Broccoli and Chickpea Rice Salad

It's been a very hot summer thus far, so salads have been appearing more often than not on the table. This earthy summer salad has everything you need for a complete meal. Lightly sautéed robust green broccoli florets, plump buttery soft chickpeas for protein, and nutty brown rice and sliced almonds to fill it out. I dressed it up with zesty dressing of lemon juice, pineapple juice, Dijon mustard, olive oil, a bit of garlic and tamari.

It's a snap to make up and substantial while not too taxing on the digestive system or the cooks patience — it's pretty common for our appetites to melt away along with our desire to cook anything fancy in the heat and humidity. But easy never means bland — just try this salad and see what I mean.

Broccoli and Chickpea Rice Salad

Recipe by Lisa Turner Published on July 18, 2016 Simple and colorful bean, rice and vegetable salad — everything you need for a complete, refreshing and delicious summer meal Print this recipe Salad: 2 teaspoons olive oil 4 cups broccoli florets 2 cups cooked brown rice (2/3 cup dried rice) 1 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas (1/2 dried chickpeas) 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked in hot water for 40 minutes, drained and chopped (optional) 2 to 3 green onions, trimmed and chopped, or 2 shallots finely chopped 1/4 cup sliced almonds (lightly toasted if desired) 1/4 cup fresh cilantro or parsley, trimmed and chopped Dressing: juice from 1/2 lemon (1 1/2 tablespoons) 2 tablespoons pineapple juice (juice from canned pineapple) 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 teaspoons tamari (soy) sauce 1 clove garlic, minced 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt, or to taste fresh ground black pepper Instructions: In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the broccoli, stir well, and cover. Cook, stirring often, until the broccoli is tender. Add the broccoli to a large bowl, along with the remaining salad ingredients. To make the dressing, whisk together all of the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well to coat evenly. Taste for seasoning and serve. Makes 6 servings

This is my contribution to Eat Your Greens, a monthly event co-hosted by The Veg Hog and Allotment 2 Kitchen. Shaheen is hosting for July, so please see her announcement to participate.

More cold salads to enjoy this summer:
Avocado Greek Salad
Creamy Vegan Coleslaw Dressed with Avocado
Chickpea, Olive and Feta Salad with Chat Masala Dressing
Fig Salad Dressed with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Idli Sambar Powder Recipe – How To Make Idli Sambar Podi

Homemade idli sambar powder – Idli sambar can be prepared in many ways. But most of the people like hotel idli sambar as it has got a special flavor.Usually my Mom & MIL makes Idli sambar adding freshly ground spices in addition to our usual Kuzhambu milagai thool/sambar powder just like hotels. My mom calls this powder “Mel podi” in Tamil. My MIL makes this sambar podi every time freshly whereas my mom makes this powder in bulk quantity and stock it for a week. She adds this powder to idli sambar and lunch sambar as well. Its a very simple recipe with just 5 ingredients. Sendhil loves hotel style idli sambar a lot as it is more flavorful than the plain idli sambar. But most of the time especially during busy morning hours, I make a simple onion sambar without adding mel podi. Recently my mom suggested me to grind and store this idli sambar powder and use it whenever needed. I gave a try and it really helped me for quick & easy cooking. Its smell & flavor lasted for more than 2 weeks even though I made in small quantity. Friends, do try this idli sambar powder and make restaurant style sambar at home easily. Lets see how to make it.

Idli sambar powder - Hotel idli sambar podi

How to make idli sambar powder at home for making hotel style sambar

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Homemade powders

Serves: 1/2 cup

Prep time: 5 Minutes

Cook time: 10 Minutes

Total time: 15 Minutes

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp - 15ml : 1 tsp - 5ml Dhania/Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp (heaped) Chana dal - 2 tbsp Methi seeds/ Fenugreek - 1 tsp ( heaped) Cumin seeds/Jeera - 1 tsp Red chilli - 5 nos ( I used byadge & guntur chillies for color & spiciness) Cooking oil - 1 tsp For variations you can few curry leaves while roasting. Dry grated coconut can be added while grinding but not more than 1 tsp.

