Peek into the Past -1 Brunch Specials

Cleaning my hard drive today, I found so many unfinished posts and tons of recipes I never blogged about! It was fun to revisit the  2 years of cooking explorations-some successful, some disasters  :) Most of these dishes were "first times" for me and thus deserve a special mention on this blog!! I will be posting these past pictures in between "real time" posts. This first post documents my experiments with breakfast/ brunch foods! 

A perfect Saturday brunch for me has to be something which is quick to make, requires minimum groceries and can fill me up for the day! (And yes it has to be HOT (as in off the stove), I am not too much  a fan of cold foods. Here are  some of my all time favourites :

Vermicelli Upma

Learnt the recipe from my mom. (Still haven't come across anybody else in my circle who prepares this). Its a fun and easy alternative to  rava upma and very hard to mess up!

Roast the vermicelli (seviyan) in a little ghee till browned. Keep aside. Heat some oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, curry leaves, chana dal and urda dal. Roast till the dals are browned. Now add chopped onions and green chillies. Once the onions are cooked you can add your choice of vegetables- (peas, carrots go well). Add salt and red chilli powder, cover the lid and cook for some time. Add the roasted vermicelli and water. cook till the seviyan are soft and cooked completely. We totally relish this upma with Molga podi and dollops of yoghurt!

Tomato Omelet/ Dhirda

The Indian/vegetarian alternative to an egg omelet. Made with besan, a pantry staple in most Indian kitchens. Great for days when there is nothing else in the refrigerator. ! Try it between two slices of bread with some hot chutney. mmmmm..:)

Mix besan (gram flour) with salt, red chilli powder, ajwain, diced green chillies, tomatoes and cilantro. Carefully add water while constantly beating the mix to avoid any lumps. The end batter should be easily spreadable  but not too watery. Pour the batter on a lightly oiled skillet. Cook till both sides are browned. Serve hot with ketchup or green chutney.

French Toast

When omelets and bhurji seem routine, we love to dig into this more 'exotic' alternative! :)

Beat eggs. Add chopped onions, diced onions, chillies, cilantro, a little milk, salt and pepper. Mix well. Dip bread slices into the egg batter (slightly stale/ hardened bread works better). Fry bread slices on a skillet till cooked completely and browned on all both sides. Enjoy with tomato ketchup!

Pohe

"ayushya he, chulhi varlya, kadhai tale kande pohe.." This new song by Avdhoot Gupte  is enough to describe the importance of Pohe (flattened rice) in a Marathi household..:)

I am still striving for perfection when it comes to pohe, so  I will skip the recipe. Every time I make Pohe there is something or the other wrong-  either the raw pohe smell lingers around, or the potatoes remain slightly uncooked or they end up in a soggy mess! Would love to hear from you guys any tips/ secrets to get this one just right! :)

Chao for now, I really enjoyed writing this post! (This one's for you Aai!! ) :)

The vegetarian 100

A fun meme developed by Barbara of   Tigers and Strawberries :)

( And thanks to Onehotstove for posting the link )

"If you want to play along, here’s how you do it: copy the list, including my instructions, and bold any items you have eatenand strike out any you would never eat, and then post it to your blog. If you want, you can leave a comment here, linking to your results, or you can link back to this post so I can try and keep tabs on what folks have eaten and not eaten."

(I don't know how to strike out items!!! so I am highlighting the ones I wont eat in Red)

Barbara's Vegetarian Hundred

1. Real macaroni and cheese, made from scratch and baked
2. Tabouleh
3. Freshly baked bread, straight from the oven (preferably with homemade strawberry jam)
4. Fresh figs
5. Fresh pomegranate
6. Indian dal of any sort
7. Imam bayildi
8. Pressed spiced Chinese tofu
9. Freshly made hummus
10. Tahini
11. Kimchi
12. Miso
13. Falafel
14. Potato and pea filled samosas
15. Homemade yogurt
16. Muhammara
17. Brie en croute
18. Spanikopita
19. Fresh, vine-ripened heirloom tomatoes
20. Insalata caprese
21. Stir-fried greens (gai lan, bok choi, pea shoots, kale, chard or collards)
22. Freshly made salsa
23. Freshly made guacamole
24. Creme brulee
25. Fava beans
26. Chinese cold sesame peanut noodles
27. Fattoush
28. New potatoes
29. Coleslaw
30. Ratatouille
31. Baba ganoush
32. Winter squash
33. Roasted beets
34. Baked sweet potatoes
35. Plantains
36. Chocolate truffles
37. Garlic mashed potatoes
38. Fresh water chestnuts
39. Steel cut oats
40. Quinoa
41. Grilled portabello mushrooms
42. Chipotle en adobo
43. Stone ground whole grain cornmeal
44. Freshly made corn or wheat tortillas
45. Frittata
46. Basil pesto
47. Roasted garlic
48. Raita of any type
49. Mango lassi
50. Jasmine rice (white or brown)
51. Thai vegetarian coconut milk curry
52. Pumpkin in any form other than pie
53. Fresh apple pear or plum gallette
54. Quince in any form
55. Escarole, endive or arugula
56. Sprouts other than mung bean
57. Naturally brewed soy sauce
58. Dried shiitake mushrooms
59. Unusually colored vegetables (purple cauliflower, blue potatoes, chocolate bell peppers…)
60. Fresh peach ice cream
61.  Chevre
62. Medjool dates
63. Kheer
64. Flourless chocolate cake
65. Grilled corn on the cob
66. Black bean (or any other bean) vegetarian chili
67. Tempeh
68. Seitan or wheat gluten

