Whipped Banana-Chocolate "Ice-cream"

Who knew one could make something taste like ice-cream with just bananas? I heard someone talk about it a while back, but remained skeptical. Then, when I heard one of my friends mention that she often resorts to whipped banana as a substitute for ice-cream when she craves for something sweet, I decided to experiment. It is as simple as this - frozen banana chunks are thrown into a food processor/blender and pulsed/ground/whipped until the whole thing "magically" churns into ice-cream like consistency! I was apprehensive of putting my old blender to the task of whipping frozen bananas, but the old thing didn't let me down! If you have a food processor or a heavy-duty blender/mixer, be assured of having banana ice-cream any time!

 

Ingredients (serves two)

1. 2 ripe (but not overly ripe) bananas
2. 1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup (optional)
3. 1 teaspoon vanilla essence 
4. 2 teaspoons (or more) cocoa powder

Preparation

1. Peel and dice the bananas into thin discs. Put them in a plastic bag and freeze for 4 hours or  until they are completely frozen
2. Throw the frozen chunks (in parts or whole, depending on the power of your food processor/blender) into the blender. Pulse a couple times to break down the chunks. Then blend/grind/use the ice-breaker setting to start grinding and churning the chunks. If the blender struggles, pause and turn the mixture around with a spoon and then continue. If the chunks are too hard, it helps to wait a couple of minutes (to slightly melt the chunks) and then resume grinding. Or worst case, drizzle in some milk (very little and slowly) to get things going. But despite all the initial noise and resistance the blender seems to be throwing at you, worry not, keep at it, and within a couple of minutes the whole thing will churn to the consistency of whipped butter. When you see this phase approaching, drizzle in the honey/maple syrup, vanilla essence and cocoa powder. Give the whole thing a couple of extra whirs to incorporate everything. Do not over-whip or grind, because the whole thing will begin to melt in the heat.

That's it. Scoop out the whipped frozen-bananas and serve/eat immediately. It really really does taste like banana ice-cream! It tastes more like soft-serve ice-cream, though. I personally like my ice-cream to be soft than hard and cold, so it works for me! Plus, I can adjust the flavorings to my choice to result in an easy dessert that is surprisingly low in fat and sugar, but tastes great!

Stack up on some flavorings and you have a versatile recipe to whip up a fake ice-cream anytime!

Curried Couscous

For the uninitiated, couscous is a Middle-Eastern variety of semolina (rava). It is popularly known as Semolina pasta. It has a mild, nutty flavor and absorbs the flavors of the spices with which it is cooked or tossed in. This is very reminiscent of upma. It cooks super fast (literally 5 minutes) and hence makes a great weeknight dinner. 

For a while, I have been cooking couscous by adding Indian spices, but among the Indianized versions that I've tried, both Anand and I love this version of curried couscous! The key success of this version is in its technique of marinating or mixing the spices in yogurt before adding it to the cooked couscous. It keeps the couscous incredibly moist and all the flavors get evenly absorbed. I made a few adjustments, though - mostly in measurements.

Preparation

I cook the couscous in the same manner. 1.5 cups of boiling water poured over 1.5 cups of couscous, along with a drizzle of olive oil (instead of butter). Close the lid and let it stay/cook for 5 minutes. Then remove the lid and fluff the cooked couscous with a fork. 

I use 1/2 cup of yogurt (instead of 1/4), add salt, pepper, turmeric powder, a teaspoon of plain vinegar, 2 teaspoons of Kitchen-King masala, and 1/4 cup of olive oil and whisk well. Pour this over the couscous and mix well. 

I then add one diced cucumber (cucumber + yogurt flavor is even better), 1/2 of a finely chopped red-onion, coriander leaves (instead of parsley), 1/4 cup of golden raisins (even better than currants), 1/3 cup of blanched sliced almonds, and 2 chopped scallions. Finally, I pour the juice of a lemon.

Mix everything and serve!

It's almost like a salad. You can choose the vegetables you want to add and tailor the spices to your liking. But don't forget the yogurt!

Lemony Pasta

What's a Lemony pasta, you might ask. I wanted to go with Lemon Pasta, but it sounded like the pasta was made from lemon rinds or something. But that's not what this is.

