Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Masala pori (Spicy puffed rice)

This is a light and tasty snack for the times when your mouth feels jobless (this is a direct translation of the Tamil phrase "vaai chumma irukuthu") and wants something to munch on.

Masala pori (spicy puffed rice)
Masala Pori


Ingredients
Puffed rice (pori) 6-8 cups
12 big cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup peanuts, roasted without oil
1/2 cup fried gram (pottukadalai), roasted without oil
1/2 tsp turmeric
4 sprigs of curry leaves
12 dried red chillis, broken (do not discard the seeds)
Oil
Salt to taste

Method
1. Place a big pan on medium heat and add just enough oil to roast the red chilis and garlic.
2. Add the chilis and garlic and fry lightly till the garlic just begins to change color.
3. Add in the curry leaves and continue frying till the curry leaves turn crisp (do not let the garlic burn).
4. Add in salt, fried gram and peanuts. Mix well.
5. Add in the turmeric and fry for a couple of seconds (be careful, turmeric burns easily and tastes bitter when burnt).
6. Immediately start adding in the puffed rice a little at a time, mixing well after each addition.
7. When all the puffed rice has been added in, stirring every minute or so, continue heating on medium till the puffed rice has turned crispy and is coated well with the turmeric (you should be able to see the yellow tinge).
8. Adjust for salt.
9. Cool completely and store in an air-tight container. It will stay crisp for a couple of days.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Ginger apple cucumber salad

This recipe is adapted from here. Though the picture below does not look all that appealing, the salad was pretty tasty (and yeah, my usual refrain, healthy too). The lightly fried onion forms a wonderful contrast with the raw ingredients and the flavors come together nicely in your mouth.

Ginger apple cucumber salad


Ingredients (enough for two as a starter, or for one as the entree at lunch)

2 medium sized cucumbers, peeled
1 medium apple, peeled
1" ginger piece, grated
1 medium onion, sliced thin
1/2 tsp turmeric
2/3 tbsp vinegar diluted with 1/3 tbsp water
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted without oil
1.5 tsp sunflower oil (or any other flavorless oil)
Salt to taste

Method
1. Vertically cut the cucumbers into four pieces each. Deseed them and slice into thin pieces using a mandolin slicer or a knife. Do the same for the apple. Mix both and set aside in a bowl.
2. Add the grated ginger, honey and salt to the vinegar and mix well.
3. Add the above dressing to the cucumber and apple. Mix well. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
4. When ready to serve the salad, add the oil to a pan. add the onion and saute well till the onion starts to look cooked..
5. Now add in the turmeric and a little salt and continue sauteing the onion till the tips begin to change color. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
6. Remove the cucumber-apple mixture from the refrigerator and drain any accumulated liquid.
7. Mix the onion with the rest of the salad ingredients. Adjust for salt.
8. Top with the toasted sesame seeds and serve immediately.

Notes
1. You can substitute toasted sesame seeds with sliced almonds.
2. Raisins added in should also be good.

Friday, February 3, 2012

Stuffed Eggplant (Brinjal / Kathirikkai)

Here is a super-duper easy  version of stuffed eggplant:

http://kowthas.wordpress.com/2011/09/06/stuffed-eggplant-andhra-style/

All you need is the stuffing powder, a microwaveable dish and as many minutes as the number of egg-plants. Cool! Be very careful when you remove the clingwrap off your dish though - getting burns from the escaping steam is a very real possibility.

Raw Banana Stir fry

 This recipe is adapted from cookdtv. Ingredients 1 raw banana or 2 small bananas 2 tbsp sesame oil 1/2 tsp mustard 6 cloves crushed garlic ...