Black Chickpeas Salad

Black chickpeas also known as Bengal gram is one of the most nutritious of legume family. It is very high in protein and it is one of the earliest cultivated legumes, almost 7500 years old remains have been found in the Middle East.
Chickpeas make nutritious and healthy diet. It reduces cholesterol, prevents constipation and helps prevent digestive disorders like irritable bowel syndrome. Daily consumption of Chickpeas reduces risk of coronary heart disease and iron deficiency; helps stabilize the blood sugar levels. 100g of Chickpeas has 364 calories. Calories from fat are 51.
Black chickpeas make a very good vegetarian or vegan dish. In India it is cooked as a curry with potatoes. I have made salad out of cooked black chickpeas which is delicious as well as nutritious.

Ingredients:
Black chickpeas 1 ½ cup, 1 medium onion, 1 medium size cucumber, 1 medium tomato, 1 lemon, 1 tbsp cooking oil, ¼ tsp asafoetida,  1 tsp cumin seeds,  1 tsp coriander powder, ½ tsp dry mango powder(Amchoor), 1 big green chilly(optional), salt  to taste.

Method:
Soak black chickpeas overnight. Next day boil them in a pressure cooker.  By soaking them overnight it will take almost half the time in boiling.  They should be really soft and tender when you press between finger and thumb, once cooked.
While chickpeas is boiling, peel and chop cucumber and onion into small pieces.  Cut tomato and green chilly finely.
Once chickpeas is cooked and excess water is drained, cook them.  Heat oil in a pan, add asafoetida and cumin seeds.  When cumin stops spluttering,  add boiled chickpeas, coriander powder, mango powder and salt.  Cook for a couple of minutes or till all the excess water evaporates. Stir them and take them out in a glass bowl.  Mix chopped onion, cucumber, tomato, green chilly and juice of a lemon. Toss it and enjoy as an appetizer or as a side dish.

Papri Chaat

Papri Chaat is a street food from North India and most people love its magical, addictive flavor. It is a comfort food which is made from papri chips (fried dough), plain boiled chickpeas and potato, spicy yogurt, sweet and green chutney, garnished with pomegranate and pickled ginger.

It's a perfect appetizer for any dinner party and actually quite easy to make.  You can prepare it even a day before and just assemble it on the day of the party. It's sweet, tangy and savory flavor not just warms the palate but makes it a fun food.

This past week, we had some guests over for dinner and  I assembled the papri chaat  in a jiffy.  People were quite impressed how I made everything so fast. The secret was that I had prepared green and sweet chutney two days before and prepared the tortilla a day before.  That morning I cut the triangles of the tortillas and fried them.  I prepared the yogurt just half an hour before the guests arrived.  Basically only assembly was needed.  Folks loved it so much that almost every one asked for the second helping.

Ingredients for Papri:
¾ cup wheat flour, 1 ¼ cup white flour, ½ tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, ¼ tsp caraway seeds(ajwain), 4 tsp cooking oil for the dough, ½ cup water, oil for deep frying.
Method:
Mix flours, salt, baking powder, caraway seeds, 4 tsp oil. Make crumbs with your fingers.  Once it becomes crumbly, add water little at a time to knead into a stiff dough.  Cover it and put it aside for 20 minutes.  Divide dough into 6-7 small balls.  Take every ball, flatten it and roll into a chapati or tortilla with rolling pin. Heat the griddle on medium flame and cook all the chapatis lightly from both the sides. Once they become cool, wrap them flat in an aluminum foil and refrigerate them overnight.  Next day, cut each chapatti into small triangles and deep fry them like nacho chips. Put these fried chips on paper towel so excess oil is soaked.  

Ingredients for Yogurt sauce:
2 cups plain yogurt, ¼ cup of water, 1 tsp roasted cumin seeds powder, 1 tsp black salt(or any table salt), red pepper ¼ tsp, garam massala(curry powder) ½ tsp, coriander powder ¼ tsp, chaat masala ¼ tsp.
Method:
Beat yogurt and water and put all the spices. For making roasted cumin powder, take 3 tsp of cumin seeds, roast them on medium flame.  Once they turn dark brown, turn off the flame.  When they cool off, grind them into a fine powder. You can bottle them and use them for a long time.

