Roz Ka Khana

Panneer Butter Masala conjures up this image of a rich butter based gravy with equally rich chunks of paneer or Indian cottage cheese and heavy whipping cream as garnish. Healthy paneer butter masala does sound like an oxymoron.

I use the word healthy to describe this recipe  from Girish as it doen’t call for an ounce of butter or ghee (clarified butter). It uses cashew paste as  the base for the gravy and, yes, more importantly, does not use any whipping cream. The best part is that you don’t compromise on the taste at all. You still get a creamy, yummy paneer “butter” masala, without the butter. Girish made this over the last long weekend and it was the perfect accompaniment to hot chapathis and stuffed bitter melon (bharwan karela). This recipe is inspired from the Sanjeev Kapoor version though it has been tweaked enough to call it an original Girish version:)

Ingredients:

Cottage cheese (paneer), cut into cup – 2 cups
Oil – 3 tbsp
Cloves – 3
Cinnamon – 1 stick
Dried red chillies – 5 (if you want it to be less spicy, use fewer)
Coriander seeds, crushed – 4 tablespoons
Green cardamom seeds – 1/2 tsp
Onion , sliced – 1 medium
Fresh Ginger sliced into 1″ strips – 3-5
Garlic – 4 pods
Tomatoes, chopped – 5-6 medium
Cashews – 1 cup
Salt to taste
Kasoori methi , crushed (dried fenugreek)- 2 teaspoon

METHOD:
1. Grind the cardamom seeds, red chilies and coriander seeds to a fine dry powder.
2. Take 2 tbsp oil in a heavy bottom vessel (kadai), add cloves, cinnamon stick. When this gets heated and gives out an aroma, add garlic and ginger strips.
3. When this cooks, add sliced onions, and saute till the raw smell goes away, and it becomes light pink in color.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook well till the oil separates.
5. In the meanwhile, take the cashews in a blender and blend it to fine paste with some water. If you have a powerful blender (like a Vitamix), you may not need to add water.
6. Cool the onion tomato mixture a little and transfer this mixture to the blender containing the cashew paste. Make a fine puree of the tomatoes, onions and cashews.
7. Take the remaining oil in a kadai again, add some of the kasuri methi and add the paneer pieces. Fry till the paneer is slightly golden brown, not too fried.

8. Take out the paneer and keep it separately.
9. Add the tomato taste and cook while stirring, till the paste begins to boil, and the raw taste of cashews goes away. Add the red chili, coriander, cardamom powder here, and mix well.
10. Heat for a few minutes more, add the paneer and continue to cook for 3-5 minutes.

A creative method to making this breakfast staple, this South Indian style oatmeal comes from Anusuya’s kitchen. It’s popularly known as “Thachi Mammu” (yogurt rice) oatmeal in my home and not surprisingly a favorite breakfast item. You can find us making this almost every weekend, and Amma adds her own personal touch when she makes it, which adds to the taste. If you have a taste for yogurt rice and all its varieties, this is a must try recipe.

Ingredients:

2 cups quick cooking oats

1- 1 1/2 cup hot water

1/2 cup diluted yogurt or buttermilk

1/2 tsp crushed green chilies

1/2″ ginger

1 tbsp chopped cilantro

For tadka or popu or garnish:

1 tsp mustard seeds

a pinch asafetida or hing

1/2 tsp oil

Method:

Take the oatmeal in a microwave safe bowl. Make sure the bowl is not too shallow and is deep enough to allow for proper cooking in the microwave. Add 1 cup of boiling hot water, and let it stand for about 3-5 minutes. Now cook this in the microwave for about 2 minutes on high. The oatmeal should be completely cooked by now. If not, cook it for another 45 seconds.

Now add the diluted yogurt, ginger, green chilies, asafetida and salt to taste.

For the tadka: Heat the oil in a small pan, add the mustard seeds. When the seeds begin to splutter, turn off the stove and pour this on the yogurt oatmeal mixture. Garnish with chopped cilantro leaves and enjoy.

