Bhopla and Baingan Bharta

I thought of combining red pumpkin (bhopla) with eggplant to make this bharit/bharta as I am always looking for ways to incorporate bhopla in our diet, given its health benefits. I try to make one item with red bhopla every week like - Pumpkin Curry, Squash Curry, Pasta Sauce or Gharge (sweet pumpkin puris). Since trying this combination bharit the first time, it has now become a regular feature for me.

Here's how I make the Bhopla and Baingan Bharta:

1 large eggplant
1 cup cooked mashed red pumpkin
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup finelt chopped tomatoes
handful of frozen green peas
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
1 tsp cumin pwd
1 tsp coriander pwd
1/4 tsp red chilli pwd
1/4 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp kitchen king masala
2 tbsp yogurt
Salt & sugar to taste
chopped cilantro to garnish

Make 4-5 lenght-wise slits in the eggplant, rub all over with little oil and roast in a 400F oven for 1 hour turning every 15 mins. I use a baking sheet covered with aluminium foil, to collect the eggplant juices and make clean-up easy. When the roasted eggplant cools enough to handle, peel off the skin. it should peel off easily at this point. Mash the eggplant pulp into little pieces with a knife.

The red pumpkin I buy from the Indian store in usually cut into large chunk. I chop it into smaller pieces, peel it and cook with very little water for about 15 mins on medium heat. It will soften very easily at this point and can be mashed with a fork.

To proceed with making the bharit, make the tempering by heating the oil, adding the cumin seeds & when they sizzle, adding the chopped onions. Fry the onions till softened, then add the ginger and paste paste. Fry 2 mins, then add the chopped tomatoes, coriander pwd, cumin pwd, red chilli pwd, garam masala pwd and kitchen king masala pwd. Stir well and cook on medium heat about 7 to 8 mins. Add the mashed eggplant and red pumpkin. Add salt and sugar to taste. Add the frozen peas. You can add a few drops of water to prevent burning, but remember the bharta/bharit is on the dry side, so don't add a lot of water. Cover and cook on medium heat for about 10 mins. Then add the yogurt and stir to mix well. Heat gently and take off the stove. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot.

Kande Pohe

Kande Pohe is a popular breakfast/snack dish. It is made with beaten/flattened rice (called pohe in Marathi). Though it is quick & easy to make, the tricky part for me is getting the right texture - the pohe should be neither too dry nor too mushy. After trying many techniques over the years, I have finally settled on this.

So here's how I make the Kande Pohe:

2 cups thick pohe (available in Indian stores)
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp asafoetida
1/4 tsp turmeric pwd
3 green chillies - chopped
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup frozen peas
handful of peanuts
chopped cilantro for garnish
shredded fresh coconut for garnish
lemon juice, salt and sugar - to taste

Take the pohe in a fine meshed colander and wash well under cold running water. Drain off the water and cover the colander with the soaked pohe in it with a plate.
Heat the oil in a kadai/wok, drop the mustard seeds. When they stop spluttering add the cumin seeds, asafoetida, turmeric pwd, green chillies and chopped onions. Fry on medium heat until onions soften nicely (abt 10 mins.), stirring occasionally. Fluff the wet pohe gently to break up any lumps and add to the kadai/wok. Add salt and sugar to taste. Add the frozen peas. Given it all a gentle stir, cover and cook for another 5 to 10 mins stirring gently in between.
Take off heat, add the lemon juice. Garnish with chopped cilantro, coconut and peanuts. Serve hot with lemon wedges on the side.
Goes very well with a cup of chai.

Tomato Chi Koshimbir

Tomato chi koshimbir is a family favorite, it features on every festive get-together menu of the Sahasrabudhes. I have to admit, it had slipped my mind until my dad reminded me recently. In the picture above, I have used juicy, flavorful Campari tomatoes from Costco.

