Weekend Links

This little girl will melt your heart

A funny but on point take on Guns: Most of you might have already seen this but in case you missed it, its a must watch.

A hypothetical sketch of Indian States at a bar

Outrageous Offering at Whole Foods: Read it to believe it

Broccoli Quinoa Pulao with Nutritional Yeast Sauce

This was one recipe that had been on my radar for quite some time but I just could not muster the courage to try it out simply because of one new/special/strange ingredient it used - Nutritional Yeast. I had it at home and I had been wanting to try it out but was just too skeptical. I had no valid reason to be afraid of it but just like that I kept avoiding using it until one fine day I sat down to read about it in more detail.
Turns out Nutritional Yeast is a great source of B vitamins including B12 in many cases (not all brands contain active B-12 - read the label). It also contains high amount of protein - 4gms/tbsp and contains all the 18 amino acids which is kind of a big deal. It is also a good source of fibre, folic acid, zinc and selenium plus its vegan and gluten free.
Don't be fooled by the name - its completely different from the baking yeast we are most familiar with. It is made from a single celled organism called Saccharomyces Cerevisiae. The yeast is grown on cane or beet molasses - fermented, then deactivated to stop the growing process. Nutritional Yeast is golden brown in color and is sold both as flakes and powder. It has very cheesy flavor and therefore makes for a great substitute in sauces, dips etc.

It might be especially useful for people who follow vegetarian or vegan diets as its not easy to get the required daily amount of B12 (2.5 mcg) from their diet (milk, yogurt and eggs are other sources that provide some % of B12). Now that being said, I think its best not to heat nutritional yeast which is what this recipe asks for, so this might not be the best example to make use of the B12 supplied by Nutritional yeast. Nevertheless its a great recipe to give nutritional yeast a try and let me assure you, it wont disappoint.

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup Quinoa - uncooked
1 cup water
1.5 cups broccoli - chopped
1 small onion - sliced (optional)
1/2 cup peas (optional)

Sauce
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 cup nut milk or cow's milk
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp mustard sauce
1-2 garlic cloves - minced
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp onion powder (optional)
pinch of red chili powder
pinch of cumin powder
salt & pepper

NOTES
- You could either steam the broccoli and other vegetables or you could saute them.
- You can add other veggies along with brocolli such as carrots, peas or bell peppers.

PROCESS:

1. Sauce: Mix all the ingredients (except the milk) in a small pan and put it on low flame. Gradually add milk while stirring the sauce - till it reaches your desired consistency. You might need to add more milk if the sauce is too spicy for your taste.
2. Cook the quinoa in 1 cup of water
3. Saute the broccoli along with peas and onions if using - cook them till they have a crunchy bite.
4. Assemble the quinoa and vegetables on a plate and top it with the sauce.
5. You could garnish with hemp seeds too 

Recipe Source: Nutrition Stripped

Weekend Links

I hope everyone had an easy weekend, mine was full of good food and lots of naps. Here is what been keept my mind occupied this past week:

Shashi Tharoor's Speech at the Oxford Union: If you have not had a chance to listen it, I sincerely urge you to please do it now - it's succinct, on point and oh so biting

Corporate Social Responsibility: The Kachra project is a community effort to hold Unilever responsible and make amends for the hazardous mercury waste they dumped in Kodaikanal. Once you take a look at the video, please do not forget to sign the petition

Hilarious Bhojpuri Translation of Hollywood movies

AIB Party Song: I am a big AIB and Irrfan Khan fan and these guys just nailed it with their latest work.

Spinach Berry Salad

We have gotten into the habit of eating as much seasonal produce as we can - so these days its all about cherry tomatoes, peaches, plums, corn and berries etc. Besides having them independently, I love the idea of adding them to our regular meals. So a berry spinach salad is right up my alley - quick to assemble and delicious in taste. This is one of the salads that doesn't require much chopping except the strawberries so its something that you can easily make in the mornings. Give it a try and let me know how it turned out:

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup cooked Quinoa (1/2 cup uncooked)
• 4-5 handfuls of spinach
• 1 handful of strawberries
• 1 big handful of blueberries
• 1/4 cup almonds- slivered
• 1/2 avocado - chopped (optional)

Dressing

• 1/4 cup lime juice 
• 2 tsp mustard sauce
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tsp maple syrup/honey
• salt and pepper

NOTES:

- I use regular yellow mustard sauce - you might have to change the quantity depending on how spicy your mustard sauce is.

- You can replace apple cider vinegar with rice vinegar

- Honey/maple/agave syrup either can be used based on availability. I almost always add honey simply because I love it's taste (and I get to lick the spoon afterwards:)

PROCESS:

1. Cook the Quinoa. I usually put twice the amount of water and cook it in a pan.
2. Wash the spinach and berries. Chop the strawberries and put them in a mixing bowl
3. Add the chopped avocado if using
4. Mix the dressing ingredients separately in a bowl and drizzle them over the salad
5. Garnish with almonds and you are done!!

