Apple Salad

I was asked to bring a salad to a dinner last night. My family and I brainstormed on a fun new salad. Someone first suggested zucchini and cucumber together because of the similar textures and flavors. Then green apple and green bell pepper for crunch and color. I have a good yogurt dressing recipe, so decided to go with that. And for extra crunch, we decided to add peanuts. In the last minute I added some crushed red pepper for extra zing. It was a true culmination of ideas.

It reminded me of a video of chef Grant Achatz coming up with ideas for new dishes - something called Flavor Bouncing. Watch the video - it's very cool. How exciting to be doing this for a living!!

(As the salad was fast disappearing, I had to take a photograph quickly with my phone camera, so excuse the photo!)

Apple (and Bell Pepper and Zucchini and Cucumber) Salad

1 cup Apple, preferably green apple, peeled (optional) and chopped

1 cup Green Bell Pepper, seeded, cored and chopped

1 cup Cucumber, peeled and chopped

1 cup Zucchini, chopped

Dressing:

1 cup plain Yogurt

2 tsp Powdered Sugar

1 tsp Vinegar

A pinch of Salt

Garnishing:

2 tbsp Mint Leaves, chopped

1/4 cup Peanuts, crushed

2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper, or to taste (optional)

Heat a pot of water to boiling. Drop in the bell pepper and zucchini, and quickly blanch for a minute and drain. Cool completely.

Store the chopped cucumber and apple in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Combine all ingredients for the dressing (except for the mint), keep aside. Just before serving, toss the salad with the dressing, garnish with the mint leaves and serve.

Sit back and enjoy the compliments! :)

This is a forgiving recipe. Feel free to use substitutions, or leave out any of the vegetables you don't enjoy. Also a nice touch would be to cut the veggies into long strips. The dressing is a keeper recipe though.

Bell Pepper Curry

This is another in a series of recipes from my mother in law. As I said earlier she is an amazing cook, and can whip up dishes in a matter of minutes. I'm sure, though, that if I asked her to reproduce this exact recipe, she won't be able to, because she really doesn't cook by numbers. I loved this curry the day she made it for us and it really tastes great with rotis.


Capsicum Curry

1 Bay Leaf
3 cloves Garlic, chopped
1 Onion, chopped
1 Tomato, chopped
Turmeric Powder
Chilli Powder
Salt, to taste
Dhania Powder
1 Bell Pepper, chopped
Sugar
Coriander Leaves, for garnish
Grind together:
3 tbsp Coconut, shredded
1/4 tsp Saunf

In a little oil, saute the bay leaf, garlic and onion until onion turns yellow. Add tomato, turmeric, chilli powder, salt and dhania.

Fry till mushy. Add chopped bell pepper and saute for 5 minutes. Add the ground masala. When it boils, add a little sugar. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Bell Peppers

When I left India, I knew absolutely no cooking. I was a little nervous that I might be homesick for the food. Being vegetarian, the thought of being in the then-Meat and Potatoes-eating midwestern United States, was going to be a little difficult.

So, I armed myself exactly a week before I left with 10 recipes that are easy to make (under 20 minutes) and easy to prepare (minimal authentic Indian ingredients - since I wasn't sure if there would be an Indian store around). One of those was spicy potatoes, and another was this one.


Bell Peppers with Gram Flour

1 tbsp Oil
2 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 tsp Asafoetida
1 Bell Pepper, chopped
1 1/2 tbsp Gram Flour (Besan)
Salt, to taste

Heat the oil in a saute pan. Add the cumin, salt, asafetida and bell peppers and stir fry until the bell pepper is 3/4 done. Add the gram flour and toss to combine with the bell peppers. It will start to form a crunchy brown layer (which is so good!). Remove from heat.

This is perfect for a tortilla filling, and tastes great with steamed rice.


Besan Bell Peppers are off to Pooja for the VoW-JFI event.

What's everyone in the Recipe Marathon up to on Day 5? Let's see:
Lakshmi has a delightful mango and chocolate "fool". Siri made a great-looking Hash Brown Melt. Divya shared her lovely carrot rice. Valli got some meat into the mix with her Mutton Fry. Swati got inspired by Beckham to make some Aloo Gobi! . After looking at Dhivya's post, you might have to go for a run! :) (to burn away the "virtual" calories - absolutely gorgeous!). And let's not forget Bhags' Spanakopitta and Ranji's Banana Chips!

Green Rice

4 cups water -- PLUS 2 tablespoons water
1 cup basmati rice
1 cup fresh cilantro
2 green chillies -- seeded and coarsely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 garlic clove -- minced
1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine 2 cups water and rice; let stand for 30 minutes. Drain well.

Place 2 tablespoons of water, fresh cilantro, and chillies in a blender or food processor; process until smooth.

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, green onions, and garlic; sauté 3 minutes. Add chilli mixture; sauté 2 minutes.

Stir in rice, 2 cups water, and salt; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.