Pepper 'n Spice

Mung beans or cherupayar has a high protein content.  Cherupayar (green lentils) - 1 cup, soaked overnight Millet - 1 and 1/2 cup Onion - 2 small, thinly sliced Dates - 6, pitted and chopped Olive oil - 5 tsp Salt Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tsp Lemon - 1/2 Water Clean millet well in a few changes of water. Put millet in a pressure cooker with 2 cups of water, salt, juice of lemon and a drop of oil. Cook until water evaporates. Pressure cook lentils with little water, salt, ginger garlic and turmeric powder. In a saucepan, add oil. Saute onions until soft. Keep aside. In the saucepan, add oil. Add dates. Stir for one to two minutes on slow cook. Add to the onions. In a serving bowl, mix millet, lentils, onion and dates. Recipe courtesy - Ashok uncle

This is a nice spicy chutney with dosa and idli. I also spread it on my sourdough focaccia and crumpets.     Ingredients are : Coriander leaves - a bunch Mint leaves -a bunch Green chili - 1 Ginger - 1/2 inch Salt Lemon - 1/2 Water - a splash The method : Pick and clean the leaves.          Mince chili and ginger. Add salt.            Blend  to a paste. Sprinkle water if too lumpy. Blend again. Stir. Add juice of half a lemon. Stir. Serve alongside rice and relish.       Recipe courtesy - Divya Dvivedi and Mom

Foccacia is an Italian flat bread. At one time, I was baking this almost every day just so that my daughter could try out her focaccia art designs.   Sourdough (ripe) - 170g Water, lukewarm - 170g All-purpose flour - 360g Olive oil - 37g + extra for pan and for top of focaccia Salt - 1/2 Tbsp Dried oregano Dried rosemary Olives Pink rock salt Method : In a large bowl, mix starter and water. Add flour, salt and oil. Mix. Knead by hand for 12 to 15 minutes (by folding it like a letter, then moving it clockwise, folding again), until dough is smooth. Coat the dough with oil. Place in a bowl. Cover with kitchen towel. Let it rise for an hour. Gently fold dough over 4 or 5 times (by folding it like a letter, then moving it clockwise, folding again). Let it rise for 1 hour. In the baking pan, place a baking sheet. Rub oil on it. Place dough in it and turn it over to coat with oil. Gently stretch the edges of the dough so that it reaches the corners. Cover with towel. L

I baked this cake for mom's birthday. Ingredients : Olive oil - 250g Organic jaggery - 250g Sourdough - 207g Organic eggs - 3 Fresh pineapple, crushed - 245g Carrot, grated - 198g Chopped walnuts - 57g Coconut, shredded - 57g Vanilla extract - 2 tsp All-purpose flour - 298g Cinnamon, powdered - 2 tsp Salt - 1/2 tsp Recipe courtesy - KAF ( https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/sourdough-carrot-cake-with-cream-cheese-frosting-recipe ) with personal changes.

Dark chocolate - 38g Butter - 50g, unsalted Olive oil - 60g Organic eggs - 2 + 1 egg white Salt - 1 and 1/2 tsp Organic jaggery - 198g Vanilla essence - 1 tsp Water - 2 Tbsp Unsweetened cocoa powder - 50g Sourdough - 120g My brownie was done in 20 minutes. I let it cool for 30 minutes, and then it went into the fridge. Quite gooey! Recipe credits -  https://topwithcinnamon.com/sourdough-brownies/  I made some mild changes - replacing all sugars with jaggery and reducing its quantity. And reducing the amount of dark chocolate.

Ingredients : Lukewarm water - 142g Sourdough - 225g All-purpose flour - 269g + additional for dusting Salt - 1 and 1/4 tsp Olive oil Method : In a large bowl, combine starter, 180g flour and water, mixing until uniformly combined. Add salt. Stir. Add the rest 90g of flour. Stir until dough pulls away from the sides. Add just enough additional dough so that you get a sticky and loose dough. Grease a work surface. Knead for 8 mins. Cover dough with oil. Place in a bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel. It will double in 1 and 1/2 hours. Deflate by gently punching it down. Divide into 5 parts with a pizza cutter. Dip your hands in oil and work on the dough as it will be quite sticky. Shape into thin baguettes and place on a baking sheet. Brush an aluminium foil with oil and cover the baguettes with the greased side. Set aside to rise for 2 hours. Preheat oven to 220C. Bake for 25 minutes. Switch off oven. Let it remain inside for 15 minutes. Turn onto rack to cool. Reci

