Beetroot Rice

This is a healthy and yummy rice. Very easy to put together and I absolutely love the color.
Ingredients:
- 2 beetroot peeled and chopped (I included the greens and the stem on the top and chopped them finely and added it.)
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 green chili chopped
- 1 cup peas
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp roasted jeera powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1/4 cup peanuts
- 1 cup rice washed
- 2 tbsp chopped mint leaves
- 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
- salt to taste

Seasoning:
- 1 tsp oil
- few cloves
- 1 tsp jeera
few curry leaves

Method:
1. In a pot add oil and the seasoning ingredients. Once they brown add the peanuts and fry it. They should become slightly crisp.
2. Now add the chilies, onions and fry them till they turn slightly brown. Add the chopped beetroot pour 1/4th cup of oil and cook till it is half cooked.
3. Now mix in the greens and the stem. Also add the peas now. Mix in the uncooked rice. Add all the masala (garam masala, coriander powder, cumin powder, chili powder) and salt. Mix it in and cook for a couple of minutes
4. Now add 2 cups of hot water. Bring down the heat cover and cook till the rice becomes soft.
5. Add the chopped methi leaves and coriander leaves and mix them all well.

Serve it hot with raita or pickles.

Chineese Noodles

This is an easy and yummy noodle dish. I use all kinds of vegetables to make this healty. For my noodles I used the Hakka noodles you get in the Indian grocery store.

Ingredients:
- 1 cups chopped cabbage
- 1 carrot cut lengthwise
- 1 cup beans cut diagonally
- 1 red bell pepper cut into strips
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- 1 bunch of spring onions cut it diagonally keeping the white and green separate
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp vinegar (adjust to taste)
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 tbsp Sriracha Hot Chili or similar variety (adjust to taste)
- 1 pack Hakka noodles
- salt to taste

Method:
1. Cook the noodles as per the instructions in the packet. While cooking the noodles add a little bit of oil. Once it is cooked wash the noodles in cold water and set it aside.
2. In a pan at high heat add the oil. Add onions and sauté it for a minute or two. Now add the carrots, bell pepper and beans and cook them for a minute. Add the cabbage and the white of the spring onions and mix them all together for a couple of minutes.
3. Add the seasoning now. Mix in the cooked noodles and sauté them all well. Do a taste test and add additional seasoning if required. Meanwhile keep mixing the noodles well and if you feel it will stick to the bottom then add a tablespoon of oil to it.
4. Turn off the stove and add the green part of the spring onion and the bean sprouts. You need your sprouts to be crisp so add them at the end. Serve it hot.

When making this dish remember to keep the heat high. The vegetables need to be cooked only for a few minutes so they retain a crunch to it.

Buttery vegi puffs

I absolutely love these vegetable puffs. I used the puff pastry sheets to makes these and they are real easy to put together. The stuffing is really up to you. I made a mixed vegetable stuffing for this. Here is how I made mine.

Ingredients:
- 1 potato boiled and mashed
- 1 cup mixed vegetables chopped into fine pieces. (carrots, corn, peas, beans etc) cooked till the become soft. I used my microwave oven
- 1 tsp garam masala powder
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp chili powder (adjust to taste)
- 1 small piece ginger grated
- 1 tsp oil
- 1 tsp jeera
- 1 pack puff pastry sheets thawed

Method
1. Pre-heat oven to 420F. Remove your puff pastry sheets from the freezer an hour before you plan to make these and thaw them in your refrigerator. If you forget it then defrost the sheets in your microwave oven.
2. In a pan heat oil and add the jeera and turmeric. Add ginger, onions and sauté till the onions become golden brown. Add your garam masala and chili powder salt and mix it well.
3. Now add the cooked vegetables and mashed potato. Turn down the heat and cook till they all blend together. You want your vegetables to be a little bit mushy. Set it aside and let the vegetables cool down a bit.
4. The puff pastry sheets comes as two sheets. When you open them up you should be able to see three sheets in them. Take two of the sheets. Lay one sheet down. Spoon the vegetable through out the sheet leaving some space in the edges. Now top it with the second sheet and press the sides.
5. Cut them to the size you like and press the other two sides together.
6. Spray some cooking oil in a glass baking dish and lay these puffs in a row. Spray some oil on the top and bake it for 20 minutes or till it becomes golden brown turning them over at around 10 minutes .

Serve them hot with ketchup of pickles. Perfect to have it with a hot cup of tea.

It is important to use a glass dish as the metal dish turns the puff brown. Glass dish spreads the heat evenly so it cooks the puff to a beautiful golden brown.

Chepankizhangu (Taro root) Leaf usli

This is another recipe from my mother-in-law. When we buy taro root from Indian stores we make the curry after few days. By that time the taro root sprouts a little bit. My mother-in-law took a few of the sprouted taro root and planted them in our garden. After a few weeks the plant grew and we use the taro root leaf to make this usli. It tastes different from the usual usli but it is very yummy. You get this leaf in Indian stores also.