Here's how I make it:

2 to 3 cups chopped tomatoes
1 tsp salt or to taste
2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp grated fresh coconut
2 to 3 tbsp roughly chopped roasted peanuts
Chopped cilantro for garnish
Tempering - 1 tbsp ghee, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 2 green chiles chopped

The method is really super simple. Mix all ingredients from tomatoes to peanuts. Make the tempering by heating the ghee and roasting the chiles and cumin in it till fragrant. Add to the tomato mixture. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Serve at room temperature. It goes well with varan-bhaath, masale bhaath, rotis and puris.

Chopped onions can also be added, but since this is usually made for festive occasions like Ganesh Chaturthi, we avoid adding onions.

Brussel Sprouts Stir-Fry

This is the first time in my life I bought, cooked and ate brussel sprouts. I had heard abt this veggie often enough, so when I saw a bunch at Trader Joe's, I decided to be adventurous and give it a try. Then I looked up some recipes on the web, and settled for a combination of sorts.

Here's how I prepped this Brussel Sprouts Stir Fry:

About 20 - 24 brussel sprouts - washed and quartered
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp panch phoron - this is a mix containing 5 ingredients (mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds and kalonji seeds)
1 cloved garlic - minced
Salt, Cumin pwd, coriander pwd, red chilli pwd - all to taste
Pinch of sugar
1 tsp lemon juice

Heat the oil in a wok, then add the panch phoron. When they sizzle, add the garlic and fry for a min. Add the brussel sprouts. Cover and cook on medium heat for 10 mins., stirring in between. Add the salt, sugar and spices. Cover and cook another 5 to 10 mins, till  the veggie softens. Take off heat and squeeze the lemon juice.

The verdict was overall good - hubby loved it, daughter too; I found it ok, good for a change but wasn't totally in love with it.

Tostada Pizza

I found this recipe on You Tube and have slightly adapted it. This is a great way to get kids and adults to eat their veggies.

For the base, I have used whole wheat pita bread. Any other flatbread or pizza base will also work.

For the "sauce" - I sauteed some finely chopped onions in little oil, followed by finely chopped green, red, orange and yellow bell peppers. Cooked these till slightly softened, but still crunchy. Then added some chopped garlic and sauteed another 2 mins. Added salsa and canned black beans (drained & rinsed) and some spices - cumin pwd, paprika, onion pwd and garlic pwd. Simmer till slightly thickened and mash with a potato masher. Mashing is optional, you can leave it as chunky as you prefer.

Other toppings I used - shredded Mexican cheese blend, shredded lettuce, crushed corn chips, red chilli flakes

To proceed - spread the sauce on the base and top with cheese. Bake at 400F for 5 to 10 mins till cheese melts and base turns golden brown. Once you get it out of the oven, put the other toppings - lettuce, pepper flakes, corn chips etc.

Cut into wedges and serve.

Healthy Halloween Snacks

Halloween is long gone, I did not get to post these snacks I had made that day...but better late than never. Saw these on the internet, they were so cute and easy. I simply had to make them, though I knew the kids (including my daughter) would go for the candies rather than these "healthy" snacks. But it gave me some satisfaction that they had some healthy stuff inside them before going treat-or-treating and stuffing themselves with the candies.

Carrot Witch Fingers with Sliced Almond Nails stuck on with a dab of cream cheese

Banana and drizzled white chocolate ghosts with raisins for eyes and mouth

Cheese stick Witch fingers with green bell pepper nails

Dahi Bhaath

This is my take on a much-loved recipe. Made this yesterday to have before N's Bharatnatyam performance. She was super excited and I was super nervous as it was my first time with all the traditional hair styling, make-up, jewelry and costume. This is a calming, soothing recipe. Before I get on to that, however, here is a picture of N with her teacher (and her teacher's daughter).

Here's how I made the Dahi Bhaath:

1 cup cooked rice
1 cup yogurt
Tempering - 2 tsp ghee, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1/4 tsp cumin seeds, 1/2 tsp udad dal, 1 green chilli - chopped, 1 dry red chilli - broken, 1/2 tsp grated ginger, few curry leaves
Salt & Sugar to taste
handful of grated carrots, finely chopped cucumber, chopped cilantro

Make the tempering and add to rice. Mix in the yogurt, salt, sugar, grated carrots, cucumbers and cilantro.

Serve with potato chips or papad, pickles etc.