Lentil Salad with Rye Berries and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Canadian winters are cold, but there is always room for a salad to brighten up the table. Especially when you balance the earthy goodness of lentils with some chewy rye berries and toss in some sun-dried tomatoes, marinated onion, fresh herbs and a bit of spice. Served up on a bed of baby kale leaves, this a complete meal. Sometimes the simplest flavors are just what you need. Serve with some biscuits to fill it out if you please.

Lentil Salad with Rye Berries and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Recipe by Lisa Turner Adapted from Eat Like You Give A Damn: Recipes for the New Ethical Vegan Published on November 28, 2015 Simple and nourishing lentil and rye berry salad with sun-dried tomatoes and marinated onion and herbs Print this recipe Ingredients: 1/2 cup rye or wheat berries 1 cup Puy (French) lentils 1/2 cup green lentils 2 1/2 cups vegetable stock or water 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes 1 small red onion, finely chopped 1 jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley 1/3 cup chopped fresh chives 2 tablespoons fresh thyme or 2 teaspoons dried 1 clove garlic, minced 3 1/2 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander fresh cracked black pepper to taste baby kale leaves or other salad greens to serve Instructions: Rinse the rye or wheat berries and soak for 8 hours or overnight in several inches of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 50 minutes or until tender. Drain and set aside. Meanwhile, rinse the lentils and transfer to a medium saucepan along with the stock or water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes or until the lentils are tender, taking care not to overcook. While the grains and lentils are cooking, soak the sun-dried tomatoes in hot water for 20 to 30 minutes. Drain and chop. Meanwhile, mix the onion, jalapeño, balsamic vinegar and salt in a large bowl. Sprinkle in the parsley, chives, thyme and garlic and let marinate while the other grains and lentils are cooking. Drain the lentils and add to the bowl with the onions and herbs, along with the cooked grains, olive oil, mustard powder, coriander and black pepper. Stir to combine. Serve at room temperature or chilled over a few handfuls of baby kale leaves or other fresh salad greens. Makes 4 servings

This is my contribution to No Croutons Required, a monthly event celebrating vegetarian soups and salads, alternately hosted by Jacqueline of Tinned Tomatoes and myself. I am hosting this month. I am also sharing with Jac's Meat Free Mondays weekly event.

Other lentil dishes to enjoy from Lisa's Vegetarian Kitchen:
Indian-Style Lentils
French Lentil Tomato and Harissa Stew
Beet, Lentil and Vegetable Soup
Rice and Lentil Indian Pancakes

On the top of the reading stack: Vegan Delights: 88 Delicious Recipes for the Complete Three-Course Meal

Baby Potato Fry (Small Potato Curry) Recipe

This is my second recipe for baby potato curry.Earlier I have shared a madurai style small potato curry.After that,I din’t get a chance to make baby potato recipes other than biryani and pulao.So this time I reserved few baby potatoes to make an easy,spicy curry recipe for rice.It’s a no grinding roast recipe that takes less preparation time if you have cooked & peeled small potatoes ready in hand.This recipe is apt for Bachelors and working women who look for easy side dish for rice.Yesterday morning I tried this along with paruppu rasam for Sendhil & Raksha’s lunch box.They loved it a lot.It ‘s a good side dish for sambar rice,rasam and even curd rice.So friends,try this easy and spicy small potato curry for your lunch and share your feedback with me.

Baby potato fry recipe

Small potato curry/Baby potato fry recipe for rice

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Side dish for rice

Serves: Serves 3

Prep time: 15 Minutes

Cook time: 10 Minutes

Total time: 25 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

Baby potato - 15 nos Big onion - 1 no ( finely chopped) G&G paste - 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Red chilli powder - 1.5 tsp ( use 1 tsp for less spice) Dhania powder - 1 tsp Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp Lemon juice - few drops Coriander leaves – to garnish(optional) Salt & water - as needed To temper Cooking oil - 2 tbsp Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp Urad dal – 1 tsp Cumin seeds/Jeera – 1/2 tsp Curry leaves - few

METHOD

Wash and pressure cook potatoes adding 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder.Peel the skin and set aside.You can prick the potatoes with a fork if you wish. Heat oil in a kadai and splutter mustard seeds,urad dal,cumin seeds. Add finely chopped onions & curry leaves.After onion turn transparent,add the g&g paste.Saute till raw smell goes offf.Then add red chilli powder,turmeric powder,dhania powder,garam masala powder and salt.Lower the flame and saute for few seconds.Lastly add the peeled small potatoes and mix well. Saute for few minutes & after the masala is well coated over the potatoes,switch off the flame.Sprinkle some lemon juice.Garnish with coriander leaves if you wish.Serve hot with rice !

