with the result.

Ingredients:

All purpose flour - 2 cups
Baking powder - 1/2 tbls.
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp.
Salt - 1/2 tsp.
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Cinnamon - 1 tsp.
Canola Oil - 2 tbls
Soy Milk - 1 cups
Ground Flax Meal - 1 tbls
Vanilla - 1/2 tsp.



Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Mix in all the dry ingredients in a bowl.

3. In a bowl mix in 1/2 cup of the soy-milk and the flax meal and whisk till frothy.

4. In the above bowl add in the rest of the liquid and mix well.

5. Combine both the wet and the dry ingredients and pour into a well greased 8*8 square pan.

6. Bake for 40 - 45 minutes till a toothpick comes out clean.

7. Cool it and cut into squares.

Notes:

1. You can freeze the cake pcs individually and nuke them in the microwave for 30 sec...and eat up.

2. You can increase the sugar by 1-2 tbls if you like it sweeter...you can actually taste the batter as there are no raw eggs.