Changing Times…

These past few months have been quite an escapade for me. Exciting, tiresome, anticipative and even nervous. With the arrival of fall, I am not only looking forward to cooler temperatures and a pleasanter weather; but memories that are going to last a lifetime. Recently, this blog is experiencing a slow down, and this may continue for some more time. Because, in a few weeks time, my hands are going to be full. Quite literally :)

This Thanksgiving I will have another reason to be thankful for.

Mixed Sprouts Burger

Just as there are endless possibilities for making parathas (Indian stuffed flatbread), there are infinite ways one could make vegetarian burgers, while still keeping them unique, nutritious and tasty. I never get tired of trying new kinds of burgers. With simple ingredients on hand, its easy to put together one. Like I did with leftover sprouts.

Packed with a mighty nutritious punch, these burgers were very filling, but still moist and tasty. They are mildly spiced with Indian flavours; hence were served with fresh cucumbers, instead of pickles. I made a double batch and froze some for later use. They were god sent during our house move.

Mixed Sprouts Burger
(yields about 9 medium sized patties)

Ingredients

Mixed sprouts – 2 cups, cooked until soft (I have used chickpeas, moong and peas)
Grated onion – ¼ cup
Grated carrots – ½ cup
Baby spinach – 20 leaves, finely chopped
Cilantro – ¼ cup, finely chopped
Ground almonds – ¼ cup
Ground flax seeds/flax meal – 2 tbsp
Grated ginger – 1 tbsp
Garlic – 2 cloves, minced
Cumin powder – 1 tsp
Red pepper flakes – 1 tsp
Salt

Bread crumbs – ½ cup or as needed
Corn flour – 1 tbsp or as needed (1 egg can be substituted)
Oil

Method

Mash the cooked sprouts while they are warm, and add all the ingredients except bread crumbs, corn flour and oil. Mix gently until well combined. Depending on the moisture in the mix, start with ¼ cup of breadcrumbs and add more as needed. Finally add 1 tbsp (or more) of corn flour, to help the patties hold their shape. Refrigerate the mixture for at least 20 minutes.

When ready, shape them into equal sized patties. At this point, you can freeze them individually on a plate for 30 minutes, then double wrap in foil and store in the freezer for six weeks. When its time to serve, sear the patties on a hot griddle with a drizzle of oil. Serve on a burger bun with lettuce and tomato. Or, serve the patties by themselves with a side salad. They are quite filling.

Its been long since I participated in any of the ongoing blogging events. But I can very well send this in to My Legume Love Affair. This month’s edition is hosted by Sia of Monsoon Spice.

Dark Chocolate Cups With Raspberries

House shifting is a mammoth task. I speak from experience here. There is so much to be done before, during and after a move. If you are an organizing junkie like me, you will have more things on your plate. Its been a couple of weeks, and there are still boxes and stuff lying around the house. We both were exhausted thoroughly. Adding to our misery is the triple digit temperature and excessive heat warnings. I am so looking forward to fall.

As you can see, I have umpteen number of things to take care of. But before I get engrossed into that, I want to share with you a quick and easy dessert that I made last week. I am not saying that this is first of its kind, but I woke up with this image one morning. The image of chocolate cups, some berries and whipped cream. It was stuck to my head, and there was no other way but to try it. As I sat thinking on how to go about it, G couldn’t help but notice. He asked and I explained, hesitantly. ‘So, what do you think?’. ‘Dark chocolate and raspberries – That sounds delicious’, he said. And delicious it was. I loved the ease with which it came together, and he loved how delectable it was. So there we were, sitting on the floor amidst boxes, enjoying this lovely homemade dessert. A memorable moment and a much needed slowdown amidst this frenzy!

