Tiranga Pulav

I made this Tiranga Pulav today on the occasion of India's Independence Day. The basic idea is from a very old Tarla Dalal recipe book that belonged to my mom. The book used food color, but I decided to use veggies only.

Here's how I made it.

1.5 cups Basmati rice - washed and soaked for 1/2 hr.
1.5 tbsp olive oil
Whole spices - 3 bayleaves, 3 1/2 inch cinnamon sticks, 6 cardamon pods, 15 black peppers and 15 cloves (all to be used equally in the 3 colored-rice)
1 cup shredded carrots (I used store bought) - pureed with few tsp water
pinch of saffron soaked in 1 tbsp warm milk
1 cup spinach leaves - microwaved for 1 min., pureed
3 tsp salt (1/3rd for each colored rice) or to taste
1.5 tsp sugar (1/3rd for each colored rice) or to taste
3 tsp lemon juice (1/3rd for each colored rice)
2 tsp coriander cumin pws
1 tsp red chilli pwd
1 tsp garam masala pwd

White rice layer - Heat 1/2 tsbp oil, drop in 1/3rd of the whole spices mentioned above. Fry 1 min. Add 1/2 cup of the soaked rice and fry another min. Add 1 cup of water and bring to a rapid boil. Then lower heat to medium low, add the salt, sugar and lemon juice per taste and cover and cook till done (abt 10 mins). Add more water while cooking if necessary.

Orange rice layer - Heat 1/2 tsbp oil, drop in 1/3rd of the whole spices mentioned above. Fry 1 min. Add 1/2 cup of the soaked rice and the pureed carrot and fry 2 min. Add 1 cup of water and bring to a rapid boil. Then lower heat to medium low, add the salt, sugar, lemon juice, 1 tsp coriander-cumin pwd, 1/2 tsp red chilli pwd, 1/2 tsp garam masala. (Please adjust all seasonings per taste). Cover and cook till done (abt 10 mins). Add the saffron soaked in milk when rice is almost done. Fluff lightly with fork to mix.

Green rice layer - Heat 1/2 tsbp oil, drop in 1/3rd of the whole spices mentioned above. Fry 1 min. Add 1/2 cup of the soaked rice and the pureed spinach and fry 2 min. Add 1 cup of water and bring to a rapid boil. Then lower heat to medium low, add the salt, sugar, lemon juice, 1 tsp coriander-cumin pwd, 1/2 tsp red chilli pwd, 1/2 tsp garam masala. (Please adjust all seasonings per taste). Cover and cook till done (abt 10 mins).

To assemble - Rub some oil in a casserole. Spread the orange rice on top, followed by the white rice and the green rice. Press gently. Then place a plate over the casserole and upturn. The Tiranga Pulav should slide out easily.

This Tiranga Pulav goes to the Celebrating Independence Day - 2010 event at Akila's Kitchen.

Sprouts Quesadilla

I love Mexican food (vegetarian ofcourse) and especially Quesadillas. I have already posted my Bell Pepper Quesadillas and Zucchini-Corn Quesadillas. I saw a recipe in the Vegetarian Times magazine featuring sprouts as the filling and was quite intrigued. So I tweaked the recipe to spice it up a bit and was very pleased with the results.

Here's how I made them:

1 cup sprouted, boiled moong & matki sprouts

1 tomato - sliced vertically

1/4 onion - sliced vertically

1 tsp Lawry's Taco Seasoning or to taste

Pinch of salt to taste

Chopped cilantro

Few drops of Chipotle Peppers in Abodo Sauce (to add a smoky hot taste)

Store bought salsas - I used Costco's Mango Salsa and Trader Joes's Avocado Salsa Verde

Shredded Mexican Cheese blend

4 whole wheat tortillas

Mix the salt, taco seasoning and cilantro with the sprouts. To assemble the quesadillas, layer each half of the tortillas with the sprouts mix, top with sliced onions and tomatoes, cheese, salsas and few drops of the hot sauce.

Fold the tortillas over and cook on a non-stick pan with few drops of oil until lightly browned on both sides.

Serve the warm tortillas, cut in half with salsas, sour cream etc. These a quite flavorful and can be eaten just by themselves without any accompaniments.

Before I end this post, here are some pictures of how I prepare my sprouts.

Wash the moong, matki beans well and soak in pleanty of water overnight.

Next morning, they will have started sprouting. Wash well again in water and drain into a colander.

Cover the beans in the colander with a plate and place some heavy cans over the plate.

By next morning the sprouts are ready.

