Simple Spinach Dip

 For the Avant Garde Cookies this time, my hush-hush ingredient was spinach given to me by my partner Jayanthy. I had some fresh baby spinach handy which i used to put this dip together...

Ingredients

• 2cups of baby spinach leaves
• 2 red chilies
• 1.5 cups of thick yogurt (greek would work)
• 1tbsp of spices 
• 1tsp olive oil

Method

1. Sautee the spinach with 1 tsp of olive oil and the chilies. 
2. Add salt. cook and remove from heat
3. If the yogurt has some whey, use this to grind the spinach not too smooth
4. Add the yogurt to the blended spinach
5. Top this with 1 tbsp of spices of your choice - Tzatsiki, or your home blend of thyme, garlic, parsely, oregano etc
6. Whip it in until blended well
7. Refrigerate until ready to use.

We enjoyed ours with steamed sweet potatoes!

Goes to Avant Garde Cookies -Check out the other AGC thoughout this week 

Anusha, Jayanthi, Kavitha, Radhika, Veena, Priya S, Roshni

Papineberry Juice

This is an adaptation of a recipe that was presented in the Dr. Oz Show last week which gives a great kickstart to the day. It contains all the goodness of papaya, pineapple, blueberries, kiwi, flaxseed meal, a dash of ginger powder and a little sage to make it aromatic, this drink will have you hit the ground running.

Ingredients
1 cup papaya
1 cup pineapple
1/2 cup blueberries
1kiwi
2tbsp flaxseed meal
3leaves of sage
2tsp of ginger powder
1tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup of ice cubes
1cup of water

Grind them into a flowing shake and drink up and let me know what you think :)

Navarathri = Sundal time!

Happy Navarathri to all - this is a good time to sundalize our lives. Today I made channa dal sundal (kadalai parruppu sundal) I've heard this can be challenge, because the dal has to be cooked just so - so that it does not go mushy on you or on the flip side, be undercooked.
Sundals are easy and nutritious, high in fiber - Sundal can easily substitute rice or wheat and can be enjoyed with rasam or plain curd (yogurt)

Very simple and traditional preparation

Ingredients

1-2 cups of channa dal  pressured cooked  - once the the rocker starts moving, turn off in exactly 3 minutes. For whistling cookers, I'll suggest you go one or two less than you normally allow for cooking your  dal. Dal:Water proportion is 1:3/4 cup
1/2 cup of freshly grates/ grated frozen coconut
1/4 spoon of ginger powder
3-4 chillies
1/2 teaspoon of mustard seeds
1 pinch of asafoetida
1 teaspoon of olive oil
curry leaves
salt

Preparation

Pressure cook dal and let cool. Remove and drain any water remnants - In a pan heat oil and pop mustard seeds; add the asafoetida, cut chillies, curry leaves and ginger powder. Add the dal and salt it and turn it a few times. Dry roast the coconut in a separate pan and add to the sundal - so that it does not go bad. Serve hot.

Happy first day of Navarathri

Simple Cabbage Curry

It's Sunday evening and it's been a hectic day - in the nicest way, I mean. Garba last night was a great workout and it was lovely to see Samyuktha, my older daughter dancing with a few new friends from the community, with her hair flowing softly down her back (and legs).
Okay! So Cabbage is NOT a hot fav in our house - It is call Gose in Tamil and kids often jokingly refer to it as gas curry - Funny and true, but, not cool. Let's face it! Most anything that is healthy for you stinks! For more enlightenment on the goodness of cabbage, I recommend http://be-healthy.blogspot.com/2005/12/goodness-of-cabbage.html
Our friend and protector, cabbage is indeed the leader of the stinky pack ;-) But I will reveal to you how not to stink up your kitchen as you cook this blighter!
There are a few ways to prepare Cabbage and i will share them with you along the way - This one requires the services of a food processor. This dish takes about 12-20 minutes.

For the calorie conscious: You can make a meal out of this -with buttermilk on the side, south Indian style

For the Rice lovers: Mix preparation with hot rice and have with favorite pickle or pappad

For the moderate: Have as side with chappatis

Browning grated coconut

                                                                                 

Final Presentation                                    

                                                              Finished product
                                                      
Ingredients:
1 medium green leaf cabbage - finely grated in food processor
2 green chillies - finely chopped
1/2 inch finger sized ginger - finely grated
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of mustard seeds
1 pinch of asafoetida
1/2 teaspoon of urid dal
1/2 cup grated coconut, thawed(frozen pack available at Indian grocery store). If you are using dry coconut powder - sprinkle some water on it and let it soften.
Salt

Preparation
Heat your pan, pop the mustard seeds in the oil; then add the rest of the ingredients, before adding the cabbage. Hold off on the salting until the very end. The idea is to not let the cabbage get soggy. At high heat stir continuously - do not cover with a lid at any point. The cabbage should be slightly under cooked.  Just before removing from the pan, add the salt.

As this is happening, in a smaller pan, dry fry the coconut until it turns slightly golden - add on to the cabbe and stir in gently.

Secret tip - Garnish with roasted cashews and curry leaves to give it a festive look. Completely healthy and entirely edible :-)