Dark Chocolate Cups With Raspberries
(makes 4)

Ingredients

Dark chocolate – 4 oz
Whipping cream – ¼ cup
White chocolate – 1 oz
Raspberries – 1 cup

Dark chocolate curls for garnish
Muffin liners – 4

Method

Line a muffin tin with muffin liners. Take the glass bowl that you are going to use for whipping the cream, and put in the freezer for 15 minutes. The cream whips and holds better.

Melt the dark chocolate in microwave for a minute, stirring once in between. The chocolate should be uniformly melted with a sheen. With a pastry brush, brush the insides of the muffin liners, coating thoroughly. It may be tricky at first, but you will get the hang of it. Freeze for 30 minutes. Take cups out, and give a second coat with the remaining chocolate. Return back to the freezer and freeze for 2 hours.

In a separate bowl, melt the white chocolate in the microwave for 30-40 seconds, stirring every 10 seconds. Take the frozen glass bowl from the freezer, and whip the cream until it forms hard peaks. To the melted white chocolate, add 1/3rd of the whipped cream. Gently fold the cream into the chocolate. The cream will deflate now, but will hold its shape during subsequent additions. Add the rest of the whipped cream to the chocolate mixture. Gently fold and do not mix vigorously. When it is combined, scoop the chocolate-cream mixture onto a pastry bag fitted with a nozzle of your choice, or onto a zip-top bag with a corner cut. Refrigerate this mixture for at least an hour.

The chocolate cups and the whipped cream-chocolate mixture can be made up to this point and stored in freezer and refrigerator respectively, for up to 5 days. When you are ready to serve, set the chocolate cups on the countertop for 5 minutes. This makes the peeling of the muffin liner easy. Once the liner is peeled, set on the serving plate. Fill the bottom with whipped cream-chocolate, top with raspberries, and finish off with another swirl of whipped cream-chocolate. Garnish with dark chocolate curls, if desired.

Variations

• Swap the white and dark chocolates. Make white chocolate cups with dark chocolate-cream, with a hint of orange zest.
• Use plain ole’ whipped cream from a can.
• Use mixed berries instead of just raspberries.

Its summer and berries are abundant. Do you folks have any suggestions for enjoying this dessert over fall and winter? Otherwise I just have to make this with just chocolate whipped cream. Not that I am complaining ;).

Quinoa And Summer Fruit Salad

Summer in the blazing hot desert. Do I even have to elucidate anymore? Its been 110F+ for the past 10 days. We are now like vampires; the curtains are always shut to block day light and we go out only after the sun goes down. Yesterday, I didn’t even want to set foot in the kitchen. So, with ingredients on hand, I tossed a salad that was quick, easy, and refreshing.

Succulent seasonal fruits, nutty quinoa and a light-sweet dressing – a perfect summer salad. Just the thing I needed. As if agreeing with me, the rain gods showed mercy upon us last night. Today was a cool 106F. I will take anything below 110.

Quinoa And Summer Fruit Salad
(serves 2)

Ingredients

Quinoa – 1 cup
Fruits – 2 to 3 cups, cubed
(I have used nectarines, apricots, strawberries, red grapes, green grapes. Apples, any berries or any stone fruits can also be used)
Pecans or walnuts – ½ cup, roasted and chopped
Scallion – 1, chopped, green parts only

Dressing

Juice and zest of a large lemon
Honey or agave nectar – 1 tbsp
Olive oil – 1 tbsp
Salt

Whisk everything together until blended completely.

Method

Cook quinoa as you normally would. I usually pressure cook 1 cup of quinoa with 1¼ of water for 2 whistles. Fluff and cool completely. Toss quinoa with the dressing, nuts, fruits and scallions. Enjoy cold or at room temperature!

Variations

• Use other grains in place of quinoa. I have made a similar salad with wild rice mix.
• Instead of mixed fruits, use cantaloupe, green grapes and fresh mint.
• Try orange juice and zest instead of lemon.
• Loose the dressing, and enjoy with low fat yogurt for a satisfying breakfast.
  

