A Look Back At 2010

When we started in February, we thought that this would be an avenue to reach out to people who are like us living in the USA and trying to maintain the culture through our cooking. Slowly we realized that by fusing some American methods and ingredients, we have reached out to a much wider group and our ideas and recipes have reached the masses. We have expanded this blog to include not just recipes but new ideas on cooking and how to make it more enjoyable for all chefs (beginner to expert). We will continue to bring you more innovative recipes, videos, experiences, etc. Please keep the feedback coming!

Soup To The Rescue!!

It was reported that the blizzard that hit the Northeast on Sunday, December 26th was the 6th worst in the history for the area. And to think, I was feeling bad about not attending my friend's wedding in Long Island. Phew!! We were stuck at home from 10AM 12/26 to 10AM 12/27. We had to wait 24 hours before we could shovel our way out. While most people hit the grocery stores to stock up on supplies, we decided to stay at home and out of the storm.
My mom was eager to try this new soup recipe she had in mind and so our dinner plans for the evening were set: Chat-pata Corn Soup.

Ingredients listed below are good for 3 servings:

- (1) 14.75oz can of Creamy Sweet Corn
- 1¼ tbsp of Coriander chutney
- Salt, as needed 
- 10 pieces of Fried onion rings, for garnish (optional)

Procedure:

1) Empty the sweet corn can contents, coriander chutney and 1 can of water into the blender. Blend until it is smooth for 2-3 min.

2) Pour out the blended contents into a saucepan (if a silky smooth consistency is desired, pass the mixture through a fine mesh colander or sieve) and add additional water to desired consistency. Add salt and allow the contents to come to a boil on medium heat. The soup will thicken slightly after removing from heat.

3) Pour it into bowls, garnish it with crunchy onion rings and savor the chat-pata taste on a cold wintry night.

HO HO HO Holiday Rice With Beets!!

 

Have we got a treat for you! We decided to spread some holiday cheer by cooking up this colorful and healthy rice dish for everyone to enjoy during the holidays. We call it HO HO HO Holiday Rice. We prepared it just in time for Christmas...so even Santa can have a taste.  I figured he's so used to eating cookies that he might like to try something new.

Main Ingredients

You can make 6-8 servings by using the ingredients listed below:

• 1 large Beet Root, peeled and grated
• 1½ cups Rice (prefer Basmati), washed and cooked
• ½ cup Carrots & Peas (frozen)
• 4 Green chilies, split lengthwise
• 1" piece Ginger, chopped finely
• 1/8 cup Fried onions
• 1½ tbsp MTR Vangibhath powder
• 4-5 leaves Curry leaves (optional)
• 1 tsp each Whole Mustard and Cumin
• 1 tbsp Black Gram Dal (optional)
• 3-4 tbsp Vegetable oil
• Salt, as needed

Procedure:

1) Cook rice with little less water than normal so that it separates individual grains. After the rice is done, separate it with a wooden spatula and add a tbsp oil to avoid sticking.
2) Heat oil in a saucepan, add mustard and cumin seeds, when they splutter, add the gram dal and stir until it is golden brown (1-2 min). Add green chilies and ginger and stir for 1min and add grated beetroot and ½ tsp salt mix well and place the lid and cook for 4-5 min.

3) Add another tsp of salt and cooked rice in portions mixing it with season until it is uniform. Mix in fried onions, frozen carrots & peas and vangibath powder, stir well and cook for 3-4 minutes.

4) Serve it hot garnished with fresh coriander.

Wishing You and Your Family 

A Very Merry Christmas!**!

We enjoyed the festivities of Christmas by opening up presents, wishing all our relatives,  and baking some cookies as well as some Indian dishes.

~Reinvented Chili - Desi Style~

We found a way to help all our readers keep warm during this winter. Put aside all those canned soups, and spice up your cuisine a bit with some good ol' homemade Chili. We're not talkin' about any ol' chili now. This is chili made desi style.

It is actually called Rajma and it is made with red kidney beans. Coincidentally,  red kidney beans are called Rajma in Hindi specifically because of this dish. It is made with just the right amount of spices, protein, and carbohydrates to create a good wholesome meal for the season.

So go ahead, try your hand at this dish and warm up your tummy.

Main Ingredients

Ingredients for Serving size of 6:

• 1 pound 13 ounces (822g) Goya Red Kidney beans
• 1 medium Potato, (microwaved for 3 min)
• 1 large Red Onion, peeled and chopped finely
• 1 ½ cups Crushed Tomatoes
• 1 tbsp Garam masala
• 1 tsp Ginger garlic paste
• 1 tsp Cumin seeds
• ½ tsp Turmeric powder
• 1 tsp Chili powder
• 3 tbsp Vegetable oil
• ¼ cup Fresh Coriander, chopped for garnish (Optional)

Procedure:
1) Pour the beans from the can into a colander and wash them thoroughly under running water & drain.

2) Peel the potato and cut into cubes.

3)  Heat oil in a heavy bottomed saucepan, add jeera and when it starts to sizzle add grated onion. Saute it until golden brown; add ginger garlic paste, turmeric & chili powder. Mix well.

4)  Add crushed tomato into the mixture and stir it for 2-3 minutes until the raw taste is gone. Now
add the beans and the potato cubes and mix. Add salt, garam masala, and some water to the desired consistency. Cook well under low-medium heat for 10 – 15min.

5) If using a pressure cooker instead of the saucepan, pressure cook for 10 minutes.

