Daal Palak ..Dry Version

Hi all!

I’m here with yet another healthy version of daal/curry. I’m using both names, daal and curry as it is made using lentils and greens. The version that I have made is a dry one but the same after adding more water can be made as a daal too and can be had with rice. The dry version tastes best with bread, paav, phulka or can be used as a filling to make sandwich too.

It is very tasty as has no extravagantly used spices. It has natural flavours of the spinach, lentils and the other added veggies. The version I’ve made has more of a Noth Indian touch but the same curry can be given a South Indian touch by adding Curry leaves and Asafoetida (heeng) during tempering.

Garlic Oil..Home Made

Hi!

My family loves Garlic Bread. Whenever we visit a Pizzeria or an Italian restaurant, the first order has to be garlic bread. The garlic bread available in restaurants makes use of butter, which makes the calorie count go high. So to make the garlic bread healthier and still tasty I make this garlic oil at home. using this the garlic bread can be made in a jiffy and what’s better is that it’s low in calories too.

This garlic oil can be used in making other salad dressings too and is quite multi purpose. It stays well for a month provided it doesn’t get over before that. It’s a no effort garlic oil which comes out very handy in cooking and at quite a low cost as compared to the garlic oil available in market.

Ingredients
7-8 thick cloves of garlic
1/2cup EVOO
Method
Crush the garlic in a clean pestle and mortar.
Push the garlic into a bottle and pour  the oil too. Close and shake lightly.
Leave it over night and the garlic oil is ready to use the next day. The flavour gets better as the garlic gets completely absorbed in the oil in the days to come .
Store in air tight bottle/ jar only.

Pesto..With Basil

Hi!
Come summer and your body starts asking for cooling and freshness producing food products. For me one such ingredient is the Basil, I’m in love with this herb and I use it profoundly in my cooking.
Topping the list is the Pesto, which is nothing but a quick chutney using the basil leaves. It is a good digestive and the freshness it produces on your palate is amazing. It makes you feel fresh and cool in this heat. I highly recommend this to be kept ready for use in the kitchen as it’s a versatile ingredient.
The pesto can be made in a jiffy if you have the pine-nuts ready for use after peeling, else one could use walnuts too. I use pine-nuts as they are very good for eyesight.


Ingredients
Makes-almost 3/4 cup
2 cups basil leaves. loosely packed
4-5 garlic cloves
1/4 cup/ 50gms pine nuts
2tbsp EVOO
salt to taste
Method

Grind the Pine nuts and garlic together.
Mix the Basil, salt and EVOO. Grind. If required add more EVOO.
Remove in an airtight container. If you want to store it for a few days, spread a layer of EVOO on top.
Variation :-
To make a Classic Italian Pesto, in the above mentioned ingredients add 1/4cup Parmesan cheese and reduce the salt. Grind together.

Tip- The Pesto should always be covered with oil as it oxidises quickly fading the natural green colour, which has happened with mine, while clicking pics.
You can try this
Bi Coloured Italian Sandwich

Chapati..Indian Bread From South India

 

Hi!

I’m posting here after a long time. Today I’m posting a simple and yet a little tricky Indian Bread made in South India called Chapati or Chapathi. It resembles the Paratha but is still quite different.

This bread makes use of the excess oil smeared inside and spreads easily and hence is very soft internally. It is rolled out much thinner than the Paratha and uses very little flour while rolling.

It can be served with any curry but it compliments best with the Jhunka.

Chapati

Serves:3

Preparation Time:5mins

Resting Time:15mins

Cooking Time:20-25mins

Makes:8-10

Ingredients

2cups Whole Wheat Flour for dough

1/2cup wheat flour for rolling

1/4tsp salt

water for kneading dough

veg oil

Method

Knead a soft dough using wheat flour, salt and water. Apply oil and rest covered for 15mins.

Divide the dough into 8-10 pieces. Make balls and flatten. Keep covered.

Roll each ball to a 3inch circle using wheat flour and apply 1/2-3/4tsp oil and fold to a ‘D’ shape.

Apply oil to the ‘D’ again and fold again to get a triangle shape.

Apply wheat flour lightly and roll to a 3mm triangular Chapati.

Heat the griddle cook the Chapati lightly on either side and then roast on each side again using 1/2tsp oil.

I prefer the Chapati soft so I do not over roast, for crispy Chapati cook on low flame on either side.

Serve hot with curry or Jhunka.