The Last Slice...
...waiting to be devoured. A weekend well spent.
Vegetarian Phyllo Pizza
A cook can never have too many cookbooks. My bookcase somehow seem to grow and have room for good cookbooks. Vegetarian Meals Good Housekeeping Favorite Recipes is one such cookbook. It is filled with recipes that are quick, easy and fun. A good find, considering that I picked this book in a rush without flipping even a single page, from my local library.
(serves 2 as a side or snack)IngredientsPhyllo sheets – 6
Olive oil – 2 tbsp
Garlic – 1 small clove, fine grated
Cherry tomatoes, yellow and/or red – 20-25, halved
Pepper jack cheese – ½ cup, shredded
Dried oregano – 1 tsp
Parmesan – 2 tbsp, shredded
Salt
PepperMethodPreheat the oven to 450F. In a small bowl, combine olive oil and garlic. Mix well and set aside.Line a baking pan with parchment paper (I used a 9x12 pan). Lay 2 phyllo sheets on the parchment paper. Brush with olive oil + garlic mixture. Repeat twice to finish layering all 6 sheets. Brush the top with remaining oil mixture. Evenly spread pepper jack cheese and tomatoes. Sprinkle with oregano, salt and pepper. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Serve warm.
Getting Back…
Caught in the whirlwind called life, with all its glorious twists and turns, I had kept myself from blogging longer than anticipated. An impending house shift in a month’s time is not helping either. To say that I didn’t enjoy this time off would be a lie. Other interests, both old and new, took precedence, keeping me occupied. But, last week, when I was packing my blog props in the moving boxes, I realized I do miss blogging. The excitement of stumbling upon a new recipe, the joy of capturing it in a perfect click, and the delight of sharing it with others, is definitely absent now. ‘I will return to blogging after the move, when all this hustle and bustle is over’, I said to myself. But when is life not chaotic? There is always one thing or the other happening. Just like the Tamil proverb that my mom often quotes, ‘If one waits for the tides to subside, he may never bathe in the ocean’.
With those words of wisdom, I have impelled myself to return to blogging. Not that thousands of food enthusiasts are cheering for my comeback (wouldn’t that be nice). But this blog is my virtual kitchen, and I refuse to neglect it. Some of you were kind enough to check upon me, while I was away. I thank you and all the others for patiently waiting during my period of silence.
(makes 4 to 6 servings)IngredientsWatermelon cubes – 3 cups
Ripe tomato – 1
Ginger – 1 inch, peeled and chopped
Juice of half a lemonMethodBlend the first 3 ingredients smoothly. Strain, and mix the lemon juice. Refrigerate and enjoy within a week. Serve chilled.
Tasty Palettes Turns Two
I have been MIA for the past two weeks. But today is a special day and I cannot resist a peek into this web space that has become my virtual kitchen. My blog turns two today. Two years back, I wouldn’t have believed that this blog would become an integral part of my life. But, it is today.
Black Bean Tortilla Soup
(serves 2)IngredientsOil – 2 tsp
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Onion – ½ cup, diced
Carrot – ½ cup, diced
Celery – 2 ribs, chopped
Garlic – 2 cloves, chopped fine
Tomato – ½ cup, diced
Corn tortilla – 3 or 4, cut into strips
Ancho chilli – 1
Red chilli powder – ¼ - ½ tsp
Better than boullion – 1 tsp or use 1 cup of vegetable stock
Black bean – 2 cups, cooked until soft
Cilantro – ¼ cup, chopped
Salt
PepperLime wedges – to serve
Tortilla chips – to serve, if desired MethodSoak ancho chili in hot water for 20 minutes. Once it is soft, puree with the soaking water until smooth. Reserve.In a soup pot, heat oil, roast cumin seeds. Add onion, carrot, celery, garlic, and sauté for a couple of minutes. Add chopped tomato, corn tortilla strips, pureed Ancho chili, stock, and salt and bring to a brisk boil. Add the cooked black beans, red chilli powder and 1 cup of water. Cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes. If you have a stick blender, partially puree the soup right in the soup pot, so that it remains chunky. Or else, in a blender, puree 1 cup of cooled soup, and add back to the soup pot. This gives the soup its creamy texture. Of course, if you want it chunky all the way, ignore this step. Check for seasoning, and serve hot with lime wedges, tortilla strips and corn muffins.
Spicy Corn Muffins
Creamy black bean soup was on the menu last night, creamy and very tasty. It was almost dinner time, but, I was in the mood for corn bread. Takes long to cook…hmmm…I will cook them in muffin molds to cut back on the cooking time, I thought to myself. A little bit of this and that, and these muffins were done in no time. I made only 6 (2 for the master, 2 for the dame, 2 for…er… the dame again for snacking), not wanting to have too many leftovers. I made 3 of ‘em with marinated feta, which added a sharp, but subtle punch to the muffins. We loved both versions.
