MLLA 12: Its Raining Chickpeas....

MLLA 12 must set a record of sorts with the number of delicious chickpea recipes it has received!! Here's to yet another helping of yummy legumes.

Pooja @ Experiments in my Kitchen loves cooking and has polished her cooking skills in the last few years. She chose Chana/Chickpeas Curry for the MLLA 12 as they are her favourite protein packed legume. This Chickpea Curry is prepared with a blend of spices and is sauteed. It is usually enjoyed with batura or poori - Indian style fried breads.

Poornima from Tasty Treats is enjoying relaxed July 4th weekend. As a treat she has also prepared a recipe that she got from a friend's mother. Do visit her blog for a delicious Chana Masala recipe.

Prasu has made a very different and unique dish for MLLA 12. Its a Brussels Sprouts Curry. She likes the high nutrient value of the Brussels Sprouts and has added chickpeas to the same to give you a power packed idea for lunch! Prasu writes that pulses, including chick peas, are increasingly being used in healthy diets in order to promote general well-being and to reduce the risk of illness. In fact, chick peas are an excellent source of protein, fibre, complex carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals.

Lubna's third contribution to MLLA 12 is Vada - A South Indian Lentil Doughnut. Lubna finds that cooking with family and friends is a definite stress buster and suggests you try it at your next free weekend. Visit her blog Yummy Food for more yummy treats.

Jessica @ the Fearless Kitchen made a refreshing Black-Eyed Pea Salad. Jessica says that this is a "pretty simple but tasty Greek dish that can work either as a side dish or as a main dish". She adapted the recipe from Susanna Hoffman's The Olive and the Caper to treat her open House guests one Sunday in June.


Bong Mom from USA @ Bong Mom's CookBook has sent in two recipes. The first is Mator Dal (Yellow Split Peas), and the second is Mator Dal with veggies (Yellow Split Peas with vegetables). She says that these are her two favourite recipes for dal made of Yellow Split Peas. They are like an Indian style soup and the original name is in Bengali.

Rupali @ Chakh...Le...Re! loves Mexican food, especially the salsas. She created a delicious Indian style salsas to go with an all time favourite Indian tea-time snack. Find the delicious recipes for these salsas on her blog post Potato Patties with Desi Salsas.



Deepti from Dipskitchen made a mouthwatering Lobhiya( Black-eyed beans) chaat. Deepti notes that this dish is basically a healthy snack as it contains lobhiya which is a source of calcium, folate and vitamin A.

Srivalli from Cooking 4 all Seasons rekindled fond childhood memories by preparing a Gujarati style Rajma Masala. Looks yummy and I am sure it will do justice to any rice dish or freshly prepared Indian style bread!!

Mia @ SWAADU made Snowpeas and Sprouted Green Gram Upperi. Mia writes that this is a dry curry which is made with sprouted green grams and snowpeas.What makes it special is its color and the nutritious value.This is simply a soothing and comforting dish which goes well with rice or chapathi or just like that as a salad.

More of the roundup to follow tomorrow!!

All text and photographs in this blog, unless otherwise noted, are Copyright of © Annarasa 2007-2009. All Rights Reserved. Kindly do not reproduce without permission.

MLLA 12: The Roundup Continues...

MLLA: 12th Helping was hosted on this site from June 1-30, 2009. In this post I continue to share the overwhelming response to this event beginning with a big thank you to everyone who participated:)

Rachel @ The Crispy Cook came across a recipe for some chickpea munchies while reading Ashley Miller's "The Bean Harvest Cookbook". She adapted the recipe to create a spicy, healthy snack, which would go especially well with an iced drink or a glass of wine. Try Spicy Roasted Chickpea Nibbles with your favourite drink this summer! I think they go rather well with cup of tea too!

Crunchy Garbanzo Beans have also been on Manali's mind for some time. She says this crunchy snack is guiltless, as it is oven baked. It is also very simple to make, easy to store and will be a hot favourite with the kids. Find her recipe for this anytime treat @ Cravings.



