Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• All-purpose flour ~ 1 cup
• Butter, dairy or vegan, at room temperature ~ ½ cup (1 stick)
• Baking soda ~ ½ tsp.
• Sugar ~ ½ cup (can sub. with ¼ cup brown sugar + ¼ cup white sugar)
• Vanilla extract ~ 1 tsp.
• Salt ~ a pinch
• Chocolate chips ~ ¼ to ½ cup, depending on preference
• Milk, dairy or vegan ~ a couple of Tbsp. depending on the dough consistency

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 deg. F
• In a bowl, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and beat .
• In another bowl, mix the flour, baking soda and salt. Add this to the butter mixture and mix just until well combined. Do not overmix.
• Gently fold in the chocolate chips.
• If the mixture is extremely dry or it doesn’t come together, add in milk 1 Tbsp. at a time until the dough comes together. The dough should not be too sticky, so be careful while adding the milk.
• Scoop out a Tbsp. of the dough at a time, roll into a ball, and place it on a baking sheet. Leave a couple of inches between each one of them.
• Bake for about 15 mins. or so, until the edges are golden brown.

Cluster Beans & Black-eyed Peas Sambhar

Ingredients:

• Toor Dal ~ ½ cup
• Black-eyed peas ~ ½ cup
• Cluster Beans, chopped into 1 inch pieces ~ ½ cup
• Onion, sliced into long pieces ~ 1
• Tamarind ~ 1 Tbsp.
• Sambhar powder, salt ~ to taste
• Green chili, slit ~ 1

To temper:

• Mustard seeds ~ 1 tsp.
• Oil ~ 1 Tbsp.
• Fenugreek seeds ~ 1 tsp.
• Red chili ~ 1
• Asafoetida ~ a pinch

Steps:

• Pressure cook toor dal until mushy. Similarly, pressure cook black-eyed peas but ensure it retains its shape.
• Mix tamarind paste in water. To that add the cluster beans, onion, black-eyed peas, salt, sambhar powder and green chili and let it all cook until the veggies are done.
• Add the cooked toor dal to this and let it come to a boil. Turn the heat off at this stage.
• Do the tempering – add the oil and splutter the mustard seeds. Add the rest of the ingredients under the ‘To temper’ and add it to the sambhar.

Moong Dal Stew | Pasi Paruppu Kulumbu

Ingredients:

• Moong dal ~ ½ cup
• Corriander seeds ~ 2 Tbsp.
• Urud dal ~ 2 Tbsp.
• Onions, chopped fine ~ ½
• Coconut ~ 2 Tbsp.
• Oil ~ 2 tsp.
• Mustard seeds ~ 1 tsp.
• Red chilies ~ to taste
• Salt ~ to taste

Steps:

• Pressure cook moong dal with sufficient water until done.
• In a skillet add 1 tsp. of oil along with the corriander seeds, red chilies and urud dal and fry until the dal turns light golden. Now add  the onions and saute until the onions are done. Mix in the coconut, and saute for a couple more minutes.
• Once cool, blend the above with little water to a coarse paste.
• In the same skillet, add the remaining oil and splutter the mustard seeds. Now add the cooked moong dal along with the blended paste, salt and water (adjust this as per desired consistency), and let it come to a boil.

Kohlrabi / Noolkol Kurma

Ingredients:

• Noolkol, chopped into cubes ~ 1 cup
• Onion, slit lengthwise ~ 1
• Tomato, chopped into cubes ~ 1
• Ginger-garlic paste ~ 1 Tbsp.
• Sombu / Fennel seeds ~ 1 tsp.
• Salt ~ to taste
• Oil ~ 1 Tbsp.
• Cinnamon stick ~ 1
• Cloves ~ 2
• Water ~ to get the kurma to the desired consistency

To blend:

• Coconut ~ 2 Tbsp.
• Roasted gram / Pottu Kadalai ~ 2 Tbsp.
• Coriander powder ~ 1 Tbsp.
• Sambhar powder ~ to taste

Steps:

• Blend the items under the ‘To Blend’ into a coarse paste with some water.
• In a pan, add the oil, and once hot add sombu, cinnamon stick and cloves, followed by the onions and ginger-garlic paste.
• Saute the onions until soft, and then add the tomato and noolkol.
• Once the tomatoes turn mushy, and the noolkol is cooked, add the blended stuff, water and salt and let it come to a boil.

Spaghetti with Spinach

Ingredients:

• Spaghetti ~ a fistful
• Spinach ~ a bunch
• Red pepper flakes, Salt ~ to taste
• Garlic, chopped fine ~ 2
• Water ~ to boil the spaghetti
• Olive oil ~ 2 Tbsp.

