Here is another cauliflower recipe. As I have mentioned many times my husband loves this vegetable- love is not the right adjective- usually if I call him at work to tell him I have made cauliflower, 9 out of 10 times he comes early- no kidding! Well, I decided to make him cauliflower the other day- it had been a while. I of course, wanted to come up with a new recipe to post on this blog- he on the other hand, does not care if I serve the same preparation every time. I was thinking of the cauliflower preparation one usually gets at Indian weddings or at a halwaee’s shop. A halwaee is someone who runs a road side restaurant in India and serves sweets and fried foods, it’s usually all vegetarian. The cauliflower I am thinking of is usually fried and then cooked with onions and some dried spices. It’s delicious but full of fat! I decided to replicate it using my broiler. I coated the cauliflower and potatoes with some extra light olive oil and salt and placed them under the broiler. The golden brown vegetables looked like they were lightly fried- perfect. I then added a mixture of cumin, onion(kalonji) and fennel seeds- this mixture reminds me of pickled vegetables and fruits. Indian pickles are usually have a mixture of fennel and onion(kalonji) seeds. I added an onion and ginger to the mix and then cooked it with the browned vegetables. The result was a delicious mixture of cauliflower and potatoes with a light pickle flavor which I love. My husband enjoyed it but like I said, it doesn’t matter to him how the cauliflower is cooked as long as it is there!
Cauliflower with Ginger and Onion Seeds
Posted by Monica Puri Bangia | Under Entrées, Holiday Ideas, Indian Cuisine, Vegetarian Thursday May 21, 2009Indian Style Rice and Beans
Posted by Monica Puri Bangia | Under Indian Cuisine, Sides, Vegetarian Wednesday May 20, 2009
I had volunteered at Sia’s school to cook something for the healthy table at the fair. The foods at that table have had vegan, ethnic and healthy desserts in the past. I initially thought of baking a healthy bread or the chocolate zucchini bread I posted a few days ago- but then I thought maybe I should make a one pot rice dish instead – and maybe even a vegetarian one. The recipe on this blog calls for chicken broth but I made it with water for the fair. I decided to make a pulao, which is a rice dish that can include vegetables, beans or meat. I usually make a pulao with vegetables or meat- I thought maybe I should do an Indian version of rice and beans. Mexican and Indian flavors have so much in common, especially cumin, cilantro and the chilies. I wanted to include the cilantro sauce my grandma used to add to her pea rice dish. It is such a great way to give great flavor to the rice- cilantro, onion and garlic are blended and cooked with cumin before basmati rice is added. It is delicious! I decided to combine the two cuisines and come up with a one pot meal! I am in love with one pot meals- they are so convenient, especially if they are kid friendly. In this case, the rice has the protein from the beans- so I would pair it with a salad and call it a day. My daughter does not like salad dressing, so she eats lettuce without anything! – how weird it that?? I guess whatever works for her- I tell her she is missing out on all the delicious salad dressings out there but then she doesn’t like ketchup either! I digress- the rice dish was a big hit at the fair. I added raisins to it- I can’t help myself- I love the sweet juice right in the middle of the savory cilantro and garlic flavor. I was a little concerned about some people not liking the sweet with the savory but I think it was okay. The kids and adults enjoyed it!
Orange Trifle with Strawberries
Posted by Monica Puri Bangia | Under Dessert Tuesday May 19, 2009
I would have to say, this is my all time favorite dessert. My mom has been making trifle for as long as I can remember. It is a very popular british dessert – my mom lived in London before she got married and learned some recipes from my English aunt.
Growing up the trifle was served in a lasagna pan- the flat casserole pan. The presentation was not as dramatic as it is in the trifle bowl- I love looking at the colorful layers of delicious heaven! I remember my mom would use canned mixed fruit and use the juice to soak the sponge cake. We also grew up with lots of custard and fruit for dessert- the custard was made out of a powder. I still remember my mom pouring the powder in hot milk to make the delicious custard. She would layer the soaked sponge cake with the fruit,custard and whipped cream. The dessert was topped with a thick layer of whipped cream and sprinkled with nuts. How good is freshly whipped cream?? I can taste it as I write about it- the fluffy and creamy goodness- so easy to eat lots of it without realizing how dangerous it is. I still remember when we first arrived in the US and I saw cans of whipped cream or the fake stuff you get in tubs- I was devastated! What happened to the real stuff- I couldn’t understand why someone would want to eat that stuff in the tub…
Once you learn the technique and process of making a trifle, sky is the limit. You can change the cake flavor, types of fruit and the flavor of custard or curd. I used to make a generic one most of the time, like the one my mom made- but then I started experimenting with the recipe. Last year I made a raspberry with mango curd trifle- it was out of this world! A few years ago I had a dessert tasting party and made a ginger bread and lemon curd trifle- it was very good as well!