Pavakkai Sadam – Spiced Bittergourd Rice

There are few standard bittergourd recipes that we enjoy year round. Pitlai is a family favourite, followed by oven baked chips. This time G asked for something different. ‘Why don’t you just do a sauté or a simple curry?’, he asked. Very well. The recipe he was mentioning was an old one that my mom makes often. The gourd is cooked and lightly seasoned with mustard seeds, urad dal and chana dal.

When I set to prepare the curry, I thought why not make this into a mixed rice. I haven’t seen bittergourd rice around, so why not extend this curry idea into rice? So I concocted a little spice mixture and prepared this curry. We Loved it (yes, with a capital L). This is definitely a keeper.

One technique that I adopted from the curry is to cook the bittergourd in tamarind water to tame its bitterness. Also, 6 red chillies may sound hot, but it is needed to compensate for the bitterness, along with tamarind and jaggery. Enjoy this slightly bitter and lightly spiced rice with cool raita.

Pavakkai Sadam – Spiced Bittergourd Rice
(serves 2)

Rice – 1 cup
Bittergourd – 8, about 6 inches long
Turmeric powder – 1 tsp, divided
Tamarind paste – 1 tbsp, divided
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Curry leaves – a few
Jaggery – 1 to 2 tsp
Salt
Oil

Spice Mixture

Urad dal – 1 tbsp
Bengal gram – 1 tbsp
Coriander seeds – 1 tbsp
Dried red chillies – 6 to 8
Cardamom – 1
Clove – 1
Cinnamon – ½ inch piece

Method

Cook rice with 3 cups of water and ¼ tsp of turmeric powder. Adding turmeric powder gives a golden hue to the finished recipe, which may otherwise be a dull brown. The rice grains should be separate after cooking. Fluff and cool. Cut the bittergourd into half moon rings. If the seeds are very tough and mature, scrape and discard. Otherwise retain the seeds; they add a mild crunch to the rice.

In a wide, deep skillet, roast the ingredients for the spice mixture in a tsp of oil. Cool and grind to a fine powder. In the same skillet, boil bittergourd in 2 cups of water along with salt, turmeric powder and ½ tbsp of tamarind paste. When the gourd has turned soft (but not mushy), drain and discard the liquid.

Return the skillet back to heat. In a tbsp of oil, splutter mustard seeds and roast curry leaves. Add the cooked bittergourd, along with ½ tsp of turmeric powder, jaggery and rest of the tamarind paste. On a medium fire, gently roast the gourd. When they start to caramelize, add the spice powder, rice and salt. Mix thoroughly and heat through. If the rice seem very dry, drizzle a tsp of oil. Check for seasoning and serve hot with raita and chips.

Pavakkai sadam with cucumber+tomato+cilantro raita

The Last Slice...

...waiting to be devoured. A weekend well spent.

Recipe - Hershey's 'perfectly chocolate' chocolate cake.

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.

Back at home, when I had the time to patiently flip the pages, vegetarian phyllo pizza caught my attention. A pizza in 20 minutes? Sounds easy. I had to give it a try. And try I did with great results. We were treated with a light and flaky pizza, that we totally loved. Will it replace a traditional pizza in my kitchen? Definitely not. Its not like your usual pizza with chewy crust. But this is definitely a fun idea that’s worth a try. I will definitely make this often for a quick snack or a tasty side.

I have tweaked the original recipe by replacing butter with garlic flavoured olive oil. After being smitten with pepper jack cheese on a pizza, I seldom make pizzas any other way. Sorry mozzarella, you have to take a back seat. You can also add a variety of toppings, provided they don’t mush the phyllo crust.

Vegetarian Phyllo Pizza
(serves 2 as a side or snack)

Ingredients

Phyllo 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
Pepper

Method

Preheat 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.

I served mine with orzo salad loaded with tomatoes, olives and tons of fresh herbs. A delicious lunch that we enjoyed very much.