Showing posts with label mint. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mint. Show all posts

Saturday, November 12, 2016

Apple, cucumber and carrot salad

Salads aren't my most favourite food, if I am to be honest. Seeing a recipe for salad on anyone's blog doesn't usually float my boat. So I don't expect this simple recipe to turn the Internet's head and send millions of unique visitors my way. But it really was a refreshing salad when I ate it yesterday, and I thought it worthwhile to make a post of it. The best part was that the apples were from my own little container tree, which has done rather well this year. i think I got about 20 apples from it, all told. It's only got two branches!

I had picked a couple of apples to see if they were edible or whether I would have to make an apple crisp or cake, because last month when I tried one, it was much too sour to make pleasant eating. (I made a cake with the apples then). They are meant to be eating apples, you see. But this time they were perfect, beautifully juicy and sweet with the right amount of tartness. Really lovely. Why I fancied a salad using the apples, I have no idea. I don't usually want a salad for dinner. But I had also picked some mint too, and I wanted to use that. So here it is. I can assure you that the salad is refreshing and I really enjoyed it. It is not any more exciting than that, unfortunately.

No wait, that's not quite true. There was SOME excitement while I was slicing the vegetables - I used a mandoline to make wafer-thin slices, and it was so viciously sharp and efficient at its job that I found I had sliced a bit off the side of my forefinger before I knew it. I cursed a bit and ran cold water over my finger, then went back to the mandoline. And it happened AGAIN, this time to my thumb. It was painful, but at least I can claim that I put myself into my salad. You don't have to do the same, though. I'm sure the salad would taste just as nice without the blood, sweat (metaphorically speaking) and tears.

Recipe for:
Apple, cucumber and carrot salad


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Ingredients:

2 medium eating apples
1 small cucumber
1 medium carrot
2 tbsp walnuts
handful of Chinese cabbage or lettuce, shredded very fine

For the dressing:
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp very finely chopped mint
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp apple balsamic vinegar
Salt to taste

1. Slice the cucumber, apples and carrot very thinly (I used a mandoline).

2. Whisk together the ingredients for the dressing. Adjust the taste to your requirement.

3. Mix the salad vegetables together, then add the dressing a little at a time - you may not require all of it, so go easy. Sprinkle the walnuts on top and eat immediately.

Friday, November 11, 2016

Mixed vegetable pakoda v2

I've posted a pakoda recipe before, but I thought I'd do a post on this version because, for one, it IS slightly different and for another, I really REALLY like my photo and think it deserves to be enshrined on my blog for posterity to view over and over.

HAHAHAHA!

My mother's version (which is the only one I've used all these years) for vegetable pakoda does not involve ginger-garlic paste. This time I decided to add it, and gosh, what a difference it made to the taste! The mint also added a refreshing note. I recommend it. 


Oh, and while you're considering my recommendation, make sure you guys admire my beautiful photo of the pakodas. I recommend that too.

Recipe for:
Mixed vegetable pakoda

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Ingredients:
1 medium potato
10-12 green beans
1/5 small cauliflower
1 medium carrot
1 cup spinach
1/4 cup green peas
1 medium onion
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
2 tbsp finely chopped mint

1 tsp omam/ajwain/oregano seeds
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1.5 - 2 cups chickpea flour
2 tbsp rava/semolina
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

Method:

1. Peel the carrot. Chop all the vegetables into thin 1/2-inch long strips.

2. Heat the oil in a deep wok. While the oil is heating, in a large mixing bowl, mix together all the chopped vegetables, spice powders, grated ginger and garlic, the semolina and the chickpea flour. Mix well, then add salt to taste and mix again. Add 1/4 cup water and mix with your hands to a thick dough. It should not be runny at all, because the vegetables will exude water. And once the dough is mixed, use it straightaway.

3. Drop a small piece of dough in the oil - if it floats to the top rightaway, the oil is ready. Drop the mixture carefully into the oil by the tablespoonful. Don't crowd the oil or the pakodas will not be crisp and soak up the oil. Once they are an even golden brown, remove from the oil and drain onto kitchen paper.

