Geetha's Kitchen

Dal Paratha with pickles and Checca I made these parathas with leftover dal - an inspiration from Hema! Dal parathas are quite easy to prepare, delicious, nutritious, and filling.  I served them with a side of freshly made  Checca  (fresh tomato salad) and pickles - YUM.  Plain yogurt or a raita is another traditional and terrific accompaniment to parathas. Plain cooked dal may be used to make these parathas; when using plain dal, add some seasonings and herbs to your taste. These Parathas are fabulous in a lunch box  as well as a nice snack with a hot cup of tea!  Ingredients: 2 cups Whole Wheat Flour (Atta) 1 pinch of sea salt 1 cup cold  Simple Dal  or Chunky Chana Dal Water if needed About 1or 2 Tbsp Oil for cooking A small handful Fresh Fenugreek or dry (optional) Method: Combine the atta (flour) and salt in a large bowl; stir in the dal and knead in the bowl adding a few drops of water if needed to make a pliable bu...

Lemony Poppy Seed Muffin Lemony Poppy Seed Muffins are the best muffins ever!  These fragrant muffins are easy to make and very satisfying with their tangy taste. This recipe is adapted form Isa Chandra Moskowitz's cookbook Vegan with a Vengeance; I added lemon juice for a more lemony taste that my family adores. I like to make a double batch and freeze the extra muffins. Moskowitz recommends freezing the batter - to freeze the batter, pour into muffin liners placed in muffin pans and freeze until solid; place the frozen muffin batter in re-closable storage bags and keep frozen.  When ready to bake, place the frozen muffin batter back in muffin pans and bake - frozen batter will require about 8-10 minutes extra time. These muffins may be baked using the mini muffin pans as well; for mini muffins, bake at 375*F for about 12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted close to the center of a muffin. Makes 12 large muffins Ingredients: 1 3/4 cups...

Avocado Toast Topped With Green Chile Chutney  With its inimitable and lovely chile flavor, Chile relish is a delicious all purpose seasoning to have on hand; it is wonderful to spice up whatever you are cooking, as a chutney/pickle with meals, Dosa, burgers, bajjis or other snacks, and as a sandwich spread.  I concocted this so that the members of the family who love their food hot can spike their foods to their hearts' content :).  I love to add a little dollop as a side with rice and mild curries.  It is fantastic as a starter spread atop yogurt, ricotta, or cream cheese surrounded by crostini or crackers; a little schmear makes plain old grilled cheese come alive!  Once you start making and enjoying chile relish, I am sure that you will find it indispensable and discover many uses for it. Try both green and red chile relish; each has its own unique flavor - the green chile has that fresh, crisp  taste while the red is a bit sweetly fruity.  ...

Pradhaman (translates as chief or first) is a traditional and delightful Kerala dessert and a small portion is always served to be eaten first at any banquet - a welcome preview of what is to come! There are many types of pradhamans in which the star ingredients may be rice or rice products, dals, or fruits such as jack-fruits or plantains; all are typically made with jaggery and coconut milk and are porridge-like - a bit soupy. This pradhaman is also called "idichu pizhinja payasam" as freshly grated coconut is "pounded and squeezed" to extract the milk.  I have given the option of canned coconut milk to make it easier. Some families flavor the pradhaman simply with dried ginger only and the toasted coconut; others like to add cardamoms and cashews. Try both and decide for yourself. It is important to stir regularly so that the pradhaman does not stick or burn. This is a gluten and dairy free and fat free too if the ghee is omited. If you like, use cocon...

A delicious and simple Pulao - brown rice provides better nutrition; if using brown rice, cook it until done before stirring in the greens and herbs at the end. Depending on the herbs you use, it can be Caribbean, Indian, Mediterranean, Persian, etc. I have given suggestions but you may choose your own favorite herbs. Whichever of the herb combination you choose, a bean dish such as Chole  or  Rajma , a raita and/or chopped salad make wonderful accompaniments. Mushroom Ragout is delightful served over the rice.  For the garnish use your favorite nuts/seeds; I love to use sunflower seeds, pine nuts, almonds, cashews and pistachios, etc. Cooked edamame or green fava beans may be added instead of peas for a delicious change. 6 Servings Ingredients: 1 cup long grain rice 1 tsp Sea Salt 1 large Onion, finely chopped 1 clove fresh Garlic, minced (optional) 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil Herb combination of your choice A large handful of leafy greens (spinach...

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...

          Kozhakattais with  Sweet Potato Chutney I Kozhakattais are steamed rice dumplings - the South Indian equivalents of gnocchi - albeit made with ... you guessed it - rice! It is amazing what one can do with rice :D. These kozhakattais are delicious hot, warm or cold (room temperature cold, not ice cold) anytime at all. I made mini ones to serve as starters with Sweet Potato Chutney - they were very quick to disappear - not a single one remained! Kozhakattais were often prepared as fasting day foods. Some of the fasts were more like food festivals (lol) - fasting meant only that plain cooked rice was not eaten; but delicacies made from it or other grains were. And believe me, nobody felt even a tiny pang of hunger on these fasts! We loved eating the leftover kozhakattais for breakfast especially with the beloved kozhakattai story. I made these kozhakattais with converted rice aka parboiled rice, Uncle Ben's, etc.   Plain raw rice ...