From yesterday’s leftover green papaya, I made some curry for today’s meal. Peel, cube, do tadka, add onion and papaya. Flavor with traditional Bharath seasoning. We had this type green papaya before, but this is the first time for our parents. They liked it.

For those of you new to green papaya or hesitant to try this veggie-fruit: raw has cucumber like taste and cooked has Chayote (Cho Cho) like taste. Firm flesh, mild sweet flavor and minimal papaya smell. It’s easy to like green papaya even if you don’t like ripe papaya fruit. Give it a try.

Green Papaya Kura

Green Papaya – 1 small fruit. Half is enough for this recipe.
Red onion or shallot – 1
Green chilli – 2
Turmeric – 1/4 teaspoon
Coconut – 1 tablespoon, grated fresh
Salt – 1/2 teaspoon or to taste
Peanut oil – 1 teaspoon
from Masala dabba: tadka ingredients

Cut papaya to half and remove the seeds. Peel the skin. Chop the white flesh to small bite sized cubes (about 3 cups). Finely chop onion and green chilli to small pieces.

In a large skillet, heat a teaspoon of peanut oil over medium heat. From masala dabba, add a pinch each – cumin, mustard seeds and few curry leaves. Saute for few seconds to fragrance. Add onion, green chilli. Saute for couple of minutes till onion becomes translucent. Add green papaya. Cover the skillet and cook on medium-low heat, until papaya is just tender. Takes about 6 to 8 minutes.

Add the turmeric, coconut and salt. Cook and stir for two minutes or more.

Serve warm with chapati or roti. Makes about 4 side dish servings.

© Recipe and Photos Copyright 2009 Indira Singari.

Green Papaya Kura with Jonna Roti ~ For Meal Today

Kura (Telugu) = Curry (English)

It was an odd day. We bought green papaya thinking it was red sweet papaya. When cut open, realized that it was really a “green” papaya and not a red papaya. Not going to waste such pretty fruit, I prepared all-raw papaya kosambari by adding mung bean sprouts, onion, tomato and green chilli. Green papaya has cucumber like taste and made a fine appetizer to our afternoon meal.

Green Papaya

Green Papaya Kosambari
(makes 4 servings)

Green Papaya – 1 small fruit. Half is enough for this recipe.
Red onion or shallot – 1
Green tomato – 1
Green chilli – 1
Mung sprouts – 1 cup
Salt to taste
Lime Juice to taste
Few coriander leaves

Cut green papaya and remove the seeds. Peel the skin. Cut the white flesh to bite sized cubes. About 2 cups.

Finely chop onion, tomato and green chilli.

Take them in a big cup. Add mung bean sprouts and coriander leaves. Sprinkle salt and lime juice. Combine. Serve.

© Recipe and Photos Copyright 2009 Indira Singari.

Papaya Kosambari ~ for Meal Today

Kosambari: Indian equivalent to western salad. Usually prepared with raw ingredients.

May be it was the long gap of time we had or may be it was the long and tedious journey they did, but they looked much tired than we had expected. Our visual for my parents-in-law is almost four years old now. When we last saw them, they were very energetic and much stronger. I think it was the long tiring journey they had from India. After about ten days, they are now refreshed and active again. More than anything we are happy to see them after a long time and to be with them here. They are also enjoying the new home, place, and people around.

They have also given us hope that it is possible to age gracefully by living happy and eating healthy. That makes us feel better. Well, everything is related to food by some degree. One of the recipe techniques I have learned from them at Nandyala during my one year apprenticeship some ten years ago is pairing green leafy vegetables with some kind of legumes/beans. You can find countless recipes of this type at my old website. Here is one more. This time it is seasonal fresh amaranth leaves and fresh chickpeas. The recipe is simple, tastes great and makes a filling side dish for chapati or rice and dal combination.

Fresh Amaranth Leaf with Green Chickpeas

Amaranth with Chickpeas

1 bunch fresh amaranth
1 cup fresh chickpeas, shelled or frozen
1 red onion and 2 green chillies
1 tablespoon grated coconut, fresh
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
From Masala dabba: tadka ingredients

Wash amaranth and finely chop leaves and tender stems. Chop onion and green chillies to small pieces.

In a large skillet heat a tablespoon of peanut oil over medium heat. From masala dabba, add a pinch each – cumin, mustard seeds and couple of curry leaves. Saute few seconds to fragrance. Add onion, green chilli. Saute for couple of minutes till onion becomes translucent. Add amaranth and fresh chickpeas. Cover the skillet and cook the leaves until they collapse and chickpeas are just tender, for about 6 to 8 minutes.

