Soupe de lentilles avec vadouvan | Paruppu kadaisal French style

Third week means time for ChefsAcrossBoundaries, an initiative by handful of bloggers who have taken up the challenge to learn and expand the expertise horizons. This month's challenge is Indo French cuisine | Franco tamil cusine to expand our knowledge on the food culture in Pudhucherry during the French Colony reign.Thanks to Hetal kamdar for her excellent thought on this.

South India is well known for it's plentiful sunshine,so people use that to make a lot of preserves.One such is called Vadagam(vadavam), meaning dry fritters. Looks like  the onion vadagam , that people used to prepare in summer and use it during heavy rain and flood situations, has attracted the French Gentlemens.There comes the birth of this wonderful spice mix , Vadouvan ,where Tamil Spices are making a perfect alliance with French herbs.

Being a Tamilian,the process of making this was quite easy for me as I can understand the taste that every single Indian spice is going to contribute to this spice mix.

Since the idea here is to bring the Pondicherry cuisine, I took the basic recipe of paruppu kadaisal meaning mashed lentils, which is very much a part of their life and given a  twist to the usual recipe here.

Vadouvan Spice Mix

Ingredients

 Red onions ........................................ 1 lb , roughly chopped
Shallots ............................................. 1 handful , chopped
garlic ................................................/ 1 head
fenugreek seeds ................................. 1/4 tsp
Cumin .............................................. 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli Powder / flakes ................... 1 tsp ( adjust as per taste)
Mustard seeds .................................... 1/2 tsp
Green Cardamom ................................ 4
Clove..................................................4
 Nutmeg ........................................... a pinch , grated
Turmeric powder ............................... 1/4 tsp
Fresh curry leaves .............................. 1/4 cup
Oil ..................................................... 2 tbsp


Method

• Preheat the oven to 350 F.
• Pulse the onion, garlic and  shallots  in a blender or food processor and set aside.
• Heat a shallow pan and dry roast fenugreek until golden brown and set aside to cool.
• In the same pan , dry roast the cardamom and cloves for 30 sec and add it to fenugreek.
• Now , saute the mustard just until they get hot, we don't want them to splutter.
• Take all the dry roasted ingredients in a spice grinder and grind to a fine powder.
• Heat the same pan with oil over medium high and add the onions, finely chopped curry leaves, red chilli powder, turmeric, salt , nutmeg and the freshly ground spice  and cook well until the onions are golden brown.
• Now line a baking tray with parchment and spread the onion mixture as a thin layer and bake until the onion mixture is completely dry.
• Cool and pulse it in a spic grinder / mortar and pestle.
• Transfer to a air tight container and refrigerate it.

 Paruppu Kadaisal / Soupe de lentilles avec vadouvan

Ingredients

Red gram lentils / toor dal  / masoor dal ................................ 1 cup
Turmeric powder ............................................................... 1/2 tsp
Ghee / Clarified butter .......................................................... 11/2 tbsp
Dried Red chilly ..................................................................  1, broken into pieces
Mustard seeds .................................................................... 3/4 tsp
dehusked split Urad Dal ..................................................... 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves ...................................................................... few
Garlic ............................................................................... 2 cloves , crushed
Salt ................................................................................ to taste
Vadouvan spice mix ........................................................ 2 tbsp
Herbs De Provence ......................................................... 1/4 tsp

Method

• Pressure cook the lentils with 2.5 cups water and turmeric powder and mash well.
• Heat a deep pan with ghee over medium and add the mustard, when it crackles add the urad dal and red chilli pieces and saute.
• Then add the crushed garlic and saute until golden brown and add curry leaves and vadouvan spice mix and herbs de provence for 30 seconds.
• Add the boiled and mashed lentils to this and add salt.
• Let it simmer for 10 minutes.

Serve it hot over a bed of steamed rice and enjoy.

Meatless Monday : Pav Bhaji | Indian Mashed vegetable Casserole

This is a popular North Indian street food and has won the hearts of many many Indians for many  years.But these days you can find them served in restaurants and small eateries all across the country.This is a simple gravy with mashed vegetable served and served with Pav buns.Pav in Hindi means quarter and bhaji is vegetable meaning quartered bread with mashed veggies.

