Organic butternut squash baked with black/kidney beans (Mexican style) with guacamole, cheese with side of roasted potatoes

Organic butternut squash baked with black/kidney beans (Mexican style) with guacamole, cheese with side of roasted potatoes. 

Great dish with no added carbs barring the optional potatoes. Very nutritious, high fiber and lots of protein as well from the beans and cheese.

20 min prep time.

Ingredients needed:

Black beans dry - 1.5 cups (or 2 cans or Organic black beans)

Tomatoes - 2

Red Onion - 1

Jalapeno Pepper - 1

Organic Butternut Squash - Medium size - 2

Potatoes (Red or white) 6-8

Black Beans Prep: Do this the night before - 5 minutes

Add 1.5 cups dry black beans to an instant pot, wash them in water and drain.  Add 4.5 cups of fresh water, half teaspoon salt. Close the instant pot lid and set to sealing. Select Pressure Cook for 30 minutes and Select delay start of 6 hours.

The black beans will soak overnight and be cooked when you wake up!

If you do not want to use fresh beans, use 2 Organic Black Beans can, fully drained and rinsed with water.

In the morning, drain the cooked black beans in a medium saucepan and add coarsely cut 1 onion, 1 tomato, 1 jalapeno split vertically, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 spoon paprika or 1/8 spoon red chilli powder, 1.5 teaspoons Taco Seasoning and boil for 5 minutes. Add some chopped cilantro in the end.

I prefer the Trader Joes Taco seasoning or Safeway brand Organic packet.

Baking the squash: You can do this in the morning - 5-7 minutes

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F

Wash the squash and dry them. Trim the top slightly and cut in the middle to make 2 halves. See picture for reference (baked butternut squash - Search (bing.com))

Remove all the seeds and fiber in the core. Take half a spoon Olive oil and apply to the inside of the squash (not exterior skin side).

Sprinkle some salt and pepper on all the squash halves (after applying Olive oil).

Place the squash face down (i.e. skin side on top) on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour.

Roasted potatoes - 5 minutes

Since your oven is going to be working for an hour, this is an appetizer you can make at the same time.

Wash and dry the potatoes. Take the potatoes and cut into half. add them to a small baking pan, add 1 teaspoon olive oil, pinch of ground black pepper. Now you can add rosemary or Italian seasoning. Another option is to add some Taco Seasoning. Mix them well so all surfaces are fully coated. Place the baking pan next to the sheet with the squash.

Guacamole: 5 minutes

Scoop out 1-2 ripe avocados in a bowl and add half a teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon Taco Seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon fresh Cilantro, 1/2 lime juice and mash/mix well.

Assembling: 5 minutes

Once the squash is baked, beans & guacamole are ready then you can assemble.

Take a baked squash and fill with black beans, top with cilantro and some Mexican cheese on top.

Enjoy your meal! See the pictures below.

Kesar Pista kulfi

Ingredients

Whole milk 4 cups (1 liter - 1000 ml)

Saffron ( kesar) strands about 10

Pistachio kernel without shell 20-25

Whole raw cashews ( not salted) 10

Cardamom pods 3

Sugar 1/3 cup

Procedure

Bring the milk to a boil in a thick bottom vessel

Take out about 4 tablespoons milk and transfer to a cup. Add the saffron strands and keep aside

Lower the heat to mediums or low and continue till volume of the milk reduces by half

Make a coarse powder of the pistachio,  cashew and cardamom kernels.  Discard the cardamom pod skin

Add the saffron soaked milk with strands, sugar and pistachio/cashew powder to the milk and heat for 2 minutes. Turn off heat completely. 

Let milk mixture cool down to room temperature 

Pour the mixture into popsicle mould or small Dixie cups. Seal the top with aluminum foil. Insert a popsicle stick if available from the top through the foil.

Freeze overnight or for 8 hours minimum.

Remove foil and kulfi from mould.  Enjoy your home made Kesar pista kulfi!

