AmaraMoms

Pasta with brocoli and feta!

Weekends are meant for r’n'r- aren’t they? Keeping that in mind, I decided to do a typical weeknight dinner for a weekend lunch- and my family couldn’t get enough:)

On the menu this weekend:  a simple pasta with bright green brocoli, garlic, parsley, lemon, red chili flakes, all tossed with creamy feta cheese. Here’s the recipe:

Boil bow tie pasta till al dente (no more, no less!)

Smash and chop 6 plump garlic cloves.

4 bunches of brocoli, cut in medium pieces.

Zest of a lemon and juice

Heat 2 table spoons of olive oil with garlic, lots of red chili flakes, black pepper and lemon zest- stir till fragrant. Add in the brocoli and stir fry for a minute. Then add 3-4 tablespoons of water, cover the pot and steam cook for about 3-5 minutes or till the brocoli is tender. Add salt to taste, the lemon juice and toss everything together with the warm pasta. Sprinkle a little bit of chopped parsley, taste and adjust for seasoning- and serve hot with some crumbled feta cheese on top. So good!!

Tip- you want lots of pepper and chili flakes in this dish to pop the flavors.

Recipe for Jalebis

Hopefully everyone had a wonderful Mother’s Day! Mine encompassed Native American culture at the Stanford Pow Wow in the morning, all the way to the reign of Queen Victoria and the Pirates of Penzance for an evening show! I declined the family’s generous offer of dinner out post the play, as it had been a very tiring weekend and all I could think about were my pajamas and warm bed. We got home, ate a quick bite and I began to do my usual forage for something sweet. Chocolates? No. Ice cream? Nah. Cake? Not really. None of these normal temptations were cutting it. I was just about to resign myself to a day without dessert, when my eye fell out something bright and orange on the kitchen counter. Jalebis!  I’m not usually a big fan of Indian desserts, but these just had my name on them. I think I ate 5 Having rediscovered their deliciousness, I thought I’d share the recipe with those of you who’d like to attempt to make these at home. Nothing like jalebis that are fresh and hot! My mother tells of going to college in Simla (in the Himalayan mountains of India), and in the freezing winters, walking miles and miles to the nearest vendor who would provide said jalebis, soaked in steaming hot milk! She said it was like manna from heaven!

So, to prepare jalebis at home, you will need:

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons gram (chickpea) flour
1/2 cup plain yogurt, beaten smooth
1/2 cup water
A pinch baking soda
500 ml oil, but preferably clarified butter (“ghee”)
500 ml sugar syrup

Saffron

An empty, well washed ketchup bottle (the squeezy kind)

Method:

Mix both flours and add the yogurt and water. Mix well so that the consistency is smooth.
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Turmeric for good health

A friend of mine invited me over for a delicious pasta dinner. When I asked her for the recipe, she listed out the ingredients, “pasta, garlic, tomatoes, a pinch or two of turmeric….”. ‘Turmeric?!”, I asked with great surprise. And then she told me that she adds turmeric to almost everything because of the great, many health benefits of turmeric.

What a great idea! As a child, I ate mostly Indian food which has plenty of  turmeric. However, now our weekly meals are Indian, Italian, Mexican, Chinese/Asian, American (read burgers)- and so we eat less and less of turmeric. Adding a pinch or two of this spice to any dish is not going to alter the taste of the food- pasta or tacos- but it will help with our health:)

Turmeric has the important extract ‘curcumin’ which helps block inflammation- a key cancer causing agent. There is plenty of research undergoing in the medical community around ‘cucumin’ and its cancer prevention potential, and doctors and researchers have stated that turmeric is one of the most potent, natural anti-inflammatories available.

Moreover, we grew up with the awareness of turmeric being a natural antiseptic and healer- which modern day research corroborates. Every time, I had a bad cold, Mom would make a soothing ‘haldi-doodh’ (turmeric milk) that she said would help take care of any mild infections brewing up.

What is less known is that to really absorb the benefit of turmeric, it’s best to combine it with black pepper. It seems that turmeric needs the piperine found in black pepper to be fully absorbed.

I have begun adding turmeric to our daily food- a sprinkle in our rice or pasta, or stir fries and even a pinch in our salads- along with a good grind or two from the pepper mill!

Recipe for turmeric milk (haldi-doodh).

Try some on a cold, winter evening. The warm milk and the spices will help you relax, and the turmeric will fight off small infections.

Heat 2 cups of milk with 1⁄2 teaspoon turmeric powder, two pinches of freshly grated ginger (optional) a pinch of cracked black pepper, and 1 cinnamon stick or two crushed cardamom pods. Cook until the milk comes to a full boil. Add honey or sugar to taste. Enjoy it very warm.

According to Ayurveda, ginger, cinnamon and black pepper are warming spices that help with colds and coughs.

Suhail enjoys his home made strawberry and mango milk shake during his recent spring break.

We didn’t go anywhere this Spring break- unlike our previous breaks spent traveling to Prague, Barcelona, Amsterdam and other such cool destinations. The two big reasons being a) my new job and b) the purchase of a new home. So with the two big news(es), traveling was a big nay- and instead we unpacked, the kids slept in and the big news- Suhail, my 11 year old, learnt to whiz up fruity milk shakes!

I am thrilled: besides making a healthy snack choice, the fact that he was able to blend, pour, serve, clean up everything on his own was a liberating joy. And might I add- the milk shakes were very delicious- quite a nice way to shake up the break!

 Strawberry and mango milk shake recipe:

A half pound of strawberries- washed and hulled

One ripe mango- peeled, seeded and cut in big pieces

One to two tbsp of sugar

One large glass of cold milk

Blend everything till smooth. Add more milk if the shake is too thick. Taste for sugar.

Enjoy, enjoy.

(You can substitute mangoes with bananas as well).

Spring into the season with these four salads popping with color and flavor! Did I mention: also bursting with health and goodness?

Lovely spring salad with lettuce and strawberries.

Simple strawberry and lettuce salad

Doesn’t get any simpler! Take a bunch of romain lettuce (washed, tough ends discarded and chopped in medium pieces) and toss with two handfuls of strawberries (washed and halved). Add a half red onion, thinly sliced, plus a handful of mint and/or cilantro- well chopped. Dress with some lemon juice and really good quality olive oil, salt and plenty of black pepper. Let the flavors mingle for a bit before serving. Add some walnuts before serving- and enjoy!!

Black eyed beans and bell pepper salad

This is one of my favorites-soak a cup of black eyed beans for a few hours. Boil them in two- three cups of water till tender but not too mushy. Usually takes about 20-25 minutes. Drain any water, and add a tablespoon of good quality olive oil. Put the beans in a serving bowl. Now toss in finely chopped spring onions and their greens (3-4), two diced cucumbers, one red and green bell pepper (or any other color pepper) diced, one firm, red tomato diced (optional) and handful of a green herb or a combination (mint, cilantro, basil). Toss everything gently with lots of fresh lemon juice, a little more olive oil, two good pinches of red chilli powder or cayenne pepper, salt and lots of black pepper. (For those that like things more spicy, a finely diced green chilli pepper adds oodles of flavor). Just before serving, throw in a handful of roasted peanuts for added crunch, but it’s entirely optional. Read the rest of this entry »