Thai Green mango salad

Generally we don't have lot of recipes for green mango. This salad is mixture of different flavors. Green mango lovers will eat it in any form but will love this salad. It tastes very good. I found this recipe from here. I made slight variations in the original recipe. The wild mango originated in the foothills of the Himalayas of India and Burma. Mangoes contain enzyme similar to papain in papayas, a soothing digestive aid. It has lot of enzymes which helps to stimulating metabolism and cleansing the intestinal tract. This is low in protein and high in fiber. If you would like to know more about mango click here.This is my entry for IAVW-Thai event hosted by Priya and Vaishali.

Ingredients:

Green Mango - 1 cup, grated
Spring onion - 1/2cup, chopped
Bean sprouts - 1 cup
Cilantro - 4 tbsp, chopped
Grated coconut- 4 tbsp, dry fried
Pea nuts/Cashew nuts - 4 tbsp/per taste

For Dressing:

Soy sauce - 2 tbsp
Fresh lemon juice - 1 tbsp
Brown sugar - 2 tbsp *
Chili flakes - 1/2 tbsp *

Directions:

In a large bowl place the grated green mango and add all the ingredients except 2 tbsp of coconut powder and 2 tbsp of the nut of your choice. Toss well and garnish with remaining coconut powder and the nuts. If you like the crunchy nuts in the salad, add them before serving.

Guacamole

Ingredients

Avocado -2 ripe, seeded and peeled
Onion - 1/4 cup, chopped
Cilantro - 2 Tbsp, chopped
Tomato - 1/4 cup, seeded and chopped
Lemon / lime juice - 1 tbsp
Garlic cloves - 1, chopped
Cayenne or Serrano chilies/- 1, minced
Kosher salt *

Directions:

Guacamole is one of the most easiest and healthiest dips. Just in a medium bowl mash the avocado with 1 tsp of lemon juice (do not make it like a paste). Add all the remaining ingredients and mix well. Let at sit for an hour in room temperature and its ready to serve.

Chickpea and Greenpea soup

The name “chickpea” is derived from the Latin cicer. The botanical name of the chickpea plant is Cicer Arietinum. Garbanzo, the name more commonly used in Spanish-speaking countries, is thought to come from the Greek chickpeas are good source of folate and protein. It is high in dietary fiber and low in fat. Chickpeas are rich in magnesium, iron and phosphorous.

The chickpea was cultivated on the lands bordering Mesopotamia and the eastern Mediterranean. From there it spread to India and some parts of East Asia. In 2008 India is the most chickpea cultivating country. If you like to know more about chickpea click here.

This is my entry to My Legume Love Affair monthly event hosted by Glamah and Susan.

Ingredients:

Chickpea - 1 cup cooked
Green pea - 1/2 cup, cooked
Garlic cloves - 2, crushed
Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Milk - 1 cup
Rice flour - 1 tbsp (make a paste using water or milk)
Parmesan cheese - 2 tbsp
Green chili - 2 ,crushed
Salt *
Oil - 1 tsp
Cilantro or basil for garnish

Directions:

Pressure cook the chickpeas and green peas with 1/4 tsp of salt. Heat oil in a skillet; add cumin seeds and garlic and sauté till the garlic turns golden brown. Add the green chilies and coriander powder, stir for few seconds then add the cooked chickpeas, green peas, milk and flour paste. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes and add the Parmesan cheese, check the salt. Cook until for the soup to get the desired consistency. Stir in between to prevent burning, garnish with cilantro or basil. We are ready to serve.

Beet Root Gravy / Kulambu

In all fairness I like the sweet root vegetables (Carrot, Beet root) but I don't like to use in kulambu or chutney, at least have not found out a way until now. But I tried to make a spicy kulambu using beet root with a slight variation of Thakaalai (Tomato) kulambu. Some goodness of beetroot is that it contains very less fat, low in calories and is a great source of fiber, vitamin c, magnesium and iron. Beet root contains the natural red (disliked by most) coloring agent BETAINE. It is used for cancer treatments. Let's hit the recipe.