Fig & Arugula Salad with Pistachio Pesto

Serving Size: 2

Ingredients

• two big handfuls of arugula
• 8-10 figs, sliced into halves or quarters
• 1/2 avocado, cubed
• 1 ball of burrata, torn (I did not use it)
• a few splashes of balsamic
• drizzle of olive oil
• sea salt & pepper

pistachio pesto: (this makes extra)

• 1/3 cup toasted pistachios (reserve a few for the salad)
• 1 small bunch of basil (or 1 big handful)
• juice of 1/2 a small lemon
• sea salt & freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 - 1/3 cup olive oil

Notes:

• added goat cheese instead of burrata.
• My pesto turned out to be a bit too spicy so add the dressing in portions to check the taste.

Instructions

1. Make your pesto by pulsing the toasted pistachios in a food processor. Then add basil, lemon, salt & pepper. Pulse again, then add the olive oil and pulse one last time. Add more olive oil if you prefer a smoother pesto. Taste and adjust seasonings.
2. Arrange the arugula, sliced figs, avocado, and burrata on a plate. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Dollop pesto (as much as you like), and drizzle the balsamic vinegar. Crush extra pistachios and sprinkle them on top. Try to distribute the ingredients evenly, or gently toss to be sure each serving gets a bit of each ingredient.

Recipe Source: Love and Lemons

Spinach Khichdi

Khichdi is my go-to comfort food. It is my kind of fast food - healthy, easy and quick to make. For the longest time I used to make Khichdi in the simplest way possible - Mix rice & green mung dal, add salt and pressure cook it. The only fancy thing that I did to my khichdi was top it off with a spicy salad of diced onion and tomatoes.
Off late I have been trying to make khichdi with some variations and the results have been pretty good. The main theme is still a simple mix of dal and rice but the small tweaks have brought a fresh flavour to a good old favorite. In this recipe, adding spinach increases the nutrient value of the khichdi and its still a simple one-pot meal. I make this often especially when I have some extra spinach on hand that needs to be finished. There are a couple of different ways to incorporate spinach into the khichdi, I have put the options in the Notes below:

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup yellow mung dal
1/2 cup masoor dhuli dal
1/2 cup rice
3 cups spinach - finely chopped (can add more)
3 cups water
salt
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
Tadka/Tempring
1 tbsp ghee
1tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp garlic -minced
1-2 whole red chillies
2-3 tejpatta
1 pinch heeng/asafetida
1/4 tsp garam masala (optional)

NOTES:
-Spinach: I simply chop the spinach and add it to the pressure cooker along the dal and rice - this is the simplest way to approach this one pot meal. You could chop and blanch the spinach separately and add it to the khichdi mix once its cooked - you will need to cook it a bit more after addign the spinach. Another alternative is to simply blend the raw spinach into a smooth paste and add it to the cooked khichdi - again you would want to cook the mixture for a few minutes once you add the spinach. In all the above options, tadka is the last step in the recipe.
-If you want your khichdi to be more fancy, you could also add another layer of tadka to the cooked khichdi - starting with minced ginger-garlic in a 1tbsp of ghee. Followed by chopped onion and chopped tomatoes.

PROCESS:

1. Cook the the washed lentils, rice and spinach mixed with 3 cups of water in a pressure cook. It usually takes 2 whistles on medium flame. Add more water if you feel the khichdi looks too dry.
2. Het ghee in a pan and add the cumin seeds, followed by minced garlic. Then add the tejpatta and red chillies. Add the hing.
3. Add this tadka to the khichdi and mix it well and let the khichdi simmer for a couple of minutes. Add the garam masala if using. At this point, adjust the seasoning and add water to make the consistency as per your liking.
4. Khichdi is ready to be served.

Weekend Links

Spoiled Rotten: Being too friendly with your kids might backfire - a great article on today's parenting style.
Object of Desire: A brilliant article on the issue of female consent and how our films are propagating a very skewed version of it.
Before I say Goodnight: A beautiful piece on the fragility and beauty of out lives.

Weekend Links

It has been a while since I did a post on what I have been reading. Here are few things that I found really great:

TED Talk: The Happy Secret to Better Work. Funny and insightful. Pay attention to the last 30 secs.
Swallow This: The dark secrets of the food industry - scary but eye opening. A long article but I really urge that you take the time out to read it.
How to make stress your friend: It shows a new and very insightful perspective on stress and how to handle it.