I came across a pasta recipe in a magazine a long time back. It had pasta that was flavored with lemon zest and ricotta, and several other ingredients all of which I've forgotten. But, adding lemon zest in pasta was new to me and it stuck with me. Last evening, I raided the fridge trying to put together a simple dinner. Pasta is usually a go-to resort for me. So, I started thinking along those lines and was reminded of the lemon zest infusion.

I kept it very simple (for the first time) by trying out Pasta without any tomatoes or sauce. I think the Italians might scorn at this, but it tasted surprisingly decent - and refreshing! If you're a fan of lemons, you should try this out. This is a dish with clean, crisp, minimal flavors.

Ingredients:

1. A bag of uncooked pasta (1 pound)
2. 1.5 lemons (or 2 lemons)
3. 1 teaspoon of salt
4. 2-3 teaspoons of freshly ground black pepper (this is the only spice ingredient)
5. 1/2 cup of ground/grated parmesan cheese
6. 1/4 cup of olive oil
7. a handful of flat-leaf parsley (Italian parsley)
8. a few basil leaves (if around)

Preparation:

1. Cook the pasta in a pot of heavily salted water and a drizzle of olive oil. 11-12 minutes is ideal cooking time for most pastas. 
2. Drain the pasta and reserve a ladle of  the pasta water. Mix the cooked pasta with the ladle of warm pasta water so that the pasta is not overly dry (remember there is no sauce)
3. To the pasta, add the zest of 1.5 (or 2) lemons and the juice of 1 lemon. Gently mix.
4. Add salt, pepper (to your taste), chopped parsley and basil. Combine.
5. Finally add a few drizzles of olive oil to moisten the pasta, and add the parmesan cheese. Toss gently and serve.

I loved this! It was so simple, yet every flavor was distinct and complemented each other very well. This recipe can be updated by adding some herb de provence  (dried Italian herbs), raw grape tomatoes (to give some color and vegetable), and some minced garlic sauteed in olive oil.

Coconut Rice

Simple and flavorful. Coconut flavored rice is one of the most easiest dishes in South-Indian cuisine. It is also one of the most flavorful - especially if you love coconuts.

Ingredients (serves 2)

1. 3/4 cup uncooked white rice
2. 1 cup coconut flakes / shredded coconut
3. 1 teaspoon black-mustard seeds
4. 1 tablespoon split urad dhal / ulutham paruppu / split black gram
5. 2-3 dry red chillies
6. 1 teaspoon salt (to your preference)
7. 2 teaspoons vegetable oil /olive oil
8. a few curry leaves
9. ¼ teaspoon hing / asafoetida

Preparation

1. Cook the rice with as much as water as required by the type of rice you are using. Since the coconut perfumes and flavors the rice, it’s best to not use an aromatic rice such as Basmati that would compete with the coconut and confuse the flavors. A cup of regular white rice requires 2 to 3 cups of water on average to cook. I use 2.5 cups of water for this dish.
2. Splutter mustard in hot oil. Add the split urad dhal, hing, red chillies, and curry leaves and saute for 20-30 seconds on medium heat. Reduce the heat a bit and add the coconut flakes and salt. Fry the coconut till it turns brown and releases its oil and aroma. Remove from heat immediately before the coconut burns.
3. Add the fluffed up, cooked rice to the fried coconut in small batches and stir well to combine. Taste to check for salt and adjust accordingly. It’s best to let the combined rice sit for about 30 minutes or so to ensure the flavors seep through. Serve the well-combined coconut rice!

That’s it! Serve with a spicy side-dish or with crumbly vadaams or chips.

Guacamole Salad

We've been living off this salad for the last couple of days. It is delicious, easy to put together, and healthy in a guilt-free kind of way.

It is a mix of grape-tomatoes, bell-pepper, onion, garlic, black-beans, avocados and lime zest, dressed in a zesty and light vinaigrette of olive oil, lime juice, salt, pepper, paprika and cumin. Paprika and cumin are the only additions of mine. The lime zest brings out a bite of freshness that is so refreshing. A simple and lovely salad. 

Ricotta Stuffed Mini-Peppers

This dish was inspired from one of Giada’s recipes on Food Network. Giada is a beautiful chef who charms you into trying her dishes mainly through the exquisite elegance and ease with which she prepares them in her gorgeous kitchen that overlooks the beach. The colors and artful presentation catch your eye and you look forward to recreate that prettiness in your own humble space. Since I’m known to love colors, the vivid colors of the yellow, red, and orange peppers drew me in.