The cakes were a hit among my hubby's colleagues. As only about 15 to 20 people turn up at his office with the majority working from home during this corona times, I send along some cupcakes. Hope you like them too :-) So you need : Water - 1/2 cup (113g) Chopped and pitted dates - 1 and 1/2 cup (259g) Organic jaggery- 75g Unsalted butter, at room temperature - 57g Vanilla essence - 1 tsp Olive oil - 56g Chopped almonds - 1/2 cup (57g) Salt - 1/2 tsp Organic eggs - 2 Sourdough - 225g All-purpose flour - 1 and 1/4 cup (149g) In a saucepan, combine water, dates, jaggery, butter and vanilla. Cook over medium heat and bring to boil, stirring continuously. Transfer to a glass bowl. Stir in oil, almonds and salt. Add eggs. Mix well. Stir in starter and flour until combined thoroughly. Scoop batter into cupcake moulds upto half-full. Preheat oven to 200C. Mini cupcakes will take about 8 minutes, while the bigger ones will take 15 to 17 minutes to bake. Transfer from

Pretzels, the knotted baked dough has its origins in Italy and Germany. Pretzel history says that these were simple to make during the Christian lent period when people abstained from meat and eggs.  Ingredients for the pretzels are : For the dough : Sourdough - 212g All purpose flour - 3 cups (361g) Salt - 1 and 1/2 tsp Sugar - 1 Tbsp Olive oil - 1 Tbsp + additional for brushing Milk - 112g For the topping : Water - 2 Tbsp Sugar - 1 Tbsp Salt or Powdered cinnamon and sugar Mix together all the ingredients for the dough with a spatula. Knead with hand to make a cohesive dough (not too sticky). Place dough in a large bowl and cover bowl with a kitchen towel. Set aside for 2 hours (it will not rise much). Place dough on a work surface and gently deflate by folding a few times (like a business letter). With a pizza cutter, divide dough evenly into 22 parts. Cover them with a kitchen towel. Take each part and roll it into thin threads. Make pretzel shapes (or any o

 Crackers are savory salty biscuits as opposed to cookies which are sweet. They usually have a sprinkling of dry herbs like rosemary or oregano. It can be eaten as such or with a topping of cheese, jam or peanut butter. The popular Indian brand of crackers is Krackjack. The crackers made by this recipe use wheat flour and not much oil. I tried preparing the crackers with 2 tablespoons of oil instead of the recommended 4 tablespoons and it still turned out crunchy and crispy. The only extra time other than the kneading and baking is 2 hours of refrigeration. This is required for the dough to set. Go ahead and give this uncomplicated recipe a try :-)           The elements... Sourdough - 1 cup (227g) Wheat flour - 1 cup (113g) + 1 Tbsp additional for dusting. Salt - 1/2 tsp + additional for sprinkling on top Olive oil - 4 Tbsp (57g) + 1 Tbsp for brushing Oregano - 2 Tbsp (you can use any dried herbs) Ground pepper - 2 tsp   Things required... Glass bowl Rolling pin Baking sheet - 3

One of the all-time family favorite quick bread is pumkin bread. My daughter who dislikes pumpkin in any of the vegetable dishes says the bread is yumm! Its super moist like a cake. Its super healthy too; almost half a medium-sized pumpkin goes into it. It has a rich spice flavour, as I add cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger and cardamom; the whole shebang of spices.  This bread is made from sourdough; dough fermented by wild yeast and lactobacilli. Its called a quick bread because chemical leavening agents (baking powder and baking soda - just a 1/2 tsp) are also added for its rise and it does not need to be kept aside for hours before baking. Wet ingredients : Sourdough - 170g Pumpkin puree - 227g (diced pumpkin, steamed, then pureed) Olive oil - 67g Organic eggs - 2 Vanilla essence - 1 tsp Dry ingredients : All purpose flour - 241g Salt - 3/4 tsp Organic jaggery - 99g Powdered cinnamon - 1/2 tsp Cloves - 3 Powdered ginger - 1/2 tsp Nutmeg - 1/2 tsp Baking powder - 1/2 tsp

