FISH FRY – MY GRANDMA’S METHOD

FISH FRY – MY GRANDMA’S METHOD
This is the method which my grandmother uses when she fries fish. This is an all-time favorite in our home. There is something in the way in which she cooks everything that I never get “that” taste of grandma’s cooking though I use the same ingredient. Nothing can beat that taste. I think that many of you will agree with me. I have used salmon here. Salmon is loaded with god fats. Eating salmon at least twice a week helps increase the HDLs which are the good fats and in turn it reduces the triglycerides. People with heart disease should try to have salmon often. I don’t think salmon is available in India. I tried to search for its Tamil name but couldn’t get it.
In this fish fry, I have grounded some of the ingredients and used it as a rub for the fish. Though this takes some time than regular fish fry, the taste is worth all the trouble.

INGREDIENTS
Fish slices like tilapia or salmon 4-5 (or any kind of fish slices)
Red onion, medium sized, 1
Garlic, 2 cloves
Chili powder, 1 teaspoon
Coriander powder, 2 teaspoons
Salt as per taste
Peppercorn, 1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder, ¼ teaspoon.
Cumin sseds, ¼ teaspoon.

DIRECTIONS
Clean the fish and cut into thick slices. Dice the onion into the big cubes and peel the garlic. Grind the onion, garlic, cumin seeds, and peppercorns into a smooth paste. Add chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric, and salt to the ground paste and mix everything well. Spread the paste on both sides of the fish slices and let them marinade for half-an-hour. Heat a skillet with some oil. When the oil starts to smoke add the fish slices one by one. Flip the slices after 5-10 minutes depending on the fish used and cook the other side for a few more minutes. Serve hot fish with rice.

VARIATIONS:
Instead of onion and garlic, 3 tablespoons of onion powder and 1 teaspoon of garlic powder can be used along with pepper powder if the grinding part needs to be omitted.

CABBAGE VADAI

CABBAGE VADAI
This is a recipe from my mother. She used to add some veggies whenever she prepares masala vadais. It will be greens like drumstick leaves or cabbage or plantain flower. I have used red cabbage here because I love its spicy taste with the vadais. The only difference from the regular ones are that I tried baking the vadais instead of deep-frying them. They came out pretty well. These vadais were thin and crispy. If anyone is crazy about trying to bake vadais like me, please don’t try to bake medhu vadais, all you get is a flat cake, which is crispy on the outside and real mushy inside :(

INGREDIENTS:
Channa dhal, 1 cup, soaked for 2-3 hours.
Fennel seeds, 1 teaspoon.
Rice powder, 1 tablespoon.
Garlic, 2 cloves.
Ginger small pieces.
Green chilies, 3.
Red cabbage, coming to ½ cup when chopped..
Salt, as per taste.
Red onion, medium-sized, 1.
Curry leaves, a handful.
Cilantro, a handful.

PREPARATION:
Wash the soaked channel dhal and set aside. Grind the channa dhal along with the fennel seeds, chilies, garlic, and ginger without water. Chop the onion, cabbage, curry leaves, and cilantro into small pieces. Add the chopped cabbage, onion, curry leaves, cilantro, rice powder, and salt to the ground channa dhal and mix everything well. Heat a kadai with 1 cup of oil. When the oil is hot, take a small amount of the ground mixture and flatten it with the palm of the hand and drop into the hot oil. When the vadais rise up and turns golden-brown, remove the vadais from the oil and drain the excess oil with a paper towel. Serve the hot vadas with tomato sauce.

ALTERNATE METHOD OF COOKING THE VADAIS:
Take a baking sheet and spray it with any nonstick cooking spray. Take a small amount of the ground mixture and flatten it with the palm and arrange the vadais on the sheet leaving sufficient space in between them. Bake them for 350 degrees for 15 minutes and lower the oven temperature to 250 and bake them for 5-7 more minutes. Remove the vadais from the oven and serve hot with tomato sauce.

DRIED FRUIT COOKIES

DRIED FRUIT COOKIES
Weekend is here (for me sometimes it starts from Friday) and it was time for me to stock my pantry with goodies for the week. I used to prepare plain cookies or sometimes oatmeal raisin cookies. I had a packet of dried fruits lying some quite sometime in the fridge and was looking for a recipe to incorporate them and hence this recipe. The taste of this cookie was real good with a little bit tartness from the dried fruits which went along pretty well with the sweetness from the cookie. I have used dried apples, apricots, and pears here. If needed, any other fruits like raisins can also be used.

INGREDIENTS:
All-purpose flour, 1 cup.
Dried fruits, ½ cup.
Sugar, ½ cup.
Salt, a pinch.
Unsalted butter, ½ stick.
Egg, 1 (optional).
Vanilla essence, a few drops.
Baking soda ¼ teaspoon.
Baking powder, 2/3 teaspoon.