A very Happy New Year to all. I know this is a belated wish as with most of my recent posts. I’m not going to start this year with another resolution like last January….resolutions are jinxed, at least mine seem to be:).
Amidst the pick ups and drop offs from school, work and back, its been chaotic. But there is always time for food, lunch box food and otherwise. I try hard to not compromise on that. Its just writing it all down that I find it hard to keep up with. Trust me, I’m trying to get better at it, so hopefully 2011 will be a better year for RKK.

I had not personally tasted Kothu Parotta as it is dished out in the streets of South India, Chennai and south of it. Girish told me about it as he remembers eating it while in college in Chidambaram at the Railway Station. So when our local Indian restaurant (the same one that had Pondicherry Masala Dosa on thier menu) had this on thier menu, we had to venture out to try it. That was my first taste of Kothu Parotta, probably not close to the authentic street food version, but enough to tantalise my taste buds and try it for myself. A search online led me to Kanchana’s blog “Married to a Desi“, where she tastefully recounts her connection to India after being Married to a Desi, that is. I used regular wheat chapathis here but as she specifies, layered parottas or flaky flat bread will add to the aunthentic taste. I followed her recipe for the most part, and Nikhil loved it for lunch. I added some cucumber
raita as an accompaniment and to cool it down a bit (we like our food spicy if you haven’t figured it out with the extra green chilies in the recipe:)
Ingredients:

• 2-4 leftover or store bought parottas torn into pieces (if using store bought, use the Malaysian parathas or any parathas with layers)
• 1 large tomato chopped or 2 small tomatoes
• 1 red onion chopped
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp pav bhaji masala
• 3 Thai green chili minced
• 1″ piece ginger minced
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 egg beaten (optional)

Method:

Saute the green chilies, ginger, and then onions in oil. Add the turmeric, and chili powder.

Add the tomatoes and cook them until they get mushy. You may also add the salt to make it a little pasty. Add the beaten egg now and mix well till it resembles a scrambled mixture (this step is completely optional as the parotta tastes great even without eggs) Add the pav bhaji masala, and then the parotta and mix. Garnish with cilantro. Serve with a squeeze of lime, and cucumber or onion raitha.

I had dosai batter coming out of my ears this weekend, thanks to my mom’s foresight and planning. That probably didn’t sound the way it was supposed to, but I mean that in a very nice way, actually. She just went back to visit India so she made sure she stocked my fridge with idli and dosa batter for those evenings when I could have a quick dosa dinner after work. Because she realizes that after almost 8 months of being here with me, I’ve had to re-learn things including quick dinners on weekdays. Not that I didn’t cook when she was here (it was mostly on the weekends to try out new recipes). Just in case you wonder why my posts were still not that frequent. All right, I’ve been busted. Excuses, excuses.

So I got around to making aloo masaal (spiced mashed potatoes with onions), spicy red chutney and was all set to make Pondicherry Masala Dosai. I’ve also heard this being called Mysore Masala Dosai. But I got this name from a chef at a restaurant in Plano, where I live. I’m not sure if this restaurant still exists so I will leave the name out, but this was a dish on their menu. When asked about the name, he said he used to live in Pondicherry and just learnt the recipe there so dedicates the dish to the name.

And so I tried this for the first time and it was so good that I decided to call this Pondicherry Masala Dosa as well:)

Ingredients:

Dosa batter - 2 cups (for about 15 dosas)

For aloo masaal:

Potatoes – 4

Onions (red or yellow) – 1 large

Green chilies – 4-5

Ginger, crushed – 1/2 tsp

Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp

Urad dal (black gram dal) – 1/2 tsp

Chana dal (bengal gram dal) – 1/2 tsp

Peanut oil – 1 tsp

Cilantro, curry leaves, a few sprigs, chopped

Method for aloo masala -

1. Heat the oil in a kadai or heavy bottomed fry pan.

2. When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds. After it starts to splutter, add the urad dal and chana dal.

