Giardiniera Salad | Spicy Italian Salad Pickle

Giardiniera Salad is that delightfully spicy pickle that can wake up even the dullest of all sandwiches!! Every self-respecting deli and sandwich shop carries some version of this pickle. It's flavor can vary from just salty and sour to flaming hot depending on the kind of chili peppers that are in it. Cauliflower, carrots, celery, olives, and gerkins all pack this mouth watering salad pickle with loads of tang and flavor.

Savoury Semolina Loaf with Carrot and Sunflower Seeds | Healthy Snacks

Semolina | Sooji | Rava is great for preparing all kinds of snacks in the Indian Kitchen. I use it for Upma, Rava Idlis, Cheelas (North Indian Style Pancakes), and Dosas (South India Style Pancakes). I also add it to savoury muffins, scones, and biscuits, which I make for breakfast on weekends. This semolina loaf is just a leap away from a savoury muffin. Its a great alternative entree at breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack. In fact, its quite like a quick bread only a lot tastier as it incorporates tonnes of flavour with spices and vegetables. Its wonderfully grainy texture which comes from the semolina allows it to take on a lot more flavour than any flour!!

Gajar ki Puri | Carrot Poori | Deep Fried Carrot Flatbread

Today's recipe is a well loved one - carrot puris. A simple fried bread made with multiple flours, grated carrots, and spices. These are good snacking puris and perfect for the lunch box. Kids love them for their chewiness and their taste. I like to make a big batch once in a while and save them in the refrigerator. They will last for at least a week - if you can keep your hands off them. Just warm them in the microwave using a damp tea towel and you are good to go.

Navratan Korma | Mixed Vegetables in a Mild Tomato Curry | Vegan Recipe

Navratan Korma is a classic dish from Uttar Pradesh that found its notoriety in restaurant and shaadi meals in India. The idea of nine jeweled curry with lashings of ghee, fresh cream, paneer, pineapple, and cashews seemed to befit special occasions and treats. Today Navratan Korma is still very much a part of the restaurant menu, more so in Indian eateries across the world than in India. The other day I saw it on the lunch menu of my local coop!!

Spicy Vegetable Chow Mein | Indo Chinese Kitchen

Continuing with the theme of Indo Chinese food I began last month, I made some delicious Vegetable Chow Mein!! Chow Mein is a staple at Indo Chinese restaurants and is typically a spicy main dish. Served with a side of some equally spicy dish with a sauce, its a whole different experience from meals at regular Chinese restaurants.

Vegetable Manchurian | Indo Chinese Kitchen

Our city is cosmopolitan in character and this is reflected the wide food choices available in restaurants here. Thai, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Indian, Caribbean, Peruvian, Afghan, Lebanese, Fusion, Korean, Vegan, Deli, French Bakeries, you name it and its available. But did you notice I left out Chinese cuisine. This is because this is possibly the one city in country that does not have a single Chinese restaurant with good food. Not even a a cheap and cheerful variety. This has become so obvious that people actually discuss it and not many send out for Chinese take-out, a staple of many other cities!

Gajar Koshimbir Ver 2.0 | Carrot Yogurt Salad

Today I want to share another go to recipe of mine. Carrots are great for salads and and I always keep a fresh pack handy at home. I buy organic carrots for salads. They are really tender and sweet and juicy and bursting with flavour!! Last week when I made my Hara Masala Makai Pulao | Spicy Green Corn Rice, I made this delicious yogurt based salad to accompany it. Did I mention its the simplest thing in the world to put together, you'll never be left wondering what to add to the table should someone unexpectedly drop by!!

Daring Cooks October 2011: Moo Shu Tofu with Hoisin Sauce

Looks like chappati - bhaji right!! I too was surprised to discover that October 2011 Daring Cooks Challenge was a Chinese recipe that closely resembled and Indian dinner platter or a snack popularly called a frankie roll!! Though I was aware of varying types of Chinese, breads, including pancakes, these Mandarin Pancakes came as a big surprise to me. When I got the dough together for them, I found myself looking at chappati dough and not traditional pancake batter. The rolling and cooking process was similar too!! And they did taste wonderful.

Gajar, Matar, Bhutte ki Bhaji | Mixed Vegetables Sabzi

I love the taste of peas and carrots together, or beans and corn together in a sabzi. In a Delhi winter, it is quite common to combine sweet green peas, beautiful red carrots, with tender beans to make a flavourful sabzi. We don't get the lovely red carrots in this part of the world, but to the remaining vegetables I add a handful of corn. A mixed vegetable sabzi can be made pretty much with any masala, but my favourite is with Goda Masala!!

