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COCKTAIL IDLI SKEWERS



    I am a hardcore Punjabi but somehow we make a lot of South Indian breakfast and snacks at my home. I recently posted the recipe of Milagai Podi, which is also known as Gunpowder masala, and I thought I should share one of the ways we eat it at home! Here's a recipe that's super simple, yet has bold and complex flavours.







    Basically, Podi or Gunpowder masala, as the name suggests is a fiery dry powder which is a blend of spices and lentils. It’s a popular southern Indian food condiment typically served as side dish with idli as a dipping condiment along with ghee or sesame oil. It's got a rich nutty and earthy flavour with a kick of spice, and the ghee adds a buttery coating on your palate.


    I love serving this as a cocktail snack or starter, as I find this recipe to be one of the quickest way to impress your guests – it's so simple but no one will guess it just by tasting it!


    To learn how to make the Gunpowder masala from scratch, click here!

    YIELDS: 15 cocktail skewers

    PREP TIME: 15 minutes

    COOKING TIME: 20 minutes



    INGREDIENTS


    For Marinade:

    • 1/4 cup Milagai podi

    • 2 tsp lemon juice

    • 1/4 tsp salt

    • 2 tbsp warm melted ghee

    For Kebabs:

    • 1 cup ready idli batter

    • 2 onions, cut in 2cm pieces

    • 3 medium bell pepper (red, yellow and green) cut into 2cm pieces

    • Oil for grilling the skewers

    Equipment needed:

    • Mini idli mould

    • Cocktail skewers



    METHOD


    1. To steam the idlis, take a large cooking pot/ steamer, or a large pressure cooker. Pour about 1 and a half cup of water, cover to let it boil.

    2. Meanwhile, brush mini idli mould with oil. Pour the batter in the mould, stack the plates in its stand and place it in the cooker. Cover and let it steam for 10 minutes on low flame.

    3. Remove stand from the steamer/ cooker, unmould the idlis with the help of a table knife. Keep aside.

    4. Thread the cocktail skewers with idlis, onions and colored bell peppers alternatively. Heat the griddle pan and brush it with little oil. Now grill the skewers on low heat, turn the sides to evenly roast. Grill until bell peppers and onions are roasted and slightly charred.

    5. While the idli skewers are grilling, prepare the marinade. Pour Milagai podi powder, salt, lemon and ghee in a small bowl and mix together. Brush the marinade over the grilled skewers and serve it with coconut or tomato chutney.



    COOK'S NOTES:


    • Pour just enough water in the steaming vessel where it’s not touching the idli mould. It should be just below the bottom tray of the mould.

    • If you do not have the podi masala already prepared, you can always make these with sambar masala powder if you have one in your pantry. To prepare milagai podi powder, follow the recipe of Milagai Podi on the website under the breakfast category.

    • To prepare idli batter at home soak 1 part urad dal and 3 parts of idli rice along with one part of poha and half a tsp of fenugreek seeds for 4-6 hours. Drain water from soaked rice and dal and reserve. In a grinder mixer, add the drained rice and dal mix, adding little reserved water from soaked rice and grind it to a smooth paste. If you find the batter thick add little more water. Cover the batter with a lid and leave it to ferment for 6-8 hours or overnight. Once fermented add little salt and it’s ready to make the idli.

    • To make this dish vegan, replace ghee with sesame oil.


    DAWAT-E-BAINGAN



      Eggplants are an often overlooked vegetable, but I just love to eat them in any form. Thought of converting this humble and under appreciated vegetable into something exotic and delicious.


      I created this dish with a combination of flavours from India and Middle East, using ingredients such as chaat masala, coriander, ginger and green chilies, alongside dates and pine nuts.

      It’s such a simple dish to make but it tastes really delectable and regal, hence I named them Dawat-e-Baingan - dawat means royal feast, and baingan means eggplant!


      I hope you enjoy this simply delicious recipe.




