Announcing - Made for Each Other

UPDATE : The entries are posted as they arrive. They can be accessed HERE or by clicking on link on the right side bar.

'Made for Each Other' is a theme based event and it is based on food and love for this Valentine's Day.

There are so many theme based events, that I've participated, missed and unaware of. I've been thinking of a lovely and cute event to begin with for the first time in Asvadha. I've been waiting to start this event for a long time. Finally the time has arrived. The theme for this event is about food that is made for each other. It can be an accompaniment, an appetizer, a side dish or even a dessert. Basically it is the love between both the dishes which complement each other. Well the rule is, your main dish has to be accompanied by any other side dish. Like sambar for idli, raita for biriyanis or parathas, salsa or any dips for chips, jam for bread... you get the idea. Another rule is that you'll have to prepare a main dish and an accompainment in the same posting, that is two recipes in one. Two-for-one ! It's all about love !


A surprize gift and award will be given for two entries. Being the host, I get to pick the award-winning entries. The categories are MEO-Concept, for the most original entry and MEO-Delish, for the most drool worthy entry.

Results and round-up will be announced by March 10th.

Go gear up and send in your entries.

Guidelines:

Prepare a lovely vegetarian or vegan recipe(s) with main dish and it's Jodi (partner). Any traditional, any cuisine, any course is allowed. Only one entry per blog/person. If you send multiple entries, the first one will be used.

Post about it in your blog between now and Feb 28th 2009. Please provide a link to this announcement and please spread around the word with your fellow bloggers.

The last date for sending your entry is Feb 28th 2009, midnight , PST.

Send me a email with MEO-2009 in the subject line to asvadha@gmail.com with the following details :

• Your name


• Your blog name


• Name of the entry ( both main and it's accompainment)


• URL of your post


• An optional photo which is 800 pixels wide or 800 pixels long (not both)


• A line about why you think they make a perfect pair.

If you do not have a blog and if you are interested in sending me your entry, please send me an email with the recipe and above details.

Older posts are accepted if they are re-posted and updated with the link to this announcement.

Feel free to use the logo below in your post.

(By taking part in this event, participants accept that the pictures submitted to Asvadha.com have been taken by them, and do not infringe upon the proprietary rights, including but not limited to the copyright, of any third party.)

So, start making your Jodi's instead of depending on 'RAB' (GOD).

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Medhu Vadai ~ Garelu

Idli, Vada & Dosai is the famous trio in South India. Each one of them complement each other very well. From the trio is the Vadai or Garelu(in Andhra) which is savory donut, made out of lentils. It is seasoned with green chillies, ginger and salt, fried and served with chutney or sambar. It can be dipped and soaked in hot sambar and can be eaten as sambar vada, or it can be soaked in yogurt(dahi) for dahi vada. Either way you eat, it tastes great.

Making Medhu vadai, was a quite a experience for me. It is a skill which took me a while excel. I used to make mistakes everytime I made them. I used to add lot of water, which made the dough, loose and I could never make the holes in the center. All my vadais turned out to be bondas. Else, it turned out to be hard, too hard to even bite. Well, " practice makes one perfect ". That came out true for me in this case. Now, my medhu vadais not only looks great, it is softer to chew and crunchy on the outside and melts in my mouth.. If you are new and trying this for the first time, please don't get put off, if it doesn't turn out perfect. Keep trying you'll get it.


Ingredients:

(Makes around 20 vadais)

2 cups - Urad dal ( black gram dal, mina pappu)
2 tbsps - Rice
8 - Green Chillies
1 1/2" (inch) - Ginger
1 tbsp - Black pepper ( ground coarsely), optional
Few curry leaves, torn into smaller bits
Salt as required
Plantain leaf or ziploc(plastic sheet) for making vada
Oil, for deep frying


Method:

Wash well and soak urad dal and rice for 3-4 hrs. Drain the water completely. Add the rest of the ingredients, except curry leaves and oil. Grind in small batches, by sprinkling very little water. It is the key. Use water, just enough to run the motor blades of the food-processor effectively, without creating any 'jam-session'. Grind into smooth paste. Add curry leaves to the dough.

Heat oil, on a medium heat, in a kadai or a deep pan. Oil should be atleast 1" deep.

