Breakfast & Snacks

Crispy Rice Vadas ( Chaula Bara )

6:50 PM

It’s been raining heavily here and though many parts of the world are still enjoying their summer, we are ready to welcome the Monsoon here. The sounds of the rain drops in the window pane drove me back to my childhood memories when rainy days are welcomed with adrakwali chai and an array of foods like aloo chop, Bara, Singada(Samosa), Mudhi Mixture etc. As my father would never allow us to have those amazing street foods for which Odisha is famous for as he was very strict with hygiene, so my mother used to make all those delicious items at home. If you happen to ever land up in Bhubaneswar, you cannot escape the aroma of street food of the city. Among a plethora of foods to try out , Bara-ghuguni is a typical Odia comfort snack that you must not forget to try. Hot baras dipped in warm ghuguni in the monsoons is a snack to die for.

You must be wondering why am I going on about monsoon foods, you got me right, this is the theme for our 47th Foodie Monday Blog Hop #Monsoon Madness. Monsoon….a cup of tea…..and some hot crispy things on the plate and a good book is what I need to keep myself busy and of course happy.

Through my blog I have always taken you through various lesser known recipes belonging to Odisha , which are not only drool worthy , they are also amazing in taste. One such delicacy had caught my fancy and this seems the perfect backdrop for this crispy regional delicacy to have it’s introduction……CHAULA BARA ( Crispy Rice Vada) . This is very different from the Bara and Ghuguni we eat in the Coastal regions. The major difference is the use of rice in the Rice Vadas whereas we use Urad daal Vadas in our Bara Ghuguni.

Kosli cuisine or Sambalpuri cuisine is integral to the Kosli cultural identity and it is quite different in every sense from that of the coastal Odisha. Rice is the main component of the diet. Some of the important Kosli foods are Kardi (bamboo shoot), Hendua Chutchuta, Paatalghantaa Dhuldhulaa, Lethaa, Aambil, Thukthukaa, Chaul Bara and Bhuja. Basi Pakhal (fermented rice), Sukha jhuri (sun dried fish), Chitka, Rasbaraa (Prepared from green gram and sugar). Among others , Chaula Bara has caught the attention of many and now it has traveled to many places .These crispy rice vadas  are very famous street food in Sambalpur and these are  savored with fried chillis and green chilli chutney known as Mircha chutney.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Rice
• 4 tbsp urad daal
• 1/2 tsp carom seeds
• 1/2tsp cumin seeds
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 1 to 2 green chilli chopped
• salt as per taste
• ½ tsp baking soda
• Few curry leaves
• Oil for deep frying

 Let's Learn how to make this crispy Chaula Bara:

• Wash and soak the rice, urad dal overnight.
• Grind the soaked rice, urad dal to make a thick batter using less amount of water .
• Add chopped onion, green chillies, carom seeds, cumin seeds, baking soda, and salt. Mix well to form a smooth batter.
• Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan , once the oil is hot, then take a spoonful of rice batter in your hand and carefully drop this in the hot oil . Fry till the colour of the baras changing  to golden brown. Flip and cook the  other side. Repeat the same with the remaining batter.
• Serve it with Tomato chutney and mircha chutney which is nothing but a tangy green chutney made with crushed green chillies, garlic, tamarind paste, coriander/ mint and salt.

Baking

Sfouf- Lebanese Tea Cake with Semolina &Turmeric

6:59 PM

Lebanese cuisine is very famous for it’s varieties of sweets. These sweets are heavily laded with sugar, cheese and lots and lots of butter. One dessert stands out for it’s sweet and melt in the mouth texture is the Sfouf  . This is a famous Lebanese dessert which is characterized by it's intense yellow color due to the use of turmeric, superfood. It is one of the simplest form of cake where semolina, flour, oil, aniseed , turmeric and sugar are mixed and garnished with blanched pine nuts or almonds before baking in the oven.