Note

Adjust the quantity of chilli powder as per your taste. For no onion no garlic version,skip onions and g&g paste.Instead add finely chopped ginger while sauting. Lemon juice can be skipped if you want the curry to be more spicy. You can also garnish it with coriander leaves after switching off the flame.

Easy,spicy baby potato curry,Paruppu rasam with banana chips was our lunch yesterday

It was yummm !! You too give a shot !

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Ginger Carrot Soup Recipe - Vegetarian Soup Recipes

I have never imagined a soup recipe beyond tomato soup & sweet corn soup so far.Whenever we visit a restaurant, most of the time our order would be tomato soup as it’s the only soup which is liked by all of us.Other than this,I have tried Veg clear soup with wontons in a Chinese restaurant and tomato shorba in a North Indian restaurant.Last week when I was talking with my friend Shalini,she was suggesting me to try this healthy ginger carrot soup by sharing her recipe.I have heard about this soup but I had no idea of how it tastes & looks.I thought this soup might be having a sweet taste because of carrot and I was hesitant to try it.On the same day,I got a mail from the editor of Daily thanthi newspaper asking me to share some interesting soup recipes for Monsoon.I tried this soup with a 50-50 mind set.But to my surprise,it came out extremely well.Sendhil & Raksha were full of praises.The smell of butter and spices with the mild ginger flavor were awesome.For Vegan version,replace butter with olive oil.Non-vegetarians can use chicken stock instead of vegetable stock. I happily clicked the picture of this soup and shared the recipe with the editor.It was published on Last Sunday Chennai edition.I was waiting for Karthigai deepam celebrations get over to post this yummy & rich soup recipe in my blog.So here you see how to make this easy,creamy and healthy ginger carrot soup recipe ! It’s a perfect n soothing soup recipe for this rainy season

Check out my tomato soup & sweet corn soup recipes if interested !

Ginger Carrot Soup Recipe

Ginger Carrot Soup Recipe - Healthy soup recipe

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Soup

Serves: Serves 2

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 30 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

Butter - 1 tbsp Carrot - 1 Big sized Ginger - 2 inch piece Big onion - 1/2 no Garlic cloves - 5 small Bay leaf - 1 no Cinnamon - 1 inch piece Salt - as needed Water  or vegetable stock - 2 cups ( adjust) Sugar - 1/4 tsp Pepper powder - as needed Fresh cream - 1 tbsp (optional)

METHOD

Wash and chop the carrots into slices.Chop onions,ginger and garlic cloves.Heat a pressure cooker base adding 1 tbsp of butter (Use butter for best taste,Vegans can use olive oil).Saute bayleaf and cinnamon for a second.Add the chopped onions,ginger,garlic and carrot pieces.Saute for a minute.   Lastly add 2 cups of water and required salt.Pressure cook in low flame for 2 whistles till carrots are done. Open the cooker after the steam is released.Drain the excess water in a bowl. Take out the bay leaf and cinnamon from the cooked mixture and add it to the drained water. Let the carrot mixture cool down.Grind them into a smooth paste adding reserved water.Strain the ground paste using a metal strainer.Use a spoon & mix well to strain it thoroughly.It will look like a paste while you strain.Add it to the reserved water and boil the soup for few minutes adding sugar,salt and pepper powder. Add little water if necessary. Lastly add the fresh cream,mix well and switch off the flame.Serve Hot !! Enjoy this flavorful,soothing Carrot Ginger Soup with your family:)

Note

Adjust the quantity of pepper powder as per your taste. You can skip cinnamon if you don’t want more spices. This soup can be had directly without straining to get a creamier taste. Instead of carrot,u can use pumpkin. Fresh cream is completely optional.But don’t skip butter if you are not a vegan.It gives a great flavor to this soup.

Try this easy,healthy Carrot Ginger Soup during this monsoon season.You will enjoy every sip of it !

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Chickpea Flour Fudge

This might indeed be the easiest and tastiest fudge I've ever made, and it's not your typical fudge. This delicious confection is made with toasted chickpea flour with a dash of cardamon and some lightly toasted sesame seeds. These days most everything I make is dairy-free, but this time around I went with butter. If you want to make it vegan, use coconut oil instead. I'm sure it would be just as good.

