Zucchini and Mushroom in Coconut Milk

January 10, 2012 — Chelvi S

 

Ingredients:

  • 1 medium zucchini
  • 6 oz sliced white mushroom
  • ½ cup red onion sliced
  • 1 green chili slit lengthwise
  • 2 teaspoons canola oil
  • 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
  • ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
  • ½  teaspoon red chili powder
  • ¼ cup coconut milk

Method:

  • Slit zucchini lengthwise and cut diagonally into thin slices and set aside
  • Dry roast coriander and cumin seeds lightly and let cool.  Once cool grind to a fine powder
  • Add oil to a covered saucepan and sauté onion lightly golden
  • Add green chili and sauté for one more minute
  • Add ground coriander-cumin and chili powder to the saucepan and mix well.  Make sure the flame is set to very low.  Otherwise it will start smoking
  • Add zucchini, mushroom, and coconut milk and cook on medium flame for about 6-7 minutes.
  • If the curry starts drying out, sprinkle a little water – about 1 – 2 tablespoons.
  • Serve warm with rice or Rotis

Yields: 2-3 servings as a side dish.

Posted in Curries, Dry Curries (Fry), Side Dishes, Side Dishes. Leave a Comment »

Bruschetta

November 10, 2011 — Chelvi S

Bruschetta is a very simple dish to make.   It just starts with slices of baguette as a base and any toppings you wish.  Normally tomatoes are parboiled and peeled before making this dish. But when boiled and peeled, tomatoes have a tendency to become mushy and soggy.  So I thought of using fresh tomatoes with some sundried tomatoes which gives a very strong flavor.  But the options are endless.  You can use any topping as you wish.  See variations below.

Ingredients:

  • 5 slices of French bread/baguette
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 large tomatoes on the vine
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 1 sundried tomatoes in oil
  • 5 – 6 pitted black olives chopped
  • Couple of fresh basil leaves
  • Salt to taste
  • Mozzarella cheese to sprinkle

Method

  • Brush olive oil to baguette and toast until lightly golden and set aside
  • Chop tomatoes into very small pieces, also chop the sun dried tomatoes into small pieces
  • In a bowl mix chopped tomato, minced garlic, sun dried tomato and salt.  Add about 2 or 3 drops of olive oil and mix thoroughly
  • Top each baguette with a spoonful of the tomato mixture and sprinkle with black olives and basil leaves
  • Sprinkle mozzarella cheese and broil at 450F for about a minute or until cheese is melted and start turning golden
  • Serve warm

Variations: Try using different herbs such as parsley.  Instead of just tomatoes try mixing white/navy beans with tomatoes as a topping or another variation can be using portabella mushrooms.  When using portabella mushroom, try sautéing with different spices such as ground coriander, cumin and paprika.

Posted in Quick Dishes, Sandwiches & Wraps, Side Dishes. Tags: , , , , . Leave a Comment »

Sautéed Mushroom on Warm Toast

October 7, 2011 — Chelvi S


Ingredients

  • 4 slices of whole wheat bread
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • ½ lb Portabella mushroom
  • 3-4 cloves garlic
  • Flat leaf parsley
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Method

  • Chop garlic into very small pieces
  • Slice mushroom into thick slices
  • Add olive oil to a skillet and when it’s hot add garlic and sauté for about 30 seconds
  • Add sliced mushroom and sauté until mushroom is quit crisp and all the water released by the mushroom is absorbed/evaporated
  • Season with salt
  • Brush olive oil to the bread slices and toast lightly on an oven toaster
  • Divide cooked mushroom into 4 portions
  • Top each toasted bread with a portion of mushroom
  • Sprinkle with ground black pepper and top with chopped parsley
  • Serve as a side dish with a bowl of soup or as a light meal
  • Serves 2

Variation: Button mushroom can be replaced for portabella mushroom.  Also instead of olive oil, mushroom can be sautéed in butter.  But I prefer olive oil since its quite healthy.

