Ranjini Rao's Blog, page 14

A Mint-fresh Makeover – Masala Chickpea Salad

The protein-packed, fairly beloved chickpeas are an integral part of Indian cuisine. As kids, we loved the sight of the pale-skinned and stubby nuggets as they dropped like a bunch of rocks into a stainless steel pot where they would be soaked in water overnight, and would watch in wonderment as the lid was flipped over to reveal pleasantly plumped-up beans in the morning. The pungent aromas of roasted fennel, coriander, red chillies and cumin, along with the sharp bite of cardamom, cloves, cinnamon..the headiness of onion-garlic-ginger fried to a golden brown finish, of ripe and juicy tomato chunks ceding to the oil..would linger on tantalizingly as the chickpeas, once cooked to a soft and tubery consistency, were steeped in a savory and spicy sauce, to scoop up with hot pooris – a weekend treat, typically.

Of course, there are a handful of other ways to use them that have stood the test of time, including chaats and hummusy varieties, but that’s never stopped us from putting a fresh spin on things, like in our Chickpea Pops, for instance. And knowing fully well that that decrees movie time in our households, we had to shake things up a bit to maintain the after-school decorum. As an extension of our favorite childhood memory that pretty much defined Sundays for us, we came up with a tangy, kicked-up warm Chickpea Salad that can be served all on its own as a weekday snack that is both healthy and fun, and not just for the school-goers.

Minty Masala Chickpea Salad

(Serves 6)

2 Cans chickpeas or 3 cups cooked chickpeas
½ Cup mint leaves, loosely packed
½ Cup cilantro/coriander leaves, loosely packed
2 Tablespoons oil
1 Heaped tablespoon grated fresh ginger root
2 Thai/Indian green chillies or jalapenos, slit
1 Teaspoon ground coriander
½ Teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 Teaspoon cayenne or red chilli powder 
1/8 Teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 Teaspoon turmeric
1/8 Teaspoon ground fennel
1 Bay leaf
Salt to taste
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 Tablespoon lemon juice


If you are using canned chickpeas, drain and rinse them, then set aside.
Wash and dry the mint and cilantro/coriander. Finely chop them up in a food processor or by hand. Set aside.
Warm the oil in a large skillet placed on medium heat and add the ginger and chillies/jalapenos. Cook until the ginger is fragrant, about 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Toss in the coriander, cumin, cayenne/red chilli powder, cinnamon, turmeric, fennel, bay leaf and salt. Stir for a few seconds to allow the spices to toast up. Add the chickpeas and toss well with the spices. Stir in the tomato paste. Cover and cook on medium-low heat for about 7-8 minutes so that the chickpeas absorb the flavors. Stir occasionally. Finally, mix in the cilantro and mint that were chopped earlier, and the lemon juice and turn off the heat. You can serve them warm, but they’re also good at room temperature.

We like to serve these as an appetizer, especially when dinner is going to be late or serve bowlfuls for a wholesome and filling after-school snack. Add some whole-wheat pita bread and tzatziki if you’d like to make a light lunch of it. Or take along a box to munch at an outdoor picnic.

Find more Indian-inspired recipes using everyday ingredients in our new eBook – MANGO MASALA: 60 Indian Recipes From Your Local Supermarket..now available on Amazon.com.

Curried and Creamy..Carrots And Peas

Sometimes the simplest of things bring the most joy, like witnessing handpicked apples being washed and bitten into by tiny sets of teeth, watching a holiday movie for the umpteenth time while munching on old-fashioned, kettle-fresh popcorn and laughing collectively at the same old jokes as the snowflakes fall in sheets outside, or serving a simple comforting meal to the family that has finally gathered around the table all at once on a Friday evening.

What then is a simple, comforting meal, one might ask. It can be anything from a favored warm soup to a tenderly cooked vegetable mix, eaten with rice, breads or by itself. Back in the day when we fussed over vegetables, pushing the peas around our plates like tennis balls while our Moms got busy scooping up dessert, or fingering the carrot cubes until they flew in imperfect arcs to land in the garbage cans when our Moms had stirred from their chairs to re-heat something else, we never imagined we’d face similar things as Moms ourselves. But we did, and we learned our way around them.

