Quinoa Fake Fried Rice

I rediscovered the goodness of Quinoa recently and went ga-ga over it! Decided to substitute rice/semolina with Quinoa during the last few months stay in US.

Fusion cuisine is one of my all time favourite styles of cooking. Eats meets West is a style that requires a acquired liking or else it falls flat on the tongue,never reaching the palette.

Indo-Chinese cuisine is an awesome example of fusion cooking.I wanted to infuse the methods of this style in preparing Quinoa,various ways! Its a good way to make such cheat meals to incorporate nutrition and taste both.

So,CWM's cooking a fake fried (rice) Quinoa with loads of veggies!! In the words of Barney Stinson,Chef Suit up!

Legend-rients..

1. 2 Cups cooked quinoa (As per the instructions on the cover).

2. 1 thinly sliced onion/shallot.

3. Thinly sliced bell peppers (1 of each colour).

4. 1 carrot shredded (washed,peeled).

5. 4-5 Cremini (or other variety of mushrooms) mushrooms.

6. 3 tbsp. tomato ketchup.

7. salt to taste.

8. 1 tbsp. low iodine soy sauce.

9. 2-3 tbsp red chili sauce/paste.

10. 1 tsp rice vinegar

11. 1tsp.sugar. (optional)

12. 1 clove of garlic-minced.

13. 1/4 th green onion-finely chopped.

14. 1/4 th cup cabbage-finely chopped.

15. 1 tomato thinly sliced.

16. 1 tbsp. vegetable oil.

(**you may add or subtract veggies as per your choice)

Awesome-ness in the making...

1. Saute garlic,onion and bell pepper over hot oil for few seconds. (this is how we fake fry :P)

2. Add sugar,cabbage,mushrooms,carrots over the mix and allow it to partly cook.

3. Keeping the veggies still crisp enough, add the ketchup,vinegar,chili sauce and soy in it and mix well.

4. Add the cooked Quinoa (faking rice) in it and switch the gas off. Mix the ingredients well. 

The un-fried Quinoa is ready! And,table suit-up guys,Feast!

CWM'S Quote: "We are born with a palette and appetite (both could be hereditary/genetic).As we grow wiser,we adapt and flourish our appetite with newer foods and drool over them for the rest of our lives.I call it "acquired taste" syndrome.In this series of introductions and first dates with new gastronomy,we tend to dislike those soul foods that we grew up eating. This recipe might not appeal to the conservative eaters,so understand the likings of the diners before serving this".

Black-eye peas Rice

My yoga classes run late over the weekdays and cooking thereafter has to be real quick and dirty! Something that combines the taste,health and nutrition is what busy bees are always looking for,is it not?

Lentils and legumes constitute a fair portion of our meals.Traditionally,a Bramhin household like ours would have a typical lentil/legume curry with loads of jaggery,tamarind,cilantro,coconut served with rice and poli (bread,chapati,roti) with no garlic,ginger and onions.They are quite a NO-NO when gray haired are around in particular :D

Often CWM likes to infuse lot of styles and not follow stereo types all the time.So,though garlic,ginger and onions are not regulars on my chopping block,they aren't total strangers too!! So,here's my twist to the typical chavli usal (black eye peas curry) and rice!

The Zing Station..

1. 3 portions of uncooked,washed,whole grain basmati rice.

2. 5 portions (measurer same as for rice) of water.

3. 1 clove of garlic,finely chopped.

4. 1 thinly sliced shallot.

5. 6-7 pearl onions.

6. salt to taste.

7. loads of cilantro.

8. 1 petal of star anise.

9.1 tbsp turmeric powder.

10. pinch of asofoetida.

11. 2 green chilis finely chopped.

12. 1 tbsp. garam masala powder.

13. 3 tbsp. tomato paste.

14. 1tsp.mustard seeds.

15. 1tbsp.vegetable oil.

16. 1 c black eye peas (washed,soaked for 10-15 min)

Saute and Pressure cook..

1. Allow the mustard seeds to crackle in hot oil along with asofoetida.Add the turmeric,green chilis and garlic and onions (shallots and pearl). Saute them until the onions shrink.

2. Add all the dry ingredients except cilantro. Saute rice and beans over the spices.

3. Add water,cilantro and tomato paste,stir and shut the lid.

4.Let it pressure cook until 3 whistles.

5.Serve with curds,raita or pickle.

It tasted awesome! Nutrition at its best! One dish meal in less than 30 min!!

Enjoyy!

A hearty Saturday lunch!

After an awesome yoga class in the wee hours of the day (it's weekend so 9.30 am sounds like 2 am to most :)) wanted to have a hearty meal.

Nothing great really,but just wanted to swipe my refrigerator clean before the newer produce moves in over the weekend.So,here I was with one big bottle gourd (lauki/dudhi),some dried thyme and a couple of potatoes waiting for a bright spark to light! 

Finally thought of soup after a monologue (was supposed to be a discussion though) with my husband Rohan (isn't that a household thing? :P).

