Tag: yogurt
Healthy Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins
My daughter has been eating oatmeal for breakfast for many many years and then all of a sudden she announced, she was done with oatmeal and does not want to eat it again! So, I had to think about breakfast as I feel it is very important to give her a healthy start to the day. She loves anything with pumpkin flavor, especially this time of year- so I looked at a few recipes and came up with the following. These delicious muffins have whole wheat flour, oats, coconut oil, walnuts and dark chocolate. I make a batch that results in approximately 14 muffins and I am set for a while. A muffin, some fruit and a glass of milk and she is all set for the morning!!
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 cup old fashioned oats
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ cup full fat yogurt
- ½ cup full fat milk
- ¾ cup pumpkin puree
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup coconut oil
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup walnuts, chopped
- ½ cup dark chocolate, chopped
Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Line 15 to 16 standard size muffin cups with paper liners.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg and sugar. In a glass bowl, melt the coconut oil and add the yogurt, milk, pumpkin puree, egg and vanilla extract. Whisk well and add to the dry ingredients. Add the walnuts and chocolate. Mix well and divide batter between the muffin cups. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or till the toothpick comes out clean.
Turkey Keema with Cauliflower and Dill (Ground Turkey)
This is one of our favorite things to eat – ground meat and cauliflower.. I made this one with lots of dill. It gives the dish an amazing earthy flavor…
- 3 tablespoons ghee or butter
- 1 pound dark meat ground turkey
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2 inch piece ginger, grated
- 3 garlic cloves, grated
- 1 cup full fat yogurt
- 1 cauliflower head, cut into florets
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 cup fresh dill, chopped
- 1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Heat a heavy saucepan with the ghee/butter. Add the ground turkey and sauté on medium high heat while separating the meat with the back of a wooden spoon. Saute for 4 to 5 minutes till the meat is golden brown. Add the onion, ginger and garlic. Saute on medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the yogurt and sauté for another 2 to 3 minutes. Add the cauliflower, coriander, turmeric, cayenne pepper and salt. Mix well and add ½ cup each of the dill and cilantro. Mix well and lower heat to medium, cover with lid and cook for 20 minutes or till meat is cooked through and cauliflower is tender. Take the lid off and increase heat to medium high and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes. Check for seasonings and garnish with the remaining dill and cilantro.
Keema (Ground Meat) with Brussels Sprouts
Keema is kind of the Indian version of chili.. well, a loose interpretation of it- there are no beans in keema.. usually some veggie. I decided to pair, my favorite, Brussels sprouts. Why not, I thought… and it was delicious…
- 2 tablespoons ghee or butter
- 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 2 inches fresh ginger, grated
- 1 pound ground turkey or any meat desired
- 2 tablespoons cilantro stems, chopped
- 2 tablespoons dill stems, chopped
- ½ cup full fat yogurt
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 cups shredded Brussels sprouts
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped
- ¼ cup dill, chopped
Heat a heavy saucepan with ghee and oil. Add the onion and ginger and sauté on medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the ground meat and cook while separating with the back of a wooden spoon on medium heat. Saute for 6 to 7 minutes. Add the yogurt, coriander, cayenne pepper and salt. Saute for another 5 minutes. Add the sprouts, mix well and cook with lid on for 20 minutes. Take the lid off and cook for another 10 minutes, checking for seasonings. Garnish with cilantro and dill. Serve warm.
Shami Kebab
These are kebabs typically made out of beef- very prevalent in Pakistani cuisine. They are one of my favorites- but I had never made them before…
- 1 pound grass fed ground beef
- 1/3 cup channa dal
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 3 cloves
- 2 inch cinnamon stick
- ¼ cup nutmeg powder
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 inch ginger, chopped
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoons yogurt
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg, beaten
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped
- ½ cup fresh mint, chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 3 to 4 tablespoon extra light olive oil
Soak the channa dal in half a cup of water for an hour. Transfer the beef, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, garlic, ginger, onion, yogurt, salt and the channa dal with the water into a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook on a simmer, covered for 10 minutes. Take the lid off and cook for an additional 5 to 7 minutes on medium heat until all the liquid is cooked off. Take off the heat and set aside to cool.
Once the mixture is fully cooled, transfer into a food processor and add the egg, cilantro, mint and salt. Process till everything is smooth and incorporated. Form flat patties by using a tablespoon measure. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan and sauté the patties, about 3 to 4 at a time and brown on each side. Serve warm with cilantro chutney.
Istanbul Day 2 – Lots of Delicious Street Food
Mussels
Day two in Istanbul started with a delicious breakfast in our hotel. We came down to lovely aromas of Turkish breakfast that included a variety of different things. There was an array of different vegetables in various forms. There was fried eggplant in a yogurt sauce, mushrooms in a tomato sauce, potatoes, cucumbers. There was a selection of fresh cheeses, olives, dried fruits and pickles. It was all delicious and a great way to start our day. We walked over the bosphorus area to catch a cruise. Two hours later we got off and saw a boat of fish mongers grilling fresh fish and selling fish sandwiches. We had read in the guides that this was a must- well, the fish was fresh and delicious! Right next to the boat there was a vendor selling fresh mussels!- I love mussels.. and these were stuffed with some kind of delicious, aromatic rice. The vendor squeezed fresh lemon on each as I stood next to him and devoured a bunch of fresh mussels right by the water!