3. Add ginger, onions, curry leaves and fry well till the onions become transparent.

3. In the meantime, boil the potatoes and mash them well.

4. Add the mashed potatoes to the oil. Add turmeric, salt and mix well. Cook for about 5 minutes, add cilantro.

Spicy red Chutney

Ingredients:

Dry red chilies – 10-12

Garlic pods – 2

Red bell pepper – 1/4 chopped into pieces

Tamarind paste – 1/2 tsp

Grind all the above in a blender with some salt and keep aside.

Method for Pondicherry Masala Dosai

1. Heat a flat griddle and add a tsp of oil.

2. Spread the dosa batter with a ladle on the heated griddle or tawa. Add another 1/2 tsp of oil and let it cook on the griddle. When it is half cooked or when brown/red spots start appearing, spread the spicy red chutney on the dosai.

3. Now heap the potato masala in the center of the dosai and fold the dosai. Let it cook for a minute more and gently take it off the tawa onto a plate. Serve hot with sambar.

Happy 2010 to all! May this year brings you everything you wish for. May you stick with all the resolutions you made on the 1st of the year. And may you have your cake and eat it all!

I hope to be a little more regular this year on Roz Ka Khana. I know, its January 7th already and I’ve been remiss in posting my New Year greetings. So much for a start. But I’m trying. Actually, I have been cooking and baking a lot, its just the writing and posting that takes time. Okay, I resolve to stop with the excuses and get on with sharing the recipes.

The year started off better than I thought. I finally figured out how to bake eggless cakes. Finally! An eggless cake that looks and actually tastes normal! I don’t have any dietary restrictions with eggs (I’m not vegan) but have run into occasions/potlucks where others are, and baking eggless cakes has always been elusive for me. I’ve had some one off successes (like the whole wheat banana nut muffins posted earlier) but for the most part, they literally fall flat. My eggless date and walnut muffins, for one, stuck to the paper with folks having to scrape (rather, gnaw) it off with a fork or their teeth. I could argue that they at least tasted good if people wanted to have every bite, even if they just felt like rocks:), but I’m just using my power of positive thinking here.

Madhuram’s Eggless Cooking was my answer! Her recent post, the vegan chocolate banana cake looked so tempting that I had to try my hand at it. Interesting recipe, as it calls for no milk or eggs. I substituted butter instead of the canola oil she used (per her notes) and the outcome was an amazingly soft and moist chocolate cake. This recipe is a keeper for sure and I will probably try it as a birthday cake with frosting the next time. I used a few variations and also added nuts to give it some crunch.

Ingredients:

Whole wheat Pastry Flour – 2 cups

Dutch Chocolate powder – 2/3 cup (I used the one sold in Sprouts Farmer’s Market but am sure you can use any chocolate powder)

Sugar – 1 1/2 cup

Baking soda – 1 1/2 tsp

Unsalted butter – 1/4 cup

Hot water – 1 1/2 cups

Bananas, mashed and pureed – 1 cup (Per Madhuram, use 2 bananas mashed and add water to make up th 1 cup amount)

Chopped walnuts – 1/2 cup

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350F

2. Mix the flour, chocolate powder, baking soda and sugar in a bowl.

3. In a stand mixer, cream the butter and add the vanilla essence at medium speed. Add the hot water. Now add the dry flour and chocolate powder mixture from the bowl to the mixer. beat for a few minutes at medium speed until all the ingredients are mixed well.

4. Add the mashed bananas while the mixer is running and beat again for a minute.

5. Add the chopped walnuts.

6. The mixture is quite runny which probably gives it the soft texture. Pour this in the bundt cake tin (I used the silicone mould and it turned out great) and bake at 350F for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean.

7. I did not frost the cake but you can if you like after it cools. Madhuram suggests that you reduce the sugar to 1 1/3 cup if you plan on frosting the cake.

