Cauliflower Pulav

Monday, May 2, 2011

Ingredients
1 cup basmati rice, onion 1 to 3 (depending on taste), one cauliflower, green chillis 1 to 3 (depending on taste), oil 3 table spoons (tbsp.), grated coconut (thengai turuval) one or two tbsp., Coriander seeds (dania),cumin seeds (jeerakam),4 cloves, cinnamon (lavanga pattai powder) 1/2 tbsp., salt to taste, ghee (nai / clarified butter) 1 tbsp., Cashews  3 tbsp., garam masala powder 1 tea spoon (tsp), mustard seeds half tsp., curry leaves (kariveppilai) and cilantro (kothamalli) to taste, lemon 1, turmeric powder (manjal podi) 1/2 tsp., asafoetida (perungayam) 1/4 tsp.

Step 1
Wash the rice a couple of times and soak it in hot water for 20 minutes.  Cut the onions into a long and thin shape .  Cut the cauliflower into small pieces (do not use the stem). Keep the stem separately to cook with other vegetables.

Step 2
Now prepare the seasoning (porichu kottal).  Take a kadai, add oil and heat. Add mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds start to pop, add green chili, asafoetida, curry leaves, cashews.  When cashews become a littl brown then add onion and cauliflower and stir fry a bit.  Add some water and cook the vegetables. For vegetable pulav, you can add your choice of vegetables.

Step 3
Take the soaked rice, strain all water out, add the ghee and fry a little.  Add 2 cups of water for one cup of rice. This is the general formula.  For 15 minutes keep the cooker in the stove and heat it. The purpose of doing a little frying for 2 or 3 minutes is that the rice will not stick to one another. After the rice is cooked add turmeric powder, masala powder, cumin, cloves, cinnamon powder and stir well. Take a wide open vessel, add all the items and slowly mix them well.  Add coconut and cilantro.

This dish is very easy to cook using ingredients easily available. In the same way you can prepare other types of vegetable pulav. Just change the vegetables You can even add cardamom elakkai) for additional flavor.

Do share with us how you liked this dish.  Eggplant (brinjal) pulav is another favorite made similarly.

Maida cake

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Ingredients

Maida one cup, ghee (melted butter) - half cup, sugar - between 2 to 2.5 cups, milk powder - half cup

 

Step 1

Keep kadai on the gas and heat it, put the ghee and melt it - keep the gas burner on low until the ghee melts.  Slowly add the maida while stirring and roast it to a typical dosa batter ( the mixture should look like the viscocity of normal dosa batter).  Keep heating slowly till it reaches this state.  Now switch off  the stove and add the milk powder, slowly stirring while adding the milk power.  Then add vanilla essence.  Place this down from the stove and keep it aside.

 

Step 2

Now in a separate kadai take half cup of water add the sugar heat the mixture till it becomes a syrup that is well mixed.  Watch the syrup carefully until one drop of sugar syrup dropped in water goes down like a small ball - this is the right consistency of the syrup to indicate that the sugar syrup is now ready to mix with the maida paste already kept aside. Now switch off the stove; then mix the paste with syrup well; stir slowly until everything is completely mixed and integerated.

 

Step 3

Take a plate, apply a thin layer of ghee on the plate and spread the sugar mixed paste uniformly to appear as a smooth plane.  You can now slice this into pieces suitable to your taste.  

Enjoy your maida cake

How to Prepare Milagu Kuzhambu

Ingredients

milagu one teaspoon, kadali paruppu (channa dal) one teaspoon, uluttam paruppu (urad dal) - one teaspoon, jeeragam (cumin seeds) - half teaspoon, milagai veththal (dried chilli)  six numbers, dhania (cilantro seeds) - two teaspoons, karuveppilai (curry leaves to taste)

tamarind - one big lemon size

Step 1

Grind all ingredients to a nice  paste in mixer and add water as required.

