Guest post series: Bachelor's Sambar by Radha Natarajan

My guest today is a blogger who is a very down-to-earth, unassuming person. For those who are unfamiliar with the blogging world, here is a little bit of background. Food blogging is a cut-throat world. People are always trying to find ways and means to increase traffic to the world. Nothing wrong in that. But what this also means is that if you are new to the blogging world, you will see that very few people share with you the tricks of the trade. Then there are those who think they are the best and everyone else is not worth the time of the day! I am blessed to have some good people around me, most notable amongst them being Sonal Gupta from simplyvegetarian777. It was Sonal who introduced me to Radha Natarajan. She blogs from Your Everyday Cook.

She is a woman after my own heart! She is someone who blogs with the genuine intent of helping others, especially working people like me! She is not a part of the rat race. She does not worry about how many people visit her blog or how popular she is on social media! Don't be fooled by her looks. She has an MBA in marketing and advertising and has worked in that area for several years before she gave it up to take care of her daughter. She started blogging in April, 2014 at the suggestion of her daughter, who suggested that she create a blog to archive all the recipes that she shared and were popular in quite a few food groups! That's how "Your Everyday Cook" was born.

I love her recipes! Every recipe in her blog has been made such that it makes cooking easier, simpler and food healthier. It is not often easy to simplify traditional South Indian recipes. But she manages to make even the most complicated authentic recipes simple! Visit her blog Your Everyday Cook, for all the culinary and visual treats!

Today she is sharing with a very quick and simple recipe which is geared towards those who are living away from home or are new to the kitchen: Bachelor's Sambar! Sambar is basically a spicy mixed vegetable stew that is served with idlis or rice. Let us now take a look at Radha akka's post.

Bachelor' s sambar recipe is nothing but a quick way of making a delicious sambar without compromising on taste .A time saving one .

Bachelors who are away form home constantly travelling may have very few utensils for preparing dishes or less time to cook , so this style of making a sambar all in one step comes very handy.

I personally dont think it is limited to bachelors alone, even busy moms and housewives can try this.

Most people living in temporary residences  will have at least one pressure cooker which doubles up as a cooking utensil too. So the washing chore is reduced greatly, no frying pan required.I find sambar tastier as the dals and vegetables get blended well with spices .This is a great way to make sambar especially in bulk.

Serving size: 2-3 

Ingredients:

1 small cup finely chopped onions or small shallots 

1 small cup finely chopped tomatoes
1 /4 cup or 1/2 cup cubed yellow pumpkins, carrots, or any vegetables ( drumsticks, capsicums).I used a mix of bell papers and yellow pumpkins.
1/4 cup toor dal ( keep soaked while prepping )
1 tsp asafoetida powder
2-3 tbsp sambar  powder
1 tsp kashmiri chili powder for the amazing colour ( recommended)
A pinch of turmeric powder if your sambar powder doesnt have it.
1 tbsp powdered jaggery (optional)
3 tbsp grated fresh coconut or dried. ( optional ) but sambar will taste great with little coconut.
1 tbsp tamrind paste ( or add more tomatoes ) if you dont have tamrind )
salt as required
curry leaves 
2-3 tbsp fresh chopped coriander leaves
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp methi seeds
1-2 red dry chilis
2 tsp oil 

Method:

Take a pressure pan or pressure cooker.Add oil, heat it, add mustard seeds, let it splutter.

Add the methi seeds and  red chilies. add the curry leaves.

Add the chopped onions, or shallots , saute well for few seconds. 

Add tomatoes and saute more.Mash lightly.

Add other vegetables,  stir well. 

Add the fresh grated coconut.

Add 4 cups of water, add sambar powder, turmeric powder, asafoetida powder, salt and  tamarind paste.

Add the soaked dal .

Cover and pressure cook for 3-4 whistles.

When cooled, open cooker, lightly mash the dals, but make sure not to mash the vegetables too much.

Add jaggery if you like , garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

For further taste and flavor add 1 tbsp ghee into the hot sambar, stir well, keep covered. 

Serve hot with rice or idlis.