Grilled Corn & Pepper Salad

 This is a perfect summer salad that you can have for lunch or as dinner on a warm evening. I made it for lunch last week and and was planning to skip the grilling part of it as I don't own a grill but I am glad I did not. I used my oven to grill the vegetables - which was essentially roasting them but I still liked the corn and peppers better this way compared to adding them raw (at least in this recipe). The salad is topped with a delicious sweet and savory chili lime dressing that brings out the flavors of all the vegetables:

INGREDIENTS:
1 tbsp Olive Oil
2-3 handfuls of Arugula
1 large red pepper - deseeded and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 small onion - sliced length wise
1-2 corn cobs -
1 cup of black beans (Rajma) - soaked overnight & boiled
1 avocado - chopped
1/2 cup fresh cilantro - chopped
Fresh goat cheese
Corn chips - garnish
Dressing:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lime juice (might need more)
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
1-2 tsp honey or agave nectar
1/2 tsp salt

NOTES:
- This time I had not soaked the black beans well in time so could not add them - but I added some cooked black rice which I had in the fridge - they brought some extra texture to the dish.
- Maybe next time - I will try adding the corn without grilling them

PROCESS:

1. Preheat the oven to 400F and put it on broil.
2. Put some olive oil on the chopped peppers, sliced onions and the whole corn cobs ( I just use my hand to mix in the oil) - sprinkle some salt and pepper. Place the veggies on a cookie sheet and place them in the oven. Roast/grill the veggies till they are bit charred - takes anywhere between 15-20 mis.
3. Dressing: Whisk in all the ingredients in a small bowl. I had to add in more lime juice later once I mixed the dressing in the salad. So you might have to adjust the lime juice, chili flakes, salt etc to your preference.
4. Once the veggies are done - slice the corn put it in a big bowl along with the onion, peppers and the arugula. Add in the chopped avocado, beans. 
5. Drizzle the dressing
6. Garnish with cilantro, goat cheese and corn chips - crushed into pieces. 

Cherry Crostini

The cherry season is almost over here in the bay area but we are far from done with them. I found some very good ones from Oregon selling at my local store and I got home a big bag. I am mostly not in favor of cooking with fruits primarily because it feels like you are killing their awesome natural texture and juices.
But a few days back, when I caught a glimpse of this crostini on the pages of a magazine (Bon appetit to be exact), I was literally drooling - so much so that I made it that same evening. It's a pretty simple dish which would work as an awesome appetizer, we however had it for dinner.

INGREDIENTS:
1-2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups cherries - pitted and halved
baguette slices
fresh goat cheese
Coarse salt
fresh black pepper

NOTES:
- Buy the best quality goat cheese you can find and account for its salt content. Mine had no salt added.
- I did pit the cherries first, using the flat end of a chopstick. (It's not as hard or time consuming as it sounds).However, I later on realized that I could have simply cut the cherries in half and then thrown the pit. Try both options and see which one works best for you.

PROCESS:

1. Heat oil in a cast iron skillet or a heavy bottom pan - keep the flame high
2. Add cherries and cook them for about 5 minutes- stir frequently. The cherries should turn soft but not falling apart.
3. Sprinkle the salt and pepper
4. Smear goat cheese on baguette slices - top with a spoonful of cherries.

Tomato Panzanella Salad

This is one of my all time favorite salads - I am surprised that I have not posted it till now. I make it ever so often and is one of the few recipes that I remember by heart (kind-of). There are quite a few variations of the Panzanella salad out there, the one given below is broadly what I stick to based on the ingredients I have on hand.

Serves: 2 as main dish

INGREDIENTS:
Bread Croutons (homemade or store bought)
1 handful of salad leaves (optional)
2-3 handful of cherry tomatoes - halved
1/2 red onion
1 small green pepper
1 small red pepper
1 garlic clove - minced
2 tbsp - fresh basil leaves - chiffonade
2 tbsp Vinegar (Rice or Apple Cider)
2 tbsp Olive oil + 1 tbsp for making croutons
Salt
Pepper

NOTES:
- For making the croutons, you can use any bread - I used the multi-grain bread that I usually have on hand.
- A classic panzanella does not include salad leaves, but I tend to add a fistful to add a bit of crunch.

PROCESS:

1. If you are planning to make the croutons at home - its a pretty simple process. Tear 2 slices of bread into bite sized pieces. (You can use any bread -I used the multi-grain bread that I usually have). Put them in a bowl and drizzle olive oil (1tbsp) and mix well. If you want you can sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper as well - I dont. Spread the bread pieces in a single layer on to a parchment lined baking tray and put them in the oven at 400F for about 7 minutes. 
2. Prep the Veggies: Cut the cherry tomatoes into half and dice the onion. Dice the peppers and mince the garlic clove. Chop basil leaves.
3. Mix all the veggies and basil in a bowl. Top with the freshly made bread crumbs. 
4. Drizzle the oil and vinegar. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Let the salad for about 10-15minutes for the flavors to develop. You can eat it even later but be careful to add the bread just before eating otherwise it would become soggy.