 

 Commonly used recipes - handy links

1. Punjabi Khadi  - I use 4 cups of water instead of 7 in recipe. Also adjust red chilly poweder to suit your taste.
2. Rava Dosa - Good recipe - adjust green chillies as needed. Pudina Chutney can be made without garlic.
3. Rava Upma - Use coarse Rava/Sooji. Add 1 carrot finely chopped with onion. I use 2 cups water for 1 cup of Rava. You can also add some peas with the carrots.
4. InstantPot Khichdi
5. Chilla Recipe - super high protein - very easy to make
6. Bhindi Do Pyaza gravy
7. Matar Paneer - I lightly fried the paneer in oil along with julienne ginger slices and then added to the gravy
8. Palak Paneer
9. Vegetable Kurma - Saravana Bhavan Style - reduce green chilles and chilly powder to your taste.
10. Crispy Tofu in Air Fryer
11. Jeera (cumin) rice  - I use 2 teaspoons NOT 2 tablespoons of Jeera. 
12. Homemade Custard without using a premix box - instead of Vanilla, use saffron soaked in milk and top with crushed pistachios to make Kesar Pista custard. You only need corn starch powder which is super cheap and milk to go with it.
13. Carrot Halwa
14. Bisibelebath Powder (Kannada)
15. Bisibelebath (Kannada)
16. Aval Payasam (Poha Kheer with jaggery) (Tamil)

Popular recipe websites/YouTube channels

• Hebbars Kitchen - you can also get the Android or iOS apps
• Your Food Lab
• Venkatesh Bhat
• Yogambal Sundar
• Srirangam Radhu

Avocado Mor Kuzhambu (yoghurt sauce dish)

When I first broached the subject of using Avocado in this dish, everyone frowned at me. Once they tasted it, they were licking their fingers and had seconds. Here is the recipe for you to try out.

Preparation time - 5 minutes

Ingredients:

Ripe Avocado - 1

Grated coconut - 3-4 Table spoons

Red Chili   - 2 

Fresh curry leaves - 6 leaves washed

Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Cooking oil - 1-2 teaspoons

Turmeric powder - 1/8 teaspoon

Yoghurt - 2 cups

Salt - 1/2 teaspoon 

Procedure:

In a saucepan add the turmeric powder, salt, scooped avocado and the yoghurt.

Grind the coconut, 1 chili, curry leaves to a smooth paste. You can use a green chili instead of red.

Mix the paste into the same saucepan with other ingredients

Use a hand blender to mix the avocado with the yoghurt and other ingredients.

Heat the cooking oil in a small pan and add the mustard seeds and 1 chilli. Once the mustard seeds crackles, pour over into the saucepan. mix it and taste. Adjust for salt and add red chilli powder/sambar powder per your taste if needed.

Your Mor Kuzhambu (yoghurt dish) is ready to be enjoyed with Rice and vegetable of your choice, Dosa, idly or anything else you like. Here is a picture of what this looks like.

Variations: 

1. If  you dont have coconut or a way to grind, just use 3/4 teaspoon of sambar powder instead.
2. If you make Mor Kuzhambu using a different method, just add an avocado scooped and blend it in using a hand blender.

Tomato and Peanut Chutney

 Ingredients

• Ripe tomatoes - 3
• Raw or roasted peanuts - 3 tablespoons
• Fresh grated coconut - 2-3 tablespoons
• Urad Dal - 1 teaspoon
• Dried red chillies - 2 broken
• Hing/Asafoetida - 1/8 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves fresh - 12 leaves washed
• Cooking oil - 4 teaspoons
• Black mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Ginger - half inch piece sliced
• Cilantro chopped - 2 teaspoons
• Salt - 1/8 teaspoon
• Sambar powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Steps

• Part One - prepare garnish
• Heat a frying pan, add 2 teaspoons cooking oil
• Add the mustard seeds, red chillies, curry leaves (half quantity) and a pinch of Hing/asafoetida
• Once the mustard seeds crackle, turn off the heat and shift the contents to a bowl
• Part Two - prepare chutney
• Cut the tomatoes into 4 pieces each
• Heat the same pan, add 2 teaspoons cooking oil
• Add the Urad dal and fry till sligth brown
• Add the tomatoes, peanuts, ginger, remaining curry leaves, salt, sambar powder and fry
• Sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons water if needed
• Once the tomatoes are cooked and mushy, turn off the heat
• Add the cooked tomatoes mixture into a mixie/grinder jar, add the cilantro leaves and make a fine paste
• Shift the paste to the same bowl with the garnish in part one
• Adjust salt by adding more if needed. Add a pinch of red chilli powder if more spice is needed