Add the coconut, salt and turmeric. Cook and stir for two minutes or more.

Serve warm with chapati or rice and dal. Makes about 4 to 6 side dish servings.

© Recipe and Photos Copyright 2009 Indira Singari.

Amaranth and Chickpeas Kura with Chapati ~ Meal Today

Cilantro Soopa ~ for Jihva:Cilantro

Coriander flavor in full force, this cilantro soopa is a scintillating spicy preparation that would soothe the hunger pangs and mitigates the migraine pains. Natural ingredients pure flavor in full display, this original recipe from me is a dieters delight and tasty alternative to cream/butter/flour filled western soup preparations.

Cilantro Soopa
(makes about 2 servings)

1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon black peppercorn
1 tablespoon tamarind pulp – soaked in a cup of water and juice extracted
1 tablespoon – crushed jaggery
1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
1 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon oil and tadka ingredients

Dry roast coriander seeds, cumin and black peppercorn in a small cast iron skillet. Powder to fine in a spice grinder, without adding any water.

In a vessel, add a teaspoon of oil. Heat. Add a sprig of curry leaves, pinch of mustard seeds and asafetida. Sauté few seconds until leaves start to brown.

Add tamarind juice, crushed jaggery and coriander powder. Also salt and about two cups of water. Bring to boil. Add cilantro leaves. Simmer for few minutes until leaves wilt. Switch off the heat. Serve warm. Excellent to sip or drink without rice.

******
Soopa=Sanskrit for rasam/chaaru like preparations.
© Recipe and Photos Copyright 2009 Indira Singari

We had a busy weekend. More than usual, because we are expecting my in-laws this Thursday. I am excited about their visit and the possibility of learning more from them. They are my gurus and great persons in general. Counting the hours…

If my posts read out of touch with current fads of food blogosphere, contact elusive (what’s new, right? :)) in the coming months, you know the reason.

Naturally, the home is going major upside-down cleaning ritual. So l needed an easy meal for lunch. An omelette filled with cilantro and some steam-cooked vegetables. Cilantro omelette, is what made me fell in love with cilantro. Even though it’s quite ubiquitous growing up, I used to have no opinion about cilantro, but one hungry day during college days similar to the one I had today, I made this. Boom… it’s been a technicolor Jai Ho for cilantro from then on. If this is your first time with cilantro, or looking for something new with cilantro, try this egg based recipe. You would love cilantro and always fondly remember the flavor it brings to the eggs.

Cilantro on Egg

Cilantro Omelette
(for two adults, for a light meal)

5 eggs of good quality
1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro leaves
1/2 cup, finely chopped red onion or shallots
1 green chilli – finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste

Break eggs into a big cup. I always remove yellows because of their overtly chemical taste and smell. Keep them if you are immune/ accustomed. Add salt and lightly beat. Add cilantro, onion and green chilli. Mix well.

In a cast-iron skillet, heat a tablespoon of oil or ghee over medium-high heat. Add eggs mixture and gently swirl to spread eggs to the edge of skillet. When omelette is lightly brown at the edges, turn opposite side. Cook for couple of minutes to pale red. Serve hot.

For light meal, steam cook vegetables. Cut avocado to slices. Place them on a plate with omelette. Add tomato chutney or salsa for little bit of zing. There you go, a light meal that won’t take long to prepare and helps to keep the energy up.

© Recipe and Photos Copyright 2009 Indira Singari

Cilantro Omelette with Avocado, Steamed Vegetables and Tomato Chutney ~ Meal Today

This is my entry to lovely food blogger Cilantro’s Cilantro Jihva Event.

Strawberry-Pecan Mini Cake

I am fond of eating fruits straight, and I prefer no-cook fruit preparations like Soopa. I do not want to subject them to cooking. However, this easy dessert which takes only about ten minutes to prepare for baking is so delicious and liked by everyone who tasted, that I am more than willing to donate a pint of berries to it. Light and just sugary enough to satisfy that craving tooth, these strawberry mini cakes are good any time of the day. With this sweet sayonara to week long strawberry saga, I wish you all a wonderful weekend.

