JFI-Bruschetta With Tomatoes.

When the April JFI was announced by RP of My Workshop as tomatoes, my first reaction was a tangy sweet and spicy chutney but that I had blogged about last summer.I sat and day dreamed of my garden with big boy tomatoes, plum tomatoes, cherry tomatoes...and then looked outside at the swinging door to my forlorn and cold garden.
As I watched each of my fellow bloggers comes up interesting combinations with tomato, my mind was still stuck..Maybe a tomato tart that shows up in all the magazines in the peak of summer, or maybe rasam or maybe pasta sauce....But the days flew by and I was too lazy to cook up any of that. This despite using tomato almost every day! So today while I made my mid-noon snack of Bruschetta with a tomato salad and pondered, it struck me. What better way to highlight a tomato? All the freshness and the sourness of a tomato tempered with garlic and olive oil and allowed to soak into crusty bread!
For those who are unfamiliar with the term, Bruschetta is grilled slices of bread rubbed with garlic and topped with extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. The toppings can be spicy red pepper, fresh tomato, vegetables and/or cheese. Bruschetta is usually served as a snack or appetizer.
So without much ado, here is a simple recipe for the tomato topping for the tru tomato lover.
You will need:
2 ripe plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/4 tbsp finely minced garlic
2 tbsp cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
1/4 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 small loaf of bread(baguettes), cut in 1/2-inch-thick slices
2 cloves garlic, cut in half
salt to taste.

Preparation:
In a bowl, mix all ingredients except bread and garlic cloves. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside, unrefrigerated for at least 15-20 minutes. Heat oven to 350°F. Toast bread on a baking sheet till slightly crisp. Rub cut side of garlic on each slice; top with tomato mixture. Serve as appetisers or have as a snack.

Vegetable Kurma/Stew

Vegetable stew or kurma is an easy way to use up all the loose veggies languishing in your crisper and surreptitiously makes up the vegetable requirement in my family's meals. There are two kinds of vegetable stew. One that we make without any spice powders, getting its flavor from just green chilies, pepper and whole spices. That is off white in color and delicate in flavor best eaten straight off the flame with a spongy appam or puttu. Traditionally this is made with just potatoes and onions.

The other stew or ishtoo is a spicier version of the same, with an assortment of vegetables using coriander, turmeric and chili powders to give a depth of flavor and spice. My mother, being a purist would make the potato ishtoo over the vegetable stew, preferring the blend of coconut milk and potatoes to the myriad flavors of the vegetables. I prefer the spiciness to compliment the blandness of the puttu and to get vegetables in at one go. The choice of vegetables are usually potatoes, carrots, peas and beans, but you can also try with cauliflower, kovakka, ash gourd etc.

Now kurma is a similar in recipe to the stew except that I understand it uses ground coconut and not coconut milk. Being partial to the silken texture of the coconut milk and the vegetables suspended in it, this is my version of the kurma. Call it a veg stew or kurma, it goes well with any kind of flat bread.


You will need: For 4 servings
Onions- 1 small one
Green chilies – 4-6
White/Idaho Potato-1
Beans- 8-10
Peas- 1/2 cup
Cauliflower-1/2 cup of florets
Carrots-1 whole one
Tomatoes-1 small plum one
Garlic – 2 cloves (1 tsp)
Ginger- 1/2 inch piece (1 tbsp)
Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder- 1 1/2 tsp
Black Pepper Powder- 1/2 tsp
Whole spices: 1”long Cinnamon stick, 3 cloves, 2 cardamom
Coconut milk- 1 1/2 cup
Curry leaves- a small sprig
Salt to taste
Oil-2 tbsp

Preparation
1. Wash and cut the vegetables into even sized strips or cubes. Slice the onions and green chilies. Grind the ginger and garlic into a fine paste. Grind the coconut and extract the second and first milk or use the coconut milk powder and prepare 1 ½ cup of coconut milk.
2. Heat the oil in a large shallow pan, add the whole spices and curry leaves. Saute till the fragrance fills the air and then add onions and chilies.
3. Fry onions till just slightly transparent and immediately add the ground paste and fry it well. Keep stirring and add the spice powders and a tablespoon of water to avoid the spices from getting burnt. Cook this for a couple of minutes or so. The coriander has to be really cooked at this stage or gives a raw taste in the curry. Then add the potatoes, tomatoes and continue stirring. Add 1 cup of water (or the second milk of the coconut) and the rest of the vegetables and salt. Cover and cook till the vegetables are done. (10-12 minutes) Keep checking and add 1/2 cup more water if all the water has evaporated.
4. Add the thick coconut milk. Allow it to simmer (but not boil) just for a couple more minutes and then switch of the flame. Adjust salt and seasoning.
Serve hot with pathiri, appam, puttu or just paratha.