(yields 6 medium ones)IngredientsCornmeal – 1/3 cup
All purpose flour – 1/3 cup
Baking powder – 1 tsp
Salt – a pinch
Egg – 1, small
Vegetable or canola oil – 2 tbsp
Yogurt – 1/3 cup
Sugar – 1½ tbsp
Corn – ¼ cup, fresh or frozen
Scallion/green onion or Cilantro – ¼ cup, chopped
Red pepper flakes – 1 tsp, more if desired
Marinated feta or goat cheese – ¼ cup, crumbled (optional)MethodPreheat oven to 375F. Line 6 holes in a medium muffin pan with paper liner.In a larger bowl, mix the first four ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk the next four ingredients until mixed well. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture. Mix gently until just combined. Finally, mix in corn, scallion or cilantro, red pepper flakes and feta (if using), to form a uniform mixture. Take care not to over mix. Pour into the prepared muffin molds, bake for 18-20 minutes until firm. Serve warm or at room temperature with soup or salad.
Karadayan Nonbu Adai
Apart from Deepavali and Pongal, the Tamil lunar calendar is dotted with many small scale festivals. Each one of them, with a mythological story behind, is celebrated with specific rites. More importantly, they have their own menu. Some of these menus are time consuming, that they are seldom done a second time in the same year. As a kid, I associated these festivals only through food. The rituals didn’t seem to be of much importance to me. But, as a teenager, I slowly learnt some of these recipes from my mom. She would take me through every step of the preparation, like explaining the different stages of sugar syrup, making a perfect kozhukattai (rice flour dumplings with coconut filling), or shaping a vada. She would also recite the stories and meanings behind the rituals that we perform, giving insights into the Hindu mythology. Not to mention the gossip and giggles we shared. I was a kid with lots of questions, she used to say. Partly curious and partly sceptic. My silly questions and her thoughtful answers is the reason why I know what I know today. These festivities are some of the best bonding moments we had. Thanks Amma!
(Characters: Girl – Savirtri, Guy – Satyavan, Lord of Death – Yama. Full story here.)This nonbu (pronounced no-n-bu, Tamil for fasting) is observed during the first hour of the Tamil month Panguni, which occurs mid-March. The prescribed menu – sweet and savoury adai (steamed rice patty), served with a dab of butter. The rice flour is prepared at home, which makes the adai moist enough. You can also make this with store-bought rice flour. Make sure to use less water in that case.Making rice flour at homeSoak 1¾ cups of rice for an hour. Drain and spread on a clean, cotton kitchen towel, and let it dry under shade. When it is almost dry, grind into a fine powder in batches. I find that Indian mixers do a good job than food processors. A good coffee grinder may do the job too. Roast the flour in a dry skillet, until the flour is heated through. You don’t have to wait for it to change color, but you should be able to smell the aroma of rice. Let cool, sieve and use in the recipe. This flour can be prepared in advance and stored in air-tight container. This will yield 2 cups of rice flour.
(makes 14)IngredientsRice flour, prepared as mentioned above – 1 cup
Jaggery – 1 cup
Water – 2 ½ cups
Black eye peas/Karamani – 2 tbsp, dry roasted and cooked till soft
Coconut – ¼ cup, cut into small pieces (optional)
Ground cardamom – ¼ tsp
Banana leaves or Sesame/gingelly oil – for lining/greasing the platesMethodOver medium heat, dissolve jaggery in water. When it comes to a boil, add black-eye peas and coconut. Add rice flour slowly, while whisking briskly with the other hand. If there are lumps, keep stirring until they are gone. Cook until the mixture forms into a ball and pulls away from the sides of the pan. Let cool just until warm. With moist palm and fingertips, take ¼ cup of this mixture, shape into a patty, about ¼-inch thick. With your index finger, make a hole in the center. Arrange the patties on idly plates (or bamboo steamer) without overlapping. You can line the plates with banana leaves, if available. Otherwise, generously grease the plates with sesame oil. Steam cook for 10 minutes.
(makes 13)IngredientsRice flour, prepared as mentioned above – 1 cup
Water – 2 cups
Black eye peas – 2 tbsp, dry roasted and cooked till soft
Coconut – ¼ cup, cut into small pieces (optional)
Salt
Banana leaves or Sesame/gingelly oil – for lining/greasing the plates
SeasoningOil – 1 tsp
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Ginger – 1 tsp, finely chopped
Fresh green chilli – 1, chopped, seeded if desired
Asafoetida – a pinch
Curry leaves – 5 or 6, tornMethodOver medium heat, heat oil, and add the ingredients given under seasoning, in the same order. Once they are toasty, add water and let it come to a boil. Add black-eye peas, coconut and salt. Stream in the rice flour while simultaneously whisking with the other hand. Cook until the mixture forms into a ball and pulls away from the sides. Shape and steam as mentioned above.
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