Step 2

Take a kadai  - pour gingely oil or sesame oil (Idhayam nallennai) 4 tablespoons ;  heat and add kadugu (mustard seeds) one teaspoon and toor dal (thuvara paruppu) one teaspoon. After the mustard seeds pop, add the above paste kept ready in a vessel, add one and half teaspoons salt, add half teaspoon of turmeric powder (manja podi)

Step 3

Heat slowly (keep the gas burner in low).  The paste will slowly integrate and you will notice a layer of oil forming at the top.

 

Now your milagu kuzhambu is ready.  You can mix with rice and enjoy.

Tips for Fresh Produce Safety

Friday, December 4, 2009

The folks at foodsafety.gov have come up with tips for produce safety.  It is not anything new and the tips are basically what is dictated by sound common sense.  As vegetarians, we do not need to worry about safety of meat, mercury in fish, egg safety and other issues that torment meat eaters :-)

For us to safely practice vegetarianism, we only need to mostly worry about vegetables and fruits and I decided to cover the tips preached by the food safety website on produce safety.  The tips are divided into three categories:

1. Buying Tips
2. Storage Tips
3 Preparation Tips

Essentially one should buy produce that is not damaged, bruised, crushed, getting spoiled, or otherwise looks or feels like it is a goner :-)  I never buy half-cut water melons that are wrapped in some plastic.  Take care when you buy bananas, avocado, spinach, lettuce etc.

It is a good idea to refrigerate produce that is purchased pre-cut or peeled.  Other than potatoes, onions, bananas and a handful of other items, I usually refrigerate most produce.  Store perishable fresh fruits and vegetables (like strawberries, lettuce, herbs, and mushrooms) at a temperature of 40° F or below.  

The preparation tips from the food safety website really take the cake.  It asks all wannabe cooks to begin food preparation with clean hands.  Washing hands is defined as allowing for 20 seconds of rinsing with warm water and soap before and after preparing fresh produce.  I assume that most of us would wash our hands thoroughly before preparing food.

All produce should be thoroughly washed before eating. I typically spray vegetable wash and then wash fruits and vegetables under running water just before eating, cutting or cooking.  I discard any produce that looks damaged or otherwise dicey to feed my family.   While the food safety website does not recommend using produce washes, I use a mild organic kind that has no chemicals. Dry the produce and then cook, peel, do whatever you got to do to eat.

Our Government says that Fruits and Veggies Matter

CDC has an excellent website on fruits and vegetables called fruits and vegetables matter.  CDC encourages everyone to get a healthy dose of fruits.  Fruits and vegetables are sources of many vitamins, minerals and other natural substances that may help protect you from chronic diseases, they say, and we at booaah completeluy agree.

On their website, CDC has a section called fruits and vegetables of the month.   For the month of December,  the fruit of the month are exotic fruits, namely, Kumquat, Sapote, Uglie Fruit, Pepino Melon, and Cherimoya.  Well at least CDC likes one of the exotic fruits on my top ten list of exotic fruits, the Sapote (Sapota or Chiku).  Incorporating some of the exotic fruits into one's diet will neatly fit into the vegetarian MyPyramid plan.

Sapote is grown only in Florida and California within the United States.  This fruit is a native of Mexico but some varieties are also grown in parts of Asia and South America. While Sapota stores at room temperature, it ripes quickly within 3 - 5 days. Sapote has soft orange flesh and has a sweet, mild flavor.  Sapotes vary in size from that of a lime to an apple or orange and are bright green or brown in color.  There is even Sapota flavored ice cream now available.

The Jack of all Fruits

Monday, November 30, 2009

Jackfruit is the largest fruit in the world that grows on a tree.  It can easily weigh 60 lbs to 70 lbs!!  It is oblong in shape and the color of the exterior is greenish-yellow.  The exterior of the fruit is quite prickly and it takes quite some effort to cut open the fruit and extract the edible parts.  Once the jackfruit is cut open, there are pods that contain the edible flesh and the seed.  Since the fruit is very sticky to cut open and clean, a simple trick is to use some oil on your hands and knife.

