Going green...

....NO! not with envy!:)
But, with broccoli for an Event. These pictures were mainly inspired by this event started by the wonderful Sunshinemom at her blog Tongueticklers . Unfortunately I didn't manage to post them in time.
But, then I don't want it going waste. Delicious as it was.
It is a very simple recipe, but my favorite way of eating broccoli: when it is still crunchy, stirfried with lots of freshly ground coriander seeds and rape seed oil.

Ingredients:

1 broccoli , washed and cut into small florets
1 large red onion, sliced into thick pieces
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 inch ginger, peeled and julliened finely
2 small tomatoes, sliced into wedges (I used two from my kitchen garden)
2 tbsp rape seeds oil
1 pinch asafoetida (hing)
2 tbsp corinader seeds, ground
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp chilli powder, or to taste (I used a little lesser for my sonny boy!)
salt to taste

Method:

• heat oil on medium heat in a wok or saute pan, add all the spices, stir once - the spices will throw out bubbles and cumin should splutter and add turmeric, garlic and ginger, stir once again shortly and add onion and keep stirring
  
• soon after the onion starts to turn golden brown add the broccoli and stir again.
• reduce heat, add a few tbsp water and salt and cover for about five minutes
• remove lid and stir, if required one more tbsp of water let cook uncovered stirring in between for another few minutes
• add tomatoes about a couple of minutes before the broccoli is done and has turned soft.
• eat it with some basmati rice, or some daal (lentils) of your liking

NOTE:

• cook broccoli to your desired crunchiness or softness. It can also be blanched before stir frying - thast helps it to turn softer from inside as well than stir frying. The crunchier, the healthier, and the rest depends on your liking.
• before adding the spices in the first step, make sure the oil has turned hot. To test this, add one or two cumin seeds into it, they should immediately turn whitish because of throwing out steam bubbles in the oil and maybe make some noise too, if that is the case don't wait and have everything ready to add the spices to prevent the oil from getting too hot and preventing the spices to burn.
• keep the vegetables ready before adding the spices to the oil. add them as soon as the spices have been stirred once and have spluttred (if that is the case, depending upon the vegetables), to prevent the spices from burning.
  

Although the broccoli turned out to be crunchier than expected (for hubby, for e.g., :I) Rishab enjoyed them, just like me. I find it hard to get the broccoli right and I try to keep it crunchier than making it too mushy, as that is something which none of us like. So, if you like it, keep it uncovered throughout, to prevent it from loosing its fresh green colour, which happens really fast.
But, on the whole it was just wonderful and we had it with arhar (toor) daal, my favorite daal and steaming hot basmati rice for dinner.

cauliflower broccoli soup

I was looking for a good recipe with cauliflower, something simple but still to fill up the stomach and satiate the soul too. And I was also in the mood of trying a soup. But, didn't really know what. I had already bought some nice hazelnut bread rolls too. So, I googled with Food Blog Search and came upon this recipe from her blog. I think most of you know her. I had seen the name of her blog listed at quite many places (blogs), but never had a chance to really go through it. But this time I did it and found a number of wonderful recipes. Yes, I'm talking about 101 Cookbooks !
And this recipe really caught my fascination, and I knew that this would be our meal that evening. I followed the recipe as truly possible. Since I had bought one small cauliflower and one small broccoli , both being organic, I also added broccoli to the recipe and instead of using Gorgonzola - for two reasons - I didn't have any and secondly it would have made the flavour for us, at least for my sonny boy, too strong, I opted for some alpine cheese and some Grana padano instead, which she had also talked about in her post - of substituting the cheese. And I used lactose free sour cream (10% fat) instead of creme fraiche. And I also added a chopped potato and a piece of ginger to the soup.For the garnishing, parsley had been suggested, which I think is a wonderful combination.
But, I wasn't keen on cutting the parsley in my pot on the terrace yet, which wasn't as optimal in its size - it was still growing. So, I thought of giving the recipe another PG-twist! I made a totally different garnishing - with an Indian touch. I cut up one large potato into fine cubes and fried it in olive oil along with cumin seeds and finely cut onion rings. For hubby and myself, I also fried a couple of whole red chillies in the oil at the end. And served it with the flavourful hazelnut bread rolls, which is a speciality of a bakery nearby.
Now i have made broccoli and cauliflower soups and usually don't even look for recipes for that. But this time it just so happened. And it was very good change to our regular meals, as I am not so much into soups generally, but every now and then I do feel like it. And this was a new recipe for me. Rishab, like always ate up all the bread and had to be practically blackmailed to eat his soup. NO soup - NO "Princessin" (author Tony Ross), a 10 minutes programme he is allowed to watch along with the 10 minutes "Sandmännchen" which follows it where Sandmännchen carrys a bag of "sleep-sand" and at the end of the cartoon he throws out a handful to make the children sleepy (at least in the cartoon!).
Usually he does try the food and a lot of times he realises that it wasn't bad at all, and he ate a little bit of the soup in fact, which means it has to be a good one.
The meal made a wonderful combination in my opinion and I can recommend it further to all, especially who are on the look out for simple and quick but tasty meals.