Rainbow Chard & Strawberry Salad

This is a salad that I have been making for quite some time. It makes for a really refreshing summer meal that has nice sweet and sour notes. I really don't follow any strict measurements and just mix the ingredients in the quantity that looks good in my salad bowl. I made this salad again yesterday but forgot to take pictures - will whip it up again soon and post some photos. Till then here is how to go about it:

INGREDIENTS

• 5-6 leaves and stalks of rainbow chard - finely chopped (can you any kind of chard)
• 1 handful of strawberries - sliced
• 1 handful of cherry tomatoes - halved
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• juice of 1/2 lime
• Lightly Roasted walnuts (optional)
• Goat cheese (optional)
• salt & pepper

PROCESS

1. Cut the chard into thin slices.
2. Add the chopped strawberries and tomatoes
3. Dressing: Mix the olive oil+honey+lime juice and salt pepper in a small bowl
4. Drizzle the dressing on the salad - if need be mix in additional honey or lime juice depending how sweet or sour you want it to be
5. Toast the walnuts on a low flame till they are fragrant.
6. Garnish with roasted walnuts and goat cheese

Thai Style Green Lentils with Avocado Relish

It has been a while, I posted a new recipe here. The past few weeks went by in a blink of an eye. Anyways, I am back in the kitchen making good old favorites along with trying my hand at a few new concoctions. This dal was one such meal - its was pretty easy to put together provided you had all the ingredients on hand. It turned out to be a simple healthy meal with a mild thai flavor.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup French (Puy Lentils)
• 1-2 Tbsp coconut oil
• 1 Tbsp green thai curry spice mix (optional)
• 2-3 one inch lemongrass stalk (optional)
• 1  tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4  tsp chili powder (cayenne powder)
• 2 large garlic cloves - minced
• 1 inch ginger piece - minced/grated
• 1 small tomato - pureed
• 1 can coconut milk (full fat)
• Juice from 1/2 a Lime
• Handful of fresh cilantro - chopped
• salt and black pepper to taste

NOTES: 

- You can use any type of whole lentils - Sabut Urad (Black Beluga) would work very well here.

- The thai seasonings such a lemongrass and green curry spice add a wonderful flavor to the dish but you can definitely make it without them. It might not be as aromatic but would still be pretty good.

- I don't hate/avoid fats especially plant based fats and that is why I always use full fat coconut milk - if you feel the need you could swap it for a low fat version.

- My dal turned out to be very dark - blackish in color because of the cast iron pot that I had used. If you make it in a stainless steel pot, yours might have a yellowish tinge to it.

PROCESS:

1. Soak the lentils for at least 3-4 hours and then pressure cook them with about 3 cups of water. If you do not soak the dal - you might end up cooking a bit longer. If you do not have ot want to use a pressure cooker,  you could also cook them on a low flame in a normal covered pan for about 40-60 minutes. 
2. Heat the coconut oil in a big heavy bottomed pot - I used my cast iron dutch oven for this. Add the thai curry spice mix+lemongrass+cumin+coriander+turmeric+chili powder.  Toast them for about a minute - till get fragrant and change color.
3. Add the minced garlic and ginger along with salt and pepper - cook for 30 secs.
4. Add the tomato puree and let it cook for about 15-20 minutes on low flame - till the tomatoes are fully cooked and all excess water has disappeared. 
5. Once your above tadka (spice mix) is done - mix in the cooked lentils to it. (Alternatively, you could also add the soaked but uncooked lentils at this point and let the cook with the spice mix for about 40 minutes.)
6. Once the lentils are cooked - add the coconut milk, lime juice and fresh cilantro.
7. Adjust the seasonings and serve it in bowls  - top the bowls of dal with avocado relish (Recipe Below). You could eat the dal with a side of rice or any other grain, we however loved it just as it is.

Avocado Relish

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large avocado diced
• 2 green onions - chopped
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp honey
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder or chopped fresh green chili
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro - chopped

PROCESS

1. In a mixing bowl - add the chopped avocado and green onions. 
2. Whisk the honey, oil, lime juice and chili powder separately and add it to the mixing bowl.
3. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro.

Cacao v/s Cocoa

I use cacao powder in all my recipes that ask for chocolate or cocoa. This is one of my favorite cookie recipes. I had been thinking of writing  a brief on the basic difference b/w the two and their respective benefits.

The basic difference between cacao and cocoa is that Cacao is raw and minimally processed. It is made by cold-pressing unroasted cacao beans. The process keeps the living enzymes and removes the fat (cacao butter). It is considered to be the biggest source of antioxidants and magnesium. There are three natural by-products of the cacao tree and I use and love all three of them - Cacao butter, powder and nibs.
The Cacao fruit tree produces cacao pods which contain the cacao beans. The outer lining of the inside of the cacao bean is the fattiest part of the fruit which is buttery in texture and resembles white chocolate in taste and looks - this is called cacao butter (I make an awesome cacao butter moisturizer at home- will post the recipe soon).
After removing the cacao butter, the bean is then used to make raw cacao powder. You can use this powder in baking, smoothies, milk shakes etc.
And cacao nibs are simply raw cacao bins crushed to bits.