4. Serve warm. Great with drinks.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Spinach black-sesame masala rice

I'm sure that there are dozens of recipes for green rice Indian-style on the blogosphere, and dozens more if you were to look for "spinach rice" or "spinach pulao" or "spinach masala rice" or for any such combination that you care to come up with... but, like Frank Sinatra (much) before me, I didn't do it in any of those other dozens of ways - instead, I did it "Myyyyyy Waaaaaaayyy". Just be glad that I cooked it Myyyyyy Waaaaaaayyy, instead of singing it - I don't think that my singing would be particularly appreciated, whereas chances of my recipe being appreciated are quite good... or so I like to think. But, more importantly - what do YOU think?
Recipe for:
Spinach black-sesame masala rice
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Ingredients:

4-5 cups basmati rice, pre-cooked al dente
1 cup shredded green cabbage (I used savoy)
1 large onion, sliced thinly
2 tbsp chopped mint
1 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds, crushed or left whole
1 tsp ghee
10-15 cashewnuts, broken, for garnish
a pinch of soda bicarb
Salt to taste
For the wet masala
1 cup chopped spinach, loosely packed
1 cup chopped coriander leaves, loosely packed
4-5 green chillies (or as per taste)
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1" piece ginger
For the dry masala
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp black sesame seeds
1 tbsp tur dal
2-3 dry red chillies (optional)

Method:
1. Grind all the ingredients for the wet masala to a smooth paste and set aside till required.
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Do not add any extra water while grinding.
2. Dry-roast the dry masala ingredients in a small pan over medium heat,
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stirring frequently, till they are aromatic and the dal is golden brown. Do not let them burn. When cool, grind them to a powder (doesn't have to be very smooth) and reserve.
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3. Heat the ghee in a big kadai or wok and fry the cashew nuts till they are a pale golden brown. Remove from the pan and set aside till required.
4. In the same pan, heat the 1 tbsp oil. Add 1/2 tsp cumin seeds and let them sizzle for 10 seconds, then add the sliced onion.
5. Fry 2-3 till they begin to soften, then add the cabbage.
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Stir well, then cover the pan tightly and let the cabbage cook till nearly done, about 7 minutes.
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6. Now add the ground spinach masala with a pinch of soda bicarb and fry it for about 5-6 minutes, stirring,
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until it loses most of the excess moisture and doesn't smell raw any more.
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7. Add the cooked rice now, along with salt to taste,
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and mix it in carefully with the masala, without mushing up the grains,
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then stir in the dry masala powder.
8. Sprinkle the chopped mint and fried cashewnuts over the rice,
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and serve hot along with fried papad/appalam or potato crisps, and onion raita.


RECIPE: SPINACH BLACK-SESAME MASALA RICE
Ingredients:

4-5 cups basmati rice, pre-cooked al dente
1 cup shredded green cabbage (I used savoy)
1 large onion, sliced thinly
2 tbsp chopped mint
1 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds, crushed or left whole
1 tsp ghee
10-15 cashewnuts, broken, for garnish
a pinch of soda bicarb
Salt to taste
For the wet masala
1 cup chopped spinach, loosely packed
1 cup chopped coriander leaves, loosely packed
4-5 green chillies (or as per taste)
1" piece ginger
For the dry masala
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp black sesame seeds
1 tbsp tur dal
2-3 dry red chillies (optional)
Method
1. Grind all the ingredients for the wet masala to a smooth paste and set aside till required. Do not add any extra water while grinding.
2. Dry-roast the dry masala ingredients in a small pan over medium heat, stirring frequently, till they are aromatic and the dal is golden brown. Do not let them burn. When cool, grind them to a
powder (doesn't have to be very smooth) and reserve.
3. Heat the ghee in a big kadai or wok and fry the cashew nuts till they are a pale golden brown. Remove from the pan and set aside till required.
4. In the same pan, heat the 1 tbsp oil. Add 1/2 tsp cumin seeds and let them sizzle for 10 seconds, then add the sliced onion.
5. Fry 2-3 till they begin to soften, then add the cabbage. Stir well, then cover the pan tightly and let the cabbage cook till nearly done, about 7 minutes.
6. Now add the ground spinach masala with a pinch of soda bicarb and fry it for about 5-6 minutes, stirring, until it loses most of the excess moisture and doesn't smell raw any more.
7. Add the cooked rice now, along with salt to taste, and mix it in carefully with the masala without mushing up the grains, then stir in the dry masala powder.
8. Sprinkle the chopped mint and fried cashewnuts over the rice, and serve hot along with fried papad/appalam or potato crisps, and onion raita.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Herby onion rice with almonds

There is a slight – very slight – downside to growing your own herbs… the fact that there is so MUCH of them to use up during the growing season. The fact that most herbs are seasonal and die down during the winter is another pinprick to my gardening soul – if only because of the guilt of not using them as much as possible. You know, the sort of guilt generated by an inner voice that goes “You complained about not having your own herbs, now you have them you’re not using them, you’re letting them go waste, use 'em up, use 'em up, use 'em upppp!”).