Ingredients for garnishing:
2 medium potatoes, ½ cup chickpeas(garbanzo beans), 1 pomegranate, ginger medium size, 1 tsp salt, 2 small lemons.
Method:
Boil potatoes, peel them and cut into cubes. Soak chickpeas overnight and next day boil them, drain the water and keep them in a box, Peel off pomegranate and take out the seeds and box them.  Peel off ginger, cut into thin small slices, put these into a bottle, squeeze lemon juice on these slices and add salt.  Shake it and keep it aside.
This ginger pickle helps digest the papri without causing any acidity or stomach issues.

Ingredients for Green Chutney(Sauce):
1 cup of fresh coriander leaves, cleaned and washed, ½ cup fresh mint leaves cleaned and washed,  1 medium onion peeled and cut into slices,  1 medium tomato, 2 cloves of garlic, 2 green chilies, 2 tsp plain yogurt, 1 tsp salt, juice of one medium or two small lemons, ¼ tsp sugar.

Method:
Grind all the ingredients in a mixer.  Taste the salt.  If you eat more salt add as per your taste. Transfer it into a covered bowl or Tupperware.  This green chutney can be preserved for one week easily in a refrigerator.

Ingredients for Sweet Chutney:
½ tsp dry ginger powder,  2 ½  tbsp dry mango powder, 1 ½ cup water, 2 tbsp brown sugar, ½ tsp white sugar,  1 tsp black salt, ¼ tsp red pepper, ¾ tsp  roasted cumin powder, ¼ tsp coriander powder.

Method:
Mix all the ingredients and cook on a medium flame till a boil.  Stir it so that sugar blends well.  Cool it and bottle it. 
This sweet chutney is also called saunth  as the most important ingredient in this is dry ginger powder, known as saunth.  This sweet chutney can be preserved in the refrigerator for two to three weeks.

Assembly of Papri Chaat:
Once papri chips are cool, set them in a plate.  Place boiled potatoes and chickpeas on the top of the papri.  Pour one or two tbsp of spicy yogurt. Now drizzle one tsp of green chutney and two tsp of sweet chutney on the top of the yogurt sauce.  Garnish with some pomegranate and pickled ginger pcs.
Enjoy.

Saffron: most expensive spice

Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world.  This rich yellow spice has for centuries been worth its weight in gold.  Saffron was first used as a spice in Asia about 4000 years ago.

The Arabs introduced Saffron in Spain around the 8^th century and ever since then, Spain has been a major exporter.  Saffron flower is violet in color and it contains three yellow-orange stigmas which is the part that has all the economic value.  Since ancient times Saffron has been used as a dye, spice, medicine and perfume.  It takes about 75,000 flowers to yield a pound of saffron. It takes 13,125 threads or stigmas to weigh one ounce of saffron.  This is why this spice is so expensive.  However, only two or three flakes or threads are used at one time as a spice.

Saffron was a favorite of the ancient Egyptians.  The Egyptian nobility wore robes dyed with saffron and saffron perfumes, ate foods spiced with the herb and used saffron to treat head, respiratory and gastrointestinal disorders.

India’s Ayurveda physicians considered saffron as a circulatory stimulant, kidney and liver remedy, to treat cholera and menstruation problems and as an aphrodisiac.

Ancient Chinese physicians recommended saffron for depression and complications of childbirth.

Despite its cultivation in Spain, saffron was a rare spice in Northern Europe.  By the14^th

Century, spice merchants all over Europe turned into saffron grocers, probably due to the value of the spice.   Folk healers of that time recommended saffron for curing jaundice and insomnia.

Nicholas Culpeper, English herbalist of the17^{th century}, considered saffron a very elegant, exhilarating and useful spice for depression, digestion, and cough. However, Culpeper also warned of its potential hazard in case dose was too large it could cause heaviness of head and sleepiness.

