I am a big fan of Tarla Dalal… especially after I met the lady personally and interviewed her a few years ago. She was promoting her new book, Cooking with one teaspoon of oil. I learnt that tasty food need not be drowned in fat… So I decided to cook sensibly at least for 20 days of the month. The best solution? I use my old, battered microwave to the maximum for boiling vegetables! So here is the first in a series of low-fat, low-cal food that is yummy too!
Triple Magic
Beetroot, julienned: 2 medium
Capsicum, julienned: 2 medium
Carrot, julienned: 2 medium
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Juice of one lemon
Oil: 1 tsp
Method
Boil the vegetables (without water) in a microwave safe bowl covered with cling film for about ten minutes on high. Add salt, pepper and lemon juice. Add a teaspoon of oil and microwave again for a minute. Serve hot with chappatis and onion raita.
Monday, September 22, 2008
In a jiffy
Jhatpat Green Pulao
You reach home from office late… And your family demands a ‘tasty meal’. Don’t despair… the Jhatpat Green Pulao is the easy way out! Remember, the electric rice cooker is essential… The rest is just a bit of grinding and lot more of tossing… and voila, a delicious pulao is ready. If you have no time to make the green paste, just omit and add more of garam masala powder. If you have no vegetables in your fridge, just make do with potatoes, carrots and onions… But don’t boil the potato beforehand. Just gently fry…
This one is especially for us, multi-taskers!
Ingredients
Partly boiled vegetables (carrot, capscicum, corn, peas, beans): 1 cup
Rice: 1 cup
Whole garam masala: 1tbsp
Turmeric powder: 1tsp
Red chilli powder: 1tsp
Garam masala powder: 1tsp
Ghee: 2tsp
Oil: 1tbsp
Onions: 2 medium finely chopped
Juice of one lime
To be ground into thick paste
1 small bunch of coriander leaves
1 small bunch of mint leaves
1-2 green chillies
Method
Wash rice well. Fry lightly in a little oil. Keep aside.
In the frying pan, add whole garam masala. Saute for a minute. Add chopped vegetables. Add turmeric, chilli and garam masala powder. Fry for two minutes. Add salt and remove from flame.
In a rice cooker, add rice, vegetables and two cups of water. Add the ground green paste and lemon juice. Add a little oil or ghee. Close and let it cook. Open in between and gently mix the pulao. Allow to completely cook and move onto the warm mode.
Just before serving, fry onions till golden brown and add. You may also add fried cashewnuts for extra taste. Serve hot with raita.
You reach home from office late… And your family demands a ‘tasty meal’. Don’t despair… the Jhatpat Green Pulao is the easy way out! Remember, the electric rice cooker is essential… The rest is just a bit of grinding and lot more of tossing… and voila, a delicious pulao is ready. If you have no time to make the green paste, just omit and add more of garam masala powder. If you have no vegetables in your fridge, just make do with potatoes, carrots and onions… But don’t boil the potato beforehand. Just gently fry…
This one is especially for us, multi-taskers!
Ingredients
Partly boiled vegetables (carrot, capscicum, corn, peas, beans): 1 cup
Rice: 1 cup
Whole garam masala: 1tbsp
Turmeric powder: 1tsp
Red chilli powder: 1tsp
Garam masala powder: 1tsp
Ghee: 2tsp
Oil: 1tbsp
Onions: 2 medium finely chopped
Juice of one lime
To be ground into thick paste
1 small bunch of coriander leaves
1 small bunch of mint leaves
1-2 green chillies
Method
Wash rice well. Fry lightly in a little oil. Keep aside.
In the frying pan, add whole garam masala. Saute for a minute. Add chopped vegetables. Add turmeric, chilli and garam masala powder. Fry for two minutes. Add salt and remove from flame.
In a rice cooker, add rice, vegetables and two cups of water. Add the ground green paste and lemon juice. Add a little oil or ghee. Close and let it cook. Open in between and gently mix the pulao. Allow to completely cook and move onto the warm mode.
Just before serving, fry onions till golden brown and add. You may also add fried cashewnuts for extra taste. Serve hot with raita.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Soul food...
Down in the dumps and not in the mood to cook but definitely in the mood to eat? Rasam is the food to yank you out of the blues! Just a few crushed pepper corns are enough! I come from a family of rasam lovers and remember my mom making quite a lot of variations! The most loved one was this ... archavitta rasam... that translates into freshly ground rasam. The ingredients are fresh and the flavour is both tangy and spicy...
Archuvitta Rasam
Ingredients
Tuvar dal (bengal gram dal): 1tbsp
Pepper corns: 2tsp
Cumin (whole) 2tsp
Coriander seeds: 2tsp
Red chillies: 4
(Soak above ingredients in a little water for 1 hour and then grind into smooth paste, adding a little water)
Tamarind - ½ the size of a marble
Asofoetida: ¼ tsp
Turmeric powder: ½ tsp
Tomatoes: chopped into fine pieces: 2
Jaggery: One small lump
Salt to taste
For tempering
1tsp mustard seeds
1tsp whole cumin seeds
For garnishing
Chopped coriander leaves
Method
Soak tamarind in water. Squeeze pulp into watery consistency. Place on stove. Add turmeric powder and jaggery. Bring to boil. Add chopped tomatoes. Add the ground paste. Add asofoetida and salt. Keep on low flame till the rasam boils and a lather like foam appears on top. This will take around 8 minutes.
Remove from stove. In a small pan, add 1tsp of ghee. Add mustard seeds and whole cumin. Let them splutter. Pour over rasam. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with rice.
Archuvitta Rasam
Ingredients
Tuvar dal (bengal gram dal): 1tbsp
Pepper corns: 2tsp
Cumin (whole) 2tsp
Coriander seeds: 2tsp
Red chillies: 4
(Soak above ingredients in a little water for 1 hour and then grind into smooth paste, adding a little water)
Tamarind - ½ the size of a marble
Asofoetida: ¼ tsp
Turmeric powder: ½ tsp
Tomatoes: chopped into fine pieces: 2
Jaggery: One small lump
Salt to taste
For tempering
1tsp mustard seeds
1tsp whole cumin seeds
For garnishing
Chopped coriander leaves
Method
Soak tamarind in water. Squeeze pulp into watery consistency. Place on stove. Add turmeric powder and jaggery. Bring to boil. Add chopped tomatoes. Add the ground paste. Add asofoetida and salt. Keep on low flame till the rasam boils and a lather like foam appears on top. This will take around 8 minutes.
Remove from stove. In a small pan, add 1tsp of ghee. Add mustard seeds and whole cumin. Let them splutter. Pour over rasam. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with rice.
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