Poblano Cilantro Hummus

Being vegetarians and on-and-off vegans, hummus has its permanent place in our diet. Its healthy, creamy and downright tasty. Hummus can be as versatile as a dal. The flavours are limited only by one’s imaginations. Check this article for ideas.

Instead of the usual jalapeno, I swapped a poblano that was lying in the fridge. Next time around I added a banana pepper too. Both versions were super-duper hits. I usually use my blender for making an airy, smooth hummus. I also skip adding olive oil for a low-fat version. My next trial would be to use different nut butters. Although peanut butter sounds great, I am thinking cashew butter. Lets see how that turns out.

Poblano Cilantro Hummus
(makes 2 cups)

Ingredients

Dried chickpeas – ¾ cup (about 2½ cups when cooked. Canned is ok)
Poblano pepper – 1
Banana pepper/yellow pepper – 1 (optional)
Garlic – 1 clove, smashed
Tahini – 1 tbsp
Cilantro – 1 packed cup, stems included
Juice of a lemon
Salt

Method

Soak the chickpeas overnight and cook until soft. If using canned, drain the liquid and rinse the beans. Roast the poblano pepper and the banana pepper (if using) over a flame. Alternatively, broil the peppers, rotating to get an even char. Keep the pepper in a tight container. The trapped steam will make peeling the peppers easier. Let cool, peel and remove the seeds. In a blender add all the ingredients and blend until smooth, adding water as needed. Serve as a dip, spread or dollop over soup or salad.

Generously spread hummus for a guilt free burger

This goes to the 26th edition Susan's super successful event My Legume Love Affair, hosted by Simona of Briciole.

Fig - Red Onion Confit

I was in the mood for a three course meal the other day. Cornmeal crusted mini-tarts, store-bought mango sorbet (made with alphonso, I can’t get enough of this stuff. Its always in my freezer) were on the menu. I still wanted something to nibble, for starters. Inspired from a meal at Café Flora, I made this onion confit. What’s better? It can be served at room temperature. That is a rule of thumb I follow for entertaining, even its for just the two of us. One make-ahead course, one course to be enjoyed hot and for the other course , a little help from the store. The order doesn’t really matter, but it takes the pressure out of entertaining.

I have used aged, thick and syrupy balsamic vinegar, which is added toward the end. For the price you pay, it’s a crime to boil aged balsamic vinegar, IMO. But if you have the regular kind, go ahead and use it. But add 5 minutes before finishing the dish, to let it boil and reduce. I have also used fig preserves that I found at my local market. But if you can’t find it, soak dry figs in hot water, grind to a smooth paste along with sugar and use in the recipe.

Fig-Red Onion Confit
(makes about 1½ cups)

Ingredients

Red onion – about 3 cups, thinly sliced
Sugar – 1 tbsp
Salt – as needed
Pepper – few cracks
Fig preserves – 3 tbsp
Thick, aged balsamic vinegar – 3 tbsp
Oil – a splash

Method

In a skillet, heat oil over medium-low heat. Add onions, sugar, salt and pepper and cook the onions for about 15 minutes, stirring in between. If they get stuck to the bottom of the pan, sprinkle a tbsp or two of water, vigorously shake and deglaze the pan and continue cooking. Once the onions turn soft and brown, add fig preserves and balsamic vinegar. Remove from heat, mix thoroughly, let cool in the pan and serve cold or at room temperature.

I served the confit in a platter along with olives, capers, toasts and tofutti. Tofutti is cholesterol-free and is as good as its dairy counterpart. It’s a standard spread for my sandwiches. We also enjoyed it cold, on plain toast with coffee, the next day. This is my entry to Heart of the Matter – Finger Foods. HOTM celebrates its second anniversary.

Marinated Feta

What a way to infuse flavor into spoilt milk.. ahem.. cheese? It quickly caught my attention when the uber-talented and famous David Lebovitz posted it. The idea was as delightful as his blog. As simple as it may sound, the tangy feta mellows down after soaking in the fruity olive oil. The herbs add a nice touch and so do the chillies. I too refrained from using garlic due to ill effects as mentioned in his post.

Here's the method. Feel free to be creative.

• Feta cheese cut into cubes
• Any fresh herbs like thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, basil, etc
• Whole or crushed black peppercorns, and/or slit red chillies, and/or red pepper flakes
• Good quality olive oil

In a clean, non-reactive bowl/jar, stack the feta cubes. Throw in herbs and pepper in between the cheese layers. Fill with olive oil, cover the jar and leave it in the fridge for a few days , to let the flavours develop.

Marinated feta on toasted focaccia

It is plainly divine as such, slathered on a crostini(fancy talk for a thin toast), or as a spread for your favourite sandwich (like I did with this omelet sandwich for lunch today). Kevin adds roasted red peppers and olives to his mixture. Sounds delicious. I will definitely do that next time.