Divya @ Dil Se.. has prepared 2 wonderful recipes for MLLA 12. The first is Tortilla Bajji - which is a fried fritter made by deep frying tortilla chips in a batter made with gram flour and rice flour. The second is Urad Dhal Vada. Divya says Urad Dal Vada makes a great appetizer just by itself with coconut chutney. You can also dunk these beauties in sambar, rasam, or curd - each version tastes simply divine.

Preeti from Shail blog writes that "Dal Paratha is a traditional dish of northern India and is mostly prepared during the time of festivals". Preeti prepared Stuffed Dal Paratha and Strawberry Kheer as a Sunday breakfast treat!! Very festive.

Location: Tokyo , Japan

Pooja @ My Experience With Cooking sent in an inviting recipe of Moong Dal Thoran. She says that this Thoran is a protein packed side dish. Whole moong dal is stir fried along with ground coconut mixture and few spices to achieve a delicious simplicity.

Location: Loves Park, Illinois, USA

Sadhana & Muskaan too have sent in multiple entries for MLLA 12. Sadhana loves foods prepared with besan - you wonder why - visit her @ A2Z Vegetarian Cuisine to know the answer!! Their first entry is Baked Pakoda(Healthy Bengal Gram Flour Snack). For their second entry, Moong Dal With Spinach Muskaan writes that they love moong dal, as it has low glycemic index, it is easy and fast to cook, the spinach has added health benefits, and the kids like it too. This dish goes very well with my multi grain Paratha and Rice.

Palak Dal is also something Shabeena remembers from her Mum's home cooking! A tasty and nutritious dish - join Shabeena and her attempts at recreating this lovely recipe at Shab's Cuisine.

Soma @ eCurry writes that Fried Chickpeas or Ceci Frito is a classic Italian fried starter, and is terribly addictive when it is served warm!! She says that these chickpeas are a great snack and are also very similar to Indian style dal eats called Sundals. She recently prepared the fried chickpeas for some visiting friends who were left licking their fingers.

Parita from Parita's World loves the taste and versatility of chickpeas. For MLLA 12, she has dished out lovely Chana Masala (Chickpea curry). Check out her blog on more of her favourite legume.

Oh my!! We are in full-blown chickpea season aren't we?? Can't complain that you weren't spoilt for choices now:) More MLLA 12 follows.

All text and photographs in this blog, unless otherwise noted, are Copyright of © Annarasa 2007-2009. All Rights Reserved. Kindly do not reproduce without permission.

MLLA 12: The Roundup

June 2009 has come and gone and we are in the thick of summer out here. Hot sticky days are followed by thunderstorms and skin-drenching rain. My garden is in full bloom and my schedule has simply exploded. And June has been a special month for me as I have travelled a lot, and written a fair bit!! I have also been the host of one of the most delightful and creative events to grace the food-blogosphere - My Legume Love Affair. Created by Susan @ The Well-Seasoned Cook, the 12th helping of this event has been running from June 1-30, 2009 @ Annarasa !

Though the title of this post reads 'The Roundup', I'd like to share at the very outset that the response to the event has been super and it will take me more than this single post to get everyone's entry up. The prize winning entry will follow the completion of the entire roundup on this blog:) Let me begin with thanking everyone who has participated and sent in such delightful recipes, all of which I feel privileged to share with you via this roundup. I would also like to thank everyone for their patience and request that in the event that you do not see your entry in the completed roundup, just send me an email and I will make sure it is placed in its rightful spot. Do remember though that the recipe roundup reflects the entries date wise as they landed in my inbox.

The very first entry I received for MLLA 12 has come from Sailaja @ Sailaja's Kitchen. Sailaja loves good food and she has prepared a deliciously spicy Rajma Vada. Doesn't it look like a tasteful and healthy snack!

Lubna @ Yummy Food has been a delightfully busy cook this month. She has enthusiastically sent in several yummy recipes for MLLA 12 over the course of the last month! I will detail them as they came in. The very first from her is Dosa - A South Indian Crepe with Instant Tomato Chutney.

