Romaine Lettuce Salad with Olive Oil Dressing

Note: A new year deserves a fresh start. It took a while to shake and wake up the writer in me, specially when the stupor is dictated by grief, shock and sadness. First came the devastation caused by Sandy. I tried to do my bit by donating a bag of non-perishable food to the local Food Bank which has been actively collecting food and supplies for the families displaced owing to Sandy's mayhem. If anything, my soul felt happy. Just when we were about to enjoy the holidays came the sad news of two incidents - one in Newtown, US and the other in Delhi, India. Both painful and agonizing to the point where you ponder over the direction taken by humanity and wonder what is happening to the world? Those two weeks left me sad, angry and frustrated. My heart goes out to the families of the kids and the parents of the brave girl who fought a valiant fight till the end. Helping hands is better than praying lips, they say. I want to hug the kids in my family and tell them they are okay. I try to shut the door of the feminist out pour seething inside me like a pot of boiling water, but in vain. May all children enjoy the joys of a happy childhood. May all women have their little space under the sun which they should be able to enjoy freely without any fear. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013, ALL!

MAY THE NEW YEAR BRING IN MUCH NEEDED PEACE AND COMPASSION IN ALL OUR LIVES. THANK YOU FOR JOINING IN THE FOODIE'S JOURNEY...!!
  

Romaine Lettuce Salad with Olive Oil Dressing

The New Year began on a positive note for me and I promised myself - this ought to be a fresh and a very promising start. A renewed approach and perseverance to see things through goals set for the new year. Last year I may not have posted a lot of recipes, but I found my work-life balance with lesser posts and plan to focus more on writing quality material this year. Food, Literature, Writing, Hand-made artsy work has always been my passion and will be for years to come.

The husband kick-started his journey for good health during Spring time last year and has lost a lot of weight. He is one disciplined person and is following a regimented approach. Our fridge is full of fresh produce, fresh fruits, healthy nuts and I am not complaining. The new entrants in my kitchen are Quinoa, Couscous, Goji Berries, Acai, Greek Yogurt and Middle Eastern spice powders comprising of Za'tar and Sumac. We rarely eat outside and meals are carefully planned at home. I truly love my Desi khana! The change is not easy for me but looking at him, I get my inspiration to have a healthy relation with my food choices.  I do not deprive myself of my favorite foods -- Chakri, Chocolate and Cheese but I certainly give a thought to what I eat and how I eat. I do enjoy my Green Tea with honey but also relish my milky Chai with Cardamom and Ginger. I am slowly moving to low carb and high protein diet. I plan to post many of his recipes this year for every one's benefit.

Coming to the recipe, most of my American friends religiously eat Salads for dinner. When I say religiously, I mean everyday. My understanding of Salad has been the plain jane combination of onion, cucumber and tomatoes inspired by Desi style Koshimbir. A dear friend literally pushed me into the Salad trap last year and I thank her from the bottom of my heart. She is a Zumba freak, loves her gym sessions and is a loving, doting mother to her daughter. She visited me for a day spend during summer and taught me various cool ways of putting together different types of Salads.

I always go with minimum 5 ingredients rule and with little practice have learned to put together a good tasty bowl of salad. On few days, a yummy bowl of salad doubles up as my lunch/dinner. As I was leisurely tossing the salad in the dressing, she stopped me abruptly, "Chill it for a while, it will taste awesome!" So we enjoyed a chilled salad as an  appetizer while her kid was busy watching Dora and Diego on TV. I dig on the Salad served at Italian joints and always wondered why my Salads taste awful. The secret is out - Chill your Salad for at least 30 minutes in the chiller of the fridge and mix the dressing just before serving. You will have a nice crispy bowl of Salad, ready to be enjoyed.

Many months from that day, I love to out together a good salad with good amount of carb and protein element. Don't deprive yourself while adding the ingredients. After all, its a complete meal. Go all out and make your favorite salad. Here's a simple one with no protein but just greens good as a meal when paired with some protein element of choice.