In this instance, one of our triumphs is highlighted – in which we combined those two sweet yet shunned vegetables in an agreeably spiced up side dish that turned the sorry shrugs into cheering little arms thrown right up in the air.

Creamy Carrot and Peas Curry

(Serves 4)

1 Tablespoon oil
½ Teaspoon cumin seeds
1 Medium onion, minced
6 Carrots, chopped
2 Cups peas – frozen or fresh
Salt to taste
1/8 Teaspoon cayenne/ red chilli powder
½ Teaspoon  ground coriander
½ Teaspoon  ground cumin
Pinch of turmeric
½ Cup whole milk or half-and-half
¼ Teaspoon garam masala
¼ Cup chopped coriander/cilantro leaves


Heat the oil in a large skillet or kadhai placed on medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and let them toast up for a few seconds. Stir in the onions and cook until they are just starting to turn brown. Tip in the carrots. Toss on medium-high heat for a couple of minutes. Add the peas.
Add the salt, cayenne/red chilli powder, ground coriander and cumin, and turmeric. Continue to toss for another minute.
Now add a splash of water and lower the heat. Cover and cook until the vegetables are tender.
Uncover and pour in the milk. Simmer until the milk has almost evaporated, leaving a little gravy clinging to the carrots and peas. Stir in the garam masala and garnish with the chopped coriander/cilantro.

Serve warm, as a salad or a side.

Note: You can also substitute a 1-pound bag of carrot and peas in this recipe in place of the fresh ones that we have used.

Find more Indian-inspired recipes using everyday ingredients in our new eBook – MANGO MASALA: 60 Indian Recipes From Your Local Supermarket..now available on Amazon.com.

Announcing the Winners of our iTunes Giveaway!

Thanks a whole bunch to everyone who entered our iTunes Giveaway for our new eBook – Mango Masala: 6o Indian Recipes From Your Local Supermarket. We’re happy to announce the winners below, selected at random. Congratulations!!

Please email us at tadkapasta@gmail.com by Friday, 4th January 2013 21:00 PST and we will send you the instructions for downloading the eBook.

Winners (in no particular order) -

Sandhya Ramakrishnan
Nisha
Cumin Coriander Cardamom
Pollyada
Theresa Miller
Gloria
Sarah Ludwig
Shirley 
Ritika
Munira

In case we do not hear from any of the winners, we would be picking the next person on the random sequence, so please do write in immediately.

Thanks again for following us and we hope you enjoy our eBook!

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Timestamp: 2013-01-04 05:15:25 UTC

Indian-style Hot Tomato Soup

Is it a fruit? Is it a vegetable? It is the To-amor-to that Amor himself spins on his axis while the world watches on in awestruck fascination. Really, what’s not to love about the tomato? Never mind the Reynoldsburgians who claim to have rights over the commercial origins of this ravishing red globe, or the Spanish La Tomatina fanatics who destroy a few hundreds of it spiritedly and tirelessly every year – the lovers of tomato are a unified lot and all have dibs on it in their own modest ways.

While the familiar Campbells soup ranks high on many a shelf and pantry in America, in the Indian kitchen, the tomato takes its place in chutneys and gravies and scores of everyday dishes. In fact, it would hardly be a stretch if we said the tomato is at the very core of Indian cooking. The conventional Indian supper consists in most part of breads and vegetable sides, where the base comprises an onion-garlic-tomato gravy into which different varieties of cooked vegetables are steeped.

The tomato even makes itself felt in a dessert, another chutney of sorts with dates, raisins and strains of sugariness running through it in close competition with a handful of spices used with ample restrain. With sensibilities that are well in tune with said order of spices, so to speak, and a culinary acumen that is rooted in their flavors, we’d barely flinch before adding a smattering of them to our Campbells on wintry Midwestern evenings when the bones would rattle and refuse to work in the kitchen. But there are days when nothing can stop us, in any part of the world, from stirring up a pot of tomato soup from scratch the way we know best to do, whether it is to soothe sicknesses or vitalize a worn-out-weekday dinner.