Strawberry Mini Cakes
(makes 12 mini cakes)

3 cups all-purpose flour
11/2 cups turbinado sugar (or sugar of any kind)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sunflower oil
1/2 cup juice from oranges
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups cut strawberries
2 cups finely chopped pecans

In a large mixing bowl, sift and stir together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

In a small bowl, break and add 2 eggs. (I removed the yellows, my preference. Keep yellows if you like) Also add milk, oil, orange juice and vanilla. Beat the mixture lightly and add this mixture to flour mixture. Before the flour and liquid ingredients are fully combined, fold in the strawberries and pecans, stirring gently.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Apply ghee/butter or oil to mini cake pans. Fill about two thirds full with the batter.

Bake the cakes for about 45 minutes or until tops are golden and when a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Serve the mini cakes at room temperature.
******
© Recipe and Photos Copyright 2009 Indira Singari

Fresh Out of Oven, Strawberry Mini Cakes ~ for the Weekend

An adorable little girl, friends’ daughter, comes to our home during weekdays after school. She stays until her parents pick her up in the evening. This little girl is a foodie in making and loves to try out new things. She seems to enjoy strawberry milk shake I prepare with soy milk. This is how I make it for her.

Strawberries, Bananas and Orange

Strawberry Shake with Soy Milk
(to fill two big or 4 small glasses)

Strawberries – 1 cup
Banana – 1 ripe, medium sized
Sweet orange like mandarin – 1 ripe
Soy milk – 1 glass
Honey – 1 tablespoon, or to taste
Crushed ice – quarter cup

1. Wash, trim, and slice the berries. Peel and slice the banana. Squeeze orange juice.

2. Put strawberries, banana slices and honey in a blender. Puree until smooth and combined. Add orange juice, soy milk and crushed ice. Run the blender again for few seconds until well mixed.

3. Pour the strawberry shake into glasses. Serve.

© Recipe and Photos Copyright 2009 Indira Singari

Strawberry Milk Shake with Soy Milk

Avocado and Sweet Strawberry

To add a touch of spring sweetness to classic salsa, start with fresh avocado. Mix ripe strawberries, a hint of tropics with limejuice and a zing of black pepper. That’s it. A sweet salsa that is quite different from the traditional chopped onion-tomato mixture. This fruity version is great on chapati or on toasted bread.

Strawberry Salsa
(makes about two cups)

1 Avocado – seed removed and pulp mashed to smooth
1 cup strawberries – finely chopped
1 Small lime/lemon – cut to half
1/2 teaspoon – Black pepper, cracked
1/4 teaspoon – Sea salt

In a big cup, take avocado and strawberries. Sprinkle black pepper and salt. Squeeze limejuice. Combine.
Enjoy this sweet salsa with chapati/crusty bread/chips.

© Recipe and Photos Copyright 2009 Indira Singari

Strawberry Salsa ~ for Lunch today

Technorati Profile

What happens when you combine the clean, crisp flavor of farm fresh, sweet strawberries with the tart fruitiness of pomegranate?

I wanted to know and I did some experimentation this weekend. I combined the strawberries with POM, a potent, pure pomegranate juice. To spice up the combination, I added mint, sugar and pepper. After very little processing, the result was refreshing soopa. A little sweet, a little tart and loaded with, I believe, all the antioxidant benefits of both pomegranate and their dark pigmented berry counterparts. Absolutely no cooking, but the soopa tasted awesome. A must try for cold soopa/gazpacho fans.

POM Pomegranate Juice and Sweet Strawberries

Strawberry Soopa
(for two servings)

Strawberries, cut – 1 full cup
Pomegranate juice – 1 cup
Fresh Mint leaves – one tiny sprig, or 5 leaves
Honey (or sugar) – 1 tablespoon
Black pepper – a pinch
Blend them together and refrigerate for about half an hour.
Serve cold for refreshing experience.

Cold and Refreshing Strawberry Soopa

Recipe: My Creation
Thank you POM.
Soopa = Sanskrit for soup like preparation.

Yesterday, it was windy with pollen heavy air. Another typical sneeze inducing spring day in Houston.

We went for strawberry picking at a nearby farm called Froberg’s around 9. It’s a small farm, but seem to attract large crowds. You park car in the front, follow directions to strawberry picking. At the entrance, you will be given a small bucket. “Go and pick. Lift and look under the leaves for the ripe berries. Pound $1.50.” That were the instructions we were given. We picked about 6 pounds. Fresh and good looking, those were too tempting to stop picking.

They have a vegetable and fruit shop in the front. You can buy locally grown vegetables and fruits. There is candy section for children, also a snack bar with pies and roasted peanuts. And for meat lovers, there is a smokehouse with various kinds of meat products. All and all, this is a nice place to spend sometime. Will definitely be going there in the future as they said they would have “pick your own blackberries and jujube” in the coming months.