Slightly crumbly yet creamy at the same time, the taste and texture of this fudge reminds me of both halva and buttery shortbread — a none-too-sweet shortbread halva if you wish. All you need is a few small bites for a boost of protein. Once again, I've made a treat that can be enjoyed for breakfast without guilt, and this would make a fantastic Christmas treat for those looking to cut down on the seasonal decadence. These did not last long. But if you have any leftover, store them in the refrigerator in a covered container.

Chickpea Flour Fudge

Recipe by Lisa Turner Adapted from The Chickpea Flour Cookbook: Healthy Gluten-Free and Grain-Free Recipes to Power Every Meal of the Day Published on November 25, 2015 A simple buttery chickpea flour and sesame seed fudge — a none-too-sweet unique and nourishing shortbread-style snack Print this recipe Ingredients: 1 teaspoon sesame oil 1 cup chickpea flour (besan) 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted 2/3 cup coconut sugar 1/4 cup water 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 2 tablespoons lightly toasted sesame seeds Instructions: Line a standard 9-inch loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving some overhang to remove the fudge after set. Grease the paper with a bit of oil. In a large non-stick skillet, heat the sesame oil over medium heat. Toast the chickpea flour for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly, until the flour is a little browned and emits a nutty aroma. Add the butter or coconut oil to the pan and stir until the mixture turns into a thick gravy — about 5 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl. Wipe out the pan. Put the sugar, water, cardamon and salt into the skillet over the same heat and simmer, stirring, until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture has thickened slightly — about 5 minutes. Return the chickpea flour mixture to the pan and simmer for another 4 minutes until thick and creamy, taking care to stir. Stir in the sesame seeds and transfer the mixture to the prepared loaf pan. Press down to evenly cover the pan. Cover the pan with plastic wrap or foil and chill in the refrigerator until firm for 5 hours or overnight. Remove the fudge from the pan using the edges of the parchment paper, and cut into small pieces with a sharp knife on a cutting board after letting the fudge sit for 10 to 15 minutes at room temperature to soften up. Store any remaining fudge in a covered container in the refrigerator. Makes about 16 bite-size squares

Other healthy treats to enjoy from Lisa's Kitchen:
Raw Cocoa Nut Butter Cups
Raw Peanut Butter Cocoa Maple Squares
Essentially Raw Pumpkin Bites
Mini Tahini Cups with a Creamy Coffee Date Filling

On the top of the reading stack: Vegan Delights: 88 Delicious Recipes for the Complete Three-Course Meal

Audio: Sweet silence for a change!

Maida Appam Recipe With Sugar - Karthigai Deepam Recipes

Maida sweet appam - Sweet maida paniyaram recipe with step by step photos and video !

Sweet appam can be made using different ingredients.It can be prepared with maida,wheat flour or raw rice.I have already shared two versions using wheat flour & raw rice.Here is my third version of sweet appam using maida,banana &sugar.This is the most easy to make version among all the three.My Mil makes this appam for our surprise guest along with a bajji variety. My MIL makes deep fried version whereas I used paniyaram pan here.If you feel maida & sugar are unhealthy,u can replace it with wheat flour & jaggery.Lets see how to make this easy sweet appam recipe using maida & sugar for Karthigai deepam festival !
Please click HERE to check my other recipes for Karthigai Deepam.

Maida appam with sugar

Sweet appam with maida,banana & sugar

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Sweet

Serves: 8 nos

Prep time: 5 Minutes

Cook time: 10 Minutes

Total time: 15 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 cup = 200ml 

Maida/All purpose flour - 1/2 cup Rice flour – 1 tbsp Small banana - 1 no ( I used yelaki) Sugar - 1/4 cup Cardamom powder - 1/8 tsp ( 2 seeds) Water - as needed Cooking soda - A pinch Salt – a pinch

METHOD

Take the ripe banana and mash it well with your  hands or grind in a mixie. To this, add maida, sugar, rice flour, cooking soda, salt and cardamom powder. Mix well without water. Add water little by little and make a smooth, lump free batter. Batter should be thick but pourable. If the batter is too thin, appam may become flat. If its too thick, appam would be hard. So take care. Heat a paniyaram pan adding oil in each hole. After the pan is heated,pour a small ladleful of batter in each hole.Keep the flame medium and cover cook for sometime.Flip it & cook for the other side too.Remove in a bowl. I tried few appam by deep frying them.I used oil till 1/4 of the pan and deep fried one at a time.It came out well with golden brown color as u see in the picture below.So if you wish to deep fry,u can go ahead. But remember to deep fry the appam in less oil to get a good shape. I used my mini tadka pan. You can use any kadai. Enjoy !