Ingredients:

For seasoning :
Mustard seeds - 1/8 tsp
Fennel seeds - 1/4 tsp
Cilantro or mint

For Paste:

Beet root - 1 cup, peeled and cubed
Split Bengal Gram - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Coriander seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Cinnamon stick - 1/4'
Cloves - 2
Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp
Grated coconut - 2 Tbsp
Oil - 2 tsp
Red chili - 2 *
Tamarind Paste - 1 tsp
Salt *

Directions:

Cook the beets on stove top until it becomes soft. Heat a tsp of oil and roast all the ingredients except beets. Let it cool and blend all the ingredients along with the beets, add water to get the desired consistency. In a small pan heat the remaining oil and add mustard and fennel seeds. When starts to sizzle add the paste and let it boil for a minute. Serve with idly, dosa or with rice.

Tip : To cook the beets, microwave for 2 minutes without adding water

Kale Poriyal

Ingredients:

Kale - 1 bunch, chopped
Moong dal - 1 cup, sprout/soaked over night
Onion - 1/4 cup, chopped
Green chili - 2 *
Grated coconut - 2 Tbsp
Oil -1 Tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/8 tsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Split Bengal gram - 1/2 tsp
Salt *
Lemon - 1/2 tsp

Directions:

Cook the kale on stove top on medium heat covered with lid. Cook till the kale become soft. Stir it
every few minutes, so that to prevent from it burning and for evenness. In the mean time cook the moong dal in stove top or microwave. Once the kale is done transfer it to a bowl.

In the same pan add the remaining oil, once the oil is hot enough add the mustard seeds, Urad dal, split Bengal gram. Add the onion and green chili when the dals turn light golden brown. Sauté until the onions become translucent, add the grated coconut and moong dal and sauté till the coconut turns light golden brown.To this add the kale and stir well for 2 minutes. Switch off the stove and optionally add the lemon juice and mix well.

Pan fried Bitter Gourd and Moong Dal

I like the deep fried bitter gourd, but in an attempt to try and avoid oil, I pan fried the bitter gourd this time. Generally most vegetables do not go well with bitter gourd, so I tried moong dal with it, which tasted real good. MH tried with his eyes closed and could not realize what it was. So those who are scared of bitter taste can try this one.

Ingredients:

Bitter gourd (. 2 cm thick) - 1 cup,Sliced
Moong dal sprout / soaked - 1/2 cup
Oil - 2 tbsp
Chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Tamarind pulp (concentrated) - 1/4 tsp (Extract - 2 tbsp)
Salt *

Directions:

Add 1/2 tsp of salt to the sliced and washed bitter gourd. Mix well and let it soak for 30 min (wash twice after the soaking). In the meantime heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan. Once the oil is hot add the moong dal, pinch of salt and pan-fry until (becomes soft) cooked and transfer it to a bowl. Then heat the remaining oil in the pan and add the twice washed bitter gourd, pan-fry till the sides turn golden brown (by turning it upside down in between), add cooked moong dal and all other remaining ingredients, check salt. Meanwhile, mix the tamarind pulp into two tbsp of water set aside. At the end add it to the bitter gourd and pan-fry till all the tamarind water is dried.

Mangai Pachadi / Green Mango Instant Pickle

Most of us like to eat the raw green mango with chili powder and salt. My mom used to make mango pickle at home. She would make them when I’m not at home because I would eat like food even before done. Mangai pachadi is easy to make except shredding part. We can eat alone or with rice or as an instant pickle. This is one of the easiest dishes to make, so let’s start it.

Ingredients:

Green mango - 1 cup,shredded
Oil - 1 Tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/8 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Split Bengal gram - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 10
Cilantro
Chili powder - 1/2 tsp *
Turmeric powder - 1/10 tsp
Salt *

Directions:

After shredding, squeeze the excess water from the mango as much as you can and pat dry with kitchen towel for 15 min to remove the excess water. In the meantime heat the oil in a small pan. Then add the mustard seeds and once the mustard seeds start to splatter switch off the stove and then add all the ingredients except turmeric powder, chili powder and salt. Transfer the mango into a bowl. After the Urad and Bengal gram turns golden brown then add the chili powder, turmeric powder and salt. Pour this to the bowl and mix well.