Jackfruit is indigenous to southern India.  It is used in South Indian and Southeast Asian cuisines. The edible portions of the unripe jackfruit is cooked and incorporated into curries and similar dishes.  It can also be fried as chips.  Ripe jackfruit is edible uncooked as a fruit and has a unique taste and texture.  The jackfruit seeds can be boiled or baked like beans.  According to the USDA standard release reports on raw fruits and juices, jackfruit is an excellent source of vitamins and minerals.

Top 10 Exotic Fruits

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

There are literally hundreds of varieties of fruits in the world.  Every region has its own popular fruits that other parts of the world only hear about.  I have compiled a list of the top ten exotic fruits that are my favorites.  In subsequent posts, I'll write about each of them in detail.

Jackfruit
Mango
Guava
Pomegranate
Lychee
Cashew Apple
Sapota (Chiku)
Papaya
Kiwi
Jamun (Jambul or Kala Jamun)

I hope you get to try these fruits.  Please comment on what you think.

Millet is Great and Gluten Free

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Millet is a family of crops that have been widely grown around the world for several thousand years.  They can be grown in areas that are at risk of drought.  India is the world's top producer of millet.  Eight of the top ten countries in the world in terms of millet production are in Africa.  China is the only other Asian country apart from India, in the top ten.

Millet provides 11% protein by weight, almost like wheat.  Millet varieties are rich in niacin, B6, folic acid, calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, and zinc.

Millet can be cooked and eaten like other grains.  Millet flour is used to make flat bread.  Millets contain no gluten and are not suitable for raised bread.  Some varieties of millet are used as fodder for animals or as bird-feed.  Alcoholic drinks are also brewed using Millet in some countries.  Millet is an interesting grain to incorporate into your diet.

Visionary School System Adopts Meatless Mondays

Friday, October 23, 2009

Baltimore City schools are going meatless on Mondays.  The school system has around 80,000 students. As one would expect, the American Meat Institute (AMI) has criticised the Baltimore City Schools adoption of the 'Meatless Monday' campaign, a program done in association with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

I have come across so many people who assume that one needs to eat meat to get protein in their diet.  This FUD (Fear - Uncertainty - Doubt) is spread by organizations that benefit from having everyone eat meat everyday and lapped up by people who have not been exposed to balanced literature on health and food.  The food pyramid advanced by the government health organization has clearly dispelled the protein myth that meat is the only source of protein and incorporated a customizable plan for vegetarians via the MyPyramid.

AMI and other pro-meat organizations need to promote a balanced view and leave it to the people to make a choice. It is not like the`Baltimore school system went totally vegetarian.  They still offer meat to the meat eaters four out of the five school days.  I hope the Baltimore school system weathers any criticism thrown at them for offering the children a healthy alternative to meat. Kudos to them for taking this decision.

Puffed Rice Salad

Thursday, October 22, 2009

This is a fusion dish that literally takes 15 minutes to make.

Puffed rice is called "pori" in Tamil and also "muri" or "moodi" in some parts of North India.  The most popular dish made with puffed rice as a primary ingredient is the bhel puri.  It is a popular Indian snack or "chaat" available in Indian restaurants.  The typical bhel puri is extremely spicy and cannot be substituted for a meal.  It is an appetizer.  I have concoted a recipe that borrows its roots from bhel puri but deviates significantly to provide a healthier alternative that can easily be incorporated for a quick lunch or dinner.

Puffed rice is made by heating rice kernels under high pressure.  It is essentially to rice what popcorn is to corn.