The mini-peppers are actually sweet and not as hot as one would imagine. They are totally toothless-ly devoid of any heat once you remove their seeds.

Ingredients

1. About 20 peppers of mixed colors
2. 2 cups of ricotta (ricotta is Italian cottage-cheese, very similar to our Paneer in taste)
3. 1 small onion finely chopped
4. 2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
5. 1 teaspoon of garam masala or chaat masala
6. 1 teaspoon of salt
7. ½ teaspoon of chilli powder or chilli flakes (optional) for some heat
8. The zest of half a lemon
9. 1 tablespoon of olive oil

 Preparation

1. Cut the top of the peppers and remove the inside stalk that houses all the heat-infusing seeds (this is optional. You can retain the seeds if you like some heat to kick in)
2. In a pan, heat olive oil with garlic (so that the garlic flavor slowly imparts into the oil). Before the garlic turns brown, add the chopped onions and saute till the onions soften and turn translucent. Remove from heat. Let it cool.
3. In a bowl, mix the ricotta along with the garam masala, salt, and chilli powder. Add the cooled sauteed onions and garlic and mix well. Finally, add the zest of half a lemon to freshen the flavors.
4. The above is the stuffing. This stuffing needs to go into all the peppers. You can either spoon them in gracefully (like Giada), or be a little lazy (like me) and take a short-cut. Add the prepared ricotta stuffing into a small plastic bag. Cut one corner of the bag to make a small opening. Squeeze the contents of the bag into the peppers. To ensure that the peppers get stuffed all the way through, insert the bag deep into the peppers and start squeezing. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
5. Arrange the stuffed peppers on a parchment-paper-lined baking tray and bake for 15 minutes at 350 F.

That’s all there is to it! They are fancy-looking colorful appetizers that taste quite good. The same process can be repeated with banana peppers that are a bit more spicy and have a delicious tartness to them. But they may need a little more time in the oven. That will be my experiment for another day!

Peach Mousse

I can’t really call this a mousse. It has no eggs, for one, and has curious ingredients like cream cheese and jam. I was basically putting in stuff that was dangerously close to their expiry. This seems to be the common trend for me, isn't it? The cause for most of my culinary experiments! So, I don’t know what to call it, except it is close to being a mousse due to its creamy, custard-y form. If you can think of a better sounding name, please let me know! :)

Ingredients (yield: 6 small cups)

1. 6 ounces of cream cheese
2. ½ cup of Peach jam (or any jam)
3. 1 cup of whipping cream (heavy cream)
4. 1 tablespoon of sugar
5. 1 peach, finely sliced
6. 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
7. 1 teaspoon of orange extract

Preparation:

1. Whip/beat room temperature cream cheese into a fluffy mass
2. Add ½ cup of peach jam (mine was left-over from last year!) and beat it into the cream cheese.
3. In a separate bowl, beat the cream along with sugar, vanilla and orange essence till it turns into a light,airy, frothy cloud of cream. In technical terms, beat the cream till it forms stiff peaks... that is, if you dip a spoon into the cream and take it out, the cream should form a stiff peak at the tip of the spoon.
4. Now gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese + jam mixture. Folding is a technique through which one tries to mix an airy, light entity like whipped cream or egg whites without deflating the air in it. So, gently mix in one direction, starting from the center and folding it over one side. Repeat till everything is almost evenly combined.
5. Spoon the mousse-like substance into small cups and refrigerate for at least one hour. Serve with slices of peach (or any fruit) on top.

 I am addicted to the flavors of peach+orange. This turned out to be a decent dessert when we had company, for you can’t really go wrong with fruit+cream+sugar, can you? :)

Tapioca Upma

Tapioca upma is commonly known as Sabudana Kichidi in Maharashtra. Tapioca pearls are cooked and sauteed in a spice ground that mainly comprises of roasted peanuts and chillies to result in a warm, spicy meal. But when such dishes make their way to the south, hard bred people like me convert it into an Upma by adding familiar South-Indian spice blends to it.

So, this is another recipe that I took down from my mother-in-law and tweaked it generously to arrive at a Tamil variation of the Kichidi.

