FAN-tastic Croissants

If you have ever been to coffee day, and diligently lingered on those smoky, vegetable stuffed croissants, you will understand the reason behind my post-title. Yes! The soft-sweet croissants with the spicy stuffing made me a coffee-day fanatic.

But I never took it to making them at home, not until..couple of days back. When I came across 'Crescent Samosas', yes, that's how they named it in the 'tasteofhome' magazine, it unknowingly kindled my remembrance of those tasty eat-outs. So, here I am.

STUFFED CROISSANTS

Followed the same procedure as mentioned in the recipe, with an authentic-samosa stuffing. You can try using your own savory or the kids-friendly sweet stuffing. Do watch this video, if your are not familiar with rolling the crescents.

I used 1 Can(8-0z) reduced-fat crescent rolls [I used Pillsbury Crescent]. Contains 8-triangles.

Stuffing

• Potato - 1 medium boiled and cubed
• Onion - 1 medium finely chopped
• Green peas frozen -1/2 cup
• Carrot - 1/2 cup frozen(Optional)
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Garlic - 1 clove chopped
• Green chili -1 chopped
• Coriander powder - 1 tsp
• Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
• Amchur powder - 1/2 tsp
• Grouded fresh pepper corns - 1/2 tsp

In a pan, saute the cumin seeds, green chili, garlic and onion in oil until lightly browned. Stir in the peas, carrot and potato. Add the coriander powder, armchur powder and pepper. Transfer to a bowl and lightly mash them Sprinkle with garam masala.

Separate the crescent dough into 8 triangles. Place 1 tablespoon of the stuffing on the wide end of each triangle; roll from the wide end and curve at the edges to form the crescent shape. Make sure to keep the pointed-end underneath when arranging on a baking sheet. Use an un-greased baking sheet.

Bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes as per the instructions on the tube or until golden brown.

 

 

Sending this recipe to Rahin's Semi Homemade -Indian Recipes event and Kids delight Wholesome breakfast event.

Also sending this recipe to Think Spice - Think Amchur event hosted by Bhagya of Taste Buds, started by Sunita of Sunita's world.

Comforting Sip

If there is any food, that seems comforting and calming, its definitely a warm bowl of soup. A sip of warm, creamy, flavorful soup during the winter is heavenly, as most of us would agree.

Adapted the recipe from here. There are quite a few versions of making a lentil & carrot soup, like adding whole veggies or lentils to the soup without blending. Even the type of lentil used might give a different taste. But, I liked this one, a modified version with a hint of ginger and sourish yogurt at the finish. And hence sticking to the same!

P.S.In all the excitement, I forgot to add the turmeric! That would be the reason for my 'pale' yellowish soupy!

CARROT LENTIL SOUP

• Ginger - small piece peeled and grated
• Cumin seeds - 1tsp
• Red chili flakes - 1tsp
• 1 medium onion - finely chopped
• 2 medium carrots - peeled and grated
• Red lentils - 3/4 cup [Masoor Dal]
• Fresh Vegetable stock - 2 to 3 Cups
• Coriander leaves - 4 or 5 stalks
• Yogurt - 3 tbsp
• Pepper powder - freshly grounded 1 tsp
• Oil - 2 tbsp

Dry roast the cumin seeds in pan over a medium heat and ground the cumin coarsely, using a grinder or a mortar-pestle.

Heat oil in the same pan, add the ginger pieces and onion and fry till browned. Add the vegetable stock along with the grated carrots, turmeric and lentils and cook over a medium heat, until the lentils are tender.

Stir in the grounded cumin. Switch off and let it cool. Blend smoothly in a blender. Transfer the soup to the pan and re-heat for about 3-4 minutes. Add some more vegetable stock if the soup is too thick.

Serve sprinkled with coriander leaves, red chili flakes and pepper powder and yogurt.

Sending this recipe to Usha's Healthy Inspirations event.

Cooking with Love-ly Greens

Upon kind request from my dear husband, I have been cooking all sorts of greens, lately. So much that, I wanted to add greens to all my dishes.

When I googled for a chicken recipe with greens, came across quite a few interesting combination, and finally settled for the one in this page. This recipe seemed very simple and also suited me. I modified a little, well, mostly the method and consistency and tossed in a few additional ingredients.

