February, 2021 - Vinaya's Culinary Delights

Instant Chapati

Posted on February 5, 2021February 7, 2021 by vinayaprabhu2

This is an amazing recipe of Instant Chapati that my friend Sabitha Shenoy shared with me. No kneading, no rolling nor does it need to be prepared in advance. Ready in just a few minutes. Extremely soft and delicious. You can see from the folds how soft it is. More like a Roomali roti made of wheat flour. Only requirement is a non stick tava/ skillet.

Ingredients:

1 cup wheat flour

Salt as required

1/2 tsp sugar

1 tbsp oil

Water to make a batter of dosa consistency.

Method:

Take one cup of wheat flour in a bowl. Add the salt, sugar and oil. Keep adding water a little at a time taking care to see no lumps are formed. Whisk the batter in one direction adding water till you get a batter of flowing consistency. The batter should not be thick. Heat a non stick tava/ skillet. When it’s just warm, pour a ladleful of the batter and spread it thinly in concentric circles to a diameter of seven to eight inches. The size of the Chapati depends on the size of the tava. Turn up the heat to medium low and allow the Chapati to roast. Once you see bubbles appearing, flip and roast on the other side as well. Keep pressing down with the spatula. Once roasted remove and serve hot. You may brush it with ghee if required.

Note: The entire roasting process has to take place on a medium flame as turning on the heat too high can make the Chapati hard.

This proportion yields 6 chapatis.

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Tomato, spinach and Kidney Beans Soup

Posted on February 5, 2021February 7, 2021 by vinayaprabhu2

Food for the soul! A hearty soup of Kidney Beans, chickpeas, spinach and tomatoes. It is filling and in fact serves as a meal. Two bowls of this delicious soup and you can skip the rice, bread or Roti. Excellent soup for weight watchers. My heartfelt thanks to Veena Shenoy for the recipe .

Ingredients:

One fistful each of Red Kidney Beans and Chickpeas soaked overnight and pressure cooked

25 leaves of spinach chopped fine

5 tomatoes quartered

1 large onion sliced

Salt

1 tsp Kashmii chilly powder

1/2 tsp pepper powder

5 tbsps Maggie sweet and sour sauce

Method:

Pressure cook the tomatoes, spinach and onions to one whistle. Drop it into the mixture of the cooked Kidney beans and chickpeas. Allow it to cool. Strain some of the kidney beans, chickpeas, tomato and spinach , mash it or pulse it in the mixer and add it to the soup to thicken it. Add the chilly and pepper powders, salt, the sweet and sour sauce and bring to a boil. Simmer the soup for a few minutes. Serve hot.

Serves six.

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Crunchy cabbage and carrot stirfry

Posted on February 5, 2021February 7, 2021 by vinayaprabhu2

This is an extremely simple but deliciously divine recipe which was shared by my friend Prasad Naik. Goes well with Chapati, rice or even as a filling in a sandwich. I love to make a meal of it as it’s not only light on the stomach, but amazingly flavourful.

Ingredients:

1 cup each of cabbage, carrot and tomatoes.

2 green chillies slit

1 sprig of curry leaf

1 tbsp oil

A large pinch of turmeric

1 tsp finely chopped coriander leaves

Salt

Method:

Grate the carrots. Chop the cabbage and tomatoes roughly. Heat oil in a pan. Drop in the curry leaves, chillies and turmeric. Immediately add the vegetables and salt. Saute on a high flame for just a few seconds till the vegetables are heated, but retain their crunch. Garnish with coriander leaves, mix and serve hot.

Serves two.

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Bruschetta -2

Posted on February 5, 2021February 5, 2021 by vinayaprabhu2

Here is a Bruschetta, an antipasto or an Italian starter. Normally a French Baguette which is a kind of crusty bread cut at a tangent is used. It is toasted, brushed with olive oil and a clove of garlic is rubbed over it when it’s still warm. I had to make do with a Garlic loaf . Topped it with a salad and seasoned it with herbs. I thank my dear friend Vidya Pai for having shared her recipe. You can find another version of the Bruschetta posted under the hors d’oeuvres section of this website.

