HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Singaporeanizing Thanksgiving! - from Murali's kitchen

Happy Thanksgiving EVERYONE!!

Eating green - Pesto ravioli with toasted pinenuts

Basil Pesto:

2 cups fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup (about) extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

In a blender, pulse the basil, pine nuts, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper until finely chopped. With the blender still running, gradually add enough oil to form a smooth and thick consistency. Transfer the pesto to a medium bowl and stir in 1/2 cup of cheese. Season the pesto with more salt and pepper, to taste. (The pesto can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

A memory from Paris - Chocolate Croissants!

When K and I were visiting Europe last summer, being a tight-budget backpacking trip, we weren't really particular about the accomodation. We stayed mostly in budget hotels and hostels. But Paris...we were not ready for a compromise. We picked a decent hotel in the Montparnasse area -just off Pasteur metro- with a neat parisian view! Across from the Hotel was this quaint little bakery that had the most amazing fresh breads and pastries. Every morning for those few days that we stayed at Paris, we'd get so tempted by the sheer variety of pastries, we'd stuff ourselves so much and top it off with a cappucino that we'd hardly any appetite at lunch.



Back home, K attempted to re-create the choco-wrapped in pastry, with more than decent success. It tasted pretty good and was layered well, but we should have used store-bought pastry sheets to get the flaky texture. Since K is not very fond of shortcuts in cooking, he found the recipe on food network, and made if from scratch.


















Pain au chocolat




















Cappucino to go with that.........anyone??

Tamarind treat - Puliyodharai/ Pulihora

Ingredients:

Rice - 1½ cups
Tamarind paste - 2½ tsp
Asafoetida - 1 pinch
Green chili - 4
Red chili (dried) - 4
Turmeric - ½ tsp
Salt - 1½- 2 tsp
Oil - 3 tbs
Toasted peanuts- 2 tbsp

For spice powder:
Red chilies (dry) - 8
Coriander seeds - 1½ tsp
Split urad dhal - ¾ tsp
Split chana dhal - 1 tsp
Pepper corns - ½ tsp
Fenugreek - ½ tsp
Sesame seeds - 1 tbsp

For seasoning:
Mustard seeds - ½ tsp
Split urad dhal - 1 tsp
Split chana dhal - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - per taste

Method:

• Cook rice seperately with enough water. Once cooked, seperate grains by adding 1 tbsp of sesame oil. Add ¼ tsp of turmeric powder to the rice and let it cool
• Roast all ingredients except sesame seeds for the spice powder in ½ tsp of oil, toast(without oil) the sesame seeds seperately and grind everything together into a fine powder.
• In a tsp of oil, add the 4 red chilies and asafoetida, and let it roast till the chilies become dark brown. Now add the tamarind paste mixed in a cup of water.
• Add chopped green chilies, salt and curry leaves and let the mixture boil until the tamarind extract cooks and reduces to about half.

• Add toasted peanuts and the seasoning ingredients (roasted in ½ tsp of oil) to the rice.
• Finally add the tamarind pulp to the rice and mix well.
• Serve with plain yoghurt or sour cream.

Something for the sweet tooth- Moong dal kheer

This is very simple and healthy recipe from my sister Annu. Moong dal is an excellent source of protein and this kheer/ payasam is sure to satiate any sweet craving! This kheer is mildly sweet, so feel free to add more jaggery if you like it sweeter.


Ingredients (to serve 4)

1 cups moong dal (split green gram)
1 tbsp ghee
3 cups water
1/2 cup jaggery (or brown sugar)
cardamom powder for flavor
10 pcs cashews n kishmish(raisins) roasted in 1 tsp ghee
1/2 cup coconut milk (tinned)


Lightly roast the moong dal in 1 tbsp of ghee for about 10 mins.
Add 3 cups of water and cook the dal for about 20 mins.
Melt jaggery in a teaspoon of water and add cardamom powder with fried cashews and raisins.
Stir in the jaggery mixture to the cooked moong dal.
Simmer for 5minutes and turn off the heat.
Stir in the coconut milk to moong dal mixture.
Serve warm.

Vote now!!

VKN of My Dhaba is graciously hosting a virtual cooking contest at mydhaba.blogspot.com. I've submitted three entries - V66 (Jap Chae), V86 (Pineapple and Berry tarts) and V106 (Tricolor Agar Agar).

There are loads of lovely recipes. Everyone's allowed to vote once, so please go ahead and cast your precious votes to decide the winner of the contest!