Now the rajma is ready to be served. Grab a bowl full with a side of rotis or naan as your bread for dipping. It can also be eaten with hot jeera rice or plain basmati rice. We served this dish at Thanksgiving as well and it was an instant hit and all gone by the end of dinner.

Yumm Aam Rasmalai!

I have this friend who is crazy about Indian sweets. Ever since that day, we were inseparable. For her last birthday, I was pondering about the idea of buying her a box of assorted sweets, but her sister beat me to it. During one of our many conversations, she told me that her favorite sweet was Rasmalai. She told me how she used to buy the frozen trays at the Indian stores and take it home for herself.  When she didn't feel like buying the sweets, she attempted to make them at home. After several unsuccessful efforts, she gave up. 

Now my friend can try her luck again at making her favorite sweet with this recipe submitted by one of our Bengali friends.

Ingredients (8 servings - 2 per person):

Illustration includes finished recipe with ingredients

- 2 cans of Rasmalai patties (we used Ghasitrams brand)
- 1 quart carton Half & Half
- 4 tbsp of Mango pulp
- 5-6 pods of Cardamom, seeded and powdered
- 2-3 leaves of Bay leaves
- 1 tbsp of Rose water
- 5-6 Pistachios (unsalted), chopped finely

So let's start assembling this scrumptious dessert:
1) Open the Rasmalai cans and drain all the sugar syrup by transferring the contents into a fine

mesh colander and discard the sugar syrup.

2) Transfer the half & half into a container and place it on the stove with low to medium heat. Add

bay leaves and cardamom powder. Next, heat until the milk ‘ras’(liquid) is somewhat thick.

3) Now add the mango pulp, 1 tbsp at a time and mix well between each spoon addition. Remove

from stove and slowly add the drained patties. Allow the rasmalai to cool down, add rose water and

chill before serving.

4) Garnish the rasmalai with chopped pista before serving and indulge the divinity!!!!!!

~Funky Fast Fungi~

A Mushroom walks into a bar to get a drink. He walks up to the bar area and asks the bartender, "Can I have a drink?" The bartender looks down and says "We only serve people".  So then the mushroom responds, "But I'm a Fungi" (as in Fun guy). 

My Biology teacher shared this joke with the class the first day of the class to start off with a laugh. Until this day I still remember it and it cracks me up every single time. 

Anyways, let's get down to cooking. My mom came up with this recipe post Thanksgiving weekend. We had a lot of vegetables leftover from the holiday grocery shopping trip. So she thought, what better way to use them up but to create a whole new recipe:

Mushroom and Bell Pepper Medley Ingredients:
Serving Size: 4 to 6

- 1 lb of White button mushrooms, chopped

- 3 Green bell peppers,  remove seeds chop into cubes

- 1 medium Red Onion, chopped into cubes

- ½ cup (frozen) of Carrot and Peas

- 1-1 ½ tbsp of MTR Vangeebath powder

- 2-3 tbsp of Vegetable oil

- 2 tbsp of Dry Grated Coconut 

- 1 tsp each of Mustard and Jeera seeds

- ½ tsp of Turmeric powder

Procedure:

1) In a saucepan heat oil and add mustard and jeera seeds. When they splatter, add turmeric powder, chopped onions, mushrooms & bell pepper.

2) Add salt and Vangeebath powder and mix well. Cook the vegetables till soft & firm.

3) Then add frozen peas & carrots. Cook for another 5-6 minutes. Next, sprinkle coconut powder and mix well.

Finished Mushroom & Bell Pepper Medley

4) The curry can be served with hot rotis, rice or eaten by itself.

No Turkey, No Problem!

Growing up in the United States, I learned quite a bit about all the holidays and their importance. My favorite holidays are Thanksgiving (lots of eating) and Christmas (lots of presents). Although we are not Christians, we still take part in the festivities. Every other year, we go over to my Uncle's place to spend the holiday with them and enjoy their arrangement of  Thanksgiving: Turkey, stuffing, baked sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, and some kind of pie. We bring a couple of vegetarian dishes like green bean casserole and biryani to spice up the dinner variety.
This year my family decided to host the big dinner at our new house and invited a lot of family over for the weekend. Some stayed for the weekend since they were travelling from abroad. And boy, did we have our work cut out for us! My mom and I prepared the holiday weekend menu a week in advance so we could finish the grocery shopping and cooking in time for the bid day. Furthermore, Our Thanksgiving Dinner was moved to Friday to accommodate all the holiday guests.  Even though the holidays always seem to be the most stressful time of year...I love the feasting and stuffing our faces part.

Our Big Thanksgiving Dinner comprised of many dishes such as the ones illustrated above (starting from left to right): Chili bhajji, Cranberry chutney, Lavish Lilva beans, Pumpkin pulusu, Vegetable lo mein, Dahi vada, and Asparagus twists. These dishes were served with warm jeera rice and rotis.

Although, I thought I was in a food coma after dinner, I made sure I secured enough room for dessert. Some of our guests were kind enough to bring desserts and so we had a lot to choose from: Almond and cranberry Biscotti, apple pie with ice cream and rasmalai. We made rasmalai at home and it didn't take as long as I thought it would.

Over the next few days, we will be posting recipes for many of these mouth watering dishes for you to try at home.

Hey even though there was no turkey served for dinner, we all managed to burn off a few calories afterwards with the Turkey Dance!!