Mango Salsa

We all have a love hate relationship with summer dont we ?? I very much love summer and eagerly wait to gorge on the yummy ,sweet and  luscious mangoes while I hate it for the heat and sweat..well there is no gain without pain. 

This year's summer has been totally different for all of us across the globe . Most of us are staying indoors and doing our bit by breaking the chain while the frontline health workers are struggling to fight the pandemic.  Salute and prayers to them and their families to be safe .

Well , now that we have spoken of lockdown , kids are all at home and need to be engaged as they get bored quickly as possible . Also they keep asking for something to munch on to keep the boredom away and parents look for healthy alternatives all the time. 

Salsa is the Spanish word for sauce but in present day cuisine it is mostly used as a dip or an accompaniment to nachos, burritos, grilled veggies etc.  There are lot of varieties of salsa which can be prepared,today we shall prepare the tangy sweet and mildly spiced Mango Salsa as it the season of Mangoes. 

Mango salsa is a very refreshing sauce or dip and is certainly a riot of flavors when we take a mouthful ..have it with nachos or as is , it is too good to resist . Let us quickly get to the recipe now .

Preparation Time - 10 mins

Cooking Time - Nil 

Assembling Time - 2 mins 

Complexity- easy 

Ingredients

1 sweet ripe mango 

1 medium sized tomatoes 

1-2 less spicy green chilly 

1 medium sized salad cucumber 

Lemon juice from 1 lime

Pinch of salt

Pinch of freshly ground pepper 

Lots of fresh corriander 

Method 

• Peel the skin of the mango and chop it into small cubes .
• Deseed the tomatoes and cut into small cubes. 
• Peel the cucumber , cut into small cubes .
• In a salad bowl , add the chopped mangoes, cucumber, tomatoes and the finely chopped green chillies, pepper , salt and lime juice.
• Mix all of it gently and lastly add the freshly chopped corriander. 
•  You may chill it in the fridge for a while or place it on an ice bath and enjoy with your favorite nachos .

Pasta in Red Sauce - No Onion No Garlic

I am not a great fan of pasta but V loves pasta to the core especially when it is loaded with a lot of cheese and flavored with chilli flakes and oregano .
Pasta would always be on his menu when we dined out as I wouldn't make it at home since I was skeptical about the outcome and flavors

Now with the ongoing lockdown , all restaurant outings and dinners have taken a back seat and I thought this was the time to overcome my inhibition and try to satisfy V's craving of a cheesy pasta and I was  very happy with the texture and taste of the pasta and so was V , except for his comment was "some more cheese would have made it top class" ....hahaha that is because the health freak inside me uses cheese sparingly..

So for all the first timers who are skeptical about trying, go ahead and give it a try, it is easy and yummy .

Preparation Time : 20 mins
Cooking Time : 40 mins
Serves : 1
Complexity: Medium

Ingredients
1 cup pasta
3 medium sized tomatoes
1/2 capsicum
2 small green chillies finely chopped
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 olive oil
Basil/parsley/cilantro for garnish
Cheese as needed
Salt
Pinch of sugar

Method

• Boil the pasta al dente (until soft) as per the instructions on the back of the pack . I have used penne pasta here, you could use elbow,fusseli,twisted pasta anything that you like .
• Drain the water through a colander and run cold water over the pasta and let it cool down.
• Grind two tomatoes into a fine puree and keep aside . Chop the other tomato and capsicum into small pieces .
• In a pan , heat the olive oil and saute the green chillies,tomatoes, capsicum .Add some salt and let it cook until the tomatoes get mushy. 
• Add in the puree , oregano and chilli flakes and mix it well along with some sugar .adjust the spice level as per your taste .
• Let the mixture boil and reach a saucy consistency and the raw flavor of the tomato must not be there .
• Switch off the sauce when the desired consistency is reached .
• Arrange the cooked pasta in a bowl, pour this sauce over it , generously grate some cheese and garnish with basil /parsley or thyme .
• I had to use cilantro (kothmir) as basil was unavailable due to the lockdown .
• Serve it hot with some warm toasted bread and enjoy your dinner . 

Notes

If you like garlic ,then saute some finely chopped garlic in olive oil along with the chillies and tomatoes.

Italian seasoning of mixed herbs can also be used instead of just chilli and oregano flakes .
If olive oil isn't available handy you can make use of unsalted butter or any cooking oil like rice bran or sunflower oil .

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Bhelpuri - Indian Snack

Bhelpuri is one of the most loved and relished street food of India . It is called by different names in various parts of India like Jhalmuri in Kolkatta , Bhel in Maharahstra /Gujarat ,  Masal Pori or Mandakki in Karnataka, Pori Kadle in Tamilnadu .
Names may be different but the main ingredient remains the same - Puffed rice/kurmura/pori  Depending on the regions the various chutneys and flavoring spices added to this impart its regional taste, touch and feel to the snack .
As many of you might know about my love and connection to Mumbai , you just cannot separate the street food flavor as well as the Mumbai out of me .So as you guessed it right , today we shall see how to make Bhelpuri the way it is served in Bombay .
The main flavoring for bhel comes from the Theekha chutney and Meetha chutney which play a very important role .
You can check out how to make the two chutneys and store it in your freezer . If you have the chutney ready then it is absolutely a child's play to assemble Bhelpuri. 