I usually make a big batch of them, pressure cook them (2 whistles) and freeze them in smaller bags. This comes in handy when I'm short on veggies.

These Sprouts Quesadillas are off to the Lets Sprout event and Priya's Easy N Tasty blog.

Tomato saar

This version of Tomato Saar is without onions or garlic and uses coconut milk. I usually make it during pujas or other festive occasions.

2 large tomatoes

1/2 cup coconut milk (can or fresh)

Salt to taste

1 tbsp jaggery/gul

For tempering - 1 tsp oil, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1/4 tsp cumin seeds, pinch of asafotida, 1/8th tsp turmeric pwd., 3-4 curry leaves torn

Chopped cilantro for garnish

Boil the tomatoes in water for 5 mins. Cool and blend with 1 cup of the water used for boiling. You can peel the tomato skin if desired before pureeing, but I use the whole tomato.

In a pot, make the tempering by heating the oil and dropping the mustard seeds. When they stop spluttering, add the cumin seeds, asafotida, turmeric pwd & curry leaves. Add the pureed tomato, salt and jaggery. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and add the coconut milk. Simmer for 5 mins. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Serve hot with masale bhaath, pulav etc.

This Tomato Saar goes to the Healing Foods - Tomato event at Seduce Your Tastebuds. This event was started by Siri.

Mango Agave Popsicles

I adapted this recipe from the Cooking Light magazine's Mango-Agave Sorbet which used tequila. I made a kiddie version, omitting the alcohol and setting them in popsicle moulds.

Here's how I made them:

1 cup mango pieces

1/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup agave nectar - adjust depending on sweetness desired

Blend all the ingredients and pour into popsicle moulds. Freeze for atleast 6 hrs.

These Mango-Agave Popsicles go to the Cold Desserts event at Torview.

 

Fruit salad

I always make my fruit salad this simple and tasty way.

2 6 oz. cups of vanilla flavor yogurt
1/2 cup milk
sugar (if required - I do not use additional sugar)
1/2 tsp cardamon pwd
About 2 cups chopped mixed fruits like apples, bananas, blueberries, strawberries, mango, oranges
Handful of nuts like walnuts/almonds/pistachios to garnish (optional)

Mix the yogurt, milk and cardamon pwd until well blended. Stir in the chopped fruits. Garnish with nuts. Chill until ready to serve.

This Fruit Salad goes to the Cold Desserts event at Torview.

Spiced Apple Walnut Cupcakes (Eggless)

I am always on the lookout for eggless cakes and found this recipe in the Vegan Family Cookbook. I was able to use up some apples lying around for a while and they turned out so delicious that they vanished in a day. Here's how I made them (makes 12 cupcakes) by tweaking the original recipe a bit:

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup plain flour

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon pwd

1/4 tsp nutmeg pwd

1/2 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp bkg pwd

1/2 cup olive oil

3/4 cup milk

1 apple - peeled, cored and grated

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Combine the first 8 dry ingredients in a glass bowl. Add the olive oil and mix well. Add the milk, mix. Stir in the grated apple and chopped walnuts. Put 2 tbsp of this mix into each cup of an oiled muffin pan. Bake in a pre-heated 375 F oven for about 20 mins.

Cool and remove the muffins. Enjoy as is or frost and decorate if desired (as done by my daughter in the pic above).

Vegetable Cutlets

I had leftover rice and mixed vegetables curry that I used in these cutlets. They are only slightly different from the ones I posted earlier.

1 cup cooked rice

1 cup frozen shredded hash browns

1 cup leftover dry veg. curry or finely chopped veggies like onions, bell peppers, cauliflower, peas, carrots, green beans etc.

Upto 1/4 cup fine rava/semolina to bind

Spices - 1 tsp ginger paste, 1/2 tsp garlic paste, 1 tsp cumin pwd, 1 tsp coriander pwd, 1 tsp chaat masala, 1/2 tsp red chilli pwd

Salt and sugar to taste

2 tbsp plain flour mixed in water to make a thin paste

Mix the cooked rice, hash browns (sprinkled with little water and microwaved for 3 - 4 mins.), veggies, spices, salt and sugar and rava. Shape into desired flat shapes like these heart-shaped ones I made using cookie cutters. Dip each in the flour-water mixture and shallow fry or deep fry in hot oil. I always shallow fry in a non-stick pan adding few spoons of oil at a time as needed.

Enjoy hot with chutney or kechup.

I just came across a couple of event announcements - these cutlets would fit the bill perfectly. Hence updating this post to send them to the Scrumptious Delights from Leftovers Event. and Lets Munch - Light Teatime Snack Event.