Spiced Cherry Sauce

Spiced cherry sauce has been in my bookmarks ever since I saw it at Bloodsugar, Graeme’s gorgeous blog. Captured beautifully through his lens, the recipe is quite tempting, that I tried it first thing this Summer, with two variations.

Recently, I have been hooked on to Grains of paradise, a West African spice that has a mild peppery flavour. To me it tastes toasty with ginger and cardamom undertones. I grind some on top of pulao, raita, fruits and even ice cream. And my fondness towards it only seems to grow. In this recipe, I substituted black pepper with grains of paradise.

I also made the sauce in microwave oven in under 4 minutes. For a quick sauce like this, it was very tasty. Thank you Graeme, we really liked it.

Spiced Cherry Sauce
(serves 2)

Ingredients

Cherries – 1 cup, pitted and halved
White wine (I used Pinot Grigio) – ¼ cup
Sugar – 1 tbsp
Lime zest – ¼ tsp
Grains of paradise or black pepper – ¼ tsp, cracked
Corn flour – 1 tbsp
Water – ¼ cup

Method

Note: Microwave times may vary depending on the appliance.

Take cherries, wine, sugar and zest in a glass bowl, and microwave for 2 minutes, stirring after every 30 seconds. Add grains of paradise or black pepper, mix. Whisk corn flour in water and add to the cherry mixture. Microwave for 2 minutes, stirring after every 30 seconds. Let rest for a minute and serve warm over ice cream. We had ours topped with crushed amaretti cookies (Italian almond cookies).

This is my entry to Monthly Blog Patrol, an event started by Coffee. This month, Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen is guest hosting the event themed on fruits. This is also my entry to Think Spice, conceived and hosted by Sunita of Sunita’s World. This popular event has turned one this month.

Three Potato Soup With Rouille

A Beautiful Bowl Of Soup by Paulette Mitchell is one of the cookbooks I refer to regularly. This book is a collection of amazing soups that fit all seasons. Chunky or creamy, dumplings or dessert, hot or cold, this book has it all. The recipes call for simple ingredients, which when put together in a single pot, works like magic. Well, that’s what soups are, one pot wonders.

I set out to try a soup from this book, which interestingly calls for three types of potatoes. But what drew me toward this recipe was the topping – Rouille. A sauce, which means rust in French, is typically served with fish soup or Bouillabaisse. It is made with breadcrumbs and saffron or red pepper for colour. I was bowled over by how creamy it was. If you like aioli, then this sauce (more of a paste) is a must try. The fresh garlic explodes once it touches the hot broth and the sauce melts turning the soup chunky to slightly creamy. Rouille is as tasty and creamy as aioli, but without the calories from mayonnaise.

Rouille

Ingredients

Bread crumbs – ¼ cup
Roasted red pepper – ¼ cup
Extra virgin olive oil – 2 tbsp
Fresh red chilli – 1, minced
Lemon juice – 2 tsp
Capers – 1 tsp
Garlic – 1 clove
Salt

Method

Take bread crumbs in a bowl and sprinkle a tbsp of water. You can also use the water from the jarred roasted bell pepper. Mix well, until it is crumbly and not soggy. Blend the crumbs with the rest of the ingredients given above, without adding extra water. Blend till smooth and set aside to allow the flavours to blend.

Soup

Ingredients

Yukon gold potato – 1, ½ inch dice
Red potato – 1, ½ inch dice
Sweet potato – 1, ½ inch dice
Onion – 1, chopped
Garlic – 2 cloves, minced
Saffron – ¼ tsp, crushed
Better than bouillon – 1 tbsp or 1 bouillon cube
Tomato – 2, chopped
Carrot – 1, ½ inch dice
Green chilli – 2, slit lengthwise
Chinese celery or Celery + Parsley/Cilantro – ½ cup, finely chopped
Oil – 1 tbsp
Salt

Method

Soak saffron threads in a tbsp of hot water. In a large pot, heat oil, and sauté onion and garlic, until soft. Add all the other ingredients except Chinese celery along with 4 cups of water. If using celery, add now, but reserve parsley for garnish.

Cover and let the pot simmer for about 15 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Remove green chillies, stir in Chinese celery or parsley, and check for seasoning.

To serve, ladle the soup into a bowl and dollop rouille on top.

This is my entry to Potato Fe(a)st, hosted by Dhivya Karthik of Culinary Bazaar. This bowl also goes to No Croutons Required hosted by Lisa at Lisa's Kitchen and Holler at Tinned Tomatoes. No Croutons Required is a new monthly soup and salad challenge.

Tassajara Cookbook

Tassajara (pronounced Tass-a-haara) Zen Mountain Center is a Japanese Buddhist Zen monastery located near Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. The center rigorously practices Zen principles and is open for public for a few months in a year. Tassajara is famous for its vegetarian cuisine and has so far released three cookbooks as found here.