Methi and Chicken is an authentic hyderabadi recipe. The soft chicken complements the slightly bitter methi well, and the tangy tomato gravy adds an additional taste to this curry.

METHI CHICKEN/MURGH CHICKEN

• Onion - 2 [very finely chopped]
• Tomato - 2 [blend to a coarse paste]
• Fresh Methi leaves - 1 bunch
• Ginger Garlic paste - 2tsp
• Chicken - 0.7 lb - 1 lb.
• Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
• Cumin powder - 1tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1tsp
• Yogurt - 1 tbsp
• Red chili powder - 3tsp or as required.
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Oil - 3tbsp
• Coriander leaves - 4-6 stalks.

Wash and marinate the chicken with 1/2 tsp salt and turmeric powder for 10 minutes.

Take a heavy-bottomed pan, heat oil, splutter the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, cardamon, clove and curry leaves. Add the onion and fry till nice brown. Add the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes.

Add cumin powder, coriander powder and red chili powder and fry for 1 minute. Now add the chicken pieces and toss everything to coat the chicken well. Cover and cook for 15 minutes in a low flame, till the chicken is tender.

Now add the methi leaves and cook for another 2 minutes in a medium flame uncovered, till the methi leaves starts to wilt.

Add the tomato puree along with yogurt and 1/2 cup water and bring to boil. Cook for another 10-15 minutes until the oil oozes out. Add coriander leaves and switch off.

Note: For the chicken to be tender, after thawing, transfer the chicken to a Ziploc bag. Take a big, nice pestle or any similar tool and beat the chicken on both sides, taking care not to crush the chicken or tear the bag. This helped me especially when I used frozen poultry.

Sending this recipe to the event Served with Love, organized by Gourmet Affair.

Home Cooking

Its been over a year I visited my home country, and for me apart from few other things, it means only one thing. My kitchen pantry is missing homemade masala's from my mom. By which, you are forced to making your own masala, and believe me it was worth an experience.

We often wonder why the food is so tasty and authentic at our grandparent's, its just because they use everything fresh, starting from the stone grinded coconut paste to fresh ginger garlic paste and much more.

Here is my attempt to make my curry paste at home for a 20-minute dinner! Yes! it just took me 20-minutes for making this healthy sweet potato and spinach wraps from scratch, of-course except for the pre-cooked chapathis!

 
 SWEET POTATO WRAPS

• Sweet Potato - 1 Medium sized Cooked and cubed.
• Garbanzo(Chick Peas) - 1/2 cup Cooked or Tin.
• Green Peas - 1/4 cup frozen
• Tomato - 1 Small chopped [Use 2tbsp of tomato from this for the Curry Paste below]
• Red Chili - 1[De-seed and cut the flake in to small pieces]
• Baby Spinach - 1 cup
• Coriander - 4-6 stalks
• Curry paste - 2tsp(or 1tsp of coriander powder and 1tsp of garam masala).

For the Wrap,

• Chapati - as required
• Onion - 1/4 cup chopped finely
• Tomato - 1/4 cup chopped finely
• Curd - 1/4 cup beaten slightly
• Curry Paste
• Tomato - 2 tbsp Chopped and minched
• Garlic - 2 cloves chopped and minched
• Ginger - 1 inch Chopped and minched
• Pepper corns - 1/2 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Coriander seeds -1/2 tsp
• Red chili -1
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Oil - 2 tbsp

Dry roast cumin seeds, pepper corns, coriander seeds, red chili and mustard seeds, cool and grind it to a fine powder.

Heat oil in a pan, add the ginger, garlic and fry for few minutes. Add the tomato and give it a toss. Add the grinded spice mix and fry for another minute. Transfer the mixture to another vessel, cool and grind the curry paste.

Note: Can make the curry paste in bulk and store it in refrigerator for up-to 1 week.

Instead, please feel free to use your own curry masala about 2tsp(or any store bought one).

For the Stuffing,

In the same pan, add 1 tsp oil, red chili flakes, tomato, chick peas and green peas and the curry paste mixture. Fry till the green peas is cooked.

Now add the cubed sweet potato and salt, toss and simmer and add the spinach and cook.

Wrapping,

Take the Chapati, spoon in as much stuffing as needed, top it with few pieces of onion, tomato, lettuce and 1tsp curd. Wrap and enjoy your bite!