Posted in Quick Dishes, Sandwiches & Wraps, Side Dishes. Leave a Comment »

Bok Choy with Bean Sprouts and Tofu

March 19, 2011 — Chelvi S

Couple of years ago I saw a recipe similar to the one below.  When I searched online, I could not find that recipe.  The following recipe is a modified version of the one I saw online.

Bok Choy also called Chinese cabbage, often used in the Chinese cuisine.

Ingredients

  • 1 bunch Bok Choy (yields about 1lb and 4oz after removing the bottom thick stem)
  • 8 oz extra firm tofu
  • 8 oz bean sprouts
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • Cooking spray
  • 2 teaspoons tahini (sesame seed paste)
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
  • Salt to taste

Method

  • Drain tofu and wrap in a paper towel and leave for about 10 minutes – to remove all the water.
  • Remove the bottom thick portion of the Bok Choy stems and separate the stem from the top leaves

  • Cut the stems diagonally into 1 inch pieces.  Then slit them into 3 or 4 pieces lengthwise.

  • Roughly chop the leaves into about 2 inch pieces.
  • Cube the tofu into about ½ inch pieces
  • Spray a cookie sheet with oil and spread the tofu and bake for about 15 minutes at 400F.
  • Add oil to a skillet and add Bok Choy stems and stir fry for about 5 – 6 minutes.
  • Now add the leaves and bean sprouts and stir fry for another couple of minutes – until the leaves are cooked and bean sprouts are cooked but crunchy
  • Add baked tofu, salt and tahini paste and mix well
  • Toast sesame seed on low flame and grind into a powder
  • Add sesame seed powder to the skillet and mix well.

Note: I used black sesame seed for this recipe.  But white sesame seed is better since it gives out a nice aroma and flavor.  Since I did not have white sesame seed, I tried with the black ones.  But when I made this recipe with white sesame seed, it was quite flavorful.

Posted in Quick Dishes, Side Dishes. 1 Comment »

Brussels Sprout and Carrot Stir Fry

February 19, 2011 — Chelvi S

The ratio between the carrots and brussels sprout can be changed according to your taste/preference.

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups shredded/chopped Brussels Sprout
  • 1 medium carrot shredded
  • 2 – 4 tablespoons water
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1 cup chopped red onion
  • Few curry leaves
  • ¼ teaspoon mustard seed
  • Couple of dried red chilies broken into 2 – 3 pieces

Method

  • Add Brussels sprout to a saucepan and add salt, chili powder, water and cover and cook on medium flame until ¾ done.  If needed sprinkle a little water at time to prevent burning.
  • Now add shredded carrot and cook for another 1 minute
  • Set aside
  • In another skillet add oil and add mustard seeds.
  • One mustard seed start splattering add onion and sauté until golden
  • Add curry leaves and red chili and sauté for another minute
  • Add cooked Brussels sprout carrot mixture to the onion and mix well
  • Serve warm with rice
Posted in Quick Dishes, Side Dishes. 1 Comment »

Broccoli Fry

August 3, 2010 — Chelvi S

Ingredients

  • 8 oz broccoli florets
  • 2 ½ tablespoons water
  • ½ teaspoon Sri Lankan Chili powder
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • ½ cup finely chopped red onion
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds toasted

Method

  • Cut broccoli florets into small pieces
  • In a skillet add broccoli florets, water, chili powder and salt and cover and cook on medium-low flame until all the water is absorbed (broccoli is cooked but crisp)
  • In another skillet add oil and add red onion and fry until golden brown.
  • Add cooked broccoli into fried onion and mix well and fry for  a minute
  • Add toasted sesame seeds and mix well
Posted in Others, Quick Dishes, Side Dishes. Leave a Comment »

Sautéed Escarole

July 24, 2010 — Chelvi S

Ingredients

  • 1 medium bunch escarole (about 8 oz)
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 10 – 12 garlic cloves sliced
  • Crushed red chili pepper
  • Salt to taste