Notes:

Use tomato puree if you do not have tomatoes.
Onions can be skipped,however adding them gives a near restaurant like taste.
Add more tomatoes if you do not have tamarind paste or fresh tamarind.
While adding grated fresh coconut is optional ,adding 3-4 tbsp will give a yummy  taste to the sambar.
Coconut milk powder ( 2 tbsp ) may also be added instead of grated coconut .

Enjoy!!



I am bringing this delicious and useful dish of Radha akka's to all my friends at Throwback Thursday#37, Fiesta Friday#118  and Saucy Saturdays#43! Angie's Fiesta Friday co-hosts this week are Kaila @ GF Life 24/7 and Laurena @ Life Diet Health

Please do share your thoughts. Your opinion matters!

Bibbe Upkari ( Tender cashewnuts sautéed with gherkins).

Bibbo means tender cashewnut in konkani language. Bibbe upkari is essentially tender cashewnuts that are sautéed and garnished with freshly grated coconut. It is usually cooked with gherkins or sweet potatoes. When made with gherkins, it is served as a side-dish for lunch or dinner. When cooked with sweet-potatoes, it is usually served for breakfast. The reason for cooking tender-cashewnuts with either vegetable is because tender cashewnuts are extremely expensive. They are often served as status symbols at weddings. People who can afford it cook it all by itself. Tender cashewnuts are usually available only during spring in India. This dish has a presence for all major festivals and occasions.

Today is Ugadi ( konkani New Year) and making this dish on this auspicious day  is tradition for us.
I am sharing with you the recipe for Bibbo sautéed with gherkins.

This is a super-easy and a super-delicious dish!

Servings: 3-4

Ingredients:

Tendle ( Gerkin): 250 gms or 10 oz
Tender cashewnuts ( Bibbo): 250 gms or 10 oz.
Coconut oil: 1 tsp
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
Dried red chillies: 1-2 medium sized, broken into two pieces.
Salt: as per taste
Water: 1 cup
Freshly grated coconut: 2 tbsp ( for garnishing)( optional).

Method:

Wash the tender cashew-nuts thoroughly. Separate the halves. Keep aside.

Wash gherkins thoroughly. Chop the tips off at both ends of the gherkin. If it is red inside, discard it. Slice the gherkin thinly along the length of the gherkin as shown in the picture. Each gherkin can be sliced into 6-8 slices. Thinner the slice, faster it cooks and tastier the dish. Slice all the gherkins in this manner and keep aside.

Heat coconut oil and mustard seeds in a sauté pan. Once the mustard seeds crackle, add dried red chillies.  Now add the sliced gherkins and the tender cashew halves. Add salt, water and mix well. Cover and cook on low flame until tender( around 15 mins).

Turn off the flame. Garnish with freshly grated coconut.

Serve hot with rice or flatbread/ roti.

Enjoy.

I am bringing this to Throwback Thursday#33, Fiesta Friday#114 and Saucy Saturday#39. Angie's co-host this week is Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook.

Cooking made easy:

People like us who don't have the luxury of having fresh tender cashewnuts have to use dried tender cashewnuts. You have to soak it water overnight,peel it and then use it.

The above dish can be made quicker if cooked in a pressure pan. After adding the sliced gherkins, tender cashewnuts, salt and water, bring it to a boil, close the pressure pan lid. Place the weight/whistle of the pressure cooker and cook on medium flame until you hear the first whistle. Turn off the flame. Wait for the pressure to be completely released before opening the lid. Garnish with freshly grated coconut if you wish.
This method has the risk that the tender cashewnuts may be overcooked!

Tip for healthy living:

Cashewnuts are protein rich.It is packed with energy, antioxidants, minerals and vitamins that are essential for robust health.Cashew nuts are calorie-rich. A little bit goes a long way. 100 g of nuts provide 553 calories. They are packed with soluble dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals and numerous health-promoting phyto-chemicals that help protect from diseases and cancers.They are rich in “heart-friendly” monounsaturated-fatty acids like oleic, and palmitoleic acids. These essential fatty acids help lower harmful LDL-cholesterol while increasing good HDL cholesterol in the blood.Minerals, especially manganese, potassium, copper, iron, magnesium, zinc, and selenium are concentrated in these nuts.Cashews are also good in many essential vitamins such as pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), pyridoxine (vitamin B-6), riboflavin, and thiamin (vitamin B-1).

References:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/445717-how-are-cashews-good-for-you/
http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/cashew_nut.html
http://foodfacts.mercola.com/cashews.html

Food for thought:

There are no strangers here; only friends you haven't yet met. William Butler Yeats

Kulith Kosumbari ( Horse-gram salad); Diabetes Friendly Thursdays

It is that time of the month again when we bring to you very healthy, diabetic-friendly and weight-watcher friendly recipes. What's with the "weight-watcher" thing?? Well, studies have shown that obesity is the root cause for so many of the chronic health conditions, namely Type II diabetes, heart conditions and stroke. Obesity in-turn is the result of mainly poor eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle. Now, we can't give up eating! But we can definitely eat healthier and make lifestyle changes towards the same.

March is the month of start of Spring, cleansing of house and yards, discarding the old and welcoming the new. Lets begin the onset of spring with some healthy PROTEIN PACKED SALADS.

                      Creating Recipes with a Cause! I am a proud DFT blogger. 

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When salads are mentioned, most people feel like they are deprived of food or have to eat only greens ( ghass-phuss) and therefore won't feel full. Those are myths. Salads can be made filling and may not necessarily contain greens. Some people, especially Indians have reservations about eating raw food, as in Ayurveda it is believed that raw food can put a strain on your gastrointestinal system. That too can be addressed by using only those vegetables that are usually not cooked , like cucumbers and tomatoes.

For diabetics, it is strongly suggested to reduce the amount of  carbohydrate in their diet, especially at night.  This leaves them feeling hungry. A protein-packed small meal is a perfect solution for this. Today, I am sharing with you Kulith Kosumbari. "Kulith", also known as Kulthi or Hurali is horse-gram and Kosumbari means salad in Indian language.  Kulith or Horse-gram is extremely nutritious and protein-packed. Apparently, this particular bean is fed to the horses to make them strong. You can read more in "footnotes" below. To multiply the nutritional benefits, I have sprouted the horse-gram. You do not need to. It is optional. If you do want to sprout it, just soak it in water for 4-5 hours. Then drain it completely. Cover the container with a moist cheese cloth or paper-towel and keep in a warm place for a day or two. You will see the sprouts.

The horse gram used in this recipe is fully cooked until al-dente. I have to proudly admit that this is one of my ingenious recipes.I hope you guys like it and can incorporate it into your everyday diet. It is also an "oil-free " salad, but you may temper mustard seeds and curry leaves and season it with it if you wish. It is flavorful and delicious even without  the addition of any oil. Hard to believe, right?  This salad is good the next day and can make for a delicious-filling lunch too.

Servings: 1

Ingredients:

Kulith ( horse gram) ( soaked for 4-5 hours or sprouted) : 3/4 cup
Water: 1/2 cup to cook the Kulith
Onion: 1/4 small, chopped
Spring onion: 1, chopped
Cucumber: 1/2 of small cucumber, chopped.
Grape/ cherry tomatoes: 3 nos, halved. ( Regular tomato could be used, 1/2 small tomato, chopped).
Bell pepper ( capsicum): 1/4th of small capsicum, chopped . ( I have used green and orange colors, you can use just one color).
Green apple: 1/4 of small apple, chopped.
Coriander leaves ( cilantro): 1 tbsp, chopped.
Green chilli: 1/2 small, chopped fine ( optional, can be adjusted as per individual spice level).
Black pepper powder: a pinch.
Lemon: 1/4 lemon juice
Salt: to taste

Method:

In a saucepan, bring 1/2 cup water to a boil. Add the soaked and drained Kulith and a pinch of salt. Cook until tender enough to eat comfortably ( around 10 minutes). Turn off the flame. Drain and let it cool down completely. You can also do this ahead of time and keep it in the fridge.