Note: Can substitute curd with Ranch, or mayo if preferred. Kids would love it with ketchup. But plain curd would be more healthier option!

The recipe is on its way to Creative Food for Picky/Fussy Eaters Healthy Breakfast and Dinner event, Healthy Fast Food event and also Kids-Delight Wholesome breakfast event.

One hot plate

My plan was to make the most common and popular street food known in every corner of Tamilnadu, the so called 'Kothu Paratha'. Unfortunately my pantry was missing the important ingredient-'the egg' to make the recipe.

But this one is yet another paratha recipe, which is a daily menu in almost all south-Indian restaurants. I used almost the same ingredients which calls for chili paratha, but varying the method of preparation. There are few different recipes for a chili paratha, which I promise to post later.

A simple recipe but a hot and spicy one, as its name suggests.

CHILI PARATHA

• Paratha - 3 [fresh or frozen]
• Capsicum/Green Bell Pepper - 1/2 cup [cut into bigger pieces]
• Onion - 1 [cut into bigger pieces]
• Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
• Red chili powder - 1tsp
• Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
• Green Chili -1 chopped
• Tomato - 1 [Mashed using a mortar pestle]
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp (Optional)
• Oil - 3tbsp

Take an iron skillet and heat 3-tbsp oil over medium-high heat. Once hot, splutter the cumin seeds. Add onion, green chili and fry till brown. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes.

Now add the bell peppers and cook till tender. After the bell peppers are cooked, if you see oil floating in the pan then drain out the extra oil.

Add the coriander powder and red chili powder and fry for another minute. Now add the mashed tomato and salt, simmer and keep frying till the tomato is cooked.

Add in the paratha pieces and stir well. Once everything is mixed, transfer to a wide hot iron griddle or tava, and spread out the paratha mixture. Cook over medium heat, slowly turning them, without spilling out. Make sure, the paratha's are slightly browned and crisp.

P.S. The last step is very important, which gives a final touch and a smoky flavor to the dish.

The recipe is on its way to to the Healthy Fast food event organized by Radhika of Food for 7 stages of life.

Comfort Snack

Until few months ago, the cutlets I have tasted, or as a matter of fact, the ones I made, be it vegetable or meat, its always just been a combination of potato, bread and the cooked vegetables combined all together and deep fried.

But, a couple of months ago, I happened to taste seasoned meat stuffed inside potato shells at my friends. Its was so delicious, and the taste that lasted in my tongue took me here. Mostly followed the usual cutlet recipe, with just a traditional vegetable stuffing.

P.S. Don't be deceived by the ingredients and steps, its was quite simple and easy to make.

 
STUFFED POTATO CUTLETS

For the shells

• Potato - 1 large [Boiled and Peeled]
• Bread - 4 firm slices
• Vegetable Oil - 1 tsp
• Salt - 1tsp or as required
• Pepper or Red chili powder - 1tsp(Optional)

Let the potato sit on the counter top, and let it cool down. Mash the potatoes in a large bowl with hand or a potato masher.

Soak the bread in warm water, squeeze out the water keeping the bread between your palm, and add it to the mashed potatoes.

Add salt and knead the dough well.

If the dough looks to sticky, add few dry bread slices and knead well.

Brush with oil and set aside and proceed with the rest of the ingredients.

For the filling

• Vegetable Oil - 1 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1tsp
• Red Chili -1 (or) Green Chili -1
• Onion - 1/2 chopped finely
• Ginger root - 1 tsp chopped
• Garlic - 2 cloves chopped
• Potatoes - 1 medium [peeled and cut in to 1/4 inch or smaller cubes]
• Carrot - 1 medium [peeled and cut in to 1/4 inch or smaller cubes]
• Frozen peas - 1/4 cup boiled
• Cilantro - 1/4 cup chopped
• Amchur powder - 1 tbsp
• Red chili powder - 1 tsp
• Ground Pepper - 1 tsp [freshly ground]
• Curry leaves - 2 or 3
• Water - 2tbsp or as required to cook the vegetables.

Heat Oil, splutter the cumin seeds and red chili or green chili.

Add ginger, garlic and curry leaves and fry for few minutes.

Add Onion and fry till slightly brown. Now add all the ingredients fry for 2 minutes.

