Frosted Green Beans with Sesame

Harsh bought me 'The Silver Spoon', which they say is the bible of authentic Italian cooking, for my birthday. The book has been very successfully sold in Italy and most Italian households have it on their bookshelves. A lot of Italian brides receive this book as a wedding gift.
I was very excited as i flipped through the 2000 plus recipes in the book as this meant months and months of experimenting in the kitchen. There are really simple recipes and some quite complicated ones as well, but they're all explained very simply. The only flip side is that there aren't too many pictures in the book and sometimes I find it hard to imagine what a dish would really look like. In fact, often it's the photograph that makes a dish tempting enough for me to try it out and lack of pictures can be a little intimidating.

This week I had 200 gms of green beans that I'd plucked off the bush beans I'd grown in our balcony and I thought it would be a great idea to try something Italian with them. More often that not, Italian cuisine is limited to pizza, pasta and risotto, and I thought I'd use this opportunity to bring you a recipe that falls into none of these categories.

Read on for the recipe to make Fagiolini Glassati Al Sesamo or Frosted Green Beans with Sesame.

Ingredients:


Green Beans (or French Beans) - 200 gms
Finely sliced Spring Onion - 1
Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Grated rind of a lemon - 1/4 tsp
Sesame seeds - 1 tsp
A blob of butter
Olive oil - for drizzling
Salt - to taste
Pepper - to taste

Method:


Cook the beans in salted boiling water for ten minutes, then drain and set aside.
Melt a blob of butter in a pan and saute the spring onions over low heat until they're softened. Stir in the lemon juice, the rind, salt and pepper and stir to mix well.
Now, add the green beans, mix well and continue to cook for another 5-10 minutes. In a separate pan roast the sesame seeds for a couple of minutes until they're fragrant.
Transfer the beans to a serving dish, sprinkle with sesame seeds and drizzle with olive oil. Mix well and serve hot. 

Pumpkin Risotto

Ingredients:


Pumpkin (diced) - 100 gms
Risotto Rice - 200 grms
Chicken bouillon cubes - 2
Finely chopped onion - 1
Finely chopped parsley - 2 tbsps
Olive Oil - 2 tbsps
Parmesan cheese - 1/4 cup
Pepper - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
Water

Method:


Heat the olive oil in a non-stick pan and saute the onions until they turn translucent. Add the pumpkin and two bouillon cubes and saute for a couple of minutes.
 Now, add a cup of water and cover the pan, and cook until the pumpkin is soft. Turn off the heat and mash the pumpkin.
Add the risotto rice and stir it into the mashed pumpkin mixture. Pour in 2 cups of water and let the rice cook.
You need to stir often to ensure that the rice doesn't stick to the bottom. If needed add some more water. The rice should take about 20 minutes to cook. Once the rice is cooked you can turn off the heat and add the Parmesan cheese, chopped parsley leaves and the seasoning.
Stir well and serve hot.

Tips:

If you let the rice stand for too long it can become a little hard. So, if you cook it in advance make sure to add a little water and mix the rice well before serving it.

Most bouillon cubes have salt in them you might not need additional salt in your risotto.

Vegetarians can use vegetarian bouillon cubes.

Bramboracky ( Czech Potato Pancakes)

It was my first white Christmas last  year and I loved it! European Christmas markets, snow all around, decorations, concerts, oliebollen ( a winter specialty in Holland) and gluhwien (mulled wine) all made for a perfect winter setting. We spent a day in Cologne walking through the Christmas markets and then decided to spend Christmas weekend at home in Eindhoven.
   As Harsh and I strolled through the Eindhoven centrum the biting cold left our finger tips and toes quite numb. My nose and ears hurt despite being covered in warm wool. After a couple of hours I couldn't bear the cold any more and we started walking back home. On the corner of a street, a restaurant (Usine) had set up a stall. The two local boys who manned it urged us to try some mulled wine and potato pancakes. The mulled wine brought back some warmth to our freezing bodies and we stood in the snow watching the boys fry the potato pancakes for us. The pancakes were delicious and I decided that I would try to make it at home before winter passed.
It's almost the end of spring now and I realised that I'd forgotten to try my hand at potato pancakes. I didn't want to wait until next winter and had a recipe for the Czech version (sent to me by my friend Sharavati) so just we had Bramboracky for dinner just a few days ago.