Two entries from Priyasuresh @ Priya's East N Tasty Recipes are next. The first is Red Bell Pepper and Peanut Chutney - just look at the colour! And the second is a distinct and interesting preparation called Sri Lankan Paruppu Kari.

Location: Paris, France

Laura @ The Spiced Life loves her legumes. She sent in this beautiful Sabzi Dhan Shak (Parsi Spicy Squash & Legume Stew). Laura writes "Dhan Shak is a A famous Bombay dish, made unique by its use of Parsi dhanajeera powder, this lentil, mung bean and split pea stew is thick with veggies and fragrant with spices".

Location: SW Ohio, USA

The second entry from Lubna @ Yummy Food arrived in my inbox a few days later. It is Idli - A South Indian Delight. Do visit her blog for some interesting information on this all-time favourite dish from the Southerns states of India!!

Lisa @ Lisa's Kitchen writes, "One of my favorite beans is the versatile oval-shaped whole green mung bean. Particularly easy to digest, especially when soaked overnight, cooked along with some spices and vegetables, this mildly sweet little legume can easily be transformed into an entree that will quell thoughts of a decadent dessert". Lisa sends in Mung Beans with Mixed Vegetables.

Location: London, Ontario, Canada

Sra @ When My Soup Came Alive has recently acquired a new Bengali cookbook!! From this cookbook comes a recipe Legumes, And a Bit of Cheese - which is quite simply a mildly spiced but heavy dal. Sra says she tried this recipe "because the combination of paneer, potatoes and moong dal is intriguing and piqued my curiosity".


Middle-Eastern cuisine has captured the hearts of Bird's Eye View and her family! Writing @ Food and Laughter Sra says she happily discovered delights of ME cooking when visiting friends in New york. Now ME fare is as much a part of her cooking as any other. Here she has prepared Hummus to share with us at MLLA 12.



A tasty, healthy, and filling snack is coming our way courtesy of Aparna @ My Diverse Kitchen. Aparna notes that a delicious combination of chickpea flour and fenugreek leaves is all it takes to prepare these yummy looking Methi Muthias - Steamed Fenugreek Leaves!


Priyanka of Asankhana blog prepared a breakfast treat with a platter of Moong Dal Chila, and served it with tangy home-made mango pickle!! A perfect and satisfying breakfast.

Join me at my next post for more from My Legume Love Affair: 12th Helping!!

All content, text, and photographs in this blog, unless otherwise noted, are Copyright of © Annarasa 2007-2010. All Rights Reserved. Kindly do not reproduce without permission.

The Daring Cooks: Challenges 1 & 2

So here I am finally. When I joined the Daring Cooks in the footsteps of the Daring Bakers a few months ago, I had no idea summer would turn out so busy!! I did manage to complete both challenges in time periods specified, but got nowhere close to uploading my successes to this blog. A little window today has allowed me to do the needful:)


The very first Challenge presented to the Daring Cooks was Zuni Ricotta Gnocchi. The recipe looked fabulous, but as I hardly use eggs in cooking, I decided to create my own version of the same!! I followed all the instructions as provided by the recipe, but replaced the eggs with some beaten rice which I soaked in water for half a day, drained, and then mashed thoroughly. I also substituted tarragon leaves for the sage.


The Challenge for this month was Chinese Dumplings/Potstickers also known as Gyoza in Japanese. This was a great recipe and as I often make steamed dumplings at hoe it was easy and quick too. For the filling, I used my usual vegetarian recipe which included finely chopped carrot, mushrooms, spring onions, zucchini, ginger, blanched bok choi, and bamboo shoots. Rest went as suggested by Jen!! Hope everyone who has joined the Daring Cooks enjoyed these challenges as much as I did.

All text and photographs in this blog, unless otherwise noted, are Copyright of © Annarasa 2009. All Rights Reserved. Kindly do not reproduce without permission.