Related Links: Kerala Kitchen's Korma is the traditional version with ground coconut. Vegetable Korma


Shown here are Kallappams, which I started making following Annita's recipe and I am in love with them. Appams are what I grew up with but now kallappams are a hot favorite in my house.
Just follow Annita's recipe for Kallappam. It is too good and easy to make in larger quantities than appams.

Show Me your Hot Plate Lunch

So what goes in each person's lunch box everyday? How many of you prefer to take lunch from home and how many of you prefer eating out? What do you take for lunch?Would you mind leaving a comment for lunch box ideas?
Meeta at the Daily Tiffin had made an event out of it "Show us your lunchbox" and it would be great if we can make it a full blown event.
So let me know if you guys still want to participate.
These are a series of simple lunch boxes that was made for my cafeteria phobic first grader. He threatens to pack a peanut butter and jam sandwich by himself if I don't give him a lunch box.:) I am enjoying this till the day he turns around and says he doesn't want my food anymore. I am sure middle school will soon lure him away from home food.
So today its just a bagel, a kind of thick bread with flavored cream cheese and some strawberries and grapes.
Read More Here..
Update 3/24/07
As some of the ladies who finely lunch at home (making me envious) we can change the contributions to show me your hot plate lunch. Will I get any contributers?

Paneer Bhurji/ Scrambled Eggs with Paneer

This is one of my favorite recipes with paneer. Paneer is a kind of homemade cottage cheese made from cow's milk. It is made by boiling milk and then adding vinegar or lemon juice to the simmering milk which seperates the cheese in the milk from the whey. Then the cheese is drained and weighed down to remove as much of the water as possible. This cheese was made at home all the time, but I usually just buy it from the Indian store. It doesn't taste as good as the homemade one but making it at home needs constant attention. So for those who want to try it at home, here is an excellent recipe.

So about this recipe. No, it does not have a rich and creamy sauce such as Paneer Makhani or Shahi Paneer that paneer is more commonly reputed for. It's just a simple stirfry of scrambled paneer and eggs in such a way that you wouldn't be able to distinguish where one ends and the other starts.

Now since paneer is an acknowledged warehouse of cholesterol, it is no longer is welcome in my house(except on special occasions). So we modified and switched to Tofu (paneer made out of Soybean Milk)and instead of whole eggs, you could even use one egg and then egg whites. If you are not a fan of tofu, you won't appreciate the substituted taste and will miss the richness of the paneer. But it is a good way to get your family to eat tofu.

So try it with paneer first and then do your substitutions. Do try it with roti for a simple side dish for dinner and add any peppers/capsicum you like to add more veggies into it.

You will need:
Paneer or Tofu- 100 gm
Onions – 1
Green Onions (Scallions)- 3 stalks
Eggs- 2
Green chilies-5-6
Ginger Paste-1/2 tsp
Garlic Paste-1/2 tsp
Tomatoes-2 medium ones
Red Chili Powder-3/4 tsp (less as per taste)
Turmeric- 1/2 tsp
Cumin Powder- 1/2 tsp
Coriander Powder-1/2 tsp
Garam Masala- 1/4 tsp
Cilantro Leaves- ½ cup washed and chopped.
Salt to taste or ½ tsp
Oil- 3 tbsp
Preparation:
1. Crumble the paneer into small pieces by hand and keep aside. Finely chop all the ingredients. Mix the eggs and keep aside.
2. Heat the oil in a non stick sauté pan and stir and fry the onions, green chilies and the chopped white part of the scallions on medium heat for about 5 minutes till it turns lightly golden. If you are using the cumin seeds instead of the powder, that should be sizzled in the oil before adding the onions. Add the ginger garlic paste, turmeric, red chili powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and sauté till the raw smell disappears. Add 1 tbsp of water if it is sticking to the pan. This should take about 2 minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes and let it cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat till the tomatoes start breaking down. Cover the pan to speed up the cooking but then reduce the heat. Open and adjust seasoning. Add 1 cup water if it is too dry. Cover and cook until the oil separates in the pan.
4. Add the salt and crumbled paneer pieces, and sauté for a minute or two till everything blends well. Adjust the seasoning at this point.
5. Now add the egg mixture with one hand, stirring all the while with the other hand to avoid setting in a piece. The egg will evenly coat the paneer or tofu pieces. Keep stirring for just one minute more and then turn off the flame. Add the chopped green part of the scallions, sprinkle garam masala powder and add fresh chopped cilantro. Serve hot with Rotis.

