Pancakes with Sweet Potatoes

I've been thinking on what to make for Kid's Delight-Deceptively Delicious event going on in my blog. My 4 year old used to be very flexible and would eat everything that I gave him, but nowadays he's become a little picky and unpredictable which is why I try to add healthy ingredients to foods that he enjoys and wouldn't notice the "other" stuff that's in it.

He loves pancakes for breakfast, so I sneaked in some sweet potato puree into the yeasted pancake batter that i was making this weekend to boost their nutrition and they turned out delicious too. I used vegan butter and egg replacement powder to make these vegan, but feel free to substitute with butter & egg for a non-vegan version. 

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White Pumpkin & Swiss Chard Curry

White pumpkin (Gummadikaya in Telugu) is a very versatile veggie and can be used to make dals, curries and stews. This time around I had a bunch of Swiss Chard that needed to be used up, so I added it to the curry to boost the nutrition. To make the curry creamy and not make it too dry, I added coconut cream, the top layer in unshaken canned coconut milk. All in all the curry turned out to be quite tasty.

Here’s how I made it:
Ingredients:
White Pumpkin – 3 cups, diced into 1” cubes (Zucchini should be a good substitute)
Swiss Chard – 1 small bunch, chopped
Chana dal – ½ cup, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes
Green chilies – 3, sliced
Coconut cream – 1tsbp, just skim the thick cream that forms on the top of regular coconut milk can
Turmeric – 1/8 tsp

For tempering:

Mustard Seeds – 1tsp

Cumin seeds – 1tsp

Dry red chilies – 3

Method:

• Microwave pumpkin with ½ cup water until tender.
• Heat 2tsp oil in a sauté pan; add the tempering ingredients and once they splutter add green chilies, soaked chana and cooked pumpkin with any leftover water after microwaving.
• Mix well and add the chopped chard. Cover and cook till chard is wilted and the dal is completely cooked.
• Add coconut cream and salt, simmer for another 2 minutes.

Serve with steamed rice or roti.

Easy Pasta Sauce

Today is Day 3 of our Blogging Marathon and I have a simple pasta sauce recipe for you.This is a very quick and easy pasta sauce that I make for my son. Actually this isn’t even an actual recipe; this is the way I jazz up store bought pasta sauce to make it taste fresh. Using store bought pasta sauce cuts down on the cooking time and is very convenient. But I try to make sure that I don’t buy sauces that are loaded with sodium or other additives. I like Trader Joes basic marinara sauce as is for pasta and pizza, but like to doctor it up a little bit once in a while. I also make it from scratch and I’m giving that variation as well in the recipe below.

I use Cashew or Almond butter to add creaminess to the sauce, you can also use light or heavy cream to get the same effect.

Ingredients:
Pasta Sauce – 1 cup (I use Trader Joe’s brand). Use 2tbsp tomato paste with ¾th cup tomato puree instead of the store-bought pasta sauce
Red onion – 3tbsp, finely chopped
Carrot – 2tbsp, very finely diced
Garlic – 1 clove, minced (optional)
Pepper – to taste
Sugar – pinch (optional)

Cashew Butter - 2tsp

Method:

• Heat 1tsp olive oil in a small sauce pan. Add onions, carrots and garlic with a sprinkle of salt and cook on medium-low flame until the veggies are tender, about 8 minutes.
• Stir in pasta sauce, sugar (if using) and pepper. Taste and season with salt if required, which is highly unlikely because pasta sauces are usually heavily seasoned already.
• Simmer for 5-6 minutes on medium-low flame. This sauce sputters and spits out a lot, so be aware and don't where your best white clothes while making this :-).
• Slowly stir in cashew butter and simmer for another minute.
• Mix the sauce with pasta of your choice and enjoy.

Don't forget to check out what the other Marathoners are cooking up in their kitchens.

Azeema, Bhagi, Champa, Sowmya, Gayathri Anand, Gayathri Kumar, Harini, Jay, Kamalika, Mina, Meena, Padma, PJ, Priya Mahadevan, PriyaSuresh, PriyaVaasu, Rujuta, Saraswathi, Savitha, Shanavi, Smitha, Srivalli, Suma,Usha,Veena.

