Best of 2016

I slacked off in 2016. But that is understandable. My schedule was so busy, that I had less time to try new recipes. I did try some new, retried several old, and tasty recipes!

Here are some favorite recipes from 2016.

In January, I  kicked off the year,  with some another fun Black-eyed Peas and Collard Greens recipes. This one is a keeper!

I even tried two roll recipes: Jalapeno, Scallion and Garlic  and Sun-dried Tomato and Jalapeno. Both were so delicious, that I continued to make them throughout the year!

I attempted the 21-day beach body diet in early 2016, and here’s my version of Bulghur Wheat Upma, designed to meet the container requirement (Disclaimer: I am not a certified Beach Body coach, so use at your own discretion!)

Another fun recipe in February from the beach body diet was the Brown Rice Paella.

March was all about Cauliflower Nirvana. Period!

Come April, I put all else aside for a two week vacation down under. What an incredible trip!

May is always, typically about Cherries.

I also experimented with other recipes like Mango Coconut Scones

And learnt to make Bagels… Sun Dried Tomato and Jalapeno bagels, of course 🙂

Summertime, to beat the heat, I experimented with many Popsicle recipes, many of them with mango or cherries: my two favorite fruits.

I maintained a scant patio garden this summer, which was plagued by over zealous squirrels. The most exciting vegetable from my patio garden this year  was zucchini!

August was about Savory Sun-dried Tomato Kalamata Olive and Jalapeno bread.

Two fun recipes from September included, plunging into Cauliflower Rice and Stir Fried Vegetables.

And these delicious Cherry Friands!

And another variation of the Quinoa Bisibele Bath.

October, I found Mango Chia Pudding, and it was terrific. It has fast become my go-to breakfast items!

November was incredibly busy. Come December, I did try the Tian.

But, December is all about the holidays… about Airplane Cookies!

Have a very Happy New Year!

Hope to see you back here next year!

Cherries are in the air

Cherries are most economic in April/May, and I hoard up on them. More than I can eat anyway.

Sometimes too many!

While they are refreshing and fun for that late afternoon snack, there are many cherry recipes I love to try when this happens…

Salads

Cherry and Avacado Salad

Baking

Mini Cherry Crumbles

Cherry and Cardamon Cake

Cherry Cake

Healthy Whole Wheat Cherry and Chocolate Muffins

Homemade Granola

Ice Cream

Cherry,  Dark Chocolate and Coffee Popsicle

Cherry Swirl, Dark Chocolate and Cherry Bits

Refreshing Drinks

Refreshing and Homemade Cherry Lemonade

Mediterranean in May

Fun recipes from last May…

Farro & Sun Dried Tomato Foccacia

Eggplant and Tomato GratinRosemary Scented Vegetable Phyllo Tart

Stuffed Tomato

Mediterranean Grain Soup

Baklava

Eggplant and Tomato Gratin

Best of 2015

I had a lot of fun in 2015 trying new recipes from around the world. There are many keepers in the list that i cooked over and over again, and I expect, will continue to do so.

Here are some of my most favorite recipes…

APPETIZERS & SNACKS

Baked Bajji

Baked Vada

GRAINS:

Quinoa Dosa

One-pot Mexican Quinoa

Mango Poha

Quinoa Vangi Bath

Cranberry Poha

BEANS & LENTILS

Cauliflower, Kale, Chickpea  Curry Pot

Black-Eyed Peas and Greens with Navrattan Spices

JAMS & JELLIES

Anise Flavored Kumquat Marmalade

DIPS & SAUCES

Sun-dried Tomato and Jalapeno Hummus

WRAPS & SANDWICHES

Edamame and Zucchini Wraps

CASSEROLE

Zucchini and Yellow Tomato Gratin

Spaghetti Squash Casserole

Spaghetti Squash Burrito Bowl

DESSERTS

Pumpkin Payasam

Cherry Swirl with Dark Chocolate & Cherry Bits

Baklava

BREADS, COOKIES & CAKES

Farro and Sun-dried Tomato Foccacia

Cherry and Cardamon Cake

Vegan Pumpkin Bread

Airplane Cookies

JUICES & SMOOTHIES

Watermelon Cooler

CURRIES & MORE

Tomato in Yogurt Sauce

Eggplant Curry with Onion

SALADS

Cherry and Avocado Salad

SIDES

Honey and Sriracha Roasted Brussels Sprouts

SOUPS

Vibrant Beets Soup

Mediterranean Grain Soup

WHAT’S POPULAR WITH YOU?

Amaranth Upma

Amaranth Dosa

Spicy Chickpea and Brussels Sprouts Soup

Valor Papdi Bean

Baked Bajji

Edamame and Zucchini Wraps

Quinoa Upma

Mango Carrot Muffins

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Cranberry Poha

Revamping an old recipe with new ingredients

Ingredients:

1 cup poha
1/2 onion sliced thin
1 small potato cut into small pieces
1 jalapeno sliced
1-2 tsp oil
1 tbsp channa dal
1 tbsp urad dal
1 tsp mustard seeds
1-2 dry red chilli
1/2 cup cranberries
a handful of cashews or peanuts
few curry leaves
salt to taste

In a pan, heat the oil. Add channa dal, urad dal, red chilli,  cashews or peanuts (or both), and mustard seeds and fry till lightly golden. Add curry leaves and jalapeno and fry for a few seconds. Add onion, and potato and fry on medium low mixing as necessary to prevent sticking, until onion are translucent and golden and potatoes crispy. Rinse and process the cranberries in a food processor until chopped fine. Add to the pan and fry for a few seconds.

