Geetha's Kitchen

Cauliflower Tabbouleh  Cauliflower Tabbouleh is a refreshing salad for the warm sunny days of summer with the abundance of fresh veggies. This colorful and healthy salad is a makeover of the traditional Tabbouleh  from the Mediterranean region. Using riced cauliflower (cauliflower florets that have been finely chopped) instead of the usual grains makes it gluten free!  Although the regular white cauliflower is fine, have fun using the the show-stopping rainbow-hued cauliflowers as well as other veggies available at your local farmers markets or favorite grocers. I love to use the multi-colored sweet mini peppers and radishes in this salad. If there is any leftover salad, I add it to Adai batter to make Vegetable Adais  (veggie panckes) or Salsa Pulav towards the end of cooking. Waste not ..... :D NOTES: A good knife or the food processor makes short work of chopping all the veggies; pulse them if using a food processor so you don't end up with ...

Potato Chat With Radish Salad & Green Chutney Roasted potato starters are a treat for the eyes as well as the palate! And Very Yummy without extraneous calories to make one feel guilty to boot.  These are so good, I make a meal of them just like baked potatoes! Make the salads and the roasted potatoes a day ahead; then heat the potatoes to serve when you are ready.  Also, if it is too much to make all three of the salads, make the one you like.  Roasted potato chat is an adaptation of Sheelu's recipe. Simply superb! Some radishes (both daikon and regular) tend to be a bit spicy; the lemon, salt and spices tone it down. Sometimes I like to add either fresh turnips or Jicama to the radishes to tone it down for those who prefer a milder salad. Sheelu added a little chat masala to the mooli (radish) salad also.  Any leftover salad may be served with other meals. Chat Masala is a mixture of spices and salts used to sprinkle on fruit and veggie salads; it...

Polenta is really plain cornmeal upma without the seasonings! The coarsely ground cornmeal is traditionally cooked on stove-top similar to the Indian Upma. Until corn was brought from the New World, Italians did not have cornmeal and used wheat, farro, chestnuts, etc instead. After the European exploration of the Americas, corn as well as potatoes and tomatoes have become integral parts of not only Italian cuisine but others word-wide. Baked polenta does away with all the relentless stirring of the traditional method as well as the burnt food if you are not diligent. You will want to make it a part of your repertoire of dishes to enjoy often once you try it. Enjoy creamy soft polenta with savory toppings or cool, cut and savor grilled, baked or broiled. Directions for both the soft type and the slices are given below. Polenta is coarse cornmeal; although polenta is preferable, regular cornmeal (ground finer) may be used for making polenta. Polenta made with regular cornmea...

One taste and you are hooked! These nutritious and easy to make pancakes are great for breakfast, lunch, or a quick snack; in fact just about any time at all! These are thicker than Dosas and make a substantial meal. Adai batter lends itself to making an amazing variety of good eats. I make extra batter to keep in the fridge to make a quick meal in one of its many incarnations - vegetable adais , kunukku , etc.! My photographer is busy at the moment; so pictures will be forthcoming soon:)! Enjoy the adais! Ingredients: 1 cup white rice (any type) 1 cup brown rice (any type) 1/4 cup Urad dal 1/4 cup Chana dal 1/4 cup Toor dal 2 dry Red Chilies 2 thin round slices fresh Ginger (Opt) 2 sprigs fresh Curry Leaves 1 big pinch Asafoetida (Hing) 2 tsp Salt Oil for cooking the Adais Condiments for serving Method: Wash and soak the rices in one container with plenty of water. One can also use just one type of rice; I like to incorporate whole gra...