Take a bowl of water to begin making vadais. Place the plastic sheet or plantain leaf on the counter-top. Wipe the sheet/leaf with water. Take about half handful(about 1/5th cup) of dough on the sheet/leaf. Dampen your fingers with water and flatten the dough gently, making a circle, put a hole in the center with your finger. Gently, transfer the dough into oil and deep fry till it is golden.

Do not turn the heat to high, as the inside of the vadai may not cook properly.

Don't loose heart if you are unable to make dough into donuts, drop it in any shape. Take the dough by a spoon and drop it into oil. It tastes the same no matter how it is shaped. Remember, keep practicing.

Serve Medhu Vadais as a snack or as an appetizer with chutney or sambar.




This Vadais is on their way to the My Legume Love Affair- Seventh Helping, hosted this month by Srivalli of Cooking 4 all seasons and initiated by Susan of The well seasoned cook. There are 5 more days left to send your entries. So, Giddy Up Rodeo !


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Hot Plantain Thuvaram Curry

How many of you have watched the movie " The Namesake " ? I guess most of you have watched it by now. It's a wonderful movie. I watched it when it got released in theaters and now recently I watched again on television, this time I got engrossed a bit more and loved it more than the first time. It relates so much to our lives here, outside India. A friend of mine suggested the book, written by Jhumpa Lahiri, is more better than the movie. As I love reading books, I couldn't wait, I went and bought one. The books is so well written, that few lines made me laugh and cry. I could relate myself with the character and got totally engrossed. I'm still reading it now. It's a must read. Those who haven't read the book till now, please go get one from your local library or buy one from a book store. It's lovely !




Well, about today's recipe, it's plantain thuvaram curry. Thuvaram means "Poriyal - dry, sauceless curry" in Tamil. Plantain is one versatile vegetable for me, can be cooked in many ways, and it turns out tasty every time. When I moved in here, I had tough time cooking this vegetable, as it used to turn out hard to chew after a while , after cooking. I used to steam it in pressure cooker like I do for all other vegetables. Now, I directly boil it on top of the stove. It comes out perfectly cooked and soft to chew.

I've tried this recipe and I have liked it. I'm sure you'll love it too. It's very easy and quick(of course you'll have to cook the plantains, so include time to cook the vegetable too). It's a bit on the hot on the spice level, so adjust your spiciness according to the taste.

Ingredients :

2 - Plantains
7-8 - Red chillies
1 tbsp - Grated coconut
2 tsps - Cumin seeds
1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder
1 1/2 tsps - Salt
For tempering :
1 tsp - Mustard seeds ( Rai, Avaalu)
2 tsps - Black gram dal ( Urad dal, Minapappu)
Few curry leaves
2 tsps - Oil

Method:

Peel and cut plantain into small bit size cubes. Add them into water immediately, as they turn darker in color like potatoes and apples. Cook them directly over stove-top. Add 1/2 tsp salt and turmeric while they are still cooking. It takes around 15 mins to cooks completely, the pieces should be soft to touch and the shape should be intact.Drain out remaining water and keep aside.

Grind together, red chillies, coconut and cumin seeds together into coarse paste.

Take a pan, add oil. When oil turns hot, add mustard seeds, black gram dal and curry leaves. When mustard seeds splutter and dal turn brown. Add cooked plantain. Add ground paste and mix well. Add the remaining salt now and mix well and gently trying not to make the curry mushy. Cook for another 5 mins and turn off the heat and serve hot.


Tastes great with plain rice and can be accompanied with tomato dal or any other dal. Have fun !


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Sweet Pongal

I made Sweet pongal, as they make traditionally in most of the South Indian homes during the harvest festival, which is called Pongal in Tamil or Sankranthi in Telugu. It's a celebration of the prosperity associated with the harvest by thanking the rain, sun and the farm animals that have helped in the harvest. It's like Thanksgiving in India. It also signifies the day, on which the sun begins its journey northwards is referred to as Makara Sankranti. Wonderful info about this festival can be found here and here.