Meanwhile rinse poha in some cold water. Don’t leave it in too long, or it will get soft and mushy. Rinse, and squeeze out the water and add to the pan above. Mix well. Season with salt and leave for 1-2 minutes.

Serve warm with a cup of tea.

Tis’ the season… for Airplane Cookies!

Believe it or not, December is here… and Christmas is just around the corner. And it is the one time of the year, I bake cookies!  At least the last 3-4 years, since I got my airplane cookie cutters 🙂

Each year, I try a new recipe. This year’s recipe was adapted from here.

Ingredients:

3 1/4 cup  flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cardamon powder
1 tsp rose essence
1 egg
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup sour cream

In a large bowl mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, salt and cardamon powder. In a separate bowl, whisk together sugar, egg, butter, sour cream and essence.

Mix dry and wet ingredients and roll into a ball. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Roll out the cookie dough into a ball of 1/4 in thickness. Use desired cookie cutter and create fun holiday spirit cookies.

See Also:

Airplane cookies are here

Time for Airplane cookies

Fly me to the moon

Muesli Bread

I came across this bread, along with other breads in the latest Prevention Magazine. I really wanted to bake the cranberry bread, but instead, I opted to bake this one. I had the oven all fired up anyway, as I roasted root vegetables for a pot of Roasted Root Vegetables with Kale and Lentil soup for the week.

As always, I made changes. Here’s how I baked mine…

Ingredients:

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 + 1 tbsp cup rolled oats
1/8 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp flaxmeal
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/6 cup each, raisins, pepitas, dried cherries, raw almonds and coconut. I swapped in cherries and coconut since I didn’t have apricot.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mix flours, sugar, baking powder, oats, flaxmeal, salt and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, oil, eggs and almond extract. Combine with flours and mix well. Fold in nuts and dried fruit.

Grease a baking pan and pour the mixture evenly. You can sprinkle some fruit and nuts on top, which I missed.

Bake for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and cool.

Enjoy for breakfast with a hot cuppa tea or during the afternoon slump!

Honey and Sriracha Roasted Brussels Sprouts

I ate at BJ’s for the first time, while I was visiting Daytona Beach recently. I shared some Roasted Brussels Sprouts with a fellow student and they were so good, I wanted to try to make them,  the first chance I got. Here’s my variation of this side dish.

Ingredients:

1 lb Brussels Sprouts, rinsed and sliced in half
1 tbsp Olive Oil
salt and fresh ground pepper to season

Dressing:

2 tbsp sriracha
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp lime juice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees,

Rinse and slice the Brussels Sprouts. Drizzle some olive oil, season with salt and fresh ground black pepper.

Roast the Brussels Sprouts for 45 minutes to an hour.

Meanwhile mix the dressing ingredients in a bowl.

Drizzle the dressing before serving. I think BJ’s also deep fries the roasted Brussels Sprouts briefly before serving, which I didn’t do.

Baked Garelu or Plain Vada

I typically shied away from making vada, since it is a deep fried dish. While I was happy to eat it while my mother or other family member created it, I personally have never made this dish. That is until recently.

After the success of baking masala vada, I have tried to recreate the plain vada with no success, until today. It can’t be re-created similarly. I ended up using a muffin tin, but if you have a donut tin that will do perfectly since Garellu are made with a hole in the center!

Ingredients:

1 cup urad dal
Salt to taste
Oil

Soak the urad dal in water for 5-6 hours. Rinse and blend in a blender till smooth with some water to make thick batter, similar to what is needed to make idlis.  Season with salt and set aside to ferment,

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.

When ready to make vada’s, generously grease a muffin tin with oil, adding 1/2 – 1 tsp oil and add 1-2 tbsp of batter  to each muffin cup.

Bake 35-45 minutes till golden.

Serve warm with some sweet and sour ginger chutney.

Sweet and Sour Ginger Chutney

Raw ginger has a very pungent flavor. It needs to be tempered with tamarind juice and jaggery (or brown sugar) to make it palatable.

This is my first attempt to make this chutney. Contrary to the Sweet and Sour Ginger Pickle, I posted a few weeks ago, this one is easy, short lived and goes well with vada. It is a very typical Andhra dish that is served during events such as weddings, funerals and other events. It is very often served with plain vada. Not to say  it can’t be served with other vada types.

Ingredients:

2-4 in of ginger stalk, peeled and chopped
1/2-2/3 cup tamarind sauce
3-4 tbsp brown sugar or 1-2 cubes jaggary

Tempering:

1 tbsp oil
1 tsp urad dal
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1-2 dry red chillies
dash of tumeric
dash of asaphoetida
a few curry leaves

I previously provided a recipe for the Sweet and Sour Ginger Pickle that can last months and years. Contrary to that, this is a short lived recipe, that is quick to make and lasts up to a week.

Add the chopped ginger to a blender, along with tamarind juice and jaggery and blend till smooth. Adjust tamarind juice and sugar to personal preference. Transfer to a bowl. Season with salt.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a pan. Add turmeric, asaphoetida, urad dal, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and dry red chilli. Fry till lightly golden. Add some curry leaves and leave for another minute.

Transfer to the bowl containing the ginger paste. Mix well. Adjust tamarind juice, sweetness, and salt.

Serve with some fresh vada!

Note: You can make a roasted sesame chutney, by replacing the ginger with roasted sesame which is another traditional chutney that is served at events.