Method

  • Wash escarole and separate them into individual leaves
  • Cut the leaves into 2 pieces separating the bottom thick stems from the top leaves
  • Add canola oil to a skillet and add garlic and fry until garlic turns light golden brown
  • Add escarole bottoms and sauté for about 3 minutes
  • Now add the rest of the leaves, salt and sauté for about 5 minutes or escarole is wilted and cooked
  • Add crushed red chili and sauté  for another 1 minute
  • Serves 2
Posted in Quick Dishes, Side Dishes. Leave a Comment »

kale Fry (Kale Varai)

July 24, 2010 — Chelvi S

This is a very quick and easy side dish.  The only time consuming thing is washing and chopping the kale.  To make this quick, chopped bagged kale can be used.  If using frozen chopped kale, reduce the water to ½ cup.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb kale
  • 1 cup water
  • ¼ teaspoon Sri Lankan chili powder
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tablespoon shredded unsweetened coconut
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 1 cup onion chopped
  • 2 – 3 cloves garlic chopped
  • 3 dried chilies broken into 2 – 3 pieces

Method

  • Wash kale and chop them into very small pieces (looks like shredded)
  • In a covered saucepan add kale, water, chili powder, salt and cook until all the water is absorbed and the kale looks dry
  • Add coconut and mix well and cook for another 1 – 2 minutes
  • In a skillet add oil and add onion and garlic and fry until onion is golden brown
  • Add broken red chilies and fry for another minute
  • Transfer this fried mixture into cooked kale and mix well
Posted in Dry Curries (Fry), Side Dishes. 1 Comment »

Brussels Sprout Fry

May 13, 2010 — Chelvi S

Ingredients

  • 8 oz Brussels sprout
  • ¼ cup water
  • ¼ teaspoon chili powder
  • Salt to taste
  • ¾ cup chopped red onion
  • 3 dried red chilies broken into small pieces
  • 2 teaspoons roasted sesame seeds
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil

Method

  • Chop Brussels sprout into very small pieces
  • Add Brussels sprout, water, chili powder and salt to a saucepan and cover and cook for about 7 – 8 minutes or until all the water is absorbed and the Brussels sprout are quite dry
  • Add oil to a skillet and add chopped onion and fry until golden brown
  • Add red chili and fry for another 3 minutes
  • Add cooked Brussels sprout to the onion and fry on low flame for another 3 – 4 minutes
  • Add sesame seeds and mix well
  • Serve with rice

Yields: 3 – 4 side dishes

Posted in Side Dishes. Leave a Comment »

Tofu with Red Pepper and Carrots

May 5, 2010 — Chelvi S

Ingredients

  • 8 oz extra firm tofu
  • Cooking spray
  • 4 oz red or orange bell pepper
  • 1 medium sized carrot
  • 1 small tomato
  • 1  cup water
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • ¼ cup red onion sliced
  • 1 – 2 dried red chilies broken into 2 pieces
  • 1 ¼ teaspoon red chili powder
  • ¼ teaspoon coriander powder
  • ¼ teaspoon cumin powder
  • ¼ teaspoon fennel seed powder

Method

  • Drain and remove excess water from tofu and cut them into small cubes
  • Spray with cooking oil and broil at 450 F for about 10 – 15 minutes
  • Meanwhile cut bell pepper into one inch thin slices.  Cut carrots into matchstick like pieces and cut tomatoes into thin slices
  • In a covered saucepan add canola oil and add onions and fry until golden brown
  • Add dried red chilies and fry for another minute or two
  • Add cut bell pepper and carrots and fry for about 3 – 4 minutes
  • Add tomatoes and add water, chili powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, fennel seed powder and salt and cover and cook for about 7 – 8 minutes
  • Add milk and cook for a minute or two
  • Add tofu and stir gently to make sure tofu pieces don’t get crumbled and cook for another 3 minutes or the gravy thickens

Yields: 3 – 4 side dishes

Posted in Others, Side Dishes. Leave a Comment »
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