In a bowl, add the chopped onion, green onion, tomatoes, cucumber, apple, green chilli & coriander leaves.

To this, add the cooked and cooled kulith. Add in the lemon juice, salt and black pepper.  Mix well.

Can be refrigerated until ready to eat.

Serve in a bowl.

Enjoy. I am bringing this to Throwback Thursday # 30, Fiesta Friday#111 and Saucy Saturdays. Angies's co-hosts this week are Naina @ Spice in the City and Julianna @ Foodie On Board.

Cooking made easy:

You could be creative and add/ remove vegetables/ fruits to this salad based on what you have on hand. You could add grated carrot, radish,raw mango or  pomegranate seeds, to name a few. You could add roasted peanuts/ walnuts for additional crunch.

Like I said earlier, you could make a tadka ( tempering) of mustard seeds and curry leaves in 1/4 tsp coconut oil and add to the salad.

Footnotes (Tip for healthy living) :

Kulith ( horse gram ) is a great source of protein for vegetarians. Like I mentioned earlier, it was used to feed horses and hence the name.It is very nutrient-dense and is rich in calcium, phosphorous, iron and protein. It is purported to boost immunity, reduce flatulence and indigestion and promote weight loss. It has been found to be beneficial in both men and women's health , helping with low sperm count and menstrual disorders. Research has shown the beneficial effects of horse gram in diabetes. Regular consumption of these beans is purported to reduce blood glucose level.High fiber content prevents constipation. 

Sprouts are very nutrient-dense and therefore provide immense health benefits. They are low in calories, rich in dietary fiber, vitamins B, C and K. It also contributes to the daily dietary intake of iron. It is of course a good source of protein for vegetarians.

We all know that veggies are packed with chock-full of vitamins.

References:

http://www.ayurhelp.com/articles/horse-gram-health-benefits-weight-loss-diabetes-low-sperm-count#.Vune6pwrLIU

http://www.thehealthsite.com/diseases-conditions/health-benefits-of-horse-gram/

http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/health/diet-and-nutrition/raw-horse-gram-good-for-diabetics/article4651090.ece

https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/seed-and-nut/sprouts.html

Disclaimer

I am not a nutritionist or dietician. My knowledge and information is based on my research and reading from different resources. Please consult your doctor or dietician before making any changes to your diet.

Do Check out the other DFT contributors  and their links!

Shailja's Asian Tofu Salad

Apsara's Endamame Salad with Hemp-Cilantro Dressing

Swati's Grilled Chicken, Spinach and Quinoa Salad.

Sonal's Kosumbari-Raw Mung Salad

 Sarika's Thai Chicken Salad

Parvathy's Turkey and Apple Salad

Food for thought:

Without a struggle, there can be no progress. Frederick Douglass

Please do share your thoughts. Your opinion matters!

Idli and appe: One batter, two dishes! Meatless Monday.

As a working mom, I am always striving to feed my family, especially my children healthy meals. Weekends, I make it a point to make traditional breakfasts which also can become lunch items for the first couple of days of the week. Most Indian traditional breakfast items require some kind of batter to be made ahead of time and fermented. This means you have to plan ahead mid-week as to when to soak the rice and lentils and when to grind the batter and make sure there is enough time for fermentation. If I am making all this effort, I might as well make sure that I have enough for two breakfasts and many be even a few of the kiddos lunches through the week! Now obviously, nobody wants to eat the same breakfast two days in a row!! We all crave variety. So, I became creative and created variety.

My kids love idlis ( steamed rice-lentil cakes) that are usually served with sambar. When I make idli batter, I make sure that I make enough batter for two breakfasts! However the second day, instead of making idlis, I make appos ( paniyaram ) in a appe pan or ablesevier pan. Making appe is also a great use for idli/ dosa batter that has gone sour. I use the same chutney for both. You could even get creative with the appe by adding chopped onions, coriander leaves, bits of ginger and green chillies and may be even some finely chopped veggies! It comes out delicious!

Today, I am going to share the recipe for this batter and the technique for both.