Ingredients

-4-5 taro root leaf
-1 tsp mustard seeds
-1 tsp urad dhal
-2 tbsp oil

To Grind

-1/2 cup chana dhal
-1/2 cup tuvar dhal
-1 tbsp Corainder seeds
-1 small lime size tamarind
-6/7 red chillie
-salt to taste
-pinch of asafoetida


Method

1.Soak the dhal for 2 hours.Soak corainder seeds and tamarind separately.
2.Then grind all the ingredients into a coarse paste. Add little water when grinding.
3.Take the taro root leaves and apply the paste on the back side of the leaf.
4.Apply the paste as a thin layer and then roll the leaf. Apply the paste in the edges for the leaf to stick.
5.Steam the leaf in a idli plate for 10 minutes. You should see the color of the leaf change to light green color.
6.Take the steamed leaf and cut it into 1 inch pieces.
7.In a frying pan add oil and once the oil is hot add mustard seeds and urad dhal.
8.Once mustard seeds splutter add the steamed leaf pieces.
9.Fry for 5-10 min or until it turns a little brown.

You can make this when you make Morkuzhambu and serve it with rice.

Vegetable Manchurian

This recipe is a total inspiration from chef in you. I recently purchased the Pancake Puffs Cast Iron Set and I wanted to try the vegetable manchurian. I try to use very little oil in my cooking and this pan is a dream come true. You can make koftas with little to no oil.

Ingredients for the vegi balls:
- 1 purple cabbage
- 1 carrot
- 1/2 cup peas
- 1 potato boiled and mashed
- 2 tsp corn starch
- 1 tsp all purpose flour
- 1 green chili minced
- 1 green onion chopped finely
- 1 tsp chili paste like Sambal Oelek (optional)
- salt to taste
Method:
1. Mix all the ingredients together. You should be able to make small balls from them. If not add a little bit flour to this.
2. Now in you pancake puff pan spray some cooking oil and place these vegi balls. You need cook them at a low flame. Other wise the outside gets done but the inside will still be raw. Turn it around every few minutes so as to cook both side. Once fully done remove them and keep them aside.

Ingredients:
- 1 bell pepper chopped finely
- 1 small onion diced finely
- 1 green chili minced
- few spring onions chopped
- 1 inch ginger, peeled and grated
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp chili sauce
- 1 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp corn flour
- 2 tsp oil
- sugar and salt to taste

Method:
1. In a pan add oil and heat it up. Add the onion, green onion, ginger and the bell pepper. Fry them in high heat. You need these to be slightly crunchy.
2. Meanwhile in 2 cups of water mix the flour, salt, sugar, soy sauce and chili sauce well. Add it to the cooking vegetables.
3. Boil them for a few minutes and they will form to be a thick gravy.

Putting them together:
Just before serving heat up your gravy. Add the vegetable balls to the gravy and serve them at once. If you add the balls earlier they will become mushy and loose their shape. Serve it with either hot rice or noodles.

Bean Burger with poha

Ingredients:
- 1 cup cooked black bean (Canned beans works fine too)
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1 small bell pepper chopped (I used red color)
- 1 long carrot pealed and shredded
- 1 small green chili chopped finely
- 1 cup boiled corn (I used fresh corn)
- 1 tsp cumin and coriander powder
- 1 tsp chili powder (optional)
- 1 cup soaked thick poha
- 1/4 cup chopped coriander
- 2- 3 tsp oil or use cooking spray
- 1 tsp jeera
- salt to taste
Method:
1. In a pan add the oil and the jeera and once it starts to splutter add the onion and bellpeper and green chili. Cook till the become slightly soft. You do not want them to become mushy. Turn off the heat and add the shredded carrots and salt. Mix well and keep it aside to cool down.
2. Keep a handful of black bean aside and mash the rest with a potato masher.If using can drain and wash them well.
3. In a large bowl add the soft poha, black beans, cooked corn, cumin & coriander powder, chili powder and chopped coriander. Mix in the cooked vegetables. Mix them all well. Do a taste test and adjust salt accordingly.
4. Now form them into patties and refrigerate them for at least 30 minutes. If it is hard to form patties then add a piece of bread to it and it will soak all the water.
5. Remove it and in a flat griddle pour some oil. Cook each patties on both sides.
You will know it is done when it starts to turn brown.

Serve it in between buns with all your favorite burger topping. As this was a black bean burger I topped mine with avocado's. This is a healthy alternative to any store brought vegetarian burger.

Simple Brown Lentil

This is a very simple and fast dhal. I used brown lentil and you don't need a pressure cooker for this. This gets tender on your regular stove top which to me makes it an easier alternative to regular toor dhal.

Ingredients:
- 1 cup brown lentils (Soak for couple of hours)
- 1 carrot chopped
- 1 medium sized onion chopped
- 1 tomato chopped
- 1/2 tsp pepper powder
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- salt to taste

Seasoning:
- 1 chili chopped
- 1 tsp jeera
- 1 tsp oil

Method:
1. In a broad vessel add the oil and Jeera. Once the jeera starts to splutter add the chilies and the onion. Add salt and chili powder.
2. Fry till the onion becomes soft. Now add the soaked lentils with 2 cups of water. Let it come to boil. Mix in the carrot and cook till the lentils becomes soft to your touch. Add water as needed.
3. Now sprinkle in some peper and mix them all well.

Serve hot with rice or roti

This easy dish is going to the wonderful event My Legume Love Affair hosted by Siri and started by Susan