Oatmeal Raisin Apple Cookies

I have this Scottish Oatmeal which I got on Amazon and I am planning to use it in breads and cookies.  After nearly 6 months in the closet, I finally got around to using it.  The cookies were simply delicious.  B and I were on not-so-good terms today.  They were delicious enough to get through his defenses.  From what I could understand, he preferred them over me.  Still, that's saying something for the cookies at least.

1 cup Scottish oatmeal
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour (I used whole wheat chapathi flour)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
4 tbsp butter (1/2 stick) (cold)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 of a medium apple, peeled and chopped fine
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup yoghurt
1 tsp vanilla essence

Combine oatmeal, wheat flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

Rub the cold butter into the flour.  Add the sugar and mix.  Mix in the raisins and apple.

Add the milk, yoghurt and vanilla essence.

Make a dough without handling too much.

Make small ball and flatten them out on the pan.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Bake the cookies for about 15 to 17 minutes.

Whole chana curry

2 cups whole brown chana with skin soaked overnight.
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/4 tsp ajwain
5 dry red chillies
1/8 tsp asafoetida
2 tbsp ghee
3 small tomatoes chopped
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp dry ginger powder
2 tsp amchur powder
1/2 tsp cardamom, clove and cinnamon powder (Amma's)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped coriander leaves

Heat ghee, add cumin, fennel, ajwain, chillies and asafoetida.  Add tomatoes, all the powders, 1/2 cup of water and pour into cooker along with the chole and cook.  After it is done, boil down if necessary to obtain necessary thickness.  Add coriander leaves.  If you make it early enough, take out some of it, cool it down and blend it and add it to the curry instead of boiling it down.

Collard Greens Upperi

This is based on Amma's recipe.  B simply loves it.

1 bunch collard greens
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp urad dal
3 dry red chillies
1/8 tsp asafoetida
1 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp turmeric

Cut the collard greens finely including stems.  Heat oil.  Add mustard seeds, urad dal, chillies and asafoetida.  Add the coconut oil.  Add the chopped greens.  Add 1/4 cup water.  Add salt and turmeric and mix well.  Cover and reduce heat to medium low.  Let it cook for about 10 minutes.  If there is still water, turn the heat to high and boil down till it is dry.  Cover and keep till mealtime.

Veg Upma

If there is left over baby spinach and some carrots, this is a quick breakfast dish or even a light lunch or dinner dish with some yoghurt.  I use the Bob's Red Mill Hot Cereal  (Cream of Wheat).  This is also based on Amma's recipe.  It is just like the semiya except with a different combination of vegetables.  You can also add some frozen green peas and some finely chopped green beans instead of spinach.

1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp black gram dal
3 dry red chillies
1/8 tsp asafoetida
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 cup rava or cream of wheat
2 1/2 cups of water
1 cup grated carrot
1/2 a packet (about 2 or 3 cups) baby spinach
1/8 tsp turmeric (optional) - You can leave this out if you want a white coloured upma.
1 tsp salt
juice of half a lime
1/4 cup coriander leaves
2 tbsp chana dal soaked overnight and drained (save the water and use it to cook the rava)

Heat oil.  Add mustard seeds, black gram dal, red chillies and asafoetida.  Add the coconut oil.  Add the drained chana dal and fry for about 3 minutes.  Add the water (including the soaked dal water to make a little less than 3 cups).  Add salt and turmeric.  Add the carrot, spinach lime juice and coriander leaves.  When the water boils, add the rava and mix very well.  Reduce the heat to low and mix as it cooks.  Turn off the heat and cover.

Veg Semiya Upma

Another possible breakfast dish or a light lunch or dinner.  I usually use carrots cut like matchsticks for the this.  The multicoloured carrots look good in this.  And you can add a bit more carrots if you want.  I usually chop up a whole bunch and add.  It tastes great.

2 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp uzhunnu parippu (black gram dal)
3 dry red chillies
1/4 tsp asafoetida
5 or 6 curry leaves
1 or 2 tbsp coconut oil
1 cup carrots cut like matchsticks (preferably multi coloured)
1/2 cup radish (cut like matchsticks)
1 1/2 cups semiya
3 cups water
a pinch of turmeric
1 tsp salt or to taste
juice of half a medium sized lime
1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves (optional)

Heat oil.  When it gets hot, add mustard seeds.  As the mustard seeds start to splutter, add the uzhunnu parippu and then add the dry red chillies.  As the lentils start to brown, add the asafoetida and curry leaves and fry for a few seconds. Don't let anything burn.  Add the coconut oil.  Then add the carrots and radish.  Fry for 3 to 5 minutes.  Add the water.  Add the salt and turmeric.  When the water boils, add the semiya, lime juice and chopped coriander leaves.  Turn down the heat and cook on low for about 7 to 8 minutes or till the water is gone.  Leave the dish open to dry out.