I have never been to this Zen center, but one day I wish to. The photos in the book reached out to my soul bringing serenity and tranquility, true to the institution’s name. If you have visited this center, I would like to hear more from you.

Now, I have never been to this Zen center, then how did I come to know of it? This book was a thoughtful gift from our friend M, who happened to be at the Zen center, while the author was signing copies. M, Thank you so much for bestowing me with this wonderful gift. I will make the best use of it.

The book, named “Tassajara Cookbook, lunches, picnics and appetizers", includes an array of spreads, pates, sandwiches, chutneys, salads, dressings, pickles, relishes, cookies and sweets. It focuses on pack-n-go meals, than entrées. And best of all, half the recipes are vegan. As if these incentives aren’t enough, the book, apart from eye-popping pictures, has Zen teachings here and there.

The recipe I chose to prepare from this book is “Sun-dried Tomato Pesto with Walnuts”, because of its simplicity. The recipe as such doesn’t call for any cheese and I find it quite convenient.

Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Ingredients

Sun-dried tomatoes – ½ cup
Walnuts – ¼ cup
Garlic – 1 clove
Lemon juice – 2 to 4 tbsp
Extra virgin olive oil – 4 tbsp
Mixed herbs – 2 tbsp (basil, oregano, dill)
Salt

Method

Simmer the sun-dried tomatoes until soft. Alternately, you can steam the tomatoes with ¼ cup of water for about 15 minutes. Pulse all the ingredients, in a food processor, until smooth.

Sun-dried tomato and Walnut Pesto over roasted squash

Refrigerate this in an airtight container with the surface covered by a thin layer of oil. This stays good for at least 6 weeks. With this pesto on hand, the possibilities are endless.

1. Serve with grilled vegetables, like squash and potatoes
2. Spread on a crostini or toast with goat cheese.
3. Combine pesto with chopped basil and parmesan and toss with hot pasta.
4. Serve with pizza.
5. Combine pesto with mayonnaise or cream cheese and spread on bread to make favourite sandwich.

I have showcased the book well enough for Nag’s Show and Tell. This is my entry for Waiter! There’s something in my… Savoury Preserve, hosted by Johanna of The Passionate Cook.

Orange Butter

Flavouring butter is a fun thing to do, if you haven’t tried yet. Depending upon my mood, I sometimes flavour them savoury by mincing together a green chilli, mint and coriander and mixing it with salted butter or butter spread. However its the sweet variety that I have a lot of fun with. Any fruit preserve + unsalted butter = fruit flavoured butter.

My favourite flavour is orange and mango comes to a close second. Using marmalade instead of fruit jelly/jam gives an interesting dimension, every time you bite into the fruit bits. Also, the orange marmalade I use, which I buy from Trader Joe’s, is slightly bitter, cutting into the richness of the butter.

Ingredients

Orange marmalade – 2 tbsp
Unsalted butter – 4 tbsp

Method

Allow the butter to come to room temperature. Take them both in a medium sized bowl and beat with an electric beater for 2 minutes, until they are well combined and fluffy. Transfer to a small airtight container and enjoy with your favourite bread.

I enjoyed mine with Cranberry-Blueberry bread, which was the bread of the month, from a nearby bakery. A daring baker like Meeta, may be smart enough to cajole the baker to give away the recipe and try at home. But, me, I am just a happy customer who bought this bread thrice last month :).

On a separate note, its recognition time. First it was Manisha, now it is Bharathy, Prema, Srivalli and Viji. Thanks to these bloggers, I was honoured with these awards.

In addition to recognizing fellow bloggers work, these awards also shows we care. Thanking these bloggers for honouring me, I am passing them to others. I know most of you have been recognized, so here are a few that I am passing on to. If you have already received this award, then you deserve it more than once.

Thoughtful blogger – Indira, Arundati, Susan, Menu Today, Nupur, Nandita, Trupti.

Power of Schmooze – Priya, Sandeepa, Shyamala.

Rockin’ Girl Blogger – ISG, Shn, Smita.

Since Bee has rightfully modified the Rockin’ Girl Blogger to suit guys too, the Rockin' Guy Blogger award goes to Jai and Anthony.

Puli Milagai – Tamarind Chilli

When Nandita announced this month’s ingredient for JFI, I decided to submit this childhood favourite of mine – Puli Milagai. Spicy green chillies are simmered in tamarind with, surprisingly, very few spices. Don’t be alarmed by the amount of chilli in the recipe, after all, it is the star of the recipe. The recipe is put together with ingredients that takes care of the spiciness leaving you with mildly spicy and tangy sauce with a hint of sweetness from the jaggery.

