Oatmeal Jam Filled Cookies

I adore Jam filled Cookies. They are reminiscent of Jim-Jam Tea Biscuits Ma would get for us from a nearby city bakery. Since they were not easily available, we would eagerly await for Ma to travel for her social visits and engagements. The biscuits were oval shaped much like cream biscuit with two biscuits sandwiched together with a jam filled exposed center sprinkled with crystal sugar. These biscuits along with Vegetable Curry Puffs were my all time favorites as a tiny tot.

Merry Christmas All!

The good things about this recipe is it makes use of Oats, Honey and Maple Syrup instead of Sugar, which was a great discovery in terms of flavor. They also double up as munch food and health food while at work, school or play. The cookie batter is easy to put and quick to bake. I really wish I could send these goodies to my family in India.

~ Oatmeal Jam Filled Cookies ~
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 10-12 minutes
Yield: 24-30 Cookies

Ingredients:
Oats (uncooked old fashioned whole grain) - 2 and 1/2 cup
Wheat Flour - 1 and 1/2 cup
Honey - 3/4 cup
Maple Syrup - 1/4 cup
Unsalted Butter - 3/4 cup
Egg - 1
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
Cinnamon powder - 1 tsp
Ginger powder - 1/2 tsp
Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp
Walnut (toasted and chopped) - 1/4 cup
Almond (toasted and chopped) - 1/4 cup
Turkish Apricot (chopped) - 1/4 cup
Prune (chopped) - 1/4 cup
Strawberry Jam - 1/4 cup

Contraption:
Sheet Pan - 1
Ice-cream scoop (medium) - 1

Method:
1. Cookie Batter - Lightly toast the nuts and allow to cool. Combine the dry items - wheat flour, cinnamon powder, baking soda and ginger powder. Keep it aside. In a mixing bowl, whisk honey, butter and vanilla extract. Add egg, one by one, if making a bigger batch. Add the dry ingredients now, slowly and blend with whisker. Fold in the oats, nuts and dry fruits. The batter is now ready.
2. Baking - Line two sheet pans with aluminum foil and lightly grease them with butter stick. Pre-heat the oven to 350 F. Pour a tablespoon of cookie mixture, use an ice-cream scoop for accurate measurement. Lightly pat the mixture to flatten them. Take care to space the cookies as they expand further upon baking. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
While they are still warm, take a measuring spoon with round bottom and gently apply light pressure in the center of the cookie to create an indentation. Fill 1/4 tsp of Strawberry Jam. After 20 minutes, transfer to a cooling rack and leave aside for an hour till cool completely. Store in a cookie jar or an air tight food container.

Note - Do not disturb the cookies while they are warm.

Root Vegetable Soup

Cold, chilly winters are ahead. It gets dark by 4:30 evening and suddenly you feel like the day's finished early. The good thing is we wind up dinners early, most of the cooking is left to the oven and the sheet pans, bakeware have been put to good use. The kitchen is substantially warmer owing to the heat generated by the oven. I spend less time in the kitchen and get to catch up on a book soon due at the library or watch a favorite TV program of my choice.

I love a Soup and Bread dinner. The bread makes up for the carbohydrate intake and the soup provides simple nutrition without adding lot of calories. This soup is very mild and holds good for diverse palates. Few years ago, when I was working in Bangalore, my parents were out of town and I fell sick. It took me a week to recover from flu and cold. My dear friend, Deltu took care of me for couple of days and made this soup inspired by Root Vegetables available in the season. It had a light seasoning of ground cloves and cinnamon richly smothered and cooked in the vegetables mashed to perfection. This soup is a comfort blanket for cold, winter days. Its very easy to prepare and pairs well with grilled bread.