Radish/Carrot/Fenugreek Greens Pakoda/ Coriander leaves Pakoda

I sometimes don't know what to do with the luxurious greens that we find attached to the vegetables.  Radishes, carrots, beetroots etc. come with these attached greens.  And they go bad very quickly.  Often before we can get around to using the vegetable.  I thought of this good way to use up these greens.  As soon as I bring the vegetables home, I cut off the greens, wash them, chop them up and store them in a container.  The same day or the next day, I add some chickpea flour, a couple of spice powders and fry them in oil.  I make these for breakfast sometimes.  Or if I already have breakfast planned, I make them as an evening snack.  They disappear pretty quickly.   Sometimes I stop by the Indian store after buying these kind of vegetables to see if I can find some fenugreek leaves also to add to the greens so that I can make more of the pakodas.  Then I try to save some of the pakodas (a very difficult task!) and make kadhi.

Greens from a bunch of carrots, beetroots, etc.
1 cup chickpea flour
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup water

Place the greens in a bowl.  Add the flour and the spices.  Add the water and mix.  Mix it with your hand.  If necessary add some more water carefully tablespoon by tablespoon until it becomes a very thick batter.  This will not be a dry dough that we can make into balls.  It will be a wet, thick paste.  We can drop spoonfuls of it into the hot oil.  (I usually drop small blobs of it into the oil with my hands.)  I keep the heat at medium high (8 on my electric coil stove). When the underside is light brown, turn over and cook the other side the same way till done.  Then take out the pakodas and place on paper towels. Serve hot.

If there is nothing left in the fridge except coriander leaves and you have about 20 minutes, this is an option.

1 bunch coriander leaves or whatever is left
1 1/2 cups chickpea flour
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup water

Place the coriander leaves in a bowl.  Add the flour and spices.  Add water.  Mix to make a very thick batter, more like a thick paste.  Heat oil on medium high.  Put by the spoonful or blobs with your hand into hot oil and fry first one side, then the other, till medium brown.

   

Cheese and Cucumber Sandwich

The simplest thing in the world.  With a nice cheese, bread or muffin and some slices of cucumber and come tomato, these sandwiches can be made in 5 minutes.  A cup of cocoa or herbal tea and we are done with a very nice breakfast.  I make a ginger and cumin tea for B with some honey.  And cocoa with honey for the the kids and me.  This is an emergency breakfast.  Just make sure that all the ingredients are on hand!  We can experiment with different kinds of bread and cheeses.

A loaf of bread or a packet of English muffins
Cheese slices or a block of cheese sliced ourselves
1 medium cucumber peeled and sliced into thin rounds
1 or 2 small tomatoes sliced thinly (optional)

Toast a couple of bread slices.  In the case of English muffins, cut one in half and toast both pieces.  Place the slice of cheese on side.  Place a few cucumber slices on the cheese.  Add a couple of slices of tomato if using.  Cover with another slice or the other piece of the muffin.  Serve warm.  Continue with the rest of the bread or muffins.

Vegetarian couscous without onion and garlic

I felt ready for a break from Indian cuisine and this was the result.  I got French whole wheat couscous from the bulk section at Whole Foods.  Of course, onion and garlic can also be roasted and added for further flavour for those who like it.  Mushrooms are also optional.  B and Kuttan don't care for them, Manikutti loves them and I like them.  So I grill them, slice them up and keep them in a bowl on the side for those who like it.

Couscous
1 cup couscous
A pinch of turmeric
2 cups baby spinach
1/2 tsp salt or to taste
1 tsp olive oil

Roasted Vegetables
1 big zucchini sliced into fairly thin rounds
1 big yellow pepper sliced into fairly thin strips about an inch long
2 big portobello mushrooms
about 3 tbsp olive oil for coating the vegetables for roasting

Tomato vinaigrette
1 cup grape tomatoes (sliced) or equivalent amount of regular tomatoes finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil for the herb tomato dressing
2 tsp red wine vinegar (If you like the taste of vinegar, you can add more.  I don't add much since I prefer not to drown the taste of the vegetables)
1 tsp black pepper powder
2 tbsp chopped fresh herbs (I used rosemary, thyme and sage that I got in a poultry blend.  Too much of these herbs are quite overpowering for me.)

1/4 cup pine nuts (These are quite expensive and you can use less if you like.  The kids and I like them, B prefers less of them, so I toast them and put them in a separate dish and add as topping according to people's preference.)

Method
Boil 1 1/2 cups of water.  Add olive oil, turmeric and salt.  Put the baby spinach in the water.  Once the spinach has gone into the water and the water is boiling, add the couscous.  Turn of the heat, cover and let sit.

Place the sliced bell pepper on your roasting pan, pour 1 tbsp of olive oil into your hand and apply them all over the peppers.  Spread them out on the pan and broil/grill them for about 10- 15 minutes till they are brownish.  Put them in a big serving bowl.
Now put the sliced zucchini on the pan and follow the same procedure till they are browned.  Add them to the bowl.
Meanwhile, remove the stalks from the mushrooms, turn the mushroom over and remove the gills with a spoon.  DO THIS BEFORE WASHING THE MUSHROOM OTHERWISE THE GILLS CANNOT BE REMOVED FROM A WET MUSHROOM.  Then wash the mushroom, rub olive oil and a little salt on them, keep them upside down on the pan and grill them for 10-15 minutes.  Then turn them over and grill them for a further 2 minutes.  Take them out, chop them up and put them in a bowl.