Indian-style Hot Tomato Soup

(Serves 4)

1 Pound ripe tomatoes
1 Carrot
2 Pods garlic
1 Tablespoon light olive oil
1 Tablespoon butter
1 Bay leaf
½ Teaspoon ground coriander
½ Teaspoon ground cumin
½ Teaspoon ground mustard
¼ Teaspoon ground fennel
1/8 Teaspoon cayenne/red chili powder
Pinch of turmeric
¼ Teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
1 Teaspoon salt or to taste
½ Teaspoon sugar
Salted butter or cream to top the soup


Cut the tomatoes into quarters or eighths. Peel and chop the carrot and garlic.
Place all the vegetables along with 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker or large soup pot. Once the pressure cooker whistles, reduce the heat and cook for about 5 minutes. If using a soup pot, bring to a boil and then cover and simmer for about 15-20 minutes or until the vegetables are very tender. Set aside to cool slightly.
Transfer the vegetables and the liquids to a food processor or blender and process until smooth. You may need to do this in batches.
Strain the puree using a fine sieve, pressing to push all the liquid through. Discard the seeds and skins that are left behind in the sieve.
Dry the pressure cooker or pot that you used and place on medium-low heat. Add the oil and butter and let the butter melt. Add the bay leaf and let it sizzle for a minute. Then toss in the coriander, cumin, red chili powder/cayenne, mustard, fennel, turmeric and black pepper. Sizzle the spices in the oil for a few second and once they start to darken slightly pour in the strained puree. Add the salt and sugar.
Bring the soup to a boil and then simmer for a couple of minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning if required. Remove and discard the bay leaf.
Serve hot – topped with curls of salted butter or streaks of cream with fried croutons, soup sticks or Indian-style dunking rusks as accompaniments.

Find more Indian-inspired recipes using everyday ingredients in our new eBook – MANGO MASALA: 60 Indian Recipes From Your Local Supermarket..now available on Amazon.com.

 

Tune In For An iTunes Giveaway!

We’re spicing up the web one byte at a time..our brand new eBook, MANGO MASALA: 60 Indian Recipes From Your Local Supermarket, is selling like hot cakes on ebooks2go, Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Noble and..we’re now live on iTunes!

In the eBook you will find 60 Indian-inspired recipes using everyday ingredients from your pantry and supermarket, and a modern, no-fuss approach to healthy and easy meals.

Here’s a sneak peek into our eBook, with a recipe for Crunchy Hodgepodge, a refreshing, peanutty chopped salad from the chapter – Salads & Sandwiches..

Bean sprouts, apple, carrots, cucumber, bell pepper and red onion ..a crackling cohesion of bite-edged textures..and a yogurty dressing that seems so coolly to curtsy and take a backseat. This Crunchy HodgePodge will leave you licking your bowl, fork, or both, if you discount the fingertips.

Crunchy HodgePodge

(Serves 4)

For the Salad -

¼ Cup roasted peanuts
1 Teaspoon sesame seeds
1 Cup fresh mung bean sprouts
1 Cup finely chopped red cabbage – tender leaves only (ribs removed)
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and diced
½ Cup shredded carrots
1 Cup chopped English cucumber
1 Tomato de-seeded and chopped
½ Red bell pepper, chopped
¼ Cup chopped Red onion

For the dressing -

1 Small pod garlic
¼ Cup Greek yogurt
1 Teaspoon honey
¼ Teaspoon lemon pepper
¼ Teaspoon Sriracha
Salt to taste


Crush the peanuts in a food processor to a coarse powder. Set aside
Lightly roast the sesame seeds in a small skillet. Set aside to cool.
To make the dressing, chop the garlic and sprinkle a few grains of salt over it. Mash to a paste using the flat side of a chef’s knife. Scrape the garlic paste into a bowl. Add the yogurt, honey, lemon pepper, Sriracha and salt. Whisk well.
In a large salad bowl, place all the remaining ingredients. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Stir in the peanuts and top with the toasted sesame seeds.

Enjoy the salad scooped onto crisp, whole-grain flatbread or toasted pita bread.

