Avocado Sweet/Dessert

January 22, 2012 — Chelvi S

Avocados are not that common in Sri Lanka.  I came to know about this fruit only when I was a teenager.  Also this fruit is called “Butter Fruit” in Sri Lanka.  My uncle had a huge tree in house and when he gave us some of these fruits, we didn’t even know what to do with them.  So he said just add some sugar and eat as a dessert.  My mother added some milk and sugar.  When we ate this sweet for the first time, we all immediately liked it.  But some people add condensed milk to add extra sweetness and richness.  I feel like it becomes too sweet and the smell of condensed milk overrides the pleasant smell of Avocados.  So here is that very simple recipe:

Ingredients

  • 2 ripe avocados
  • About 4 – 5 teaspoons generous castor sugar
  • ¼ cup cold whole milk
  • Cashew nuts lightly toasted and broken into small pieces

Method

  • Cut avocados and scoop out the flesh
  • Mash it with a fork until it is almost like a paste (you can leave a  bit small pieces)
  • Add sugar and milk and beat/mix thoroughly.
  • Chill for about an hour or two
  • Equally divide the dessert into 4 bowls
  • Sprinkle with toasted cashew nuts
  • Serve cold.

Note: Try serving it with a scoop of ice-cream or just sprinkle a bit of chocolate syrup over the avocados.

Posted in Quick Dishes, Sweets. 1 Comment »

Quinoa with Roasted Veggies

January 8, 2012 — Chelvi S

I like to roast vegetables instead of sauteing them on a stove top.  Especially with the cold weather and windows shut, sauteing in oil makes the whole house smell.  So this is one of the most easiest way to cook vegetables which is quite healthy and time consuming.  Once you put the vegetables in the oven, you don’t have to stand next to it.  So here is a quick version of Quinoa dish.

 

Ingredients:

  • ½ lb vegetables such as green beans, bell pepper, cauliflower, mushrooms.
  • ½ lb sweet potato
  • 5 red radishes
  • About 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons flax seed grounded
  • ½ teaspoons roasted cumin seeds
  • ¾ cup white quinoa
  • 1 ¼ cups water
  • Salt to taste

Method

  • Pre-heat oven to 400F
  • Slice bell pepper into thin slices.  Break the cauliflower into small florets.  Slice mushrooms into thick slices.  Chop green beans diagonally into 1 inch pieces
  • Cut sweet potatoes into about ½ inch cubes
  • Add all the vegetables to a cookie sheet with salt and sprinkle with olive oil and mix well
  • Bake for about 45 minutes
  • Let cool
  • To cook Quinoa: add quinoa to a skillet and roast lightly on medium flame.  About 5 minutes.
  • Stir water and salt to quinoa and bring to a rolling boil.  Reduce heat and simmer until all the water is absorbed.  About 10 minutes
  • Let cool.  Now mix vegetable with quinoa and season with salt and pepper
  • Serve with mango pickle.
  • Serves 2 as a main dish
Posted in Grains, Main Dishes, Quick 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 »

Sesame Rice (Ellu Satham)

October 18, 2011 — Chelvi S

I had some left over rice and was wondering what to do.  I wanted to do some thing quick and simple.  Making fried rice or vegetable biryani will take a lot of time.  So I settled with the sesame rice which is easy and quick to make.  I mixed white and black sesame seed for this recipe.  Black sesame seed has high nutritional value since it has the skin.  Also black sesame seed has a much stronger taste and flavor.  But you can completely replace the black sesame seed with white one.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup cooked basmati rice
  • 2 tablespoons black sesame seeds
  • 1 tablespoon white sesame seed
  • 1 teaspoon shredded unsweetened coconut (optional)
  • 3 dried red chilies
  • 1 teaspoon sesame seed oil
  • 1/8 teaspoon mustard seed
  • 1 teaspoon urad dhal
  • ½ teaspoon cumin seed
  • 1 strand curry leaves

Method:

  • Dry roast sesame seeds until they start splattering
  • Dry roast one red chili and coconut until coconut is quite dry (lightly golden).  If not using coconut, just dry roast chili for a few seconds (make sure it does not get burned and start smoking)
  • Add sesame seed oil to a saucepan and add mustard seed
  • When they start splattering, add urad dhal and fry for about 25-30 seconds in low flame
  • Now add cumin seed, curry leaves and the rest of the dried red chilies (bread the red chilies into 3-4 small pieces) and sauté for about 30 seconds
  • Add rice, ground sesame seed mixture and salt to the saucepan and cook on low flame for about a minute.  Sprinkle just a little bit water and cover the saucepan.  This is to keep the rice moist and soft
  • Serve warm with appalam or moar milagai (curd chili)
Posted in Main Courses, Quick Dishes, Rice & Pulav dishes, Sri Lankan Tamil Cuisine. 2 Comments »

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 »

Pasta with Broccoli and White Beans

May 17, 2011 — Chelvi S

For this recipe, fresh broccoli should be used.  Frozen might become too soft when sauted

Ingredients:

  • 4 oz pasta (Rotini, Penne etc)
  • ½ lb fresh broccoli florets (after thick stems removed)
  • 5 sundried tomato halves chopped into small pieces
  • 1 (15.5 oz) can northern white beans
  • 16 whole black olives
  • 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese + extra for sprinkling
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil

Method

  • Cook pasta and drain and set aside
  • Add oil to a heavy saucepan/skillet and once it’s hot add chopped dried tomatoes and sauté for about a minute
  • Add broccoli florets and sauté for about 4 minutes on medium-high flame
  • Meanwhile wash and drain the beans thoroughly (I wash the beans to remove any chemicals added as preservative)
  • Add washed beans to the saucepan and cook on medium-low flame for another 3 minutes
  • Add pasta, black olives, salt, pepper and the cheese and mix well while on low flame
  • Transfer to a plate and sprinkle with extra cheese
  • Serves 2
Posted in Pasta Dishes, Quick 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 »

Okra with Mushrooms

October 3, 2010 — Chelvi S

  • ½ teaspoon coriander seed
  • ½ teaspoon cumin seed
  • 1 cardamom pod
  • ½ teaspoon finely chopped ginger
  • 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
  • 1 teaspoon canola oil
  • ½ cup chopped tomato
  • 2 cups frozen cut okra ( ½ inch thick)
  • 1 cup mushroom
  • ½ cup water
  • 1 teaspoon Sri Lankan Chili powder
  • Pinch of turmeric powder
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • Salt to taste

Method

  • Add coriander seeds, cumin seeds and cardamom seeds to a mortar and pestle and pound until the seeds are crushed
  • Add oil to a covered saucepan and add the pound seeds and fry on low flame for about 1 minute
  • Add garlic and ginger and fry for another minute
  • Add chopped tomatoes and fry for about 30 seconds or so
  • Add okra, mushroom, water, turmeric, chili powder and salt and cover and cook for about 10 minutes
  • Add milk and cook uncovered for about a minute
  • Serve with warm rice
  • Serves: 2 – 3
  • ** If using fresh okra, increase the amount of water to ¾ cups.
Posted in Curries, Quick Dishes, Side Dishes. 1 Comment »

Sesame Seed Balls

October 2, 2010 — Chelvi S

Ingredients:

  • ¼ cup white sesame seeds
  • ¼ cup black sesame seeds
  • ¼ cup dark brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon hot water

Method

  • Roast sesame seeds lightly
  • Grind the seeds coarsely and transfer to a dish
  • Add brown sugar and mix well with your hand
  • Add 1 teaspoon hot water and mix well continuously.  This will allow the sugar to melt and get mixed in with the sesame seeds
  • Make them into small balls
  • Store in an air tight container
  • Alternate Method:  add brown sugar to the roasted sesame seeds and add this to a mortar and pestle.  Pound it until the sesame seed is crushed.  This will allow the oil to come out and with this oil make small balls.
  • Makes about 6 small balls
Posted in Quick Dishes, Snacks, Sri Lankan Tamil Cuisine, Sweets. Leave a Comment »
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