Few pointers which I've learned along which might be useful to any person desirous of learning how to build a good Salad bowl -

From l to r - Romaine Lettuce, Carrots, Cherry Tomatoes, Cucumber, Salt-cured Green Olives

1. Choose a Salad leaf you love, dark greens and tender ones are better - Iceberg Lettuce, Butter Lettuce, Romaine Lettuce, Baby Spinach, Dark Spring Greens, Micro Greens and Arugula (Rocket)
2. Add two other vegetables, fruits of choice - Halved Cherry Tomatoes, half moon or quartered Cucumbers, grated or shredded Carrots, shredded Radicchio, salt-cured Green and Black Olives (Whole Foods Olive Bar has good selection), pickled Cucumbers and Gherkins. Even pitted Cherries and Watermelon cubes hold well. Vegetarians can add cooked beans of choice - Chickpeas, Cannelini, Red Kidney Beans. The choices are many.
3. Add a protein component - Grilled Shrimps in Indian spices, shredded Tandoori chicken, grilled fish cubes like Salmon or Tilapia, lightly spiced and halved boiled eggs if you are an egg eating vegetarian. We also like sliced and seared spicy Chicken sausages mixed with the Salad.
4. Add cubed cold Cheese (optional) - Blue Cheese, Goat Cheese and Parmigiano are universal favorites. Danish Havarti, Monterrey Jack and Feta are my favorites.
5. Add Nuts of choice - Almonds (chopped), Pecans, Pistachios and Walnuts are our favorites.
6. Croutons for low carbs - Home made or store bought.
7. Light or Extra Virgin Olive Oil - Serves as a good base.
8. Dressing choice -  Simple Olive Oil, Ranch, Blue Cheese, Honey-Lime Vinaigrette.

~ Romaine Lettuce Salad with Olive Oil Dressing ~
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Processing Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:
Romaine Lettuce (leaves shredded, core removed) - 6 cups

Cherry Tomatoes (halved) - 6
Green and Black salt-cured Olives (halved) - 1/2 cup
Carrots (grated) - 1
Bread Croutons - 1/2 cup
Cucumber (peeled, half moon cut or quartered) - 1 cup

Simple Olive Oil Dressing -
Extra Virgin/ Light Olive Oil - 1/3 cup
Black Whole Pepper corns (crushed) - 1/2 tsp
Sea Salt
Lime juice - 1 tbsp
Lime zest - 1 tsp
** Whisk together all ingredients to emulsify **

Method:

Rinse and peel individual salad leaves. Remove the white core and shred the leaves into bite sized pieces. Halve the cherry tomatoes, olives, grate the carrot, chop the cucumber into quarters. In a large mixing bowl, mix all the ingredients except carrot and tomatoes. Allow to chill for at least 30 minutes. Chill the tomatoes and carrots separately. Whisk the dressing and keep it ready. Just before serving, add the dressing to the salad. Toss the salad well. Serve immediately. 

Note - The salad is very portable. Carry for work lunch in a spill proof, air tight container and store in a refrigerator if your workplace has one. If adding Olives, I skip salt totally since the Olives are salt-cured.

Brown Rice Salad with Chickpea

I love the aroma of cooked Brown Rice wafting in my kitchen and the steam venturing into every crevice and corner of my abode. It brings back memories of my Ammama (Grandma) cooking a large pot of brown rice for our jumbo joint family of over a dozen. We enjoyed it soupy with a drizzle of Ghee and Whole Raw Mango Pickle (Appe Midi Nonche). The other dish she made was Brown Rice Mini Dosa (Ukhdo Tandla Bhakri). Now, conventional wisdom says - cook the brown rice and eat it like a porridge. At least my South Indian upbringing would vouch for that. Well, that's what I believed for the longest time.

One day at work, my American colleague got a lunchbox of Brown Rice Salad. I peeked into her box and wondered how Rice can be eaten as a Salad! Rice as a Salad was an explored territory for me till then. She gave me a lowdown on Salads and the conversation offered a healthy dimension to my creativity in kitchen. I got a stash of this nutty, chewy aromatic grain from Whole Foods and loved the texture upon cooking. My colleague's word of advise while constructing a salad - have at least five different colors and textures of food components. I dished out a simple salad and adored the portability of this dish. It travels well and is great for outdoor picnics.

