Tag Archives: raita

My Grandmother’s Multicolored Mixed Vegetable Raita

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My two grandmother’s could not be more different.  One has a PhD, was a career woman and takes pride in the fact that she ‘cant boil a kettle of water’. She is a connoisseur of fine food, but never enters the kitchen herself. My other grandmother works miracles in the kitchen. She can effortlessly turn out simmering pot after pot of the most delectable sambars, kuzhambus, rasams, poriyals, and kootus. She instilled in me a love for cooking; and not a week goes by when I’m not on the phone with my grandmother asking for recipes, techniques or clarifications. As different as they are from each other, both my grandmothers are remarkable women, and I continue to learn so much from them.

 My grandmother (the non-cooking one!), grandfather,  father and aunt. Late 1950s

 

 

 When its too hot to cook, I always turn to this mixed vegetable raita. Its cool, refershing and there is no cooking involved. I am happy just eating a huge bowl of this for dinner. But this colorful raita will be a great accompaniment to and Indian dinner of rice, roti and curry.

Its easy to remember this recipe – just remember the 6 Cs- cucumber, capsicum, corn, carrot, curd, cherry tomato. Then add pomegranates. Thats it! I didnt use pomegranate seeds in this recipe because I couldnt find any; but I highly recommend you use them!

My grandmother adds salt to the raita only just before serving. If you add salt any sooner, it will draw out the moisture from the vegetables and make your raita watery. And make sure you let the raita sit in the fridge overnight, it tastes much better than eating it right away.

My Grandmother’s Multicolored Mixed Vegetable Raita Recipe

serves about 10 as a side dish

1 large seedless cucumber, the kind with the plastic wrap or 4 small cucumbers (about 3 cups when chopped)
3 medium carrots (about 1 1/2 cups when chopped)
1 small green pepper (about 1/2 cup when chopped)
1 small orange pepper (about 1/2 cup when chopped)
1 cup cherry tomatoes
2 cups drained canned sweet corn
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds (I didnt use, because I couldnt find them)
3 cups yogurt
salt

Peel the cucumber and carrots, and chop into very small pieces. Chop the peppers into tiny pieces as well. Cut each cherry tomato into 2 or 3 pieces.  Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl, except salt. Place the raita in the fridge. Raita tastes better if it sits over night. Add salt just before serving and stir well. Serve chilled.

Chickpea Flour and Swiss Chard Savory Crepes with Mint Ginger Raita (Besan ka Cheela or Chilla)

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Chickpea or Garbanzo flour is a staple in Indian households, because its so quick to cook and versatile. Back home in India, when those unexpected visitors dropped in, chickpea flour always came to the rescue. We’d make a batter of the flour and water, dip some potatoes in it and deep fry them for quick, yummy bajjis or fritters for the unannounced guests. Or, we’d make a thinner batter with the chickpea flour, throw in some spices and make golden, crispy crepes. When cooked, chickpea flour (besan) has a beautiful creamy texture and a nutty flavor. Its chock full of protein too.  

I added some shredded, wilted swiss chard to the crepe batter for extra nutrition. You could add any greens you like. The shredded chard in the batter does make it a wee bit difficult to spread around in the pan. But once youve made one crepe, you’ll get the hang of it. Just make sure you spread the batter as thin as you can.

For a simpler method, dont add the chard to the batter; instead, cook the crepes without swiss chard, then place the wilted chard (or any other filling) over cooked crepes, and roll them up.

As far as savory crepes go, this Indian style garbanzo flour crepe is one of my favorites. Its quick, filling, gluten free and vegan friendly (think of these as vegan omelettes!).  And you can customize this dish however you like. Change up the spices or fill the crepes with spiced potatoes, sauteed mushrooms or whatever left over vegetables you have on hand. 

I like to serve these crepes with an easy mint and ginger raita (recipe below). But you can serve it with pretty much any chutney you like. Mint chutney, coriander or cilantro chutney, coconut chutney, date-tamarind chutney will all be great. Or try this with store bought mango chutney.

Chickpea Flour and Swiss Chard Crepes with Mint Ginger Raita (Besan Ka Chilla or Cheela) Recipe

serves about 2

4 large leaves of swiss chard (1 1/2 cups when shredded)
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin or carom (ajwain) seeds

1 cup chickpea flour (also called garbanzo flour or gram flour or besan)
1 1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon ginger paste
1/2 teaspoon garlic paste
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/8 teaspoon asafoetida
1/8 teaspoon baking powder, optional
1 green or red chilli finely chopped
salt
Oil for cooking crepes

Removed and discard the stems from swiss chard leaves.  Stack the swiss chard leaves and roll them tightly. Chop the roll into fine shreds. You should have about 1 1/2 cups of shredded swiss chard.

Heat oil in a small non-stick pan, add cumin or carom seeds. When they start to sizzle, add shredded swiss card and 1/2 teaspoon water and toss on medium heat till the swiss chard has wilted to half its original volume. This will take about a minute. You should now have about 3/4 cups of wilted chard.