This Tea Cake is called Sfouf which in Arabic mean rows. So this cake is traditionally cut into squares or diamonds shape. This Turmeric cake believe it or not, is one of the simplest, most delicious cakes I’ve ever had is a perfect tea-time cake with goodness of turmeric. Turmeric is the quintessential spice in everyone’s kitchen essential is actually a relative of ginger and is one of the healthiest food to add color to our home cooked food. 

Cuisine: Lebanese

Recipe Source: Here

Preparation Time:20 minutes

Baking time: 40 minutes

Serves:12 pieces

Ingredients:

Dry Mixture

• 1 3/4 cup Fine Semolina
• 1 1/4 cup All-Purpose Flour
• ¾ cup Ghee / Oil 
• 1 tsp Turmeric powder
• 1 tsp Ground Anise Seed
• 1/4  tsp salt
• 1 ½ tsp Baking Powder
• ½ tsp ground green cardamom
• 12 nos of Blanched Almonds or pinenuts
• 1 tsp white sesame seeds

Wet Mixture

• 1 ½ cup Whole Milk
• 1 1/4 cup Sugar 
• 1 tsp orange essence

Let's Learn How to prepare this Cake:

• Pre Heat oven to 180 degree C.
• Place the almonds in a bowl with warm water. After 10 minutes, peel the almonds and keep aside.
• In a pan warm the milk and  remove from heat and add the sugar and whisk together until the sugar dissolves. Add the orange essence to it and keep aside.
• In a large bowl, combine the semolina, all-purpose flour, ground Aniseed, cardamom powder, salt, and turmeric powder well. Now add the ghee to it and mix properly, your mixture should resemble like fine crumbs. Set it aside.
• Now pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well so that no lumps remain and little air is pumped into the mixture. Do not over mix.
•  Pour the mixture into a well-greased cake pan. Lightly mark the pan into rows so that you have 12 pieces of cake. Place one almond in the centre of each square and sprinkle the white sesame seeds on top.
• Bake the cake at 180 degree for 35 to 40 minutes or till a fork comes out clean if inserted. Remove from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes . Cut into 12 pieces and serve warm with some Tea.
• You can store this in an airtight container for about 1 week. Warm before serving as it tends to become dry when cools.

Breakfast & Snacks

Granola Yogurt Parfait

12:22 PM

Granola is the most healthiest and easy breakfast food that I am hitched onto. Pair it with a silky smooth Greek Yogurt , throw some fruits of your choice like banana, strawberries, blueberries to get the best flavor out of it. Before some months When I used to see someone posting a Granola Recipe , I used to wonder what are these. After a bit of searching, I came to know that Granola consists of rolled oats, different nuts , honey or other sweeteners which are then baked until it is crisp and golden brown. Any dry fruits can be added in the granola like pecans,pine nuts, walnuts, raisins, dates etc. Granola can be used as a breakfast or as an evening snacks or it could be eaten throughout the day, because of it’s nutritious nature . Many people make it in the bar form so that it can be easily packed and carried for outdoor activities. You can also add flax seeds, sunflower seeds , melon seeds in the mix which improves our digestion.

Though Granola is easily accessible through any Departmental Stores, I prefer to make my Granola at home which is not only cheaper than the store brought ones, it is way healthier and tastier also. The most important component of the Granola is the Oats or Oatmeal or Oat bran which is a significant source of dietary fibre which contains a mixture of soluble and non soluble fibres. Beta –glucans is a soluble fibre found in oats which has proven to lower the blood cholesterol. Try to incorporate rolled oats rather than quick cooking oats which will fail to hold up the entire binding process. You can add other dry ingredients like pecans, walnuts, pumpkin seeds,  coconut flakes, flax seeds. 