Tortelloni Sauté

I had once made tortelloni with white asperagus and a white sauce made from the water from asparagus, which was apprecitaed by Chonu, my hubby, a lot (If you have been reading my emails regularly, you can imagine in what ecstacy I was to have a hubby who actually appreciates my food! :P).
The most important ingredient in that case was the asparagus, which I cooked with the skin and which gave the good flavour. I had prepared that dish from what I could find in the fridge and combine together. And it was a good experiece, as until now I had only prepared asparagus the classical way: pure, with hollandaise sauce and warm clarified butter along with boiled potatoes, which is surely very enjoyable.

Now, I only know of recipes where you eat tortellini either cooked in a clear broth or with some white sauce like bechamel. We were in no mood for either of the things, I had to think up of something different. I did have this picture in my mind of how it was supposed to look at the end, but not so clearly to know exactly what I wanted in the ingredients, and that at the end I will actually get the result I wanted. So, I was quite happy at the end, as this is not always the case, when I just work with a picture or flavour in my mind.
All of us enjoyed this evening meal a lot. The alpine cheese has a very picant and a special flavour, which I think is not appreciated by every one as much. But, it suited perfectly to this one in our opinion.
So, here it goes, the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 packet (400 g) fresh spinach-ricotta Tortlloni from the chiller cabinet
1/2 or 1 small Broccoli, cut into small florets
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 large garlic, crushed or chopped finely
1" piece of ginger (2-3 cm), grated or chopped finely
1 tbsp sesame seeds with skin
2-3 dried tomatoes, chopped
4 sprigs thyme leaves, chopped
crimini mushrooms, quartered or halved into chunks, depending on size
1 tsp capers in brine
2 tbsp green pitted olives in oil
1 medium Tomato, diced
1 tbsp fresh oregano leaves, chopped
80-100 g thick slice of Alpine cheese (Bergkäse), grated
(optionally parmesan or any other hard cheese)

Method:

• Boil 2 1/2 liters water with 1/2 tsp salt in a pot and add the tortellini and cook till "al dente".
• When the tortellini is about half done, add broccoli as well and cook till these are still green and firm.
  
• In a sauté pan fry the onions, garlic and sesame seeds in little olive oil on high heat and add ginger and dried tomatoes. Fry for a minute on medium heat while stirring.
  
• Add the mushrooms, add a little more oil if required, and fry further on high heat.
  
• Add the chopped thyme leaves. Keep stirring in between.
• Reduce heat. Add capers and the cooked broccoli and tortellini. Stir carefully on medium heat.
• Add olives and chopped tomatoes to it, stir and switch off the heat after about a minute.
• Add the grated cheese and chopped oregano.
• Garnish with a small sprig of oregano while serving on the plate.
  

Tip: the choice of cheese surely decides the final taste of this dish, as I have used a large amount of it here.