Sweet pongal is what my mom and my mom-in-law makes during this festival. I now make it too. Most of the South Indians must have tasted this or one that is made with sugar. I have tasted both and love both of them. It truly signifies the meaning of a real pongal. As written in Wiki -

"Sweet(Sakarai, in Tamil) Pongal or Veetu Pongal, it is celebrated by boiling rice with fresh milk and jaggery in new pots, which are later topped with brown sugar, cashew nuts and raisins early in the morning and allowing it to boil over the vessel. This tradition gives Pongal its name.
Kolam decorations in front of house during Thai Pongal
The moment the rice boils over and bubbles out of the vessel, the tradition is to shout of "Ponggalo Ponggal!" and blowing the sangu (a conch), a custom practiced during the festival to announce it was going to be a year blessed with good tidings. For Tamils, it is considered a good sign to watch it boil over, since it means that good luck and prosperity is forthcoming. Then New boiled rice is offered to the Nature during sunrise, a gesture which symbolises thanks to the sun and nature for providing prosperity. It is later served to the people present in the house for the ceremony. People also prepare savories and sweets such as vadai, murukku, payasam and visit each other and exchange greetings. "

To make this relish you need :

2 cups - Rice
3/4 cup - Moong dal ( pesara pappu)
3 cups - Brown sugar or Jaggery
3 cups - Milk + 2 cups water
1/2 cup - Ghee
1/2 cup - Grated coconut (optional)
1 tbsp - Cardamom powder
3 tbsp - Broken cashews
2 tbsp - Golden raisins
and a pinch of salt to enhance the taste ( I like to add a pinch of salt in all sweet dishes, it really enhances the taste of the dish)


Method :

Broil rice and dal together in a pan on medium heat, till the raw smell disappears and dal smells good. Rinse them well with water and in a thick bottom pan or in pressure cooker, cook rice and dal together with milk and 2 cups water listed above for 15-20 mins with weight on. The rice and dal has to cook soft, not grainy.

Once cooked, transfer the contents into a separate deep thick bottomed pan and add brown sugar and salt. Mix well. The mixture will turn watery and will thicken in few minutes. Keep stirring. Pay attention to not to burn the bottom of the pan.

In a separate pan, heat ghee and fry cashews till golden color, and add raisins and fry till they balloons out. Add grated coconut into the pan and saute for 2-3 mins. Add the contents into the rice-dal-jaggery and mix well. Add cardamom powder and mix well once again. Cook for another 2-3 mins stirring occasionally.

If the pongal is too thick add little more milk or water and cook for another 2-3 mins. If it is runny, cook little longer, till pongal turns thick. Add more or less ghee,sugar according to your taste.

Please note that, I've used brown sugar for my recipe as I find the taste similar to that of jaggery and it is easy and convenient to use. I use it for most of the recipes which calls for jaggery.

Also, if you are using sugar instead of brown sugar or jaggery, use 3 cups of sugar instead of brown sugar or jaggery. Take out a handful of moong dal(pesara pappu) and add a handful of bengal gram dal (sanaga pappu). The rest of the ingredients stays the same and so is the method.


Happy Pongal and Makara Sankranthi Subakanshalu to all of you.

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Wish you a Very Happy Sankranthi

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Pomegranate Raita

Pomegranate is derived from latin - pomum ("apple") and granatus ("seeded"). This fruit is native to the region from Iran to the Himalayas in northern India and has been cultivated and naturalized over the whole Mediterranean region and the Caucasus since ancient times. This fruit is in season during winters here in US and around the world.

Pomegranate is good in anti-oxidants and in Vitamin C and B5, so, it's really good for health. The above photo is my little one holding the arils of the pomegranate fruit.

Separating the red arils is simplified by performing this task in a bowl of water, wherein arils sink and pulp floats. It is also possible to freeze the whole fruit in the freezer, making the red arils easy to separate from the white pulp membranes. More info about this wonderful tasty fruit can be read here.



This colorful, red juicy fruit has been sitting in my fruit basket craving for attention. Well, I finally decided to use it to make raita for my parathas. It's really simply super easy and very tasty. Serves well with parathas, Rice varieties or just alone as a snack.



All you need : 1 - Pomegranate ( which yields around 1/2 cup of arils or seeds), 1 1/2 cup - low fat plain yogurt, 1/2 tsp - salt. Mix'em all together and serve. Super delicious.