~ Root Vegetable Soup ~
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Servings: 4-6

Ingredients:
Potatoes (peeled and diced) - 2 cups
Carrots (peeled and diced) - 1 cup
Beetroot (peeled and diced) - 1 cup
Parsnip (peeled and diced) - 1/2 cup
Turnip (peeled and diced) - 1/2 cup
Red Onion (chopped) - 1/2 cup
Bay Leaf - 1
Black Pepper (coarsely ground) - 1/2 tsp
Olive oil
Salt

For Garnish - chopped Coriander leaves

Contraption - 1 Soup Croc

Method:
Rinse all the vegetables to get rid of grime and dirt. Peel off the skin and dice and pressure cook for 4-5 whistles. Allow to cool and mash in the cooked broth with a vegetable masher. In a deep bottomed pan, heat few spoons of olive oil, season with a bay leaf, saute chopped onion till they are lightly browned. Add the mashed vegetables now and adjust water, salt and pepper as per taste. Bring to a rolling boil and simmer on low flame with the lid on for 5-8 minutes. Once done, blend with an immersion blender until pasty and smooth textured. Serve hot in a Soup Croc with grilled bread slices on the side. Garnish with chopped Coriander leaves. A Ciabatta or Portuguese roll blends well with this rich soup.

Couscous with Mushroom & Green Squash

Truth be told, I dislike shopping however enjoy shopping for selective items - cooking supplies , pantry items and the works. My recent love has been shopping at Whole Foods. Whole Foods is a joint spread across US selling organic ingredients which are of highest quality and locally grown. Many years back, if anyone said they prefer organic foods to regular ones, I would guffaw and smirk for the obvious reasons. However after coming to US and tasting organic supplies, one can easily reason out and judge based on the taste and quality. Their spread of pantry items, grains, lentils, spices, herbs are of the finest quality and for a foodie - sheer joy to shop around!

Pearly white Couscous grains

Recently, a visit to the library warranted a hop-skip-jump visit to Whole Foods. I have visited their stores many a times before, but had to shop and whiz out like a breeze. This time around I had a lot of time on hand and could not contain my excitement when I found the precise grain, herb or the lentil I was looking for in the longest time. Best part is you can shop by weight for grains, dry fruits and lentils, select your items from the respective food bin, this also saves me from the trouble of buying large bags of grocery supplies when all I need is a pound or a quarter of a particular grain or lentil. Of the two kinds of Couscous they sold - French and Mediterranean, I chose the latter because my husband is fond of Pasta and Middle Eastern dishes specifically. I am not a big fan of pasta, although the tiny bits of Couscous were hard to pass. I cooked them with stock and Mushroom and Green Squash which has a delicate tender flavor and added an Indian twist of spices. The meal was filling and needless to say, I would be trying Couscous more often now.

Couscous is a wonder grain and has double the amount of vitamins and has a lower fat content in comparison to rice. The look and feel of the grain is like Sago (Sabudana). Since it is a delicate grain, over seasoning is not recommended. Light seasoning and fresh vegetables, the grain comes to life. I am not sure if these are available in India, however I think they should be available in specialty grocery stores in India.

~ Couscous with Mushroom & Green Squash ~
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
Couscous (Mediterranean) - 1 cup
Green Squash (diced) - 1/2 cup
Button Mushrooms (sliced) - 1/2 cup
Onion (chopped) - 1/2 cup
Crushed Black Pepper - 1/2 tsp
Vegetable or Chicken stock - 1 can approx. 2 cups (1: 2 - double the quantity of grain)
Salt
Olive Oil

Method:

Rinse the grains multiple times in water till clear. In a deep bottomed pan, heat a few spoons of Olive oil, saute onions till they turn translucent. Add the chopped vegetables and season with salt and crushed pepper. Separately, bring the stock to a rolling boil. Once the vegetables are par cooked, add the grains and saute to coat the vegetables and seasoning on the grain evenly. Add the boiling stock now and cover with a lid & lower the flame. The stock should be the double the amount of grain. Once cooked through open the lid and gently fork the grain. If not cooked through, add more stock and keep stirring till they are cooked and the texture is pillow soft. Serve as a main course with a side of meat or vegetable dish.

Note - Do not cook the grain with water, the flavor of couscous is enhanced with the stock one adds. Do not wash the grains a lot as the starch buildup facilitates the cooking process. Too much washing eliminates the starch thereby hindering the cooking process.