Broccoli and Maccheroni with Bechamel

Today I tried out something, which I always find hard to do. Which is preparing a good white sauce. It is also commonly called Bechamel. There are of course many different versions of it with different names.
Earlier when I made it, it sometimes turned out excellent, and still so often something or the other would go wrong. Whereby it is apparently one of the easiest of sauces to make. Maybe because I do not make it so often. In fact, I avoid making it, partly because it has been a matter of luck for me, if it turns out good or not, and partly because my hubby is rather more fond of tomato sauce to any kind of pasta.
But today I was in the mood of Bechamel! And I was very much in the mood of experimenting! And the best part is, I did not look up any books or recipes. Aaaannndd... my son was with me- you ask why. Well... read on! :)

So, here it goes, pasta with my version of bechamel :

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time : 20 minutes

Ingredients:
250 g elbow macaroni
1 packet Broccoli, washed and cut into small florets
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp butter
1 1/2 tbsp flour

250 ml of brew from the cooked broccoli (if cooked separately, add water)
1 tsp heaped vegetable stock (Alnatura, for example)
(OR: 250 ml cooked vegetable stock)

40-50 g Fresh cheese
40-50 g a soft french cheese, cut into small chunks without the skin (white mould)
40-50 g Gauda, grated
1 large Tomato, diced
1/2 pinch red chilli powder (optional; replace with ground white or black pepper)

1 tbsp mustard or rapeseed oil, or olive oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 tsp sesame seed (this was my son's idea- he came with the packet and wanted to have it in the food)
1 tbsp parsely, finely chopped


Method:

• Cook macaroni in boiling water with salt. After about 4 -5 mniutes add broccoli. Cook for further 5 minutes or until done.
  
• OR : cook them separately. Use very little water for broccoli.
• Rinse broccoli with cold water to retain the frsh green colour.
• Keep the brew from Broccoli (if using separately) after it is done in a bowl
• For the white sauce (Bechamel) heat the butter on medium heat, add flour and stir till golden brown in colour (a crucial step) don't let it burn. Keep a whisk at hand.
  
• Remove from the stove and immediately add the brew(+ water) and stir vigorously and quickly with a whisk to mix.
  
• Put back on the cooktop, add the veg. stock, and whisk. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and cook further while stirring continuously (Important!).
• Add the chopped tomatoes and cook further for 3 minutes on medium heat.
• While whisking further, add slowly, fresh cheese, french cheese and Gauda. Whisk till everything melts.
  
• Switch off heat. Add a pinch of pepper, white or black, as per liking. This time I used not even a pinch of red chilli powder. Stir. Keep aside.
• heat oil in a sauté pan, add onion and sesame seeds. Stir and saute till golden brown. Mix with the pasta and broccoli. Keep a teespoonful of it as a garnish for the sauce (optional) along with .
  
• Serve warm with the bechamel sauce garnished with parsely.
  

I relished this one so much, so it landed here in my blog collection!
I KNOW ... I KNOW... THE PICTURE IS MISSING! But we were just too hungry! :)

Broccoli Parantha with Raita

This is a healthy recipe for children and adults alike. It demands a bit of preparation in advance, otherwise it is easy.

Raita shown in the picture here is nothing but stirred yoghurt with some salt (kala namak) and roasted cumin powder (bhuna jeera). You can add chopped coriander leaves and fresh or dried mint leaves to it. Or make any of the endless variants you like.

Broccoli Parantha:
Dough:
Atta (chapati flour),
1/2 Broccoli cut into small pieces, or left over broccoli sabzi (vegetable) from the day before(or even better broccoli soup),
salt and Spices for the dough (e.g. ajwain, salt, chilli, dhania powder, fennel seed powder, etc.),
1 tsp. lemon/lime juice.

Filling:
2-3 large Boiled potatoes (boiled with skin and peeled-can be done a day before and kept in the fridge),
Spices for the filling (e.g., chilli, 1/2" ginger-grated, dhania powder, fennel seed powder, kala namak /black salt),
Coriander leaves (cilantro),
Mustard oil for frying/baking (very healthy - rich in unsaturated fatty acids, especially omega 3 fatty acids).

Steps:
1. Either use the leftover broccoli sabzi from the day before, or steam half a broccoli in half a cup of water till tender but still fresh green. Add lemon juice and puree it with a (hand-) mixer.
2. Knead a soft dough with the broccoli, salt and spices as per desire.
3. Mash potatoes with salt and spices. Add coriander leaves.
4. Roll out paranthas with the potato filling. Here is one link if you want to know how.
5. Fry them in mustard oil on a cast iron tawa (griddle).
6. Serve with Raita.

Tips:
1. Wash the cooked Broccoli with cold water to prevent it from cooking further and loosing its fresh green colour.
2. Cook potatoes in the skin (healthier) a day before. Can be done for the broccoli as well, just add some fresh lime/lemon juice to it. Store in the fridge.