While the vegetables are roasting, heat a pan on medium heat and toast the pine nuts till light brown.  Keep in a bowl.

Heat the same pan on the stove, add olive oil.  Add the herbs immediately to the warm oil and don't heat more than about 15 seconds, the herbs should still be fresh. Then add the tomatoes, the vinegar, black pepper powder and salt.  Boil for about a minute. (It is not necessary to boil this if you don't mind the smell of raw vinegar.) Pour this on the roasted vegetables.  Add the couscous to this and mix well.  You can keep the mushroom and nuts separate or mix them in as well.

Black-eyed peas and Lauki

An easy, complete meal that has protein and vegetables in one package.  Lauki is called chorakka in Malayalam.  B eats this with chapathi, I eat it with rice.

1 cup payaru (black eyed peas)

1/2 a large chorakka (lauki) chopped into medium sized pieces

2 small or 1 big thakkali (tomato)

1 tbsp neyyu (ghee) or regular oil

1 tsp jeerakam (cumin seeds)

3 vara malagu (dried red chillies)

1/2 tsp omam (ajwain/caraway)

1/4 tsp manjappodi (turmeric powder)

1 tsp uppu (salt) or to taste

2 or 3 tbsp pachakothamalli (fresh coriander leaves) (optional)

Wash the payaru and pressure cook with about 2 1/2 cups of water.

Heat neyyu.  When hot, add jeerakam and vara malagu. When roasted, add omam.  After a few seconds, add the chopped chorakka and about a cup of water.  Add the thakali.  Add the manjappodi and uppu.  Turn the heat to medium low, cover and cook till the vegetable is done.  Add the payaru.  If you wish, add the pacha kothamalli at this point and bring to a boil.  Turn off the heat and cover the vessel till mealtime. 

Rasam and Dandelion Greens Upperi

Rasam

This is my Amma's recipe.  My personal modifications are the addition of cumin powder and occasionally, some garlic as detailed below.  I keep aside some of the rasam for B, then I fry the garlic separately, add a 2 or 3 tbsps of water, cook it for a few minutes and then add it to the rest of the rasam.  But this is just because B does not eat garlic.  Most people can just add the garlic to the rasam while it is cooking.

1 tsp enna (oil)
1 tsp kadigu (mustard seeds)
1/8 tsp perinkayam (asafoetida) powder
5 or 6 kariveppela (curry leaves
2 small thakkali (tomatoes) chopped
Juice of 1 big marble sized puli (tamarind), soaked and squeezed out or about 1 tsp tamarind paste
1 tsp sambar podi (powder)
1 tsp jeerakam (cumin) powder
1/4 tsp manjappodi (turmeric powder)
1 1/2 tsp uppu (salt) or to taste
1 cup pacha kothamalli (fresh coriander leaves) chopped
1 tbsp neyyu (ghee) or nallenna (sesame oil) (optional)
4 or 5 cloves vellulli (garlic) (optional)


Heat enna.  Add kadigu, Once they splutter, add the kariveppela and thakkali.  Then add the puli water, perinkayam, sambar podi, jeerakam podi, manjappodi and uppu.  When it boils, add about 6 cups water.  When it boils, add the pachakkothamalli, turn off the heat and close the vessel for about 5 minutes.
Optional: Peel the vellulli and slice them.  Heat neyyu on medium heat and roast the vellulli till it is slightly browned.  Add to the rasam while it is boiling.
Note:  We can add the soaked liquid from the cherupayaru parippu.

Dandelion Greens Upperi

This is a traditional dry vegetable dish.  It is based on my mother's recipe.  I added the soaked dal to offset the bitterness of the dandelion greens.  I try to cook the different greens available in the US.  And modify the recipes to suit.  This comes out very well and the kids relish it with rasam and rice.

1/2 cup cherupayaru parippu (moong dal) soaked overnight in water and drained (the water can be used for the rasam above)
1 bunch dandelion greens
1 tsp enna (oil)
1/2 tsp kadigu (mustard seeds)
About 3 vara malagu (dried red chillies)
1/8 tsp perinkayam (asafoetida)
1/2 to 1 tbsp velichanna (coconut oil)
1/4 tsp manjappodi (turmeric powder)
3/4 tsp uppu (salt) or to taste

Heat enna.  Add kadigu, vara malagu and perinkayam.  When it is roasted, add the velichenna and the dandelion greens.  Fry for a couple of minutes until they wilt.  Add uppu and manjappodi.  Then add the cherupayaruparippu.  Add about a tsp of water and cook on low heat or about 10 minutes.  If necessary, add a couple of more tsp of water during this time to prevent scorching.  Turn off heat, cover and keep till ready to eat.