A Portal For Kerala Recipes

How do you keep track of a recipe that you saw and liked? Long time after the recipe was posted, how do you locate it if you wanted to refer to it? I use Delicious but when I am in mallu cooking mode, I lose patience digging through all the recipes.

So, some time ago, RP of My Workshop and I started a time pass project of collecting all the Traditional Kerala recipes posted in all the blogs and then cataloging them. Kind of a one stop portal to all the different categories in Kerala cuisine.
We called it the Essence of Kerala Cuisine as it only deals with traditional recipes that are indigenous and essentially what Kerala food is all about. It would be great if we could do it for all the different regions but we just started with what we were familiar with.

It is just an index blog with links so you would not be able to leave comments or feedback on it. You could leave a message in our blogs or our email id if needed.
We made a simple logo (shown above) linking back to the site and it is available to all the bloggers who would like to add it to their blogs. Let us know if you need the code for it.

Additionally it would be so..oo..oo helpful if the mallu bloggers would send us a permalink of their post each time they post something belonging to tradional Kerala Cuisine, so that we can update the link list.
So let us know what you think of this index.... Essence of Kerala Cuisine.Is it Helpful or not?

Cream of Asparagus Soup

You will need:: 2 servings
1 lb green asparagus
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 tbsp unsalted butter or olive oil
2 1/2 cups chicken broth or vegetable stock or 1 1/2 cup water.
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice.
Salt to taste

1. Cut the thick stalk tips from the asparagus and chop the rest of the stalk into 1 inch pieces. Cut and reserve a couple of the tips for garnish. Cook the tips in boiling water till tender and keep aside.

2. Cook onion in butter in a heavy pot over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened. Add asparagus pieces and salt and pepper to taste, then cook, stirring, 5 minutes. Add the broth and simmer, covered, until asparagus is very tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Alternately, just use a pressure cooker and cook for one whistle.

3. Puree the soup in batches in a blender until smooth, transferring to a bowl and return to the pan. Use caution when blending hot liquids as they tend to splash. Stir in the milk, then add the cream and more broth to thin soup to desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Add lemon juice after the soup is removed from the flame and has slightly cooled. Alternately, you could add a spoon of plain yogurt for the sourness. Garnish with asparagus tips.
This tastes the best when fresh and doesn't hold up well in the refrigerator.

Flavored Cream Cheese

What's not to like about Cream Cheese on toasted bagels or bread?
My workplace has a tradition of one of us bringing in bagels and cream cheese for breakfast for everyone. We get it from a nearby bakery where the bread and bagels are made fresh on its premises daily. As you walk in, the aroma of freshly baked bread wafts all around you tantalisingly luring you to buy some even if you just went in for a cup of coffee.
They have a display counter (similar to ice cream tubs under a glass case)with endless varieties of cream cheese to choose from. Some very interesting flavors such as strawberry, scallion, maple pecan, olive and some very peculiar (unless you are inclined towards that)such as smoked salmon, anchovies. So each time, we linger over the choices finally settling for one trusted and one adventurous flavor.
After trying out some of those on a regular basis, it just didn't feel right to settle for plain cream cheese at home and that's how the blending started at home.
So here are four different flavors that I like but this is just the tip of the iceberg. So if you have your favorite recipe for a flavored cheese that you have blended, write in and I will add that here.
Preparation: All of them start the same way. Leave a tub of cream cheese outside the refrigerator for about 10-15 minutes to help mixing in. All the ingredients have to be chopped into even and extremely tiny pieces so that the cheese coats it evenly. These blended cheeses will stay fresh for a 3-4 days(except the ones with onions) but I prefer it fresh so I don't keep it for so long. How much you make is based on how much gets used up at a sitting. The proportions are just indicative and feel free to change as per taste.

1. Spicy Jalapeno-Olive:
For the days when you need to kickstart your day..
Cream Cheese: 3 tbsp
Pickled Jalapeno Slices( or fresh green chilies)-3-4
Green Olives-3-4
Finely chop the olives and chilies and use a fork to mix it with the cheese. Add a couple of drops of lemon juice if it looks too thick. The pickled chilies have their liquid so you may not need any more.

