Category Archives: Cooking

Cooking

VEGAN HIGH PROTEIN CREPE

Crepe is a French word for a thin pancake which can essentially be curled up. Crepes have been an integral part of North and West Indian cooking for several decades. They make for a nutritious and a filling meal, all curled up together.

Being an artistic leader is an essential part of my personality and that shows up pretty well in the kitchen too. Rarely do I read a recipe from start to end and follow it to the T!  I have always preferred to be the one creating a recipe than the one who follows it. Today was something like that. I brought out the ingredients and then asked myself – how to use these to make dinner? ‘Ting’ went my mind – OATMEAL CREPE

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Find the Ingredient Photographs below.

  1. Oatmeal – 3 cups and churn into dry powder
  2. Poha (Beaten Rice) – 2 cups and churn into dry powder
  3. Urad Daal (Split black gram: split and hulled so that only the white part is used) – 2 cups and churn into dry powder
  4. Kale – 4 cups
  5. Spring Onions – One bunch – appx. 5 thin.
  6. Salt to taste
  7. Pepper 3-4 Tbsps.
  8. Cinnamon powder – 1 Tbsp.
  9. Red Chili Powder – 1 tsp.
  10. Water to make a medium thick, flowy batter

HOW TO:

Churn all well in as many batches as needed. The batter looks a bit grainy and that is ok. Add water whenever needed. If the batter is not used immediately, it may soak up water and look thicker when removed for use. Use your discretion in adding water. Spread on warm non-stick skillet. Make crepes as usual!

PROBLEM AREAS?

If it lumps up on the warm skillet, then it surely needs water. If it is so thin or soft that the crepe breaks on the skillet, then you may churn up either of the above dry ingredient into a powder and add it. You may even directly add Bengal gram flour which helps in binding ingredients. Remember at least part of the batter a churn in the blender once you add any dry flour to it. This will help keep the batter smooth and easy to spread.

The batter can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 7 days however, best flavor when consumed within 3 days!

SUCCESS STORY!  :D

My family over-ate today! They said they loved it! It is a great recipe for kids too since they can roll it and eat by themselves by dipping in butter, sauce, or cilantro and tamarind dips. Use it while travelling!!!

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Poha - Beaten Rice

Poha – Beaten Rice

Urad Daal Or Split & Hulled Black Gram

Urad Daal Or
Split & Hulled Black Gram

The batter

The batter

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crepe

 

Also read: INDIAN GINGER TEA (CHAI)
with a Video Tutorial!

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Cooking

Falafel Fiesta – Yum!!

Chick pea paste with Tahini Dip on the right

Chick pea paste with Tahini Dip on the right

Although Falafel is a Mid-East recipe, every Indian knows how to incorporate his /her own taste and definition to a recipe from around the world. In case if you haven’t already heard, Indians are good ‘Creative Copy-Cats (CCC)’, the way I put it! lol

So here is my CCC Falafel half inspired by me watching my talented aunt cook Falafel a few years ago and half inspired by my crazy mind. This purely Vegetarian dish can also be made VEGAN by keeping out the Optional Ingredients and can be awed for its nutritional fillers- high proteins, calcium, iron, with moderate carbs and fats.

We need:

  1. Butter as per needed on the bread slice when preparing final serving
  2. ½ Onion – white or red (in India onions are way smaller in size, may require to use 2 onions, refer to my picture below to know the quantity)
  3. 2 inch stick of cinnamon
  4. 2 cloves
  5. 1 tsp black pepper – crushed or powder
  6. Sesame seeds – ½ cup
  7. * Optional ingredient: Yogurt – ½ cup
  8. Salt as per needed for each time of use
  9. 1 cup chick peas or garbanzo beans soaked for 6hours.
  10. 1 big palm sized potato or equivalent number of small size
  11. * Optional: Paneer – cottage cheese, crushed to make half to one cup. Make at home by boiling and tearing boiling milk with vinegar or lemon. You can find tons of recipes for how to make paneer at home or get Ready paneer from store. In Usa, you will find Paneer in the frozen section of Indian stores
  12. * Optional: Cheese – 1/4th cup
  13. Tabasco: 4drops
  14. Sriracha Sauce: 1/4th to ½ tsp (as spicy as you want

HOW TO COOK IT

  1. 20150408_181124 Roast white sesame seeds in a non-stick pan on med to low heat until they turn light brown. Stir every minute, making sure you are tossing those seeds around pretty well. They do love carousel rides!
  2. Once light brown remove from stove and allow to cool in a cool area of home, preferably out of the kitchen and under the fan (make sure your fan is clean ;))
  3. Meanwhile, we will prepare the base of our stuffing.
    20150408_180147 chop fine. Red onion is ok too.
  4. Pressure cooker or any untensil to boil the garbanzo beans.
  5. In med. to big sized Pressure Cooker (or Rice cooker), 1 Tbsp of oil; when hot, add 2 inch stick of cinnamon, 2 cloves, 1 tsp crushed black pepper or black pepper powder.
  6. add onions, roast on med to high flame till translucent in color.
  7. Add garbanzo / chick peas and fill water to 2-3 inches above chick peas.
  8. To make the chick peas softer, add salt to
  9. Boil in cooker with 6 whistles. (Adjust whistle no. as per your cooker)

20150408_180303 Kept to boil in pressure cooker

10. Meanwhile we will make our own version of ‘ Tahini Dip’. Crush the cooled sesame seeds in a dry grinder 1st 20150408_183101

11. Once crushed, add 1 Tbsp cooking oil to the dry, ground sesame powder. Churn it once if needed. Add 3 Filled Tbsp of Yogurt (*optional, this is my own addition) and store this dip in a tightly covered container to preserve the flavor.

