Pomegranate Yogurt Mousse

This dessert was a refreshing way to end the weekend. It was a nice balance of flavors with a touch of sweetness tempered with just a hint of richness. It was in fact a lot like what my mood had been over this thanksgiving weekend, my general thankfulness over the general peace and quite in my house, the fact that I have happy and healthy children is tempered with the general economic problems surrounding us and of course my sheer shock with all the events in Mumbai, India.

Pomegranate Yogurt Mousse

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 carton organic non-fat vanilla yogurt
5 cups pom wonderful pomegranate juice
3 cloves
1 tsp grated ginger
1/2 cup raw cane sugar
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup chilled whipping cream
1 cup pomegranate seeds (about 1.5 pom wonderful pomegranates)

Method of Preparation

1. Place the yogurt in a colander lined with a cheese cloth and place in a bowl and let this drain for 4-5 hours.
2. Heat the pomegranate juice with the cloves and ginger for 1 hour till about 1/3 in volume. Strain the spices and stir in the sugar and gelatin and let this cool.
3. Whip the cream till stiff.
4. Beat the strained yogurt with the reduced juice till smooth and mix in the cream.
5. Prepare six individual bowls or one large bowl, spoon some of the yogurt mixture to fill about half the mixture, layer with pomegranate seeds and cover with the rest of the mixture.
6. Chill for at least six hours, serve decorated with additional pomegranate seeds if desired.

Roasted Eggplant salad

Roasted Eggplant salad, originally uploaded by brinku11.

I am missing the warmth of early fall on this rather damp and clowdy day. I am actually waiting for some friends to stop by for tea, I have made a batch of Dahi Wadas and simply refuse to change out the sweats that I am wearing, instead I have decided to change drink some tea and peruse through some old pictures that I had not blogged about. That is quite a huge list that keeps accumulating for various reasons.
This recipe was made in late summer, when both eggplants and tomatoes were overflowing from the shelves of the farmers market.

Roasted Eggplant Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 medium sized eggplants
1 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
A few curry leaves
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chat masala
4 tomatoes diced
1/2 cup lowfat yogurt
1/4 cup lowfat mayonaise
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Method of Preparation

1. To prepare the eggplants, roast on an open flame till the skin is completely charred and begins to crack.
2. Set aside to cool, then peel completely and process into a puree in a food processor.
3. Heat the oil and add the garlic, mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds.
4. When the mustard crackles throw in the curry leaves, and stir in the eggplant puree with the salt, chili powder and chat masala.
5. Mix in the tomatoes and then turn off the heat and mix in the yogurt and mayonaise and cilantro.
6. Chill for 1 hour and serve with chips or pita bread.

Tomatoey Rice

Tomato rice, originally uploaded by brinku11.

My son Aadi loves tomatoes, he can eat them in any form - raw, in food, as a main dish, I think you get the picture. The was a time in my house, I would keep pureed tomatoes handy to add to his food as an incentive to push him to eat further. One day, he asked me whether it was possible to make a dish that was all tomatoey, so that he would not have to keep pleading for that spoon of tomato. Since he eats a fair amount of rice, I realized that he had come up with a novel solution to his own problem and actually helped me create a very healthy wonderfully festive dish. The colors of this tomato rice enliven any meal therefore it makes a wonderful addition to any holiday or party table. The simple flavors complement most cuisine. The gentle flavors of the leek add both additional color and taste to the dish.

Tomato Rice - Rice with tomatoes and vegetables

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

3 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 onion finely choped
2-3 bay leaves
3-4 cardamoms
2 leeks finely chopped (white and tender green parts)
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 cup toasted cashew nuts
3 tomatoes chopped
1.5 cups basmati rice soaked for 3/4 hour and drained
1 cup green peas
1/2 cup corn
3 tbsp chopped mint
1 tbsp tomato paste
Freshly ground black pepper

Method of Preparation

1. Heat the oil and add the cumin and mustard seeds, when they crackle add in the bay leaves, cardamoms and onions and leeks.
2. Cook on very low heat stirring frequently for 10 mintues till the leeks are soft and begin to turn golden.
3. Add in the chili powder, salt, cashew nuts and tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes.
4. Add in the rice and stir throught and mix the remaining ingredients.
5. Add in 2.5 cuts of water, bring to a simmer and cover and cook on low heat for 20 minutes.
6. Check in between for the water and add upto a half cup if needed, the rice should be moist but not too moist.
7. Turn off the heat, leave covered for 10 minutes before serving

Sweet and Spicy Chickpea Salad

This basic chickpea recipe is one of my favorite staples for the party and potluck season that we are heading into. It essentially consists of a spicy base, and is cooked in a crock pot, infused with a lot of fresh scallions, tomatoes, black pepper, fresh lemon and pomegranate seeds. This time I did something a little different, I cooked the chickpeas and marinated them in pomegranate juice, to give them a nice rich dark color and them followed my normal procedure. It produced a lovely tangy dish with a nice touch of sweetness.