To get a nice balance of flavor and texture, I follow the 6:1 ratio of 6 parts dry ingredients to 1 part wet ingredient. Out of my 6 parts of dry ingredients, I mix 3 parts of Oats, 1 Parts of nuts, 1 parts of seeds and I parts of fruits or dryfruits. Coming back to wet ingredients, I prefer my Maple syrup and Sunflower oil which is needed to coat the grains, nuts and seeds in sugar and fat and most importantly helps them to bind together. But in this recipe I have for the first time used extra virgin coconut oil and Maple Syrup.Coming back to Maple Syrup, which is one of the more popular sweeteners today as it claims to be more nutritious and healthier than sugar. The main thing that sets maple syrup apart from refined sugar, is that though both are made of 2/3^rd sucrose, the glycemic index score of maple syrup is about 54 compared to 65 for regular cane sugar.( Source: https://draxe.com/maple-syrup-nutrition). Compared to refined cane sugar which has absolutely no nutrients, maple syrup in that case contains some important antioxidants and minerals like Zinc and Manganese. 

 Recently I have been associated with Plattershare under their “Belly Nirvana” Associate programme where I have received the Coombs Grade A Dark Amber Maple Syrup from GoIndiaOrganic - India’s only platform that provides premium, exclusive & extra-ordinary naturally organic food products.  Maple syrup is made from the sugary circulating fluid (sap) of maple trees and over 80% of the world’s supply of Maple syrup is produced in Canada. You can find different grades of Maple syrup available in the market, which is Grade-A and Grade-B. Grade-A is further classified into Light Amber, Medium Amber and Dark Amber and Grade B is the darkest of them all.  Darker maple syrups are made from sap which is extracted later in the harvesting seasons and it has a stronger maple flavor for which it is mainly used in baking and other cooked recipes , while the lighter maple syrup can be used directly on pancakes, crepes etc.

Spices plays a major role in making Granola and I always use Cinnamon, ground ginger, Nutmeg, a bit of cloves in my Granola to perk up it’s taste. Besides the spices, I also use Dried Cherries, Raisins and sometimes apricot in my Granola but I add them after baking to avoid the drying of the fruits. The best thing about Granola is that you can customize it from making it more/less sweet, more/less spicy, more/less fruity and do not limit your imagination , go ahead and make your own Granola and for a reference you can always refer my recipe below.

Recipe Type: Breakfast/ Snack

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 25 to 30 minutes

Yields: 1 medium Jar

Ingredients

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup grated carrot
• 1 cup walnuts
• 1 cup pistachios
• ½ cup shredded coconuts
• ½ cup raisin and cherries
• ¼ cup melon seeds
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• ¼ cup virgin coconut oil
• 1 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1/4tsp ginger powder
• ¼ tsp nutmeg powder
• a pinch of clove powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 400 grams vanilla flavored Greek yogurt

Let's Learn How to Make this :

• Pre heat oven to 200 degree C.

• Combine the oats, walnuts, pistachios, melon seeds, carrots, grated coconut, maple syrup, coconut oil, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and salt in a large mixing bowl. Toss well till they are perfectly combined.

• Transfer these mixture to a baking tray lined with parchment paper and spread evenly. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes and when it is halfway through, do not forget to stir it before the final round of baking.

• Remove from the oven and let it cool and comes to room temperature. Then add raisins and dried cherries and toss to combine.

• Divide the toasted granola among serving bowls, glasses or even jar like the way I did.Pour the Greek yogurt over it and place some more granola on top along with some fresh cherries. Serve immediately.

• Enjoy this homemade granola immediately, or store in a sealed container and store in a cool place for up to 2 weeks.

This granola parfait is going to be a part of our 46th #Bloghop theme of #dryfruits.

Baking

Coconut Cookies using Nutiva Organic Virgin Coconut Oil

9:05 PM

Plattershare is a holistic food social media platform which connects food enthusiasts to share their passion for food. Be it Home-Chefs, Professional Chefs, Food Bloggers, Food Professionals or Foodies who love to appreciate the taste and aroma of dishes around the world. I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Plattershare for coming up with an Associate Program named as “BellyNirvana” which helps us associate and connect with various Food and Kitchen brands across the country and gives us an opportunity to try brand new and innovative food products and gadgets; and all this from the comfort of our homes.