I had had this in some of the local restaurants & eateries back in India. But the best one to name  is the one my friend P  has made for a casual meet of a handful of friends.I was completely taken away by this finger licking taste and got the recipe from her.

In my recent visit to India , my brother has made this for us and my boy enjoyed this like there is no tomorrow.From then on , it was in my never ending to-do list(!). And I'm happy that I made this couple of times for him and this has become a family favorite now.

This will be a best choice when you are up to empty the refrigerator or left with bits and pieces of few veggies. No one can find this lip smacking gravy is from left over veggies.

Ingredients

Garlic ............................................ 1 head, finely chopped / minced
Onion ............................................ 1 cup , finely chopped / minced + little extra for garnish
Tomato ......................................... 1 1/2 cups , finely chopped
Pav Bhaji Masala ............................ 1 tbsp * see notes
Red Chilli Powder ......................... 1 tsp
Mixed Vegetables ........................... 2 cups (carrots, green beans, potato , peas, capsicum,beets, cauliflower)
Salt ............................................ to taste
Butter ......................................... 1 tsp
Oil .............................................. 1.5 tbsp
Coriander Leaves ......................... a handful
lemon wedges .............................. few
Pav Buns .................................... few  *see notes

Method

• Pressure cook the mixed vegetables and set aside.
• Mean while ,  prepare the onion, garlic and tomato. I use a small food processor for this.
• Heat oil in a pan and saute the garlic for couple minutes,until the raw smell is gone.
• Add in the onions and a bit of salt and saute until soft and translucent.
• Stir in the tomatoes, pav bhaji masala , red chilli powder, salt and cook well.
• Now slightly mash the boiled vegetables along with the cooked water ( I used a hand blender ) and add it to the tomato gravy.
• Cook for few more minutes and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.Add 1/2 tsp butter to this and garnish with chopped onions and coriander leaves.

To Assemble

Heat a griddle on medium.Cut the pav buns in the griddle and apply some butter and toast it on the griddle.
Now serve these buns with hot bhaji with some topped onions, coriander leaves and lemon wedges.

Note

• Find these Pav Buns and Pav Bhaji Masala in any local Indian Grocers or you can use potato rolls or any soft variety of buns like Ham Burger Buns.
• The choice of vegetable is absolutely yours .
• I like my gravy little chunky as it adds to the texture while I enjoy them, but you can make it smooth too.
• For vegan choice , use vegan butter or omit butter.

Falafel with Roasted Red Pepper Thahini

Thanks to blogging that has given me the chance to meet some like minded good hearts. While some are for the virtual world ,the rest are for the real world, I mean friends for life. Earlier Dolphia from storyofcooks came up with a sudden spark of themed post.Later,I , Anjana and Subasmitha had  teamed up with her as #KitchenDivas and it has always been a fun filled convo among us. Finally, we had settled on the theme 'Snack '.

Few thoughts came up , but then picked up this ,as this is one of our favorites. Crispy on the out and soft and spongy inside with a medley of flavors is how I describe this.

Sometimes as a munchkeen , sometimes as a patty , Sometimes as a filling in Whole Wheat Pita ,this humble falafel takes different avatars in my kitchen.The Zathar masala that I got from my sister had it's hand in enhancing the flavors here.There is another recipe of Pita from Simi, that works wonderful.

For a healthier choice I usually  bake them but today I settled on deep frying as that is how it is done in Middle East and I know it's once in blue moon I deep fry.

Ingredients

Dry Chickpeas ........................... 1 cup , washed and Soaked for 8 hrs.
Onion ........................................1/2 cup , chopped
Garlic ........................................ 2 tbsp , chopped
Zathar ........................................ 1 tbsp , see notes for alternate choice
Red chilli Powder / Cayenne ........... 1 tsp
Baking Powder .............................3/4 tsp
Parsley ........................................ 1/4 cup
Coriander Leaves .......................... 2 tbsp
Lemon juice ................................... 1 tsp
Salt .............................................. to taste
Olive oil ....................................... 1 tsp
All Purpose Flour .......................... about a tbsp
Oil ............................................ to fry

Method

Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan / kadai over medium heat.
Drain the chickpeas and make a course paste without adding water.
Add onion, garlic, parsley and coriander leaves and give it a whirl by adding the lemon juice and olive oil.
Now stir in the chilli powder , Zathar, baking powder and salt.
Add in the APFlour .
Mix everything well and check the batter by making a small ball, incase you are not getting that together, just add another tsp of APF.
Make small balls of even size , slightly flatten them up.
Fry them in batches.