For those who might be wondering if CWM has any intentions to finally share a soup recipe,here's a hearty soup recipe that cuts the dairy (Read:No cheese,milk,heavy cream) ingredients completely (apart from 1tbsp salted butter)!

Here's my version of hearty with sufficiently odd ingredients...

The odds from the refrigerator..

1. One whole bottle gourd (de-skinned,diced)

2. 3 potatoes (small ones,de-skinned and diced)

3. 1tbsp salted butter

4. loads of water

5. 2tsp thyme

6. 1tsp black pepper

7. salt to taste

8. Crushed garlic and ginger (1tsp)

What next?

1. Add the butter in a pressure cooker (any crock pot with a lid) and as it melts push in the ginger-garlic.Saute.

2. Slide the potatoes and bottle gourd.

3. Add loads of water,let it simmer for 5 min,then blend in a mixer until creamy.

 4. Shift it back to the cooker;add all the spices and allow it to pressure cook (2 whistles).

5. Set it aside until the lid's ready to be opened.

6.Serve hot with your choice of rustic bread.

Enjoy a hearty lunch over a rainy weekend!! Something better (nutrition wise) over pakodas and fritte!!

Basil-Garlic Linguine with Roasted Bell Peppers

Well,I have become a true Californian (3.5 years cannot really take Bombay out of me :).One good thing about CA is loads of options for fresh and organic produce at decent prices.Believe me Trader Joes is an awesome offspring of CA!! And,its wise conclusion that I m a big fan!!

In the search for some fresh/organic ingredients (non-frozen) CWM dropped it's weight @ TJ's in Sunnyvale.Found the Basil-Garlic Linguine wheat pasta tucked neatly on a shelf.It seemed interesting to me and soon after it was in my pantry!!

Here's my version of one dish wholesome meal pasta @ dinner,so pull up your socks and relish!

What's in?

1. Bell Peppers (1 e.a-sliced thinly )

2. 1/2 Shredded Carrot (cleaned and peeled)

3. 1 small egg plant (the one used in Indian curries)

4. 1 whole bunch of green onion-chopped diagonally (for garnish too)

5. 1 tbsp. soy cheese

6. 2 tbsp. tomato sauce

7.1 tbsp. olive oil-split into 2 halves (optional)

8.1tsp soy sauce

9. salt to taste (sugar if desired)

Toss,Turn ,Roast

1. Simply add all the bell peppers into a pan @ med heat.Add the rest of veggies on board.This gives it the roasting effect.

2. Toss it for a while and add half portion of oil,salt,soy sauce and ketchup.

3. Turn and Toss gently until the veggies saute.

4. Salt to taste.

5. While the veggies roast drop the pasta into boiling water,add little salt.Cook until al-dante.Don't make it mushy,it spoils the whole dish making it cakey!

6. Add the al-dante pasta (put the flame off) and gently toss/ use forks to mix everything well (if you are not comfortable with tossing :P)

Final Touches...

Move the pasta into the serving platter and dust the cheese over it along with green onion! Serve!! Add chili flakes if you like it spiced up :)

Enjoyy,

CWM :)

St.Patrick's day Bruncheon!

Folks,my experiments with green thus begin :)


I m sharing a recipe that made it's way to my cooking table through the refrigerator! The refrigerator is a treasure trouve and on one such expedition I found an organic avaocado,home-made green chutney (chilis,cilantro,ginger,garlic,salt and lemon juice),some roti dough (made it extra 2 days ago and forgot) and paneer waiting for their turn to be discovered!


The time was slipping by and did not seem to promising to make veggies and rotis so I tried fusing everything together.


What???
Well,made Avo-Paneer parathas! They turned out to be awesome! This recipe is for those who like avocado and want to skip potato completely!

Quantified!

1.@1/2 C shredded paneer

2. 2-3 tbsp green chutney

3. salt to taste

4. 3/4 avocado-peeled,pitted and mushed (my son ate 1/4th of it!)

5. loads of cilantro (optional)

6. 1 tsp coriander-cumin powder (dhana jeera powder)

7. and dough to make the outer shell of the paratha

On a closer view of ingredients we have included proteins+calcium (paneer-dairy),iron (cilantro) and carbs (wheat) in this recipe!

How Does one do it??

1. Mash all the ingredients together and set aside.Refrigerate to dehydrate it for 10 min (optional).

2. Roll 0.3cm thick rotis of 4" diameter.

3. Scoop some stuffing into them at the centre and make a small bag (similar to modak/dumplings/dim-sums)

4. Roll gently into a 6 " diameter paratha.One needs to control the pressure on the paratha while rolling as well as the amount of stuffing to avoid splits while rolling.Apart from that the amount of green chutney needs to be optimum,it tends to make the stuffing moist,damp and liquidy.

5. Gently lay the paratha on a flat skillet/pan.Smear little oil (optional) on either sides.

6. Serve with yogurt and tomato ketchup!

Enjoy Madi!!

Prep time:10-15 min

Cooking time:5 minutes

Total time:20 min