by Currylicious | Apr 21, 2020 | BLOG, Recipes
1/2 cup Yellow Pigeon peas or Red Lentils
1 large Onion
1 Tomato
Fresh Ginger
3 cloves of Garlic
Pinch of Turmeric
Salt to taste
Cayenne
1 teaspoon Lemon Pepper
1 teaspoon Coriander powder
Canola Oil/ Vegetable Oil
1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
Cilantro for garnish
2 teaspoons Lemon Juice
Take 1/2 cup of Yellow Pigeon peas (you can also use Red Lentils) in a pot on a gas and add 1 cup water and keep covered till it cooks completely.You will know the lentils are cooked thoroughly once they turn mushy. Add salt to taste. Keep them aside.
Chop ginger,garlic and onions finely. Then heat a pan, add 2 teaspoons of ghee or clarified butter. Transfer the chopped onion, ginger and garlic to the pan. Also, add pinch of turmeric and cayenne, salt to taste, 1 teaspoon lemon pepper powder and saute well till the onions are caramelized. Then chop a tomato and add it to the pan. Sprinkle some water and keep covered till the chopped tomato cooks well and takes in all the flavors from the spices. This is called a “TARKA” in Indian Cuisine and adds richness to the humble dal which we cooked earlier. Once onion tomato ginger garlic paste is cooked and ready, add the “TARKA” to the cooked lentils. I like to use a hand blender and blend it a little so you can still see bits of caramelized onions and tomatoes. Squeeze some fresh lemon juice or add 2 teaspoons of lemon juice. Chop some cilantro leaves and use to garnish as well. Enjoy!
Nutrition facts
Lentils in general contain high levels of protein and the important aminoacids methionine, lysine and tryptophan.
by Currylicious | May 26, 2016 | BLOG
The Newcomers-Encore Club is a social club open to all residents of Short Hills and Millburn, no matter how long they’ve lived in the area. The Club organizes various fun events and activities through out the year for its members.
One of my good friends Neetu Salhotra approached me with an idea for offering a cooking class for the Newcomers group. I agreed and we both exchanged a few ideas and emails to come up with the following menu for the group.
- Quinoa with roasted Cauliflower, Cranberries and Walnuts
- Curried Brussel Sprouts with Paneer and Bell Pepper
- Lentil pudding
I printed recipe cards and handed it to everyone. There was a lovely group of 10 wonderfully enthusiastic people ready to whip up these dishes. I split them into groups of 2 and they were so good at following the recipe and carrying out their tasks like chopping/ cooking/ seasoning/ garnishing-that we finished the class right on time for all of them to taste the dishes that they cooked as a team.
It was interesting that they all had one thing in common to tell me that they learnt a few new ingredients that they used in the class-
- Freshly ground garam masala
- Fresh coriander seeds
- Fresh cardamom seeds for the pudding
- “Jaggery” for the pudding- it is a healthier substitute for sugar
- Dried Fenugreek leaves for brussel sprout dish
I think it is extremely gratifying to know that people have a nice take away from the class apart from learning to cook couple dishes -in this case- introduction to a set of new ingredients that they werent used to cooking with and now are willing to incorporate in their everyday cooking:)
I am very grateful to all of you and always appreciate the team effort that leads to such wonderful cooking experiences with beautiful people like you.
Stay tuned for more events coming up soon…..
by Currylicious | Mar 20, 2014 | Nandini's Food Court, Recipes
I love baby eggplants but in India we always removed the skin and cooked it to a point where it gets mushy and it would drive me
nuts when my mom would insist that i eat this mushy eggplant curry with my rotis/bread. I wanted to come up with an eggplant dish that I would rather enjoy to eat than be forced to eat:(
So here goes people!
This is by far my best take on the Mighty Eggplant! and takes you less than 15 minutes to prepare this. Its an awesome dish to consider if you have guests coming over.
Ingredients:
4-8 baby eggplants
Olive oil
Goat cheese crumbs
5-6 Basil leaves
Salt to taste
Black Pepper
Lemon pepper powder 1/4 teaspoon
Garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon
Finely chopped onions- 1/4 cup
Habanero Mango Salsa( I sometimes make this at home using habanero peppers and finely diced mango cubes with onions and tomatoes but you can always find and buy a bottle of any salsa at the supermarket if you do not want to deal with the heat of habanero peppers)
Note: You can substitute any salsa depending on your or the guest’s tolerance to spice levels. BUT I strongly recommend this combination:) Trust me its delish!!!if you can tolerate spice or heat!