Add water, simmer, cover and cook for 10-15 minutes till tender.

Once the water has been absorbed, or evaporated, fry for another 1 minute or so, till the filling looks absolutely dry and well fried.

For the Coating

• Egg White or Whole egg - 1 slightly beaten
• Bread crumbs - 1/2 cup or as required
• Oil for Shallow frying - 4-6 tbsp

Making the Cutlets

Apply few drops of oil in your palm, Take a small portion of the dough, and flatten out with your palms, or roll using a rolling pin.After rolling, spoon in the filling.

Fold the dough, from one side and seal the edges. Dip it in the beaten egg and cover with the bread crumbs.

Shallow fry the cutlets in a wide pan with 4 tbsp of vegetable oil and dry in a paper towel. Serve with mint or coriander chutney.

Sending this recipe to Think Spice - Think Amchur event hosted by Bhagya of Taste Buds, started by Sunita of Sunita's world.

Cooking with a Wise Seed

Recently, I have been to many holiday potlucks and dinner treats, served with lots of fabulous and authentic home-cooked foods. The most interesting thing I noted was, though there were great restaurant style recipes and beautiful foods, the ones that attracted the guests were well-styled and foods decorated with innovative and new ideas.

The experience inspired me to style and garnish my food, rather than to serve a delicious food..which looks normal otherwise. And here is my humble attempt in providing a better presentation.

A word about this wise seed, 

Sesame seeds are very nutritious and gives a unique taste when added to certain vegetables and snacks. In Hindu beliefs, these seeds are considered to represent the symbol of immortality, and ancient Ancient Babylon women were said to intake a spoon of sesame seeds soaked in honey daily, to prolong youth and beauty..In recent times, these seeds are enormously used in Ayurveda medicines.... read more from here.

 

 

EGGPLANT/BRINJAL MASALA

• Medium sized Brinjals/EggPlants - 6 [The ones available in Indian Grocers]
• Tomato - 1 chopped
• Onion - 2 chopped
• White sesame seeds - 1tsp
• Coriander seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Oil - 2 tbsp
• Ginger - 1/2 tsp finely chopped
• Garlic - 1/2 tsp finely chopped
• Dried Red chili -1 or 2
• Red chili powder - 1 tsp
• Coriander powder -1 tsp
• Curry leaves - 4 or 5
• Coriander leaves for garnishing
• Salt to taste

Cut the eggplants into two halves lengthwise.Preheat the Oven to 400F. Place the brinjal in a roasting pan, with the cut sides facing upward. Add about 1/2 cup of water and close the pan tightly with a lid or foil and bake for about 20-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a pan heat oil over medium heat, splutter mustard seeds and then add garlic, ginger, red chili, crushed coriander seeds, crushed sesame seeds, cumin seeds and fry till the seeds are lightly brown and the raw smell goes away.

Add the onion and fry till brown. Add the coriander powder and red chili powder and fry for another minute and add the tomatoes and cook till tender.

Remove the eggplant flesh carefully with a spoon and add it to the spice mix. Cook on low heat for 4-5 minutes, until oil separates.

Wipe off the water from the egg plant skins and place them in baking tray lined with foil, sprinkle with little oil, and bake for 10 minutes.

Once done, cool and spoon in the masala. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

The recipe is on its way to Cooking with Sesame seeds, event hosted by Priya of Priya's Easy and Tasty Recipes. Also, sending this recipe to Vegetable Marathon event hosted by Anita of Anita's Kitchen.

Something Silky-Palak Paneer

Homemade cheese/paneer in spinach and tomato gravy. Came across lots of different recipes from many wonderful blogs and food websites. I tried two to three times with little bit variations and finally arrived at a perfect taste to suit me. Mostly, the restaurant style accounts for cashew-nut powder and little milk, which makes the dish more silky, but i tried without those two, and it did tasted well.

 

 

PALAK PANEER

• Spinach - 1 bunch fresh or frozen
• Paneer - 10-15 cubes
• Tomato - 1 medium
• Green chili - 1
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Oil-2tbsp
• Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
• Garlic cloves -2
• Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp
• Garam Masala - a pinch
• Roasted cashew-nut powder - 2 tsp (Optional).