PREPARATION:
Sift in the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt together. Melt the butter and add them to a bowl. Break an egg into the bowl and beat the egg along with the butter. Add the sugar now and keep beating until a creamy consistency is obtained. Add the sifted flour slowly and keep mixing and until a dough is formed. Make small lemon-sized balls from the dough. Spray a baking sheet with any nonstick spray. Place the dough balls on the baking sheet and gently press them into small cookies. Sufficient space should be left between each cookie. Bake them at 350 degrees for 5-7 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 250 and bake them for 5 minutes. Take the baking dish out of the oven and let the cookies cool and enjoy.

MIDDLE-EASTERN LENTIL SOUP

MIDDLE-EASTERN LENTIL SOUP

This soup was from an old recipe book from our nearby library (I don’t remember which one). I had this recipe jotted down in my notebook for quite sometime. Since this is the first time I am preparing this soup, I am sticking on to the original recipe. If needed, this soup can be tweaked according to our taste. I have used mung beans here. If needed, red lentils can also be used. Mung beans give a different taste to the soup than the red lentil.

INGREDIENTS:
Mung beans, 1 cup.
Onion, large, 1.
Red bell pepper, 1.
Cumin powder, 1 teaspoon.
Chili powder, 1 teaspoon.
Fennel seeds, ¼ teaspoon.
Garlic, 2 cloves.
Salt as per taste.
Chicken broth or vegetable broth or water, 4 cups.

PREPARATION:
Wash the mung beans well and cook them in a pot for 20-30 minutes until they are tender but still retain their shape. Care should be taken not to mush the beans. Chop the onion and red bell pepper into small pieces and crush the garlic coarsely. Heat some oil in a pot and when the oil is hot enough, add the chopped onion and sauté for a few minutes until the onion is caramelized. Then add the chopped bell pepper and garlic and sauté for another minute. Then add the chili powder, cumin powder, fennel seeds, salt along with 4 cups of broth or water. Add the cooked mung beans and mix everything well. Let it simmer for 10 minutes and serve the hot soup with a dollop of sour cream or low fat yogurt on top.

LIMA BEAN SOUP AND A FEW MORE AWARDS

LIMA BEAN SOUP
There is nothing more comforting on a chilly day than a steaming bowl of soup. With the temperature dropping down these days, I love curling up with a cup of hot tea or a bowl of soup with a good book or a good movie during the nights. For the past 1 week, I have been preparing a series of soups for dinner. Our dinner is completed with a dinner roll or garlic bread. It is a very simple yet such a comforting dinner. I’ll start posting the recipes for the different soups I have tried one by one. Please pass on your valuable suggestions for making these soups even better. I add canned tomatoes sometimes to my soups. They can also be omitted if you don’t like that taste but adding canned tomatoes brings out a different personality to the soup. Any types of seasonings can also be added depending upon our taste. I love to add a dash of Italian seasoning to my soups instead of pepper, yum!

I have posted lima bean soup today. I have not added any tomatoes to the soup today. I have also used only onions and celery along with the beans to get a full taste of the beans. Another suggestion is that before serving the soup, sprinkle some goat cheese or feta cheese over the top. I know that’s an odd combination but trust me on this friends, the taste of the cheese along with the butteriness of the lima bean is so great that you need to taste it to experience it. Here goes the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
Baby lima beans, fresh or frozen, 1 cup.
Onion, large, 1.
Celery, coming to ¼ cup when chopped.
Garlic, 2 cloves.
Chili powder, ¼ teaspoon.
Fennel seeds, ¼ teaspoon, (optional).
Salt as per taste.
Italian seasoning, ¼ teaspoon, (optional).
Vegetable broth or chicken broth or water, 3 cups.

PREPARATION:
Dice the onions into small pieces. Cut the celery into half moons and crush the garlic coarsely. Heat a pot with some oil. When the oil is hot enough, add the chopped onions and sauté for a few minutes until the onions turn translucent. Add the celery and crushed garlic and sauté for another minute. Then add the chili powder, fennel seeds, salt, seasonings and fry for a minute. Now add 3 cups of water or broth along with 1 cup of lima beans and simmer it for 5-7 minutes until the beans are cooked. Garnish with cilantro, cheese, or fresh cream on top and serve hot with any crusty bread.

CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH NUTELLA

CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH NUTELLA
This is the first cake recipe that I am posting in my blog. Usually, I browse for any good cake recipes and try to make that one. When making chocolate cake, I used to add unsweetened cocoa powder in the cake mixture. We love Nutella on our toasts though having chocolate for breakfast sounds sinful to me. I was looking for ways to use Nutella in desserts and this is one such recipe. The chocolate with hazelnut gives a very different taste to the cake. Here I have substituted white flour with whole wheat flour. I have also used Splenda instead of sugar and canola oil instead of butter to make the cake healthier. I was a bit skeptical about using whole wheat flour in the cake but the taste was simply amazing.