Preparation Time - 10 mins
Cooking Time - Nil
Complexity- easy

Ingredients
1 big bowl of puffed rice/kurmura/ pori
1 medium sized potato boiled and mashed
2 medium tomatoes chopped finely
1 medium cucumber chopped finely
1 medium onion (optional) chopped finely
3-4 tablespoons meetha chutney
2 tablespoon Theekha chutney
1/2 lemon
Finely chopped coriander
Some fine sev /aloo sev
Handful of Flavored groundnuts /fried channa dhall
Pinch of black salt
1 tsp red chilli powder.

Method

• In a wide mixing bowl, add the chopped potatoes, tomatoes, onions, cucumber with some meetha chutney and theeka chutney and mix it well with a spoon . This will ensure the flavor is well absorbed by the vegetables. 
• Add in the puffed rice, remaining chutneys, some flavored groundnuts /channa dhall, red chilli powder , black salt and mix it well until the chutneys coat the puffed rice nicely. Lastly squeeze some lime juice and mix it again .
• You can adjust the spice as per your taste by adding or reducing the amount of chutneys used .
• Lastly garnish the bhel with some crisp sev and fresh coriander and serve it with a cup of tea . 
• I have not used onions as we follow a no onion no garlic diet at home . 
• Fresh and thinly diced raw mangoes can also be added in the mango season

Meetha chutney
8-10 dates - remove the seed or use seedless

lemon sized tamarind
2-3 tablespoon powdered jaggery
1-2 tsp roasted jeera powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
pinch of salt.

Method

• In a big vessel, add the dates and tamarind with 1/2 cup water and bring to a boil for 5 mins. Let it cool well.
• Put them in a blender and grind it well and sieve it through a strainer.
• To this thick extract, add the jaggery , red chilli powder,salt,jeera powder and about  1 cup water and bring it to a slight boil .
• Once it cools down, you can refrigerate this chutney.

Theekha Chutney 

half a bunch fresh corriander / cilantro
1/4 bunch of pudina / mint
Few cashew nuts or raw peanuts
3-4 green chillies
1 tbsp lime juice
salt as per taste
pinch of  black salt
Pinch of sugar

Method

• Blend all the ingredients except salt and black salt in a blender / mixie with minimal water only if needed.The lime juice does the needful.
• Finally add the black salt and normal salt and mix well.
• Store and refrigerate in a dry air tight container and use a dry spoon for prolonged shelf life.

Cucumber Pancakes - desi style

Well we all know , necessity is the mother of invention and kitchen is a place where such inventions keep happening time and again .Today's recipe was also an outcome of one such times .  This month's theme in our Social media group was Pancakes . This was suggested by Ms Archana blogger at the Mad Scientist's kitchen who wanted us to come out with some different variations of pancakes in our own style . Secret ingredients given to me by Shobha Ji  of Shobha's food maza was gram flour /besan and cucumber while I gave her Quinoa and Sprouts . Her recipe of pancake can be found here. Do check her blog for some wonderful recipes from various  cuisines.

Well now over to the recipe... due to the sudden lockdown announcements and panic ..I realised I was running out of gram flour and the local shops also had run out of stock due to panic shopping. So as I pondered how to go about with the challenge , the good old staple of a south Indian home came to my rescue...well you all guessed it right ; Dosa Batter was my savior.
Now to know how to make this flavorful pancake do check my recipe below .


Preparation Time - 10 mins
Cooking Time - 3 mins per pancake
Complexity- easy
Serves- 2 -3

Ingredients

3 ladles dosa batter
4 tablespoon  besan /gramflour
1 medium cucumber peeled and grated.
Salt to taste
Pinch of sugar
Oil

Method

• Mix the gram flour with half cup water and whisk well to form a smooth batter without lumps. 
• Add this to the dosa batter and mix it well .
• Squeeze out the excess water from the grated cucumber and mix it well with the batter.
• Adjust salt as needed . Add a pinch of sugar.  
• Batter consistency should be just like dosa batter .
• Heat a tava or griddle and pour a ladleful of batter over it . Donot spread like regular dosa. 
• It has to be thick like pancake/oothappam .
• Drizzle a little oil .cook on one side and flip it over . Cook well. 
• Serve hot with a chutney of your choice. 