Sweet and Spicy Chickpea Salad

Serves 8

Ingredients

2 cups cooked chickpeas (till the are still not very soft)

2 cups pom wonderful juice

1 tsp black or sea salt

3-4 tbsp oil

1 tsp whole cumin seeds

1 tsp whole fennel seeds

1 onion finely chopped

1 tbsp freshly grated ginger

2-3 green chillies minced

2 tsp salt

2 tsp garam masala powder

1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes

1 cup chopped fresh scallions

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 cup fresh mint

3 limes

To garnish

A generous amount of freshly ground black pepper

Chopped cilantro

Grated radish

1 cup Pom wonderful pomegranate seeds

Method of Preparation

1. Soak the chickpeas in the juice for 5-6 hours.

2. Heat the oil and add the cumin and fennel seeds and when they sizzle.

3. Add the onion, ginger and chillies and cook for 10 minutes until beginning to turn golden brown.

4. Place the chickpeas with the juice in a large crock pot, add in the onion mixture with the salt and garam masala and simmer for 3 hours till the juice is absorbed and the chickpeas are soft.

5. Mix in the scallion and tomatoes and cook for another 30 minutes.

6. Stir in the cilantro, mint and squeeze the lime juice.

7. Serve warm (not hot) with a lot of black pepper, cilantro, grated radish and pomegranate seeds.

Pinenut Saffron Popsicles - Chilgoza Kesar Kulfi

We had traveled to Antartica in 1999 (what seems like a lifetime ago), on a ship. Outside of the other interesting aspects of the trip, it was nice to be able to spend so much time with other travelers. I did have a camcorder back then, but did not use a digital camera.
There were other on the ship who did and as one person told me, you have got to love digital - no bad pictures. I think of this one because, this particular recipe turned out lovely but was a bear to photograph. Thankfully, with some editing I have a somewhat respectable picture.

Anari Jhinga Birayani

A really pretty siren has caught my husband's eye, he cannot seem to get enough of her. Every weekend he appears with this stunning red fruit, he complements her healthy qualities and drowns in her tangy potent taste.
Being sporting, I welcomed her to my kitchen on election night. I shall share that story later, because I have realized she has a way with my usual weeknight kitchen mate -seafood.
Her beguiling complexion is an enchanting sight, eat me she says and your complexion too will improve.
OK, so this is what I did with her - made her into the queen of rice dishes - a birayani.





Anari Jhinga Birayani - Pomegranate Shrimp Birayani

Serves 4

For the rice

1.5 cups basmati rice
1 cup pom pomegranate juice
3-4 cardamoms
1 large piece cinnamon (broken)
3-4 cloves
1 cup cooked chick peas
1 tsp salt

1 tbsp ghee

1/2 cup pom pomegranate seeds

For the shrimp base

3-4 tbsp oil

2 onions finely chopped

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp minced ginger

1 tsp red chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin powder

1/2 tsp coriander powder

1 cup yogurt

3 tomatoes, chopped

1 tsp garam masala powder

1 tsp fenugreek leaves

1.5 lbs large shrimp

Sealing Base

1 cup low-fat buttermilk

1/2 shelled almonds

1 cup Pom Pomegranate juice

1 tsp saffron strands

To garnish

1 hard boiled egg

1/2 cup pom pomegranate seeds

Method of Preparation

1. Cook the rice for 7-10 minutes in the pomegranate juice, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves.

2. Stir in the chick peas, ghee and salt and set aside.

3. Heat the oil and saute the onions, ginger and garlic for the base for 7 minutes.

4. Add the chili. cumin and coriander powders and cook briefly for a few seconds.

5. Add yogurt and tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes till soft. Stir in the garam masala.

6. Cool slightly and blend till smooth and stir in the fenugreek leaves and shrimp.

7. Blend the buttermilk and almonds and stir in the saffron.

8. In a pot, place one layer of the rice mixture, top this with the shrimp mixture and the pomegranate seeds.

9. Top with the remaining rice mixture and pour the sealing base of almonds- buttermilk over this.

10. Cover and cook on low heat for 30 minutes.

11. Let this sit for 5 minutes.

12. Remove the cover and garnish with eggs and pomegranate seeds and serve.

My quick chicken curry.

You know, I keep dreaming of this very organized household, where in the evening everything is all set, we are all sitting and eating our evening meal and discussing the environment, my daughters day in school as opposed to...