Froberg’s Farm

A Beautiful Big Live Oak Tree in the Farm

Strawberry Fields

Strawberries ~ From Flower to Fruit

Vegetable and Fruit Shop

Snack Bar with Tempting Fried Pies

Ripe and Juicy Strawberries for Home

For those of you interested to go, here are the address and the directions:

Froberg’s Vegetable & Fruit Farm
11875 County Road 190, Alvin, TX
281-585-3531
Open everyday, from 9 AM to 6 PM.

Take Highway 6 South. Enter Alvin. Take right on County Road 146. At the railroad stop sign, turn left onto County Road 190 (Alvin-Manvel Road). The farm is about two miles to the left.

Are there any other farms like this in Houston and vicinity?

I am glad to see a new word “soopa” reintroduced into our cookery lexicon by Pratibha and Jigyasa through Sukham Ayu cookbook. Like the authors I found it interesting that ayurvedic texts refer to watery broth/soup like preparation as soopa. Research is done rarely in centuries old Indic cookery. We are more used to label our food items in occidental and arabic terms, and blindly repeat the colonial self-aggrandizing stories of our food roots. So, for a change, it is greatly refreshing and empowering to know about soopa. I think this Sanskrit word alone is worth the book price. Original research equals to precious gold, don’t you agree? Welcome back Soopa. Goodbye Soup.

Here is a soopa I made from Sukham Ayu. The base is toor dal and the flavor is from ginger and lemon. It’s a familiar, charming soopa, simple yet sublime. Perfect to usher in “I am not cold but not yet warm” spring season.

Ginger Lemon Soopa
Recipe adapted from Sukham Ayu, page-37
(makes about four cups of soopa)

Toor dal: Pressure-cook half cup of toor dal in two cups of water to soft. With a wood masher or whisk, churn the dal to soft, smooth consistency.

Ginger: Take a 1×1 inch piece of ginger. Peel the skin and grate. Add the grated ginger to mashed toor dal. Also half teaspoon each- red chilli powder and salt, and quarter teaspoon of turmeric. Add half cup of water and simmer for about 10 minutes on medium heat.

Tadka: While the soopa is simmering, do the tadka. In a small pan, heat a tablespoon of ghee. Add and toast 10 curry leaves, cumin, and mustard seeds, in that order. When seeds start to pop, sprinkle a pinch of asafetida. Sauté for couple of seconds and pour this tadka into the simmering soopa. Mix and turn off the heat.

Lemon: Flavor the soopa with about 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Serve hot. Soothing and a strength saver, ginger-lemon soopa is a great warm-up food and recommended during convalescence.

© Recipe and Photos Copyright 2009 Indira Singari

We made Dates Kheer last weekend following a recipe from Sukham Ayu cookbook. The recipe required few ingredients, was very simple to prepare, and tasted divine. The original recipe in the book called for dates and milk. I also added almonds because I love badam taste in milk.

According to Sukham Ayu, the dates have post-digestive effect. They serve as thirst quenchers, body energizers, and also help increase levels of hemoglobin. Their sweet and moist qualities benefit Vata and Pitta. To balance the heaviness of dates for Kapha, use nutmeg and cardamom as in this recipe.

Here is how I made this delicious Ayurvedic dessert with dates, milk and almonds. I hope you try it too.

Diamond of Dates ~ Medjool Dates for Kheer

Dates Kheer
(Recipe adapted from Sukham Ayu. Makes about one and half cups of kheer)

8 medjool dates – pitted and chopped finely
8 almonds – powdered to fine
2 cups milk – Whole, Organic variety
1 tablespoon ghee
1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Place a thick-bottomed vessel on stovetop and heat. Add ghee to melt. Add chopped dates and almond powder to the melted ghee. Fry for about five minutes on low heat.

Add milk. On medium heat, simmer, stirring in between, until the milk-dates-almond mixture thickens and reduces in volume from 2 cups to about one to one and half cups. Takes about ten minutes of cook time. Stir the cardamom and nutmeg powders. Turn off the heat. Serve into bowls in small quantity and enjoy. Tastes good warm or cold.

Note:
Dates I added are extremely sweet so I didn’t have to add sugar to the kheer. Add sugar or jaggery if needed as per your taste.
While the milk heats up you need to keep stirring so that the milk doesn’t stick to the bottom – a stir every two minutes or so is fine.

© Recipe and Photos Copyright 2009 Indira Singari

Dates Kheer ~ for Sri Rama Navami Neivedyam