Pepper 'n Spice

Can anything be more bitter than pavakka (the local name for bitter gourd)? :-) It is a vegetable which is long, with a ridged surface and is dark green or light green in color. In Malayali cuisine, it is the main ingredient in the preparation of pavakka thoran, pavakka mezhukuvartti, pavakka theeyal and pavakka kondattam.   The green juice recipe has a tad of ashwagandha , an ancient medicinal herb that helps reduce stress, anxiety and increase energy levels. The contents of the miracle drink... Ash gourd - 250g Bitter gourd - 1 Gooseberry - 4 Water - 6 glasses Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp Salt - a pinch Plant-based collagen powder - a smidgeon Turmeric ginger powder - a tad Spinach powder - a little Ashwagandha powder - a bit Lemon - 1/2     The modus operandi...     Remove skin and seeds of ash gourd. Chop bitter gourd into two halves lengthwise. Using a spoon, scrape out and discard the seeds and insides. Cleave ash gourd and bitter gourd into small cubes. Cut goos...

Quinoa is a plant-based protein with 1 cup containing about 8 grams of protein. Here's a Chinese dish made from quinoa. The abcd's of the dish... Carrot - 2 Green capsicum - 1/2 Yellow capsicum - 1/2 Green peas, frozen - 1/4 cup Nutritional yeast - 1/4 tsp Salt - 1/4 tsp Dark soy sauce - 1/2 Tbsp Quinoa - 1 cup Water - 1 and 1/2 cup Veg soup cube - 1 Lemon - a squeeze The means to achieve the fantabulous platter...   Soak quinoa in water for half an hour. Strain. Add in fresh, clean water, a bit of salt, a squeeze of lemon and soup cube. Pressure cook on low heat for 2 whistles. Set aside. Peel carrot and deseed capsicum. Chop carrot and capsicum into small cubes.            Wash peas and microwave with a splash of water for 2 minutes. Heat a deep-bottomed pan and cast in capsicum, carrot, peas and a splash of water.            Add in salt, yeast flakes and soy sauce. Intermingle and cook for 5 minutes.  Fluff up the...

 Cabbage carrot thoran prepared without oil is an awesome way to combine two nutritious vegetables. Since these veggies can be eaten raw too, they do not need much separate cooking before intermingling with the coconut mixture. Put together the fab dish and make merry :-) The constituents...     Carrot - 1 Cabbage - 200g Coconut, grated - 1/2 cup Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp Shallots - 3 Salt - 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder - a bit Chili powder - a smidgeon Nutritional yeast - 1/4 tsp Water - 1/4 cup     The process... Peel off skin of carrot. Grate carrot and chop cabbage into small pieces.      Grind coconut, shallots, cumin seeds, salt, turmeric powder, chili powder and yeast flakes by blitzing twice; each time for a second. Heat a deep-bottomed pan and throw in the vegetables and water.            Allow the vegetables to cook for 5 minutes. Spread the vegetables and fling in the coconut mishmash into the center. Cover the coco...

Beetroot, oft called beets is the taproot portion of the beetroot plant. In its raw form, it is 88% water and less than 1% fat. Betanin, an extract from beet juice is used as a red food coloring agent.  The basic elements of the thoran are... Beetroot - 3         Drumstick - 1 Coconut, grated - 1/4 cup Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp Shallots - 3 Turmeric powder - a tad Nutritional yeast - 1/4 tsp Chili powder - 1/4 tsp Salt - 1/4 tsp Water - 1/4 cup The modus operandi...   Wash beetroot and drumstick well. Peel away skin of beetroot, wash and grate.          Cut open drumstick, scrape the insides and fling them into a vessel along with some water, turmeric powder and salt. Bring the drumstick seeds to a boil and turn off heat. Peel shallots and chop into small pieces. Grind coconut, shallots, cumin seeds, salt, turmeric powder, yeast flakes and chili powder twice, for a second each time.  Heat a deep-bottomed steel pan and throw in g...

Moringa is a superfood that is native to India. As mentioned here , it has 7 times the Vitamin C of oranges, 10 times Vitamin A of carrots, 17 times the Calcium of milk, 25 times the Iron of spinach and much more. The components... Beans, haricot - 250g Drumstick (moringa) - 2 Coconut, grated - 1/2 cup Shallots - 4 Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp Salt - 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder - a bit Chili powder - 1/4 tsp Water - 1/2 cup     The modus operandi... Wash beans and drumstick. Trim ends of beans and cut into small rings.                  Sprinkle some water and microwave for 5 minutes. Cut open drumstick and using a spoon, scrape its insides. Boil the inside flesh and seeds in little water and a pinch of salt.      Peel shallots and chop roughly. Throw in shallots, coconut, cumin seeds, salt, turmeric powder and chili powder into a small blender jar. Blend twice for a second each. Heat up a deep-bottomed steel pan and cast in coo...

Musambi is sweet lime, which has a mild, lemony tang. Its skin is tough and it needs to be cut open unlike an orange. The rind is green while the inside is pastel yellow in color. It is usually juiced.   The ingredients of the drink... Ash gourd - 250g Raw mango - 1 Musambi - 1 Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp Lemon - 1/2 Salt - a bit Spinach powder - a tad Turmeric ginger powder - a little Plant-based collagen powder - a smidgeon  Ashwagandha powder - a pinch Water - 6 glasses           The procedure to attain the magic potion ...   Deseed ash gourd and remove its outer skin. Peel off skin of mango too. Chop ash gourd and mango into small pieces. Throw in ash gourd, mango, cumin seeds and 2 glasses of water into a blender jar. Blitz. Strain the juice into a glass jug. Squeeze in juice of lemon and musambi.            Cast in salt, spinach powder, collagen powder, turmeric ginger powder, ashwagandha powder and rest of the water....

Baby corn has 0% fat and very less carbohydrates as compared to maize (corn). It is immature corn where the cob is still soft.   The nuts and bolts of the dish...   Baby corn - 250g Green capsicum - 1 Chickpea flour - 3 Tbsp Chili powder - 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds - a tad Salt - 1/2 tsp Pepper - 1/2 tsp Water - 1/2 cup  Olive oil - 3 tsp Onion - 1 Ginger - 1/2" Garlic - 3 cloves Green chili - 2 Nutritional yeast - 1/2 tsp Soya sauce - 2 tsp Red chili sauce - 2 tsp Tomato sauce - 1 tsp Apple cider vinegar - 1 tsp         The process...    Wash baby corn and capsicum. Trim ends of baby corn and deseed capsicum. Chop baby corn into thin round pieces. Add some water and microwave for 5 minutes so that the baby corn softens. Cube capsicum.       In a bowl, mix chickpea flour, chili powder, salt, cumin seeds, pepper and water to form a smooth paste.         Add the baby corn into the bowl and rub the paste into the ...