69. Gorgonzola or any other blue veined cheese
70. Sweet potato fries
71. Homemade au gratin potatoes
72. Cream of asparagus soup
73. Artichoke-Parmesan dip
74. Mushroom risotto
75. Fermented black beans
76. Garlic scapes
77. Fresh new baby peas
78. Kalamata olives
79. Preserved lemons
80. Fried green tomatoes
81. Chinese scallion pancakes
82. Cheese souffle
83. Fried apples
84. Homemade frijoles refritos
85. Pasta fagiole
86. Macadamia nuts in any form
87. Paw paw in any form
88. Grilled cheese sandwich of any kind
89. Paneer cheese
90. Ma Po Tofu (vegetarian style–no pork!)
91. Fresh pasta in any form
92. Grilled leeks, scallions or ramps
93. Green papaya salad
94. Baked grain and vegetable stuffed tomatoes
95. Pickled ginger
96. Methi greens
97. Aloo paratha
98. Kedgeree (the original Indian version without the smoked fish, not the British version with fish)
99. Okra
100. Roasted brussels sprouts

My score : 54%  Not bad! And as it turns out I don't mind trying everything as as long as its vegetarian!

Rasam - Bhaat

Dinner today: Piping hot Rasam Rice with a side of Potato roast (Urulai Vathakkal) and curds. 

You can get both these wonderful recipes at Tasty palettes. :) Happy Eating!

Chai and Pakora!

what else do you crave for on cold wintry days like these...???

This was a couple of weeks back, when we saw the season's first snow storm in Atlanta .. It was a Sunday..:) We enjoyed the day with several rounds of chai..lots of TV and yummy Paneer Pakoras!

Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly Plants

Came across this article from the New York Times. It was an eye opener for me and really led me to think about our eating habits and exercise routine (and also make my new year resolutions which I NEVER EVER have) :

1.) Incorporate more fresh vegetables in my everyday meals. In addition to the usual dal chawal,our meal will now include more vegetables (cooked/raw).

2.) Start shopping at the Farmer's market instead of the Grocery stores.

3.) Create AND STICK to an exercise schedule (walking/jogging to start with)

Some like it Hot..!

I don't have a sweet tooth at all..so when everybody around me is trying hard to keep away from all the cookies and candies and cakes this holiday season, It's no problem for me..:) - that means no post Christmas diets and workouts..;P

I am the other extreme - the fiery-spicy food lover. "teekha khana teekhi ladkiyo ke liye"(Hot food is for hot girls ;P) a dialogue from the Bollywood Hit- Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam very rightfully applies to me..giggles..:) There is no dearth of spicy food in India, specially the quick- light on the pockets spicy street food. From the pani puri water, the wada pav with the red hot chutney to mirchi bhajia, I have had my fair share of all :).  And one of my all time favourite snack is misal pav- the healthy goodness of sprouts in a spicy hot curry. The spicier the Misal the better..:) - it is no fun to eat misal without the red runny nose and watery eyes...:)

I had my first taste of  misal pav in Nashik, during my days in architecture school. And after that first time I couldn't get enough :). There was this place we used to frequent a lot in Satpur industrial area- "shyam Sunder" which has the best Misal Pav in town. The authentic misal pav is an elaborate affair- misal(cooked sprouts) is served with separate cutta(the spicy curry), boiled potatoes, yogurt, onions and slices of pav/bread. Shyam Sunder is an "eat as much as u can" joint, as most misal places are. That means you keep getting several rounds of the misal drowned in the spicy "cutta". I remember not leaving that place once, till our faces were all red..:)

My version of Misal is very quick and easy - by no way authentic but after several experiments, I have  managed to get the end product pretty close to the original. Here it goes:

Misal- Pav Ingredients:

3/4th cup moth

1/4th cup- kala chana and whole moong

1 onion finely chopped

1 small tomato cubed

1 potato diced in small cubes

1-2 hot peppers

2-3 garlic pods crushed

cumin seeds

mustard seeds

salt to taste

chilli powder

turmeric powder

garam masala

goda masala

vada pav masala

The beans- to be sprouted

1.) Soak the moth, moong and kala chana overnight and then wrap it in wet cloth for a day or two till the beans are sprout well.

2.) Pressure cook the sprouts with potatoes and tomatoes.

3.) In a pan heat some oil, add cumin seeds and mustard seeds, once the seeds start spluttering add the chopped onions and garlic. Once the onions are cooked and translucent, add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala, goda masala and roast for a few minutes.

4.) Add the cooked sprouts to the masala mixture with enough water. Let it come to a boil and then add salt and a pinch of the dry garlic chutney. Add some lemon juice and mix well.

The Fiery Hot Cauldron

The fixings

In a separate bowl mix curds into a smooth paste.

Keep Chopped red onions, lemon wedges and farsaan (hot mix) ready  for garnishing

To serve

In a deep bowl pour the hot misal and garnish with curds, onions and hot mix. Serve with pav or dinner rolls.

The Bowl that doesn't last more than a few minutes..

I am sending this as my entry to My Legume Love affair- Hot and Spicy event on Suganya's blog- Tasty Palettes. 

My Legume Love affair is a fantastic monthly blog event started by Susan- The Well Seasoned Cook.  Do visit the past entries for tons of wonderful recipes with lentils and legumes.

Thanks Suganya for hosting the Sixth Helping!

And on en ending note -Wishing you all a Sweet and Spicy New Year! :)