Vegetarian Thai Basil Rice

I am a great fan of flavors. And when I discover something that is new to me I desperately want it to try on my own. I know this does not happen all the time but the desire is always there ;). But this time I could make it happen. I prepared this dish in a week just later after I tried it.

Have you ever wondered using basil in cooking? At least I never thought of it until in the last week when I ordered this aromatic dish, Thai Basil Rice. Basil is one of the key ingredients and a must present ingredient in the Thai kitchens.

I simply love Thai cooking, the flavours and the ease with which it is prepared. Its quick , required handful ingredients and no extra or tiring preparation, yet tastes so good. As many of you know all the dishes in Thai cuisine use lots of vegetables. This makes it healthy. To add to this we have Tofu (which is a protein power pack).


When I started eating this dish I decided that I am definitely going to try this. It had so less ingredients and just the aroma of basil. I knew this is simple to cook. I searched (Binged/Googled whatever :)) and found out the key of this rice. First, it required the Jasmine Rice, which is abundantly used in Thai cooking. And this sure makes a difference as this rice had a different texture and had  a property to stick together but was not sticky. And of course the Basil leaves. In India we worship the basil tree but never used it in cooking. Often it is used in homemade medicines but never in cooking (at least to my knowledge, (I may be wrong)). Thai basil leaves are bigger than the Indian Basil. You can get these in any Asian store both rice and leaves.

Non vegetarian eaters can enjoy this rice with chicken and fish oil. Here is the vegetarian version :). And I am so happy with the outcome of my recipe.

 

Ingredients:

Jasmine Rice - 1,1/2 Cup
Fresh Basil Leaves - 20-25 (if they are full size) or three bunches
Tofu Cubes - 500 gms
Capsicum - 1 Cup, Julienned
Onion - 1 Cup, Julienned
Garlic - 4-5 cloves, minced
Green Chillies - 2, chopped finely
Salt - per taste
Soy Sauce - 1/2 tbsp
Oil - 2-3 tbsp
Cucumber for garnishing


The original recipe calls for using fish sauce but being a vegetarian I had to find something else. I searched a lot on Internet and found there are some vegetarian replacements available for the fish sauce. I remembered the taste of the rice and I decided to try out tamarind water :) And you know what, it worked very well .

Tamarind Juice - 1-2 tbsp

Method:

1. Rinse the rice before cooking. To cook Jasmine Rice add 2 Cup water to the rice. Add little salt. Bring it to boil and then reduce the heat to low, cover it with a lid and cook for another 15-20 minutes or till the rice is entirely cooked. Then turn off the heat and keep it covered for another 10 minutes. Keep it to cool.

2. Heat oil in a pan and shallow fry tofu till it turns a little brown. We need to do this so that the tofu cubes remain intact. Once done keep them aside.

3. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add garlic and saute a little. Then add onion for 1 minute and add capsicum. saute for another 3-4 minutes. Keep burner on high flame. Make sure the veggies are not overcooked.

4. Gently add tofu and basil leaves and stir.

5. Add Soy sauce, tamarind water and salt per as per taste.

6. Now add the jasmine rice and stir evenly.

7. Cover for 2-3 minutes. Garnish it with cucumber and serve.

Tips: 

• @Veggie lovers - Make this more healthy by adding broccoli, carrots, snap peas..whatever veggie you like. :)
• @Perfectionists - In the first attempt you will not get a perfect idea for the number of basil leaves to be used, which is OK. :) . Enjoy !!!!!!!!
• @Non-vegetarians - use fish sauce and chicken.

Sending this to Serve it - Stir Fried Event (Denny's page), Hot and Spicy Treats

Sabudana Vada (Tapioca pearls fried tikkis)

This year we, I mean the Seattle, had a record snow. Schools were closed, roads were slippery, going anywhere was just risky. But snow in Seattle is like a rainbow in a rain. It lasts only for a while but makes the green world look entirely different and beautiful.

The point is there was no chance we can go for grocery and the question was what to do. No green veggies at home and got bored potatoes. Daals and pulses do not appeal the taste buds in cold winters.
When I ran out of all the options, there was this Sabudana Vada which I know how to make and does not need any special ingredient.

Ingredients:

Serves 2 or makes 12 - 15 Vadas

Tapioca pearls (Sabudana) - 1 Cup
Peanuts - roasted and crushed - Handful
Green Chili paste - per taste
Potato - 1 Small, Boiled and Smashed - (optional)
Lime juice - per taste
Salt - per taste
Sugar - per taste
Coriander - 2 tbsp, chopped
Cumin seeds - 2 tsp
Oil - for frying
Milk - 1-2 tbsp
Coriander + Cumin seeds powder - 2 - 3 tsp

Method:

1. Soak sabudana  in only enough water for 3-4 hours. There should not be any excess amount of water.

2. Now add crushed peanuts, salt, sugar, coriander + cumin seeds powder to the sabudana and mix.

3. Heat 3 tbsp oil in a large shallow skillet and then add cumin seeds to it. Once they sizzle add green chili paste and mix immediately.