Strawberry Smoothie & a Giveaway

CSN Stores have given me an opportunity to giveaway $45 gift certificate to CSN Stores to 1 lucky winner. CSN Stores have more than 200 online stores where you can find everything from stylish swing set to cute cookware to chic lighting pieces. My personal experience with CSN stores has been awesome, they have a large selection of items and the Customer service is excellent.

You have three chances to become the Lucky winner:

• Leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite Kitchen gadget is and what you would like to buy in near future.
• Subscribe to Cook's Hideout RSS feed and leave a comment on this post.
• Share about this contest on your blog or facebook and leave a comment on this post.

This giveaway is open for residents of US & Canada only. You don't need to have a blog to enter the contest. Try your luck. :-)

Giveaway will end on Saturday, February 5th at 11:59PM EST.

Now coming to the Strawberry smoothie recipe. My son loves Strawberry smoothie and this is my version using condensed milk. I bought condensed milk in squeeze bottle and that makes making this smoothie a jiffy.

Ingredients:
Strawberries, fresh or frozen - 1/4 cup, chopped
Banana - 1/2 of a medium banana, chopped
Milk - 1/2 cup
Condensed milk - 2tbsp
Ground Cardamom - a pinch

Method:

• Blend all the ingredients until smooth and serve immediately.

Pasta with Broccoli and Mozzarella in Red Pepper Sauce

I like to add veggies to my pasta dishes, so it makes for a complete meal. This is one of my favorite ways to have my pasta, sautéed veggies with lots of sauce. For this dish I decided to puree store bought roasted red peppers out of the jar with some roasted peanuts and almonds for a quick weeknight dinner. I also had some cherry mozzarella in the fridge that I put in the dish to make it creamy & cheesy.

Ingredients:
Short cut pasta – 1lb. box, I used tri color rotelle pasta
Red Onion – 1 medium, chopped
Broccoli florets– 2 cups, chopped
Chickpeas - 1 16oz. can, drained & rinsed
Tomato – 1 medium, chopped
Garlic – 2 cloves, minced
Roasted red peppers – 4-5, drained
Roasted peanuts – 3tbsp
Almonds – 2tbsp
Red pepper flakes – 1tsp
Cherry size Mozzarella (Bocconcini or Ciliegine) – 8 oz. container, drained
Salt & Pepper – to taste

Method:

• Cook pasta according to package directions and set aside.
• In a large sauté pan, add 2tbsp oil and sauté onions for 8-10 minutes or until translucent.
• Add garlic and cook for another minute or until fragrant.
• Next add broccoli; cover and cook till they are tender.
• In the meantime, blend the roasted peppers, peanuts & almonds into a paste. I wanted some texture to the sauce, so I left the sauce a little coarse.
• When the broccoli is almost cooked add the sauce along with tomato, chickpeas, red pepper flakes, salt & pepper. Simmer for 5-7 minutes. Turn off the heat.
• Stir the pasta into the sauce along with mozzarella. Mix well and enjoy hot.

Paneer & Green Pepper in Creamy Sauce

When I was making this dish, I had a creamy restaurant style curry in my mind. As it turns out I didn’t have cream in the fridge, but I used the next best thing I had, mascarpone cheese. It made the dish creamy, light, mildly sweet and delicious.

Ingredients:
Paneer – ½ cup, cubed
Green peppers – 2 medium, chopped
Carrot – 1 medium, chopped
Red onion – 1 medium, chopped
Tomato puree – 1/3 cup
Kasoori Methi – 2 tsp
Ginger+Garlic paste – ½ tsp
Milk – ½ cup
Mascarpone cheese – 2tbsp
Garam masala – ½ tsp
Red chili powder – 1 tsp
Salt – to taste

Method:

• Heat 1tbsp oil in a pan, add onions and sauté till golden brown.
  
• Add g+g paste and cook for another minute. Next add the veggies, cover and cook till completely cooked.
  
• Add tomato puree, kasoori methi, red chili powder, garam masala & salt. Simmer for 3-5 minutes.
  
• Next add milk while stirring continuously (otherwise milk might curdle) along with paneer & mascarpone cheese. Simmer for another 2 minutes.

Garnish with chopped coriander and serve with roti or fried rice.

