Gaajar Ka Halwa (Carrot Halwa)

Be ready for a little hard work if you want to do this right.

Gaajar ka halwa is one of my favorite deserts! If not made properly, this dish can taste like sweetened boiled carrots. But if made with little effort (and love) this can be a very tasty and flavorful desert. Some measurements I have given here are approximates because it depends on your taste especially the sweetness.  Although I believe if you are making a desert then make it sweet - don't make it such that it seems like a desert but its not really sweet.....

One word of warning - since I find this desert a little labor intensive I make it in large quantity and freeze half of it for later.

Ingredients

1. 5 lbs carrots
2. 4-5 cups of milk (1% or 2%)
3. One 8-10 oz can condensed milk (sweetened/low fat is what I used)
4. One and half cup sugar
5. Half cup or more ghee
6. Raisins, cashews to garnish

Process

1. Wash and grate the carrots. (I love my food processor for this reason!)
2. Add the carrots to a large stir frying pan and start heating. Add the milk.
3. Cook the carrots in the milk. This requires constant stirring otherwise the milk might stick to the bottom of the pan. I love my non stick pan for that reason, no sticking at this step!
4. Keep stirring and cooking until almost all the water has evaporated.  The picture shows that the milk is still not yet evaporated. See the bubbles?
5. Once the carrots start looking a little dry, add the condensed milk which melts in the carrots to make them watery again. Keep stirring and evaporating the water.
6. Add the sugar at this point. Again, sugar melts to give water, so keep stirring.
7. I start adding the ghee a little bit at a time at this point. 
8. Keep stirring and adding ghee until nice and thick consistency. Taste at this point to make sure the sugar is at your "bliss point".  
9. Keep stirring (bhuno) the halwa; it will turn reddish as it is getting done. At one point the aroma of the halwa will tell you the halwa is ready. 
10. Add the garnishes now and stir in to mix.

The nice thing about this halwa is that since its cooked well it lasts a while, it can be eaten cold or warm (I prefer hot). The more ghee you add in the last steps the richer it becomes and the better it looks. But just adding ghee without the stirring (bhuning) is not going to give flavor.

One other thing I have to try at some point is to substitute the condensed milk for khoya. I am sure it will be even more delicious!

It took me about 3 hrs to make halwa of 5 lbs carrots :-)

Hummus

This is the easiest dip to make! It can be eaten with literally anything - vegetables, crackers, pita bread etc....My recipe is more taste based than measurement based - and so one can change and make it their own based on what kind of taste they prefer.

Ingredients

1. One 16 oz can garbanzo beans (chick peas)
2. 2-3 cloves fresh garlic
3. 2-3 tsp tahini (this gives flavor - but also the calories, so it can be skipped if trying to keep a low fat diet)
4. 2-3 tbsp lemon juice
5. salt and pepper to taste

Process

1. Add everything to the food processor and press "ON" :-) 
2. Add olive oil or little water to get the right consistency and grind to a pasty consistency. 
3. I taste it at this point to see see if I need more lemon juice or salt (or garlic).
4. Garnish with olive oil and little red pepper when serving to guests....
5. Enjoy!

Here is a link from "Shape" magazine to other variations of hummus. Click this link.

Potato Stuffed Capsicum

This is a simply a tasty and flavorful way to eat capsicum - green bell pepper. Capsicums have a very strong flavor and stuffing them with potatoes only makes them better. They can be eaten as a snack as is or with parantha.