Cocoa on the other hand is the heated form of cacao that is more popular and commercially more easily available. Cocoa despite going through higher temperatures of heat during its processing still manages to retain surprising high level of antioxidants. If you are buying cocoa choose a version with no added sugars, milk fats and oils.

Chocolate bar - When buying chocolate choose the one with really high cocoa content - at least 60-70% or higher. The higher the cocoa content the darker the chocolate and it also means that it has less amount of other not-so-healthy ingredients such as sugars, processed oils, flavorings etc.

A high quality chocolate should contain just about 3 to 4 ingredients: chocolate, cocoa butter/ cocoa mass, and/or cocoa liquor, plus sugar. Anything beyond that is all crap such as milk or milk products, any oil, soya lecithin, emulsifiers, ‘natural flavour’, or preservatives.
Finding out how your chocolate was processed might be a super tedious process but it will tell you a lot about how healthy your chocolate actually is - Drying cacao beans in the sun instead of roasting them preserves many of the chocolate’s delicate nutrients. Make sure that their processing temperature is not over 110°F. Avoid chocolate whose processing includes “Dutching”, an alkalization method that actually removes the polyphenols, which add the characteristic bitter flavor to the finished product.

I buy my cacao products from the bulk section of my health food store. If I am correct, Whole foods carry Nutiva brand cacao and cocoa powder which are organic although I do not know much about how they process it.

Cacao & Peanut Butter Cookies

This recipe originally was made with Cocoa powder and dark chocolate bits - I made a few changes and used cacao powder and nibs as I prefer Cacao over cocoa. I personally do not find any difference between the taste of the two but that's probably because I am used to it.

They did turn out to be pretty tasty - although I was not happy with the amount of sugar that went into it. Though in my 2nd try I replaced regular sugar with coconut sugar and the cookies tasted just as good.
The best part about these cookies is that you can make them completely gluten free (current version) or vegan (use nut milk) or nut free (use seed butter) depending on your personal preference.

Makes about 12 large cookies

Ingredients:

WET INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tablespoon ground flax mixed with 3 tablespoons water
• 1/4 cup virgin coconut oil (do not melt)
• 1/4 cup peanut butter (Can replace with almond or sunflower seed butter)
• 1/3 cup sucanat
• 1/3 cup coconut sugar (can use normal sugar)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean or vanilla extract

DRY INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt (optional)
• 3 tablespoons cacao powder (can use cocoa as well)
• 1.5 cups rolled oats, processed into flour (or 1.5 cups oat flour)
• 3-4 teaspoons milk -only if needed to moisten batter 
• handful of cacao nibs (can use chocolate chips)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. 
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flax and water and set aside for a few minutes so it can thicken up. Whisk the flax egg again once thickened.
3. Add the rest of the wet ingredients into the bowl with the flax egg (coconut oil, peanut butter, sucanat, cane sugar, and vanilla). With a hand-held electric mixer, beat the ingredients until combined and smooth.
4. Now, beat in the dry ingredients, one by one, as you go down the ingredient list (baking soda, baking powder, salt, cacao powder, oat flour). If your dough is a bit dry, add a few tea-spoons of milk and beat the mixture again. The dough should be moist enough to form balls without cracking, but not super sticky.
5. Beat the cacao nibs into the batter or simply stir by hand.
6. Shape balls of dough (about the size of a golf ball or 2 heaping tablespoons) and place on the baking sheet 2-3 inches apart. Gently press down on each ball with your hand to form a disc (it should be 1/2-inch thick or so).
7. Bake for about 12-13 minutes (I baked for 13 mins) until the cookies are spread out nicely.
8. Cool cookies on the baking sheet for 7 minutes or so and then transfer to a cooling rack for another 10-15 minutes.

Pear Arugula Salad

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS
1 pear - chopped
few handfuls of arugula leaves
1 cup cooked chickpeas
1/2 cucumber - diced
1 thinly sliced fennel (optional)
1/4 cup pine nuts - toasted
hemp seeds to garnish
1/2 cup goat cheese or feta (optional but recommended)

Dressing
3 tbsp Olive Oil
juice 1 lemon
1 tbsp white wine vinegar (or any other vinegar)
1 tsp mustard sauce (dijon or any other kind)
2 tbsp chopped green onions
salt & pepper

PROCESS:

1. Mix all the dressing ingredients in a bowl.
2. Pour some of dressing on the cooked chickpeas and let them sit for a few minutes - marinating the chickpeas in dressing makes them more flavorful but if you are short on time you can totally skip this step.
3. Put the pine nuts in a small pan and toast them on a very low flame.
4. Mix in all the salad ingredients together - arugula+pear+cucumber+fennel+chickpeas and put the rest of the dressing on it and mix well.
5. Garnish with lightly toasted pine nuts, hemp seeds and a little bit of goat cheese. 