Appam is a common main dish for breakfast in Kerala. They are like pancakes, but made from fermented rice batter. We make these thick appams on a flat tawa. The lacy appams are made in appachati, a small deep bottomed pan. Raw rice - 1 cup Grated coconut - 1 cup Beaten rice (aval) - 1/2 cup Dried yeast - a pinch Sugar - 1 Tbsp Salt (according to taste) Oil Soak rice for 5 hours. Then grind rice. Add aval, coconut together with the rice. Grind to form the batter. Keep overnight to ferment. In the morning, add salt. Heat pan on stove. Apply oil on it. When pan becomes hot, pour batter and cover it. After a few minutes, flip. Cook for a few more minutes. Recipe from Mom

Chakka chips are one of my daughter's favourite snack items. Today, she is munching on these homemade crispies reading Geronimo Stilton.  Jackfruit trees are very common in the interior parts of Kerala, like in Mallapally where dad and mom are from. The fruit is huge and oblong in shape, greenish yellow with a bumpy surface. When it is cut open, the bulbs are a deep yellow color. The ripe bulbs can be eaten fresh after deseeding. The seeds can be added in curries and mezhukupurattis.  Ingredients for the chips are : Chakka chola (cleaned and extracted raw jackfruit peels) - 250 gms, cut to any shape you want Ricebran oil - 250 gms How to cook : Keep a large frying pan on the stove. Pour oil in. Heat oil. Drop jackfruit peels into it. If the oil is hot enough, there will be an audible hissing sound. Using a flat ladle, keep moving the peels until they are yellowish brown in color. Then the peels can be taken out. Ready to eat when cooled. (You may sprinkle salt on the fri

Anchovies are small silvery fish, similar to sardines. Once cooked, their bones become soft and can be eaten. It is a protein bomb; 100 g of the fish contains 29 g of protein.Fresh and dried anchovies known as netholi is popular in Kerala. Ingredients are : Anchovies, frozen - 500g Olive oil - 1 tsp Onion - 1, peeled and diced Garlic - 3 pods, peeled and sliced Salt Pepper Red chili flakes Turmeric powder - a pinch Oregano - 1 Tbsp All purpose flour - 1 Tbsp Peas, frozen - 1 cup, thawed Potato - 3, medium Water - 1 cup Yogurt - 3 Tbsp Nutmeg - 1/4 tsp To make : Clean fish in salt and turmeric water. Remove bone. Wash well. Keep aside. Pressure cook potatoes with water, until cooked. Once it cools down, peel. Mash with the back of a fork. In a bowl, mix yogurt, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Add to mashed potatoes. Mix well. In a saucepan, on medium flame, add oil. Add onion and garlic. Stir until soft. Add salt, pepper, red chili flakes, turmeric powder. Stir. Add fish.

Shepherd's pie is an English dish made with minced lamb and mashed potato. I cooked a variation with diced chicken and mashed sweet potato. The spice, nutmeg combines really well with mashed potato and mashed sweet potato. Baked diced chicken - 1 cup Olive oil - 1 tsp Onion - 1 big, peeled and diced Garlic - 3 cloves, peeled and diced All purpose flour - 1 Tbsp Coriander leaves - a sprig Sweet potato - 1 medium, peeled Water - 1/2 cup Salt - 1 tsp Yogurt - 3 Tbsp Nutmeg - 1 tsp Black pepper - 2 tsp In a saucepan, add oil. Add garlic and onion. Saute till soft, 5 mins. Add chicken. Stir. Add flour. Stir to combine evenly. Dice sweet potato. In a pressure cooker, add sweet potato, water and 1 tsp salt. Pressure cook until soft. Wait to cool. Drain any water. Mash sweet potato with a fork. In a bowl, mix yogurt, pepper and nutmeg. Mix with sweet potato. In a baking dish, add the chicken. Sprinkle coriander leaves. Top evenly with sweet potato. Preheat oven to 1

Bottle gourd is also known as calabash or long melon. It looks like a big cucumber. Around 92% of the vegetable contains water. Juices made from bottle gourd both hydrates and cools the body. In India, it is called lauki or doodhi. When it matures and dries, it can be used as an utensil or musical instrument.  Ingredients for the omelette are : Bottle gourd - 1, peeled and deseeded Organic egg - 1 Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tsp Salt - to taste Pepper Red chili flakes Turmeric powder - a pinch Chickpea flour (besan) - 1/2 cup In a bowl, break egg. Whisk. Add spices. Whisk to combine. Add flour. Stir to form a thick paste. Shred bottle gourd by grating it. Add to the flour mixture. Mix well. Preheat oven to 180C. In a baking tray, place small amounts of the dough. Bake for 20 minutes.