Ingredients

1. 2 medium potatoes
2. 4 small size green bell peppers
3. 1 green chili (optional)
4. 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
5. 1 1/2 tsp coriander powder
6. 1/2 tsp amchur (dried mango powder)
7. Salt and pepper to taste

Process

1. Boil the potatoes (I do this in pressure cooker - you can do this in the microwave too)
2. Peel and mash the potatoes
3. In a frying pan, pour 2-3 tbsp of oil and heat it.
4. When hot - add cumin seeds, coriander powder and red chili.
5. Let it brown a bit. Add green chili to fry it little bit.
6. Add the mashed potatoes and mix well.
7. Add the salt and stir to mix. 
8. Keep stirring and roasting for 10 mins or so.
9. Add the amchur powder and mix well. (It is a good idea to taste the potatoes here to make sure the spices are to the right taste) 
10. Wash the capsicums and cut them in half. Remove the stem. The seeds inside can be removed or not - its up to your taste. 
11. Stuff the capsicum with as much potatoes as you can.
12. Heat a 8 or 11" flat frying pan. Spray with oil or pour a little oil to just cover the base of the pan.
13. Place the capsicums (not the potato side)  on the frying pan. 
14. Cover the pan with the lid and cook until lightly brown.
15. Flip the pepper to the other side and turn off the heat. The potato side will now be slightly roasted in the remaining heat.
16. Flip the peppers open side up to serve. 

Dhokla - Moong Daal

I made this recipe when I was trying to eat a high protein diet and cutting the carbs out.  This dhokla is made from moong daal - a light lentil.  I add a little channa daal and to give variety, although I could not taste the difference.

Ingredients

1. 2.5 cups moong daal
2. 0.5 cup channa daal (optional)
3. small piece of ginger (optional)
4. green chilli pepper (optional)
5. salt to taste
6. sarson (mustard) seeds
7. 1 tbsp of 50/50 mixture of chana daal and urad daal
8. red crushed pepper (optional)
9. 0.5 tablet of Alka Seltzer
10. 3 tbsp oil and oil spray.

(Note: 1 cup daal makes about 16 idli sized dhokla; I make about 3 cups and usually freeze half the batter for next time or for chillaas - (pancake like - recipe coming later))

Process

1. Soak the daal for about 2 hours.
2. Grind the daal in a blender to fine texture. I add the ginger and green chilli at this time to grind and mix it all well.
3. If there is more than one cup, this is a good time to freeze the rest of the batter.
4. Pour the batter in a large mixing bowl and add the salt.
5. Take half a tablet of Alka Seltzer tablet and grind it well.  Add it to the dhokla batter.
6. Mix and leave for about 5 mins for the tablet to release the CO2. 
7. Meanwhile heat little amount of water in a large pot (or the idli pot) for steaming the idli.
8. Grease the idli maker or dhokla make with oil (I use oil spray).
9. Pour 1-2 tbsp of batter in the idli maker. Make sure the batter is not over filled in the holder.
10. Put the idli or dhokla maker in the steaming pot and cover.
11. Steam the dhokla for 15 mins.
12. Take the dhokla out from the idli maker.
13. When slightly cooled, cut the dhokla or idli into small 2-3 inch pieces.
14. Heat a large frying pan on the stove.  
15. Add the 2-3 tbsp oil, when heated add the urad daal and channa daal mixture.  Once it is reddish add the mustard seeds and wait for them to sputter.  Add crushed red pepper at this time if wanted.
16. Add the cut dhokla and mix well with the spices.  Roast a little bit till the dhokla are reddish.
17. Enjoy with any chutney (corriander or mint) or just like that! 

The interesting part about this dhokla is that it is versatile; one can add grated carrots or cabbage or any fine cut vegetable to add to the nutritional value of the dhokla.  I can eat this at any time of the day! 

Eggplant - Simple

This is one of my favorite vegetables. It comes in different shapes, sizes and colors. I just about eat all types except the regular American one as it is too acidic for me. I eat the Indian, Chinese and Italian for most part. The color I choose is purple, although there are green eggplants too.

I make 3-4 varieties of eggplants so I will post the recipe one by one.  This first one is the simplest one.