One research supports that this herb provides protection against heart disease. Certain percentage of the population in Spain has little heart disease despite a high fat diet.  Some experts give credit to the liberal use of olive oil but in an article in the British medical journal, Lancet argued for saffron and its generous use in the Spanish cuisine as the heart protective factor.

The saffron of Kashmir has an exquisite lotus-like fragrance and is of high quality.

Saffron belongs to Iridaceae family and other members of the same family are iris and gladiolus.  Its botanical name is Crocus sativus and stigmas of the flower are used as cooking and healing herb.

Easy Chocolate Pie

I have a weakness for chocolate desserts.  So I did some experiment with this pie.  I have not added any sugar to it yet it is tasty enough for any dinner party and easy enough to be made any time of the day in a jiffy.  The combination of chocolate and whipping cream gives it a rich flavor.  In other words this pie is minimum effort and maximum indulgence.  So go ahead and tickle your taste buds.

Ingredients:
12 to 14 marie light biscuits, 1 ½  olive oil or canola oil,  1 cup shredded  semi sweet chocolate, ¾  cup any thick cream,  ¼ cup low fat milk,  1 tbsp thick cream, ½ cup shredded white chocolate
Method:

Break biscuits with your hand and then powder them in a mixer.

Take out this powder in a bowl, add oil and mix well.  Take a pie plate and put this mixture on the pie plate by pressing it with your hand. Bake it in 180C (300F) for ten minutes.
In a double boiler melt the chocolate on medium heat. Remove from the heat and mix ¾ cup cream into it.  Stir vigorously.  Spread this mixture on already cool baked pie crust.  Put the pie in the freezer so it is set.  After 45 minutes or so start working on the next layer.
Take a heavy pan, melt the white chocolate on medium heat.  Just a few seconds before it is completely melted, add milk and cream to this.  Mix very well.  As mixture starts to thicken, spread this on the already set chocolate pie.  put in the freezer for another two hours or so.
If you want you can decorate it with some fruits or any milk chocolate pcs.
Put in the refrigerator 10 minutes before serving so that it is not solid like ice.
Enjoy this on any summer day.

Wheat flour Shortbread Cookies

Shortbreads are melt in the mouth kind of cookies. Scottish in origin, this rich, tender and crumbly biscuit (cookie) was once only served during Christmas and New Year's Eve. In its most basic form, shortbreads are made with just four ingredients, butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and flour. While today they are made in various shapes and sizes, at one time the dough was baked in a round mold and then cut into wedges that were given the name "petticoat tails". This name refers to the shape of the shortbread wedges which was similar to the bell-hoop petticoats worn by court ladies in the 12th century.

Shortbread dough is so versatile. Once you have made the basic shortbread batter, you can add about 1/2 cup (90 grams) of chocolate chips to make chocolate chip shortbread, or add 1 tablespoon of instant espresso powder for a coffee favor. All it takes to have a cinnamon flavored shortbread is to add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, or 1 tablespoon of finely chopped orange or lemon zest will give you a nice citrus flavored shortbread.

 Here we shall make a cardamom flavored shortbread by adding cardamom powder to the dough.

 Ingredients:
1/3 cup sugar, ½ cup softened butter, ½ cup cooking oil, 1 ½ cup white flour, 1 cup wheat flour,  3 tsp cardamom powder, 1 tsp vanilla, 5 almonds roasted and powdered.
Ingredients for glaze:
3 tbsp brown sugar,  1 tsp milk, 1 tsp water, ¼ tsp vanilla
Method:
Heat oven to 350 degree F(200 degree C).
Grease two 9” pie pans.  In a big bowl, cream together sugar, butter and cooking oil. 
In another plate sift both the flours.  Blend flours, cardamom powder, vanilla and almond powder into creamed mixture.  This will make dough crumbly.  Divide dough in half and press in the bottom of the prepared pie pans.   Perforate with a fork. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until  light golden brown.  Cut each shortbread into wedges while they are still warm. Cool for ten minutes.
Glazing
In a small bowl combine glaze ingredients. Drizzle over baked wedges.
Enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea.