This is my entry to JFI: Paneer being hosted by Trupti @ The Spice who loved me. JFI is the brainchild of Indira @ Mahanandi.

Soy Chorizo & Corn Stew

I like to try vegetarian/ vegan “fake meats”. I know they are processed and everything but I still want to try them at least once to see how they taste. I’ve had some that I really liked, but some that were totally disappointing and inedible.

So when I saw Soy chorizo in Trader’s Joes I had to try it and I have to say we really liked it and I’m going to buy this again. It was similar to Yves brand Veggie ground round but much spicy and garlicky.

Ingredients:
Soy Chorizo – 1 package
Corn – 3 cups (from 3 cobs)
Red Bell pepper – 1 medium, chopped
Green Onions – 1 bunch
Garlic – 2 cloves
Tomato puree – 1 cup
Cumin powder – 1tsp
Chili powder – 1tsp
Salt – to taste

Method:

• Heat 1tbsp oil in a sauté pan; crumble chorizo in the pan and cook on medium flame for about 5 minutes. Remove into a bowl and keep aside.
• In the same pan, add green onions, bell pepper & corn; sauté on medium-high flame for 12-15 minutes or until the veggies are tender.
• Add tomato puree, ground cumin, chili powder and salt. Mix well and cook covered for 5 minutes.
• Return chorizo to the pan along with a cup of water/ veggie broth. Simmer for another 10 minutes. Check for seasonings and serve hot.

I served the stew with some brown rice. Yummyyyyyyy.

Potlakaya Kura and a little helper

It’s been a week that we came back from our short trip to India, but nothing much is cooking in the kitchen yet. As with all the weddings, it was extremely busy and chaotic the whole time. I need another vacation to get some rest. But tough luck had to get back to work right away and with a toddler who’s half in Indian time zone and half in US time zone, and a cough-cold to add to the mix, it took us almost a week to get back to normal. But all in all we had fun in the wedding especially the little one and got to meet friends and family, which is always nice.

Coming back to reality and the dish on hand: I like simple veggies like sorakaya (doodhi), beerakaya (turai) and potlakaya (Snake gourd) that taste great with very little seasonings and minimum prep work, nothing fancy needed. But my husband is not a big fan of them, so I have to think of ways to jazz them up. That’s how this dish came about and he liked it and ate it without complaining, which is good for me.

Ingredients:
Snake gourd – 1 pkg frozen, thawed
Shallot/ Red onion – 1 medium, chopped
Green chilies – 2
Curry leaves – 6
Tomatoes – 2, chopped
Sesame seed powder – 2 tbsp
Red chili powder – ½ tsp (or more to taste)
Rice flour - 1tbsp
Milk – ¼cup
Salt - to taste
Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
Cumin seeds – ½tsp

Method:

• Heat 1tbsp oil in a sauté pan; add mustard seeds and cumin seeds; once the seeds start to splutter; add curry leaves, shallots and green chilies; sauté until shallots are translucent, about 5 minutes.
  
• Then add tomatoes; cover and cook till they turn mushy, takes another 5 minutes.
  
• Add the sesame powder & red chili powder; cook for a minute.
  
• Now add snake gourd and ½ cup water; cover and cook till it turns tender, about 8-10 minutes. Season with salt.
  
• Whisk rice flour into milk and add it to the curry; mix well and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Enjoy with rice or roti.
  

And the little helper I mention in the heading is my 23 month old toddler who gets super excited as soon as he sees me take the tripod out for pictures. He wants to set up the lighting, set the dishes (or mess up the dishes; like in the coconut rice post, I mounded the rice nicely and before I realized he had to put his little touches and off toppled my little mound) and keeps running around me eager to help. I asked him to hold the dish while I take the pictures, so here are his little helping hands.

Kakarakaya Masala Kura (Bitter Gourd in Peanut Gravy)

Kakarakaya/ Karela/ Bitter gourd is one vegetable that I really enjoy cooking and eating too. I usually microwave the chopped gourd with lemon size tamarind, pinch of turmeric and some water until almost tender, about 5 minutes. Drain completely, rinse and completely squeeze out the liquid. This takes care of the bitterness, to be honest, I enjoy a little bitterness in the karela and don't worry to much about taking it out.