Verdict: A soft and moist chocolate cake that was quite the hit with my son and nephew (you can tell they are my food critics, or rather the “guinea pigs”), as they tell me it’s good to the last crumb! That’s what’s left of it anyway!

A friend of ours recently introduced us to quinoa and all its benefits. Quinoa or KEEN-WAH as it is pronounced,  is 100% whole grain and I was excited to note that not only does it have fewer carbs than rice but is a great source of protein – 12% to 18%. To learn more about Quinoa and its benefits, go here.

We had been trying to find alternative methods to cut down rice from our diet. Brown rice, broken wheat are all great alternatives, but I find that neither has the protein content that quinoa provides. Basically, quinoa seems the closest to providing a balanced nutrition, the carbs, protein, Vit.B etc.

Of course, we tried it as an alternative to plain rice and then mixed it with plain yoghurt for the traditional South Indian staple, thayir saadhan or rather thayir quinoa! The other characteristic of quinoa that differentiates it from brown rice or broken wheat is that though there is a slight nutty flavor, you cannot taste it at all when you mix it with spices or curries. This, to me, is a perfect alternative to white rice!

Girish came up with the brilliant idea of trying bisi bele huli quinoa today for lunch and my mother got equally excited with the idea and pulled out her staple recipe for bisi bele huli bhaath. She and I got busy making it and I have to say it was awesome. So if you truly want to try this with rice, the recipe is just the same, only replace the quinoa with cooked rice.

Ingredients:

Boiled Toor Dal (yellow pigeon peas)  – 1 cup

Cooked quinoa – 1 cup (1 cup quinoa and 2 cups water in a pressure cooker, or a rice cooker)

Madras Sambar Powder – 2 1/2 tsp (you can use the MTR brand)

Turmeric – 1 tsp

Tamarind – lemon size soaked in water and made into a paste

Beans – 1/2 cup julienne sliced

Carrots – 2 julienne sliced

Peas – 1/2 cup

Cauliflower – florets 1/2 cup

Masala – to be ground into a paste

Onions – 2

Garlic – 8 pods (optional, if you dont like the smell of garlic, you can skip)

Red chilies – 8-10

Ginger – 2 inches

Khus Khus – 2 tbsp (poppy seeds)

Cloves – 4

Cardamom – 2

Dalchini (Cinnamon sticks) – 2

Grated coconut – 1/2 cup

Oil – 1/2 cup

Garnishing: cilantro – 1/2 cup, cashew pieces – 1/2 cup, mustard seeds – 1 tsp, curry leaves – a bunch, red chilies – 2

Method:

1. Take 2 tsp of oil in a heavy bottomed pan, add all the ingredients for the masala and fry lightly for about 5 minutes.

2. Add the turmeric powder and fry again for 2 more minutes. Allow to cool.

3. Put all the ingredients in the pan, add the tamarind and the tomatoes and grind to a smooth paste. Keep this aside.

4. Now take the same kadai, add the remaining oil and lightly fry the vegetables for about 5 minutes.

5. Add the ground paste and continue to fry until the oil separates, for about 10 minutes. Then add the sambar powder.

6. Now add the boiled and mashed toor dal, add about a cup of water and leave it to boil, for about 5-7 minutes. Add salt to taste.

7. Now add the cooked quinoa to the above mixture, and mix well. Cook a little more for about 5 minutes until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed.

8. In a separate pan, add a little oil, about 1 tsp. When the oil gets hot, add the mustard seeds and fry till they crackle. Now add the curry leaves and the red chilies. Add cashews and fry till they brown a little.

Add this to the bisi bele huli quinoa. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot.

