Tag Archives: Food

Recipe: Pineapple Halwa or Pineapple Kesari

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One of the simplest sweets, a kesari or Halwa is made of semolina or rava and is usually the go-to sweet in many South Indian households. Very simply put, a kesari is a sweet sweet upma.

The usual way to make a Kesari is to make it exactly like a plain upma and substitute salt with sugar. Most people add a bit of orange colour to get the distinctive orange hue. During Navaratri last year, I decided to make this on one of the days and added pineapple to it to make Pineapple Kesari. Because I didn’t have any colour on hand, I used a bit of saffron which is why my Kesari is pale cream or yellow. If orange or yellow colour is used, it would have a bright yellow colour.

Pineapple Kesari

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup semolina or rava, roasted
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 cups water
  • 4 tbsp ghee
  • 12-15 cashewnuts
  • 1 tbsp raisins
  • ¼ tsp cardamom powder
  • 1 tin canned pineapple
  • 1-2 drops natural yellow or orange colour
  • 1 large pinch saffron

Method:

  • Dry roast the semolina until it starts to emit an aroma. If it is already pre-roasted, you just need to dry roast it for a couple of minutes.
  • Boil the water in a kettle or pot and keep aside, letting it be boiling until needed.
  • Heat 2 tbsp ghee in the same pan in which the semolina was roasted and when the ghee becomes warm and fry the cashew nuts until they are golden brown. Drain the ghee and remove to a kitchen towel and keep aside.
  • Fry the raisins for a couple of seconds and remove and keep aside.
  • Keep aside some of the pineapple and chop it into tiny pieces and keep aside. Blend the balance pineapple into a fine puree and keep aside.
  • Heat 2 tbsp ghee and fry the pineapple pieces for a few minutes. Add in the puree and saute covered for about two minutes.
  • Now add the sugar and stir well. Add in the water and let the water come to a rolling boil. Add in any colour if you are using as well as the saffron.
  • Now add the roasted semolina and quickly stir so that there no lumps form. Add in the cardamom powder as well as the fried cashew nuts and raisins and stir constantly so that lumps are avoided. A rule of thumb I use is that to make the kesari slightly watery so that it does not harden as it cools. Once the water has been absorbed, cover and serve hot.

Notes:

  • If the kesari is cold, you can warm it slightly before serving as this sweet tastes better warm rather than cold.
  • If you are not using tinned pineapple, you will need to cook the pineapple pieces for a bit and soften it before adding the semolina.

In My Hands Today…

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Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World – Dan Koeppel

To most people, a banana is a banana: a simple yellow fruit. Americans eat more bananas than apples and oranges combined. In others parts of the world, bananas are what keep millions of people alive. But for all its ubiquity, the banana is surprisingly mysterious; nobody knows how bananas evolved or exactly where they originated. Rich cultural lore surrounds the fruit: In ancient translations of the Bible, the ‘apple’ consumed by Eve is actually a banana (it makes sense, doesn’t it?). Entire Central American nations have been said to rise and fall over the banana.

But the biggest mystery about the banana today is whether it will survive. A seedless fruit with a unique reproductive system, every banana is a genetic duplicate of the next, and therefore susceptible to the same blights. Today’s yellow banana, the Cavendish, is increasingly threatened by such a blight — and there’s no cure in sight.

Banana combines a pop-science journey around the globe, a fascinating tale of an iconic American business enterprise, and a look into the alternately tragic and hilarious banana subculture (one does exist) — ultimately taking us to the high-tech labs where new bananas are literally being built in test tubes, in a race to save the world’s most beloved fruit.

Recipes: Panchmel Dal

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I have mentioned before that dal is an integral part of Indian cuisine and this dal comes to us from the state of Rajasthan. I have been curious about this dal for a while now and when I finally made it, I had to share it.

This dal is usually made from five different types of dal, but you can play with the types of dal and use less than five or more if you want. It usually made from toor dal, moong dal, chana dal, moong dal and black urad dal. The dal becomes quite thick when it cools down so it needs to be made slightly thinner than usual.

Panchmel Dal

Ingredients:

  • ¼ cup toor dal
  • ¼ cup urad dal
  • ¼ cup moong dal
  • ¼ cup masoor dal
  • ¼ cup chana dal
  • ¾ tsp turmeric
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 4 cloves
  • 1 black cardamom
  • 2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 dried red chilli
  • 1¼ tsp chilli powder
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • ½ tsp garam masala
  • 1 tbsp crushed Kasuri Methi
  • 3-4 tbsp ghee
  • 2 dried red chillis
  • 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
  • 2 medium-sized finely chopped onion
  • 2 finely chopped medium-sized tomatoes
  • Salt to taste
  • Finely chopped coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