I have been thinking of using peanuts in the gravy and wasn't sure how it was going to turn out, but the curry turned out pretty good and tasted even better for lunch the next day.

Ingredients:
Kakarakaya/ Karela/ Bitter Gourd - 4 medium, lightly scrubbed and cut into half moons.
Onion - 1 small, chopped
Tomato - 1 small, chopped
Ginger+Garlic paste - 1tsp
Peanuts, roasted - 1/4 cup
Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp (or more to taste)
Tamarind paste - 1tbsp
Jaggery - 2tbsp
Salt - to taste
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Dry red chili - 2
Curry Leaves - 6

Method:

• Cook kakarakaya as described above. Keep aside.
• Heat 1tsp oil in a saute pan; add onions and stir fry till lightly browned. Add g+g paste and tomatoes; cook till tomatoes turn mushy. Remove and let cool.
• Heat 1tbsp oil to the same pan; add mustard seeds and cumin seeds, once the seeds start spluttering, add curry leavs and red chilies. Saute for a minute.
• Then add half cooked kakarakaya; cover and cook for 5 minutes.
• In the meantime, blend peanuts along with sauted onions, tamarind paste and jaggery with 1/2 cup of water.
• Add peanut mixture to kakarakaya along with red chili powder and salt. Cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until all the flavors mingle.

Enjoy with steamed rice.

This is my entry to JFI: Peanuts. Remember to send in your entries before end of day on July 31st. I'll try to have the round up done on the weekend.

Pumpkin & Whole Masoor dal Sprouts Stew

I’ve never tried sprouting whole masoor dal and when I saw Indira’s(@ Mahanandi) post, I wanted to give it a try. After about 2 days of soaking/draining/rinsing & sprinkling, I had beautiful sprouts.

The recipe for this sweet & tangy sambar type stew is from my dear friend V. Her original recipe used brown chickpeas and was little liquidy, I made it more like a stew. Simple with very few ingredients, but very very tasty. It gets better as it sits.

Ingredients:
Whole Masoor dal sprouts – 2 cups
Pumpkin – 3 cups, chopped
Tamarind Paste – 2tbsp
Jaggery (or light brown sugar) – 2tsp (or per taste)
Sambar powder (home-made or store-bought) – 2tsp (or to taste)
Salt – to taste

For tadka:
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Cumin seeds – 1tsp
Curry leaves – 6-12
Hing – pinch

Method:

• Add 4 cups of water to sprouts; bring them to a boil, then reduce the flame and simmer until they are 3/4th cooked through, about 5-10 minutes.
  
• In the meantime, microwave pumpkin pieces with a pinch of turmeric and salt until tender (but not falling apart), about 6-8 minutes.
  
• Heat 2tsp oil in a pan, add the tadka ingredients and once the seeds start to splutter add the pumpkin & sprouts. Cook for 2 minutes.
  
• Then add tamarind, jaggery, sambar powder, salt and 1cup water (or more if you want a more sambar like consistency). Cover and simmer till it reaches desired consistency.

Enjoy with steamed rice (or with rotis).




This lentil stew is off to MLLA-13 (My Legume Love Affair event) being guest hosted this month by lovely Sunshinemom (@ Tum Yum treats). MLLA is the brainchild of Susan @ Well Seasoned Cook.

Rigatoni with Vegan Sausages & Peppers

Thank you all for your kind words on my Blog Anniversary.

I have never tasted a real sausage, but I love love love vegan sausages. If the real sausage tastes anything like their vegan counterpart, I’m sure I’ll love them too. But come to think of it, I guess I like the texture of seitan more than the taste, so I don’t know if I would like the real sausage. Well we’ll never know and I prefer to keep it that way.
I made this dish with Julie Hasson’s Italian sausages that I froze and store-bought pasta sauce for a quick weeknight dinner, the result was amazing that even my son was slurping down the sauce.