Much as I love my fresh herbs, coriander is the one that I use the most and can’t grow enough of, especially as it is not the “cut and come again” kind of herb. I do grow maybe a couple of batches of coriander in the summer, but it’s usually quicker and more convenient to just buy a bunch from the supermarket.

Other herbs which I use reasonably frequently are basil, chives and mint. I have three kinds of mint and like I’ve said before, this year they’re growing wild. If they were not container-grown, they would probably have taken over the entire backyard – possibly like
triffids, only fresh smelling (and also not poisonously carnivorous, unlike triffids).

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Anyway, I’ve been using up more mint this summer than I ever have before, in an effort to quieten my brain’s guilty yammering and make use of at least some of the bounty – mint chutney, minty rice in several forms, salads, and so on. I made this rice a short while back, using up the last of my own fresh coriander, and some of my golden variegated mint. I didn’t make a paste of the herbs this time, just sliced them into as thin ribbons as possible and used them like that – I suppose it made a difference in that the taste was not so in-your-face-herby as when the mint is ground up. .

PS. I’m not so bothered about my mint plants now, as they have started flowering and there are bees, wasps and assorted other insects gorging themselves on the flowers. (Also, the hovering insects make it a bit dicey for me to pick the mint – I’m not brave or stoic about being stung!)

Recipe for:
Herby onion rice with almonds

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Ingredients:

1 cup basmati rice, soaked for 20 minutes and cooked al dente and cooled

2 medium onions + 4 shallots (optional)
1/2 cup coriander leaves
1/2 cup mint leaves
1 tbsp ginger, grated
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp skinned slivered almonds
1 tsp coriander powder
2 tbsp sultanas
1 tsp oil

1 tsp ghee
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Slice and onions and shallots thinly.

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2. In a wide pan, heat 1 tsp oil and add the coriander powder and grated ginger. Fry for 30 seconds or till the ginger goes a darker shade of brown.

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3. Add the sliced onions + shallots and cook them slowly on a medium-low flame with 2 tbsp water,
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till softened and lightly caramelised (about 8 minutes).

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4. Add the chopped herbs along with salt to taste and stir-fry till they wilt.

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5. Add the cooked rice and gently fold in with a large spatula, taking care not to break or mush up the grains.

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6. In a separate, small pan, heat the tsp of ghee till melted, then add the sultanas and stir till they swell up and go golden brown. Remove from the ghee, squeezing them gently with a spoon against the side of the pan to let the excess ghee drip away. Reserve.

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7. To the ghee remaining in the pan, add the cumin seeds and the slivered almonds,
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stirring with a spoon till the almonds take on a pale gold colour and the cumin seeds are aromatic.

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7. Add the almonds and sultanas to the rice and mix in.

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8. Serve hot with a spicy curry.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Minty golden bean pulao

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I wonder if there comes a point when it's no longer a thrill to be able to go into your garden and pick your own vegetables, herbs or fruit fresh, to use in your own kitchen (or even to see used in someone else’s kitchen, come to that) for your own family's consumption. I haven't come to that stage and I don't see myself ever doing so, if only because I don’t grow as many edible things as I’d like to because of space constraints and my own limitations as a gardener.

Given that, every little thing that I use from my garden is a source of huge pleasure – the ripe blueberries that I pick off in ones and twos and eat rightaway (not enough of them to do anything else!); the chillies that I’ve picked and used; the herbs (3 types of mint, sage, thyme, chives, parsley, coriander and 3 types of basil), the spinach beet leaves… all of these seem to taste better for having grown in my containers.

This year, for the first time, I tried growing some dwarf yellow French beans – I have six plants that give me a handful of golden-yellow tender beans every week. Usually I’m happy to boil them, and eat them straightaway without further ado – they’re that good (and I like fresh French beans that much). But this time I wanted to use them in a recipe, and given that I’d got a bunch of mint (it really is growing like crazy this year) from my garden, the last of the coriander and some fresh green chillies, I thought to combine them all in one recipe – along with fresh green peas as well.

So that is what this is – a very green(fingered) pulao recipe.