2. Walnut-Raisin:
Hmm.. my favorite when I have a sweet tooth..
Cream Cheese-3 tbsp
Walnuts- 1 1/2 tbsp
Raisins/Cranberries/Dried Cherries- 1 1/2 tbsp
Maple Syrup/Honey- 1 tsp
Chop everything finely and blend. The Honey helps in making it a spreadable mix.
This stays well in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

3. Vegetable Spread:
A healthy serving of veggies in the morning..
Cream Cheese-3 tbsp
Carrots finely diced-1 tsp
Cucumbers- 2 tsp finely chopped without the seeds.
Chopped Onions- 1 tsp or substitute with scallions(spring onions)
Chopped Cilantro/Parsley- 1/2 tsp
Green Chilies(optional)- 1
Lemon Juice- 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste.
Mix everything together. Take care to scoop out the seeds of the cucumber before dicing as it adds too much water.

4. Sundried Tomatoes:
This is for a true Italian food lover. The flavor of the sundried tomatoes is very strong in this so try it if you like that pungency.
Cream Cheese-3 tbsp
SunDried Tomatoes- 2 tbsp
Dried Basil- 1tsp
Red Chili Flakes(optional)- A pinch
Salt
Blend the sundried tomatoes to a paste in a chopper. Add the rest of the ingredients and adjust taste. Use vinegar if it is too bland to add moisture and sourness.

5.Herbed Cheese:
Sorry, no photos on this one.
Cream Cheese-3 tbsp
Chopped Cilantro or Fresh Parsley- 2 tbsp
Chopped Mint-1/4 tsp
Lemon Juice- 1/2 tsp
Black Pepper-1/4 tsp
Salt to taste.
Blend the ingredients by hand and adjust taste.

Related Links: Some time back, Akshayapatra had blogged about flavored butters here.

And while you are all thinking of summer vacations and planning trips to India, I just wanted to bring to your attention a wonderful resort, Over the Hill, in Kerala designed and managed by my friend and her husband. It is located in Poovar, 30 kms from Trivandrum airport in Southern Kerala. Do check it out.

Pecan Pie and An Anniversary

It has been one year since I started blogging and I just can't believe it! What seemed so much effort in the beginning is becoming second nature now.. presentation, photos and writing. It is definitely the fact that all of you read and respond that makes a difference to my day.

I started blogging to get over some personal issues which now thankfully are in the past. But in the journey, I am so glad to have made so many new friends, both fellow bloggers and readers who leave a comment. I also renewed some friendships from my college days which had got covered with dust over time as we all got busy in our lives.
So to thank you all, I present an easy celebratory dish.. The Pecan Pie. It is a foolproof dish (especially if you can buy frozen pie crust), filled with nuts stuck in a gooey caramel like base. It is decadent enough to make you crave for it long past the taste is gone. I first had it during Thanksgiving from my better half's office bakery and then had to try it. It is so easy to make that if you like nuts, you will love it as a dessert or as a mid day unhealthy snack.:)

The recipe I used to use came from the back of a corn syrup jar, but recently I found this recipe at Simply Recipes,(A great site for all kinds of recipes) which called for less sugar and turned out really good. So here is the recipe reproduced.
You will need:
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup light corn syrup( substitute recipe here)
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp molasses or maple syrup
2 Tbsp melted butter
2 Tbsp flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups pecans, coarsely chopped (substitute with walnuts)

1 9-inch pie shell, chilled for an hour if freshly made, defrosted for 10 minutes if frozen. (See pie crust recipes.)
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Spread pecans along the bottom of the pie shell. Mix the remaining ingredients and pour over pecans. The pecans will rise to the surface of the pie.
2. Bake at 375°F for 45-50 minutes until the filling has set. About 20 minutes into the cooking you may want to use a pie crust protector, or tent the edges of the pie crust with aluminum foil to prevent the pie crust edges from burning.
3. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Serves 8.Serve with ice cream or by itself.

Yahoo Apologises!

In their words..."Yahoo respects the blogging community and the etiquette followed by bloggers. We regret any inconvenience caused by the inadvertent posting of the recipe without attribution."
Yoohoo! Read the article here!

A New Template?