METHOD

In a small kadai, heat oil. Add the methi seeds, when it starts to sizzle add the chana dal, pinched red chillies, cumin seeds and dhania seeds.Roast everything in low to medium flame. Make sure no spices are burnt. Let them cool down. Grind everything to a fine powder. Store in an air tight box and use it whenever needed. Please refer my HOTEL IDLI SAMBAR post for the procedure of making sambar. In that recipe, I have shared the ingredients of spices to roast & grind. No need to make that powder. Instead add 1 tbsp of this sambar powder at the end.Give a boil.Switch off the flame and garnish with coriander leaves. If you have left over lunch sambar in hand, you can easily convert that into hotel style idli sambar.Season mustard seeds, cumin and curry leaves in ghee ( Add chopped small onions if needed). Add 1 tbsp of this idli powder in the ghee,saute for a second and add to the left over sambar. Dilute 1 tbsp of besan flour in 1/4 cup of water. Add to the sambar. Mix everything well. Let the sambar boil nicely. Check for taste and add more salt or sambar powder if needed.Enjoy ! Note : In this recipe, I have used less number of chillies. So I add either green chilli or add some sambar powder or red chilli powder for extra spiciness. So please add more chilli powder or chillies as per you need. Try to prepare this sambar 1-2 hours before serving. This standing time helps for all the flavor to enhance while serving. You can use this powder for making sambar 3-4 times.

Try this homemade idli sambar powder and share your feedback with me.

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Mini Tiffin Recipes – South Indian Breakfast Thali

Mini tiffin is very popular in Tamil nadu restaurants.It is served mostly for breakfast. I guess most of you would have tasted mini tiffin in hotel Saravana Bhavan, Chennai. But I tasted this first in AAB (Adayar Ananda Bhavan), Bangalore and liked this concept very much.One could relish many varieties of South Indian tiffin items like Idli, vada, Masala Dosa, pongal, Kesari along with different types of chutney and sambar – AAAllll in one plate. A South Indian food lover, especially a big Idli, dosa fan like me would enjoy this breakfast menu like anything. I can have this for dinner too :)).Even kids would love this menu a lot. So whenever I go to Tamilnadu, I ask for mini tiffin in restaurants and have it happily. Recently I had this in hotel Aadithya of Kumbakonam. They served almost the same menu with a small cup of filter coffee(Mini coffee) as a compliment. After tasting it, I got tempted to try this South Indian breakfast thali at home and blog it. So I prepared all these dishes for our weekend breakfast. Usually we make this kind of menu for our guests. It took nearly an hour for me to make this platter. But the final result was very tasty and enjoyable. Sendhil & Raksha loved it to the core. You can try this menu for special days like anniversary, birthday and treat your family members.I have shared the recipe links and method of preparation with time saving tips.Lets see how to make restaurant style mini tiffin recipes at home.

Mini Tiffin Recipes - South Indian breakfast thali

Mini tiffin ideas - Idli, Vada, Dosa, Pongal, Kesari, Chutney varieties & sambar

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Main - Breakfast

Serves: Serves 3

Prep time: 20 Minutes

Cook time: 40 Minutes

Total time: 60 Minutes

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

Idli, dosa batter Ven pongal Urad dal Vada in mixie , batter in grinder Rava Kesari Coconut chutney Red chutney Green chutney Idli podi Hotel sambar ( I made this sambar ) Filter coffee