Ingredients (feeds four)

1. 4 cups of Tapioca pearls soaked in water for 8 hours. If you forget to soak it on time, worry not, just soak the pearls in lukewarm water for 4-5 hours.
2. ¾ cup of unsalted, shelled, peanuts
3. 5-6 dry red chillies (or green chillies if you prefer)
4. 1 medium onion, finely chopped
5. 1 teaspoon of brown mustard seeds
6. 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds / jeera
7. 1 teaspoon of Hing
8. 1 teaspoon of turmeric
9. 3 teaspoons of coriander seeds (dhania)
10. 1 teaspoon of bengal gram dhal / kadala paruppu / chana dhal
11. 1 teaspoon of Toor dhal / yellow or orange lentils / thuvaram paruppu
12. 1 teaspoon of urad dhal / spilt dehusked black gram / thuvaram paruppu
13. 2 tablespoons of oil
14. Salt to taste
15. Curry leaves and coriander leaves for granishing
16. The juice of half a lemon

Preparation

1. Dry roast the peanuts, coriander seeds, bengal gram dhal, toor dhal, urad dhal, red chillies and Hing.
2. Grind the roasted spices
3. In a pan, heat some oil. Add mustard seeds and let it splutter. Then add cumin seeds, pinched curry leaves, and turmeric and stir.
4. Let the diced onions join the party in the pan. Saute onion till it turns translucent. Stir on medium heat.
5. Next, add the drained tapioca (make sure to drain and squeeze out water, without mashing up the tapioca). Stir the tapioca to incorporate the onions (about 4 minutes)
6. Now add the ground spice powder (of peanuts and others) and stir well. Keep stirring the tapioca so that it blends with the spices and doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
7. Add salt, and cook the tapioca for about 8 minutes (stirring often). When the tapioca pearls cook, they turn glossy and translucent.
8. Finally, switch off the heat. Squeeze some lemon juice and garnish with coriander leaves. I made the unforgivable sin of not stocking up on enough coriander leaves - so my upma was devoid of its lovely aroma.

Since Tapioca is high in starch, the upma will be a little sticky. The spices may seem excessive, but they are absolutely necessary to add some flavor to the otherwise bland and starchy Tapioca. This upma goes down well with some creamy, cooling yogurt that cuts the edge off of the spices.

Lemon Rice

Lemon rice is  nothing but lemon-flavored rice! As easy as that. It’s again one of the most popular quick-fixes we South Indians rely on. Is there an outing? A long train journey? Lemon rice will surely be one of your trusted companions to keep your tummy happy. It is as tasty as it is simple. Anyone can do this! 

Ingredients:

1. 1.5 cups of raw rice
2. 2.5 big lemons (This is an approximate that mostly works well. The tartness of the lemons vary widely, so it’s up to your preference to either increase of decrease the quantity, although I wouldn’t advise decreasing it.)
3. 1 teaspoon of bengal gram dhal or channa dhal
4. 1 teaspoon of split urad dhal / split black gram
5. 1 teaspoon of black mustard seeds
6. 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon of Hing
7. 1 Teaspoon of Turmeric
8. 1-2 dry red chillies
9. 2 green chillies, finely diced
10. A few curry leaves
11. Some coriander leaves
12. Salt to taste - about 1.5 teaspoons
13. Two tablespoons of vegetable oil/Olive oil

Preparation:

1. Cook the 2 cups of rice (the rice:water ratio depends on the type of rice, but it is usually 2 cups of water for 1 cup of rice, if you like your rice to be firm and al dente, else it is 2.5-3 cups of water per cup of rice)
2. Squeeze the juice out of the lemons. Add salt and turmeric powder to the juice.
3. In a deep vessel, heat the oil. Once the oil heats, splutter the mustard seeds. Following which, add the channa dhal, urad dhal, red chillies, green chillies, curry leaves, and Hing and saute for a bit. Once the pulses begin to brown a bit, turn off the heat. This is basically the seasoning.
4. When the rice is cooked, fluff it with a fork to make it light and fluffy. Mix the rice with the prepared seasoning.
5. Then, slowly add the lemon juice mixture to the rice, and mix the rice with all the juice. Check for salt, and tartness. Add more salt or lemon juice as per your taste.
6. Garnish with coriander leaves.
7. Let the lemon rice rest for at least 30 minutes before serving, so that the flavors meld. Serve with papad, chips, or vadams (basically anything crispy)

That’s it! There are a few variations to these basic steps. Some people toast cashews and raisins to make the rice more rich and flavorful. Some others mix the lemon juice and turmeric along with the seasoning, and then add the rice. Having tried all these variations, I can say that the taste remains just the same. One thing I perceived is that the lemons in the US are not as tart and sharp as the little Indian ones. So, I always find myself wanting more lemons than present. I’ve never tried making this with limes though... perhaps that will make a difference!