Turkish Doughnuts
A bit ahead we saw a very busy market filled with food vendors. It was jam packed with people but that didn’t discourage us to try all sorts of delights like- the most delicious Turkish doughnuts I have ever had- they were dripping in honey and topped with ground pistachios.
We had freshly squeezed pomegranate juice- what a difference between the fresh and the bottled!!
Freshly Squeezed Pomegranate Juice
We bought some candy wrapped on a stick drizzled with lemon juice- amazing! We tried some pickled cabbage which was very tasty as well.
Candy on a Stick
After eating most of that market we decided to take a tram to the new part of Istanbul. This part is filled with tall buildings and modern structures- quite a contrast from the cobblestone streets we left behind just ten minutes ago! We walked and we walked, looking at our maps and asking the very friendly people of Istanbul. So far it has been a lovely experience eating and walking around. I haven’t done a whole lot of shopping- although there are tons of things to buy.. well, I did buy some amazingly aromatic Iranian saffron from the amazing Egyptian spice market. I would like to buy some more spices and maybe a nice rug!
In spite of munching all day, I couldn’t stop thinking of the bakery from last night and all the puddings they had- so, we stopped on our way back to the hotel and picked up a almond pudding, a pistachio pudding and a rice pudding- they were all really yummy! I ate like there was no tomorrow and thought to myself- I really need to eat far less tomorrow!
Istanbul Day 1- Are we there yet??
Our trip to Istanbul has been in the works since last year in June! We have all been really looking forward to it- especially since we had cousins, etc meeting us there. As some of you know, we were in Lisbon last month and the trip was amazing- the problem was getting there. We had a cancelled flight;lost luggage and lots of frustration in between. As we were headed to the airport for our Istanbul trip, I thought to myself- our flight should be on time, especially since the weather was beautiful, it wasn’t raining and it was a direct flight- what could go wrong?? Well, long story short- we were sitting in the lounge for a very long time as our flight was delayed for almost 4 hours! I think someone at United doesn’t like me!
Anyway, after a long 10 hour flight, we finally made it to Istanbul! We walked out with our luggage intact and the first thing that hit me was the smell in the air- I can’t really describe it but it smelled like India! I immediately felt at home and couldn’t wait to get to our hotel to start our vacation! As we drove by the ocean, we saw hundreds of local families picnicking and preparing their meals on tiny grills. I also found myself peering into local’s cars and trying to envision what kind of a life they lived in this city. Half an hour later I found us in Sultanahmet, which is the old town in Istanbul. Windy, cobblestoned roads led us to our tiny little hotel.
Lentil Soup
We unpacked, showered and headed out. We were hungry and ready for an early dinner. We are lucky enough to have lots of restaurant recommendations from friends who used to live in Istanbul. They directed us to this hole in the wall (Sultanahmet Koftecisi)for meatballs. We walked in and were directed to head upstairs. We saw lots of local families enjoying the evening- a good sign! We promptly ordered and immediately started munching on some bread that was brought to our table. We enjoyed a lentil based soup,
chicken kebabs,
sheesh kebabs, meatballs- which were not what we thought- they were more like kebabs
. We ordered a fresh salad, some yogurt- which was delicious and buttermilk! The meal was served with a tomato based spicy sauce and it was all delicious. They had two desserts on the menu- a semolina pudding
and a pastry pudding. We decided to try them both. For all my Indian readers- the semolina pudding was halwa and the pastry pudding was gulab jamun! They were yummy. We marveled at how similar the foods were to North India! We walked out and felt we needed more dessert and headed to a large tea house (Hafiz Mustafa) that had an array of beautiful looking desserts and puddings. We ended up with a fig pudding,
turkish delights and the most delicious chocolate pistachio baklava!!
It melted in our mouths! Satisfied, we walked around and came across an out door restaurant with lots of people eating and watching a Dervish dance. It was beautiful! After a bit of window shopping, we headed back; bought a bottle of wine and enjoyed it on the terrace and made plans for the next week!
Curd (Yogurt) Rice
I have never made curd rice before- but have eaten it in South Indian restaurants. I realized it was not very hard to make when I put it together the other night in 15 minutes- the key is to have all the ingredients on hand. I even happen to have frozen rice, which was ready in three minutes in the freezer. It is a great side dish or a quick snack…
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 2 teaspoons mustard seeds
- 8 to 9 curry leaves, chopped
- 2 tablespoons grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon channa dal
- 1 tablespoon urad dal
- ¼ cup grated coconut
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 cups cooked rice
- 1 cup yogurt
Heat a medium frying pan with coconut oil. Add the mustard seeds, curry leaves, ginger, channa and urad dal. Saute on medium heat till the seeds begin to sizzle. Add the coconut and cilantro. Saute for a minute. Add the rice and salt and mix well. Take off the heat and add the yogurt. Mix well and check for seasonings before serving at room temperature.