Quinoa Patties

 

After attempting Quinoa Khichadi based on saboodaNyachi khichdi, I attempted quinoa patties based on saboodaNyache vade. Traditionally, these sago fritters are deep fried, but I decide to shallow fry them so they were more like patties than vadas.

 

Quinoa Patties

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa, cooked and cooled completely

1 big russet potato, boiled, peeled and grated

1/2 cup roasted, unsalted peanut powder/daaNyache kooT

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1/2 tbsp. lemon juice

salt to taste

1 tsp sugar or to taste

Tempering

1 tbsp. oil

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1 tbsp. grated ginger

2-3 green chilies, minced or per taste

Oil for frying

 

Method

1. Cook quinoa according to the package directions. Let it cool down completely.

2. Mix grated potato, peanut powder, cilantro, lemon juice, salt and sugar.

3. Heat oil in a saucepan. Add cumin seeds, ginger and chilies. As they start spluttering, drizzle over the quinoa mixture.

4. Mix well. Make uniform balls and flatten them in the shape of patties.

5. Heat a pan. Drizzle some oil. Place the quinoa patties. Let them cook on medium low heat till they are crisp.

 

6. Serve with chutney or ketchup of your choice.

 

Note-

1. Make sure that peanut powder is coarse and not too fine.

 

 

 

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Broccoli Talasani

 

I had a pack of frozen chopped broccoli in the freezer. I decided to make a simple talasani. It worked really well. Of course, for authentic flavor, do use coconut oil.

Broccoli Talasani
Broccoli Stir Fry
Ingredients
1 lb/16 oz. frozen, chopped broccoli (Do not thaw)
salt to taste

Tempering
1 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp asafoetida
4-5 cloves of garlic, smashed or slivered
2-3 red chilies - preferably byadgi - halved

Garnish
1 tbsp freshly scraped coconut

Method
1. Heat oil in an iron kadai.
2. Add tempering ingredients. As they start sizzling, add chopped broccoli.
3. Stir fry till it is cooked. Add salt and coconut.

Note -
1. I like to use only "chopped" frozen broccoli for this recipe. I think frozen florets do not work as well.
2. I do not thaw the frozen, chopped broccoli.



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Amsulache Saar

Amsulache saar is more or less similar to udka tauy but this one has coconut milk and so it has a lighter shade. I love this saar for its beautiful color. Adjust jaggery or sugar based on your personal preference but this saar is meant to taste sweet-sour.

 

Amsulache Saar

आमसुलाचे  सार 
Garcinia Indica Broth

Ingredients

10-12 kokums/amsule, rinsed and soaked in 1 cup water

salt to taste

1 tbsp. jaggery or sugar

1 cup coconut milk

 

Tempering

1/2 tbsp. ghee or oil

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/4 tsp asafetida

2 springs curry leaves, torn

1-2 red chilies, halved

1-2 green chilies, slit

 

Garnish

1 tbsp. chopped cilantro

 

Method

1. Heat ghee or oil in a saucepan.

2. Add the ingredients for tempering.

3. As they sizzle, add kokums along with the soaking water.

4. Add 3 cups more water, salt and jaggery to taste.

5. Bring to boil.

6. Switch gas to low and add coconut milk.

7. Keep stirring continuously after adding coconut milk. Simmer till it gets a gentle boil.

8. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

 

Note -

1. After the saar is ready, remove the kokums. Otherwise, it will continue making the saar tart.

2. Adjust sugar/jaggery per your personal preference.

3. Traditionally, ghee/toop is used for tempering. You can use oil if you prefer.

 

Shrimp Bao

Gudiya loves Chinese Steamed Buns. They are stuffed with veggies, chicken or shrimp. I especially enjoy the veggie filled steamed buns that are available at San Francisco's Farmers Market. Gudiya enjoys Trader Joes' Shrimp stuffed ones. So I decided to make my own version. The result was surprisingly good. I used short cut by using buttermilk biscuit dough.


Shrimp Bao
Steamed & Stuffed Shrimp Bun
Ingredients
Stuffing
4 oz small salad shrimp
1/4 cup minced mushroom
1/4 cup minced red bell pepper
1/4 cup frozen chopped spinach

Tempering
1/2 tbsp. oil
1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp ginger, grated
1 tsp garlic, grated
2 tbsp. minced red onion

You will also need
1/2 tsp Chinese 5 spice powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
A dash of Soy Sauce
A dash of Rice vinegar
1 tsp sugar
salt to taste
1 tbsp. corn starch

8 Buttermilk Biscuit Dough (I used Trader Joe Brand)
Flour for dredging

Pam spray for greasing the steamer

Method
1. Heat oil in a saucepan or wok. Add ginger-garlic and onion. Sauté for 4-5 minutes.
2. Add bell pepper and mushroom. Sauté for 3-4 minutes.
3. Add salad shrimp, spinach and all the spices, sauce and vinegar with salt and sugar.
4. Add cornstarch and mix well. Sauté till moisture evaporates.
5. Set aside to cool down completely.

