Couscous with Apples, Cranberries and Almonds

I absolutely love the blend of flavors in this dish-Apples, cranberries and almonds..Can you imagine that? There is a lot of crunchiness to the dish and the apples add the subtle fruity flavor...

Recipe:Giada

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups Israeli couscous
4 cups Veg broth;The original recipe calls for Chicken Stock
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 McIntosh Apple, sliced and cubed (The original recipe calls for a green apple)
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted

Vinaigrette:
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

• Heat the olive oil in a saucepan.
• Add the couscous and cook until it is slightly brown.
• Add the veg broth and simmer until the couscous is cooked/soft but not mushy.
• Toss with parsley, rosemary, cranberries, apple and almonds

For the vinaigrette:

• Combine Apple Cider Vinegar, Maple syrup, Olive Oil , Salt and Pepper
• Pour it over the couscous and mix in the toasted almonds
• To toast the almonds, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the almonds in a single layer and toast them for 8 min.
  

Have fun
Shri

Palak Paneer

Palak Paneer is one of our family favorites.Me and my brother loved that dish especially when it is from Minerva.Yes, the same Minerva that I keep raving about.So here is my take on that dish.

1 bag Fresh Spinach, roughly chopped;I am not very fond of the frozen ones
1/4 tsp ginger garlic paste
2 garlic cloves
5 long green chillies,halved and vertically slit
1 medium Onion chopped
1/2 cup tomato sauce or 2 tomatoes, chopped
Pinch of turmeric
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp cumin coriander powder
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp garam masala
1/4 tsp Kasoori Methi
1 pint cream
1 tbsp butter
1 block of Paneer, cubed (I used Nanak Paneer)

• Heat a tbsp of butter in a pan and fry the paneer pieces until brown
• Remove them from the pan and place them on a paper napkin to drain any excess butter Boil Spinach in water for 8 min.Drain the water
• Grind the Spinach to a puree
• In the same pan, add a tsp of oil and add cumin seeds
• Add onions and let them cook for a bit and add tomatoes or the sauce depending on what you are using, green chillies and turmeric.
• Stir in the cumin coriander powder,Kasoori Methi, curry powder and garam masala
• Add the pureed spinach and simmer for 10 min
• Add the fried paneer
• Drizzle the cream
• Serve it with roti or rice
  

Have fun,
Shri

Baked Ziti

This is one of my daughter's favorites after Spaghetti with tomato sauce. One of our favorite versions is from Olive Garden and after searching for quite some time, I have found this mouthwatering dish on Martha Stewart's website.I have adapted it based on some other recipes through out the internet.

8 oz Ziti pasta
3 cups of Tomato Sauce
1 cup Ricotta Cheese1/4 cup Italian Blend (I used Sargento)
1 egg lightly beaten

Ziti topping

1/2 cup Italian Bread Crumbs
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup Italian Blend cheese

Preheat the oven to 450F
Cook the pasta according to the package instructions until Al Dente
Combine the Tomato sauce, cheeses and egg together well
Spread the tomato sauce and cheese mixture on the bottom of the baking dish
Then layer the cooked ziti pasta and spread the remaining the tomato cheese mixture
Now, combine the ziti topping ingredients and put the topping mixture evenly on top
Bake it for about 20 min, until the cheese begins to bubble up
Serve hot!



Hugs,
Shri

Aviyal

I have eaten Aviyal a lot of times but my aunt's version just made me a big fan of this highly flavorful and popular curry from Kerala. You could serve it with rice but I like it to eat with puris.
This recipe is the exact version from my aunt.She got it from her friend and I am not so sure of the exact source but try it and you wont be disappointed.

Ingredients-
Sour Cards - 2 cups
Raw Banana - 2
White Pumpkin: 1 piece
Carrots - 2
Arabhi (Colacasia) - 6 - 7 pieces
Drumstick - 4
Beans (Medium) - 100 grams
Potato (Medium) - 3
Cluster Beans (Chikudukai) - 100 grams
Yam (Kanda) - 100 grams
Oil - 2 tbsps

Grind to paste:
Coconut - 1 or 1 cup grated
Green Chillies - 6 - 8
Cumin Seeds(Jeera) - 2 tsp

Cut vegetables into long strips.
Pressure cook with little water adding salt and turmeric.
Make coarse paste with coconut, green chillies and cumin seeds.
Mix with curds and add curd mixture to the cooked vegetables.
Boil for five minutes.
Add hot oil (preferably coconut oil) with curry leaves and serve.



Lots of love,
Shri

Simple Okra curry with Peanuts

Love the idea of adding peanuts to Bhindi and cashews or peanuts to Tindora.

1 frozen bag of Okra, thawed
1/2 cup of peanuts
1 tbsp of oil
1 tsp Urad Dal
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 red chilly broken into pieces
5-6 curry leaves
1 tsp cumin coriander powder
1tsp Pepper powder

• Heat a tbsp of oil.
• Add Urad Dal, Cumin Seeds, Mustard Seeds.Fry them for a min
• Add curry leaves and red chillies
• Add Peanuts and roast them for about 3-4 min
• Stir in the Cumin Coriander Powder
• Add the thawed okra and cook over medium for about 8 min until all the moisture has evaporated and the curry looks more or less dry.
• Serve hot with rice
  

Have fun
Shri