A word of caution if you are preparing a chilli dish for the first time. Open all the windows before you set out to prepare this dish. If your kitchen is well ventilated, you can sauté the chillies for 3 more minutes and then simmer in the tamarind sauce which reduces the overall cooking time. If not, as in my case, sauté no more than a minute, else it is very difficult to get rid of the spicy fumes trapped inside. This cooking time is compensated by simmering longer in the tamarind sauce. Also, don’t forget to use gloves while handling chillies. Now, don’t tell me I didn’t warn you.

Ingredients

Chopped green chillies – 1¼ cup
Tamarind paste – 4 tbsp
Jaggery – 2 tbsp
Asafoetida – a pea size
Fenugreek seeds – ½ tsp
Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
Salt – 1 tsp or as needed
Sesame or gingelly oil – ¼ cup

Method

In a medium sized dry pan, roast fenugreek seeds till dark brown. Set aside.

Heat oil in the same pan, and fry asafoetida evenly on all sides. Drain and grind with roasted fenugreek seeds and jaggery to a fine powder. In a small bowl, take a cup of water and mix the prepared powder along with tamarind paste, turmeric and salt and set aside.

In the remaining oil, over medium heat, sauté the green chillies for a minute. Add the tamarind mixture to the chillies and cook for 20-30 minutes or until the chillies get cooked. Add more water if necessary. The chillies will turn from bright green to brown-green as they cook.

Variations

• Use powdered asafoetida instead of chunks. Roast the powder for few seconds and then add the chillies.
• Slit the chillies instead of cutting them into rings.
• If you are using raw tamarind instead of the paste, extract juice from a lemon sized ball of tamarind.
  

This is a must try recipe for all those spice-lovers out there. It goes well with anything, from upma to curd rice, from idly to roti. My favourite combo is with dosa. My mom would make this in the afternoon when I am not home. By the time I am come back from school, the chilli fumes would have subsided and a hot plate of dosa and puli milaga would await me. In an attempt to recreate my childhood memory, I made dosa just to serve with puli milagai :).

Puli milagai starring chillies goes to Nandita, who is hosting JFI – Chillies, an event started by Indira.

Tomato Pickle

Few weeks back when Indira asked about our responsibility towards our favourite blogger, the first person to come to my mind was Saffron Hut. Hers was the one of the blogs I follow regularly for more than a year now. She has everything one can ask for in a blog, interesting and humorous posts (remember smelly cat), dependable recipes (it is from her I learnt to freeze rotis) and beautiful presentation. She is one of my inspirations to write a blog of my own. It is sad that she doesn’t blog that often as she used to, which, I inferred, is due to her health issues. I sincerely wish SH that she gets better and come back to us, the food blogging community.

For this month’s MBP, themed Preserve it, hosted by Coffee, I am made her tomato pickle. It is easy to prepare, tasty and goes well with almost anything. I have made this pickle for quite sometimes now and I am happy the way it is, no changes at all. You can find the recipe aesthetically written in her blog. I am not even going to try match that :).

Tomato pickle served with kuzhi paniyaaram.

Kuzhi paniyaaram is made with left-over idli batter, onion, green chillies, curry leaves and asafoetida. For other recipes and recommendations on the pan, visit Nupur and Indira.

Dosakai Chutney – Melon Cucumber Chutney

Except for Tirupati and Telugu speaking neighbours, my association with Andhra Pradesh is limited. Andhra avakkai and Gongura chutney were introduced to me by those kind neighbours I had back in India. But G, who had done part of his schooling in Andhra is a die-hard fan of those spicy, mouth-watering (nose-watering too) dishes. It is for him that I started learning new recipes from Mahanandi, Sailu’s food etc,.

As an effort to improve my culinary knowledge of this cuisine, I got Cooking At Home With Pedatha from Mahanandi and was happy with the recipes I tried from it. This chutney, from that book, is not only tasty but requires minimal cooking. The cool burst of melon and the tanginess from the tamarind pairs well with Jowar roti.

I have done some very minor tweaks to the recipe to suit my family’s taste.

Ingredients

Dosakai (Melon cucumber) - 1
Urad dal – 2 tbsp
Red chillies – 2
Green chillies – 2
Curry leaves
Asafoetida
Tamarind – 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds – ¼ tsp
Oil
Salt

Method

Peel and chop the melon into small cubes.

In a kadai or skillet, take 2 tsp of oil and add urad dal. When dal turns golden brown add red and green chillies, curry leaves and asafoetida. Allow this to cool and grind it with tamarind pulp, salt and 2 tbsp of chopped melon to a coarse paste. Mix this paste with chopped melon and leave it aside. Given time, the salt draws moisture from the melon.

Finally, temper mustard seeds in a tsp of oil and add to the chutney.

Rotis with dosakai chutney and tomato dal.

This is my entry for RCI- Andhra Cuisine by Latha of Masala Magic.