Preparation:
Cut the baby eggplants in half and place them on a baking pan lined with parchment paper(for easy clean up). Then sprinkle salt, black pepper, lemon pepper and garlic powder on top of each half to make sure that they are well seasoned. Then drizzle some olive oil on top of each half and top it with some chopped onions, 1/4 teaspoon of the habanero mango salsa and garnish with some crumbs of goat cheese and chiffonades of basil.
Stick this into the oven at 350 degrees F for about 20-30 minutes. Voila! I insist on a particular combination of salsa and cheese for this particular recipe since the habanero (heat) and the mango (sweet) in the salsa cuts the tanginess of the goat cheese and the flavors become so well balanced.
by Currylicious | Mar 11, 2014 | Nandini's Food Court, Recipes
This is my take on a French dish inspired by Jaques Pepin the legendary French Chef whom I respect and admire a lot. I have been wanting to make this dish for quite some time now and finally found the time and a great recipe for a mouth watering carrot puree.
So here goes:
Ingredients:
For Carrot & Potato Puree:
- 2 pounds boiling potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon melted butter/ olive oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon curry powder
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For poached egg:
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
- small bowl
- salt to taste
1/2 slice of Brioche bun toasted in olive oil or butter
Preparation of Potato Carrot Puree:
Add the chopped carrots and potatoes in a pot of salted boiling water and cook for about 30 minutes till they turn soft. Then transfer the cooked carrots and potatoes to a food processor. Add mayonnaise, salt, turmeric, ground cumin, garlic powder, curry powder and freshly ground black pepper. Drizzle olive oil or butter and process for 20- 30 seconds until creamy.
Preparation of Poached Egg:
First bring water in a saucepan to almost boiling. If the water is already boiling, lower the heat until it is no longer boiling. At this point, you can add one or two teaspoons of vinegar to the water, if you want. The vinegar will help the egg whites to come together more easily.
Crack an egg into a small cup, then place the cup near the surface of the hot water and gently slide the egg into the water. With a spoon, nudge the egg whites closer to their yolks. This will help the egg whites hold together.
Turn off the heat. Cover. Let sit for 4 minutes, until the egg whites are cooked.
Lift eggs out of pan with a slotted spoon.
Plating:
Take a plate and using a spoon place the carrot potato puree in the middle and spread to form a circle. Then place the poached egg on top of the carrot potato puree and the toasted brioche bun on top with some cilantro as garnish.
by Currylicious | Feb 26, 2014 | Recipes
Ingredients:
Whole Wheat Cous Cous- 1 cup
Cayenne Pepper- 1 teaspoon
Chopped Green Beans- 1/4 cup
ChoppedYellow Squash- 1/2 cup
Green Peas- 1/4cup
Chopped Carrots- 1/4 cup
Onion- 1
Tomato- 1
Jalapeno- 1(optional for heat)
Fresh garlic- 3 cloves
Salt to taste
Garlic powder- 1 teaspoon
Cumin seeds- 1 teaspoon
Curry powder- 1/2 teaspoon
Preparation
This recipe takes less than 10 minutes if you have all the vegetables chopped and ready. So if you are pressed for time or want to make a quick dinner all you need is to chop the veggies ahead of time or you can buy the chopped frozen vegetables from the supermarket. You can thrown in pretty much any veggie and improvise this recipe.
Firstly chop onion, tomato, jalapeno, green beans, carrots about 1/2 an inch and try to chop them evenly so they cook evenly.
Take a non stick saute pan and keep it on low flame. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and then add cumin seeds. Wait for the cumin seeds to get toasted and splutter. Now add the chopped onion, tomato, jalapeno and vegetables along with salt to taste, garlic powder and curry powder. Mix well and saute for about 2 -3 minutes.
Now add 1 cup of whole wheat CousCous and 1 1/2 cups of water.
Mix well and keep covered for about 5 more minutes till couscous absorbs all the water. Fluff cooked CouCous with a fork and serve with Tzatziki on the side.
I also make a chilled Raita with onions, cucumbers and green chillies to be served along with this salad.
Enjoy!