Me rushing out of the office to make it in time without major chaos, getting there on the periphery of my very, very slow daughter (this kid makes a career out of eating her meals), getting ready to be turned towards the wall, where she finally eats out of sheer boredom and my son ready for action. In the midst of this chaos, between getting food into their mouths I manage to through together out meal. Last night I had some chicken sitting in a soy-chili garlic sauce marinade that I converted into a curry powered by a food processor revitalized by the pressure cooker, the results were pretty impressive for a 30 minute exercise (minus the marinading time)

Tamatar Hariyali Murg - Tomato Capsicum Chicken

Serves 4

For the chicken marinade

1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tbsp chili garlic sauce (such as sriracha)
3 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp fresh ginger
1 lbs boneless chicken, (cut into bite-sized pieces)

For the curry base

3/4 cup canned diced tomatoes
2 green chillies
1 green pepper
2 cloves garlic
1 small piece of peeled ginger
A few fresh mint leaves
3-4 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
A few curry leaves
2 tbsp chopped cilantro

Method of Preparation

1. Blend the ingredients for the marinade and soak the chicken in this marinade for several hours. This can be done way ahead of time.

2. Place the tomato, chillies, pepper, ginger and garlic in a food processor and process into a puree.

3. Heat 3 tbsp of the oil in the base of a pressure cooker and add this puree and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes till the mixture is begining to brown.

4. Add the chicken and the marinade and stir through, in a separate pan heat the oil and add the cumin and mustard seeds. When this pops add the curry leaves and add to the chicken.

5. Cover and cook under pressure for 5 minutes (you essentially wait till the pressure builds up and it begins to release steam).

6. Turn off the heat and let the pressure come down. Remove the cover garnish with cilantro and serve.

Alu-Methi Bhonda

I had not caught up with friends in a while, just has been so hectic the past few months. Also, with everyone's children growing up it is a challenge to find a time that works. Well, yesterday I came up with the idea of doing an open house style event. Now this idea is a keeper, I realized other than stretching out the time commitment a little bit on our schedule it was not too bad - I did not have the stress of serving up food at a fixed time. In general, I think things worked pretty well. Shall blog some of the other recipes later, I was quite please about these simple little potatoe cakes, comforting, crowd pleasings made with good, fresh and flavorful farmers market potatoes.

Alu-Methi Bhondas - Potato-Fenugreek Balls

Makes 20

Ingredients

6-8 large russet potatoes, cooked in their jackets
2 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly crushed black pepper
1 small onion diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)
1 tsp ground cumin powder
1 tsp mango or amchur powder
1 cup urad or moong dal flour
Oil for frying

Method of preparation

1. Peel the potatoes and mash well with the salt into a fairly smooth consistency.
2. Mix in the onion, garlic, dried fenugreek, cumin, amchur, and the dal flour.
3. Let this sit for 15 minutes in the refrigerator.
4. Heat the oil.
5. Shape the potato mixture into walnut-sized balls and fry on medium low heat till golden brown.
6. Great with tea and your favorite chutney.

Potatoes with Swiss Chard

What a crazy week, we have been so glued to the TV watching in delighted disbelief the great american ritual called the presidential election! Shall talk about that more later, want to commence the weekend with a simple comforting recipe that I had cooked a couple of weeks back in class.

I refined this somewhat and made this for our meal with these very crisp and satisfying rawa tomatoe dosa. Nothing like comfort food for our couch potato instincts.

Potatoes with Swiss Chard

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp asafetida
2 cloves minced garlic
4 potatoes peeled and cut into eights
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
2 tomatoes chopped
2 cups swiss chard finely chopped
1 tsp garam masala powder

Method of Preparation

1. Heat the oil and add the cumin, asafetida and garlic.
2. Saute for about 2-3 minutes and add the potatoes and cook on medium low heat stirring frequently, till the potatoes begin to turn golden brown.
3. Add the turmeric, salt and tomatoes and cook for 3-4 minutes.
4. Stir in the chard and cover and cook on low for 5 minutes.
5. Remove the cover and stir well, the vegetables should be soft uniformly mixed.
6. Stir in the garam masala.

Rawa-Ragi Tomato Dosas

Makes 15 mid-sized dosas

Ingredients

1/2 cup rawa
1/4 cup rice flour
1/4 cup ragi flour
1 tsp salt
2 cups buttermilk
8-10 curry leaves
3 tomatoes processed in the food processor
4 tbsp chopped cilantro
2-3 green chillies, finely chopped
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 onion finely chopped
Oil for frying the dosas

Method of preparation

1. Mix the flours, salt, buttermilk, curry leaves, tomatoes, cilantro, green chillies, cumin and onion into a thick batter and set aside for at least 2 hours.
2. Stir well and add additional water to thin the dough into a pouring thin pancake consistency.
3. Heat a tawa or griddle and pour about 1.5 ladlefuls of the batter and spread out, the batter should bubble and spread with some small holes (sort of lacy consistency),
4. Pour a little oil around the dosa and cook on low for about 6-7 minutes.
5. Remove carefully and turn. This should be crisp and brown.
6. Cook lightly on the other side and serve hot.