Ingredients

1. 2-3 long Chinese eggplant (this is good enough for two people for one time)
2. 1/3 tsp jeera 
3. 1 tsp coriander powder
4. 1/3 tsp haldi
5. khataai (amchur)
6. salt and pepper to taste
7. 2-3 tbsp oil

Process

1. Cut the eggplant lengthwise in half and then in about 1-1 1/2 in pieces. Wash and keep soaked in water until ready to use (they will oxidize - blacken - very quickly)
2. On the stove, in a big enough frying pan, add the oil.  Let it heat up nicely.
3. Add the jeera, let it brown and then add the coriander powder. It will start browning. Don't let it burn.
4. Add the eggplant. Its okay if its wet.
5. Add salt, pepper and haldi to the pan. Mix everything, cover the pan and lower the heat. to medium.
6. Keep stirring until tender.
7. Add the amchur and stir well. Now you can cook without the cover and keep stirring the eggplant.  This will help to dry out the water and make the eggplant more fried than watery. 

The Chinese eggplant gets soft very quickly and is cooked under 10 mins. The small Indian type eggplant prepared this way takes longer to cook and needs more stirring.  They also need little more oil to prevent them from burning and sticking to the pan. It is better to add oil than water - it tastes much better!

Easy Salsa

This is the easiest salsa I have ever made.

Ingredients

1. 4-5 small red or green tomatoes (depending on the color you want)
2. 1 small onion
3. 8-10 stems of cilantro
4. 1 jalopeno pepper or other green pepper (for however much hotness you can handle)
5. salt to taste
6. 1-2 tsp lemon juice
7. 1 tbsp white vinegar

Process:

1. Add ingredients 1-4 in the food processor and chop to a nice consistency. 
2. Add all the other ingredients 5-7 after pouring it in a nice bowl. Mix it all.  
3. Taste to make sure it suits your taste!

I have found that this salsa is best when eaten fresh - within a day or two. Don't forget to refrigerate!

Simple Cauliflower

This is a simple, low spice, north Indian type of cauliflower.

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 tsp - cumin seeds
2. 1/4 or 1/2 tsp - garam masala (1/2 tsp if you can handle more!)
3. 1/2 tsp - turmeric powder
4. salt, red pepper to taste
5. 1-2 tbsp - oil
6. 1 tbsp - fresh ginger - cut into small pieces (optional)
7. 1 medium size cauliflower - cut into small pieces (about 2 in thickness); wash with water and drain.
8. fresh cilantro to garnish - cut into small pieces (optional)

Process:

1. Add the oil to a small frying pan (should have a lid)
2. Add the cumin seeds when oil is hot.
3. When cumin seeds are reddish-brown, add the ginger pieces. Fry them a little bit.
4. Add the cauliflower.
5. Add the spices - salt, pepper and turmeric powder. Mix well and cover the pan.
6. Lower the heat to medium.
7. Stir every few minutes with a spatula or spoon. The cauliflower will cook in its own water. If it sticks to the bottom or starts to burn, add a few teaspoons of water. 
8. Cut or crush the cauliflower with the spatula to see that it is soft and cooked. Cook it to softness preferred. Too soft will make the vegetable too mushy and not tasty.
9. Once almost done, add the garam masala and mix well. This is a good time to cook the cauliflower without the cover so there is no water in it.
10. Garnish with cilantro when ready to serve.

For a change:

- add 2 small tomatoes after frying the ginger and before adding the cauliflower to give it little color and sourness.

- you can also add 1 medium potato (small pieces) and/or a few green peas to make it a nice mix veggie.

Enjoying it: 

You can eat this dish with virtually anything - rice, naan, any form of chapati (roti), paratha, puri, make sandwiches with bread or just eat it as a snack.

Staples of my Cooking

There are a few vegetables that are staple in my kitchen: onion, garlic (minced and paste), ginger (whole and ginger) and green chili peppers.

The garnish for most foods is green fresh cilantro leaves.  In some cases it might be mint or red pepper flakes or roasted cumin seed powder.  It depends on the dish.