4. Quickly add the sabudana mixture to this and mix for 2-3 minutes. Add 1 tbsp of milk, lime juice as per taste and mix again. Lid it and let it cook for 5-6 minutes on lower to medium flame.

5. Open the lid and mix the sabudana again. Adjust salt, sugar, and lime juice. Its hard to adjust the green chili now and hence you should be careful when you add it in the first place.

6. Add coriander and this makes the Sabudana Khichdi.

7. To make sabudana vadas we will add the boiled and smashed potatoes to this mixture. This will keep the vadas intact and help in binding.

8. Take a little mixture in hand and make tikkis of it.

9. Heat oil in a pan and then fry the tikkis. Serve with tomato ketchup, or a simple dahi (yogurt) raita.

10. To make this raita, add generous amount of sugar and little salt to plain yogurt. Mix it well to get dropping consistency. Add a seasoning of oil , mustard seeds and cumin seeds to it. Mix and serve with sabudana vadas.

Tips:

Another simple way to make vadas is to skip the khichdi step. Add green chili paste and lime

This year's Snowman :) :)

Vegetable Hakka Noodles (Sauted Spaghetti) with Schezwan Sauce

This Christmas we had  a potluck at our home. The special thing for this potluck was the Chinese theme :). Everyone made some kind of Chinese noodle, rice or Manchurian. The Hakka Noodles made by one of our friend was really amazing. Here is the same version oh Hakka Noodles made using not the Chinese noodles but the Spaghetti which is a Italian pasta variety. You can buy this in any American grocery store. This is a really quick snack or even a full meal.

Ingredients:

Serves 4-5

Spaghetti Pasta  - 1 pack or 16 oz
Carrots - 1 Cup, Julienned
Capsicum - 1 Cup, Julienned
Cabbage - 1 Cup, Julienned
Spring Onion - 1 Bunch
Soya Sauce - 1 tbsp
Schezwan Sauce - 1 tbsp (optional)
Red Chili Sauce - per taste
Vinegar - 4 tsp
Salt - per taste
Oil - 4-5 tbsp

Method:

1. Bring 4-6 quarts of water to a boil. Add salt to taste, if desired.

2. Add the spaghetti to the boiling water. Cook for about 6 minutes of till the noodles cook.

3. Once the spaghetti  cooks, drain out the excess water and rinse it again with the cold water. This prevents sticking of the noodles to each other.

4. Heat oil in a wok or in a shallow pan. Saute carrots, capsicums and cabbage in order. Keep them a little crunchy and do not overcook.

5. Add soya sauce, red chili sauce. Mix schezwan sauce with the vinegar and add this to the veggies. Add salt. Mix well.

6. Now add the noodles and quickly mix everything.

7. Adjust the sauces and salt and sprinkle the chopped green onion . Use 2 forks if you don't have proper tools. Mix and serve.

Tips:

• Schezwan sauce is optional. It is not present in authentic Hakka Noodles.
• Use any other noodles instead  of Spaghetti.

My First Homemade Pizza

Making pizza at home is a fun process. Though a little lengthy than what we are used to (order it online ;) ) its totally worth it. All the extra cheese, extra toppings and sauce are free of cost. !!! :)

Well I referred the VahReVah chefs recipe for the pizza base. This one is enough and works out well.

Pizzas made in pizza shops are prepared in very high heat and using pizza stone. Well we can heat up the home oven to its max but 350 - 400 worked for me. And that said you can always buy pizza stone if you are going to prepare it frequently. Otherwise a round large round baking sheet is good. 

Ingredients:

Serves 4-6

For Pizza base:

All Purpose Flour - 7 Cup
Active Yeast - 7 gms (Small packet, you can get this in any retail grocery store)
Salt as per taste
Water - 250 ml
Olive oil - 5 tsp
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp

For Tomato Sauce:

Tomato - 3 Cups, Puree
Onion - 1/2 Cup, Very finely Chopped
Tomato Ketchup - 1/2 Cup
Garlic - 2 Cloves, Minced
Red Chili powder or chili flakes - per taste
Oregano Italian Spice - per taste
Dry Italian Parsley - per taste
Salt - per taste
2 tbsp Oil

For Toppings:

I am strictly vegetarian and hence I have not listed any non-vegetarian toppings which are limitless.

Capsicum slits
Onion Slits
Sliced Tomatoes
Oregano
Parsley
Mozzarella Cheese - Grated
Salt as per taste
(can add other toppings like canned jalapeno and olives)

Method:

For Pizza Dough :

1. Take warm water. Sprinkle in yeast, sugar,salt. Cover it and let it stand for 10 minutes. This process actually activates yeast. make sure water is not hot otherwise yeast may die.
2. Mix in yeast mixture into remaining flour, add Olive oil and knead it for 3-4 minutes till soft dough.