This is probably quite a common recipe that you’ll find in many sites, but that’s exactly the specialty of this dish too. There are so many versatile ways that Indians make this dish and each one has it’s unique distinct taste. And it goes by so many names..Chana Masala, Chole Masala, Punjabi Chole. Punjabi Chhole is the name given to this dish as made in Punjab, a Northern state in India. The uniqueness of this type of Chhole is that it is usually drier than other gravy dishes, and it also has a darker color. It has an added tang to it from the amchur or dried raw mango powder that is the main ingredient in the chana masala.

Girish surprised us one weekend evening after mom and I  returned home after a long road trip. Mom and I were both exhausted, thinking of bringing take-out, only to get home to an apron-clad father and son in the kitchen dicing onions (something that’s despised by all of us) and grinding masala (spices). It was so cute! They served Punjabi Chhole and Potato/Egg curry with steaming hot rice and chapathis.

Here’s the recipe for the Punjabi Chhole that he made:

2 cups garbanzo beans or chick peas (he used 2 cans but you can also soak beans overnight and boil the next day).

2 tomatoes (chopped)

1 can chopped tomatoes

3 medium onions (finely chopped)

2 cloves minced garlic

1 tbsp minced ginger

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1 1/2 tspn red chili pd

1 tsp coriander pd

4 tsp vegetable oil

1/4 tsp garam masala pd

3 tsp chana masala pd

1/4 tsp cumin seeds

For garnishing – chopped cilantro, 2 onions sliced into rings, lemon wedge

Method:

1. If using fresh beans, soak them overnight, in warm water with 2 tea bags. This adds the dark color that is so typical of punjabi chole. Boil the beans in a pressure cooker with the 2 tea bags.

If using canned beans, drain the water from the can, and soak the beans in water with 2 tea bags, while you cook the remaining steps. This, again, adds the color.

2. Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds when the oil gets hot. When it splutters, add the minced ginger and garlic.  Now add the chopped onions and saute until it becomes light brown.

3. Add turmeric powder, chili powder and salt to taste. Add garam masala, chana masala and fry a little more.

4. Take the chopped tomatoes and the canned diced tomatoes and puree them in a blender. Add this puree to the masalas and onion-garlic-ginger paste in the pan. Fry this mixture well, until you start to see oil leaving the sides of the paste. Add some chopped green chilies.

5. Now take the soaked/boiled chole, remove the tea bags and add the beans into the pan, add very little (1/4 cup)water and stir well. Cook this for about 8-10 minutes. It helps to mash the beans (chana) a little, so the mixture binds well.  Cook till it gets a little dry.

6. Garnish with onion rings, lemon wedges and chopped cialntro. Enjoy with hot chapathis/naan/puris.

Verdict: This Punjabi chhole was finger-licking good!

The last few weeks have been crazy..a rollercoaster of emotions, ups and downs..(mostly up thankfully!) amidst quite a bit of travelling. Girish and I have been cooking a lot, trying to take our mind off things. Weirdly enough, cooking has been our way to unwind. Many recipes have been tried, some a success, some not worthy to write anything about, but I have, as usual, a stash of recipes, and tons of pictures waiting to be posted. I suppose I’m not a fan of just starting off every post with “ingredients”. There’s almost always a story to every recipe or some other thought that makes this a journal. But the downside..I need to get used to rambling on my laptop as I experiment, and in doing so, be more frequent in posting.

So after over a month’s lapse , I wanted to share this Vegetarian Times recipe from last month’s issue. Asparagus is not a regular vegetable you’d find in my refrigerator, but the magazine did a great job of highlighting its benefits, and of course, our local farmer’s market did the needful in offering a discount of $1/bunch a couple of weeks ago. Perfect timing, I thought, as I put it in my shopping basket, only to forget about it for the next couple of days.  I’d like to know if this happens to everyone, but I often find myself going into a health food store with my head exploding with lunch box recipe ideas, health snacks to stash in my office drawer and the greenest of vegetables to experiment with. The minute I pay for my re-usable grocery bag brimming of healthful bounties, my short term (more like long term!)memory loss sets in. It’s often days and maybe weeks before I discover the rotten likes of romaine, green leaf, or even the fungal culture of what once used to be asparagus in my crisper.