METHOD

Keep Idli, dosa batter ready in hand. Soak Urad dal for vada in the early morning. You need to soak it for one hour minimum. I soaked 1/2 cup of dal and ground the batter in mixie adding green chilli, ginger. Then added pepper corns, cumin seeds and hing to the batter. Do Not add salt while grinding the batter. Add salt at the time of deep frying. First make Ven pongal in a small pressure cooker adding 1/2 cup of raw rice, 1 tbsp of moong dal and 2.5 cups of water.Refer my Ven pongal post for the recipe with video.It takes nearly 20 minutes to cook. In another cooker base, cook toor dal along with carrot, potato, pumpkin pieces( If using), chopped onion, 2 whole tomatoes. It takes 15 minutes. In the mean time, you can prepare other dishes. Make Rava kesari and let it set. Grind the coconut chutney & green chutney. Saute tomato, onion, red chilli and grind with salt to smooth paste. Lastly temper mustard, urad dal and curry leaves.Add to all the chutneys. Now steam idli in an idli pot. By this time, ven pongal and dal for sambar would have been cooked.So open the cooker, add some ghee to pongal, mix well till mushy and close the cooker.Let it sit till serving. Open the dal cooker and mash it well. To this, add the  tamarind extract, sambar powder, salt, diluted besan flour and let it boil. Temper with ghee and garnish with coriander leaves. I din’t add freshly roasted sambar powder in this recipe. I just used my usual sambar powder and prepared this sambar in a simple way. After making all the dishes, serve them in a plate and keep it ready. Lastly make dosa and vada.Serve it.Make filter coffee at the time of eating.serve hot immediately.Enjoy !

Note

For variations in this menu, you can make poori and potato masala, khara bath /Upma recipes. Instead of kesari, you can keep any other sweets like gulab jamun, badam halwa, kaju katli You can also keep tea/chai instead of coffee. Actually in the hotel, they ask for choices between tea and coffee.

Try this special breakfast menu for your guest or your husband/kids birthday, anniversary and enjoy restaurant style menu at home

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Dal Baati Recipe – Rajasthani Dal Bati Recipe

Dal baati is a very famous Indian dish that is made of Dal ( lentils) & wheat flour/Atta as major ingredients. It is most popular in Rajasthan, Madhya pradesh and Uttar pradesh. I tasted this dish in Rajdhani restaurant and started loving it a lot. Whenever I visit Rajdhani, I ask dal bati for the second serving and have it without any guilt. Actually I planned to post Chole batura recipe this week but I was not happy with the clicks.I should try again and take pics in good lighting. Somehow I wanted to make a North Indian recipe post in my blog as per the schedule. So I made a simple, mini Rajasthani thali for our lunch yesterday. I prepared Rice, Dal bati, Churma, Marwari Potato curry( Aloo Ki sabji) recipes and ate it heartily with curd & pickle.I will post the thali pictures this weekend. Today I would like to share the recipe of Rajasthan’s Signature dish – Dal baati. Actually Bati can be made in Oven, tandoor, microwave or deep fried in ghee/oil. I tried in oven as its my first attempt. If you have Bati in hand, making churma/Choorma is so easy. I will share that recipe soon. Now lets check how to make Dal bati recipe with step by step pictures. For this recipe, I referred Rajdhani’s website, Tarla dalal and Ruchis kitchen.

Dal baati recipe

Dal baati recipe - Rajasthani special dal bati recipe with step by step pictures

Cuisine: Indian - Rajasthani

Category: Main

Serves: Serves 3

Prep time: 15 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 35 Minutes

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 200ml For Dal Chana dal - 1/4 cup Toor dal - 1/4 cup Moong dal - 1/4 cup White urad dal - 2 tbsp Green moong dal - 1 tbsp Big onion - 1 no ( finely chopped, optional) Ripe tomato - 1 no ( Add as a whole ) Water - 4 cups Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Red chilli powder - 1 tbsp Dhania powder - 1.5 tsp Garam masala powder - 1 tsp Sugar - a pinch Tamarind - a small gooseberry size Amchur powder - 1/2 tsp Lemon juice - few drops To temper Ghee - 2 tbsp Bayleaf - 1 no Cumin seeds - 1 tsp Cloves – 2 nos Hing – 2 pinches Green chilli - 1 no ( slitted) Coriander leaves - to garnish ( optional) For Bati 1 cup - 200ml Wheat flour -1 cup Upma rava/sooji - 1/4 cup Besan flour - 2 tbsp Milk - 6-8 tbsp Melted ghee - 4 tbsp Salt - a pinch Ghee or cooking oil - to grease Water - 5 cups ( to cook bati)