Enjoy the chutney with your favorite dish like idli, dosa, vada, pakora etc or mix with rice, ghee and eat

She - a poem

 She

She is a bundle of joy

She taught me the happiness in innocence

She taught me motherhood

She made me cry and laugh

With a twinkle in her eye

And a smile with a dimple

 

She is a bubbling butterfly

She wants to explore everywhere

She has a question about everything

She loves all her friends

She is running like a rabbit

To catch the next rainbow

 

She is a bud exposed to the sun

She is blooming like a gentle flower

She is buzzing like a honeybee

She is learning new things

She likes to question everything

To be a philosopher and scientist rolled into one

 

She is a teacher, politician, engineer

She is a nurse, physician, a CEO

She is an accountant, attorney, a scientist

She is a daughter, mother, sister and wife

She is a leader and beacon

In every field you can think

 

She is a friend, philosopher and guide

She is the radiating energy of hope

She is the cheerleader and go-to reference

She is driver behind every drive

She is a compassionate companion

Till the day I lie in my coffin

Chole with sweet potatoes (Chickpea gravy curry) - InstantPot method

This uses the overnight soak and cook method takes about 20 minutes max to make. You can also do this first thing in the morning for dinner time. So you could start the soaking at 8 or 9 PM. Upon waking make the masala add it and have the chole ready around 10-11 AM for lunch.

You could start the soak at 8 AM, add the masala around 4 PM and have the chole ready to consume at 6-7 PM dinner.

Ingredients:

Organic Chickpea (kabuli chana) dry - 2 cups 

Large sweet potato - 1 (or 2 small) - peeled and diced to cubes 

    --> you can substitute with 3-4 small cubed potatoes or 2 large potatoes. You have to mash a little harder - see below

Red onion - 1 large

Tomato - 1 large

Garlic - 2 pods peeled & chopped

Ginger - 1 inch - chopped

Cilantro - 2 table spoon chopped

MDH Chana Masala - 1.5 tea spoons 

    --> you can substitute with a brand of your choice, check if they already have salt and chilli powder etc so you dont double add

Red chilli powder 1/4 tea spoon

Turmeric powder - 1/8 tea spoon

Water 6 cups

Oil - 2 table spoons

Ghee - 1 tea spoon (substitute with 1-2 teaspoons of butter)

Fennel seeds (saunf) - 1 tea spoon

Salt - 1 tea spoon (start with this and adjust later)

Overnight soak (5 minutes)

This uses the overnight soak and cook method. You can also do this first thing in the morning for dinner time.

In the InstantPot vessel (taken out) add the 2 cups chickpea, wash and rinse with cold water and drain it fully. Add 6 cups water and the diced sweet potatoes. Add a pinch of salt.

Place the vessel in the InstantPot, close with the lid and set to sealing position. Once you power on the InstantPot, press Pressure cook for 25 minutes, press Delay Start for 8 hours. This will soak your chickpeas for 8 hours and then pressure cook for 25 minutes.

In the morning you will find the chickpea and sweet potatoes fully cooked. 

Masala preparation (10 minutes)

In a pan heat 2 table spoons of oil, add the fennel seeds. Once they are light brown add the chopped garlic and ginger. After a minute of frying add the red onions. Add the salt and ghee and fry the onions for 4-5 minutes. At this point add the tomatoes, MDH chana masala powder, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and mix & fry it till the tomatoes are mushy. Turn off the heat and add the chilantro.

Let this cool for 10 minutes and use a hand blender to grind to a coarse paste (of onion, tomatoes, spices etc).

Finishing ( 3 minutes)

In the Instantpot take a ladle and mash the sweet potatoes till it forms the gravy and the chickpea is intact with it's shape.

Add the ground masala paste to the InstantPot now along with the mashed sweet potatoes and chickpea with all the gravy liquid in it. Add salt if needed to get it to the right taste of your choice. Add a little water if you want to make the gravy thinner.

Power on the InstanPot and press slow cook for 4 hours. Set the lid to venting.

After the slow cook your Chole is ready to eat for lunch with poori, bhatura, parahta, rotis, cooked basmati rice of your choice. 

You can also use this Chole to eat with Tikki or Veggie patty of your choice as well. Add a cilantro and date/tamrind chutney to go with this. Add some chopped onion and fresh cilantro on the top.