Ingredients: (Makes 6 servings)
Rigatoni – 16 oz.
Onion – 1 medium, chopped
Garlic – 2 cloves, minced
Vegan sausages – 2, sliced into half moons
Banana peppers – 2 large, sliced
Pasta sauce – 1 16oz. bottle (I used Bertolli’s Vidalia Onion pasta sauce)
Salt & pepper – to taste
Pecorino cheese – ¼ cup
Dried or fresh basil

Method:

• Cook pasta as per package directions.
• While the pasta is cooking, make the sauce; heat 1tbsp olive oil in a large skillet. When hot, add onions and garlic, sauté till translucent; add peppers, cover and cook till they turn tender.
• Add seitan and sauté for couple of minutes.
• Now add the pasta sauce and simmer for 8-10 minutes.
• If the sauce is too thick, add pasta water to thin it out. Season with salt & pepper.
• To serve I like to add little sauce to pasta along with couple of teaspoons of cheese and then add more sauce in individual plates with some more cheese on top. Enjoy warm.

We are off on a 1 week vacation to Sweden and I'll be back for Memorial Day. I've few posts from my drafts scheduled to post while I'm gone, so I don't get too too old. I'll be back with pics and new posts end of this month. Oh and also my entries to all the events that I've cooked for so far.

Eggplant Relish

I worked part time in a deli/ caterer during my masters for almost a year. Those days were crazy busy with juggling classes, assignments, on-campus job and part-timing at the deli; but it was so much fun to bounce around the campus, care-free and jolly.

So now you ask, what has all this to do with the eggplant spread? Ok.. Ok.. I’m getting to it; Arlene, the lovely owner used to make this delicious eggplant spread quite often for sandwiches and wraps. This spread was savory-sweet-tangy and works wonderfully as a spread or a dip. Being a sucker for anything with eggplant, I kick myself for not asking Arlene for the recipe, but this is my guesstimated recipe that I came up with, I think its pretty close to the original.

Ingredients:
Eggplant – 1 medium, chopped
Red Pepper – 1 medium, chopped
Red onion – 1 medium, chopped
Tomato puree – ¼ cup
Garlic – 4 cloves, minced
Red pepper flakes – 1 tsp
Dried Oregano – 1tsp
Honey – 1-2tbsp
Salt & pepper – to taste

Method:

• Heat 2tbsp olive oil in a large sauté pan; add onions and sauté until they start turning translucent, about 7-8 minutes.
  
• Add garlic and cook for another 1 minute.
  
• Add chopped eggplant, red pepper, salt and red pepper flakes; cover and cook on medium flame until the eggplants are completely cooked, about 10-12 minutes.
  
• Add tomato puree, honey & oregano at this stage; cover and cook again for 5 minutes.
  
• Adjust the seasonings; uncover and cook to make the mixture thicker and to make all that extra water evaporate.

I used the spread to make a Panini. All you need is crusty bread, some sliced cheese (I used provolone cheese) and 2-3 tbsps of eggplant spread. Half the bread and remove the inside from one of the half (snack on the crumbs as you make the sandwich :-D). Spoon in the spread in the cavity that you created; put the cheese slices on the other half. Lightly spray a grill pan with cooking spray, put the sandwich and place a brick or a heavy cast-iron skillet on top. Cook till grill marks form, about 5 minutes; flip and repeat.

Curried Rice & Bean Salad

Coming from an Andhra family, all our meals almost always included rice in some form or the other. My mom gets very concerned when I tell her that I had salad for lunch, when in reality I ate a whole 8oz. bag of greens with another 1 cups of toppings added (I don’t eat tiny salads, my salads are huge—sometimes I feel embarrassed to even open my lunch box in the cafeteria, that I sneak lunch at my desk).

So growing up salad was rarely on our menu. It was the biggest cultural shock for me when I came to US. For international dinner on my graduate school orientation, in my very early days in the US, we were served salad and pasta (with meat of course). In those days I wouldn’t touch all that “Ghas Phoos” (rabbit food for non-Hindi speaking people) with a bargepole even if I had to die of hunger. But with time I’ve become more accepting and I actually enjoy salads once in a while (please don’t talk about serving sizes here).

My mom would be very happy with this salad, ‘cos it has rice in it. This is a Friday night clean up recipe that is wholesome, filling and super simple to put together. I’m not including any measures ‘cos I used whatever I had left-over in my fridge, so change the measures and ingredients depending on what you have.