Baked Potato Wedges

I am a big fan of healthier version of traditional recipes. These baked potato wedges are one such dish. Just by replacing the deep frying step with baking makes it infinitely healthier. And the best part is that they taste just as good. Trust me, give me them a try and you will be a fan forever:

INGREDIENTS:
5-6 medium/large golden potatoes
coconut oil to sprinkle
salt to taste
few pinches of red chilli powder/paprika (optional)

PROCESS:

1. Preheat the oven to 400F 
2. Bring a large pot of water to boil and add a teaspoon of salt to it
3. Wash and cut the potatoes into wedges (keep the skin on)
4. Cook potatoes in the boiling salted water for 7 minutes.  Remove form the stove and drain. Its v.imp not to let them cook for any longer as they would get overcooked and not become crispy. 
5. Put the wedges in a mixing bowl and add the oil, salt and chili powder if using and mix well.
6. Spread the wedges on a baking sheet and roast for about 17 mins - take them out and turn the wedges over and out them back in the oven for another 17 mins.
7. Take them out when they turn crisp to your liking - squeeze lime juice over them or serve them any kind of sauce, with burgers or just enjoy them as it is.

Raw Raspeberry & Cashew Cheesecake

Let me preface this by saying, that this is the easiest and quickest recipe that I have ever tried. Once you have all the ingredients (which is a pretty short list in itself), the actual making is really a 'piece of cake' (sorry, couldn't resist). Ok - it's not exactly a traditional cake but more of an ice-cream cake but that's what I loved most about it. And best of all its completely raw. 
Though it is made up of all healthy and nutritious ingredients, some of you might not like the amount of cashews because of their high fat content (as a friend pointed out yesterday) that goes into it - all I can say to that is that unless you are going to eat the whole cake by yourself - you should be good.

INGREDIENTS
Crust
1/2 cup raw walnuts (can use pecans or almonds)
1/2 cup medjool dates - pitted
1/4 tsp salt

Filling
1½ cups raw cashews, soaked for at least 5 hours, overnight is best
Juice of 1½ lemons (can go up to 2 lemons depending on how sour you want it to be)
1/3 cup raw honey (or agave syrup)
1/3 cup coconut oil - melted
1 tsp vanilla extract (or seeds of 1 vanilla bean)
1 cup raspberries

NOTES:
- I used a 7"springform cake pan, but the original recipe creator had suggested layering any cake pan with round edges with a seran wrap. I did not want risk it but on an afterthought I guess, it could have worked decently well. In any case use a small 7" or 8" inch pan as this is a small sized cake.

PROCESS

1. Put the nuts (walnuts or whichever one you are using) and dates along with the salt in a food processor and pulse until they are chopped into small pieces. For a finer crust - you might have to process them longer than for a chunky one. To test if your mixture is of the right consistency, take a spoonful and roll it in your hand - if it binds well together then it means its done. 
2. Scoop out the crust mixture and spread it in the cake pan. Press firmly with your hands making sure that the edges are well packed and that it forms an even base.
3. Warm the coconut oil and honey - I prefer not heat honey on a direct flame - so you could melt the honey by placing the jar in a pan of boiling water and melt the oil separately and then mix the two.
4. Place all the filling ingredients i.e soaked cashews, lemon juice, honey+coconut oil and vanilla extract in a food processor. Use the most powerful machine that you have - I used my Cuisineart food processor and it did a great job. At this point I would suggest testing out the sourness of the mixture - you can start with juice of 1 lemon and then add as you go till its sour to your preference.
5. Pour the 2/3 of this mixture in the cake pan (no need measure this exactly - a rough gesstimate will do) - spread it evenly with a spatula.
6. Now add the raspberries to the remaining cashew mix in the processor and blend them till they are smooth. Pour this in the cake pan as your third and final layer and smooth it out.
7. Place it in the freezer until solid. It took me about 2-3 hours. To serve get it out of the freezer and place it in the fridge for about 30 minutes. 
8. Run a sharp knife under hot water to easily cut the slices - although I did not feel the need for this step.

 Recipe Source: My New Roots

Kala Chana & Chickpea Green Medley

For the longest time, I used chickpeas only to make the traditional Indian chole curry but since that time I have started exploring different cuisines, I have used chole/chickpeas a lot more in my cooking especially in salads etc. This salad is one such example, the original recipe calls for chickpeas but I had boiled kaale chane (bengal gram) in the fridge which I added as well. They both tasted good and I would probably make it next time with just kaale chane. Let me also tell you that this salad tastes much better than it looks, so don't hesitate to try it out.

