Sprouted beans and Granny smith salad

April 28, 2013February 12, 2014 | Rekha Vengalil

After a week-long break I am here again happily cooking (I mean cooking something new to share), photographing 🙂 nothing seems to bring more happiness. Blogging seems to have grown into me though it’s not even a year into this wonderful internet space of mine. It’s just so comforting but then a daily run on food styling and photography seems not possible since I start running out of ideas. Hence a diligent gap between each post made more sense.

We have never survived on salads over the weekend. I had the green gram sitting in my pantry and never put to use. I came across the recipe on kirantarundotcom on how to sprout the beans. That’s how the sprouted beans made its way into my kitchen. So decided to go green for lunch. The Granny smith added a nice sourness to the salad. With a simple dressing it was all so perfect, crunchy and healthy salad. I say GO GREEN..:)

You need –

Sprouted beans – 1 cup
Granny smith – 1, grated
Tomato – 1, de-seeded and finely chopped
Shallots – finely chopped, 2 tablespoons
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Juice of ½ lemon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper – as per taste.
Parsley – finely chopped

How to –

In a mixing bowl, add the sprouted beans, grated apple, tomato, shallots, parsley. Toss well.

In a small bowl, beat the oil, lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle the dressing

over the salad. Toss well.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes before you serve.

Egg omelette curry

April 27, 2013March 7, 2018 | Rekha Vengalil

I kind of feel very stuck with little options when it comes to making egg curry or is that I haven’t googled much..! While in such a dismay, I find this recipe. Omelette in a curry yeah! Something different and interesting. It’s like having two things in one; curry and omelette.

You need –

For the omelette

Eggs – 4
Onion – 1 small, thinly sliced
Green/red chilies – 1, Chopped
Salt – to taste
Oil – 2 teaspoons

For the gravy/curry

Thick coconut milk – ½ cup
Thin coconut milk – 1 cup
Onion – 1 big, thinly sliced
Ginger – grated, 2 teaspoon
Coriander powder – 3 teaspoons
Chili powder – 1 ½ teaspoons
Turmeric powder – ¼ teaspoons
Garam masala – ¼ teaspoon
Mustard seeds – ½ teaspoons
Oil – 1 tablespoons
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Salt to taste

How to-

In a bowl, beat the eggs, onion, chilies and salt. Heat oil in a flat pan and pour the egg mixture to make an omelette. Cut into 4-5 pieces or as per your choice and set aside.

Heat oil in a sauce pan, crackle the mustard seeds. Add the ginger and saute for a minute. Add in the onion and curry leave; cook until the onions turn light brown.

In a bowl, mix coriander, chili turmeric and garam masala powders to a fine paste with enough water. Add this to the onion mixture. Cook till the oil start to separate. Add the thin coconut milk, omelette, salt to taste and cook till the gravy thickens.

Add the thick coconut milk and bring to a gentle simmer and but do not boil.

Turn off the heat and serve hot with rice or flat bread.

Vegetable pulao – A one pot meal

April 23, 2013February 12, 2014 | Rekha Vengalil

One pot meal! Well I am a great fan of a one pot meal. Life is much earlier when you just have to get everything into one pot and your food is ready!

I like it with just plain yogurt.

You need –

Basmati rice – 1 cup
Hot water – 2 cups
Onion – 1 medium, finely chopped
Carrot – 1, finely chopped length-wise
French beans – 8-9, chopped
Frozen peas – 1/2 cup
Tofu – cubed, 1 cup
Green chili – 1, slit
Ginger-garlic paste – 1 teaspoon
Fennel seeds – ½ teaspoon
Bay leave -1
Clove- 1
Cinnamon – 1 small stick
Cardamom – 2
Salt – to taste
Ghee/clarified butter – 1 tablespoon

How to –

Wash and clean the rice. Soak in water for 30 minutes and drain well. Fry the tofu in oil till golden brown. Set aside.

