Quinoa Bele Baath

Ingredients:
Quinoa: 1cup
Toor dal : 1 cup
Vegetables: 2 cups (carrots, potatoes, cauliflower anything of your liking,  I add spinach too.)
curry leaves : 4 - 5
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Tamarind paste : 1 tsp
Jaggery - a pinch
Chilli powder - 1tsp
Salt: 2 tsp

For the masala:
Corriander seeds - 1 and 1/2 tbsp
Chana Dal - 1 and 1/2 tbsp
Methi seeds - 1/4 tsp

Procedure:
1. Take Quinoa, Toor dal and vegetables in a pressure cooker, add salt, add 5 cups of water and pressure cook it for about 3 whistles
2. Dry roast the masala ingredients with methi seeds roasted last and grind them.
3. Heat ghee in a pan, add mustard seeds as they splutter add curry leaves. Then add the masala and the chillipowder
4. Now add the masala to the cooked quinoa, dal and vegetables. Mix well.
5. Now add tamarind paste and jaggery, and cook for another 5 minutes. Add water if the baath is thick and cook for a bit. Serve hot with mixture.

Note: You can use the bisi bele baath masala powder or paste bought from the store.For the amount of paste/powder to be added look at the instructions on the packet.

Green Moong Dal with Methi

Green moong dal is a regular in kitchen in the Northern part of Karnataka, along with Jowar Roti. It is very nutritious. Methi (Fenugreek) leaves is given in plenty to women after delivery. After my delivery, my mom used to find ways to include Methi leaves in my diet and so she once tried it with Green Moong Dal. It was delicious, I was licking my fingers and ever since I make it often. It is tasty and healthy.

Ingredients:
Green Moong Dal - 1 cup
Fenugreek(Methi) Leaves - 1 bunch ( finely chopped)
Onion - 1 medium
Chillipowder - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Tamarind paste - 1 tsp ( or you can soak tamarind in water for  a while, which is what I do)
A pinch of Jaggery - less than 1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 4-5 leaves
Corriander leaves to garnish
Salt to taste (approx 2 tsp)
Water - 2 cups
Oil - 2 tbsp

Procedure:
1. Take Green Moong and Methi in a pressure cooker, add 2 cups of water and pressure cook for 3 whistles.
2. Heat oil in a pan, then add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves. When they start to splutter add onion. Fry the onion till they are golden brown.
3. Add the chill powder, turmeric, garam masala and salt. Fry for a min or two.
4. Now add the cooked dal and methi leaves, to this.
5. Mix well and add the tamarind paste and jaggery. If too thick add water and let it cook for about 5 mins.
6. Garnish with corriander and serve with chapati.

Thyme Roasted Sweet Potatoes.

I love sweet potatoes and if you do too, you will surely like this dish. I tried this recipe on this year's Thanksgiving day and it was delicious. The link to the original recipe can be found here:
http://kimberlysnyder.net/blog/2012/11/19/thanksgiving-dinner-makeover/ ,
I made few very minor changes to this recipe ( depending on what I have available)

Ingredients:
Sweet Potatoes - 2
A small bunch of thyme - I used the entire bunch that I get from Sprouts.
Garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
Olive oil - 2 tsp
Salt and pepper.

Procedure:
1. Peel and chop the sweet potatoes into cubes.
2. To the sweet potatoes, add the garlic paste, thyme (finely chopped), Olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix them well.
3. Line these on a baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 400F
4. Bake for 30-40mins until the potatoes are slightly browned.

Chakkali

Chakkali is called Muruku in a few states. This a snack that is usually prepared during festivals. Crunchy and spicy this snack is a favorite of many.

Ingredients:
Rice flour - 3 cups
Dahlia flour - 1 cup (I usually grind it at home )
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Sesame seeds - 1 tsp
Ajwain (Carom seeds) - 1 tsp
salt to taste
a pinch of turmeric
oil - 1 tbsp
Water - 1 cup
Oil for frying

Procedure:
1. Take a cup of Dahlia grind it and sieve it.

2. Add rice flour to this.

3. Add the ajwain, chilli powder, sesame seeds, salt and turmeric.

4. Heat a tbsp of oil and add it to the above mix. Now add water and knead the dough.

5. Make small balls, small enough to fit in the chakkali press utensil

5. Cut few sheets of paper, and press the chakkalis onto it.

6. Take oil in a frying pan and heat it. Check if the oil is hot enough, put putting a small piece of dough. When oil is hot enough, add the pressed dough.

7. Fry them till they are golden brown and transfer to a bowl with a paper towel to drain the oil.

8. Continue the process with the rest of the dough. Enjoy the chakkalis. 

Bottlegourd Moong Dal Curry

I visited my friend in New York a few months ago. She made a curry by cooking beans and moong dal together. It was very tasty, and given that my husband loves Andhra food I had to take the recipe from her. One day as usual as while I was thinking of what to cook using bottlegourd, I decided to cook it the way my friend cooked beans. My family loved it and have been making it often since then.

Ingredients:
Bottlegourd: 1/2  finely chopped(The ones here in US are huge, 1/2 suffices for my family of four, I use the other half to make chutney, about which I will blog later)
Moong Dal: 1 cup
Medium sized onion: 1 cut length wise
Ginger Garlic paste: 1 tbsp
Corriander powder: 1 tsp
Green chillies: 2 finely chopped
Curry Leaves: 4-5 
Hing: 1/4th tsp
Oil: 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Turmeric powder: 1/2tsp

Procedure:
1. Pressure cook the moong dal and bottle gourd together.
2. In a pan, heat the oil. Add mustard and cumin seeds. When they start sputtering add curry leaves, green chillies, ginger garlic paste.
3. Now add the onions, and fry till they are transparent.
4. Add hint, corriander powder, turmeric powder and salt. Cook for a while.
5. Now add the bottle gourd and dal mix to this. Simmer for another 3 to 4 minutes.
Serve hot with rice or chapatis.

Doodh(Milk) Peda

Starting the blog with a sweet dish. And given that it is Deepavali (the festival of lights)tomorrow , it is very apt. This one is a quick microwave recipe.  It is easy and delicious, takes around 5 to 10 mins.

Ingredients:
Sweetened Condensed Milk: 14oz
Milk Powder: 2 and a 1/2 cup
Cardamom powder: less than 1/2 a tsp
few sprigs of saffron
unsalted butter: 1 tbsp

Procedure:
Add all the above ingredients and whip them together. I used a hand blender, to ensure that there are no lumps of milk powder.

Keep it in the microwave for 2 mins. Keep a watch to make sure that it doesn't overflow. After being heated it looks like this.

Let it cool down for a few minutes. It should be warm enough for you to handle. Mix it well once.

Make small balls while it is warm. If you find it hard to make the balls, add some more milk powder.

Make a design on top. Milk Pedas are ready.