Here is the recipe :


Ingredients

• 4 large potatoes
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 pinch dried marjoram (optional)
• 2 teaspoons caraway seeds (optional)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• oil for frying

Directions

1. Peel and coarsely grate the potatoes, squeezing out as much liquid as you can. Transfer the shredded potatoes to a mixing bowl. Stir in the crushed garlic, salt, pepper, marjoram, and caraway seeds.
2. Beat the eggs with the milk. Add the egg mixture to the potatoes and stir well to combine. Gradually mix in the flour to form a thick but still pourable batter.
3. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat; the oil should be about 1/4-inch deep. Spoon about 1/4 cup of batter into the hot oil, flattening it slightly. Fry the pancake until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels. Taste the first pancake and adjust the seasoning if necessary; repeat with remaining batter.

Recipe source - http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/bramboracky-czech-savory-potato-pancakes/Detail.aspx

I replaced the dried marjoram with fresh marjoram leaves from my herb garden.

This a 'must try' recipe for the winter months and also for the monsoon in India. 

Malvan Cha Batata Vada

A lot of people asked me for this recipe after I posted a picture online. I've taken forever to respond. Apologies!
The Batata Vada made in Malvan is slightly different from how it is made in the rest of the state. This is how my Mom makes it at home and I think her's is the best batata vada I've ever tasted.

Ingredients:

Boiled and mashed potatoes - 4 large
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Green chillies - 2
Chopped onion - 1
Coriander leaves - a small bunch
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
Besan - 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - for deep frying

Method:

Fry the onions in a little oil until they're brown. Now mix the fried onions, the ginger garlic paste, the coriander leaves, green chillies and the garam masala and grind to a paste. Mix this paste with the mashed potatoes and add salt to taste. Your filling is ready.
Heat the oil in a kadhai. Take a spoonful of the heated oil and mix it with the besan, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt and water to make the batter for the vadas.
Roll the filling into equal sized balls. Dip each of the balls in the batter and then deep fry until golden brown.

Serve hot with bread, chutney and onions.

Moong ki dal

I found the recipe for Moong ki dal when I was looking through Chef Sanjeev Kapoor's healthy recipes. I've a few minor changes and additions to the recipe. Here it is:

Ingredients:


Split, skinless moong - 1 cup
Milk - 1 cup
Tomato - 1 small (chopped)
Green Chillies - 2 (split through the center)
Turmeric powder - 3/4 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/1 tsp
Asafoetida powder - a pinch
Cloves - 2
Jaggery - 1 tsp (grated)
Ginger paste - 1 tsp
Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp (chopped)
Ghee - 3 tbsps
Salt - to taste


Method:

Wash and soak the split moong dal for an hour. Cook it with salt and turmeric in a pressure cooker with 2 cups of water ( 2 whistles) or boil it until it is completely cooked. Now add the jaggery, milk and grated ginger and continue to cook for another ten minutes.
In another pan heat the ghee and add the cumin seeds, cloves and asafoetida powder. When the cumin seeds change colour add the split green chillies and the chopped tomato and cook until the tomato is cooked and soft. Now add the dal and stir. Garnish with chopped coriander. Serve hot with rice.

Moroccan Zaalouk ( Aubergine Salad)

I've been wanting to experiment with Moroccan cooking for a while and thought our friend Saloua's traditional Zaalouk recipe would be a good way to start.
  Zaalouk is a cooked salad made with aubergines and tomatoes and is often served as a side dish in Moroccan meals and also as a dip with crusty bread. Saloua also recommends eating it with regular bread or with chapati or paratha.
The recipe is a little similar to the Punjabi version of baingan bharta.



Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

Large eggplant (brinjal) - 1 (peeled and chopped)
Large ripe tomatoes - 4 (chopped)
Garlic cloves - 3 (finely chopped)
Coriander - 2 tbsps (chopped)
Parsley - 2 tbsps (chopped)
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Paprika - 1 tsp (I used Kashmiri chilli powder)
Cayenne pepper - 1/8 tsp (optional)
Olive oil -1/4 cup
Water - 1/3 cup
Salt - to taste

Method:

Mix all the ingredients in a large pot. Cover and simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally and check to avoid burning the zaalouk. Once cooked, use a spoon or potato masher to blend the eggplant and tomatoes together. Simmer, uncovered until the liquid is reduced.