Note

Replace maida with wheat flour & sugar with jaggery for healthy substitute.

Try this quick and easy maida appam for this festival.Happy Karthigai Deepam !

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Karthigai Deepam Pooja Procedure,Date,Recipes

Karthigai Deepam is a festival of lights, celebrated in the Tamil month of Karthigai. It is celebrated on the full moon day of the Karthigai month(November-December) which coincides with Karthika star.This year 2016,Thirukarthigai deepam falls on December 12th, Monday.Pooja should be done in the evening around 5-30 to 6pm.  Actually One must light deepam every evening in the entrance and do the pooja on all the 30 days of this month.On the Thirukarthigai day, the entire house is decorated with the oil lamps. This festival of lights indicates the removal of darkness (Ignorance) and enhancing of light (Intelligence).Karthika Month is the only month in which both Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu are worshipped. Karthika Pouranmi or Karthika Purnima is also one of the days when the temples of Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu are full with the devotees wanting a darshan of their deities.
The other names of Karthika Pournami are Deva Diwali or Tripurari Purnima. Generally people observe vratham/fasting during 30 days of Karthigai month.On those days,people avoid eating Non-veg foods.They take head bath daily and read one chapter in Kanda puranam book.They must take meal only once per day either it can be a lunch or dinner.Most of the people observe this kind of Vratham on auspicious days like karthika poornima, karthigai somavaram etc.In this month,Karthigai Deepam is the most important festival for Hindus.
Story behind this festival
This festival is celebrated in a special manner in Thiruvannamalai. Lord Shiva asks Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu to find out the exact location of his head and his feet. Since Lord Shiva takes a gigantic form, they are not able to find out anywhere. Then Lord Shiva takes the form of a jyothi (light of fire) on the hill of Thiruvannamalai. Therefore, this festival is also known as Annamalai Deepam. Here, a special torch is lighted on the zenith of the hill and it is believed that Lord Shiva's jothi will be visible on this day.
Lord Muruga took the form of six babies in a lake called "Saravana Poigai". On this day, all his six forms were united by Parvathi(his mother) and this way, he had six faces. Special poojas are performed to Lord Muruga.
On this day, people clean the houses. In the evening, they draw kolams (Rangoli,Please visit my in-laws kolam blog "Learn Kolam" for Rangoli ideas.) in the front of the house and also place some lamps on it. The lamps(Agal vilakku) are placed in the pooja and lighted. Then the neivedyam & deeparadhanai is done after which the lamps are moved to different places in the house. The lamps are arranged near the doors and windows and also in the balconies.A lamp should be kept in Rice containers & Salt box too. In this way, people of Tamil Nadu celebrate Karthigai Deepam for three days.
Source:
http://www.yadtek.com/karthika-pournami-festival-story-and-its-significance/
http://klavanya.wordpress.com

Significance of Karthigai Deepam

Karthigai Deepam is an auspicious time to experience the light & power of divine. The auspicious combination of the Full Moon in the month of Karthigai (November – December in English) and the dazzling star Krithika allows the light of divine consciousness to enter into the world.
On this day, Arunachala deepam in Thiruvannamalai, the Mountain of Light (fire) is said to represent the divine, Shiva in his form as the element of Fire. He comes alive and radiates a unique energy that enables you to move from human intelligence to divine intelligence.
Furthermore, Krithika (Karthigai) is the birth star associated with Muruga.So Karthigai Deepam is one of the blessed times of the year where the divine energies can burn your karmic sufferings and help you experience inner transformation.
Source : http://www.astroved.com/us/specials/karthigai-deepam

Ingredients for Pooja & Neivedyam

For Pooja

• Lamps/Agal vilakku – as needed ( Click HERE for homemade lamps using rice flour)
• Wicks/threads
• Oil & ghee
• Betel leaves/Betel nut ( Vetrilai,paaku)
• Banana/Vazhai pazham
• Flowers
• Incense stick,Dhoop & camphor
• Coconut

For neivedyam

• Aval pori (or) Nel Pori (or) Arisi pori/Puffed rice
• Dark colored jaggery ( pagu vellam, for making paagu)
• Raw rice Or Wheat flour Or maida for making appam
• Sugar ( If using for appam)
• Coconut
• Raw rice & moong dal for making payasam
• Raw rice or store bought rice flour for making Maavilakku

Please visit my in-laws kolam blog "Learn Kolam" for Rangoli ideas.