INGREDIENTS:
Whole wheat flour, 1 cup.
Nutella or unsweetened cocoa powder, 3-4 tablespoons.
Splenda or any sugar substitute, ½ cup.
Eggs, 2.
Baking powder, 2 teaspoons.
Salt, 1 pinch.
Canola oil, ½ cup.
Cardamom powder, 1 teaspoon, (optional).

PREPARATION:
Melt the Nutella over a double boiler (fill a pot with 2/3 of water and heat it, then add the Nutella in a bowl and place it over the pan. This way the Nutella won’t scorch and melt evenly.) Beat the eggs in a separate bowl and keep aside. Put the whole wheat flour in a bowl. Add the Splena, baking powder, salt, and cardamom powder and mix everything well. Now add the canola oil, eggs, melted Nutella and keep mixing it until there are no lumps in the cake mixture. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a baking dish with any nonstick spray and add the mixture. Bake the cake for 30-40 minutes depending upon the oven settings. Insert a toothpick into the cake and if the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is well done. Let it rest for half an hour and enjoy.

STIR-FRY VEGGIES

STIR-FRY VEGGIES
This is my third dish with tofu in a row. Some of friends were wondering whether I have turned into a health freak. The thing was that I had bought 2 packets of tofu from Wegmans recently and since I had opened them I needed to finish them off, so I have been looking for dishes with tofu. This is one such dish. Here I have used sweet mini-peppers because I love their taste. Even usual bell peppers can also be used here including other veggies like cabbage or carrots.

INGREDIENTS:
Onion, medium-sized, 1.
Peppers, coming around to 1 cup when chopped.
Broccoli, 1 medium head.
Tofu, a few slices, baked or fried until brown.
Chili powder, ½ teaspoon.
Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon, (optional).
Salt as per taste.
Garlic, 1 clove.

PREPARATION:
Cut the onions and peppers into long thin strips and crush the garlic coarsely. Cut the broccoli into small heads. Bake the tofu for 15-20 minutes at 300 degrees until they turn brown and let them cool. Heat some oil in wok. When the oil is hot, add the chopped veggies along with garlic and sauté for a minute under medium-high heat. Then add the chili powder, seasonings, salt and keep sautéing for 5-10 minutes under everything is tender. Take care not the mush the veggies. They should still be crisp. Finally add the tofu pieces, mix everything well, and serve hot as a side dish with breads or rice.

VARIATIONS:
If needed, the tofu can also be added without frying. Even cubes of paneer (cottage cheese) can also be added here. A green chili slit into 2 can also be added while sautéing.

SUN-DRIED TOMATO THOKKU OR CHUTNEY

SUN-DRIED TOMATO THOKKU OR CHUTNEY
If you like tomato-based dishes like me, you’ve got to try this one gal. The flavor is simply amazing. I used to prepare simple tomato-onion chutney or sometimes tomato thokku with only tomatoes and garlic. Recently on a trip to Grand Mart, I found a packet of sun-dried tomatoes. The next minute it was on my cart and on my way home. I was contemplating on what to prepare with these since my husband is not a great fan of pestos or pastas. I decided to go with a simple tomato thokku but was the taste was not simple in any way. It was simply great with idlis and dosas. These types of chutneys can be stored for up to a week in the fridge. It goes well with puris and rice too. The chili powder and fenugreek powder in this dish can be substituted for red chilies and a few fenugreek seeds while grinding. They can be fried and ground along with the tomatoes.

INGREDIENTS:
Sun-dried tomatoes, 1 cup.
Garlic, 8-10 cloves.
Tamarind, 1 small lemon size.
Chili powder, 2 teaspoons.
Fenugreek powder, ¼ teaspoon.
Sesame oil, ¼ cup.
Mustard seeds, ¼ teaspoon.
Salt as per taste.

PREPARATION:
Soak the tomatoes in hot water for half-an-hour. If pre-soaked sun-dried tomatoes are used, drain the liquid or oil out of them and use them directly. Extract thick juice from the tamarind. Grind the tomatoes and garlic into a smooth paste by adding little water and keep aside. Heat a pan with ¼ cup of sesame oil. When the oil is hot enough, add the mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds start to splutter, add the ground paste and fry for a few minutes. Then add the chili powder, fenugreek powder, salt, tamarind juice along with ½ cup of water and cook closed for 15-20 minutes until the chutney thickens and the oil separates. Serve with idlis, dosas, or puris.