Organic egg - 1 Chicken breasts - 1/4 cup, diced Salt Pepper Turmeric powder - a pinch Red chili flakes Olive oil - 1 tsp Mint leaves - 3 or 4 Preheat oven to 200C. Place chicken in a baking dish. Add spices and 1/2 tsp oil. Toss so that the spices evenly coat the chicken. Bake for 20 minutes or until cooked. In a saucepan, add 1/2 tsp oil and break an egg. Sprinkle baked chicken and mint leaves on top. Cook on low flame. After a few minutes, turn the egg, so that both sides are cooked.

Brown rice - 1 cup Water - 2 cups Olive oil Salt Pepper Red chili flakes Turmeric powder Pumpkin - 1/4, peeled and deseeded French beans - 15 or 16, ends trimmed Frozen peas - 1 and 1/2 cup, thawed Chicken breast - 1/2 cup, shredded Coriander leaves - a few Wash rice thoroughly in two or three changes of water. In a pressure cooker, add rice and water. Add 1/2 tsp salt and a drop of oil. Cover. Cook until soft and the water has evaporated. Keep aside. Clean vegetables. Dice pumpkin. Slice french beans into 1 inch pieces. Place pumpkin and french beans in a baking tray. Drizzle 1 tsp oil. Add a pinch of turmeric powder, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp red chili flakes and 1 tsp salt. Toss so that the vegetables are evenly coated with oil and spices. Preheat oven to 200C. Roast vegetables for 30 minutes. Every ten minutes, take tray out of oven and toss the vegetables. After 25 minutes, add peas in the tray along with the other vegetables. Add 1 tsp oil. Toss. Place back in ov

Jackfruit is a superfood and a healthy carbohydate. My daughter and mom are jackfruit fans. This is one of mom's favorite dishes and reminds her of her hometown. Raw jackfruit, pitted - 1/2 kg Water - 1 and 1/2 cup Salt For masala, Coconut - 1/2, grated Curry leaf - 1 or 2 Green chili - 4 or 5 Small onion - 2, peeled and diced Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Clean jackfruit and cut into small pieces. Grind masala to a rough paste. Keep pressure cooker on stove with water. Add salt. Bring to boil. Add jackfruit. Close lid and cook for 1 whistle. Wait for a few minutes and remove lid. Put masala in the middle. Close lid without the weight. Cook, 1 minute. Stir well to combine. Serve with coconut chutney. Recipe courtesy : Mom

This is a gooey cookie recipe. My daughter was so excited that she was actively involved in baking the cookie and taking pictures.  Butter - 1/2 cup Granulated sugar - 1/4 cup Honey - 1/4 cup Organic egg - 1 Vanilla essence - 1 tsp Quaker oats - 1 and 1/4 cup Wheat flour - 1 cup Salt - 1/4 tsp Cinnamon powder - 1 tsp Baking soda - 1/2 tsp Dark chocolate chips - 1 Tbsp In a bowl, add butter and sugar. Beat until evenly combined. Blend in honey. Blend in egg and essence. In another bowl, blend the dry ingredients - oats, wheat flour, salt, cinnamon powder and baking soda. Stir in honey mixture into the flour mix. Combine with a spatula. Add chocolate chips. Stir. Preheat oven to 180C. In a baking tray, spoon in the batter into small round shapes. Bake for 14 minutes or until golden brown. Take out from oven and allow to cool. Recipe courtesy :  https://www.honey.com/recipe/chewy-honey-oatmeal-cookies  and inspired by Annie Joseph

Want a warm soup on a rainy day? Enjoy with one of your favorite books. Green zucchini - 2, peeled and diced Carrot - 1, peeled and diced Olive oil - 2 tsp Salt Pepper Celery - 1 stalk with leaves, diced Water - 1 cup Mint leaves - a few Preheat oven to 200C. Place zucchini and carrot on a baking dish. Drizzle oil. Sprinkle salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes. Every 10 minutes, toss the vegetables with a shake of the dish. Keep aside to cool. Add celery. Puree. Transfer to a saucepan. Add water. Add spices, if required. Simmer, 5 minutes. Garnish with mint leaves.