How to perform Karthigai Deepam Pooja

• In Tamil nadu,Karthigai Deepam is celebrated for 3 days.The Previous day to karthigai is called as Barani deepam.So we keep 5-7 lamps in the entrance on Barani deepam day.

Prepreparatory works

• Two days before the karthigai deepam,you should finish all the shopping and keep all the ingredients ready.Every year we used to buy one new lamp/Agal vilakku.If you have this practice,buy one.While buying the lamps,make sure there are no cracks on it.
• One day prior to the festival,clean the house & wash all the lamps & agal vilakku.For washing agal vilakku,take water in a big bowl adding soap powder/Detergent.Soak the lamps for 15 minutes and then wash it.This helps to remove the oil greased in the lamps.If you are using new lamps,u don’t need to soap wash them.Just wash it in plain water.Spread the lamps in a wide plate and let it dry till afternoon. After its dried,keep turmeric and kumkum on three sides of lamp.
• On that day evening,take 5 or 7 lamps,put oil & wicks.Draw some rangoli in the entrance & light the lamps after doing neivedyam.You should not light the lamp inside the house and take out.Instead you should light the lamps only after keeping them out.It’s a sentiment.

On Karthigai deepam day

• The next day i.e on karthigai deepam day morning,observe fasting and prepare all the neivedyam recipes. Soak the rice for making Maavilakku & appam.Make pori urundai and store in a box.Grind the batter and keep it ready for appam.Mix jaggery and homemade rice flour for maavilakku.Make a ball,put a dent.Keep turmeric & kumkum dots.Set aside.No need to add ghee now.You can roast rice n dal for making payasam and keep aside.Apart from these recipes,I also make salt less kozhukattai & rice flour lamps following my mom.I do this every year for the well being of my family members.In the below picture,u can find the homemade lamps and kozhukattai.If you wish u can try them too.Please check this link for the recipe & procedure.
• Prepare the lunch and have it.After having lunch,at around 4 pm,prepare the payasam.Make appam.Put the wicks for all the washed lamps and pour oil.Pour ghee for maavilakku and put the wick.Wash the entrance and draw Rangoli/Kolam.Please visit my in-laws kolam blog "Learn Kolam" for Rangoli ideas. At around 5 pm,decorate the pooja room by keeping flowers.Take a plate and keep betel leaf,nut,banana and broken coconut.Arrange all the neivedyam recipes in another plate.Keep the maavilakku in front of the God.
• First light the maavilakku & the lamps/Vilakku in pooja room.Do not light the agal vilakku now.By 5.30 pm u can start the pooja and by 6 pm u can light the lamps outside.Do the neivedyam,dhoop and dheeparadhanai.After doing the pooja, first light two lamps.Keep one inside the rice container and the other one inside the salt container.Keep the containers open.Remember all the vilakku should face only EAST.
• Now take the remaining lamps and arrange them in the entrance as u wish.Light them using a match stick.You should not light the lamp inside the house and take out.Instead you should light the lamps only after keeping them out. It’s a sentiment we follow.Please remember this point.
• Now light the remaining lamps and keep them in entrance of each room.Please be careful after you keep the lamps inside the house.Warn your kids about them.Let the lamps glow all around your house.Decorate your house with lamps as u like.Once they turn off automatically,u can remove them after 9 pm.Arrange them in the plate.Repeat the same on the next day evening too.Some people make batchanams like adhirasam & milagu jeeraga adai for next day neivedyam.But we just keep some fruits or dry grapes or sugar candy/kalkandu and do the neivedyam.Keep some lamps in odd number the next day.No need to keep lamps inside the house for every room.So totally it’s a three days celebration.

Karthigai deepam recipes

Below you can find the collection of Karthigai Deepam recipes like appam,pori urundai,maavilakku and payasam recipes from my blog.Please click on the images to see the respective recipe.I have also a shared a video on how to make pori urundai.I hope you will find these recipes easy to make & useful .

Please check THIS LINK to view my full collection of Karthigai recipes :)

    
   

Friends,the procedure I have shared here is completely based on my family’s tradition.This may differ for from place to place.So please take the advice from an elderly woman who is regularly performing the puja and change it.Thanks for visiting this page.Please write a few words in the comment section if you find this post useful.

Have a happy Karthigai Deepam Celebration !! See you all in my next post.Bye for now

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