Ingredients:

1 garlic loaf sliced at a tangent

2 tomatoes

2 onions

1/2 of a capsicum

1 tsp of mixed herbs

1/ 2 tsp pepper powder

Juice of half a lemon

1 tsp olive oil

Salt

1 tsp coriander leaves

Method:

Chop the coriander leaves, tomatoes, capsicum and onions. Tip in the lemon juice, the mixed herbs, pepper, salt and olive oil. Mix thoroughly. Slice the Garlic loaf at a tangent. Butter it on both sides lightly and toast it for just a minute so that it gets warm. Top it with the salad and serve immediately.

Note: you may use finely chopped garlic, basil leaves, jalapenos and olives as well. I had to make do with what is available because of the shortage during the Lockdown

9 slices per loaf.

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Babycorn fritters-3

Posted on February 4, 2021February 7, 2021 by vinayaprabhu2

This is the third variety of Babycorn fritters that I am posting in my website. A traditional Konkani masala used to coat them. Babycorn has only been recently included in the Konkani cuisine. This recipe was shared by my friend Pushpalata Pai. These fritters double up as a snack as well as an accompaniment to a meal. Usually rice is soaked and ground fine, but when in a hurry you may use rice flour. Just grind it with a little water, chilly powder and cumin seeds, but the way it is traditionally made is hands down a winner.

Ingredients:

15 tender Babycorn slit lengthwise into two

1/2 cup raw rice soaked for an hour

4 Byadgi chillies ( they add colour)

4 Guntur chillies ( they add spice)

1 tsp Jeera/ cumin seeds

Chickpea sized piece of Hing/ asafoetida

Salt

Oil for frying

Drain the soaked rice. Tip it into a mixer jar with the Byadgi and Guntur chillies, Jeera, Hing and salt. Grind to a fine paste with a little water . Drop the batter into a bowl. Add the Babycorn. Mix gently and keep aside for about fifteen minutes. Heat oil in a pan. Drop in the Babycorn about 6 -7 at a time and fry till they are golden orange and crisp. Serve hot.

This proportion makes 30 fritters.

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Vodi kismuri-2

Posted on February 4, 2021February 7, 2021 by vinayaprabhu2

This crunchy, tasty Vodi kismuri is best enjoyed with a Dal rice. Vodi are Onion fryums the recipe of which I have shared in my website. You can also buy the sun-dried ones available and fry them. This kismuri is usually made of the Vodi which is broken while handling. I have already posted the version which I generally make. This recipe was shared by my friend Nandini Supriya Bhat. This one needs to be prepared just a few minutes prior to a meal as making it beforehand turns it soggy.

Ingredients:

1 medium sized bowl of fried onion Vodi crushed

1 large onion chopped fine

1/2 of a medium sized carrot grated

1 green chilly minced

Salt

1tsp coconut oil/ optional

Method:

Crush the minced chilly and salt together and tip them into a bowl. Add the grated carrot , onion and mix well. Drop in the crushed Vodi, mix and serve immediately. You may serve it drizzled with a little coconut oil. Recipe link to the Onion Vodi is given below.

https://vinayasculinarydelights.com/onion-fryums-vodi-recipe/

This proportion serves 3.

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Colourful salad

Posted on February 4, 2021February 7, 2021 by vinayaprabhu2

The recipe of this extremely colourful and delicious salad was shared by my friend Nandita Basroor. Inspite of no spice being used, you need no subzi or any curry as accompaniment if you prepare this. Wrap it in a Roti, use it as a filling in a sandwich or enjoy it with a Dal rice.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup each of the following vegetables chopped fine

Cabbage

Tomatoes

Onion

1 tbsp of finely chopped coriander leaves

Juice of half a lemon

Salt

1/2 tsp sugar

Method:

Mix the above mentioned chopped vegetables and drizzle the lemon juice over them. Mix thoroughly. Refrigerate. Add sugar and salt a couple of minutes before serving. Adding them beforehand makes the salad soggy and it loses it’s crunch.