Malabar Spinach Curry with Coconut & Papaya (Vaali Papayi Ambat)

If there is one curry I can eat for breakfast, dinner and lunch, its got to be Vaali Ambat. Incidentally, my husband also loves this Ambat. Vaali is the Konkani term for Malabar Spinach also known as Basale Soppu (Kannada), Pui Shaak (Bengali). Adding unripe Papaya adds a different dimension to the dish taking the flavour a notch higher.

Vaali Papayi Ambat

Growing up, Ma made cooked Vaali with Raw Papaya also known as Papashphala in Konkani. Interestingly, we make use of the leaves (paan) and the tender stems (dentu). Ambat is a Konkani curry which typically is made with Gourds, Vegetables and Lentils and has a seasoning of fried onions which offers a unique taste to the dish. The days when she made this curry without Raw Papaya, I refused to eat it. So every time when my parents went for shopping, they made sure there was Spinach with Papaya. So much just to make a little girl happy! I also realise today as a woman that only your parents would understand your quirks and pamper you and make every wish of yours their command. Even last time when I visited India, Ma made these and Dad made sure he found the finest Papaya in the market.

An unripe Papaya on the tree

The trick for this recipe is to bung all of it on in a large pressure cooker and let the cooker to do the job for you. Place all the vegetables and lentils in the order of boiling point which means the one which takes longer to cook goes in first. So throw the lentils, Vaali (Dentu), Papaya (peeled and chopped), Vaali (leaves chopped) and last but not the least onions (chopped). I like this curry a lot and enjoy a bowl of this curry with great elan!

~ Vaali Papayi Ambat ~
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
Malabar Spinach (Vaali) [Leaves and stem] - 6 cups
Raw Unripe Papaya (peeled and chopped) - 2 cups
Toor Dal (washed, rinsed and soaked) - 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt
Ghee/Oil

For Masala -
Grated coconut (fresh or frozen) - 1 cup
Red Chillies (Byadgi) - 5-7
Tamarind (pulp) - 1/ tsp

For Seasoning -
Onion (chopped) - 1/2 cup + 1/2 cup

Method:
Peel and dice Papaya into bite sized cubes. Wash, clean the leaves and stem of Spinach. Drain off the water and chop the leaves and tender stems. Roast red chillies with a teaspoon of oil on low flame for couple of minutes. Once cool, grind to a fine paste with grated coconut and tamarind pulp. In a pressure cooker, add the washed lentils, Spinach stem, Papaya, Spinach leaves and Onions (1/2 cup). Cook upto 4 whistles and allow to cool. Bring the boiled lentils and vegetables to a boil, add the ground masala and adjust water, salt as per taste. Add Turmeric powder and once the curry is cooked, turn off flame. In a separate pan, heat a few spoons of oil, fry the chopped onions till they turn reddish brown. Pour this seasoning on the curry and mix well. Cover with a lid and serve warm with cooked white rice.

Coriander Leaves Saar (Kothmiri Saaru)

Saar/Saaru, a soupy vegetable broth supplemented with spices and condiments is my all time favorite. I think its genes, because my Ma also loves the combination. She makes this Saaru often when we wish for lighter, simple satisfying meals. I had a huge stash of Coriander leaves which needed attention, so simply made Kothmiri Saaru for a hearty meal. Kothmiri is Coriander leaves, I use Coriander leaves and stems for making this delicious broth, you could omit the coconut if you wish to, however the Saaru broth becomes rich upon adding coconut. One could also use coconut milk instead of using grated coconut.

~ Kothmiri Saaru ~
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10-15 minutes

Ingredients:
Coriander leaves and stem - 3/4 cup
Grated coconut (fresh or frozen) - 1/2 cup
Green Chillies - 2
Salt
Oil

For Seasoning -
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Red Chilli (split into two) [optional] - 1

Method:
Grind grated coconut, coriander leaves and stems and green chillies to a smooth paste. Sear the green chilli in little oil before grinding if you want less spicy flavor. Bring this to a boil, add 1/2 cup of hot water and adjust the consistency desired. Add salt and bring to a rolling boil. Simmer on low flame till the broth gets completely cooked and turn off the flame. In a separate frying pan, heat few spoon of oil, season with mustard seeds and curry leaves. Pour this seasoning on the cooked broth and cover with a lid. Mix while serving with cooked white rice and vegetable side dish of choice.