Warm Autumn Three Bean Salad

Salad is not the first thing that springs to mind come Autumn. However, the harvest bounty at this time of the year can and does yield some excellent vegetables, beans, and fruits for seasonal salads!! I love to serve this salad with warm Crostini slices drizzled with olive oil.

Steamed Malaysian Dumplings

Here's my contribution for A.W.E.D. Malaysia: Steamed Vegetable Dumplings served with a spicy ginger sauce. These dumplings are really delicious and they are a favourite at our home. As it is really easy to get dumpling wrappers here, I make them quite often. Besides I love my bamboo steaming basket, which I purchased a couple of years ago at a tiny but exceedingly well-stocked Asian store, run quite coincidentally by a Malaysian family!! Here is the recipe.


Ingredients:
1/2 cup carrots, minced
1/2 cup bok choi, minced
1/2 cup zucchini, minced
1 green onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp white pepper powder
1 teaspoon rice wine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1 inch grated ginger
1 pack potsticker/dumpling wrappers

Method:

1. Combine the chopped vegetables, ginger, and all seasonings together. Set aside to marinate for at least half an hour.
2. To make dumplings, take a wrapper. Then place a small spoonful of the filling in the center of the wrapper. Using your finger, pat a little warm water around the edge of the skin. Fold the dumpling, seal the edges.
   
3. Repeat the same for the rest.
4. Place the dumplings in a bamboo steamer (lined with fresh cabbage leaves). Then steam for 10-14 minutes. Serve immediately with your favourite dipping sauce.
   

A.W.E.D Malaysia this month is hosted by this blog - Annarasa-The Essence of Food. A big thanks to everyone who has participated and sent in lovely recipe for this event. The round-up will be posted shortly.

Vegan Recipe

All text and photographs in this blog, unless otherwise noted, are Copyright of © Annarasa 2007 - 20013. All Rights Reserved. Kindly do not reproduce without permission.

Vegetable & Black Bean Soup

There is a lovely bakery in our neighbourhood. It specializes in bagels, whole grain breads, and an amazing array of Danish pastries! They also do soup and sandwich lunches and the best part of this is that they actually have 2-3 completely vegetarian soups on the menu each day. And by vegetarian I mean that even their basic soup stock is a vegetable stock!!

Gajar Koshambir Ver 1.0 | Carrot-Peanut Salad

Apart from their nutritive value, carrots are a crunchy, tasty, and deliciously sweet vegetable. Carrots are ideal for snacking, desserts, bhajis, and salads. The wonderful thing about carrots is that they take on flavour very well. Gajar Koshambir or Indian-style Carrot Salad is a great salad to add to an afternoon meal. Its fresh citrusy flavour is superb in adding balance to any curry, vegetable, and even rice. Here's how I make Gajar Koshambir.


More Raw Carrot Recipes @ Annarasa:
Gajar Koshambir Ver 2.0 | Carrot Yogurt Salad
Gajar March No Sambharo | Fresh Carrot Green Chile Pickle
Gajar Adrak Chatni | Carrot & Ginger Chutney

Ingredients:
3 large carrots
3 tbsp peanuts, roasted
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp cilantro, chopped fine
1 green chilli, chopped fine
Salt to taste
1/4 tsp sugar

Method:

1. Grate the carrots and place in a mixing bowl.
2. Crush the peanuts coarsely. Mix in the peanuts with the salt, sugar, cilantro, and green chilli.
3. Squeeze the lemon into this mix. Blend well.
4. Pour into a serving bowl. Chill for at least an hour before serving.

This recipe goes to The Cooker who is hosting JFI: Carrots this month. JFI,the brainchild of Indira of Mahanandi blog. It also goes out to Mansi of Fun & Food Cafe who is hosting a Vegetarian Thanksgiving Recipe Carnival.

Vegan Recipe, Dairy Free Recipe

All text and photographs in this blog, unless otherwise noted, are Copyright of © Annarasa 2007-2013. All Rights Reserved. Kindly do not reproduce without permission.

Hot and Spicy Black Bean Fusili

The great thing about pasta is that its just so so versatile. I simply love to be innovative with it and every time I decide to make some, I try to work with ingredients in my refrigerator and pantry. Last Sunday, after a beautiful and very fun day out, I was rummaging in my pantry when I suddenly felt a craving for black beans. I love black beans in Vegetarian Tacos, acaraje, and salsa. But I have never tried them with pasta. So I asked myself - why not? And below is the result :)