My 100th POST!

I can't believe it-this is my 100th Post! I wanted it to be special, so I thought I'd post the entire "Dosa" process! I'm going to start by posting the pictures, then hopefully I can get my husband to sit with me and write the recipe!

According to Wikipedia, "Dosa is a South Indian crepe. This food, rich in carbohydrates and proteins, is a typical South Indian food taken as breakfast or dinner."

My husband was born and raised in Bangalore, India. His family enjoyed dosa frequently, so we are trying to keep that tradition with our family. As you can see, our daughters (well, here is Maya) love them!

The first part of the process is placing all of the different grains in a bowl to soak. We soak them for at least 24 hours.

We use chana dal, yellow moong dal, orange toor dal, brown rice, and basmati rice.

Once soaked, we grind them in our Cuisinart blender (does a great job!).

Add a little baking powder to the batter to give it a jump-start!

Let the batter sit on the counter to "rise". The longer it sits, the better it tastes!

Once the batter has risen and fermented a bit, you are ready to make the dosas! In a nonstick skillet, add about 1/4 cup of batter and work a spoon around it in a circular pattern. You want to be able to see the bottom of the skillet-it should be very thin. Add a bit of olive oil around the edges to prevent it from sticking. Once it's very dark on the edges (it will be almost reddish-color), it's time to flip. Here is what it looks like just prior to flipping. Be very careful to go around the edges while trying to flip.

The second side will only take a minute or so and then it's done!

We usually make a chutney to go with the dosa. Here is our Cilantro-Coconut Chutney...

So, there it is: My 100th Post! Here's to the next 100!

Chicken Tikka Masala

There are three words to describe this dish...OH MY GOSH. This was sooooo good I can't even begin to describe it.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Ingredients:

Chicken Pilau

We had friends over for dinner Saturday night. Jason & Rebecca love Indian food, so Anand made some of our favorites.

We had Chicken Pilau, Chicken Tikka Masala, Basmati Peas with Rice, and for dessert we had fresh berries with light whipped cream and a biscotti. It was a great meal! You may ask "but Nicole, I thought you were going vegetarian?". We are working towards that but are "cleaning out the freezer" first. Once the chicken is gone, it's gone. We have to decided that, for now at least, we will be eating seafood though.

So, without further adieu, here is the recipe for Chicken Pilau...

Chicken Pilau

Ingredients:

Indian Lentils

My husband had soaked some lentils and gave me the scoop on how to cook them. This was my first lentil dish, and I was pretty impressed-it was really, really great! This one will be a regular in our home.

Indian Lentils

Soak approximately 2 Cups of lentils for at least 6-8 hours (we soaked them in the morning before we left for work). Drain lentils-place in dutch oven and cover with water. Bring to a boil on stove top. Let boil until lentils are soft-add 1 can diced tomatoes at the end of cooking. Meanwhile, in a small saute pan, heat 2 T olive oil. When oil is hot, add 1 T Mustard seeds to pan and let crackle. Add 1 T Cumin seeds and 1 red chili. Carefully add this mixture to the lentils & their "broth". Add 1 T Tamarind paste, 1 T Brown Sugar, 3 T Sambar Mix, and salt to taste. Once mixed and seasoned to taste, add 2 T chopped Cilantro. Serve over brown rice.

Fish Curry

This was our Saturday night dinner-made by my husband (again)! He used Flounder, Indian spices, Curry Leaves, Fenugreek, and Cilantro. We served it over rice.

Fish Curry

In a saute pan over medium-high heat, add olive oil. When oil is hot, add 1 T mustard seeds until start crackling. Add 1 onion, diced and 3 T Garlic, minced, 1 tsp. Fenugreek leaves and saute a couple of minutes. Add fish seasoning mix (we used Shan), the juice from 1 can tomatoes, 2 T Tamarind paste, 3 C Water, and 1 tsp. Turmeric-simmer for approximately 20 minutes. Add 4 Flounder Filets (chopped into bite-sized pieces) and cook through at low heat.

Idli, Sambar & Vada

My wonderful husband got up early Saturday morning and made us a feast of Sambar, Idli & Vada-it was so good!

I'll get the recipes from him so I can post them! But, in the meantime, here are some more pictures!

First, the Idli:

Next, the Vada:

And finally, the Sambar:

Yum!

Butter Chicken

I was craving some Butter Chicken, so my wonderful hubby whipped it up for me. I will post the recipe as soon as I can get it from him...to be updated soon!

Thank you to the Mittals!

So, there is a man who was working on a project with Anand. One day, they were scheduled to have a meeting at 9:00 a.m.-Anand told him that he wouldn't be able to make it because he had to take "the twins" to daycare. Well, long story short, this man also has twin daughters!! They are 5 months older than our girls. He & his wife invited us over to their home for lunch and a playdate for our daughters today. We had a great time! The girls all got along great and the food was delicious! We had Butter Chicken, a kidney bean dish, homemade cheese curry, tossed salad, yogurt, and homemade chapathis. I even got a quick chapathi making lesson! Unfortunately, while Anand was holding Suri she pulled the placemat and a glass fell and broke (sorry guys). I promise I will post recipes as soon as I get them, but in the meantime here are some teaser pics!

Vegetable Curry with Punjabi Wadi

Tonight my husband wanted to cook and he decided to make a vegetable curry. He remembered that we had bought some Punjabi Wadi (see top picture) on our last trip to the Indian grocery store. We don't get there often as there aren't any here in Maine so whenever we visit our friends in New York (Dantu & Gowri), we stock up. Punjabi Wadi is a lentil & spice blend. It's hard as rocks, so you have to literally smash it up. I could hear Anand pounding the spice into bits-his weapon of choice?? A rolling pin! He placed the wadi in a ziploc bag and used the rolling pin to smash it up. The curry came out really nice! It was very tasty-lots of complex flavors-but not too spicy.