Indian Ber & Lemon Pickle (Tarne Bor Limbe Nonche)

The combination of Ber and Lemon is unorthodox but I combined both to mesh the textures of two different kind of fruits which hold well for any kind of pickling process. Ber (tender) has a Granny Smith Apple texture minus the sweetness and Lemon has a citrus aroma with a crunch hard to miss. The Lemon peel pickled well in the liquor. I used a process called Maceration where the fruit is soaked in liquor of choice for few days before finishing the dish. The tissue of the fruit gets broken down by the acidic agent and hence well absorbs the flavour. The flavour was similar to my Ma's Bilimbi Pickle.

Ber enabled me to reminisce childhood memories once again. My high school was perched at the foot of a tall, steep hill which had Hanuman temple atop. The school compound stretch was dotted with Ber (Bor) trees which were laden with beautiful round leaves and tons of thorns. During the season, which began during winter, the ripe fruits would ooze sweet scent and all kids would throng to pluck those within reach. We also had fruit vendors who would sell Ber in a paper cone. They were marble ball sized, juicy to the core, sweet and tangy. Ma often dissuaded us from eating the Ber that grew in our school campus and began buying them from local market since we liked it lot. The ripe ones need close examination as they are often infested with worms. I once encountered one with worms and that was the end of my Ber eating saga. As I grew up, I spotted larger version of Ber which were from hybrid versions but not as tasty as the ones I had when I was a kid.

The shelf like of this pickle is 2 weeks maximum, so making a small batch seems best.

~ Ber Lemon Pickle ~
Preparation time: 5 days (including the maceration time)
Processing time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
Indian Ber [tender] (chopped into tiny cubes) - 5
Lemon Peel (chopped into tiny cubes) - 2

For Maceration -
Lemon juice - juice of 2 Lemon's
Red Chilli powder (hot variety) - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt
Asafoetida - Just a pinch

For Seasoning -
Vegetable oil - 2 tbsp approx.
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Method:
Wash and air dry the vegetables to dry off any moisture. Extract the juice of Lemon's and chop the peel and Ber into tiny cubes discarding the core (seed). Macerate with lime juice, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt. Store in a cool dry place and stir once every day for a week. End of the week, heat oil in a deep frying pan and once the oil is hot enough, season with mustard seeds. Once the seeds begin to pop, turn off the flame and allow to cool completely. Pour the seasoning on the macerated fruits and mix well.

Note - Do not pour the seasoning immediately on the macerated fruits as they could begin cooking owing to the heat of the oil. Store in refrigerator if dwelling in hot terrains.

Jujube (Indian Ber/ Indian Plum)

I am back after a brief hiatus. A long ghastly spell of flu and throat infection kept me away from the blog. The weather went crazy with October snow and sudden drop in temperature. I am still on the road to recovery albeit much better now. We had a quiet sombre Diwali celebration owing to the death of a close relative. I made couple of sweets for Diwali which I will post soon.

Recently, I found Tender Indian Ber (Tarne Bor) at Indian store. At first I was led to believe that they were Hog Plums (Ambado) but then on close examination, they were the tender version of Indian Ber (Bor). They are known and available as Ber in India; the popular names are Jujube/ Ber/ Indian Plum.

Jujube/ Indian Plum/ Ber is a fruit which hits the market during winter time or early summer depending on the crop and yield. The ripe fruit and unripe fruit are both relished by kids and adults alike. The unripe fruit is pickled in salt water or sold as candies in the market in some regions in India. The ripe fruit is also preserved and used as a acidic/ souring agent for culinary use, but mostly relished and eaten on its own in India.

The medicinal value of the fruit is unprecedented and not known by many. The ripe fruit is of great medicinal value and supports blood pressure lowering, aids stomach and diarrhoea infection, cures sore throat and regulates excess bile secretion. The unripe fruit on the other hand causes throat pain and sore throat if eaten in excess. The fruit is applied on cuts and wounds and the leaves are also loaded with medicinal properties and deemed edible in some cultures and geographies.