You can find the recipe for the idlis here and the technique for appe here.

This is perfect for the lunch-box for the kids. You can even make mini-idlis instead of the regular big ones.

Mini-idlis with peanut chutney and blueberries

Mini-idlis with peanut chutney and blueberries

Hope this has helped you and you can come up with even more wonderful ideas!

Appe with peanut/coconut chutney and blueberries

Appe with peanut/coconut chutney and blueberries

I am bringing this to Throwback Thursday # 30, Fiesta Friday#111 and Saucy Saturdays. Angies's co-hosts this week are Naina @ Spice in the City and Julianna @ Foodie On Board.

Cooking made easy:

After making idlis, cleaning the idli mold plates can be quite a tedious task. You can make this chore easier by ensuring that you liberally grease the idli mold with butter or ghee( clarified butter), which also gives the idlis a nice flavor.

Tip for healthy living:

Giving kids home-made lunch is much healthier than pre-packaged processed stuff. Always make it a habit to include some fruit with your child's lunch.

Food for thought:

You don't know until you have tried. Suchitra

Please do share your thoughts. Your opinion matters!

Hello Kitty Cake: a chocolate cake with chocolate mousse and buttercream frosting.

This past weekend was my daughter's birthday . Her only request was that she wanted a Hello Kitty cake. I have been making her birthday cakes for the past three birthdays now. I made an Elsa cake the last year and a Barbie doll cake the year before that. This year, due to time constraints, I didn't want to make a 3-D cake and therefore decided to make a Hello Kitty face cake.

My daughter loves chocolate and so do majority of the kids. I therefore decided to make a simple chocolate cake filled with chocolate mousse. 

I chose simple buttercream frosting as I needed the frosting to be white to make the face. I used the Wilton Hello Kitty pan to make the cake. I got the chocolate recipe from a friend at one of the food groups and the buttercream recipe was from here. I am thankful to Ms. Sarita Bhat for sharing her recipe with me. This is by far the easiest chocolate cake recipe and it tasted pretty good. I was dreading piping the entire cake using a star-tip but I found it to be a breeze due to the excellent fluffy, creamy frosting. This was the best frosting I have ever made!! It was easy to work with, without hurting my hands , firmed up quickly upon placing in the refrigerator and didn't collapse after the cake was placed at room temperature. This was definitely one of the best cakes I have made in terms of ease and convenience. As for perfection, I have never claimed to be a baker and will never claim to be one! I am just a Working Mom who  tries to make her children happy and a tiny bit healthier!

Servings: 12-15 ( 2inches x 4 inches  piece).

Ingredients:

All purpose flour: 1 & 3/4 cups
Granulated sugar: 2 cups
Cocoa powder ( unsweetened): 3/4 cup ( I used Hershey's)
Baking powder: 1 & 1/2 tsp
Baking soda: 1 & 1/2 tsp
Salt: 1/2 tsp
Eggs: 2, large
Coffee/ warm water: 1 cup
Milk: 1 cup ( at room temperature)
Canola oil: 1/2 cup ( any cooking oil can be used).
Vanilla essence: 1 & 1/2 tsp

For the frosting: ( makes 4 cups)

Powdered sugar: 4 cups
Unsalted butter: 1 cup
Vanilla essence: 2 tsp
Milk/ water: 2-3 tbsp
Salt: a pinch


For the Chocolate mousse:

Semisweet chocolate chips: 1 cup
Heavy cream/ whipping cream: 1 cup

Method:

Buttercream Frosting: 

Sift the powdered sugar and keep ready.

Add the butter to the mixer bowl and cream the butter on medium setting until smooth.

Add vanilla essence and salt and beat for a minute. Add the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time, beating for 10 seconds after each addition.

Add milk/water 1 tbsp at a time, beating for few seconds until you have reached the desired consistency.

Take 1/2 cup of the frosting in two bowls. Add red color to one and black to the other. Mix well. Take 1/4 cup frosting and make it pink ( optional). I used this for the center of the bow as I had some leftover pink frosting. You don't have to do it.