Serves 2
INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups cooked chickpeas/ kaale chane (3/4th cup uncooked)
• 4-5 cups chopped spinach
• 1 cup cilantro/ parsley- chopped ( I used cilantro)
• 1/2 red onion - diced

Dressing:

• 1/2 cup lime juice
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 1tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

PROCESS:

1. Wash the spinach and cilantro and put in a food processor and chop it until its super small
2. Put the chickpeas in a big mixing bowl and add the spinach-cilantro mix to it.
3. Make the dressing by mixing all the ingredients in a small bowl
4. Pour the dressing over the chickpea and greens mixture.
5. Ideally, let it sit for 10-15 mins at least to let the flavors develop

Quinoa Spinach Burger Patties

Whenever I think of burgers, the only one that comes to my mind and has me drooling is the Mc-aloo tikki at McDonalds in India. Since coming to US, I have tried burgers from a few different places including the world famous 'In & Out' one but I never found 'the one' that floated my boat - so I had basically given up on the whole burger genre of food. But now after turning into a vegetarian, I tried a couple of decent versions here in the city and was curious to replicate something similar and healthier at home
When I cam across this recipe as always I was quite doubtful about the success of these especially considering it was my first attempt at making patties of any kind. The long list of ingredients wasn't helping my confidence either but surprise surprise they turned out pretty awesome. I have already made them twice once at home and once for a friend's barbecue. Both times I went the extra mile to make some potato wedges and they were the perfect accompaniment to these yummy patties.

Makes 12 patties
INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cups cooked Quinoa 
• 1/2 cup rolled oats ground into flour
• 3 tbsp besan/ chickpea flour (or regular all-purpose flour)
• 1 cup finely chopped spinach (can use Kale too)
• 2 tbsp ground flax seeds + 6 tbsp water
• 1/2 cup finely grated sweet potato
• 1/4 cup finely diced sun dried tomatoes
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil leaves
• 2 tbsp finely diced onion
• 1 clove garlic - minced
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 tbsp Tahini paste - runny (can add bit of oil to make it less firm)
• 1 1/2 tsp oregano flakes
• 1 1/2 tsp white wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• red pepper flakes to taste

NOTES:

• Its very important that you chop all the veggies very small - otherwise they would not bind properly.
• You can use oil soaked sun-dried tomatoes. I used the non-oily ones, but make sure to soak them in warm water for about 30 mins before chopping

PROCESS:

1. Preheat the oven to 400F
2. Mix the flax seed powder in the water in a small bowl and set it aside for about 5 mins - till it thickens
3. Chops the veggies - spinach + sweet potato+ onion+garlic
4. Take a large mixing bowl and mix in all the ingredients - wet & dry. 
5. Mix them well and use your hands to form a dough
6. Wet your hands to roll the mixture into patties - you will use about 1/4th cup mixture for each of the cakes.
7. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and put it in the oven.
8. Bake for about 15 mins, then take them out and flip them on the other side and bake them again for about 8-10 mins till they turn golden brown.
9. Cool for 10 mins and serve.
10. Serving Suggestion:  I placed them on a multi-grain bun along with a slice of tomato, onion and and some ketchup and mustard sauce. I also added a few slices of avocado and salad leaves. Serve with home made fries (Recipe coming up soon) 

Recipe Source: Oh She Glows

Tofu Manchurian

This is the easiest and the tastiest way to make tofu. I was never a big fan of tofu until I tried it this way. I learnt this recipe from a friend's husband and it has been a favorite of mine ever since. I have made it for lot of people, most of whom were not fond of Tofu and it was always a hit. So if you are a tofu novice then this is the recipe to start with. The best part about this is that you can keep the sauce thick to serve it as an appetizer or make it more like gravy to serve with rice or any other grain. And did I mention it takes no more than 20 minutes to whip this up:

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

• 4-5 bunches Scallions (Green onions) - only the green part
• 8 0z Tofu (Firm) (Brand I use)
• 1 tbsp ginger - minced
• 1tbsp garlic - minced
• Salt 
• Pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Sauce

• 4 tbsp Soy sauce/Tamari (Brand I use)
• 1 tbsp Chilli sauce 
• 1 tbsp Ketchup
• 2 tbsp Rice Vinegar
• 1 tbsp Sesame Oil
• 1 tbsp Sesame Seeds

PROCESS:

1. Chop the green part of onions and sauté them lightly for a couple of minutes - make sure you do not overcook them especially if you are making this as an appetizer. 
2. Chop the tofu into 1 inch pieces and keep aside.
3. Add the minced ginger and garlic 
4. Mix in all the ingredients of the sauce - and add it to the green onions.
5. Add salt and pepper  to taste - while adding salt remember that the dish already has soy sauce so you might need very little additional salt.
6. Add tofu pieces
7. Serve as it is or on a bed of brown rice or quinoa or any other grain of your choice.

