Mutabel

Mutabel

Serves 4

A tasty Arabic dip served with pita bread.

Ingredients

Whole brinjals – 125 gms
Olive oil – 100 ml
Tahina or sesame paste – 20 gms
Garlic – 2 cloves
Lemon juice – 75 ml
Salt – to taste
Olive oil – 5 ml (For garnish)
Parsley – 5 gms, chopped
Fresh pomegranate seeds – 10 gms.


Method

Lightly pierce the brinjals with a fork.

Roast over a naked flame on the hob or grill until the outer skin is charred .Cool and remove the skin. Mash the brinjals well. Combine with olive oil, tahina, garlic, lime juice and salt. Garnish with olive oil, parsley and pomegranate seeds. Serve with Pita bread.

Pita Bread

Pita Bread

Makes a dozen

Ingredients

Flour – 500gms
Olive oil – 1 tbsp
Water – 250 ml
Fresh yeast – 25 gm
Salt to taste

Method

Mix the yeast in half cup warm water. Allow to stand for 10 minutes. In a bowl, combine the flour, salt and the yeast mixture. Mix the oil with half cup water and stir in to the flour mixture little by little. Knead to form a dough. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, covered with a dish towel. Leave to prove for about half an hour.

Knead the dough for about ten minutes, or until smooth. Lightly oil the bowl again, cover and let the dough leaven until double in size, about one hour. Divide the dough into twelve balls and roll out into 8 inch-diameter rounds. Cook on a hot tawa, turning both sides. The pita bread will puff up. Serve hot.

Banana Salad

A yummy sweet ‘n sour salad with extra crunch.
Serves four

Ingredients :

Firm, ripe plantains (nendran pazham) – 2
Shallots, big sized – 10 to 12, finely sliced
Green chillies, chopped – 2
Vinegar – 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Roasted peanuts – 2 tbsp, optional
Coriander or mint leaves, chopped – for garnish, optional

Method :

Quarter the ripe bananas lengthwise. Cut into one cm thick chunks. Mix the sliced shallots, green chillies, vinegar and salt in a bowl. Toss the cut banana pieces in this dressing. Mix till the banana chunks are well-coated. For a hint of crunch, add roasted peanuts. Stir well. If desired, garnish with freshly chopped coriander or mint leaves.

Soft Banana cookies

Naturally tasty ’n wholesome!
Makes a dozen…

Ingredients

Ripe bananas – 2 ,if small – 4
Fresh grated coconut – Quarter (measuring) cup
Cooking oats – One cup
Almonds, powdered – Quarter cup
Dates, finely chopped – 8 to 10
Cinnamon powder – Quarter tsp
Baking powder – One tsp
Vanilla essence – One tsp
Refined oil – One-eighth cup
Salt – Quarter tsp

Method :

Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius. Grease a baking sheet or muffin tin.

Blend the ripe bananas to a smooth paste. Add the refined oil, vanilla essence, and stir well till well-blended. In a separate bowl, mix the oats, grated coconut, almond powder, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Combine the oat mixture with the banana paste. Stir well. Finally, add the chopped dates and stir till all the ingredients are well-combined.

Spoon the mixture using a tablespoon onto a greased baking sheet, spacing it an inch apart. Or alternatively, spoon into greased muffin moulds.

Bake at 160 degrees Celsius for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve warm.

Raw Banana Starters

A delicious and filling appetiser …

Makes a dozen

Ingredients

Raw banana – 2 nos

Big onion – 1 medium sized, finely chopped

Green chilli – 1 medium sized

Fennel seeds (perumjeerakam) – Three-fourth tsp

Coriander leaves, chopped – 2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Refined oil – For deep frying

Method

De-skin and wash the raw bananas. Cut into small chunks. Boil the banana pieces in water till cooked, and till it’s firm. Once cooked, drain the water and cool the banana chunks.

Grind green chillies, fennel seeds (or half tsp garam masala powder) and coriander leaves without any water.

Process the raw banana pieces to a smooth paste, without adding water.

Combine banana paste and the green chilli-fennel seeds-coriander paste.

Add the finely chopped onion and enough salt. Knead into a smooth dough. Apply cooking oil to your hands and roll the banana dough into two-inch long fingers.

Deep fry the banana fingers in hot oil till golden brown.

Serve hot with ‘hot and sweet’ tomato-chilli sauce or green chutney.

Note: Mint leaves, if preferred, can be added with the coriander leaves.

I'm back

I know I haven't visited thsi space for almosta year now. But, that doesn' take away my love for good food. Thou' I'm not planning to come up with my own recipies atleast in the recent future. I'm planning to use this space to have a copy of my favourite recipies which I come across . Will put it up in my blog space as all of you can get enjoy trying it out as well :)

Pani Puri / Golgappa

Ingredients:

To make puri:

1 cup Semolina (Rava / Suji)

3 tblsp Fine Wheat Flour (Maida)

1/4 tsp Baking Soda

Oil to deep fry

To make pani:

1/2 cup Tamarind (Imli) Pulp

2 cups Water

2 tblsp roasted Cumin Seed (Jeera) Powder

2 tblsp un-roasted Cumin Seed (Jeera)

Coriander Leaves 3

Green Chilly (Hari Mirch)

2 tblsp Mint Leaves (Pudina Leaves) Chutney

1 tblsp Black Salt (kala namak )

2 tblsp Jaggary (Gur)

To make sweet Chutney:

1 cup Gud(jaggery)

1 cup tamarind pulp

1 cup Dates

1 cup water

1 teaspoon powdered JiraHalf

Half teaspoon red chilli powder

For filling the Puri:

Half cup sprout Mug Lightly cooked

Half cup Potatoes Boiled and chopped finely

Half cup boiled Black chickpeas(kale channa)

How to make pani puri:
To make pani:

Measure all ingredients.
Adjust spices and tangyness to taste.
Strain through a wire strainer to remove any rough bits.

To make puri:

Mix sooji, maida, baking soda, salt and enough water to knead a soft dough.
Stand covered with wet cloth for 15-20 minutes.
Make small sized balls.
With the help of some dry maida or sooji, roll into thin rounds.
Heat oil in a pan and deep fry puris till very light brown and crisp.
Drain in a paper towel for a while to dry out the oil.
Store in an airtight container when cool.

To make sweet Chutney:

Heat all the ingredients of the chutney and sieve to get a smooth chutney.Let it cool

To make the filling:

Mix all the ingredients given.

Usually the puri is available in most of the Indian grocery stores