Ingredients/Directions:

Saute the crushed pieces of one or two wadi in olive oil until aromatic-set aside. Heat approximately 1 T of olive oil in saute pan. When oil is hot, add 1 tsp. mustard seed. When crackling, add 1 tsp. cumin seeds, curry leaves, 1 tsp. fenugreek leaves, and 2 or 3 whole red chilis. Add minced gingerroot, 1 diced onion, 4 cloves of minced garlic, 1 Cup frozen mixed vegetables, 3 chopped potatoes, 2 Cups Broth, 2 Cans Garbanzo Beans, and previously fried Wadi. Simmer for approximately 15-20 minutes. At the last 5 minutes of simmering, add 2 diced tomatillos and garnish with 2 T chopped cilantro.

Serve over Basmati Rice. Yum!

When you have a cold...

My husband & I are both fighting colds, so my friend Gowri told me we should drink some Kashaya. Anand followed Gowri's orders and whipped up a batch of Kashaya for us. Kashaya is a drink made of fresh gingerroot, coriander seeds, peppercorns, cumin seeds, water and turmeric. Boil the ingredients for approximately 15 minutes, strain and add a cup of milk and sugar to taste at the end. Drink up and feel better!

Tonight's Dinner

My husband grilled some chicken that he had marinated in Indian spices (what did you use honey?) and buttermilk. It came out really great! It didn't have enough spice for him, but I liked it! He also sauteed up some chickpeas in olive oil and rosemary-yum!

Oh yeah, and the girls had their first dal! They weren't sure about the texture, but seemed to like it!

Upma Done Right...

Andy decided to show me how it was really done since he wasn't too keen on my "new" version of upma. He used rava instead of cracked wheat, but the same recipe. Ok-I'll admit it. His version was better. I'm still thinking I may be onto something with the tamarind....

Indian Breakfast

This one is a favorite weekend breakfast in our home-it's a traditional South Indian breakfast dish. My husband is a "recipe in my head" kind of guy whereas I need everything written down. Well, I had gotten pretty good with this particular recipe, so I decided to "wing it" and see how I did. I did keep the recipe close by just in case. I thought I had everything lined up...
First, get the Indian spice container out and ready (check). Next, chop some red onions (check) and cilantro (check). Get the dried curry leaves ready (check).

Then, I glanced at the recipe for the heck of it, just to be sure I hadn't forgotten anything. I noticed that I had missed the turmeric. So, I grabbed it and added a spoon. The minute I added it I thought: "hmmm...that doesn't look like Turmeric. OMG-it's Tamarind". I added Tamarind instead of Turmeric (both t's, right??. So, I thought I would try to get it by Andy just to see if he noticed. I thought it might be a little tangy but shouldn't be too bad. He immediately noticed the color. So, I told him what I had done. Well, at least he got a good laugh and had fun telling his friend, Sadanand and his father. Thanks Honey! (and by the way, I ate 2 servings and thought it was pretty good, although a little tangy as anticipated).

So, here is the real recipe:

Cracked Wheat Upma

Toast approximately 1 Cup Cracked Wheat in a bit of olive oil and then set aside. Add a couple of rounds of EVOO in saute pan. When oil is hot, add 2 tsp mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds stop popping, add some chana dal, udad dal, cumin, curry leaves, and some green chilis. Add about an inch of ginger, 1 chopped carrot, 1 chopped onion, 1/2 Cup frozen peas and 1 tsp TURMERIC (not tamarind-ha!). Season with salt. When veggies are soft, add 2 Cups hot water and bring to a boil. When boiling, add the wheat and stir rapidly. Cover and turn heat to low. Simmer until water is absorbed. Garnish with cilantro.

The first picture is the finished product. The second one is Turmeric and the third is the Tamarind-I know, how the heck could I confuse those?? Just another day in the life...

In Memory of my Mother-In-Law

My husband's mother passed away on July 13 of this year. On August 13, we had a special puja (prayer ceremony) in honor of her. My husband made some of her favorite foods. I made a special tablescape using her favorite color, peacock blue. We set her picture out and had a nice dinner in her memory.

Aloo Gobi

Well, tonight I decided to try to make Aloo Gobi for my husband, Anand. He is from India, so loves to cook Indian dishes and I love to eat them. I am learning, but he has recipes in his head-I need them on paper! So, I write everything down while making the dishes with him. It came out really great!

Aloo Gobi

Wet masala: 1 Onion, chopped

1 Can Diced Tomatoes

1-2 T Grated Coconut

1 Clove

1 Red Chili

1 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Cinnamon

1/4 tsp. Turmeric

1/2 Inch Ginger

1 tsp. Curry Powder

4-5 Minced Garlic Cloves

1 tsp. Paprika

Add above ingredients to a blender. Blend on high until soupy consistency.

In a large saute pan, add 2 T EVOO over medium to high heat. Once hot, add approx. 1 T mustard seeds. Let the seeds "pop", then add 1 T cumin seeds, and a handful of curry leaves. Add 4 medium diced potatoes and 1 Cup of frozen peas. Cover & cook for five minutes, turning frequently. Add wet masala and enough water to cover the potatoes. When the water boils, turn heat to low and simmer until potatoes are almost tender. Add 1 head of cauliflower (broken into florets). Simmer approximately 10 minutes. Garnish with cilantro if desired (we happened to be out tonight). Serve over basmati rice. Enjoy!

Note: many of these ingredients can be found in an Indian Grocery Store.

On another note, I also made some mashed potatoes (the KitchenAid worked perfectly!) for our 7 month old twin daughters, Maya & Suri, tonight. It was their first "home-cooked food". They loved it, although Suri made some funny faces!