Weekend Links

1. If you do not live in this life right now, you will never get to the places you are imagining - A beautiful short story.
2. This is how books should be labeled.
3. A must read article on the effects of the use of nanoparticles on our bodies. If you are interested in more details, here is the longer version of the story.
4. A good case for keeping your stuff in the hotel safe 
5. Shame & Survival - A good article by Monica Lewinsky on the humiliation culture of our society and here is her recent TED talk.

Almond Flour Biscotti

Here is the recipe of a vegan biscotti that I made a couple of weeks ago. It was my first attempt at making biscotti and it turned out to be pretty good. The process is quite simple and requires a few simple ingredients. The photos don't quite do justice to how good the actual stuff was.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cups almond flour
• 1/4 cup walnuts or hazelnuts 
• 1/4 cup dried coconut - shredded
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1.5 tbsp coconut oil (solid form)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• v small pinch of salt

NOTES:

• I make my own almond flour by grinding whole almonds. 1 cup almonds plus a few more pieces will usually yield 1.5 cup almond flour. You can of course skip this step and get almond flour from the store.
• I used walnuts here but they could very easily be substituted with any other nut such as hazelnuts or almonds.
• You can also substitute honey for maple syrup in the same ratio.

PROCESS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. 
2. Chop the walnuts into small pieces - any big piece might end up cracking the biscotti.
3. Combine all the dry ingredients - almond flour, chopped walnuts & dried coconut in a mixing bowl. Make sure that the almond flour has no lumps - if need be use a fork or your hands to break the lumps
4. Now add the honey and coconut oil to this dry mixture. The important thing here is to use solid coconut oil (incase its warm and the oil is in liquid form then you can put in the freezer for a while before using)
5. Use your hands to mix the honey and coconut oil well into the dry mixture - the mixture should turn into a soft dough.
6. Place the dough on a parchment lined baking tray - and flatten it into a rectangle of about 10 inches long and 4 inches wide. Keep the thickness of the dough at 1 inch approx. Pat well to smoothen the dough to make sure there are no gaps or cracks.
7. Place it in the oven and bake for 18 minutes - the edges should be brown by this time
8. Take it out from the oven and let the biscotti cool fully - it would take at least 30 minutes. 
9. Use a sharp knife preferably a serrated one to carefully cut the biscotti into 1 inch slices. Now slowly turn each of the slices - so that the reverse side is on top. The biscotti would be very fragile at this point so make sure you do this step very slowly to avoid breaking the slices.
10. Put them back in the oven and reduce the temperature to 325F for an additional 10 minutes.
11. Remove from the oven and let them fully cool and harden before serving. 
12. You can store it at room temperature for about 10 days. Mine lasted for about 2 weeks.

Multi Grain Breakfast Cereal

I have not bought a regular breakfast cereal in about three years. We replaced the packaged sugary cereals with steel cut oats a couple of years back. Although, I really like oats but despite my experiments with new interesting toppings, of late I have started to find them too boring. That is why I was super duper excited when I came across this muli-grain cereal recipe - not only does this breakfast give you a good serving of a healthy variety of different cereals it had a lovely crunchy taste.

Serves: Makes about 18 (1/4th) cup portions

INGREDIENTS:

The ingredients give below are for making a big batch of dry multi-grain cereal.

• 1 cup buckwheat
• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 cup millet
• 1 cup amaranth
• 1 cup barley
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup chia seeds

Mix all the ingredients together and store in a big jar.

NOTES:

• For your first attempt, instead of premixing all the grains in a big quantity - I would suggest making one small batch by adding all the varieties in a much smaller proportion - to see if you actually like the end result or not. I made my first batch with about 2-3 tbsp of each ingredient.
• It is very very important to soak the grains first (I will write in detail about this in my next post). If you forget to soak them the night before - try and soak them for an hour or two (or however much time you can) before cooking.
• UPDATE: Recently my friend made good old khichdi by adding mung dal to this grain mix and it turned out to be super duper yummy. So, making khichdi with this grain mix is another great way to consume a variety of grains at other meal times.

PROCESS:

• Pre-soak 1/4th cup of pre-mixed cereal in 1/2 cup of water and 1tbsp of vinegar and keep it overnight
• In the morning, wash the grains thoroughly. I use a very fine mesh sieve because amaranth is a very fine grain and it just slips out of bigger sieves.
• Add another 1/2 cup of water to the cereal and cook it on low flame for about 10-12 mins or until they are fully cooked. (If you did not soak the grains, then you might have to increase the cook time to about 20 mins)
• Once the cereal is cooked - add milk of your choice along with fresh and dry fruit toppings.
• Toppings Suggestions: I add whatever fresh fruit is in season - which is pear, apple and kiwi as of now. I top it with hemp, bee pollen (quite a few people are allergic to it - so start with just 1 grain and increase the amount gradually), goji and inca berries and coconut flakes.
  
  
  
  
  

Recipe Source: My New Roots