METHOD

In a pressure cooker base, take all the dal( lentils), add 4 cups of water, turmeric powder, finely chopped onions and one whole tomato ( Adding whole tomato helps to cook the dal mushy, skip adding onions for no onion no garlic version). You can also add finely chopped tomato pieces if you wish.Pressure cook in low flame for one or two whistles.Remove the lid after the steam is released.Mash it well using a whisk.Set aside. In a small bowl, take the red chilli powder, dhania powder, garam masala powder and turmeric powder.Mix well adding 1/4 cup of water and make a paste. Heat ghee or oil in a pan and splutter cumin seeds, bay leaf, cloves and slitted green chilli. To this add the spice powders paste and boil for a minute. Add the tamarind pulp,cooked dal, required salt and amchur powder. Mix well and let it boil for few minutes. If its looks too thick, add some water and switch off the flame. Garnish with coriander leaves and sprinkle few drops of lemon juice if you wish. Serve hot with bati adding a tsp of ghee. I had with bati and plain rice. It tasted yumm ! In a wide bowl, take the wheat flour, rava, besan flour, salt, melted ghee and boiled milk at room temperature. Mix well and make a tight dough. Knead well for 5 minutes and cover the dough for 10 minutes. In the mean time, boil 5 cups of water in a deep bowl. Let the water roll boil well. Take a golf ball sized dough and flatten it slightly. It should resemble a ball. No problem if there are mild cracks in the balls. Make all the balls and add them to the roll boiling water. Let the water boil in high flame for 15 minutes. Baati will get half cooked. This step is optional. Remove the bati and arrange them in a greased plate. Grease the bati with ghee or oil generously. Bake it in convection mode at 200c for 20-30 minutes. Turn it once in the middle.Keep an eye after 15 minutes. Remove the bati after its starts to turn golden in color. In a small deep plate, break the bati into pieces. Pour some dal, drizzle with ghee and serve hot. You can top it with finely chopped onion and coriander leaves if you wish. If you want to bake in stovetop, heat an empty kadai and keep the bati in a slotted plate over the stand inside the kadai. Cover & Cook for 30-40 minutes and turn once or twice in the middle. Enjoy !

Note

Add more spice powders as per your wish. Dal will thicken after its cooled down.So add more water, adjust its consistency as per your wish. You can serve the dal with plain rice and phulka. Do not add water to the dough while making baati. Dough should be thick and stiff. Kneading is very important. Baking time in oven may vary. So keep an eye after 15 minutes and turn it once.Over baking makes the bati hard.

Enjoy this Rajasthani special Dal baati at home for breakfast or as a snack !

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Cherry Coconut Milk Smoothie

Breakfast is an important meal of the day as it provides the necessary nutrients and fuel to get us going in the morning. I have never been a big breakfast person though, so instead I often have a power-packed smoothie with fruit, almond milk, sometimes a bit of protein powder and various other delights.

This smoothie might just be one of the tastiest yet. Cherries are coming into season here and that means they are bursting with flavor and affordable too. Of course, pitting cherries is not my favorite activity, but it's well worth the effort when you have a bowl of glistening red cherries to use however you please. They star here in a creamy beverage with coconut milk, some almond milk, frozen banana and a dash of vanilla. Apart from a blender, that is all you need.

