Metal

A glimpse of a metallic spice rack......



I couldnt make it on time for Click : March 2008 (Metal). Nonetheless, I thought I'd include this under Food-o-graphy.

An Entry For WBB # 20 - Oatmeal Flax Seed Muffins

“Defining a Balanced Meal:

A balanced and wholesome breakfast is something that combines 2 or more of the food groups below to fulfill nutrition needs.

Fruits or vegetables (dried fruits are fine too)

Grains and Cereals (whole grains, oats, high-fiber foods)

Dairy (skim milk, low-fat yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese (paneer) )

Proteins (eggs/egg whites, peanut butter, beans, nuts, sprouts, protein isolates)”

....said Mansi when she announced WBB#20 – Balanced Breakfast.

To combine one ingredient from each of these categories for a balanced, healthy, “grab on the go” breakfast (if you would), I decided to send across my recipe of Oatmeal Flax Seed Muffins.

What I like the most about these muffins is that they are moist, satisfying and delicious without compromising any of the health benefits. (For details on benefits of Oatmeal/Oats and Flaxseed.)

Without any processed sugar added in, these are almost sugar-free and pair well with a hot cup of coffee or a tall glass of cold milk. Further these are free from egg/egg substitutes and dairy!

Ingredients

1 cup regular Oatmeal, powdered (fine)

½ cup Organic Whole wheat flour

½ cup Organice Flax seed, powdered

½ -1 cup Water

¼ teaspoon Baking soda

½ teaspoon Orange zest, fresh (optional)

2-3 teaspoons chopped walnuts (optional)

Though I started making these muffins, initially, with 1 cup of regular oatmeal powder, I now combine ½ cup of regular oatmeal with ½ a cup that’s flavored, both powdered, to bring in some diversity. Using milk in place of water is entirely optional. I add orange zest for the aroma and to provide freshness in taste. You could add dried sweetened cranberries, prunes or raisins for added sweetness.



Method

- Pre-heat oven to 350F.

- Spray a 6 cup muffin tray/pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

- In a bowl, mix together oatmeal, wheat flour and flax seed.

- Add baking powder, orange zest, walnuts and mix well. Add water and combine the ingredients into a thick wet mixture.

- Scoop out spoonfuls of the mixture into each of the cups of the muffin tray/pan.

- Bake at 350F for 10-15mins or till done. (A toothpick or knife must come out clean when inserted into the muffins when done). This recipe yields about 6 muffins.

Halved muffin with orange zest and chopped walnuts

I allow the muffins to cool to room temperature and store them in the refrigerator. Just before we head out, we warm it in the microwave for 10-12 seconds.

Though preparing this for weekday breakfasts, on Sunday evenings, is routine my end, I thought it would be a good addition to the recipes for the WBB event. To us this sure has been a big relief from those artificially flavored sugar loaded commercial breakfast bars. Hope you enjoy it as well.

Thank you Mansi for inviting me to contribute to this event.

What's in my Dal?

Tired of cooking dal (thick stew prepared by pressure cooking lentils or dried pulses) the traditional way, I decided to strike off the lentils from my list of ingredients. I was looking for an alternate fresh ingredient that would satisfy the aspects of color, flavor and texture of the regular dal.

My best bet – Corn!

When I put this recipe together, I had no clue how the outcome would taste. Surprisingly it’s been a roaring hit and we’ve enjoyed this “corn dal” many a times, now. To me, this is an easy recipe and also a way to bring a touch of Indian cuisine to this cereal grain.

Ingredients

1½ cups fresh Corn kernels ( If using frozen, thaw them to room temperature before use)
½ cup Onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon Fennel seeds
¼ cup fresh Peas
¼ teaspoon Turmeric powder
½ teaspoon Cumin-Coriander powder
½ teaspoon Red Chili powder
½ teaspoon fresh ground Black pepper
1 Green chili, finely chopped
¼ cup Cilantro, fresh and finely chopped
1 ½ teaspoon Oil
½ to 1 cup Water
Salt

I included fennel seeds and fresh cilantro in this recipe as the aromatics. To enhance the yellow color, I threw in a few peas for the contrast while cooking. The sweetness from both the corn and peas blend very well with the heat from the spices.

Method

- Wash and drain the kernels of corn. Microwave for 1 mins, to slightly soften the kernels.

- Add oil in a skillet, add chopped onion. Sauté on medium flame till onion turns transparent.

- Add in green chili, turmeric powder, red chili powder, black pepper powder, cumin-coriander powder and fennel seeds. Mix well. Sauté on low for 1-2 mins.

- Next add in corn kernels and chopped cilantro. Sauté for 2-3 mins. Remove from heat.

- Cool the mixture to room temperature. Blend it using an electric food processor/blender to a thick paste using water (½ - 1 cup). Make sure that the corn is completely crushed and no kernels are left intact.

- Pour the mixture into the skillet, cook on medium, covered for 4-5 mins. Add fresh green peas. Cook covered for another 3-4 mins.

- Cook uncovered for 1-2 mins.

- Serve hot with Rice or Rotis.

Each time we've had guests over and I have served it, they all seem to have enjoyed it and have just one question for me ........"What's in this dal?".