Plattershare under their “Belly Nirvana” Associate programme has associated with GoIndiaOrganic - India’s only platform that provides premium, exclusive & extra-ordinary naturally organic food products and I am fortunate enough to have received Nutiva Virgin Coconut Oil and under "Plattershare Belly Nirvana Association Program". When I received this product I was a bit skeptical as coconut oil is hardly used in our Odia households. Despite being an coastal area and abundantly availability of coconut , we hardly has explored it’s culinary use . But I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the pack and the light fragrance of coconut oil has taken back to my childhood days when my mother used to prepare this type of oil at home and that was so pure that she used to use it for skin care but never have used it for cooking. This Nutiva Virgin Coconut Oil which is not only organic, it is also unrefined, cold pressed making it ideal for baking and cooking as well as great for skincare, hair care and massage.

Coconut oil has emerged as the new olive oil. This is an excellent source of lauric acid and medium chain triglycerides for your healthy diet and body care routine. Coconut oil is now being promoted for it’s protection against heart diseases. Though I am not qualified to speak on it’s health benefits, I do believe it to be healthy and that’s why I have decided to use this product in my kitchen. It’s a great way to replace fat intake and definitely enhance the flavours and textures of the food. If you would like to see how I have incorporated  this coconut oil into my cooking, do follow the recipe below.

Recipe Type: Baking

Prep Time: 10 minutes

cooking Time: 12 to 15 minutes

Yields: 24 cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all Purpose flour
• 2tsp baking Powder
• A pinch of salt
• ½ tsp cinnamon powder
• ¼ cup Nutiva Virgin Coconut Oil
• ¾ cup milk
• 1/4 cup grated coconut
• ½ cup castor sugar
• few Cherries for garnishing

 

Let’s Learn how to make these Coconut Cookies

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees and line a parchment paper on the baking tray.
• Mix the All purpose Flour, castor sugar, salt, baking powder, grated coconut, cinnamon Powder in a bowl and mix well.
• Now slowly pour the coconut oil and combine everything so that it resembles fine crumbs.
• Now pour the milk and mix the dough until it is completely combined to form a ball. But do not over knead.
•  Transfer the dough to a floured surface and roll out until it is ½ inch thick. With the help of a cookie cutter , cut out the cookies. Place a slice of cherries on each cookies. Transfer these to a baking sheet, and bake for 12 to 15 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
• Enjoy these coconut cookies with a cup of tea  with your family.

 

Last but not the least, I would like to thank GoIndiaOrganic  for sending across this  extra virgin coconut oil which I LOVE and would like to use it in my kitchen more often in preparing traditional and non traditional food. I mostly  love the flavour and the tenderness it lends to baked goods.

Thirst Quenchers

Cantoloupe & Greek Yogurt Medley

8:22 AM

 To enjoy the whole nutrient of any fruit, it needs to be consumed in it’s whole form. I like to have more fresh fruit juices during the summer and especially to counter the humidity here. All you need is light , healthy and quick breakfast along with some refreshing cold beverages to tackle this hot and humid weather at Bhubaneswar. Cantaloupe or muskmelons are perfect summer coolers as it has lots of water content which reduces the body heat during summer. Though one could consume this directly, you could also this to juice, smoothies, sorbet, icecream, soup, desert etc.

Cantaloupe juice is easy to prepare and could be made in minutes  by just adding it to the blender along with some ice cubes and honey or jaggery depending on the sweetness of the fruit and you are ready with this healthy cantaloupe juice. I personally like to eat the fruit instead as it is so juicy.But sometimes I also like to  experiment and loves it .Muskmelons have a classic sweet melon flavor and a smooth texture making it ideal for use in as a puree for sauces and soups, smoothies, milkshakes and lassis. it can be added as cubed or pureed when making sorbet, kheer, cakes, ice cream and puddings.

