Sprout it, Eat it..

Ingredients:
1 cup green moong
1 tbsp peanut oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 inch ginger, crushed
6-7 green chilies
1 stem green curry leaves
a pinch of asafoetida
½ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp red chili powder
1 tsp dhana jeeru powder
2 tbsp sugar powder
½ lemon
a little bunch of cilantro, finely chopped

Soak 1 cup moong in ~3 cups water overnight.

The next day, drain off the water, and put the moong in a colander. Cover it with a wet tissue paper. Keep sprinkling it with water once in a while, just so that the moong can be kept moist and allow it to sprout well. Allow the moong to sprout for the day and prepare it on the third day.

In a large pan, heat 1 tbsp oil. Once heated enough, add the mustard seeds. Once they begin to pop, add the chopped green chilies, green curry leaves, ginger, asafoetida, turmeric powder and red chili powder. Add moong to it, along with 1 cup of water. Mix well. Cover the pan with it’s lid and allow to cook for a while. Keep mixing every once in a while and add water if required, until the moong is cooked. Add dhana jeeru powder and sugar. Mix well. Turn off the gas and squeeze in half a lemon. Mix well. Garnish with cilantro.

Serve hot as a snack.

Sambharo

Ingredients:
1 medium sized cabbage
1 large tomato, finely chopped
½ lemon
A little bunch of cilantro, finely chopped

For tempering:
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
6-7 green chilies, chopped
2 stems green curry leaves

Other masala:
½ tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste

Shred the cabbage, mix it with salt (to taste) and ½ tsp turmeric powder and set aside to marinate for ½ hour.

In a large pan, heat 1 tbsp oil. Once heated enough, add the mustard seeds. Once they begin to pop, add the chopped green chilies and green curry leaves. Mix a bit and then add the shredded cabbage to it. Cover the lid and let the cabbage cook for about 15 minutes, stirring every once in a while to prevent the cabbage from sticking to the pan. Open the lid and add the finely chopped tomatoes. Cook for a while, until both, the cabbage and tomatoes are tender and cooked fully. Turn off the stove. Squeeze half a lemon in it. Mix it well, and garnish with cilantro.

Serve hot with ghee Rotis.

Marhaba.. Umm Ali

I practically drool everytime I imagine eating sweetened condensed milk. Because I was a 'healthy' girl since I was a teenager, I was generally warned to keep away from food items like these, not that it really did.. And sometime ago, while I was out for grocery shopping, I chanced upon tonnes of cans of condensed milk in an aisle. Brought back a lot of memories where I used to sneak upto the fridge and help myself to a generous dose of it :). I got a couple of cans, and ever since then I have been on a look out for recipes that uses it. My quest for vegetarian Middle-East recipes (specifically Falafel) brought me to the dessert section and I found: Umm ali (Ali's Mother), an awesome dessert recipe from the land of pyramids, Egypt. It must taste soooo good! Umm..! And all the more better with vanilla ice cream on top. Hoping to try it out tonight, will see how it goes..

Ingredients:

1 package of frozen puff pastry (17 ounces)
1 15 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
3 cups water
1/2 cup cream
3/4 cup pistachios, shelled, chopped
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 - 3/4 cups coconut flakes (depending on taste)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Unroll puff pastry sheets and place on greased baking sheets. Bake for 15' until the puff pastry is golden and puffed. Remove from oven.

Break puff pastry into small pieces (~1-2 inches). Add nuts and coconut and be sure that they are mixed well and evenly distributed. Place nuts and pastry in greased 9x12 baking dish.

In a saucepan, heat sweetened milk, vanilla, and water on medium heat. Allow to cook for about 3-5'. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Pour milk over puff pastry-nut mixture. Pour cream on top and bake uncovered for ~15'.

Serve warm.