Add it to the piping bags and keep ready. Prepare the piping bag with the white frosting as well.

You can refrigerate the frosting until ready to use.

I made the nose using yellow candies that I had leftover from a cookie-decorating kit.

The Chocolate mousse:

Take the chocolate chips in heat proof bowl.Heat the cream on the stove top until it bubbles.  Add this to the bowl containing the chocolate chips and stir well until all the chocolate had melted . The heat from the cream will melt the chocolate.
Let it cool down for until it comes to the desired consistency. I usually make mine ahead of time and leave it in the refrigerator.

You could keep it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.

The cake board:

Place the Hello kitty pan upside down on a big piece of cardboard. Trace the outline of the pan on the cardboard. Cut the cardboard into that shape. Cover it completely with aluminum foil or any other kind of fancy foil/ material that is waterproof. Keep aside.

The cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 deg F.

Grease the Hello Kitty pan and keep ready. Cover the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.

Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt. Mix the granulated sugar to this mixture.

In a separate bowl, whip the eggs. Then add the canola oil, vanilla essence, milk and coffee/water.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix well. The batter will be pretty thin. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.


Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake at 350 deg F for 30 mins or until the toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cake.

Take the pan out of the oven and let the cake cool in the pan for 15-30 mins before upturning it on a cake rack. Let it cool completely ( atleast 2-3 hours) before trying to frost it.

Level the cake before frosting. 

Apply a little frosting to the center of the prepared cake board and place the leveled side of the cake on the cake board.

Using a serrated knife/ cake leveler or floss, cut the cake in the middle so as to get two equal layers. Keep the top layer aside.

Spread  the chocolate  mouse on top of bottom layer so that it forms a filling for the cake.

Place the other half of the cake on top of the mousse.

Crumb Coating: 

Apply a thin coat of the white buttercream frosting and crumb-coat the cake. Place it in the refrigerator for atleast a couple of hours ( or overnight) before decorating the cake.

Decorating the cake:

Take the cake out of the refrigerator. Using a toothpick, roughly outline the bow, the eyes, nose and whiskers.


Using an offset spatula and white frosting, frost the sides and smooth it.

Using Wilton tip # 3 draw the whiskers of the kitty with black frosting. Also fill up the eyes and make the outline of the bow.

Using the star tip # 18 an red buttercream frosting, fill in the bow, except the center of the flares of the bow which I have colored pink.

Now using the star tip #18 and the white frosting fill in the rest of the top of the cake and the bottom line on the cake board. I purposely didn't fill in the sides as firstly, I didn't want too much frosting and secondly, the stars tend to give into gravity and collapse.

I wrote the birthday message using the black frosting and tip # 3, on the cake board.

I am bringing this cake to my friends at  Throwback Thursday # 29, Angie's Fiesta Friday # 110 ,where co-hosts this week are my two dear friends Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook and Apsara @ Eating Well Diary. I am also bringing this to Saucy Saturdays! 


Cooking made easy:

If you are apprehensive about making cake from scratch, you could always use a boxed mix and make the cake. Of course, there is nothing like home-made!

If you do not have the Wilton gel colors and do not want to be bothered with preparing piping bags with colored frosting, just buy the Wilton ready-made frosting tubes that are available in a variety of colors.
For the above cake, you will need the following:
White Wilton frosting: 1 tube
Yellow Wilton frosting: 1 tube
Black Wilton frosting: 1 tube

Tip for healthy living:

The reason I like to make the desserts for my kids is because I can control what ingredients go into it. Most store-bought cakes have high-fructose corn syrup in them and the frosting is often made with shortening and not butter. My making desserts at home, I can also choose the level of sweetness that they will have.

One more important tip I would like to share is that for birthday parties, keep the cake small. While serving, cut it into small/ thin slices. Nobody really eats the entire piece of cake! It is the concept of the cake that most kids like. And of course, if anyone wants, you can always serve second helpings!

Food for thought:

It is clear gain to sacrifice pleasure in order to avoid pain. Arthur Schopenhauer

Please do share your thoughts. Your opinion matters!