    Walnuts - 1/2 cup Almonds - 2 cups Pitted dates - 25 Salt - 1/2 tsp Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp Cocoa powder - 1 and 1/2 Tbsp Water - 1 tsp Grated coconut - 1/2 cup Slice almonds and walnuts into small chunks. Blend to a powder. Tear dates into small pieces. Mix well with blended powder. Add salt, essence, cocoa powder, water. Stir so it becomes dough like. Place a baking sheet on a pan. Press the dough down. Sprinkle coconut and press down. Freeze for 1 hour. Recipe credits https://isha.sadhguru.org/in/en/blog/article/no-bake-brownie

Red cowpeas - 2 cups, soaked overnight Carrot - 2, diced Olive oil - 2 tsp Onion - 1, peeled and diced Garlic - 5 pods, peeled and crushed Celery - 1 stalk with leaves, diced Salt Pepper Red chili flakes - 2 tsp Water - 1 cup Mint leaves - a few Pressure cook beans and carrot with some water until cooked and soft. Allow to cool. In a saucepan, add oil. Add garlic and onion. Cook until soft. Add celery. Stir. Set aside to cool. Add both beans and onion mix in blender. Puree. Bring back to pan. Add water, spices. Simmer, 5 minutes. Garnish with mint leaves.

Ash gourd or winter melon juice is a cooling juice. It cools your body and so its good to have in the summer season. Sadhguru, the Indian yogi who established the Isha Foundation, says drinking a glass of the juice is energizing in a positive way. I am trying to incorporate this juice in our breakfast. When I went to the shop, I found that this and bottle gourd are some of the cheapest vegetables; only Rs 25 per kg! Ash gourd - 1/2, peeled and deseeded Mint leaves - a few Lemon - 1/2 Ginger - 1/2 inch, peeled Salt Pepper Water Cut ash gourd into thin pieces. Add mint leaves. Blend. Squeeze juice of lemon. Grate ginger. Squeeze juice of ginger. Add salt and pepper. Recipe courtesy :  https://isha.sadhguru.org/in/en/blog/article/ash-gourd-winter-melon-cool-vegetable-benefits-recipes

Pumpkin - 1/4, peeled and deseeded Ginger - 1/2 inch Celery - 2 stems with leaves, sliced small Salt Pepper Olive oil - 2 tsp Water - 1 cup Cube pumpkin. Preheat oven to 200C. Place pumpkin in a baking tray. Drizzle 1 tsp of oil. Sprinkle salt and pepper too. Bake for 30 minutes. Every 10 minutes, toss the pumpkin in the tray. Keep aside to cool. In a saucepan, add 1 tsp oil. Add thinly sliced ginger. Stir, 5 minutes. In a blender, add roasted pumpkin, ginger, celery. Puree. Transfer to saucepan. Add water. Stir. Add spices if needed. Simmer, 5 minutes.

Ash gourd is a longish light green vegetable. Its inside is white, with white seeds. Seeds are big and the vegetable can be deseeded easily. Ash gourd has a lot of positive energy. Its very low in calories and it moves through our body almost like water. So its good to incorporate ash gourd into your diet. Ash gourd - 2 small, peeled and deseeded Garlic -  3 pods, thinly sliced Ginger - 1/2 inch, thinly sliced Salt Pepper Mint leaves - a handful Water - 2 cups Olive oil - 1 tsp Cube the ash gourd. Microwave it with some water for 10 minutes. Keep aside to cool. Puree. Peel ginger and garlic. Slice into small pieces. In a saucepan, sprinkle oil. Add garlic and ginger. Stir, 5 minutes. Add puree and water. Add spices. Simmer, 5 minutes Garnish with mint leaves.

Obbattu is a sweet dish from Karnataka. Mom and dad stayed a couple of years in Bangalore. That's when Mom picked up this recipe from her friends. It requires a little tedious preparation, but the end result is worth it. Also, you can store the flour-jaggery mix in the refrigerator for a few days. Ingredients are : Toor dal - 2 cups Bengal gram dal - 1 cup Coconut - 1 medium size Organic jaggery - 100 gms Cardamom - 5 pods Vegetable oil or ghee - 1/4 cup All purpose flour - 3 cups Turmeric powder - a pinch Method : Cook toor dal and bengal gram dal separately. Grate coconut and grind into a paste. Smooth both dals together into a paste. Powder jaggery and add little water. Keep on stove. When it melts, take away from flame. Allow to cool. Pass it through a sieve to remove hard pieces. Place a heavy bottomed pan on stove. Add the pastes and mix together. Keep stirring as it heats. When the water evaporates and the mixture reduces into a smooth past