3. Place the dough in the shallow vessel and cover it with a thin wet cloth. Let it rest for 1-2 hours.

4. If you check it now you can see the dough has risen and its time to knead it again. Make it rest for another 1 or 2 hours.

For Pizza Sauce:
Heat oil in a skillet add minced garlic to it. When the garlic turns a little brown, add finely chopper onions to it. Saute for 3 minutes. Now add tomato puree and let it cook another for 2 minutes. Add tomato ketchup, red chili powder (or chili flakes), oregano, parsley, salt and little sugar to it.

(Onion and tomato ketchup give a thicker consistency to the sauce. Make sure the sauce is thick so that when you spread it over the base it wont make it soggy).

For Toppings:
When using onion and capsicum I prefer to cut them in long slits and saute then in oil a little before using them. If you decide do saute onions and capsicum, make sure to remove excess water from the sauteed veggies before using them. We can use raw veggies as well.

Other toppings are tomatoes, jalapeno, olives and many more which you know :) .

For Pizza:

1. I usually make two pizzas of large size from this amount of dough. Knead the risen dough again and take half the dough on a flour greased surface (or kitchen top). Roll it a little and then with hands spread it into a large size pizza base. Make use of the flour if your hands stick to the dough in this process.
2. Make some tiny holes all over the base with the help of fork. Add pizza sauce evenly over the base or as required, add the toppings, and generously add the grated cheese. Sprinkle fresh or dried parsley and oregano as per taste.
3. Bake in a hot (350C) oven. Check in between . The pizza base rises while baking. The pizza is ready when the cheese has melted and it turns brown. remove the pizza from the oven and with the help of pizza cutter, cut the pizza into desired number of pieces.

Tips: 

• In my first attempt I got a lot of ideas about how the pizza preparation process should go. So do not worry if the pizza does not come out as expected. It takes one or two tries and you will get to it. :).

• The borders of the base taste very plain. To add some taste to it apply the garlic paste. (Garlic + Butter + little salt)
• Have you tried the artisan pizza from Dominoes which is made of Spinach and feta cheese. I love this pizza and this combination is due in my to do list.
• The pizza base dough can remain in t refrigerators for few days.

Tomato Omelet.... Yummy !!!

This one is again a Mama's recipe and one of my favorites. Thing I like about such recipes is that they require very little preparation time. Once the batter is done we are free to do other work and then we can make omelets when we want to eat. Also don't forget to make nariyal chutney with this. Omelets just taste perfect when accompanied with this chutney.

Other thing which I would like to share is about tomatoes. Whatever we eat is divided into 3 kinds of substances. Alkaline, Acidic and Neutral. Alkaline are good for body and help to maintain the required balance so that all the functioning in the body is going on properly. Most of the green veggies are alkaline. That's why green juices are recommended :). Well I had read some of the book and found out that tomatoes are mentioned in first 7 most alkaline foods. Here is a site that lists the alkaline foods and I found this quote by Dr. Young as well:

'Your health depends on the balance of an alkaline environment, created by eating foods such as tomatoes, avocados and green vegetables...striking the optimum 80/20 balance and regulating your body's acid/alkaline chemistry through simple changes in diet can result in weight loss, increased stamina and strength,a stronger immune system and a greater sense of wellbeing.'

I really feel such little changes make a huge difference in ones lifestyle, health and behavior. Tomato is the ingredient always present in every one's fridge and liked by all. Just eating it raw is always good. But if one gets bored we always have tons of recipes were we can use it and this one is one of them :)

Ingredients:

Serves 4

2 1/2 bowl Besan Flour
1/2 bowl Rice Flour
2 Medium size finely chopped Tomatoes
1 small finely chopped Onion
1 tsp Ginger paste
1 tsp Garlic paste
1 tsp Green chili paste
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 tbsp chopped Coriander
Salt as per taste
Oil

Method:

• With the help of water, mix all the above ingredients,except oil, in a bowl, adjust the chili paste and salt and make a batter not too much thick and not too much watery, medium consistency. 
• Heat a non-stick pan and spread above batter into thin omelets (the way we do it for crepes or dosas).
• Put some oil from the sides. Turn the omelet when it can be easily done (also check if its not sticking to the pan). Cook other side and serve with tomato ketchup or coconut chutney (nariyal ki chutey).

Tips:

• Some people add little amount of thick Semolina (sooji/rava) into the batter.
• One can eat this omelet along with bread.
• Rice flour makes them a little crisp.
• Chop the tomatoes and onions real fine, this will make it easy to spread omelet and have them real thin and crisp.
• Don't forget to make nariyal ki chutney. This as per my opinion is a must have besides tomato ketchup with these omelet :). I will post my version of nariyal chutney sometime :)