Sesame bread sticks

Ever since I have been living in India, I often miss the taste of sesame sticks sold at Trader’s Joe in Chicago.  Other day I decided to try my hand on these bread sticks so I could have something to accompany my salad and go down the memory lane as well. They turned out to be pretty close but they were no match to Trader Joe sesame sticks.  Anyway, here is my recipe of sesame sticks.

Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour(maida), ½  cup wheat flour, 4 tbsp cooking oil or melted butter, 1 tsp sugar, 1 ½  tsp salt or salt to taste, ¼ cup sesame seeds, ½ tsp baking powder,  ½ cup water.
 
Method:
Preheat oven to 325 degree F(200 degree C).
In a big bowl add flours, sugar, salt, baking powder, sesame seeds and cooking oil.
Now make like bread crumbs consistency of the mixture.  Add water little by little to make a stiff dough. Keep it aside for 30 minutes.
Divide dough into five-six portions.  Make a ball of one portion and roll it into a thick chapati with the rolling pin.  Using a knife, cut into small strips.  Put strips on a greased cooking sheet.  Bake for about 10 minutes until golden brown.  Turn them over and bake from other side for another 10 minutes.  Cool them for 15-20 minutes before eating or serving.  They are ideal to go with soup or salad.

Jackfruit (kathal) curry

Jackfruit is the spiky green “exotic fruit” growing in the tropical climates.  Although it is called fruit it is generally cooked like a vegetable.   The ripe jackfruit is eaten like a fruit and raw ones can be cooked as vegetable curry, chips and pickle.  This spiky vegetable has lot of nutrients which are essential for us.  Jackfruit has vitamin C in plenty which helps colds and infections.  It is rich in nutrients like magnesium and copper which prevents bone loss and keeps thyroid health.  One cup of jackfruit contains half of the potassium found in bananas and potassium helps in lowering the blood pressure.  Jackfruit is rich in Vitamin A and just like carrots is good for our eyes.  Eating this exotic fruit can help add the iron supply in the body to prevent the anemia.

This jackfruit curry is very exotically delicious and it makes a very good vegetarian  or vegan dish.  Once jackfruit is peeled and cut, it is very similar to chicken in consistency and is often referred as “vegetable meat” in some parts of  Asia.

Ingredients:
2 cups of peeled and chopped jackfruit (raw), ¾ cup of cooking rice soaked in ½ cup of water overnight, 1 big onion finely chopped, 1 tsp ginger minced, 1 tsp minced garlic, 2 green chilies chopped finely, 3 medium tomatoes chopped and pureed, ¼ tsp cumin seeds, 2 bay leaves, ¼ tsp whole black pepper, 3 or 4 cloves, 1 tsp of coriander powder, 1 tsp of garam massala or curry powder, ½ tsp of turmeric powder, ¼ tsp of red pepper or paprika (optional), salt to taste, oil for frying and cooking the curry, 1 cup of water.

Method:
Boil the cut pieces of jackfruit if they are fresh.  If you have chosen the frozen or canned jackfruit, there is no need to boil it.  Once boiled drain all the water. Make sure jackfruit does not turn too soft.
In the meanwhile, grind the soaked rice into a paste.  Add ¼ tsp of salt, coriander powder and curry powder to make this into a  batter.   Now dip every piece of drained jackfruit into this batter and deep fry till light brown in color.
Take a pan, heat 1 tbsp of cooking oil.  Add black pepper, cloves and bay leaves. After 10 seconds, add cumin seeds.  When they stop spluttering, add ginger, onion and garlic in that order.
When onion turn golden brown, add turmeric and salt to taste.  Keep in mind that fried pieces of jackfruit also have light salt in it.
Add pureed tomato and coriander powder to it and cook the curry till a boil.  Now add red pepper and a cup of water.  After 15 seconds add the fried jackfruit pieces to the curry.  Let it simmer for  10 minutes.  Sprinkle the garam massala or curry powder and cover it till ready to serve.
Enjoy with any Indian bread or rice.