I always have fresh yogurt in my fridge. One never knows when one needs it :-)

In terms of fats I keep canola oil and ghee.  Very rarely do I use butter for cooking.

Some other stuff I use a lot: sour cream, salsa and jalopenos.

Common cheeses in my fridge are: ricotta, cheddar, mozarella and cream cheese.  I still have to learn how to use cottage cheese. And of course I keep paneer (Indian home made cheese).

The sauces I keep are: soy sauce, pasta sauce (marinara and alfredo) and tahini.

Pantry is always full.  There are various types of lentils, rice (basmati), wheat flour, white flour, gram flour, beans (garbanzo, kidney and white). Pasta is there too!

Some of the mixes that I keep handy are for dosa, rava idli, dhokla and gulab jamun. These are typically Gits mixes from the Indian store. Once I have these it is easy to make some quick meal without too much trouble.

Spices - An Introduction

Using the correct spices are the key to enjoy Indian cooking.  I get most of my spices from the Indian store. Although a number of spices are available in most grocery stores, there are still some that I have to make the special trip to the Indian store.

Here is a list of the spices I use regularly and keep in my spice rack. Then there are some that I keep handy - not for all dishes but occasionally.

Most common:

• Cumin seeds (Jeera) 
• Coriander seeds and powder (Dhaniya)
• Turmeric powder (Haldi)
• Chili powder (Mirch)
• Dried Mango powder (amchur or khataai)
• Garam masala (a mixture of various spices)
• Fennel seeds (saunf)
• Asafoetida (heeng)
• Mustard seeds (raai)

As much as I don't reference Wikipedia, I must say this is the best list of Indian spices with pictures! Indian Spices.

Some of the less used ones are:

• Fenugreek seeds (methi)
• Carom seed (ajwaain)

The exotic ones are below. I use these ones only once in a while.

• Cinnamon (dalchini)
• Black cardamon (badi elaaichi)
• Green cardamon (choti elaaichi)
• Black pepper (kali mirch)
• Dried ginger (sonth)
• Nutmeg (jaiphal)
• Cloves (long)
• Black salt (kala namak)
• Dried mint (pudeena)
• Saffron (kesar)
• Bay leaf (tej patta)

Then there are some that are premixed for convenience sake. These are named according to what food you use them for:

• channa masaalaa (for chickpeas)
• sambhar powder (for sambhar)
• paav bhaaji masaalaa (for pav bhaaji)....

So best is to have at least the three above for most of the staple dishes. Rest...I get as I need them.  I don't really have a preference for which brand I use: most common are MTR and MDH.

Getting Started

One of my favorite pastimes is cooking. I would not call myself a "chef" by any means.  Neither am I a fancy shmanshy recipe maker. I just cook....I just cook what I know. I cook using the tried and tested home recipes; I cook whatever suits me at that time; and sometimes I experiment. So far I have never really been bored of my cooking. I can always find something interesting to make from my pantry and the fresh produce I get.

My cooking has diversified into some international cooking as I enjoy trying out different cuisines. However it is hard to cook some of the other countries' cuisines because they may need some special spices or sauces which I don't really care to make (or know how to make).

I know there are tons of blogs out there on cooking with step by step photo updates on how dish develops. I admire these bloggers and commend their dedication to their art.  This blog is very much for me keeping a track of my recipes and what I make. Anyone is welcome to try the recipes. I will try and post a picture of the finished product :-) Mine is just plain and simple cooking - no frills.

Over time I have also done several things to make life easy for myself.  Working full time, volunteering during my free time, watching some TV, sleeping - who has time to cook elaborately all the time. So my cooking style is quick and to the point.  My grocery shopping style has also changed over the time.

I call myself and eggitarian (egg eating vegetarian).  So obviously all the recipes here are vegetarian. Luckily I have no allergies or vegetable restrictions (except my own - I don't like mushrooms, olives and karela - bitter gourd); so I stay away from them.  The rest - I will try anything .... at least once.