 

Take a pan, add oil, splutter 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, add the whole garlic and green chili. Fry for half a minute. Now add the spinach and cook till tender. Once done, switch off, transfer to a blender and give two or three pulse. Do not grind it to smooth. Set aside.

Drop the tomato in a boiling water. Once the skin is cooked, remove and discard the skin. Grind the tomato along with the coriander leaves and set aside.

Now heat oil in a pan, and shallow fry the paneer cubes, to make it slightly brown on the outer surface. Soak the fried paneer in 1/2 cup warm water to keep it soft and set aside.

Now, use the same pan with oil, splutter the mustard seeds, add onion and fry till tender. Add the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes.

Now add the coriander powder, red chili powder, turmeric powder and salt. Fry for 1 minute.

Add the spinach paste and let it simmer for 3-4 minutes. Add the tomato paste along with 1/4 cup of water and cook for 3-4 minutes in medium heat and bring to a smooth consistency. If preferred, you can add cashew-nut powder now along with the paneer cubes and cook for another 1 minute string.

Adjust salt switch off. Sprinkle with garam masala.

Sending this recipe to Healing food event-Spinach  event.

The Taste Comes in Small Bottles

This wonderful bottle gourd curry which is more like a soup, is also a very good combination with rice. Goes well with chapatis and pooris too! Though this dish accounts only for the flesh of the bottle gourd, the skin can also be used for making chutneys, which I will post later.

Gourds are specially know for their moisture content. Bottle gourd is know to be used in simple home treatments for urinary disorders, excessive thirst and even diabetics people consume more of gourds for healthy weight maintenance.  For more details about bottle gourds, read here.

 

 

BOTTLE GOURD CURRY

• 1/2 medium sized Bottle Gourd (Peeled and cut into 1/4 inch cubes).
• Onion-1 finely chopped
• Mustard Seeds - 1tsp
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp
• Coriander Powder - 2 tsp
• Fresh Ground Pepper - 1tsp
• 1/2 cup water
• Coriander leaves for garnishing
• Coconut milk -1/2 cup(Optional)

Heat oil in a pan, splutter the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Add Onion and fry till brown.

Now add turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, ground pepper powder and fry for 1 minute.

Reduce to low-medium heat and add the vegetable and salt.Stir to mix well. Close with a lid and let the vegetable cook for 2-3 minutes.

Once the vegetable is almost cooked, add 1/2 cup water and bring it to boil. Switch off.

Note: If you want the gravy to be thick, add 1/2 cup of coconut milk just before switching off. Adjust salt and red chili powder.

Sending this recipe to Anna’s Cool Finds,  (Weekend Herb Blogging#217) event as listed in Haalo's.

Sense of Smell-Fresh Paneer

The fresh aroma from the kitchen when you make paneer is...... heavenly. Unknowing of the fact that adding just lemon to your milk would bring out such fragrance, I was all in for surprise when I made my first fresh Paneer at home! I was wondering, maybe the reason 'paneer' got its name. [Rose water is called as Paneer in Tamil]. Not to mention, it very well satisfied my sense of taste too!

 

 HOMEMADE FRESH PANEER

• Whole Milk - 4 cups
• Lemon Juice- 2tbsp
• Muslin Cloth

Heat the milk in a thick bottomed vessel. Bring to boil and simmer to medium heat.

Now add the Lemon juice slowly, while stirring continuously. Stop adding the lemon juice, when the milk starts to curdle.

Wait till large pieces of curds are formed. Initially the curds will be very small, they gather up to form liltle bigger ones. Now, the milk will be separated into whey( which will be more like water) and the curds. Switch Off.

Line a muslin cloth in a colander and place it in the sink. Now pour the curdled milk and discard the whey. Hold up the muslin cloth tightly and squeeze out as much whey as possible.

Tie the muslin cloth at the top with the paneer inside, and hang it over the sink for about 30 minutes. Let the whey filter out.

Now, place the cloth(with paneer) in a plate and keep any weight over it for about 30 minutes(for ex. Mortar pastel, or a big vessel of water), to press the paneer and to remove the extra whey.
Remove from the cloth and refrigerate for 2 hours. And cut into desired shapes!