~ Brown Rice Salad with Chickpea ~
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
Brown Rice (short grain) - 1 cup
Chickpea (soaked and cooked) - 1/2 cup
Carrot (chopped) - 1/2 cup
Red Onion (chopped) - 1/3 cup
Coriander leaves (chopped) - Just a sprinkle

For Vinaigrette -
Light Olive Oil
Lime juice - 1/2 tsp
Salt
Pepper


Method:
Wash and rinse rice in multiple changes of water. Cook in an electric rice cooker with a pinch of salt and fluff with a fork once done. Make a Vinaigrette of Olive Oil, Lime juice, Salt and Pepper. Add rest of the ingredients in a mixing bowl and pour the dressing. Mix well and serve immediately.

Note - A Salad takes very less salt, so add with a deft hand.

Tomato Saar with Asafoetida (Tomato Hingaa Saaru)

Many moons ago, my Pachi (Aunt) invited me for a casual lunch at her place. Since she is a busy Mom she sheepishly informed me that the spread was very simple and she was wee bit embarrassed to serve me Tomato Saaru along with the other simple dishes. I chuckled as I enjoy her food either ways!

The version of her Saaru caught me unaware and has become my go-to recipe now. This is a simple 15-minute-fix kind of a recipe. Every recipe has that one secret ingredient which demystifies the taste of the dish and takes it a few notches higher and in this case she had used Hing (Asafoetida). The recipe has a very Saatvik touch and is very simple. I turn to this once in a while just to experience the departure from my regular Coconut laden recipes which I also enjoy unabashedly. Another tip is the kind of Tomatoes one chooses. For this Saaru, she used the semi-ripe one (the one that is not too bright red but just ripe for use, if you know what I mean) so that the acidity is not way too high in the final broth. The third and final tip she gave was use only Ghee, better if home made. Ghee supplements the flavor, use a sparing helping if you are diet conscious. This recipe holds good for the taste buds of kids, elderly and those convalescing.

~ Tomato Hingaa Saaru ~
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients:
Tomatoes (diced) - 2
Coriander leaves (chiffonade thinly) - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Salt

For Seasoning -
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Asafoetida (Hing/ Edible Gum) - 1/4 tsp

Method:
Dice the tomatoes and boil it with three cups of cold water. Add the coriander leaves as well and bring to a boil and simmer away for 5-10 minutes till the Tomatoes are cooked. Add salt and sugar now and turn off the flame. In a separate frying pan, heat few spoons of Ghee, season with mustard seeds and curry leaves on medium flame. Once they splutter and are cooked through, add asafoetida, wait for few seconds and turn off the flame. Pour this seasoning on the cooked stock, cover with a lid. Serve warm with cooked Par-boiled/ Basmati rice.

Horsegram Soup (Kulitha Saaru/ Hurali Saaru)

This year we witnessed an uncommon heat wave. With temperatures soaring high my tiny matchbox kitchen feels like a furnace, my motivation to cook elaborate dishes has changed to quick cook recipes. I prefer recipes which takes less than 15 or 30 minutes to cook. More often than not, Saaru and Upkari seems to be the order of the day - simple, healthy and nutritious.

Horsegram is one of the most widely used pulse in Konkani cuisine. It is also known as Kulith in GSB Konkani and Hurali in Kannada. I get my stash from India; the only problem with the quality of pulse we get is more often than not they have lot of stones and grime. Hence the entire stash needs a round or two of thorough cleaning before use. Another quirky nature of this legume is that its loaded with heat giving property (garmi). Ammama served this with a dollop of home made butter and I prefer it that way. Use your choice as per your dietary practice. Many many decades ago, we had a tiny stable with cows who were my Ajja's and Ammama's beloved ones, their names were Ganga and Yamuna. She soaked couple of padee's of horsegram and boiled them in a gigantic copper pot the next day; the stock was preserved for making Saaru for the entire family and the cows happily munched on the boiled legume.

Horsegram is a storehouse of Iron. It is primarily a cattle feed, it is believed to improve the dexterity of their calve muscles and improve their bone strength. In many Konkani homes I know, this Saaru is regularly fed to growing kids for strong calf muscle strength and dexterity. The horsegram is of dubious nature when it comes to cook time, sometimes the legumes cook in a blink and sometimes they take hours together, all this is relative to the yield of crop, gene pool of seeds and the harvest season as well. Some of the other dishes made using Horsegram are Kulith Idli (Sannan), Kulitha Chutney, Kulith Koddel, Kulith Upkari.