The above photograph is sent to Bee and Jai Click event.

It is a monthly event dedicated to food photography. This month's theme is "Red" . Bee and Jai says "Whatever you portray must be edible or have a clear culinary association".

So if you are intrested please send your entries too. All the previous entries are so inspiring that I thought I'll try my luck.

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Naaza

Well, you must be wondering what the heck is Naaza ! It a great combination of Pizza and Naan ! Ever since I laid my eyes on the recipe in Nita Mehta's "Exotic Cooking with Paneer" book, I felt I must definetly try it. It is very tasty Indianized pizza with Naan as pizza base and paneer (Indian Cottage cheese)as topping. How to make paneer can be found here. It is very easy fool proof recipe and very delicious. Ever since I've tried this, it has become my family favorite now. Yummy and truly Indian.





Naan is spread with an Indian tomato spread flavored with kasoori methi for the yummy-buttery taste, restaurant like, and topped with paneer tikkas and mozzarella cheese. It is finally grilled in the oven.

You can find ready-made naans these days in grocery stores either fresh or frozen. I've used fresh readymade naan which I bought at Whole Foods Market. I usually buy fresh whole wheat naans and freeze them so that I can use whenever I need to without worrying about the expiration date. It usually stays good frozen for about 3-4 months. I've used regular naan as I was out of the whole wheat ones. You can try with the whole wheat naans, it will taste the same and it is also healthy. Also, if you are using frozen naans, layer the toppings on the frozen naan, thawing is not required and you'll grill the naaza at end. But, you may need to grill a little longer, another 2-3 mins extra.

The Ingredients below serves 4 people and please don't get put off by the ingredients list. It is readily available in most Indian homes and it's really effortless.


Ingredients :

2 ready made naans
4 - 5 oz / 100 - 150 gms mozzarella cheese

Tomato spread :

1 tbsp Oil
4 flakes - Garlic, crushed
2 - tomatoes, pureed or 1 tbsp - tomato paste ( If you making puree with fresh tomatoes, save 1 tbsp for making paneer topping
1/2 tsp - Salt
1/4 tsp - Garam masala powder
1/4 tsp - Red chilli powder
2 tbsp - Tomato ketchup or sauce
2 tsp - Dry fenugreek leaves ( kasoori methi )

Paneer topping :

4 oz / 100 gms - paneer, cut into 1/4" pieces1 small bunch - Brocolli (optional)
1/2 green and 1/2 yellow bell peppers, cut into 1/2" pieces ( you can substitute with 1 green bell pepper
1 - Tomato, deseeded and cut into 1/2" pieces
1/2 - onion, cut into 1/2" squares
1/4 tsp each - Salt, Red chilli powder, Haldi and Garam masala powder, or adjust according to taste
1 tbsp - Tomato puree
1/2 tsp - Ginger- Garlic paste
1 1/2 tbsp - Oil

Method:

For tomato spread-

Heat oil, in a sauce pan. Add garlic and all other ingredients. Cook till thick.

For paneer topping-

Heat oil in a pan. Add onion. Saute till transperant. Add ginger- garlic paste, salt, red chilli powder, haldi and garam masala powder. Mix well. Add tomato puree. Add bell peppers and tomato. Mix well once again.

Add paneer and kasoori methi. Mix well and remove from heat. You need not cook paneer in the pan as you would be grilling them later.

Brush naan with 1 tsp oil or spray oil from can. Spread some tomato spread, covering well till the edges.

Sprinkle some mozzarella cheese. Spread paneer topping. Sprinkle little more cheese again.

Grill for about 15 mins at 350 degrees F or 180 degrees C , till the paneer get grilled and the edges of the naan turn brown. Be careful not to grill for long time, as the base will turn hard.

Cut into retangular pieces. and serve hot.

Yummy and spicy naaza is ready to be enjoyed.

The recipe in the book says, you can serve Naaza with Mint-Yogurt chutney. For Mint-Yogurt chutney you'll need to mix together, 2 tbsp mint paste, 3 tbsp yogurt, a pinch of black salt ( Kala namak) and pinch of cumin ( jeera )powder with 1 tsp oil. I had mine Naaza alone.


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