In a mixing bowl, add the wilted swiss chard, and all other remaining ingredients except oil. Whisk till everything is combined. The batter should be slightly thinner than pancake batter and should be easily pourable. If the batter is too thick, add more water.

Heat a non-stick pan. Pour a ladle of batter on the hot pan. Using the ladle or back of a spoon, spread the batter around to form a thin crepe. Drizzle about 1/2 teaspoon oil over the crepe. Cook on medium heat for about 1 minutes or till the bottom side is golden and sides start to crisp. Using a spatula, flip the crepe over and cook the other side till golden. Serve hot.

Ginger Mint Raita
makes 1 cup

1 cup yogurt (I recommend Greek yogurt)
1/2 tablespoon minced ginger
2 tablespoons mint leaves loosely packed
Chaat masala to taste or salt

Place all ingredients in a food processor. Blend till smooth. Serve chilled.

Minty Veggie Kebabs with Creamy Cucumber Raita and How YOU can help me plan Thanksgiving

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This started out as a home made veggie burger. I was originally going to use mashed potatoes, morningstar crumbles, olives, water chestnuts, and parsley. But then my recipe changed its course, as my recipes often do. The potatoes and morningstar veggie crumbles got a big dose of fresh chopped mint, cumin, ginger, garlic and some liquid smoke for that just-off-the-grill kebab taste. The kebabs were great with the creamy raita.

This recipe is now a contender for my Thanksgiving menu. But I have so many ideas I cant decide what to make for Thanksgiving! So I want YOU to tell me what to put on this years thanksgiving table. Scroll to the bottom of this post for details!

Ingredients for Kebabs

Baking potato – 1
Morningstar Veggie Crumbles – 1/2 cup (or re hydrated TVP)
Red bell pepper – 1 pepper
Sweet corn – 1/2 can
Onion – 1
Garlic paste – 1 1/2 tbsp
Ginger paste – 1 1/2 tbsp
Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder – 1 tsp
Coriander powder – 1 tsp
Turmeric – 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala – 1 tsp
Paprika – 1 tsp. For more heat use chili powder or chopped fresh green chilies.
Liquid smoke – 1 tbsp
Mint – 10 sprigs
Egg – 1
Salt – 1 tsp
Oil – 2 tbsp
Bamboo Skewers – 8

Pre heat oven to 400. Finely chop the red bell peppers, onion and mint. Wrap the potato tightly in a paper towel and microwave on high for 6-7 minutes. If using TVP, rehydrate it in boiling water or stock. Soak the skewers in hot water for at least 20 minutes.

In a large skillet, heat the oil and add cumin. When the cumin is fragrant, about 30 seconds, add chopped onion and saute till lightly brown. Now add the ginger garlic paste. Saute on medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Add the turmeric, cumin powder, coriander, garam masala and paprika. Saute on medium for 2 minutes. Then add the morningstar crumbles (or TVP), chopped bell pepper and sweet corn (drain well if using canned corn). Cook for 5 minutes.

While the vegetables are sauteing, remove the potato from the microwave. When it is cool enough to handle, peel the skin and cut the potato into cubes. Now turn off the heat from the skillet and let the mixture cool a few minutes. Add the potato, egg, mint, liquid smoke and salt. Mash the potatoes and stir the mixture well.

Take a big handful of the mixture and press it tightly onto a skewer to form a kebab. Place on an oiled cookie sheet. If the kebab mixture is not tight enough at this point, you could add 2 tbsp of bread crumbs or flour.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. Serve with creamy cucumber raita and lemon wedges.

Ingredients for Creamy Cucumber Raita

This sauce is in between a Raita and a Tzatziki. ‘Hanging’ low fat yogurt in a cheese cloth is the best way to make it creamy. As a short cut, use Greek yogurt.

Low fat yogurt – 1 32oz container

English cucumber – 1, peeled and chopped
Mint – 8 sprigs, leaves removed and finely chopped
Salt – 1 1/2 tsp
Paprika – 1/2 tsp

Place a strainer over a bowl. Cover the the strainer with 2 layers of cheese cloth (fold cheese cloth to get 2 layers). Pour the yogurt into the cheese cloth lined strainer. Let some of the liquid from the yogurt strain into the bowl. See picture below.

Then, pick up the sides of the cheese cloth and tie into a bundle. Place the bundle back on the strainer. Place the bowl with strainer and yogurt bundle in the fridge for about 2 hours. All the liquid in the yogurt will drip down to the bowl and you will have a thick, creamy yogurt.

To this yogurt, add the cucumber, mint, paprika and salt. Mix well. Refrigerate before serving.

YOU tell me what to put on the Thanksgiving table!

I have so many recipes in mind for thanksgiving, I cant decide what to make! Help me by choosing from the list below. Select what sounds good to you and click vote! Once you click vote, you can see the current results. Poll closes Tuesday the 25th at 11pm EST.

Chose atleast one dish from each category – appetizer, side, entree, dessert.

I’ll make the dishes that get the most votes and post them on my blog the day before thanksgiving.

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