If you prefer Baked Version , Bake at 400 F 12 minutes each side .

Roasted Red Pepper Thahini

White Sesame seeds .................... 1/4 cup, toasted
Lemon juice ...............................1/2 tsp to 1 tsp (adjust to taste)
Salt .......................................... to taste
Olive oil ................................... 1 tsp
Red Bell Pepper ......................... 1 small.
Pepper ...................................... 1/2 tsp

Method

Wash and slice the pepper into big pieces.
Heat a griddle on medium high.
Apply some oil on the pepper pieces.
Grill them until the skin is browned.
Remove them from heat and cover with a bowl.
After 5 minutes, peel off the skin  and blend with rest of the ingredients.


Notes

If you don't have Zathar , substitute with 1 tsp of toasted sesame seeds and a bit of dry herbs like parsley  , thyme .

Spiced Chocolate Mousse | Eggless

What is there not to like about chocolate ? I'm one such person who is not for chocolates.But the rest of the family enjoy this. This being another snow storm day and people are at home. Another reason , today is Chocolate day ! Something quick and mess free is the idea.

I'm using unsweetened cocoa powder here, I can control the sugar and fat intake.You can use regular bar chocolate too.

Rich , silky and decadent called hubby. This is the best dessert you've given me so far said my son. What else could I ever ask for !!!

Ingredients

Unsweetened cocoa powder ...................... 3 tsp
Butter ...................................................... 1 tbsp
Warm water ............................................. 1/4 cup
Avocado ..................................................3/4 cup , roughly chopped
Sugar / Honey ............................................ to taste
Salt .......................................................... a tiny pinch
Pumpkin spice powder ................................ 1 tsp / ( Sub with cinnamon , all spice and nutmeg powder)

Method.

• Melt butter gently in a low heat , add cocoa powder and warm water to this and mix well.
• Cook this for a minute or two and set aside.
• Now blend avocado  until creamy and then add all other ingredients followed by chocolate mix and blend till incorporated.
• Serve chilled.

Barbecued Eggplant | Roasted Eggplant | Enna Kathirikkai with Zathar

Eggplant , Aubergine , Brinjal name differs from one place to another . But my love for this veggie continues.

Not many are fond of egg plants is what I understood off late.Why ? 3 out of 10 don't prefer eggplants in their meals in my friends list. But I'm all different . I'm crazy of this veggie.

Those were the days , the concept of super market wasn't there and refrigerator was something affordable to only rich. we used to buy fresh veggies from local farmers every morning. Ten minutes of brisk walk is what you need to see all these fresh produce from the people who really produce them.I used to accompany my mom during holidays . She used to pick even sized baby eggplants some days and other variety some other times. Carefully rotating to see if there is any sign of worms (common in eggplants) and gently squish to see if it is soft are some common instructions from my mom while picking these beauties.She makes enna kathirikkai and pitla using them.

Good old stories started flooding while I was picking them in my Local grocers. But this time I wanted to make something different . Went ahead with my intuition and the result was something delectable !!


Ingredients

Baby eggplants .......................... 1 lb
Red chilli powder ......................  3/4 tsp
Coriander Powder ..................... 3/4 tsp
Turmeric Powder ...................... 1/2 tsp
Amchur Powder ........................ 1/2 tsp
Zathar  masala ........................... 1/2 tsp , finely ground (Middle Eastern ) optional
lemon /lime juice ......................... 1/2 tsp
Salt .......................................... to taste
Oil  ............................................ 2 tbsp

Method

• Wash and dry the eggplants. Cut them vertically keeping the crown intact.
• In a small mixing bowl , mix all the dry powders along with salt.Add 1.5 tbsp of oil and lemon juice to this . Mix well.
• Apply the masala on the cut side .
• Heat a wide pan ( I used Cast iron) and add the reserved 1/2 tbsp oil .
• Arrange the eggplants cut side down.
• Cook in medium flame to get a proper sear for 5 to 7 minutes  and simmer until done.
• Crispy on the cut side and soft and buttery inside is what makes it interesting .

Enjoy with steaming rice or simply as a starter.


Make your variation  by using tandoori masala , garam masala or spices of your choice .