Spicy Flax Meal Podi and Spinach Rice.

Flax seeds was something new to me when I saw bloggers using them in their baking as a replacement for egg. I started trying this in my baking experiments and to my surprise the baked goodies turned out super soft and moist. I got over excited and got a big bag of Flax meal from whole foods couple of months back.Though Flax seeds is a good source of Omega 3 fatty acids, it has very poor shelf life. So I always keep it sealed in the refrigerator. In my quest to find different ways to use that bag of flax meal , I came across this recipe for FlaxMeal and Peanut Podi from Usha's VegInspirations. Needless to say about her blog, she has so many recipes anything healthy :)
We use this podi as multipurpose podi for rice, Idli, dosa etc.,


I did not use Jaggery as in her recipe,except that I followed the same::
Ingredients: 
1 cup raw unsalted peanuts.( I used the roasted , lightly salted ones)
1/2 cup sesame seeds (white)
1/2 cup Channa dhal
1/2 cup blach gram dhal with skin( I used whole urad dhal)
1/2 cup flax seed meal
8 red chillies ( I used very less compared to her recipe, add more if you like it really spicy)

How to make the powder:
Dry roast each of the ingredients one by one in a low flame.Switch off the stove and add the Flax meal in the pan and give it a toss. Cool all the ingredients and powder it your dry/spice grinder.Do not make it to smooth powder. Store it in an airtight container.

This Spinach rice is one of my recipe which I experimented with this podi...The peanuts in the podi and spinach compliments each other. Perfect lunch box dish.

Ingredients:
1 cup cooked rice
2 cups roughly chopped spinach
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 cloves of garlic finely minced
1 tsp jeera/cumin seeds
curry leaves (optional)
turmeric optional (I did not use this)
2 tblsp of Flaxseed podi
1tsp lemon juice

Method:
In a wide pan add 2 tblsp of olive oil, 
To this add cumin seeds and wait till it splutters.
Now add the onions and chopped garlic  fry till slightly brown
To this add the chopped spinach and stir fry till wilts completly.
Add salt and turmeric, mix well.
Now add the cooked rice and mix well.
Switch off the stove, add the Flax seeds podi and mix well to combine.
Finally add the lemon juice and gently stir the rice.
Serve with Raita.
.

Simple Pasta with Zucchini

Zucchini/courgettes is one of my favorite vegetable. I try to make a wide range of dishes from soups to dhals and curries, during summer when the vegetable tastes its best.This is a super simple recipe, which I happened to taste in a small motel /restaurant in  Rome.We reached the place very late in the night after a hectic flight journey from Brussels, the motel owner who himself was a chef was very kind enough to whip up this quick pasta for us at that time of the night. This is a perfect example of great food with less, but good quality ingredients.

Ingredients


4 tblsp extra virgin olive oil.
2 zucchini cut into bite sized pieces
4 cloves garlic
2 tblsp coarse pepper.
1/2 tsp dried oregano
Any pasta of your choice.(I used Rigatoni)


Method:
Cook the pasta as per the package instructions
Heat the oil in a wide pan, add garlic and fry for a minute.
Add the zucchini piece and stir for about 2 - 3 minutes
Add the dried oregano, mix well.
Now add the cooked pasta and toss well to coat.
 Finally add the coarse black pepper and mix well.
Enjoy with soup or salad.





Sending this recipe to Priya's VFAM - Zucchini event guest hosted at Vardhini's.

Tofu Tikka Masala

I am so glad to be writing a post in my beloved blog after a long break. One week of blogging break has extended into few long weeks. Life has become very hectic, with new job and a hyper active pre-schooler leaving no time for not only blogging but also cooking.
Past Friday I managed to make something interesting to break the monotomy, actually I tried to use what was the only thing left over in the refrigerator. This recipe is slightly adapted from  Mansi's Fun and Food cafe and is definitely a keeper.

Ingredients:
For marinade:
1 pack Extra firm Tofu
1 Red bell pepper, cubed(optional)
1/2 cup yoghurt
1 tsp tandhoori masala (optional)
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp kasuri methi powder
1 tsp oil
salt per taste.