~ Kulitha Saaru ~
Preparation time: Soak time of 8-10 hours
Cooking time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients:
Horsegram (Kulith) stock - 3 cups
Cooked Horsegram - 3 tbsp
Green Chillies (slit lengthwise) - 2
Oil/Ghee/Butter
Salt

For seasoning -
Red Chilli (Byadgi) - 1
Garlic jumbo pods (crushed) - 4-6
Oil/Ghee

Method:

Soak the horsegram in ten times the volume of water after thoroughly cleaning them and rinsing them in three changes of water. They will proliferate in size the next day around. Pressure cook them for 4-6 whistles with little salt and a tsp of oil. Once cool, strain off the stock (cooked liquor) and set aside 3 tbsp of cooked horsegram. Set aside the rest of the cooked horsegram.
Bring the cookes stock to a rolling boil, season with salt, green chillies. Blend the cooked horsegram to a puree with little water. Add this paste to the boiling stock. Bring to boil and simmer on low flame for 5-8 minutes, cook till the rawness goes off and the stock is a smooth blend. In a separate frying pan, heat few spoons of oil and season with red chilli split into two and crushed garlic. Saute till the garlic turns light brown. Pour this seasoning on the cooked stock and cover with a lid. Mix while serving and if desired, serve with a dollop of butter (home made). Pair with white rice.

Lemon Rasam (Lemon Saaru/ Nimbe Saaru)

I love Lemon Saar or Nimbe Saaru (Nimbe's Lemon in Konkani/ Kannada) along with white rice. Mom has been making this Saaru for many years now and we all appreciate the tart and tangy flavour of Lemon juice in the Saaru. Fresh green chillies are pan seared with little oil and then ground to a smooth paste with coconut and spices. I like this simple Saaru for light lunches and dinners during scorching hot summer days.

~ Lemon Saaru ~
Preparation time: 5 minutes Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
Lemon juice - 5 tbsp
Coconut grated (fresh or frozen) - 5 tbsp
Green chillies (fresh) - 2
Coriander leaves - 5-6 strands
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt

For seasoning -
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 3-5
Oil/Ghee

Method:

In a deep pan, heat few spoons of oil and sear the chillies. Be careful to protect your face from spurting chillies which could potentially have the seeds flying in all directions. Allow the chillies to cool. Grind grated coconut, turmeric powder, fried chillies and salt together with little water. During the last spin of blender, add the coriander leaves and blend to smooth paste. Bring this paste to bubbly boil, add lemon juice and adjust salt, once done & cooked, turn off the flame and set aside. In the same pan used previously, heat the remaining oil and temper with mustard seeds and curry leaves. Pour the seasoning mixture on the boiled broth. Mix well and serve hot with rice.

Note: The searing of chillies should be carefully done since they have a tendency to burst open and fly everywhere around. Immerse the chillies completely in oil and use the same flavoured oil for seasoning later. If you are allergic to the heat of chillies, wear kitchen gloves to protect your hands.

Spicy Cucumber Wedges (Masala Kakdi/ Masala Toushey)

With the sun shining in the horizon and piping hot summer days, I reach out to the cool foods to stay hydrated. Lucky me, I got a big loot of Kerby Cucumber from the Indian grocery. I yearn for the ones we get in India which are light green skinned. This one known as Kirby Cucumber comes very close in terms of taste, flavour and freshness. In Marathi, they are known as Kakdi and in my home its known as Masala Kakdi. In Konkani, Cucumbers are known as Toushey. The ones we get in US are palm sized, tiny and ideal for small bites. I also recall these sold on Bangalore street by cart vendors during summer season for a paltry sum of 2 rupees a Cucumber, slathered liberally with masala and lime juice.

During hot summer days, Mom chopped these beauties into wedges and serve as a salad item. Its a very simple one but I wanted to document the recipe for sheer nostalgia! The tender Cucumbers are juicy, full of water and less seeded. Spruce up with spice powders of your choice.

~ Masala Kakdi ~
Processing time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:
Kirby Cucumber - 4
Red Chilli powder - as per taste
Black Pepper powder - as per taste
Salt

Method:
Wash and peel the skin of Cucumber, you could also retain them if needed. Chop them into halved wedges. Sprinkle salt, black pepper powder and red chilli powder. Great as mid day snack and salad.