Well, this time I was determined not to let that happen. It was weeks before I tried this asparagus soup recipe but I was “smart” enough to freeze the asparagus stems this time. I decided to try the soup and the Roasted Red Pepper Spread Sandiwch for lunch over the recent long weekend. Notice that I refrained from calling this “Fresh” Asparagus Soup unlike the title in the original source:)

Ingredients (serves 6) : 

• 2 Tbs. unsalted butter or olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped (1 cup)
• 5 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 2 lb. fresh asparagus (36 to 40 medium-size spears), tips reserved, stalks cut into 1/2-inch pieces, divided
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/3 cup low-fat milk or heavy cream
• 1 Tbs. lemon juice
• 2 tsp. grated lemon zest

1. Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, and sauté 5 to 7 minutes, or until soft. Add broth, asparagus stalks, and thyme; bring to a boil. Reduce heat , cover pan, and simmer 15 to 20 minutes or until asparagus is tender.

3. Meanwhile, cook asparagus tips in salted water microwave for 1 minute. (The original recipe called for boiling but I think you get the same results in the microwave) Drain and rinse in cold water.

4. Blend the ingredients in the saucepan – asparagus, thyme, broth etc. in blender or food processor until smooth. Return to pan, and stir in milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature, garnished with asparagus tips.

Verdict: Could have done with a little more lemon zest. The soup is quite bland, so the lemon gives it just the right amount of tang. Will definitely make it again!

This one is a toughie to translate into plain English. Once again, an authentic Tamil dish, Kuzhambu, which means a kind of stew or soup, and Vatral which refers to sun-dried vegetables, is a comfort food in my home.

But before I write about this recipe, let me back up. I almost forgot , but today marks the 1 year anniversary of Roz ka Khana! I am actually a little embarrassed to say that I almost forgot that it was our birthday. I mean, yes it was February last when I penned the Paruppu Rasam recipe, but I had to go back into the archives to look up the actual date. And maybe I am a little overwhelmed too thanks to my dear friends and readers who reminded me to go look up that date! Sheela, thank you for being such a sweetie and shaking me out of my doldrums with your cheery note.  Thanks for being such an ardent follower among everything else.

And I should also thank Anu of AnEmily’s Vegan Adventures for requesting this recipe. Anu, this was the perfect recipe for RKK’s one year anniversary. I don’t think I’m really a Tamil purist when it comes to recipes, but Tomato Paruppu Rasam (lentil and tomato soup) and Vatral Kuzhambu are the staple, comfort foods in my home, so what better way to pay my tribute to RKK than to post another favorite comfort food? While the Rasam is my staple recipe, this one is Girish’s. As I wrote earlier in the 2 month anniversary of this blog with Girish’s Curry leaves Soup (Karuvepillai Kuzhambu) recipe , he is the inspiration behind this blog. So here’s to Girish again for your love and support, and to all of you family and friends who have been contributing and following this food chatter so far….thank you.

Vatral Kuzhambu recipe (Tamarind Soup)

This is also called Pulusu in Andhra/Telugu lingo. As I mentioned in the Curry Leaves soup recipe, this tastes best in a kachitti or a stone vessel, especially when it’s a day old. If you don’t have this vessel, it can also be made in a regular pot or pan, but make sure to save some for the next day so it has had all the time to let the flavors of the sesame oil, the fenugreek and the vegetables sink in. Also, this recipe is not really true to its name as we did not add the sun-dried vegetables or vatral. The sun-dried vegetables are available as is in Indian stores. We did not add it here since the onions have such a strong flavor that you can make this soup without the vatral. The real reason also was that we didn’t have enough vatral handy:). You can also call this recipe Vengaya Vatral Kuzhambu (Tamarind Soup with baby Onions)

Ingredients:

(I don’t have too many pictures to post for this one. I inadvertently erased some of the colorful ingredient pictures that I took  as I was transferring the pictures to my computer. As soon as I’m done poring through the 2500 photos on my hard drive in a desperate attempt to find them, I will try to update this post with better pictures.)

