Cabbage Kheer

 Kheer is nothing but a milk based sweet pudding dish with either rice or vermicelli traditionally. It is not as thick as pudding but thin in consistency. But as we have come to know to cook with more varieties of grains, the kheer has also evolved. Below are a couple of Kheer recipes.

Sabudaana seviyah kheer

Quinoa Kheer

The Kheer is made today is mainly made with Cabbage a little bit of vermicelli. Because there was vermicelli...the picky eaters in my family had no clue they were eating cabbage >:)

Cabbage Kheer (Cabbage cooked in sweet milk)

Cabbage Vermicelli kheer

Ingredients:

1. 3 cups thinly sliced cabbage
2. 1 cup fine vermicelli (optional)
3. 1 tablespoon each of cashews, raisins, almonds
4. 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
5. 3 cups milk
6. 2/3-1 cup milk
7. 2 teaspoon ghee/clarified butter
8. 1 teaspoon rose essence or 2 cardamom crushed

Heat the ghee in a heavy bottomed pan add fry all the dry fruits, drain and set aside.

In the same pan add the cabbage and fry for 5 minutes. Add the milk and cook for 15 -20 minutes until the cabbage becomes tender. Add the sugar and cook further for 10 minutes. Add the rose water or cardamom and add the fine vermicelli if using. Give it a stir. Sprinkle with the dry fruits and poppy seeds and enjoy hot kheer on a cold winter day

Roasted Eggplant and Black Eyed Peas

 Its new year and inevitable every year there is always an article about what foods are eaten on Jan 1st for good luck. And in the South of the USA, Black Eyed Peas are eaten.

I have a couple of Black Eyed recipes from before

Black Eyed Peas and Cabbage

Turkey Sausage with Black Eyed Peas

But this time I made with the roasted eggplants and yum yum yum is all I have to say

Roasted Eggplant and Black Eyed Peas (Black eyed peas cooked with roasted eggplant with Indian Spices)

Roasted Eggplant and Black Eyed Peas

Ingredients:

1. 1 medium eggplant horizontally sliced and drizzled with a bit of an oil and roasted on an open flame for 5 minutes on each side ( I roast them on my stove top flame)
2. 1 can black eyed peas drained or 1 cup dried black eyed peas soaked over night and cooked in a cooker for 3 whistles with 2 cups of water
3. 1 teaspoon each of salt, cumin, red chilli powder
4. 2 teaspoon coriander powder
5. 1 medium onion chopped fine
6. 1 teaspoon graded ginger
7. chopped fresh coriander/cilantro  for garnish
8. 1 tablespoon oil

Leave the roasted eggplant covered in a plate for 5- 10 minutes. Scrape the meat out of the skin and mash it so that there is are no big pieces or long strands of flesh.

In an pan heat the oil and add the chopped onions and fry until they start becoming brown. Add the ginger and give it a quick stir. Add the roasted eggplant and all the spices and mix well. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Add the drained black eyed peas and 1 cup water or the contents of the cooker. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy on a New Year's day with Roti or Rice

Creamy Thai Egg Yellow Curry

 There is this Chinese grocery store in Alabama which has the Thai curry pastes. The last time we visited this place, we got all the three colored curry pastes...the Yellow, Green and Red. 

Yesterday for dinner, I made a creamy egg curry with the yellow curry paste. It was very delicious. I served it with Roti...the Indian wheat bread

Creamy Thai Egg Yellow Curry (Beaten eggs cooked in Thai yellow curry gravy)

Creamy Thai Egg Yellow Curry

Ingredients

1. 3 tablespoons Thai yellow curry paste
2. 1/3 cup frozen grated coconut thawed and ground to paste with 1/2 cup water
3. 4 oz fully cooked salad shrimp thawed (optional)
4. 4 eggs lightly beaten
5. 1 tablespoon oil
6. salt as needed
7. 1 medium small onion finely chopped
8. 1 medium tomato finely chopped

In a pan heat the oil and fry the onions until they start becoming brown. Add the Thai yellow curry paste and the tomotos and cook for 5 minutes. Add the shrimp and the coconut paste and stir to combine and cook for 5 more minutes. Raise the flame to high and let the curry come to a rolling boil. Add the beaten egg to the pot and cover and let cook for 2 minutes. Remove the lid and stir to combine. Let the curry boil further for 3-5 more minutes.

Give it a taste test and add salt if desired. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and enjoy with rice or roti

Steamed Sooji breakfast

 I have made and tried all of the below types of idliClassic Plain Idli

Carrot Idli

Ravva Idli

Mint Idli

Corn Meal Idli

Ravva Idli #2

Instant Idli
Masala Oats Ravva Idli
Raagi Idli

But its time to try something else. After all Variety is what keeps life interesting. So I made this recipe I found and it turned out pretty good. I used a round cake pan to steam it in a wide pan (helpful when you do not have the special idli steamer) . Next time I will just use the idli pan.