Spicy Gobi Fry

There are days when I want to push the envelope and challenge myself to cook with just couple of teaspoons of fat. This recipe was born out of one such attempt and we both enjoyed it. The taste was amazing with the extra addition of Chaat Masala which gives that zing and tart-tangy flavour. The good thing this recipe serves the purpose of a snack or as a side dish.

The inspiration for this recipe comes from one of my favorite chef - Giada De Laurentiis. While watching one of her cookery shows, I remember the beautiful chef dishing out a simple low calorie entree. She suggests to make the dishes tasty, add one ingredient which provides that zing, you thereby counterbalance the low calorie focus with more flavour and variety of taste.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

Cauliflower (Gobi)- cut into florets - 4-5 cups

For Seasoning -

Garlic (chopped) - 2-3

Onion (chopped) - 1/2 cup

Cumin seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Turmeric powder - 1/3 teaspoon

Red Chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Garam Masala powder - 1 teaspoon

Coriander powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Cumin powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Chaat Masala - 1/2 teaspoon

Ghee

Salt

For Garnish -

Coriander leaves (chopped) - 3-4 strands

Method:

Wash and chop the Cauliflower into medium sized florets. Bring hot water to boil and steam cook the florets. Do not completely cook but par boil and run cold water over them. Drain and keep aside.

In a separate pan, heat a spoon of ghee, season with cumin seeds and garlic. Add onions and saute them till they get caramelised. Add the spice powders and saute the entire bit over a low flame else the powders could burn rendering a bitter flavour to the dish. Finally, add the florets and give a gentle stir. Adjust salt and sprinkle little water and cover with a lid and cook for few minutes till the florets are completely cooked. Garnish with chopped Coriander leaves and serve hot.

Plating:

Serve this as a side dish else as a snack. If you prefer chat-pata flavour, then sprinkle some chaat masala and serve.

Cabbage Olive Salad

Salad's are occupying a common spot in my kitchen now. I dished out this quick one after skimming through some delightful salad's on New York Times - Dining section. They have a delicious spread of salad recipes which are from the pantry ingredients and readily available ones. I recently sampled Red Cabbage and loved it to the core. This is a simple recipe when you don't wish for a heavy 3 course meal.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

Cabbage (shredded) - 3 cups

Carrots (strip sized sliced) - 1 cup

Black Olive (Non-pitted, Kalamata Greek) - 1/2 cup

Salad Vinaigrette -

Vinegar - 2 tablespoon

Olive Oil - 1 teaspoon

Red Chilli flakes - Just a dash

Lime juice - 1 teaspoon

Salt - As per taste

Mixed herbs - 1/3rd teaspoon

Method:

Mix in the olive oil, vinegar, red chilli flakes, salt and mixed herbs. The vinaigrette has to be good enough to dress the salad. Give a good whisk. Add the shredded vegetables and toss well. Slather some lime juice and serve as a pairing with some warm bread.

Mushroom-Peas Chinese Fried Rice

I am a big Rice fan. Of late, I have begun eating Brown Rice or Paez/Paej. It is healthy and wholesome. I also like the combination of any Konkani/ Konkan dish with rice. I made this on a whim, came out well. It is a simple recipe, but thought would blog about it for the benefit of my readers.

I would be cooking more of Low-calorie recipes, which have loads of health benefits. For this one, I chose Olive Oil and Mushrooms. Added Peas and Onion Greens for extra taste and health.

Preparation time: 60 minutes

Ingredients:

Rice - 3 cups

Mushroom (sliced) - 3 cups

Peas - 1/2 cup

Spring Onion/ Green Onions (chopped - only the greens) - 1 bunch or 3/4th cup

Onions (diced and sliced) - 1 cup

Olive Oil - 3 tablespoon

Soya Sauce - 2 tablespoon

Salt - as per taste

Method:

Cook rice in water with 1:1 1/2 proportion. Add a spoon of oil and salt while cooking. Drain once cooked, and spread on a large plate. Separate with a fork if required. This will enable any moisture to go away and cool the rice.

Heat a stock pot, add few spoons of Olive oil, saute and add mushroom and peas. Add Soya Sauce, adjust salt.

Add the cooked rice and give a gentle shake. Do not stir too much as the rice would turm lumpy. Serve hot with any Manchurian sauce based side dish. Garnish with chopped Onions greens.