Ingredients
4 cups of puffed rice
1 cup of diced tomato
1/3 cup of diced onions
1 cup of chick peas (either from a can or already cooked)
1/3 cup of boiled peas
2 cups of diced boiled potatoes
1 cup chopped romaine lettuce
1/3 cup of chopped cilantro leaves (coriander leaves)
1 Tbl spoon seasame oil or mustard oil
1/2 spoon of turmeric powder
2 Tbl spoons of tamarind paste
1/3 spoon of paprika or red chilli powder (less or more as desired by your taste)
a tinge of salt (to taste)
a tinge of black pepper (to taste)
1 spoon of lime juice (or squeeze one fresh lime)
1 Tbl spoon peanuts
1/2 cup of sev or madras mixture (spicy)

Add all the ingredients into a large salad mixing bowl.  Mix it really well with a ladle.  Serves 2 people.

Curry in a Hurry

Friday, October 16, 2009

Once someone has determined / validated that I am of Indian ethnicity, I get this question.  So, do you eat Curry?  Depending on my mood of the day, my response has been varied.  Some of the ones that are printable are shared below

1. "in a hurry"
2. "I also eat other food you know"
3. "What is curry?" asked very innocuously
4. "yes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner".

This question - "So, do you eat Curry?" has been rivaled by another one. "How do you pronounce your name?"

My response to that has also been varied.

1. "With a lot of difficulty"
2  "Alternate letters are silent"
3. "very very slowly"

just to name a few of my responses.

Curry is one of the most misunderstood words.  Many people mistake curry to mean a powder, much like what masala is like.  Curry comes from the Tamil word "kari" and literally means a side-dish that is eaten with rice.  This "kari" could have gravy / sauce or sometimes it is dry.  The spices that are used to cook this "kari" also vary widely depending on the specific vegetables used, one's palate, dry or with gravy, influence from a specific region of India, regional tastes etc.

Today, a standard "curry powder" is sold that has included several spices in the ingredients.  This is basically the "masala powder" that is now being called curry, to market to the folks that are unaware of what curry really means.  All words go through semantic changes, i.e. change in meaning over time.  Curry has gone through a semantic change under our very noses!!

Eating is Risky Business

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a nonprofit watchdog group, issued a warning on food items that it considered the riskiest.  At the top of the list of 10 riskiest food items are leafy greens, eggs, and tuna.

CSPI rated the above food items based on the number of outbreaks associated with them since 1990 and also provided the number of recorded illnesses and other data.  CSPI has been tracking data since 1990 from various sources including CDC - The Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Here is an excerpt from the report
LEAFY GREENS: 363 outbreaks involving 13,568 reported cases of illness
EGGS: 352 outbreaks involving 11,163 reported cases of illness
TUNA: 268 outbreaks involving 2341 reported cases of illness
OYSTERS: 132 outbreaks involving 3409 reported cases of illness
POTATOES: 108 outbreaks involving 3659 reported cases of illness
CHEESE: 83 outbreaks involving 2761 reported cases of illness
ICE CREAM: 74 outbreaks involving 2594 reported cases of illness
TOMATOES: 31 outbreaks involving 3292 reported cases of illness
SPROUTS: 31 outbreaks involving 2022 reported cases of illness
BERRIES: 25 outbreaks involving 3397 reported cases of illness

The full report is available from the CSPI website and is linked here

Luckily for vegetarians and vegans, half the items in the above list are non factors :-)  It is vital to check the packaging of food items for expiry dates, open containers or bags, and proper refrigeration and temperature. Just because a report came out does not mean we have to stop eating salads!  Eggs, Tuna, Oysters - No thanks!!  Never have and never will :-)

Incidentally, all these food items are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  Food Producers, Fisherman's Associations, and Milk Producers have criticized the report.

Let us go Nuts

Monday, October 5, 2009

If you are like me, then you would love to feast on peanuts, cashews, almonds and other nuts.  Of course, I am talking about consumption in moderation and not an epicurean nut fest :-)

Botanical and culinary definitions of nuts vary widely.  In this article, nuts are defined to mean any oily kernel or seed found within a shell and used in food.  For example, peanut is a legume and not a true nut by botanical definition.  We assume that peanut is a nut based on our culinary definition.  It does have the word nut in it and I think that is sufficient :-)

Nuts generally have a high oil content and are a great source of nutrients and energy. A large number of seeds and kernels (nuts) are edible and used in cooking, eaten raw, sprouted, and roasted.   Most of us probably eat raw nuts rarely, baring walnuts or pecans.  Peanuts and cashews are popular roasted and usually contain additional oils and salt.