For the Gravy:
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 medium tomatoes, pureed
1 tsp jeera
1 bay leaf
1tblsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp chilli powder
1tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp crushed kasuri methi
salt to taste

Method:
Drain the water from the tofu, wrap it in layers of kitchen towel and keep it aside for about 10 mins.
Cut it into cubes and marinate with the ingredients mentioned in marinade, along with red bell pepper.
Let it sit for a minimum of 15 minutes. Puree the tomatoes and keep aside.
In a large pan, add 2 tsp of oil and the spread the marinated tofu and peppers and roast it in a medium flame till it browns on all the sides.
Heat about a tsp of oil in a sauce pan, add jeera and bay leaf when its hot.
To this add the chopped onions and fry till translucent.
Now add the ginger and garlic paste and fry till the raw smell disappears.
Now add the tomato puree, salt, chili powder and coriander powder.
 Reduce the heat and allow it to boil for 10 mins.
Finally add the fried tofu and the veggies, mix well. Add crushed kasuri methi to the gravy.
Simmer for another 5 mins in low flame.

Serve with Roti/Chapati's

Eggless Banana Nut Muffin

Its been a long time since I baked a muffin. I have been baking this eggless version of the simple banana muffin for quite sometime now, but I got to get the pictures only this time. Flax seeds are an excellent substitute for egg in baking recipes especially turns out well with Muffins or Quick bread recipes. 
Basic recipe for this muffin is from Saffron Hut.

Ingredients:
3 large ripe bananas
1/3 cup butter, at room temperature
1 and 1/2 cup Flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Baking soda
1 tblsp Flax seeds + 3tblsp Water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped walnuts


Method:
Preheat the Oven to 375F
Soak the Flax meal with the 3 tblsp of water, allow it to sit for 10 min.
Roast the walnuts slightly in a dry pan and then chop coarsely.
Peel and mash the bananas using the back of a fork in a small bowl.
Combine the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat till they become creamy.
Sift the Flour, baking powder and baking soda together in a separate bowl.


To the butter and sugar mixture add the flax meal mixture and vanilla extract and beat well to combine.
Now add the flour mixture in batches and mix gently to combine, until no visible streaks of flour left. Its okay if  the mixture is a little lumpy.
Fold in the mashed banana and the chopped walnuts.
Spoon the mixture into the muffin pans lined with paper cups.
Bake for 15-18 mins.


Make 12 Muffins.

Wish You all a very happy and relaxing long weekend:)

Tomato Rice Noodles With Egg

Hope you all had a great Mother's day weekend. I sure did. I made this tomato rice noodles on Saturday morning to kick start the weekend. Its easy to make just like any regular noodles, except that this is made of rice and not maida/flour. You can skip the eggs if you don't use it, I added them to make it interesting for the kid. Quite a filling dish for a weekend brunch.

Ingredients;
3 cups of cooked noodles.
1 medium onion.
2-3 medium tomatoes
1 tsp chilli powder
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 tsp mustard
1 tsp urad dhal
2 eggs

Method:
Cook the noodles as per package instructions.
Wash noodles in the strainer with cold water to remove the starch if any.
In a wide pan, add 2 tblsp of oil.
Add the mustard and urad dhal when the oil is hot.
When the mustard pops add the chopped onion and fry till translucent
Now add the tomatoes and fry till the tomatoes get mushy.
Add the chilli powder and salt and fry till the pulp releases oil.
If not using egg, add the cooked noodles and stir well to combine.
If using egg, move the tomato gravy to a corner of the pan, and break open the eggs on the other side.
Allow them to set for a couple of seconds and then scarmble then till they are cooked.
Now mix the scrambled eggs along with the tomato gravy and then add the cooked noodles.
Mix in the noodles, till they are nicely coated with the tomato gravy, occasionally breaking the long strands of the noodles with the back of the ladle.
Keep in low flame uncovered for 2 mins and the switch of the stove.

Note:
I used Chinese rice noodles/Rice Vermicelli (Mie Hoen) -thin ones for making this. But we can also use the Indian rice sevai packets  like MTR for making this dish.
We can also adding some frozen peas or corn to this to make it more colorful.