Bread Upma

Bread Upma? What happened to Rava Upma, Semia Upma, and other upmas endorsed by and perfected by Meenakshi Ammal and the rest, you ask. Good question. Although it seems like I often stray away from the aforementioned project (and book), I have been diligently trying out her recipes. I have a huge backlog of recipes/stories/dishes to post, but they are a little involved and require the most elusive ingredient of all - time. And right now, too many things are going on. So I am utilizing my lunch break to type out the simpler posts.

Bread upma is basically a quick-fix. Every South-Indian resorts to this when a meal needs to materialize within 15 minutes. It doesn’t involve roasting the rava/semia/bread or time to properly cook it, and hence becomes a tad more easier to make.

Upma presents itself as an empty canvas. You can add your own spices, seasoning, and vegetables once you understand the fundamental formula. Actually, every dish is like that. Once you connect with the basic principles, you’ll find plenty of room to innovate and adapt. But the core remains the same. So, it’s essential that one understands and masters the core.

Ingredients

1. 7 slices of bread (any kind of bread. Whole wheat, multi-grained is a healthy choice). Remove the crust, and cut the bread into bite-sized pieces. 7 slices may seem like a lot, but bread reduces in size as it touches heat, oil, and the spices.
2. 1 medium-sized onion, finely diced
3. 2 tomatoes, diced
4. ½ cup of carrots
5. 1 cup of mixed vegetables, such as beans, corn, any other left over vegetable (I usually have a bag of mixed vegetables in the freezer for such quick fixes)
6. 2 green chillies, finely sliced
7. 1 teaspoon of finely diced ginger
8. 1 teaspoon of mustard seeds
9. 1 teaspoon of jeera (cumin) seeds
10. 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
11. 1/4 teaspoon of Hing
12. 2 teaspoons of curry powder (any spicy powder of your choice)
13. 2 tablespoons of vegetable/olive oil
14. Salt to taste
15. Coriander leaves for garnishing
16. A slice of lemon for garnishing

Preparation

1. In a pan, heat the oil. When oil is heated, splutter the mustard seeds. Then add the cumin seeds, chillies, ginger, turmeric powder, and Hing, and saute a bit.
2. Next, add the onions and saute till it becomes translucent or golden brown. Some people don’t like their onions well roasted, so it depends on your choice.
3. Add the tomatoes and saute till it becomes soft.
4. Now dump all the remaining vegetables and stir them all together.
5. Add salt, and curry powder. Saute till the vegetables are evenly coated with the spices.
6. Pour ½ cup of water, close the lid on the pan, and wait for it to come to a boil. Once the water comes to a boil, check whether the vegetables are cooked. Else, cook for a little while with the lid closed. Make sure all the water is evaporated. (The more finely chopped the vegetables, the faster they cook).
7. Once the vegetables are cooked, add the bread pieces. Reduce the heat to low, and gently mix the bread in the vegetable curry until all the pieces are evenly incorporated with the spices. The bread tends to soak up all the oil and turn mushy, so take care not to vigorously stir - you will then end up with bread paste. You may add a little more oil to fry/roast the bread before adding it to the vegetable mix. But I prefer to keep oil to a minimum.
8. Once the bread is mixed, turn off the heat. Garnish with a liberal bunch of cut coriander leaves, and the juice of half a lemon.
9. Serve with a side of spicy pickle or cooling yogurt.

Lemon juice actually spruces up all the flavors of a dish. I never used to add lemon juice at the end of most dishes, for I feared the dish would be overpowered by the intense lemon flavor. But, trust me, a small amount of lemon juice amplifies the flavors of the dish, and doesn’t stand out as being tart and lemony.