Ingredients:
Brown & White basmatic rice – micro waved until just heated through or at room temperature
Black-Eye Peas – cooked
Shallots – chopped fine
Garlic – minced
Curry powder – I used madras curry powder
Cherry tomatoes – roughly chopped or left whole
Arugula – roughly chopped (any green leafy veggie would be good)
Lemon juice, Salt & Pepper – to taste


Method:

• Heat some oil in a pan, add shallots, garlic and black-eye peas and sauté until shallots turn translucent; about 5 minutes. Add curry powder and salt; mix well. Remove and keep aside.
• In the same pan, add arugula and chopped tomatoes; cook till the greens are just wilted; about 3 minutes. Season with salt and curry powder.
  
• To serve: layer the rice, beans and greens in the order of preference and enjoy with a squeeze of lemon juice.

This is my entry to this month’s No Croutons Required – Indian style Salads/Soups being hosted by Lisa’s Kitchen.

Kale, Adzuki Beans & Potato Curry

I read an article in Vegetarian Times (March 2009 issue) that Kale and Adzuki beans are in the top 10 Super food list (# 6 & 7 respectively). Cooking kale increases its antioxidant level, but over-doing has the reverse effect. So this curry is super healthy and tastes pretty good too.

Kale is a sturdier green compared to spinach and does not cook down to a mush and as mentioned before overcooking makes it not so healthy also. This is a dry curry that goes well with rotis or rice and pappu (dal).

Ingredients:

Kale – 1 bunch, chopped (about 3-4 cups)

Potatoes – 3 medium, diced

Adzuki beans – 1 cup, soaked overnight and cooked (I pressure cooked for 4 whistles)

Onion – 1 small

Green chilies – 2, slit

Ginger + Garlic paste (g+g)– ½tsp

Turmeric – ¼tsp

Red chili powder – ½tsp

Garam masala – 1tsp (I used Kitchen King masala)

Amchoor powder – ¼tsp

Mustard seeds – ½tsp

Cumin Seeds – ½tsp

Salt – to taste

Method:

• Add g+g paste, turmeric and potatoes. Cover and cook on medium flame until potatoes are 3/4th cooked; about 8-10 minutes.
  
• Add kale and adzuki beans, chili powder, garam masala, amchoor and salt. Cover and cook till kale is wilted and potatoes are completely cooked through.
  
• Check seasonings and serve warm or at room temperature.

Creamy Tomato Sauce for Pasta

I love creamy tomato sauces/ gravies, be it in Indian gravy curries or Italian pasta sauces. Just the thought of how thick, luscious and yummy these gravies could be, will make me extremely hungry and smack my lips. Well to add to my hunger I remembered my husband telling about the thick tomato soup he had for lunch the other day.

I couldn’t think of anything else but the basket of ripe tomatoes I had on the counter until I got home. But I wasn’t sure how I was going to make it thick and luscious like I was imagining, then I saw the tub of mascarpone cheese in the fridge and the little bulb went on (no actually I remember watching Giada adding it to a lot of her dishes). After half an hour I was devouring the perfect creamy sauce with ravioli and it was just as I dreamed.

I used three types of tomatoes in the sauce to get the consistency I was looking for. Canned chopped tomatoes can be used instead of fresh ones.

Ingredients:

Ripe tomatoes – 2 large , chopped
Tomato paste – 2 tsp
Tomato puree – ¼ cup
Onion – 1 small, finely chopped
Garlic – 2 cloves, minced
Red pepper flakes – 1tsp
Vegetable bouillon cube – 1
Milk – ¼ cup
Mascarpone cheese – 3 tbsp
Parmesan cheese – 2 tbsp
Sugar – 1 tsp
Salt & Pepper – to taste

Method:

• Heat 2tsp olive oil in a large pot on medium-low flame, add garlic and red chili flakes; sauté for 1 minute till garlic is golden and fragrant (be careful not to burn garlic).
• Add onions and sauté till translucent, about 5 minutes.
  
• Add all the tomatoes, fresh, paste and all, and bouillon cube; cover and cook till tomatoes turn mushy, about 7-8 minutes.
• Now add milk and simmer for 2 minutes.
• Finally add mascarpone cheese, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Simmer for another minute. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes, enjoy on your favorite pasta.

We had ours with spinach ravioli and it was awesome.