And now..we’re hosting a special giveaway - 10 lucky winners will get a FREE iTunes download of our eBook! To enter, do any of the following:

“Like” us on Facebook
“Follow” us on Twitter
 to our blog 

Don’t forget to leave us a comment at this post, mentioning your Facebook/ Twitter/ email ids so we can contact you if you’re one of the lucky 10 winners!

The giveaway is open until Midnight CST Jan 2, 2013.

Winners will be picked at random from all the comments and announced here on the blog on , Saturday January 5, 2013.

And..for some novel takes on how you can gift our eBook this holiday season, do check out our blogpost - Give An eGift With A Tasty Twist!

UPDATE: The giveaway is now closed and the winners are announced here.

Fruity, Creamy, Nutty..Christmassy!

As Christmas draws closer, we are consumed by thoughts of melancholy and a deep, insatiable yearning for holidays past, both in light of some recent events that have made everyone’s spirits dull and owing in part to the fact that love made a world of difference when people cared enough to notice. Yet, things must go on, as we endeavor to seek strength in our daily blessings, and in the smiles of our little ones.

It often seems only like yesterday when the holidays meant so much more than just fancy dinners and presents, or jazzy cards to send out to people. The sheer positivity in the air and the warmth of the people around us far surpassed the material pleasures. And today we believe ever more strongly that sharing food with those we love, those who matter and those who are in need of it, is the greatest gift we can give.

This fruitcake trifle is an ode to that sentiment, just as much as it is to the Christmases of yore that were spent doing simple things, like indulging a little..and giving, a little. It is suggestive of the local bakery plum cakes, of homemade, old-fashioned custard and cream-topped fruit salads, and in curious ways, even of the warm, cardamom-scented teas that were served as accompaniments to late evening snacks, just before the carol singers tiptoed their way through the communities.

Vanilla-flecked Fruitcake Trifle

(Serves 6)

1 Pound prepared fruitcake
1/3 Cup orange juice or rum
1/3 Cup strawberry jam or orange marmalade 
Vanilla Bean Custard (Recipe follows)
¼ Cup roasted cashews and a few cranberries for topping


Cut the fruitcake into ½” cubes. Spread about a third of the cubed cake at the bottom of a glass bowl or trifle dish.
Lightly sprinkle the cubes with about 2 Tablespoons of the orange juice or rum.
Warm the jam/marmalade for about 20-30 seconds in the microwave to loosen it. Drizzle about 2 Tablespoons of the warm jam/marmalade all over the cake.
Next spoon about a third of the custard over the cake layer.
Repeat with the cake, orange-juice/rum, jam/marmalade and custard two more times, ending with a layer of custard.
Chill the pudding for a few hours.
Garnish with the roasted cashews and cranberries and serve cold.

Vanilla-bean Custard

1 Vanilla bean or 2 substitute Teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 Cups+2 Tablespoons whole milk
1 Egg
¼ Cup sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch/cornflour


Bring 3 cups of milk to a simmer in a medium saucepan.
Meanwhile beat the egg in a small bowl. Whisk in the sugar, cornstarch and remaining 2 tablespoons milk until smooth.
Make a slit in the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into the hot milk. Whisk to break them up and mix into the milk. If using vanilla extract, skip this step.
Take the milk off the heat and whisk in the egg mixture. Continue whisking and return the pot to low heat. Simmer for about 6-7 minutes, stirring often so that the custard does not stick to the bottom of the pot. Switch off the heat.
If you are using vanilla extract, stir it in now.
Cool the custard to room temperature before using in the trifle, stirring often to avoid formation of a skin.

Find more Indian-inspired recipes using everyday ingredients in our new eBook – MANGO MASALA: 60 Indian Recipes From Your Local Supermarket..now available on Amazon.com.

Portrait of a Pretty Pink Carrot

These pretty pink carrots are exclusively available in the winter months in Northern India, and eagerly waited upon to be snapped up by eager foodies like us. Their irresistible color adds a rosy flair to dozens of dishes, in both dinner and dessert spreads. Light raspberry pink in color, long and spindly in form, they taste mildly sweet and juicy, and are eaten both raw and cooked – in salads, breads, stir-fries and halwas. When we laid our hands this month on the first bunch of the season, we wanted to make a dish that would highlight their every facet before they disappeared into a warm salad with early peas or melted into a blush milk broth.

