Steamed Rice & Spinach Spicy Balls (Palak Piyava Mudde/ Spinach Onion Mudde)

The cold spells and chilly weather makes me yearn for warm home cooked food all the time. Couple of days back, I made this traditional style of eating spicy rice and vegetable balls called as Mudde or Muddo in Konkani. It is cooked batter, usually mixed with vegetables of choice. We make different versions of Mudde at home. Essentially, Mudde is a lump or dumpling of batter cooked with or without vegetables of choice. In olden days, during my Grandmom's era, they were shaped as balls and steam cooked just on its own. Later, Idli moulds came into the picture, my aunts also steam them in Banana leaf & Jackfruit leaf containers. I prefer cooking them in Idli stand with indendations; that way the quantity is just right for a bite!

Mix the basic batter with vegetables of choice - Cabbage, Onion, Taro Leaves, Cassia Tora leaves (Taikilo), steam them and serve with warm coconut oil. Don't skip this step else you will miss the flavour. For best flavour, devour them when they are piping hot. The Mudde is very healthy since it is steam cooked. It blends well as a side dish for many a Konkani curries and daals. The blend & balance of coconut and rice is key; if you add more coconut, the steamy cakes fall apart, less coconut they turn hard and unedible. My Grandmom makes the best Onion and Cabbage Mudde. You could use Idli Steamer stand (with indentations) or Idli steel moulds which you get at Indian or Ethnic stores to steam cook the little goodies.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20-25 minutes
Yield: 10-12

Ingredients:
Batter -
Rice (Sona Masoori variety) - 1 cup
Coconut (grated - fresh or frozen) - 1 cup
Red Chillies - 5-7

Tamarind - small lump
Asafoetida - Just a pinch
Salt
Pure Coconut oil

Vegetables (chopped) - 3 cups
[Any of these - Onion, Spinach, Cabbage, Taro leaves, Cassia Tora leaves]

Contraption - Idli Steamer and Idli Stand or Idli moulds

Method:
Wash vegetables, chop them and keep aside. Wash rice in multiple rounds of water till clear and soak for 2-4 hours. Drain rice and keep aside. Heat few spoons of oil and roast the red chillies for couple of minutes. Allow to cool. Grind to a coarse paste with rice and red chillies. Add salt and Asafoetida. The paste should be very coarse so rice should break into 2-4 pieces for better flavoured Mudde. Add less or no water and make a coarse paste. Mix in the chopped vegetables in the paste. Pour scoops of this paste on each of the Idli stands indentation and steam cook for 20-25 minutes. Serve hot with a garnish of coconut oil. Serve as a side dish along with Paej/ Kanji/ Soupy Brown Rice.

Spinach Cheese Delight

In US, Spinach n' Cheese dip is a popular one which can be matched with Chips of choice. You will find them listed on most dining menus. This recipe is inspired by the delecious combination of gooey Cheese and the humble Spinach. Recently, I made these warm Spinach Cheese Delight adapted from the original recipe available on Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry website. This along with half of Maggi Soup Cube added the right blend of spice and flavour. This was a good discovery for me. I skipped egg wash as suggested. Warm cup of Tea and a snack sets the tone for a perfect comforting evening.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Baking/ Cooking time: 40-45 minutes

Recipe Source: Pepperidge Farm

Ingredients:

Puff Pastry Sheet (Pepperidge Farm) - 1

Spinach (chopped) - 3 cups packed

Processed Cheese (chopped into bits) - 1/3 cup

Onion (chopped) - 1/2 cup

Maggi Soup Cube - 1/2 of the cube

Garlic powder - 1 teaspoon

Red Chilli flakes - as per taste

Salt

Oil

Method:

Thaw the Puff Pastry at room temperature for 30 minutes or till the sheet is easy to handle. Dust the work surface lightly with flour, run a rolling pin lightly on the Pastry sheet to stretch it evenly. Clean with a wet kitchen towel.

Pre-heat Oven at 400 F.

Heat little oil in a pan, saute Onions till they are translucent, add chopped spinach now and cook till they wilt and reduce in size, add garlic powder and red chilli flakes. Add in the chopped cheese and soup cube. Adjust salt with discretion as soup cube has sufficient amount of sodium. Allow to cool. The stuffing will form a collective consistency. Pour this stuffing on the sheet and roll the edge facing towards you to form a log. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes at 400 F. Flip them over and bake again at 400 F. Bake further more for 10 minutes. The pastry will be crisp, flaky and adopt a golden brown texture. Transfer to a cooling rack. Eat while they are warm.

Spinach In Spiced Lentils (Palak Tadka Daal)

Palak Tadka Daal - I relish the taste and sublime combination of any Vegetable with Lentils. I had earlier written about Lauki Daal, one of my desired combination of cooking lentils, mashed with the goodness of Bottle Gourd; also dished out a tangy version of Mango Daal, inspired by a meal partaken at a friends place years ago for a summer lunch.

I made this version of Palak Tadka Daal years ago during my trial-and-error cooking session for a group of friends who wanted to enjoy a home cooked meal. This recipe is a comfort meal for me. I have added a fine twist of Cinnamon-Clove powder to spice up the subtle flavour of Lentil-Palak.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes (including the pressure cook time)

Ingredients:

Toor Daal - 1/2 cup

Spinach (chopped) - 2 cup

For Tadka -

Garlic (minced) - 1-2 Jumbo pods

Onion (minced) - 1/2 cup

Tomatoes (minced) - 1/2 cup

Cumin seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Turmeric powder - 1/3 teaspoon

Cloves (2) + Cinnamon stick (1" piece) powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Red Chilli powder - 1/3 teaspoon

Coriander powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Red Chilli (Byadgi) - 1 (split into two)

Oil/ Ghee

Salt

Water

Method:

Wash the Toor Dal and pressure cook for 3-4 whistles. Allow to cool and keep aside. In a separate pan, heat few spoons of oil/ghee, add Cumin seeds and Red Chilli. Once they begin to crackle, add onions and tomatoes and saute well. Add the spice powders and mix gently. Add the spinach at this stage and saute till the leaves wilt. Bring the Daal to boil , adjust salt and the consistency with desired amount of water, pour this seasoning on the Daal. Mix well and cover with a lid. Serve hot as a complimentary dish to Rice with a spoon of ghee to open up the aroma.

Green Spinach Soup

Soups have this uncanny way of making me happy any time of the day. Quite early on I picked Anglo-Indian eating habits from my close buddy. Mom began making Vegetable soup for me of different kinds growing up. She was for once releived because I refused to eat vegetables otherwise.

I used fresh green spinach which I had got from local grocery shop. It turned out quite well. I had learnt this recipe from Aunty S from India. She used to prepare this soup for brunch and lovingly invite me to have some alongwith warm bread. I miss Aunty S a lot and I am sure she is happy to see this soup simmering in a lot in my kitchen.

Serves: 2-3 individuals
Recipe source: Aunty S

Ingredients:
Green Spinach - 3 cups, finely chopped
Red Onions - 1/2 cup, finely chopped
Maggi Soup seasoning - 1 cube
Salt - as per taste
Herbs for seasoning
Oil - for frying

Method:
Heat oil in a sauce pan and fry onions till they turn transluscent. Add green spinach which is chopped and saute for a while. Cook them down in 1 cup of water, cover with a lid. Cook till done. You will notice that it loses its original color and turns blackish green. Add extra water for boiling now and add seasoning cube of choice and leave aside on low flame on cover.

Check after 10 minutes and give a gentle stir. Serve hot with bread greased with olive oil.