Besan Fry (chanagapindi fry)

This is another of my mom's recipes. It goes well with sambar, rasam or dal and rice
Besan - 2 cups
2 medium sized onions sliced into thin long slices
turmeric - 1/2tsp
cumin powder - 1tsp
correander powder - 1tsp
red chilli powder - 1tsp
ginger garlic paste - 1tbsp
salt
cumin seeds - 1tsp
mustard seeds - 1tsp
Make a medium thick consistency batter with besan, water, turmeric, cumin powder, coriander powder, red chilli powder, ginger garlic paste and salt. Keep it aside.
Heat oil in a pan. Add jeera and mustard seeds. When they start spluttering add onions and fry until golden brown. Slowly add the besan mixture and stir well. Keep stirring until the besan gets cooked and all the liquid is absorbed. When the mixture becomes dry and starts browning a little bit, turn off the stove. Serve hot and enjoy.
This tastes like pakoda...but without using lot of oil.

Mom's vegetable moong dal khichdi

Growing up I used to love this rice dish. It is tasty, healthy and easy to make. This tastes more like a pulav. You can serve it with raita.
Basmati Rice - 2 cups
Moong Dal - 1 cup
Water - 6cups
green beans - cut into 1/2 inch pieces - 1/2 cup
carrots - cut into 1/2 inch pieces - 1/2 cup
green peas - 1/2 cup
2 to 3 green chillis -chopped
1 medium onion sliced
cilantro chopped - 3tbsp
gingergarlic paste - 1tbsp
whole garama masala (1 - 1" piece of cinnamon, 3 cloves, 2 cardamom pods, 1bay leaf)
jeera - 1tbsp
salt and oil
Heat some oil in pan. Add whole garam masala, jeera. Add onions and green chillis. Saute for 2 minutes. Add gingergarlic paste and fry for a minute. Add vegetables and saute for 5 minutes. Add salt, cilantro and mix. Add rice and moong dal. Fry for a minute. Add water and cook the mixture in a rice cooker.
Serve hot with raita.

Israeli Couscous

Israeli Couscous is bigger than regular North African couscous. The North African couscous is made from semolina (coarsely ground durum wheat), whereas Israeli couscous is a kind of pasta made with wheat flour. It is different from regular pasta as it is toasted not dried. Because of this it absorbs lots of flavor from the sauce unlike the regular pasta.
You can read more about it here...http://ezinearticles.com/
I made Israeli Couscous recently with chicken broth, onions, peas and cilantro and I loved it. It absorbed lots of flavor from the broth. I served it with chicken.

Here is the recipe....
Israeli Couscous - 1 cup
chicken/vegetable broth - 1 1/4 cups (or water)
1 small onion chopped
1/2 red pepper chopped
1 jalapeño chopped
2 tbsp green peas
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
salt and pepper to taste
Heat 1tbsp of olive oil in a pan. Add onion, green peas, jalapeños, red pepper. Saute until veggies are cooked. Add couscous and stir until the couscous turns brown. Add chopped cilantro, pepper, salt, cumin powder, coriander powder. Boil 1 1/4 cups of water or broth in the microwave and add it to the pan. Cover and simmer for about 8 to 10min or until couscous absorbs all the liquid. Serve with your favorite chicken or fish. This is a great substitute to rice.

-Happy Cooking :)

Creamy Tomato Pasta

Here is a yummy pasta recipe...

Pasta - any kind ( I like whole wheat Penne pasta)
Tomatoes chopped - 2 - 3 big
Jalapenos chopped - 2
chopped garlic - 3 pods
red pepper flakes to taste
Italian dried herb mix - 1tsp
Grated Parmesan cheese - 1tbsp
chopped mint and/or basil - 1tbsp
chopped parsley - 2tbsp
salt to taste
Extra virgin olive oil
Alfredo sauce (I used roasted garlic Alfredo sauce) - 4 - 5 tbsp ( depending on how creamy you want the sauce to be). You can also use cream instead - 2 - 4tbsp.

Optional- Roasted vegetable paste - 1/2 cup ( Onions,red/green/yellow peppers, zucchini, eggplant, beans, carrots). Roast what ever vegetables you have on hand in the oven until soft and grind into a smooth paste without adding too much water. This is a good option for kids who don't like to eat vegetables.
Optional- Chicken breast. Grill chicken breast with salt, pepper and some Italian seasoning. Cut the cooked chicken into long strips.

Cook pasta according to the instructions on the box. Drain and toss pasta with little olive oil so that pasta doesn't stick to each other. Keep it aside.
Heat olive oil in a pan and add chopped garlic saute for a min. Add chopped tomatoes and cook until soft. Add chopped jalapenos and mint/basil and cook for some more time. Add roasted vegetable paste (optional) and cook for few minutes. Add chopped parsley and cook for 1 more minute. Turn off the heat. Cool the mixture and grind it in a food processor.
Return the mixture to the pan and Heat on low heat. Add dried herbs, red pepper flakes and Alfredo sauce ( or cream) and mix. Simmer for a min and turn off the heat.
In a pasta bowl add the cooked pasta. Place chicken strips on the top (Optional). Pour sauce over the pasta sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Serve hot.