Sooji Idli (Steamed Semolina breakfast)

Sooji idli dokhla with coco-nut chutney

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup roasted semolina (Sooji)
2. 1/2 cup yogurt
3. 1 teaspoon lemon juice
4. 1/2-3/4 teaspoon salt
5. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
6. 1/4 cup each of finely chopped onions, capsicum , coriander leaves, carrots
7. 1-2 green chillies finely chopped if desired
8. oil for oiling the dish
9. 1/2 teaspoon chat masala to sprinkle on top (optional)
10. bigger pan for steaming

Add some water to a pan and start heating it. Oil a cake pan which will fit in the pan being used for steaming.

Mix the sooji and yogurt well along with a 1 cup of water and salt. Add the vegetables and mix well. Set it aside  for 10 minutes. If the batter looks too thick add about 1/2 more cup water and mix well. Add the lemon juice and baking soda and stir to combine.

Add this batter to the oiled cake pan. Sprinkle with chat masala if using . Put it in the bigger pan for steaming, cover and reduce heat to medium low. Steam for 16-18 minutes. Cut the heat and let it sit there for 5 minutes.Take it out and flip the "cake" onto a plate. Let it cool for 5 minutes and cut into desired shapes and enjoy with your favorite chutney or as is

Sweet and spicy shaved steak

 I think the shaved steak is a European way of meat because when Lidl...the European grocery store, opened up and  started carrying shaved steak the other regular American grocery stores around us started carrying the shaved steak also.

         I like the shaved steak quite a bit. The texture is great and I usually either make a beef staganoff with it or vermicelli with beef. Super delicious. But I have never deep friend the shaved steak like this before. I found this recipe and I followed it and boy o'boy...its one of the most delicious and melt in your mouth shaved steak.

Sweet and spicy shaved steak (Deep fried shaved steak in sweet and spicy sauce)

Sweet and spicy shaved steak

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb shaved steak
2. 1 teaspoon each of grated ginger and grated garlic
3. 2 tablespoons soya sauce
4. 1 tablespoon sesame oil
5. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper
6. 1 egg
7. 2 tablespoons corn starch
8. oil for deep frying.
9. Store bough sweet chilli sauce

Separate the shaved steak and ingredient from #2-#5 and set it aside for 20-30 minutes. Beat the egg lightly and mix the steak well.

Heat the oil. Add the corn starch and mix well.

Separate the meat into 1 inch big portions and fry for 2-3 minutes stirring occasionally so that all sides get fried evenly. Drain and fry the rest of the meat in batches. Do not over crow the pan otherwise the meat will all stick together and lump up.

Add 2-3 tablespoons of chilli sauce or more if you like and enjoy with noodles or sticky rice

Baked sweet potato cakes

 Ti's the season for all things sweet potato. But for me...I don't need any season/reason to eat sweet potatoes. They are one of my favorite spuds/studs .

My local super market had a whole lot of yams right in front of the door and I picked up some and walked to where I know my favorite spuds are usually available. And there I see the sweet potatoes. So I put down the yams and get some sweet potatoes. I thought they were pretty much the same. Turns out I was very very wrong. They both are very different

Anyway, I made these baked sweet potato cakes and they flew off the counter super fast.

Baked sweet potato cakes 

Baked Sweet Potato cakes

Ingredients:

1. 2 medium sweet potatoes peeled and cut into 1 cm round (or any way which is easy for you to cut into pieces)
2. 1 egg
3. 1/4 cup sugar
4. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, cinnamon, nut meg, baking powder
5. 2/3 cup all purpose flour
6. 1 tablespoon butter

Boil the sweet potato pieces until fork tender. Drain and mash them. Mix all the ingredients into a smooth past.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Lay parchment paper on a baking dish. 

Make patties out of the dough about 2-2.5 inches diameter and 1/2 inch thick.

My sweet potato mix was a bit on the runny side where I couldn't really made a patty. So I put a dollop of the mix on the parchment and spread it into a circle as much as possible.

Bake for 23-25 minutes. Cool 5 minutes before eating as is, or for more yumminess...top it with whipped cream and enjoy!

Chicken Samosa

 Chicken Samosa (Meat Empanada)

Chicken samosa

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb ground chicken or meat
2. 1/2 tablespoon oil
3. 1/2 teaspoon each of mustard seeds, cumin, turmeric 
4. 1 teaspoon salt, chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder
5. 1 heaped teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
6. 1 big or 2 medium peeled and grated

For dough

1. 2 3/4 cup wheat flour
2. 3/4 cup sooji (Semolina)
3. 2 tablespoons oil or melted butter
4. 1 teaspoon each sesame seeds, Ajwain

Mix all the ingredients except the potatoes.

In a pan heat the oil and add the mustard seeds and cover and cook until they splatter. Add cumin and fry for 30 seconds. Add the spice mixed meat and potatoes and cover and cook for 10 minutes stirring occasionally.

Mix all the ingredients for the dough without any water and mix well so that oil/ghee gets incorporated well. Add water little by and make dough. Knead well for 2-3 minutes. Leave it covered to rest for 15-20 minutes.

Divide the dough into 16 parts. Divide the meat into 16 parts. Add some flour and roll one part of dough into a thin round 3-4 inches circle. Add the meat and close it into a half circle.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake for 15 minutes. Flip them and bake for 15 minutes. Enjoy with ketchup.