I have been thinking of changing my template for some time..You know how it feels when your hair gets too long and you badly want to chop off the extra locks..But having had the old one for so long, am not sure which way to change. My family was saying the blue is too dark a background and not easy to print the recipes and so forth..
But this new template feels like too much hair has been cut off.
So please give me feedback on which one was more appealing to you as a reader. Those of u who already voted for the old one,I have ur comments in mind..
C'mon , take a minute and leave a comment.

Update 3/8/07
Phew! I felt bombarded by the comments requesting my old template back. It was great to make all my lurking non commenting readers leave a comment. :)Thanks!!Alright, I give in. Till I figure the correct color combination, I will keep the layout the same. One of the comments(Mathy) asked me to go with the "KISS" philosophy, which I was unaware of and my better half explained it to me as "keeping it sweet and simple". So though I still want to change the background color, for now, let me get back to posting instead of tinkering with the template.

Remove Plagiarism -- March 5th

Artists are always being maligned, copied and heartlessly made fun of, their artistic skills taken for granted and not duly appreciated till the world decides to take notice. Now we may not be world class artists but I believe anyone who writes on their own, pulling a thread of imagination from their endless experiences, looks at things differently and presents a new view to the world is an artist. Food Bloggers may be ridiculed but till you can do the same, don't take them for granted.

To present food as a piece of art, to painfully test and write down long lost recipes till now only handed down from mother to daughter and allow future generations to have a chronicle, a handbook is an act of selflessness. We don't have to do what we do,we do not make any money out of this and other than a creative staisfaction, we get nothing.

To put up a website for commercial success, to blatantly copy from a blogger's site or to post material provided by vendors, without verifying their sources and then to hide behind a veil of corporate jargon is an act of selfishness. This is what Yahoo! India has done and you can read about it more here.

It is not the first time, as it has happened before to other bloggers as described here and here. I won't be surprised if my recipes also get copied in the future.

But to see Yahoo! do it is akin to supporting plagiarism and not promoting creativism. With all respect, it is undermining the good faith Yahoo! has developed over the years and it hurts. The next time we accuse a plagiariser, they are sure to retailate using "If Yahoo can do it, so can I". Lead by example and we would look up to you.

In the long held tradition of a co-ordinated March, I too have decided to join the protest coordinated by Inji Pennu or Ginger and Mango and a few others. An apology is the least we expect to redeem our faith in the leaders of the internet movement.

Grapefruit In Two Ways

Grapefruit With Honey.
From later winter to early spring, grapefruits are in season. Grapefruit is an excellent source of vitamin C,vitamin A, folate, potassium and fiber. The rich pink and red colors of grapefruit are due to lycopene, a tumor fighting chemical. It is also helpful in lowering cholesterol and clearing the liver and has endless other benefits.

Till recently I wasn't a great fan of grapefruit, associating it with a lingering bitterness. But a friend suggested honey with it and it worked. A drizzle of honey takes away the bitterness while adding a pleasing sweetness. I got hooked on its extreme juiceiness and now my better half got me a huge(!!) bag of grapefruits from our friendly neighbourhood retailer!

Cut the grapefruit into halves vertically. With a very sharp knife and concentration, carefully cut each half into 3-4 slices and cut away the skin. Cut further into pieces. When they are all ready, drizzle honey and let it rest for 10 minutes or so. Enjoy!


Fruit Salad/ Fruit Chaat
A whole bunch of fruit cut up into equal sized dices. The combination can vary as per the mood. I used 2 bananas, 1 grapefruit, 1 apple, some mango cubes and plums. You could use kiwis, strawberries, guava etc too.
The whole flavor is brought together by chaat masala, a pungent blend of spices such as dried mango powder, black salt, cumin, ginger etc. Since my better half is averse to dried mango powder( he can sense it a mile away and scrunches up his face), I just add my spices.

The juices from the grapefruit is sour enough to replace lemon juice. So sprinkle some red chili powder, cumin powder(roasted), sea salt, ginger powder(very little) and drizzle some honey. Adjust the spices as per your taste..more sour, more spicy.. Alternately you could use any store bought chaat masala or make one of your own and keep as per this recipe.

Just salt, sugar and red chili powder also tastes good. I used to mix semi ripe papaya (or mangoes) with tamarind extract, chili powder, sugar and salt and eat till my stomach gave in.:) Now I limit myself to this light dressing. The fruit chaat tastes best after it is just dressed with the spices so don't let it sit. Add the spices just before serving.