Paavakka Puli Kulambu(Bitter Gourd Tamarind Curry)

I love bitter gourd and sundaikai (turkey berry) kulambu. This is my mom’s recipe. This is one of my favorite recipes. Bitter gourd has excellent medicinal values. It is very low in calorie and more in nutrients. It is specifically used for diabetes to lower the blood sugar level. Bitter gourd leaves juice used for piles treatment. Good source of calcium, magnesium, iron and potassium. Hence I make sure I use this great vegetable at least twice in a month.

Other names: Karela (Hindi), kaakarakaaya (Telugu)



Ingredients:

Bitter gourd sliced – 2 medium
Coconut oil/Butter – 1 Tbsp
Turmeric powder – 1/8 tsp
Tamarind pulp (concentrated) – ½ tbsp
Sugar – 1½ tsp
Salt *

For Paste:

Rice – 1 ½ Tbsp
Coriander seeds – 2 tbsp
Black Pepper corns- ½ tsp
Dried Red chili – 2 *
Garlic – 4
Curry leaves – 2 strings
Grated Coconut fresh/frozen – 4 Tbsp

Directions:

Heat the coconut oil/butter in heavy bottom pan. Pan fry the sliced bitter gourd by flipping the sides until both sides turn golden brown. Mean while make the tamarind water by adding 1 ½ cup water into the tamarind pulp. Once the bitter gourd is done add the tamarind water, salt, turmeric powder and sugar. Cover the pan and let it cook until the bitter gourd is 90% cooked (not mushy but soft enough so that you can cut the slice with your finger). Mean while roast ingredients (mentioned as “for paste”) and blend it to make a fine paste with water as less as possible so not making it into a syrup.

Once the bitter gourd is cooked completely add the paste and let it cook for 2 min in high heat. If the kulambu is too thick add some water and let it boil for a minute. It can be served with rice or idly.

Cashew nut and Yu Choy stalk Moor Kulambu

This recipe is small variation of normal moor kulambu. I just added cashew nuts instead of rice/rice flour / toor and split Bengal gram/ split roasted gram (pottu kadalai/Daliya). Cashew nut gives you rich and a bit creamy texture to moor kulambu.
Traditionally soaked toor dal and split Bengal grams are used to make moor kulambu. For instant recipe we can use rice flour or split roasted gram. We can use okra, winter squash, and ash gourd, Ivy gourd (Kovakaai).
Let start the recipe….

Ingredients:

Cooked Yu Choy stalk (1.5”) – 2 cups (Cook with a pinch of salt on stove top till tender)
Mustard seeds – ¼ tsp
Oil – 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds – 1/8 tsp
Curry leaves – 6
Yogurt - 4 tbsp
Coriander leaves for garnish
Turmeric powder – 1/10 tsp
Salt *

For Paste:

Cashew nuts - 5
Grated Coconut – 3 tbsp
Cumin seeds – ½ tsp
Coriander seeds – 1/8 tsp
Ginger – ¼ tsp
Green chili – 2 *

Directions:

Soak the cashew nuts for 15 to 30 min in hot water. Mix turmeric and yogurt and set aside. Blend the above ingredients mentioned “for paste” into a fine paste. Temper mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves then add the Yu Choy stalks and sauté for a min then add the ground paste, let it cook for 4 min in a medium heat, check the salt. Turn the stove, add the yogurt/butter milk and mix well. Let it be there on stove for a minute then transfer it in to a bowl.

Tip: If you have left over coconut chutney you can make instant moor kulambu with it. Just add a ½ tsp of cumin powder ginger paste. Make the paste and follow the above direction.

Yu Choy and Potato Stir fry

Ingredients:

Yu Choy leaves (chopped) -1 bunch (Cut the stalks and set them aside for another recipe)
Potato - medium size 1,Sliced
Oil – 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds – ¼ tsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Split Bengal gram - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds-1/2tsp
Garlic minced-1 tbsp
Red chili powder-1/2 tsp *
Salt *

Directions:

Heat the oil in a medium pan. Once the oil is hot, add mustard seed, let the mustard seeds splutter and add Urad dal, split Bengal gram and the minced garlic. Add the sliced potatoes, salt, chili powder after Urad dal and Bengal gram turns golden brown. Cover the pan and let it cook for 5 min in medium heat, by stirring the potatoes a couple of times in between.