Serves one.

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Beetroot Pulao

Posted on February 4, 2021February 7, 2021 by vinayaprabhu2

The recipe of this delicious Beetroot Pulao was shared by my friend Jyothi Nayak Kamath. One pot meals are always a blessing since they can be eaten as is or can be served with some curd and a raw salad.

Ingredients:

2 cups basmati rice cooked and ready

2 large onions sliced

1 cup beetroot finely chopped

1/2 cup chopped spinach

1/2 cup green peas cooked

1 inch piece of ginger

5 cloves of garlic

For the tempering:

3 tbsps Ghee/ clarified butter

2 tbsps oil

2 bay leaves

2 cardamom

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp coriander seeds

4-5 cloves

1 inch cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoon chilly powder

Method:

Heat the Ghee and oil mixture in a pan. Add the bay leaves. Toss. Add the onions and keep roasting till they are translucent. In the meantime powder the cloves, cinnamon, coriander and cardamom. Make a paste of the ginger and garlic. Once the onions turn translucent tip in the ginger garlic paste, the powdered spices, chilly powder and toss for a couple of minutes. Add the beetroot and spinach and saute till they are cooked. Drop in the green peas, rice and salt. Mix thoroughly, cover and heat the Pulao for about ten minutes on a gentle flame.

Serves four.

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Chaal Makha

Posted on February 3, 2021February 3, 2021 by vinayaprabhu2

Chal Makha is a traditional offering or what we call Naivedya by the Bengalis. A variety of fruits are chopped up, rice is soaked, drained and mashed up along with the fruits, some Sondesh, Batasha and Mishti Dhoi. I was intrigued when I heard from my friend Sumana Ganguly of raw rice being offered or for that matter consumed, but then realised that down South we have soaked raw lentils offered as Naivedya. Each community in India have their own traditions and customs, one more beautiful than the other. Proud to be an Indian.

Sondesh, Batasha and Mishti Dhoi are readily available and one just needs to mix them with the chopped fruits and soaked rice.

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Swaminarayan Khichdi

Posted on February 3, 2021February 4, 2021 by vinayaprabhu2

The Swaminarayan sect is the group of people who follow Sahajanand Swamiji also known as Swaminarayan. Hinduism promotes food without onion and garlic as they are considered Tamasic/ creating sloth. This Khichdi is served at the Swaminarayan temples throughout India accompanied by a bowl of seasoned Buttermilk called Vagharela chaas.

Ingredients:

1 cup rice/ preferably Basmati
½ cup Arhar daal/ split pigeon peas
A handful of groundnuts pressure cooked
2 cloves
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1 stick cinnamon
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
2 tablespoons Ghee/ clarified butter
2 tablespoons chopped corriander
Salt

Vegetables:

2 medium-sized potatoes – cut into small pieces
1 medium-sized tomato – cut into small pieces
½ cup of mixed vegetables: peas, carrots, capsicum, cut into small pieces.
1 teaspoon ginger-chilli paste.
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
2 tablespoons ghee
Salt

Method:

Wash the rice and Dal and soak for 15 minutes
Heat ghee in a pan and add the mustard seeds. After they splutter add the chilli-ginger paste, turmeric powder and stir fry
Drop in the potatoes and toss for a minute. Add rest of the vegetables and saute.
In a pressure cooker heat ghee, add the cumin seeds, mustard, turmeric powder, cloves and the cinnamon stick. Toss. Add the soaked Dal, rice and groundnuts. Pour in four cups of boiling water, the stir fried vegetables and check for salt. Fasten the lid and pressure cook to three whistles. Serve garnished with a dollop of Ghee.

Vagharela chaas:

Ingredients:

1 cup thick curds
1.5 cups of water
1 tsp finely chopped coriander leaves
Salt

For the tempering:

1 tsp Ghee
1 tsp Cumin seeds
2 green chillies minced

Method:

Whisk the curds well. Add water and salt. Heat Ghee in a pan. Drop in the cumin seeds and the green chillies. Saute. Drop the seasoning into the buttermilk. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with the khichdi.

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