Recipe for:
Minty golden bean pulao

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Ingredients:

1 cup basmati rice, washed and soaked for 20 minutes

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1/2 cup golden (or green) French beans, sliced on the diagonal
1/2 cup fresh green peas
1 cup loosely packed mint leaves
1/2 cup loosely packed coriander leaves
2 tbsp lime/lemon juice
5 baby plum tomatoes (or 1 small tomato), chopped
2 medium onions, sliced thin
5 purple shallots, sliced thin

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4 fresh green chillies (or to taste)
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander powder
1" piece ginger, sliced
Salt to taste
1 tsp oil
2 cups water

Method:

1. Grind the mint, coriander, green chillies and ginger to a smooth paste along with the lemon juice. Reserve.

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2. In a pan (preferably one which has a tight-fitting lid), heat the oil. Fry the cumin seeds and coriander powder for 30 seconds,

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then add the sliced shallots and onions and stir-fry on high heat till the onions start to turn soft.

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Stir in the tomatoes and let them cook for a couple of minutes.

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3. Add the green peas and the sliced beans and mix them into the onions, stir-frying for 2-3 minutes.

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Then add the ground mint-coriander paste

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and let it fry till the raw smell goes (about 3 minutes).

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4. Add the soaked rice (without the water), stirring it into the vegetable mixture, keeping the heat med-high. Be careful not to let it "catch" and burn.

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5. Once the rice begins to turn opaque, add 2 cups water and salt to taste.

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Bring this to a bubbling boil, then turn the heat right down and cover the pan with the lid. Let it cook on the lowest heat for 20 minutes, then turn the heat off and let the pulao sit undisturbed for another 15 minutes.

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After that, uncover the pan, fluff up the rice with a fork and serve with raita and/or something crunchy on the side.

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Saturday, October 18, 2008

Green lentil pulao

When I made this pulao, it was with the intention of submitting it for Sra’s Legume Love Affair. After I made it, though, I had a sudden rush of doubt… were green lentils legumes? I couldn’t remember if legumes meant just beans, or whether lentils were included under that heading.

I’m afraid this story doesn’t have much suspense in it – or even a story – and even I couldn’t spin it out to my usual preposterous lengths… because, when I googled “Are lentils legumes?”, Google promptly – and unsuspensefully - informed me that yes, they are. End of story. No more suspense.

But yay, this recipe can go out to Sra for the
4th Legume Love Affair – and it is. I do love it when a plan comes together!

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What’s more, this also qualifies for
Srivalli’s Rice Mela, so I’m sending it off there as well.

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Now I'm twice as satisfied.

Recipe for: Green lentil pulao

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Ingredients:

Wash well and soak together, for at least 30 minutes: ½ cup green or puy lentils (or any lentils that keep their shape when cooked)
2 cups basmati rice

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Grind to a smooth paste:

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10-15 fresh mint leaves
¼ cup coriander stems (preferably) or leaves

1” piece ginger
4 fat garlic cloves
3-4 fresh green chillies (or to taste)
½ tsp coriander seeds (green ones if possible)

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Vegetables and spices:
1/2 cup onions, sliced thin
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/4 cup green beans, sliced
1/4 cup frozen green peas
1/4 cup green bell pepper
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 bay leaf
2 tsp oil
Salt to taste
About 3 cups water or whey (I use rice:liquid ratio of 1:1.5)

Method:

1. Heat 2 tsp oil in a large pan (which has a tight-fitting lid). Add the cumin seeds and fry for 30 seconds, then add the sliced onions and fry till they start softening.

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2. Add the chopped tomato and stir fry for 2 minutes,

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then scrape in the mint paste and fry it on medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring till it begins to change colour.

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3. Now add the sliced vegetables and stir well, then let them cook for 5 minutes or so.

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4. Next, add the soaked rice-lentils and bay leaf, stir till well mixed.

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Turn the heat up to high and fry this, stirring continuously, for 2-3 minutes, till the rice grains begin to turn opaque.

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Add salt to taste, then pour in the water (or whey, if you have it).

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Stir well again, then turn the heat up again.

5. Once the water comes to a rolling boil, turn the heat right down, cover the pan and let the rice and vegetables cook for 15 -18 minutes, undisturbed, then turn off the heat. Let the pulao rest for 15 minutes. Ideally, do not lift the lid at all during this time.

6. After 15-20 minutes, lift the lid, sniff at the aroma, fluff the rice with a fork and serve hot with a cool cucumber raita.

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