:-)

This turned out to be a nice way to surprise my guests with the tini-mini cooking skills acquired in my little experimental kitchen!

Arusuvai Friendship Chain & an entry for MEC: Rice

Most of you by now are very familiar with it, but for those who are as new to this as much I was till recently, in Latha Maami & Lakshmi’s words

Arusuvai Friendship Chain is about sending along a surprise ingredient as a gift to your friends for them to prepare something tasty with it, share the recipe, and pass on other surprise ingredients to more people. Arusuvai means six tastes (aru=six, suvai=taste) in Tamizh and is used to refer for Tasty preparation with six tastes - inippu/ thithippu (sweet), orappu/ karam (hot), kassappu (bitter) , pulippu (sour), uppu (salt), tuvarpu (tastes that one gets in raw leaves).

The chain was started in the US by Latha and has been around for a while now. I received my secret ingredient from Maya. It was a packet of gorgeous and flavorfully aromatic Kolmbya (Kolmbo in Konkani= Sambhar) Pitti (powder) a.k.a Sambhar Powder.



With it were a beautiful card and a bar of chocolate loaded with toffee crisps. From the color and fragrance I could sense it was purely home made. Thank you Maya.

I was thinking of ways to use this secret ingredient, so that I do complete justice to its flavors and color. My mother always reserves Sambhar Saadam (Saadam=Rice in Tamil) for weekends; something she learnt in Chennai. Weekend brunches comprise of Sambhar Saadam followed by Thayyir Saadam (Thayyir = Curd/Yoghurt), of course with papad and potato chips for sides.

Mom prepares the sambhar powder base with roasted coconut, just before preparing the rice-dal mixture. I decided to use Maya’s Sambhar powder instead as the main ingredient. With Rice as the theme for this month’s MEC, I decided to get adventurous cooking with the microwave.

Ingredients

½ cup short grain White Rice, washed and pre-soaked for 2 hours
½ cup Toor Dal, washed and pre-soaked for 2-3 hours
1 teaspoon Oil
¼ cup mixture of green peas and diced carrots
½ cup Tamarind extract
3 teaspoons Maya’s sambhar powder (Secret ingredient)
4-5 Cashewnuts, roasted
½ teaspoon mustard seeds, dry roasted
½ teaspoon clarified butter (optional)

2 teaspoons Coconut, grated and dry roasted
4-5 cups Water
Salt

Since this is the first time I cooked this entirely using the microwave, I decided to work on it by piecemeal.



Method

- Mix tamarind extract and sambhar powder. Mix well. Set aside.

- Cook rice and toor dal together with 3 cups of water for 10 minutes uncovered, in a microwave safe dish. Stir and cook for 2 more minutes with lid on. Fluff with a fork. Add salt and set aside.

- In another microwave safe dish, add green peas-carrots mixture, 1 teaspoon of oil and 3 tablespoons of water. Cook for 7 minutes with lid on.

- Mix the cooked carrot–peas mixture to the cooked rice and dal mixture. Mix well. To this add tamarind extract - sambhar powder mixture. Mix well. Microwave for 7-8 minutes, uncovered.

- Add in cashewnuts, roasted coconut, mustard seeds and clarified butter, mix thoroughly and cook for 4 mins. Allow to stand at room temperature for a few minutes. Serve with potato chips or papad.

I toasted jeera papad in the microwave. For this I halved the papad and toasted it for 8-10 seconds each side. Sometimes the papad can char due to the heat, so it’s important to keep an eye on it while toasting.

I enjoyed being a part of the Arusuvai Friendship Chain. And look forward to passing it on. This entry goes to MEC: Rice .

Shrimp Fried Rice

Fried rice has always been a quick fix for dinner most weekday evenings. More the case, when there is left over rice. This time around to break from the regular egg fried rice, I decided to toss in a few shrimps.

Most times its brown rice that I use for fried rice. However, since we had some friends over for dinner the previous night, long grain basmati was the preferred choice of rice. And thats what I used for this recipe.

I avoid regular soya sauce due to the high sodium content. If using fresh cooked rice, then it helps to allow it cool to room temperature, to have individual grains separated. To keep this recipe entirely vegetarian, I use chopped celery and green onions, with the exclusion of eggs and meat/seafood.



Ingredients

1 ½ cup cooked rice

8-9 frozen uncooked shrimp,unshelled, deveined

1 egg, beaten

¼ cup green peas, thawed
¼ cup carrots, diced

1 tablespoon soy sauce, light, thick and low sodium
1 tablespoon vegetable broth, low sodium
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic-chili paste
2 teaspoons Oil
Salt

Method

For the Soy Sauce mixture : In a bowl mix soy sauce, vegetable broth, pepper, garlic-chili paste. Set aside.
Heat oil in a wok. Sauté shrimp in it for 3-5 minutes.

Add egg, scramble and cook for 2-3 minutes or till done. Add rice and mix well.
Add the soy sauce mixture, green peas, carrots and salt, mix well. Cook covered on low flame, for 5-7 minutes.
Serve hot.

(Recipe yeilds- 2 people)