I don’t exactly have a sweet tooth. The effort needed to prepare most desserts doesn’t match up to the high I get in eating them. So I doff my hat to Sailu’s recipe for til laddoos – the simplicity and attractiveness of these sweets shook my no-dessert spell. Here is my version – sesame almond laddoos. As an almond fan (or shall we say, "nut nut"), I hiked the amount of almonds to make up for the omission of oatmeal. The result was not bad at all.
Spices & Herbs
Recipes that use herbs and spices as a key ingredient.
Upma with Moong Sprouts
From my mom’s kitchen, a wholesome upma fortified with beans, carrots, sprouted moong and amla. My only contribution has been in clicking pictures and wolfing it down for breakfast.
This is the 100th post on The Steaming Pot. How lovely that it should coincide with the first post of the New Year! Best wishes for 2012 to each one of you. If you like this blog, please pass on the link to your friends, "Like" the Steaming Pot’s Facebook page and follow @steamingpot on twitter. Thank you VERY much for reading!
Spicy Rajma Parathas
This happens often with me – I make rajma masala ((red kidney beans curry), there is plenty left over after a filling meal and then I don’t feel like doing a repeat for the next meal. What is the best way to finish off the remaining rajma masala? My vote goes to making these super-tasty rajma parathas, packed with the flavors of the rich tomato-garam masala gravy.
Kala Chana (Black Chickpea) with Poppy Seeds and Mint
Surplus coaxes us towards invention as much as scarcity. I hate to throw food items away and equally hate to have them beyond their "best before" dates. So I’m using up my pack of poppy seeds, that’s dangerously close to expiry, in varied ways Ditto for my bunch of fresh mint leaves. I used some in pudina chutney last night when the mint was freshly plucked – the rest went into this kala chana recipe.
How awesome it is when untried combinations of flavors turn out well.
Moong Dal Cheela: Savory Lentil Pancakes
We normally make cheela – a savory pancake popular as breakfast food in India – with besan (gram flour), but my taste buds prefer the more delicate flavors of moong dal cheela. Moong dal has the added edge of being less taxing to the tummy than gram flour.
On to the cheela recipe, with step-by-step pictures…
Okra with Ginger, Coriander, Sesame Seeds and Olive Oil
I was planning to make Sailu’s bhindi sambhariya for dinner when to my dismay, I found that my okra wasn’t the right fit for it – too large, not tender enough. So instead I cut the okra into vertical strips and cooked it with a sort of Indo-western spice mix. The result was an unexpected delight – nutty and fresh, delicate and sharp.