In Pan, heat the ghee, tip in the wholes spices and fry till fragrant. Add the onions, chili and ginger-garlic paste. Saute till the onion turn pink and the raw smell of ginger-garlic is gone. Please make sure not to burn them as this will change the color of the rice when you cook. Add the veggies and tofu; saute for a couple of minutes.

Add the rice and fry till the rice doesn’t stick to each other ensuring the rice not turning brown. Add 2 cups of water and salt to taste. Cook till done.

Serve hot with plain yogurt or raita.

Mambazha pulissery / Ripe mango curry

April 19, 2013February 12, 2014 | Rekha Vengalil

The only curry I made for this year Vishu and I love it. It’s tangy, it’s sweet and it’s a little spicy. The blend is so perfect and my favorite part is to sip the mango away.. 🙂 Don’t you agree on that?

The fruit stalls here are filled with mangoes now especially with Thai honey mangoes and these little mangoes. I haven’t seen them in India. The guy at the shop told me it’s the orange mangoes from China. I tried googling for them but could not find any. Anyway they are delicious and I feast on them ever since I have been here. My mom loved it too when I got her these during her visit here 🙂

For those who are new to this dish, this is a curry were ripe mangoes are cooked in a coconut and yogurt sauce. It’s mildly spiced and is also one of the dishes that is a must during the festivals and special occasions in Kerala, south of India. But in my house this needs no special occasion. Whenever I can find ripe mangoes I make them.

You need –

Small ripe mangoes – 5 (if using big mangoes use 2, peeled and chopped)
Grated coconut – 1 cup
Yogurt – ½ cup
Turmeric powder – ½ teaspoon
Chili powder – ½ teaspoon
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Cumin seeds – ½ teaspoon
Green chili – 1
For tampering
Mustard seeds – ½ teaspoon
Fenugreek seeds – ¼ teaspoon
Dry chilies – 2
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Coconut oil – 1 tablespoon

How to –

In a pan, put the mangoes, turmeric powder, chili powder, curry leaves and with enough water to cover the mangoes. Cook till the mangoes are soft and cooked.

Grind the coconut, green chili half of the yogurt and cumin seeds to a fine paste with. Add this paste to the Mangoes and stir well. Bring to gentle simmer. Add in the remaining yogurt (whip well before adding). Mix well and again bring to gentle simmer. Turn off the heat.

In a pan, heat the oil; add the mustard seeds when it starts to splatter, add the fenugreek seeds, dry chilies curry leaves. Add this into the curry/ Pulissery. Serve with rice.

Free-form mushroom lasagne and a little of my daughter…

April 19, 2013February 12, 2014 | Rekha Vengalil

I love Italian! Infact it’s one of my favorite cuisine. All of us at home love Italian especially my 5 year old daughter who asks for pasta or risotto every other day:) She is not much into spicy food but makes an effort in tasting anything new before saying no or yes. I am happy she is getting to be more interested with cooking and food in general. Sits with me to watch some of the shows on TV; Giada and Nigella are her favorites. Why? Because they both look like fairies 🙂 .

Daughters are beautiful… She is my best friend now and I am her’s at least she tells me that now 😉 it’s a beautiful relationship! She speaks what I think.. She understands my silence.. She is growing up to be a beautiful daughter…!!! But then let me warn you she is loudness personified and loves to talk non-stop. Ask her why she talks so much and so loud ?! Because her dad has asked her to speak her mind..;) LOL. Well then sometimes it’s an absolute embarrassment like the other day as we were checking out of the super market, Saana (BTW that’s her name) picked up a bar of chocolate and told me she wants to pay herself. I gave her 5$ and she ran to the check-out counter; in her loudest best she asked the staff at the counter “are you the pay girl..?!!” The staff went red on her face and people who heard her burst into laughter… N i stood there frozen not knowing what do n say!!! She goes again” are you the pay girl at the cash register? I need to pay for my chocolate…!” Sign!! ah!