Cherry Coconut Milk Smoothie

Recipe by Lisa Turner Published on July 13, 2016 Cold, creamy, delicious and refreshing cherry and banana smoothie made with coconut milk Print this recipe Ingredients: 2/3 cup coconut milk 1/3 cup almond or hemp milk, or more as needed 1 frozen banana, sliced (2/3 cup frozen slices) 2 cups fresh cherries, pitted 1 teaspoon vanilla Instructions: Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Add a bit more almond or hemp milk if the mixture is too thick. Tip: To freeze bananas for smoothies, peel the banana and cut into slices. Place the slices on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer-friendly container or freezer bag. The bananas will freeze well for up to 4 to 6 months. Makes 2 servings

More smoothie recipes to enjoy from Lisa's Kitchen:
Beet and Strawberry Vanilla Smoothie
Avocado Blackberry Smoothie
Raspberry-Banana Oat and Chia Seed Smoothie
Pomegranate & Blueberry Oat Smoothie

Audio Accompaniment: Sam Maher - New York Handpan 01

On the top of the reading stack: The Camp of the Saints

Summery Tomato Soup with Pasta and Chickpeas

I've called this recipe summery not only because it is easy to make and satisfying without being too filling — if you resist the temptation to go for a second bowl — but because it has a fresh colorful vibrancy in taste and appearance that comes from cooking with fresh herbs from my garden and fresh local summer produce. While salads are often preferred during the hot months, I enjoy soups all year round. This also happens to be a new favorite vegetable soup and I'm certain this will be a staple on the menu, no matter the time of year.

The texture of this soup is phenomenal. Each bite is a different taste experience. Tangy tomatoes make for a lightly spiced and herby broth, and the buttery soft chickpeas, along with some quinoa pasta, fresh garden peas that pop in your mouth, and some diced carrot make up the rest of the bowl along with the fresh herbs. My only regret is that I did not double the recipe as it makes for a nice lunch or starter or side for dinner. Serve it up with some crusty bread if you like, but I enjoyed the soup just as is — it's that good.

Summery Tomato Soup with Pasta and Chickpeas

Recipe by Lisa Turner Published on July 11, 2016 Simple, light, colorful and vibrant summer tomato soup with fresh herbs and vegetables, chickpeas and pasta Print this recipe Ingredients: 1/3 cup fusilli or spiral pasta (I used quinoa fusilli) 2 teaspoons olive oil 1/2 red onion, diced 1 small carrot, diced 1 clove garlic, crushed or minced 2 green chiles, seeded and minced 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander 1/2 teaspoon turmeric 1/2 teaspoon amchoor (dried mango) powder (optional) 2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced 1/4 cup fresh basil, finely chopped 1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas 2/3 cup (1/2 14 oz can) cooked chickpeas 1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste fresh ground black pepper to taste Instructions: Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil. Stir in the pasta and cook until tender according to the package instructions — about 10 minutes depending on the type of pasta used. Stir often. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid, and rinse the pasta in cold water. Set aside. Heat the oil over medium heat in a medium or large saucepan. When hot, add the onion to the pot and sauté for 5 minutes or until softened. Add the carrot and sauté for another few minutes. Now add the garlic and chilies, and continue to sauté for another minute. Add the cumin, coriander, turmeric and amchoor powder if using, stir for another minute, and then add the tomato. Simmer for a few minutes and then add the herbs and 1 1/4 cups of the reserved pasta cooking liquid. Simmer for another few minutes and then add the peas. Simmer for another 3 to 4 minutes, and then add the chickpeas and pasta. Simmer for another 5 to 7 minutes, adding more water if necessary to achieve desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper and serve with crusty bread or just as is. It's wonderful served at room temperature or slightly warmed. I sprinkled the bowl with some nutritional yeast, but feel free to sprinkle some fresh grated Parmesan overtop if you enjoy cheese. Makes 4 to 5 servings

This is my contribution to Jaqueline's Meat Free Mondays. This is also my contribution to No Croutons Required, a monthly event, alternately hosted by Jacqueline and myself, featuring vegetarian soups and salads. I am hosting for July.