In the meantime heat 1 tsp of oil in another medium pan then add chopped Yu Choy leaves, salt and cook till it becomes tender without adding water to it. Cook it in medium heat else the water in the greens will dry out soon. When it becomes soft (cooked enough) remove from the stove top and squeeze the water and add (you can leave the water but the curry will be a little mushy) it to the potatoes after checking the potatoes are cooked if not let the potatoes cook for couple of minutes, mix them well and let it be on stove for few more minutes.

Beet Green Poriyal

Ingredients:

Beet leaves-25 count,Chopped
Oil-1 tbsp
Mustard seeds-¼ tsp
Onion chopped-¼ cup
Green chili-2 *
Curry leaves-12 (Optional)
Cilantro-2 tbsp,Chopped
Salt *
Grated Coconut - 2 Tbsp
(Fresh or Dried)

Direction:

Heat oil in a medium pan. Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds and urad dal. After the mustard seeds splutter add chopped onion and green chili. Once the onions starts soften add the shredded coconut and sauté for a min. Then add beet greens, salt and cook till it becomes tender. Cook it in medium heat else the water in the greens will dry out soon. When beet green is fully cooked (soft enough) remove from the stove top and add cilantro. Serve with rice.

Glossary of terms

I have always wondered to put the glossary of the terms and symbols used. As a first step, the asterisks have been explained below. Happy eating!!!!

Glossary of terms I used

* - per your taste (every ones taste bud likes different level of taste, so be the boss of your taste buds).
tsp - Teaspoon
Tbsp - Tablespoon
cnt - Count

Cooking Measurements

1 tablespoon (Tbsp) - 3 teaspoons (tsp)
1/2 cup - 8 tablespoons
1 cup - 16 tablespoons
1 pint (pt) - 2 cups
1 quart (qt) - 2 pints
4 cups -1 quart
1 gallon (gal) - 4 quarts
16 ounces (oz) -1 pound (lb)

1 gram - .035 ounce
100 grams - 3.5 ounces
1 milliliter - 1/5 teaspoon
500 grams - 1.10 pounds
2.205 pounds - 35 ounces

5 ml - 1 teaspoon
15 ml - 1 tablespoon
100 ml - 3.4 fluid oz - 1 kilogram
240 ml - 1 cup
1 liter - 34 fluid oz - 4.2 cups

Beet Stalk Curry

This is my first recipe in my blog. I was trying to do this for long time but I did not get to it and hope everyone one finds it good and more importantly useful. At last, finally I decided to start day before yesterday so I took few pictures of the dishes I made that day to post it here. I made two curries on that day, one with beet-green and the other by using the beet-stem. Compared to India here (in the US) we get fewer Indian greens here, so I am used to try different recipes with the greens. Not that anyone else has ever tried a curry with beet stems, but I thought not many people do it. Moreover the beet stems look so thick so I did not want to put it with greens and I decided to make another dish with it and it tasted good too. We both (me and my hubby) liked it very much. Let’s start!!

Ingredients:

Beet stem-25 count
Oil-1 tbsp
Mustard seeds- ¼ tsp
Salt *
Grated Coconut (Fresh/Dry)- 2 Tbs
Cumin powder-1 tsp
Chili powder-½ tsp *
Lemon Juice-¼ tsp

Directions:

Cook the beet stems on stove top (add little water) until it becomes tender or microwave the beet stems for 4 min (no need to add water). Heat oil in a medium pan. Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds and urad dal. After the mustard seeds splutter, add shredded coconut and sauté for a min.
Then add the cooked beet stems, salt, cumin power and chili powder. Mix well and let it cook for few min. Turn off the stove and add lemon juice and mix thoroughly. Keep the pan on stove top for few min. (Don't switch on the stove). Serve with rice.