6. Take apart each buttermilk biscuit dough.

7. Dredge in little flour to roll out a small disc.
8. Place shrimp mixture in the middle.

9. Bring all the edges together and roll into a neat bun.

10. Using Cooking spray, grease sieve to be placed on a boiling water for steaming.
11. Place 4-5 stuffed buns.

12. Cover and let it steam for about 20 minutes.

13. Uncover and serve with soy sauce and Sriracha.

Note -
1. Salad shrimp is a small shrimp - generally available in the frozen seafood section. It's generally precooked.
2. You can make a vegetarian version by excluding shrimp and increasing the amount of mushrooms, bell peppers and spinach.
3. You can even halve each biscuit dough and make 16 mini shrimp bao.






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FaNsachi Harbhare ghalun Bhaji - Jackfruit with chickpeas

Fanas-Harbhare bhaaji with PoLi

 

Raw jackfruit is readily available at the local Asian markets. Pair it with brown chickpeas for making this delicious Malvani bhaji. 

 

FaNsachi Bhaji (Harbhare ghalun)

Raw Jackfruit-Chickpeas

Ingredients

1 can raw jackfruit

1/2 cup pressure cooked chickpea sprouts

salt to taste

1 tsp jiggery

 

Grind to a coarse paste

1/2 cup fresh coconut, scraped

7 black peppercorn

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp chile powder

 

Tempering

2 tsp oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/4 tsp asafetida

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/4 cup chopped onion

5-6 garlic cloves, peeled & smashed leaving each whole clove

 

Method

1. Pressure cook chickpea sprouts and set aside.

2. Drain jackfruit pieces. Soak in clean water for about an hour. Drain again and chop roughly.

3. Grind coconut and spices to a coarse paste. All the spices should be ground finely and then coconut should have coarse texture.

4. Heat oil in a saucepan. Add mustard seeds, asafetida and turmeric powder. Add garlic. Sauté as it changes color. Add onion. Sauté till it is soft.

5. Add coconut paste, chopped jackfruit and cooked sprouts. Add 1/4 cup water. Mix.

6. Add salt and jiggery. Cover and let it cook for about 10 minutes.

 

Note -

This bhaji has dry consistency.

 

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Aloo Mutter

Aloo Mutter with Roti

Aloo Mutter is a classic green peas and potato combo. You can add paneer instead of potatoes to make equally delicious Paneer Mutter or better yet, add both paneer and potato to make Aloo Paneer Mutter!

Aloo Mutter
Green Peas with Potatoes - Punjabi Style
Ingredients
16 oz, 1 packet frozen green peas
1 cup potato cubes or wedges, shallow fried
salt to taste
1 tsp mild chili powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp coriander-cumin powder

Tempering
1 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2-3 cloves

Grind to a smooth paste
1 big onion, roughly chopped
1 tomato
3 cloves garlic
1" ginger

Accompaniments
Lemon wedges
Naan
or Rumali Roti


Method
1. Heat oil in a big nonstick kadai or wok. Add spices and let them splutter. Add onion paste.
2. Sauté the onion paste on a low flame till oil leaves the masala.
3. Add a spoonful of water, from time to time, as necessary to avoid the masala from sticking to the pan.
4. Add 1 cup water. Bring to a boil.
5. Stir in green peas. Let it boil.
6. Adjust water if necessary. Add salt, chili powder, garam masala and coriander-cumin seed powder.
7. Add potato chunks.
8. Cover and let it cook for 10-12 minutes. Check for the gravy consistency. Simmer more if desired.
9. Switch off the gas. Let it stand for 5 minutes, before pouring the gravy in the serving bowl.

Note -
1. "The oil leaves masala" step took about 55 minutes for me.
2. Sometimes you get English Shelling Peas in the farmers market. They are green peas in pods which you have to shell. They taste really delicious in this recipe.
3. Trader Joe sells frozen Green peas with mint. They may taste yummy in this recipe too. But since it has blobs of butter, personally, I would  shy away from it.
4. Though shallow or deep fried potato cubes taste delicious in this recipe, I generally just boil the potatoes, peel & cube them and use them without frying.
5. If you prefer hotter taste, grind green chilies with onions.

Kale-Chhole

Kale Chhole

I sometimes combine spinach with chhole to make palak chhole. After trying kale-paneer, I decided to make kale-chhole.


Kale-Chhole
Garbanzo beans with Kale curry
Ingredients
16 oz frozen Kale, thawed, pressure cooked

salt to taste
1 tbsp coriander-cumin powder
1/2 tbsp Punjabi Garam Masala
1/2 tsp chile powder

1 cup dry garbanzo beans, soaked overnight and pressure cooked
1 small piece of cinnamon
2-3 cloves
2-3 black peppercorn

Tempering
2 tbsp oil
2" piece of cinnamon
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
4 cloves
1 1/2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped tomatoes

Suggested Accompaniment
Kulcha or Rumali Roti

Method
1. Pressure cook thawed kale, adding adequate water. Let it cool down. Grind to a fine paste. Set aside. In a separate pressure cooker container, pressure cook garbanzo beans adding black peppercorn, cloves and a small piece of cinnamon.
2. Heat oil in a kadai or wok. Add spices. Saute for 1 minute. Add ginger-garlic paste. Saute for 2 minutes. Add onions, saute till it is soft. Now, add tomatoes. Saute till tomatoes are mushy.
3. Add coriander-cumin powder, garam masala and chile powder.
4. Add kale paste, garbanzo beans and salt to taste. Add water if needed but the curry should have thick consistency.
5. Simmer for 15 minutes on low flame.

Note -
1. Discard whole spices - especially cinnamon before serving.


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