Serve warm or cold with crusty bread.

Sabudana Vada

I love Sabudana Vadas but rarely make them as  I can't help but worry about how unhealthy it is since they're usually deep fried. Last week we were both craving for some sabudana vada and I decided to make some but shallow fry them. If you make the vadas flat instead of the usual round shape,fry them in little oil on a non-stick frying pan and over low heat, you can still make pretty good, crisp vadas.

Ingredients:


Sabudana - 1 cup
Potatoes - 2 medium ( boiled, peeled and mashed)
Roasted Peanuts - 3/4 cup (coarsely ground)
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Ginger - 1 tsp (grated)
Green Chillies - 2 (chopped)
Red Chili Powder - 1/4 tsp
Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp
Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp (finely chopped)
Oil - for frying
Salt - to taste

Method -

Soak the sabudana in enough water to cover in for 2 hours. Drain the water and ensure that the sabudana is soft (shouldn't feel grainy or hard inside). Mix the sabudana with the mashed potatoes, roasted peanuts, cumin seeds, grated ginger, chopped green chillies, red chili powder, lemon juice, coriander leaves and salt.
Divide the mixture into lemon sized balls and then flatten them so it's easy to shallow fry them.
Shallow fry the vadas in oil on a non-stick frying pan on a low flame. Flip them over a few times to ensure that both sides are cooked well. When the vadas are crispy and brown (see picture) drain them on absorbent kitchen towels to ensure that any excess oil is taken care of. Serve hot.

Kothimbirichi Vadi

The weather was terrible yesterday; no sunshine and no rain. A cold wind blew noisily for most of the afternoon and evening. I desperately needed some coriander for corn fritters and avocado soup(recipe to be published soon) that I'd planned for dinner but I couldn't get myself to step out. I asked Harsh to pick up a little bunch on his was back from work and he walked in with three big bunches!!! What was I to do with them? The coriander leaves were wet and it didn't look like the bunches would last too many days. I stuffed them in the fridge thinking I'd deal with them the next day.
    Today, I thought I'd try my hand at making kothimbirichi vadi.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:


Finely chopped coriander - 2 big bunches
Gram Flour - 1 cup
Finely chopped green chillies - 3
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Garam Masala - a pinch
Baking Soda - a pinch
Grated Jaggery- 1 tbsp
Oil - 2 tsps
Salt - to taste

Method:


Mix all the ingredients together and make a thick batter taking care that its consistency isn't very thin (you may need to add a little water to get the right consistency). Transfer the batter into a greased tray/flat vessel so that  the batter is about an inch in thickness(the baking soda is going to make it puff up a little when it's cooking). Add water to a pressure cooker and place the tray inside.  Cover the pressure cooked with the lid and cook/steam for twenty minutes without putting the whistle on the pressure cooker. Switch off the pressure cooker after twenty minutes and let it cool. Now , cut the cooked batter into one/two inch pieces and shallow fry until they change their colour to a golden brown. Serve hot!!

Corn Fritters

What I like most about this recipe is how simple it is to make. If you have all the required ingredients at hand, fifteen minutes in the kitchen and you're ready to serve a tasty snack!

Ingredients:
Fresh corn kernels - 1 large cup
Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Chopped coriander - a handful
Finely chopped spring onion tops- 1
Finely chopped green chillies - 2
Soy sauce - 1 tsp
All-purpose flour/Maida- 3 tbsp
Slightly beaten egg - 1
Salt and pepper- to taste

Method:
In a bowl mix all the ingredients to form a mixture that is firm enough to hold its shape but not too stiff (you may have to vary the quantity of flour or add a little water to get the right consistency). Heat oil in a large frying pan(I usually use olive oil and a non-stick pan so it's healthy and I don't have to use too much oil). Add spoonfuls of the mixture and gently spread it with the back of your spoon to make a roundish fritter. Cook for a minute and them flip over to cook the other side. Drain the fritters of any excess oil on a kitchen paper before serving. Serve hot and with sweet chilli sauce!

Note- You can also replace the spring onion tops with finely chopped onions. I do it often when I don't have spring onions.