And yes I missed, she is absolutely crazy about cars. Loves to watch the Auto shows and knew all the car logos when she was 1.8 years old. Here’s a video I would like to share 🙂 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbYr3Ms3oGM

And the recipe, I think this is just perfect if you want to have a light lunch. Its simple and easy to make. Actually I think any leftover stir-fries in the fridge you if you have, would be a good idea to fill in too…

You need –

Button mushrooms – 250 grams, thinly sliced
Salted butter – 2 tablespoons
Small onion – 1, thinly sliced
Chopped fresh thyme – 2-3 sprigs
Egg Yolk – 1
Thick cream – 50 mls
Parmesan cheese – grated, 3 tablespoons + extra for garnishing
Lasagne sheets – 4

How to –

Heat the butter in a frying pan. Cook the onions till soft. Add the thyme and mushrooms. Cook till soft. Add 2 tablespoons hot water and continue to cook until all the liquid has evaporated. Season with pepper and set aside.

Beat the egg yolk, cream and 3 tablespoons of cheese in a bowl. Cook the lasagne sheets in boiling water till al dente. Drain well and toss the sheets through the egg mixture while hot. Be gentle so you don’t tear the sheets.

To serve, place the sheet on a plate, place some mushroom mixture on half of the sheet and fold the sheet into half gently. Drizzle the remaining egg mixture and sprinkle grated cheese over the lasagne and serve.

The Colour Me Photography Challenge Series – April

April 17, 2013February 12, 2014 | Rekha Vengalil

This one is for “The Colour Me Photography Challenge Series” hosted by Priya of thehumptydumptykitchen.blogspot.in.

For more details click here http://thehumptydumptykitchen.blogspot.in/p/the-colour-me-photography-challenge.html

Black & White Wednesday #79

April 16, 2013February 12, 2014 | Rekha Vengalil

My B&W picture for Black & White Wednesday #79

Thank you Priya (http://thehumptydumptykitchen.blogspot.sg/) for letting me know of it… 🙂

Sharkara Payasam with risotto rice

April 15, 2013February 12, 2014 | Rekha Vengalil

Happy Vishu to all malayees…!

Every year for Vishu and Onam I cook up the Sadya promptly but this Vishu, down with fever, was contemplating to cook or not… Finally decided to cook just a curry and payasam for lunch. So made mambazha pulissery and sharkara payasam, both of which are favorites at home . It was a simple and yet delicious festive meal.

I let go of the Vishu shopping, and did off with everything I could find in the fridge… Instead of konnapoo it was tulasi kadhir ( holly basil) from my little garden.

Over to the payasam… I didn’t have the rice what we traditionally use for Sharkara payasam… I was left with 2 choice, one was basmati and the other being risotto rice and it was my husband who said try risotto rice. I say it was the right choice… It was delicious. I urge you to try it… Call it sharkara risotto?!! 😉

You need –

Risotto rice – 1 cup
Sharkara/Jaggery/uncentrifuged whole cane sugar – Grated, 1 ½ cups
Ghee – ¼ cup, melted
Cardamom powder – ¼ teaspoon
Roasted cashew nuts – 10-15 nos
Raisins – 2 tablespoons, fried in ghee/clarified butter
Water – 2 cups

How to –

Dry roast the rice and pressure cook with 2 cups of water till done. The rice should not be mushy. Set aside.

In a pan, add the grated jaggery/sharkara with ½ cup water. Cook till the sharkara has melted and comes to a thick consistency.

Over a low heat, add the melted sharkara, Ghee and cardamom powder into the rice and mix well till rice is well coated.

Garish with cashew nuts, raisin and serve.

Linking this post to the event FoodabulousFest Event organised by Simply TADKA and hosted by Pramitha love cooking

Mango lemonade

April 13, 2013October 18, 2016 | Rekha Vengalil

I am also working on designing my web page. A dear friend is helping me on the technical front. A big shout… Yes I am designing my page!!! It’s looking good so far. But not in a hurry to go live anytime soon as I have it planned for the second half of the year… It’s a date thingy 😉

Over to the recipe, with some mango juice in the fridge I decided to make Mango Lemonade. This is easy and a real thirst cruncher.

You Need –