We cut them into fingers, added a few select spices to bring out their peppery nuances and when we roasted them, the flare of their rouge morphed into gorgeous rusty reds, and streaks of golden yellow emerged from the pale insides. With the kick of the spices providing a foil to the sweetness and zest of the carrots, it took only a few freckles of sesame to make them the star of the meal that night.

Sesame Carrot Sticks with Garam Masala

(Serves 4)

6 Pink carrots or a Pound of regular carrots
2 Tablespoons sesame* or light olive oil
¼ Teaspoon salt or to taste
¼ Teaspoon garam masala
1/8 Teaspoon red chilli powder or cayenne
Tiny pinch of turmeric
Fresh cracked black pepper
1 Teaspoon sesame seeds


Preheat the oven to 400°F/220°C. Line a baking sheet with foil and grease well or just use parchment paper.
Wash and dry the carrots. Trim the top and bottom ends and lightly scrape the skins. Cut them into sticks all about the same size. Pink carrots are almost a foot long – cut them into halves, and leave the top half whole if it is not too thick. Split the bottom part into 2 and then each of those pieces into 2 or 3 sticks.
In a small bowl, stir together the oil, salt, garam masala and turmeric.
Lay out the carrots on the baking sheet and brush with the spiced oil. Toss well and then spread them out in a single layer. Add a few twists of fresh cracked black pepper.
Place in the middle rack of the oven. Roast for about 25-30 minutes or until tender, tossing once.
Take the carrots out, sprinkle the sesame seeds and return to the oven for 8 minutes. Serve warm.

* Use sesame oil available in Indian stores here and not toasted sesame oil.

We like to serve these on their own, at the start of the meal or as a side with a simple lentil stew and steamed rice.

Find more Indian-inspired recipes using everyday ingredients in our new eBook – MANGO MASALA: 60 Indian Recipes From Your Local Supermarket..now available on Amazon.com.

Give An eGift With A Tasty Twist!

The holidays are inching closer and everyone seems to be scrambling to buy their loved ones something memorable, something special, something fun. Food is such a great unifier and for everyone who loves good food, there’s never a dearth of fresh and innovative gift ideas. Here are some novel takes on how you can gift our eBook, MANGO MASALA: 60 Indian Recipes From Your Supermarket.

What makes it even more unique is that our eBook is not just for lovers of Indian food, but for everyone in the Western world who is passionate about nutritious, home-style meals that they can whip up with ingredients readily available in their local Supermarkets.

To give our eBook as a gift via Amazon, select the ‘Give as a Gift’ button on the product page. You can choose to email the gift directly to the recipient by entering their email address. Or, you could have the gift delivered to your inbox and then forward it to the recipient, or take a print-out of the email and hand it over personally.

And here, we show you how you can augment that with elements of spice, sparkle, yumminess, or glimmer with these creative ideas..

A beautiful bag of select spices with a little tag that introduces them to, well, Mango Masala, “masala” being the word for a melange of spices in Hindi, India’s national language!

*****

A jar of tangerine marmalade rather delectably complements the mention of our eBook, Mango Masala!

*****

A glittering, festive candle for that long-pending candle-lit dinner, with food cooked right out of Mango Masala recipes!

*****

For the hungry homecooks who are always looking for new tools and ladles..nothing less than a # Bestseller will do, as a tag on..bring it on, with Mango Masala!

*****

For those who love a splash of color in their kitchens, a motley collection of kaleidoscopic serve-ware that will stir them to do a happy dance, especially with the able aid of our very own cookbook, Mango Masala!

*****

Good ol’ chocolates with a twist of something spicy, savory and a little more sweet..Mango Masala has all the tastes covered from cover to cover!

*****

For the coffee-lovers, a special blend for a unique brew..to sip and browse through the delicious recipes in Mango Masala!

*****

Got any more ideas to gift our eBook this holiday season? Share them with us, we’d love to hear from you!