Muskmelons also known as sweet melon, kharbuja and cantaloupe are botanically known as Cucumis melo and a member of the Cucurbitaceae family. There are approximately ten different commercial varieties of Muskmelon grown in India today such as Kharbuj, Kharbooj and Karbuja. In addition to fresh eating in India the Muskmelon is utilized to produce Muskmelon oil which is used in skincare, for cooking and in naturopathic medicine.( Source:http://www.specialtyproduce.com).Muskmelon has a lot of health benefits like controlling blood pressure, it is high in fibre, reduces body heat and is an anti oxidant.

Recipe type: drinks

Cuisine: world

Prep time:5 minutes

cooking time :5 minutes

serves: 2

Ingredients:

• 1 cantaloupe or muskmelon
• Sugar or jaggery as required
• 200 gms fresh greek hogurt
• a pinch of black salt
• 1 tsp cardamom powder
• few cherries to decorate

how to make the recipe:

• Cut the muskmelon into half. Remove the peel and separate it from the flesh.Discard the seeds. Chop and add in a blender along with sugar or jaggery as per requirement and  the black salt. Blend till smooth without adding water.
•  Pour the Cantaloupe juice onto individual serving glass Mix the cardamom powder in the greek yogurt and pour over the muskmelon juice.
• Garnish with Cherries and serve immediately so that  the juice retains it’s freshness.

Baking

Irish Soda Bread Buns with Cranberries and Fennel Seeds

7:15 AM

This is one of the most old fashioned Soda Bread recipe with just the basic ingredients which can be ready in less than an hour. The addition of buttermilk gives this bread the much required crust and this is the perfect recipe when you are in a hurry. Like any other Soda bread, these buns tastes as good as when it is eaten with a slice of cheese or with butter and jam. The exotic scent of the fennel seeds and the burst of tartness from the cranberries make these buns to have it in a perfect cosy environment with your family.

Soda bread is a variety of quick bread traditionally made in a variety of cuisines in which sodium bicarbonate (otherwise known as baking soda) is used as a leavening agent instead of the more common yeast. The ingredients of traditional soda bread are flour, bread soda, salt, and buttermilk. The buttermilk in the dough contains lactic acid, which reacts with the baking soda to form tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide. Other ingredients can be added such as butter, egg, raisins, or nuts to make it as per your recipe. ( Source: Wiki)

If you’ve never made bread before just like me and terrified  at the very thought of making homemade bread, simply relax. It is quite easier to make a soda bread than making a pancake or muffin. This is going to be part of my contribution to the 45^th Foodie Monday Bloghop theme of #Bread.

Recipe Source: Simply Nigella

Recipe Type: Bread

Prep Time:10 minutes

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Yields :8

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups of whole wheat Flour
• ½ cup All Purpose flour
• ½ cup butter
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 ½ tsp Baking powder
• ¾ tsp soda 
• ¾ tsp all spice powder
• 150 l runny buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• ½ cup dried cranberries
• 2 tsp fennel seeds

Let's Learn how to make this bread:

• Melt the butter and then leave it to cool a little.

• Preheat the oven to 220 degree C and line a baking sheet with baking Parchment.

• in a large bowl, combine both flours, salt, baking powder, baking soda, all spice powder and mix well.

• Whisk the egg with buttermilk and then fold in the melted butter.

• Pour the wet ingredients over the bowl of dry ingredients, and then add the dried cranberries and fennel seeds and mix everything with a wooden spoon. The final bit of mixing should be done by hands.

• Turn the sticky dough into the floury surface and then cut into 4 equal parts and out of those 4 parts make 4 more balls. Now you have 8 balls made from the dough.

• Shape each piece of dough into a rough dough ball and place on your lined baking sheet with some space between them.

• With the help of a knife, mark a pattern of ‘X’ in each of the dough.

• Sprinkle  little flour on all the breads and bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes or untill the buns are brown and sound hollow when tapped on the kitchen slab.

• Let them cool for about 10 minutes before you eat them.

• these Buns are best eaten the day it is made.