One interesting and really tasty way to eat peanuts is to eat it boiled.  I always loved to eat peanuts this way growing up.  Boil water and add the peanuts still in its shell to the boiling water.  You can also add a pinch of salt to the boiling water.  The unshelled peanuts are left to soak in the boiling water for some time and the peanuts actually get cooked.  You can drain the water and allow the unshelled peanut to sit.  It has an amazing taste that you do not get raw or roasted.

Some nuts are pressed for oil that can be used  in cooking.  Some common nuts that are consumed include almonds, walnuts, macadamia nuts, pistachio, cashew, peanuts, pecans, soybeans, hazel nuts, sunflower seeds, and pine nuts.

Nuts contain linoleic and linolenic acids (fatty acids), which are critical for growth, physical development, mental development, healthy hair and skin, blood pressure control, immunological responses and blood clotting.  Nuts are also an excellent natural source of vitamins E, F, and G (docopherol, an antioxidant).  Nuts are rich in protein, folate, fiber, and essential minerals such as magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper, and selenium.  According to the US Government nutrition website and My  Pyramid, sunflower seeds, almonds, and hazelnuts are the richest sources of vitamin E in this food group.

Cashews and peanuts are used a lot in Indian, Thai and other Asian cuisines.  Roughly 1% of the US population are thought to be allergic to some kind of nuts.

This article is based on research and reference to the USDA, MyPyramid, Nutrition.gov, Wikipedia and health.gov

The Vegetarian Pyramid

Thursday, October 1, 2009

The Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, an organization of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was established in 1994 to improve the nutrition and well-being of Americans.  One of the primary objectives of the Center is to advance and promote dietary guidance for all Americans.

In order to support its objectives, the Center (USDA) launched multiple products including the MyPyramid Food Guidance System in April 2005.  This is supposed to replace the original Food Guide Pyramid that we have all been accustomed to seeing plastered everywhere and had been so out-dated.  The MyPyramid Guidance System acknowledges that one size does not fit all.  MyPyramid offers personalized eating plans and interactive tools to help one plan and assess ones food choices based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

I am happy to note that Vegetarians have been given acknowledgement as well as inclusion.  They even have a "10 tips" for following a vegetarian diet.  Here is the main link to MyPyramid.  In a series of future articles, I will summarize, paraphrase and present in simple terms how vegetarians can adopt relevant guidelines from the MyPyramid system.

I am now "officially" a supporter by including their picture below :-)  The things I do for the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion!!

South Indian Filter Coffee

Thursday, September 24, 2009

If you are a coffee drinker, you must try the South Indian Filter Coffee.  It beats any Latte or Cappuccino hands down.

The filter referred to here is typically a stainless steel cylidrical contraption that comes apart in two halves. The top half has a pierced bottom with several tiny holes.  The coffee beans are ground and the ground powder is filed in the top half.  The top half sits snugly on the bottom half which receives the coffee drips.  There is a lid to cover the top half.  A pierced disc with a stem is placed on the coffee powder inside the top half of the cylinder.

If all this sounds difficult to visualize, please google for some pictures.  There are several on the web!!

The top half is loaded with the coffee powder, the pierced disc with stem placed on it and then hot water is added to it.  The coffee slowly drips into the bottom half.  One can also add some chicory powder to the coffee powder.  This adds to the flavor and taste of the coffee. The resulting decoction is so strong that one cannot drink this coffee black.  Add one-fourth to one-third decoction and three-fourth to two-third milk, depending on how strong the decoction is.