Steps:

• Boil the spaghetti as per instructions on the package, until al dente.
• Add oil and chopped garlic to a skillet, and turn on the stove. In a low flame, let this be on the stove for about 10 minutes, so that the oil is infused with garlic flavor. Make sure the garlic doesn’t burn.
• Add the spinach and pepper flakes, and saute until the spinach welts.
• Now add the spaghetti and salt and give it a good toss.
• Turn off the stove, and serve with some shaved parmesan cheese on top.

Cracked Wheat Upma

Ingredients:

• Cracked wheat ~ 1 cup
• Onions, sliced lengthwise ~ 1
• Red chilies ~ 2
• Peas ~ ½ cup
• Tomato, chopped into cubes ~ 1
• Salt ~ to taste
• Water ~ 2½ cup
• Oil ~ 1 Tbsp.
• Mustard ~ 1 tsp.
• Cilantro ~ a few sprigs

Steps:

• Add oil to a pan, and once hot, add the mustard seeds, followed by the red chilies.
• Now add the onions and saute for a couple of minutes. Mix in the tomatoes, and saute until tomatoes turn mushy.
• Add the peas, and give it a stir for a couple of minutes.
• Now add the salt & water, cover, and let this come to a boil.
• Add in the cracked wheat, ensuring no lumps are formed, cover and cook until the water has evaporated.
• Garnish with cilantro.

Blueberry Scones

Ingredients:

• All-purpose flour ~ 2 cups
• Baking powder ~ 1 Tbsp.
• Salt ~ ½ tsp.
• Sugar ~ 4 Tbsp.
• Butter, cold ~ 5 Tbsp.
• Blueberries, fresh or frozen ~ 1 cup
• Milk ~ 1 cup
• Lemon zest ~ 1 Tbsp.
• Lemon juice ~ 2 Tbsp.
• Vanilla extract ~ 1 tsp.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 deg. F
• Mix in the dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, lemon zest.
• Grate the cold butter into the dry mixture, and mix it well so that the butter rubs into the flour well.
• Fold the blueberries into the mixture, taking care not to smash them.
• Now, pour in the milk, lemon juice, and vanilla extract, and mix it just until the dough comes together.
• Pat the dough on a floured surface into a circle about 1 inch thick, and cut it into 8 pieces.
• Place on a baking sheet, brush the top with either some melted butter, or some milk, and bake for about 15 – 20 minutes until done.

Recipe Adapted from Food Network

Eggplant Bhaji | Kathirikai Bhaji

Ingredients:

• Italian Eggplant ~ 1
• Oil ~ 1 Tbsp.
• Onions, chopped fine ~ 1
• Mustard seeds ~ 1 tsp.
• Tamarind paste ~ 1 tsp.
• Green chillies, salt ~ to taste

Steps:

• Smear very little oil on the eggplant and roast it over open flame (or broil it).  Once it’s cool enough to handle remove the skin and smash this.
• In a pan add the oil, and splutter the  mustard seeds.  Now add the onions and green chillies and saute.
• To this add the eggplant, tamarind paste, salt and water (to desired consistency), and bring it to a boil.

Chinese Fried Rice

Ingredients:

• Rice ~ 1 cup
• Carrot, julienned ~ ½ cup
• Cabbage, julienned ~ ½ cup
• Spring onions, slit into discs ~ 3 sprigs
• Salt, Black pepper ~ to taste
• Oil ~ 2 Tbsp.
• Soy sauce ~ 1 tsp.

Steps:

• Soak rice for about 30 mins before cooking. Cook the rice and keep it aside.
• In a pan on medium heat, add the oil and once hot, add the white portion of the spring onions and saute for a couple of mins.
• Turn the flame to high and add the carrots and saute for about a min, followed by the cabbage which also should be sauteed for a minute.
• Now add the salt, pepper and soy sauce and stir for another minute or two.
• Mix in the green portion of the spring onion, give it another stir and mix this with the cooked rice.

Recipe Adapted from Rak’s Kitchen

Spinach Stew

Ingredients:

• Spinach, cut roughly ~ 1 bunch (about 2 cups)
• Onion, slit lengthwise ~ 1
• Tomato, chopped into chunks ~ 1
• Tamarind paste ~ 1 tsp.
• Salt ~ to taste
• Oil ~ 1 Tbsp.
• Urud dal, mustard ~ 1 tsp.
• Red chilies ~ to taste
• Water ~ ½ cup, or as needed for desired consistency

Steps:

• In a pan, add the oil, and once hot add the mustard seeds and the urud dal, and once the mustard splutters add the red chilies.
• Immediately add the onions and saute until they turn soft.
• Now add the tomatoes and saute until they soften as well.
• Add the rest of the ingredients – spinach, tamarind paste and salt, and give it a good mix.
• Now add the water, cover and cook until the spinach has wilted.

Notes:

• Have this mixed with rice, and a curry (potato fry) on the side.