It is a crowd pleaser- most people like it. In my case, I wouldn’t make it unless there was a crowd since I am quite capable of eating the entire bowl in no time!
Egg Spinach and Cheese Quesadilla
Posted by Monica Puri Bangia | Under Vegetarian, breakfast Monday May 18, 2009
It was a very hectic weekend. Sia’s school had a fair on Saturday and she was very excited. It was a lot of fun but the food is very unhealthy. I did volunteer at the healthy table and it did have lots of healthy options but my daughter didn’t indulge in any of them. She instead had pizza and cotton candy! Pizza, I guess is okay but that cotton candy really bothers me- just plain processed sugar and some terrible dye. I try to keep Sia away from it but it’s hard at a fair- it’s right in front of your face. Anyway, she had the cotton candy on Saturday and Sunday! We have a May fest in our town every year and this year it was on Sunday- so guess what, we had a lot of unhealthy food there as well. There was a hotdog for Sia and yes, another cotton candy! I, on the other hand, had the best barbecue chicken I’ve had in a long time. There was a vendor called the Coney Island grill company and they were serving 2 big pieces of chicken on top of white or wheat bread topped with the yummiest barbeque sauce I have ever had- and that includes the barbeque place I love to go to in Austin when ever I visit my cousin! My husband was shocked at the amount of food I had bought especially since he had bought quite a bit him self from another vendor. Well, I wasn’t worried since my plan was to devour the whole thing myself- and I almost did… well, I had to share a little bit. I also had a yummy lemon cupcake. I am usually not a cupcake person- not a fan of the icing- this one was delicious! I digress- we got home and I started to wonder what I should feed Sia for dinner?? It had to be something healthy after two days of eating junk! We were not eating out again and I didn’t have much in the fridge and I was in no mood to cook! After some thinking, I came up with quesadillas. I had whole grain tortillas in the freezer and my favorite ‘go to’ frozen vegetable- spinach. I always have some around for times like this when you have no idea what to make and need something quick, easy and healthy. I wanted to give her a healthy grain, protein and vegetable. So, I decided to make scrambled eggs with spinach and add it to the whole grain quesadilla- a perfectly balanced meal that can be prepared in an cinch. Sia loved it and I had a few bites with a salad and it was delicious! Yes, of course I had a salad- I had to- after that monster of a meal I consumed at the fair!
Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Posted by Monica Puri Bangia | Under Appetizers/Snacks, Dessert, breakfast, kid friendly Sunday May 17, 2009
I continue with my quest for healthy kid friendly desserts and snacks. A friend makes my banana bread which her daughter loves- she asked if I could possibly come up with a similar recipe but with a vegetable- like a carrot cake. I remembered a zucchini bread I used to eat many moons ago from Starbucks. From work I would usually venture out to get a mid-afternoon snack which would be a tall Caffe Mocha usually with a slice of zucchini bread. The bread was absolutely delicious- I still remember the color and taste really well- this was about 10 years ago when I ate whatever I felt like and weight and nutrition were furthest from my mind. So when my friend reminded me of the zucchini bread, I immediately started looking for a recipe to adapt to my taste. I decided to include chocolate in the bread as anything with chocolate is good and I thought kids would be more likely to eat it and ignore the green stuff running through the cake! I tested a few recipes and finally liked this one- the texture was firm but moist and most of all, it was delicious! I baked it through the day, so neither my daughter nor my husband witnessed it. I gave a slice to my husband the next morning before he went to work- asked him how it was and once he told me it was really good, I informed him it was made out of zucchini. He was shocked! My daughter really enjoyed it as well, I decided not to enlighten her with all the ingredients. My husband, however, went ahead and divulged within minutes of eating it- Sia had a disgusted look on her face. I explained to her that if she likes the taste how does it matter what is inside the bread.. she thought about it for a few seconds and decided to have another slice. So my advice to parents out there would be that maybe you shouldn’t tell your kids what is in the bread- it may not go so well!!