  • Wash and rinse the dals multiple times. Soak them in hot water for a few hours.
  • Once the dals are soaked, drain the water and transfer the soaked dals to a pressure cooker.
  • Add ½ tsp turmeric powder, ½ tsp salt, 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp ghee and water to cover the dals and pressure cook for about 6-7 whistles.
  • When the pressure reduces, open the pressure cooker, and check if the dals are cooked. Mash lightly and keep aside.
  • In another pan, heat about 2 tbsp ghee and add the balance bay leaf, the black cardamom, 1 tsp tsp cumin seeds and 1 dried chilli.
  • Saute the spices on a low flame until the spices start becoming fragrant.
  • At this point, add the finely chopped onion, and saute until the onions become translucent.
  • When the onions become golden brown, add 1 tsp chilli powder, ¼ tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp cumin powder and some salt and saute for a while.
  • When the spices have mixed well into the onion paste, add the finely chopped tomatoes and saute until the tomatoes become soft, mushy and start to disintegrate.
  • When this whole mixture starts bubbling, add the cooked dals and mix well adjusting consistency as required.
  • Cover and simmer on a low to medium flame for about 10 minutes or until the flavours are well absorbed.
  • Then add the garam masala, crush the Kasuri Methi in the palms of your hands and add to the dal.
  • In a smaller skillet, heat the balance ghee and add the balance cumin seeds, ¼ tsp chillu powder and the remaining dried chilli and let it splutter.
  • Pour this tempering into the dal, add the coriander leaves and serve hot with rice or Indian flatbreads.

Recipes: Coconut Moong Dal Payasam

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Happy New Year!! Here’s wishing you all loads of good fortune, luck and blessings in 2022. May this year bring back all the joy and happiness that we missed over the last two years.

And to start the new year here’s a sweet recipe to start the year on a sweet note.

Sometime back, during the festive season, I was on a call with my mother and we were discussing sweets, specifically the payasam we make during most festivals. I was telling her I was looking to make something new and different from the usual vermicelli or Dal payasam I usually made. She shared with me this recipe, which is simple, does not use milk and is really rich. I made it and it was a huge hit at home with requests to make it again. So I am sharing this with you too.

Coconut Moong Dal Payasam

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup grated coconut
  • 1 tbsp rice
  • 2 tbsp Moong Dal
  • 2 cups Jaggery
  • Water as required
  • 1 tbsp ghee
  • 10-15 cashewnuts
  • 10-15 raisins
  • A pinch of cardamom powder

Method:

  • Dry roast the rice and moong dal until the dal starts to become a golden brown. At this point, remove from the fire and keep aside to cool down.
  • When cool, blend it to a powder and in the same blend, add the grated coconut and with a bit of water, blend it to a smooth paste. Make sure the paste is as smooth as possible.
  • Halve the cashewnuts and Keep aside.
  • In a pan, heat the ghee and fry the cashewnuts to a golden brown colour. Keep aside.
  • In the same pan, fry the raisins till they plump up and keep aside.
  • In the same pan, mix the coconut paste with 3 times as much water and boil the mixture in a low to medium flame.
  • In the meantime, finely chop the jaggery till it comes to about twice as much as the coconut paste. When the coconut water mixture is at a nice rolling boil, add the jaggery and continue to stir so that it does not stick to the bottom of the pan.
  • Continue boiling for about 5 minutes after it reaching a rolling boil and at this point add in the cardamom powder, raisins and cashew nuts.
  • Switch off the flame, let it cool slightly and serve.

It is delicious served hot and cold. Also note that as the payasam cools down, it will also thicken a bit more, so don’t be too worried if it’s thinner than what you expected.

Recipes: Bean Sprout Stir Fry

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Common in our part of the world, mung bean sprouts are grown by sprouting mung beans and are extensively cultivated and consumed in East and Southeast Asia. I make this recipe quite often for S and the children and it’s a very healthy and easy recipe. Today, however, I am going to share the not healthy version of it. I’ll give the healthy version at the end.

Bean Sprout Stir Fry

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups sprouted moong beans
  • 1 large carrot
  • 1 large potato
  • 1 medium sized sweet potato (optional)
  • 1 tbsp garlic paste
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • Sunflower oil to deep fry
  • 1 large onion, sliced finely
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • A dash of lemon juice (optional)

Method:

  • Peel the carrots, potato and sweet potato if using and chop them into thinnish sticks of about 1 inch length.
  • In a large pan, heat the oil and when the oil becomes hot enough, deep fry the carrot, potato and sweet potato sticks until they turn crisp. Remove and keep aside.
  • In another pan, heat the 1 tbsp oil and when the oil warms up, add the garlic paste and stir.
  • Add the onions and saute till the onions turn translucent.
  • Add the salt and pepper to taste
  • Now add the fried vegetables and stir well
  • When the vegetables and the onions are mixed well, add the bean sprouts and toss well. Let it cook for a few minutes and be careful not to overcook the bean sprouts.
  • Check for seasoning, switch off the gas and drizzle some lemon juice if using.
  • Serve hot.

To make the healthy version, you only need to use carrots and green bell peppers, not potatoes, they will take too long to cook. After the onions become translucent, add in the carrot and bell pepper sticks and saute on a medium to high flame until the vegetables get cooked. Add the salt and pepper and then the bean sprouts. Continue sauteing on a medium to high flame for a few more minutes until the vegetables and the bean sprouts are cooked. Serve hot.