A large lemon sized ball of tamarind (enough to make about 2 cups of tamarind juice)

1/2 cup pink baby onions or shallots

2 tbsp fenugreek seeds

2 tbsp sesame oil

2 tsp vatral kuzhambu podi (I get this from India, but you can also use Sambar powder that is available in Indian grocery stores – MTR Madras Sambar powder). Alternatively you can find the recipe here.

2 sprigs of curry leaves

6-7 green chilies (the Thai variety)

a pinch asafetida ( we use a brand called SSP that we have only found in India but you can use any brand. SSP is in the granule form instead of powder and we use about 3-4 granules for a good strong aroma )

1. Heat the sesame oil in the kachitti or the stone vessel.

2. When it starts to smoke a little, add the fenugreek seeds, lower the flame and let the seeds get dark brown and oil starts to smoke again.

3. Add the asafetida. Add the kozhambu powder (podi).

4. Add the shallots, curry leaves, green chilies and the sun-dried vegetables (vatral) if available here. Fry till medium brown.

5. Add the tamarind juice and salt.

6. Let the mixture boil on a low flame for 10-15 minutes until the soup starts to thicken a little. You can also add a small amount (half a tsp)of jaggery (crystallized brown sugar) here for an added taste. If the soup is too watery, you can add a little rice flour and water made into a paste to thicken it. But if you let it boil enough, you may not need this step at all.

7. Serve with hot white or brown rice and ghee (clarified butter) with a side of paruppu (boiled and mashed lentils).

I do realize I haven’t populated the comfort food section in a while. Well, I haven’t blogged in a while , if you could call 12 days ” a while” that is. I suppose it is a long time, for something that warrants “everyday” cooking.

We had our 9 year old nephew visit from India, and while that meant two boisterous boys (including mine),  running around the house, it also meant having to come up with some creative ways to feed them both and fuel all that energy. As with most kids, vegetables were challenging, and I was looking for ways to dot the daily menu with some, while sneaking some in other dishes.

Anusuya’s kitchen had the perfect answer, as always. It’s quite obvious from her previous recipes, that she somehow has that perfect balance between scrumptious and healthy. Whole wheat, low fat, low oil are some key words in her kitchen. Of course, there are always “treats” in store, with her desserts and other signature dishes, and I will try to share them all, as and when she chooses to share them with me.

Here’s a sweet corn soup recipe that’s a favorite of her family, and this is what I “tried” on the kids one evening. May sound cliched, but as with all her recipes so far, it was a hit! The kids downed the corn soup with french bread and actually asked for more. What more could I ask for?

Ingredients:

1 pack frozen corn or 3-4 fresh corn, kernels removed and steamed

2 Jalapenos (I retained the seeds, but if you like it less spicy, de-seed them)

1/2 Vidalia onion (chopped into chunks)

1 tbsp soy sauce

1/2 cup milk

1/2 tbsp butter

1/2 tbsp oil

Salt to taste

1. Take a heavy bottomed saucepan and melt the butter and oil.

2. When the oil is hot, add the onions along with the jalapenos. Saute for 2-3 minutes.

3. Add the corn kernels. You may want to reserve a few kernels for later to add some chunky texture to the soup, but that’s optional.

4. Add 2 cups of water to this mixture and let it boil. Remove from the stove and cool.

5. Now take the mixture in a blender and puree it to a paste like consistency.

6. Take the puree in another heavy vessel or a dutch oven. Add the reserved corn, milk, soy sauce and salt to taste. Simmer for about 10 minutes.

7. Serve hot, garnished with scallion leaves (I was out of the leaves, as you can tell from the picture), and with a side of toasted french bread. I added some garlic butter on the bread as well. Or you could just use store bought garlic bread. Enjoy!