Pahadi Raita | Kumaoni Raita

Raita(hindi) or thayir pachadi (tamil) is a very flavorful yogurt based side dish served along with meals and is very famous all over India.  Each region has a different style of flavoring their raitas.  The south Indian version of raita Is generally flavored with plain salt and is tempered with mustard and udad dhall seeds along with red chillies or at times ground coconut chilli paste is added to the whipped yogurt and mixed with either grated cucumber or tomato or a mix of cucumber,carrots and tomato . Sometimes fine bits of green chilli are cut and added to whipped yogurt along with slices of onion which is the most preferred dish for Biryanis or South style famous Parotta.
The version of raita made in the northern India is flavored using roasted cumin powder , chat masala, red chilli powder and salt .  The vegetables used are finely diced and added to the yogurt.
At our home we love raita or pachadi to go along with our meal .
This month when we selected the theme as cuisines of Uttarakand in our Facebook group Shhhh secret cooking challenge , I was attracted to this recipe of Pahadi Raita or Kumaoni Raita as it is called. 
It is a simple cucumber based raita but the usage of mustard and fenugreek powder as flavoring agent is what elevates the taste and flavor of this dish.

My partner for this month's theme was another fellow blogger Priya Mahesh of  at200deg blog and she gave me  cucumber and methi seeds as the secret ingredients to work with while I gave her turmeric powder and corriander with which she has prepared Chainsoo a dal based dish .

Preparation Time - 5 mins
Cooking Time - nil
Serves - 2 to 3
Complexity  - easy

Ingredients
2 cups thick whisked yogurt
1 medium sized cucumber grated
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1/3 tsp methi powder
Pinch of salt
Pinch of red chilli powder
Pinch of turmeric
Pinch of roasted jeera powder

Method
Grate the cucumber, squeeze out the water and keep aside .
Whisk the yogurt well in a wide bowl and add in all the spice powders and salt and mix it well .
Add the grated cucumber, mix it and let it set for atleast 30mins before serving . This setting time is needed for the flavor of mustard and methi powder to seep into the yogurt mixture .

Notes
A drizzle of mustard oil is traditionally done over the raita , I skipped it as we didn't like the flavor of mustard oil .

Powder the mustard freshly in a mortar pestle before making the raita to get the fresh aroma . Yellow mustard if used is best or else we can use the regular black mustard also for making the powder .

Choora Matar | Chooda Matar | Matar Poha - UP Special

India is a land full of flavor and amazing cuisines varying from region to region. Just as they say a language's dialect changes every 100km , I feel the same holds good for our varied cuisines as well . The basic ingredients are common but the way they are used and treated in the individual recipes based on their regional influence is what makes the recipe stand apart .

This month I was paired with Priya Iyer for our Secret Cooking Challenge and she was very generous to give me Green Peas and Green Chilli as secret ingredients to dish out a recipe and I gave her potatoes and red chilli as her secret ingredients and friends do check out the yummy Aloo Rassedar that she dished out from the Uttar Pradesh special cuisine. 

Now, coming to today's recipe.. the ingredients are very common and a staple breakfast or tea time snack in most of the households all over india... do you think it is upma? NO NO...it is a most favorite item for many...the POHA a.k.a the flattened Rice Flakes.

Poha is made in different forms like Kanda Poha or Kanda Batata Poha which is famous in Maharashtra, Batata Poha of Gujarat , Gojju Avlakki  of Karnataka , Aval Kesari or Aval payasam (kheer) from Tamil Nadu .

More so , Poha is also offered as GopalKaala to lord Krishna in Vrindavan for Krishna Janmashtami as we all know how fond Krishna was of Poha along with his love for butter , ghee , milk etc.

While I was trying to explore the various recipes , I was somehow attracted to this recipe's name of Chooda Matar or Choora Matar as they call it in Banaras or Lucknow. When I went reading about it I was surprised to know that it is nothing but Poha made using peas but trust me it is no where similar to the usual Poha we make for breakfast.  This is a total No onion No garlic recipe and hence fell into my bucket perfectly and I did not have to tweak this recipe at all .

The ingredients that are used in the making of Choora Matar gives a very different taste and punch to the final product. I am sure , after reading so much most of you must be salivating now ...let us now go and look at the recipe. 

Preparation Time - 15 mins

Cooking Time - 10 mins

Complexity  - Easy

Serves - 2 to 3

Ingredients 

 2 cups of thick poha (100 gms approx)

1/2 cup fresh peas or frozen peas 

2-3 green chillies chopped

Small piece of ginger finely chopped

1/2 tsp pepper powder

1/2 tsp garam masala powder

1/2 tsp jeera or cumin seeds

Asafoetida as needed 

Salt as needed 

2 tablespoon oil 

Fresh corriander chopped

Juice from 1/2 lemon

Few cashewnuts

Method 

• Rinse the poha well in a colander multiple times and let it sit for 10 to 15 mins . This will soften the poha 
• Incase of using fresh peas , par boil them with a little salt and keep aside .
• In a kadai /pan , heat some oil and splutter the jeera , fry the green chilies and ginger. 
• Add the asafoetida, pepper powder , garam masala and quickly stir it to avoid burning .
• Now add the soaked poha, salt and mix it well until all the masalas get mixed with the poha .
• Add the boiled peas , sprinkle some water , close the kadai with a lid and cook the poha for 3-4 mins .
• Turn off the stove, open the lid and add in the lemon juice,fried cashews and fresh corriander and toss it well .
• Serve hot with a cup  piping hot Ginger Cardamom Tea or Strong Filter Coffee .