12. When the pressure cooker cools, separate the potato from the chick peas

13. Peel potato skin. Mash the boiled, peeled potato and add paneer – cottage cheese. Top with salt and 1tsp of red chilli powder (add more or less as per requirement)

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14. Add quarter cup cheese

15. Mash the chickpeas, potato, paneer all in one

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16. Add salt, tabasco 4 drops, 1/4 to 1/2 tsp Sriracha sauce (as spicy as needed)

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17.  images All the parts are ready. Unlike Traditional Falafel, I do not make them into balls. I leave it like a paste.

Chick pea paste with Tahini Dip on the right

Chick pea paste with Tahini Dip on the right

18. Take your Bread slices, add butter, layer with tahini dip, chick peas paste, bite into this delightful dish!

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A Nutritious Dessert for Kids – small and big ;)

Very often, we have enough reason to say – “No more icecream for my kids” but then it gets tough to steer them away from this choice. Festive season, outings, parties, and winter are some of the many trying times.

I have never seen this recipe before. The thought popped out while deciding a dessert for a Diwali Party and it worked wonders. I was surprised at how many adults too sprang for it.20141205_194538

What are we making?

Popsicles from craft sticks, ice tray, milk, cardamom powder, and syrup of your choice

I chose – drinking chocolate powder and saffron, rose, raw mango syrup (sorbet)

My Ice tray is red hearts. I had a blue fish and animal shaped Ice tray too.

 Activity Benefits

Healthy dessert – perfect for parties and large groups!

Extra Small portions

Great replacement for icecream – significantly less fat

Kids can cook with you – develops interest in cooking

Only 15 minutes of total cooking time and maximum an hour of freezing time.

Serves many people effortlessly in many different colors and flavors

Enhances your creativity

 

Make it Happen!

First make space in your freezer. Depending on the number and shape of ice trays you are going to use and the height of the popsicle or craft sticks. I am lucky to have a horizontally broad freezer20141205_193328. Spread a cloth or plastic sheet at the base to avoid a mess on the freezer floor.

Decide on the variations you want. How many types of sorbets or syrups do you want to use? Take as many glasses and spoons. Pour milk in each of the glass to a half. Pour your sorbet in to make it edible enough. Make it a little stronger than usual for the flavor to come out as a popsicle. A good indication is that the sorbet color stands out in the milk. Add a pinch of cardamom powder in each glass. Stir for 10 seconds.20141205_195035

Pour into the ice trays as you like. Freeze.

Check in 30 minutes. Gently push your finger into the Popsicle. Just before they are completely hard, remove from freezer. They should feel a little fragile from the top, yet not allow your finger to sink in. Place the popsicle sticks into the half-frozen mixture. The sticks should be able to settle in with 1-2 efforts. There should be no cracks in the popsicles, but if there is, do not worry.

Take water in a spoon and gently pour it all over the ice tray. This is the most important step because, after your put the sticks into already half-frozen mixture, we want the sticks to stand in place and hold the popsicles well. As the water freezes into ice, it will do this for you! 20141207_011122

Re-freeze ice tray

Enjoy it

It is ready to go in another 30 minutes! When you are ready to serve, remove the ice tray on a water safe surface. Let it stand out for 3-6 minutes. This will allow the mixture to loosen well enough that it is easy to remove the popsicles without cracks or without separating the stick from the mixture.20141206_175031

Serve in mini-serve plastic to go cups or in small bowls / cups.

Eat half a dozen if you like; it will not harm you half as much as icecream does!

Variations

Talks about this dessert popped up with my close friend Rashmi Khare when she mentioned that she uses orange juice or any other juice to make super quick popsicles. Fresh homemade or bottled juice in the popsicle maker and there you go. Think of making this variety with all your different ice tray shapes!

Thank You Rashmi for such a great idea!

–Exclusive and original recipe by Rima Desai.

No part of this recipe has been intentionally copied from anywhere. Similar work is the act of coincidence.

No part of this recipe may be copied and posted, re-posted, used in print in any form or manner.

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Delicious Bhel recipe by Rima

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Bhel is a highly popular dish in North India. The main ingredient is roasted or shallow fried puffed rice. There are lots of raw vegetables and two highly nutritious dips (chutneys) added to the puffed rice.

This is my own (Rima Desai’s) unique recipe to make your bhel even more nutritious:

  • Mix veggies of your choice – cucumber, corn, onion, potato, tomato, broccoli, carrot, onion, etc. lightly salted
  • Roasted cashew, peanut and almond powder all mixed together
  • Raisins and pomegranate – optional
  • Cilantro chutney (dip) and Tamarind + dates chutney (dip)
  • Ready Bhel mix or home roasted kurmura (puffed rice) mixed with bhujia (sev or fried Bengal gram snack)
  • Chaat masala and cilantro.

MIX IT ALL and feast!

Google image credits
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