Add some sugar, milk, and decoction and then mix it by pouring it back and forth between two cups till you generate a lot of froth.  The higher you pour the liquid from, the more the froth it generates.  This action aerates the resulting liquid and that actually enhances the taste a lot

Drumsticks grow on a tree

These drumsticks are for real.  The botanical name for this tree is Moringa Oleifera.  Referred to as "Murungai" in the native Tamil language, this tree bears a vegetable that resembles a drum stick, the percussion instrument.  It is a long green pod and inside the pod are seeds embedded in an edible flesh.  Both the fleshy vegetable and the leaves of the tree are extremely nutritious.

The leaves are asignificant source of beta-carotene, Vitamin C, protein, iron, and potassium.

A traditional dish in Kerala and Tamil Nadu is the Adai, which is made from various lentils and shaped like a pancake.  The similarity ends there,  The Adai tastes a quadrillion times better than a pancake.  The drumstick leaves are added to the Adai batter and when the Adai is made, these leaves are embedded in it and cooked. The drumstick pod, which is a foot to a couple of feet in length, is chopped into small 3 to 4 inch pieces and cooked with sambhar.  A variety of other dishes are also made with drumstick vegetable and the leaves.

A future post will deal with making Adai incorporating drumstick leaves.

Curry garnish

Monday, September 21, 2009

Ingredients
1 teaspoon mustard seeds, 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds,
1 teaspoon urad dal, 1 teaspoon chana dal
1 tablespoon sesame oil

Preparation
Heat the sesame oil in a special ladle (copper bottom) or in a saucepan.  Add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal and chane dal to it. Just shake / stir the contents around in the ladle.  The mustard seeds begin to pop within a couple of minutes.  The garnish is now ready to be added to any stir-fried or steamed vegetable(s).  Add salt to taste.

Typically for making various vegetable curries, I would also recommend adding a couple of pinches of turmeric powder and coriander powder or coriander seeds that have been crushed.

Top 7 ways to eat a tomato

Friday, September 11, 2009

7. Eat a salad with diced tomatoes thrown in
6. Topping on a pizza
5. Have a veggie wrap / sandwich with tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce, olives, cheese and chick peas
4. Pasta with diced tomatoes thrown in
3. Tomato Sambhar
2. Tomato Rasam

and the best way to eat a tomato .....

1. Slice a raw tomato, sprinkle some black pepper and enjoy!

Hey Flexitarians - Something is Better than Nothing

I am coming across droves of people who label themselves as Flexitarian.  They try to follow a mostly vegetarian diet but occassionally eat meat.  There is no specific pattern to their eating habits or diet.  There is also no real inclusion or exclusion criteria to the kinds if meat they eat.  Some of them limit the number of meals with meat every week.  Others limit the type of meat they eat.

I am always happy to see anyone making an attempt to get on a vegetarian diet.  So Flexitarians, here's hoping to see more and more of you slowly become completely vegetarian.  So, whether it is health reasons, environmental reasons, avoiding cruelty to animals, reducing your carbon footprint, religious reasons, whatever be the case, any step you take towards becoming a vegetarian eventually is great.

I would be curious to know from Flexitarians that read this article, what are your reasons.  I have been a vegetarian all my life and it is difficult for me to imagine being anything else.

One Pesky or Pesci Vegetarian

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

I do not know if being vegetarian is a fashion statement these days.  I would never know what induces folks to become vegetarian suddenly since I have been a vegetarian all my life.  I had posted earlier on the definition of a vegetarian, and we may need to revisit that with some "pesky" vegetarians :-)

Apparently, people that are vegetarian but also eat fish / sea food are on the rise.  These people do not eat poultry or any other meat other than fish.  They are now being called pesci-vegetarians.  This practice is being called pescetarianism.  The vegetarian society that was established way back in 1847, does not recognize pescetarianism as being vegetarian.  At least, being a pesci-vegetarian is better than being no vegetarian or as some would say non-vegetarian.