Colors of the Kitchen-Beetroot Biryani

I remember how I used to hate beetroots, when my mom adds to the vegetable biryani! Every kid would love to eat biryani just with potatoes. For me, that was way back..but now I am craving for nice vegetables, and this goes to my hungry stomach!

Happened to add more beetroot in the veggie biryani I made, and it turned out to be...very colorful, and I loved it!

When I made it the next time, I simplified the recipe..

 

 

BEETROOT BIRYANI

• Beetroot 1/2 medium sized
• Carrot 1 medium sized
• Green peas 1/2 cup
• Basmati Rice 1 1/2 cup
• Black Jeera (Shahi Jeera) 1 tsp
• Cardamon 1
• Cinnamon 1 small stick
• Clove  2
• Bay-leaf 1
• Yogurt 2tbsp
• Coriander Powder 1tbsp
• Red Chili Powder 1tsp
• Mint 6-8 leaves
• Coriander 1 stalk
• Water 3 cups
• Salt to taste

Wash the basmati rice and soak in 3 cups water for 10-15 minutes. Cut the Beetroots and carrots in to tiny bits(about 1/4 inch bites).

Take a pan, heat oil, splutter cumin seeds, cloves, cardamon, cinnamon and Bay Leaf, and add green chili and onion and fry till translucent.

Add ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes away and then add the vegetables along with mint, coriander, coriander powder and red chili.Give it a toss, and mix up everything well and fry for about 2 minutes.

Add salt and Switch Off, and now add the curd and give it a toss. Add the rice along with the  water, mix and check the salt. Pressure cook for 2 whistles or do it in a rice cooker.

P.S. Mixed few white rice just for the photograph!

As Rich as Sprouts - Peas Kurma

Fresh homemade sprouts are rich sources of vitamin-c and folate. Sprouts are easy to make and are easily digestible. This healthy south-Indian simple and mild curry recipe is easy to make and goes very well with chapatis and rotis.

 

 

Here is what to do for growing sprouts.

Take about 1/2 cup of dried green peas.

Wash them in water.

Place it in a jar. Add enormous water above the peas level.

Close with any kitchen lid and put it inside the oven.

Leave them overnight.

In the morning, transfer to a colander, drain the water, wash it in running water.

After washing, place it the same glass container, sprinkle with little water.

Now, do not close the lid tightly, make sure the air can go inside the glass.

Leave it for another day in a lightly sunlight lit area .
[Note: Whenever you are in the kitchen, just rinse with enough water, and put back as it was].

Repeat the procedure, as long as you need them to grow.

 

 

SPROUTED PEAS KURMA

• 1/2 cup sprouted Green Peas
• 2 Red Chili Dried or 1 Green Chili
• 1 Onion(finely chopped)
• 1 Tomato(finely chopped)
• 1tbsp Ginger Garlic paste
• 2 Cloves
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 1 Cinnamon Stick
• 1 Cardamon
• 1tsp Cumin Seeds
• 1tsp Mustard Seeds
• 5-6 Curry Leaves
• 1/4tsp Turmeric Powder
• 1/2 tbsp Coriander powder
• 1/2tsp Red Chili Powder
• Salt to taste.
• Coriander for garnishing.
  

And for grinding

• 1/2 cup Grated Coconut(Fresh or Frozen) 
• 2tbsp Split Roasted Gram(Pottukadalai) 
• 1 tsp Couscous(KasKasa) 
• 1 tsp Fennel Seeds.
• Coriander Leaves removed from 3-4 Stalks.

Add about 1 1/2  cups of water to the sprouts and pressure cook them for 4 whistles. Drain the water and reserve it.

Heat oil in a kadai. Splutter mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and add the curry leaves, cloves, cinnamon, cardamon and bay leaf. Let it cook in medium heat for through 1 min.

Now add the onions and fry till brown, followed by the ginger garlic paste. Fry till the raw smell goes off.

Add the tomatoes and cook till tender.

Now add the cooked peas along with turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder. Fry for 2 minutes.

Add the coconut paste, with 1/2 cup of the reserved water and add salt. If the gravy appears to be very thick, add some more water.

Bring it boil over medium-high heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.

P.S. Do not discard the drained water from the sprouts. You can use it as a stock for any soup. It will increase the flavor and also its highly nutritious.


The recipe is on its way to My Legume Love Affair started by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook and hosted by Simple Indian Food.