Kaddhu chutney

Bottle gourd is more famous in the US than its cousin the round bottle gourd. This gourd does not look anything like its cousin the bottle gourd, which is more like a bottle. The round one is round but pretty much the same thing inside. We just eat the pulp between the skin and the more seedy pulp on pretty much 80 percent of the inside.

So, one of my acquaintances' has a garden and she gave me one of these round bottle gourds and I made dal with half of and today I made chutney with remaining of it , to go with the wada or Garelu I made.

Kaddu Chutney (Round bottle gourd side)

Round Bottle Gourd Chutney

Ingredients:

1. 3 cups round bottle gourd, peeled and pulp removed and cut into small pices
2. 1/2 cup juice from a small lemon sized tamaring
3. 1 tablespoon each of urad dal, chana dal, sesame seeds
4. 1 teaspoon each of cumin, oil
5. 1 small piece of ginger peeled
6. 1/2 teaspoon salt or more to taste
7. 2 dried red chillies

In a pan roast the urad dal and chana dal and dried red chillies till they start turning brown. Cut the heat and add the sesame seeds and cumin and continue to fry. Take it to a plate and let it cool.

In the same pan add the oil and fry the gourd pieces along with the ginger and salt for 10 minutes covered. Let it cool.

Grind the dal to fine powder. Add the gourd pieces and the tamarind juice and grind to a fine paste. Give a taste test for salt and add more if needed. Serve with steam rice or with any of your favorite breakfasts

pumpkin pancakes

Its that time of the year again where things start turning nice bright orange and then start turning brown and whither away. But Autumn colours are great and with the season comes the pumpkins and all kinds of other squashes and gourds.

So, the breakfast of the season is Pumpkin pancake

Pumpkin Pancake

Pumpkin pancake

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups all purpose flour
2. 1 cup pumpkin puree
3. 11/2 cup milk
4. 1 egg
5. 2 tablespoons oil
6. 2 tablespoons sugar
7. 2 teaspoons baking powder
8. 1 teaspoon each of baking soda, all spices, ground cinnamon
9. 1/4 teaspoon salt
10. Butter for frying pancakes

Beat together the egg and the milk and add the pumpkin puree to it and beat again. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine. Do not over mix.

Heat a griddle and add some butter to it. Add a ladle full of pancake batter and cover and cook until bubbles appear all over the pancake. Flip carefully. Make a slice in the middle for the steam to escape and cook for 5 more minutes. Enjoy as is, or with maple syrup

Belgian sugar waffles

The first time I had these waffles, I had no idea they were a different kind of waffles. It was a small local restaurant away from the strip in Las Vegas, Nevada. Those were the most yummiest waffles' I have ever eaten.

I tried to replicate them various ways but they all were the regular waffle recipes. Finally last week I found the recipe I was looking form. hmmm....I reached my happy place. And here is the recipe to share...cause whatever I am making I am not sharing...they are all for me >:)

Belgian sugar waffles (Overnight yeast waffles with bits of sugar in them)

Belgian Overnight sugar waffles

Ingredients:

1. 1/4 oz package yeast
2. 1/3 cup luke warm water
3. 2 tablespoon granulated sugar
4. pinch of salt
5. 2 cups all purpose flour
6. 3 eggs
7. 1/2 cup butter softened
8. 1/2 cup pearl sugar (I did not get them so I sprinkled some water in 1/2 cup brown sugar so that it formed small lumps and used it)

Mix the yeast in warm water and sugar and let it froth for 10 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Knead the dough and let it rest in a oiled bowl, covered, over night. 

Mix gently the pearl sugar/ brown sugar bits and let it rest for 15 minutes.

Heat the waffle iron. Take a small lemon sized dough and press it in the middle of the waffle iron and let cook until the steam stops coming up. 

Bounce it between your hands for a minute, so that the waffle cools a little and serve. This is, so that the steam from the hot waffle doesn't make it soggy on the plate

Enjoy

Szechuan Salmon

It was a team lunch and supposedly one of my manager's favorite spots for lunch. I have not eaten any Chinese food anything remotely similar to this. Specifically this was a Szechuan Cuisine and they had the Szechuan numbing peppers in most of the dishes we orders. Yummmm instant love. This Szechuan pepper corn have the tangy taste in the beginning that is very reminiscent of the tingly tangy taste you get when you eat a baby mango. I was instantly transported to my childhood house with the Mango tree and all those summer afternoons when I would get onto the tree and get a raw mango and bite into it.

I had to have those Szechuan pepper corns and I got them and I did not want to make chicken. I made Salmon . And yum yum. Loved them all the way.

Szechuan Salmon

Szechuan pepper corn salmon

Salmon fillet dinner

Ingredients:

1. 4 salmon fillets
2. 1 teaspoon oil
3. 1 teaspoon each of Szechuan peppercorn, garlic powder, coriander powder, 
4. 1/2 teaspoon each of red pepper flakes, salt
5. Oil for frying the salmon

Pound the Szechuan pepper corn to break them. Mix all the spices in a bowl along with the oil. Apply the spice mix to the fish fillets and let them rest for 15 minutes. Heat a griddle and add some oil to it and fry the fish fillets on medium low heat 5 minutes on each side. 

I served them with orzo pasta, Steamed broccoli and Corn asparagus, bell pepper stir fry

Urad Dal Murgh

I love love love dal makhani and today I wanted Dal makhani and also chicken and I was looking for recipes for that and Imade them together ad yum yum yum, the chicken with dal makhani is great.

Urad Dal Murgh (Chicken in Black Gram gravy)

Urad Dal Chicken

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup Whole black gram (Urad Dal)
2. 2 chicken breast cut into 1/2 inch thick slices cut at an angle
3. 1 tablespoon oil
4. 1 medium small onion chopped fine
5. 1 medium large tomato chopped fine
6. 1 teaspoon each of garam masala, chilli powder (reduce according to your heat level), salt, turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, ginger-garlic paste
7. Healthy heap of chopped cilantro

Soak the urad dal with 3 cups of water over night. Cook them in a pressure cooker for 4-5 whistles with 1/2 of the turmeric. Let the steam escape.

Sprinkle the chicken with half of the salt and chilli powder and set it aside for 15 minutes.

In a pan heat half of the oil and fry the chicken 3 minutes on either side. Drain and set aside. Add the onions and fry till they start getting browned. Add the ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute. Add the tomatoes and all the spices and mix well. Add the chicken and urad dal and a cup of water and simmer for 30 minutes. Garnish with cilatro and serve with roti or rice