Other vegetables soups to enjoy this summer:
Curried Indian Vegetable Soup
Creamy Thai Coconut Mushroom Soup
Indian Sour Mung Bean Soup
Pear Soup with Raspberry Sorbet

Kadala Curry Recipe – Kerala Kadala Curry For Puttu, Appam

Kadala curry is the most popular, traditional side dish for puttu and appam/palappam in Kerala. Its a very healthy side dish recipe which is ideal for breakfast. In Tamil, we call this as Kondakadalai Kurma, Chana gravy in English, Kala chana kurma in Hindi. Last week I shared Kerala Puttu Recipe in my space. As I promised in that post, here is the Nadan kadala curry recipe with coconut.I watched this You tube video to try the authentic recipe as its my first attempt. It came out very well and tasted yummy with Puttu. I am sure it tastes well for appam and dosa too. Though the procedure seems little bit lengthy, its worthy to try. Even though Black chana is widely used for this recipe, I think even white chana would do. After trying this authentic version, I am looking for a simple kadala curry recipe without coconut. Friends, please mail me the recipe in my inbox if you have any. Ok, now lets see how to make Kerala style Kadala curry recipe for Puttu, Appam.

Kadala curry recipe - Kerala Nadan style

Kerala kadala curry recipe

Cuisine: Kerala

Category: Side dish for Puttu,appam

Serves: Serves 4

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 30 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 200ml Black Chana/ Kondakadalai - 1 cup Coconut oil – 1 tbsp Tomato - 2 nos  Big onion - 1 no Ginger,garlic paste - 1 tbsp Green chilli - 1 no ( slitted) Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Coconut bits - 1/4 cup ( optional) Water & salt - as needed To grind Coconut oil - 2 tsp Grated coconut - 1/2 cup Red chilli powder - 1 tbsp ( I used Kashmiri chilli powder) Dhania powder -1.5 tsp Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Big onion - 1/2 no or small onion - 4 nos Cinnamon - 1 inch piece Cloves - 3 nos Cardamom - 2 no Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp Water - as needed To temper Coconut oil - 1 tbsp Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Red chilli - 1 no Big onion – 1/2 no ( chopped finely. I din’t use) Curry leaves - few

METHOD

Wash and soak the chana overnight. It would be doubled in quantity after soaking. Slice the onion,chop tomato into small pieces. Set aside. Heat coconut oil in a pressure cooker and saute the onions, G&G paste till the raw smell of paste goes off. Now add the slitted green chilli, tomato pieces. Saute till tomato turns mushy.Add the coconut bits (if using) and saute well. Add the soaked chickpeas, turmeric powder, salt and 1.5 cups of water.Let it pressure cook in low flame for 2 whistles.Remove the lid after the steam is released. Mix well. In the mean time, heat coconut oil in a kadai and saute the cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, onion, grated coconut, fennel seeds.Saute till grated coconut turns slightly golden.To this, add the red chilli powder, turmeric powder, dhania powder and mix well. Let it cool. Then grind everything to a smooth paste adding enough water. After opening the cooker, add the ground paste, 1/2 cup of water and let it boil for few minutes till the gravy reaches desired consistency. When the gravy boils, check for taste.Add more salt or chilli powder if needed. If you want very thin, watery gravy add 1/4 cup more water. If you want thick, switch it off after boiling for sometime. I made it slightly thick. In a small kadai, heat coconut oil and splutter mustard seeds, pinched red chilli, chopped onions and curry leaves. Add to the gravy. Mix well and serve with puttu, appam, dosa !! Enjoy ! NOTE : If you want to thicken the gravy, you can grind a handful of cooked chana to a paste and add it along with coconut paste.By doing this, gravy will thicken quickly and adds a taste too.

Note

Adjust the quantity of spice powders are per your taste. In some recipes, I found dhania seeds were used instead of dhania powder. So you can also try that for variations. Do not add more water while cooking chana. Use only the needed else gravy will be too watery and you have to boil it for longer time to thicken it.

Try this yummy, traditional Kerala style Kadala curry and enjoy with puttu, appam