• I like to have it with butter and some plum and tomato chutney and a glass of milk.

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"CCChallenge"

SAMBHAR VADA

11:34 AM

A south Indian Breakfast is never going to complete without the mention of Idly, Dosa, Sambhar, Vada. You can see these tasty platter of food at any food joint and road side stalls if you visit South India. During my recent trip to Karnataka, I have seen each and everyone asking for Medhu Vadai which are deep fried crispy vadas served with sambhar and Coconut Chutney and a cup of Coffee.

 Sambhar Vada is the quintessential South Indian tiffin that features not just in their everyday menu but on special occasions also. Sambhar Vada is nothing but a split black lentils  based fried snack  soaked in mild and flavourful sambar. During the process, the urad dal is soaked and ground together with spices and then deep fried until golden brown. It is served primarily with coconut chutney and sambhar . The best part of this dish is that you can recycle the leftover Vadas , all you need to do is soak the vadas in hot water and then in hot sambhar. This recipe is a reminder of my beautiful short stay at Bangalore and the food there and it’s taste is going to remember with me for a long time to stay.

Cuisine: South Indian

Type: Breakfast

Prep Time: Overnight or minimum 3 hours

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Serves: 6

Ingredients for Sambhar:

• ½ cup Arhar daal
• 1 small onion
• 1 Tomato
• 1 cup of assorted vegetables like Drumstick, Okra, Raddish, Brinjal, Beans cut into lengths)
• 1 tbsp tamarind pulp
• 3 tsp Sambhar Masala
• 1 tsp Red chilli powder
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp sugar

For tempering:

• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 2 nos of green chillies
• Salt as needed
• ¼ tsp Asafoetida powder
• 1 sprig Curry leaves
• 3 to 4 garlic pods

Ingredients for Vadas:

• 1 cup Urad daal( skinless)
• Salt as required
• Water as required
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• A pinch of Asafoetida
• 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
• Oil for deep frying
• 1 tbsp rice flour powder 
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp ginger

Let’s Learn How to make Vadas:

• Wash urad dal thoroughly in water and soak overnight or for minimum 3 hours. Now drain the water if any to a bowl and start grinding the urad dal in a running grinder till the batter is smooth and fluffy. The whole process will take 10 to 15 minutes.

• Once done, collect the batter to a separate bowl and add  hing, curry leaves, coriander leaves, grated ginger, salt and rice flour.   Combine everything well with a spoon.

• Heat oil in a wide  pan with heavy base .Take a ball of batter and make a whole with your thumb and drop the vada in hot oil carefully. 

• Fry the  vadas till it  turns golden  in color. take out from pan and place on a kitchen towel to absorb the excess oil. 

Let's Learn how to make the Sambhar:

• Wash and soak daal in hot water for 1 hour and put it in a pressure cooker for 4-5 whistles with salt, turmeric and onion in it.

• Once it is cooked, add the vegetables and tomatoes to it and cook till the vegetables are tender. Add the red chilli powder give it a good stir, let it cook for 5 mins more.

• Soak the tamarind in hot water and keep it ready,

• In a small pan heat oil and add the mustard seeds and let them splutter, add curry leaves, hing, crushed garlic, green chillies and the Sambhar masala and add this to the dhal mixture. You need to check the consistency of the sambhar and if needed add 1 to 11/2 cup of water to it. The Sambhar needs to be in liquid state.

• Now add the tamarind paste and the sugar to the dhal mixture and let it cook for 5 minutes , Switch off the gas.

PLATING the SAMBAR VADA

• In a bowl take warm water,  dip the vadas one by one in the warm water and with both palms gently squeeze out the excess water. Repeat the same until you use up all the vadas.
• Place in a serving dish, now pour sambar on top of the vadas. Garnish with chopped onions and coriander leaves and serve warm.
• Enjoy your bowl of sambar vada along with coconut chutney & a cup of coffee.

Linking this to Valli's 'Cooking from Cookbook Challenge: June -- Week 3'