      YIELDS: 24

      PREP TIME: 20 minutes

      BAKE TIME: 20 minutes

      ASSEMBLE TIME: 8 hours or overnight



      INGREDIENTS


      • 10-12 baby eggplants

      • 250g dates, chopped

      • 2 tbsp ginger, finely chopped

      • 2-3 green chillies, finely chopped

      • 3-4 tbsp lemon juice

      • 4 tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped

      • 3/4 tsp salt or to taste

      • 1 1/2 tsp chat masala

      • 3 tbsp pine nuts, lightly toasted

      • 1/4 cup fresh pomegranate seeds

      • 3-4 tbsp rapeseed oil/vegetable or sunflower oil

      • Freshly ground black pepper for seasoning

      • Salt for seasoning


      For Garnishing:

      • 1 tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped

      • 2 tbsp pomegranate seeds

      • 1 tbsp pine nuts, lightly toasted


      METHOD


      1. Wash, pat dry and cut the eggplants in half lengthwise along with stalks.

      2. Grease a large baking dish with the rapeseed oil, place the eggplants facing cut side up. Season them well with salt and pepper. Generously drizzle some more oil on top to coat well.

      3. Bake in preheated oven at 225°C for 20 minutes or until they are tender and cooked. Remove from oven and let it cool.

      4. In a bowl, combine dates, green chillies, ginger, lemon juice, pomegranate, pine nuts, salt, chat masala and coriander. Mix them well to make the stuffing. Check the seasoning, add more if you need any extra.

      5. Take the eggplant half, press the center with the back of a small spoon to make a cavity, put a small amount of stuffing on top. Repeat with rest of the eggplant halves.

      6. Place them on serving tray and garnish with pomegranate seeds, pine nuts and chopped coriander leaves.


      COOK'S NOTES:


      • If you are serving these in a dinner party, eggplants can be baked ahead of time and kept aside to be assembled later.

      • The stuffing can be prepared without adding coriander, pomegranate seeds and pine nuts. Add these at last minutes to savour the crunch and freshness of the herb.


      BEETROOT CARPACCIO SALAD



        Beetroot carpaccio is the vegetarian version of the classical Italian recipe of carpaccio which is prepared with thin slices of raw beef dressed with a vinaigrette using olive oil, lemon, capers, and even mustard is added for bit of a kick.


        This beetroot carpaccio salad is an impressive yet effortless appetizer salad which is so fresh, healthy and delicious. It’s one of those recipes that barely requires any cooking but still looks like a million bucks on the table.


        Beetroots are packed with essential nutrients and are a great source of fibre, folic acid, vitamin B6, iron, potassium, magnesium and many more.


        Recently I was detected with low iron deficiency and I was kind of worried. Started googling, reading and searching about the best natural sources of food to enhance the levels of the deficiency and found that beetroot is an amazing vegetable which contains nitrates and pigments that helps in increasing the blood flow.

        During this lockdown I ordered my bulk quantity of the veggies from the vendors and I had a large bag full of beautiful beetroots and I still had some organic arugula leaves growing in my garden. I paired it with orange vinaigrette which adds the beautiful sweet citrusy note to this refreshing summery salad. I served it with some grilled sumac and za’atar chicken and hassle back potatoes and everyone in the family was thrilled and thoroughly enjoyed the feast.



        SERVES: 4-5

        PREP TIME: 10 minutes

        BAKE TIME: 1 hour

        PASSIVE TIME: 1 hour

        ASSEMBLE TIME: 10 minutes



        INGREDIENTS


        • 3 medium beetroot

        • 4 cups/1 bunch Arugula leaves, washed and spin dried

        • 40g feta cheese

        • 40g hazelnuts, toasted & roughly chopped


        For Orange Vinaigrette:

        • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

        • 3 tsp lime juice

        • 1 tsp grated ginger

        • 1/2 small navel orange, zested and juiced (2tbsp of juice)

        • 1 tbsp honey or maple syrup

        • 1/3 tsp salt or to taste

        • Dash of freshly cracked black pepper


        METHOD


        1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.

        2. Wash the beetroots and wrap them individually in a piece of foil.

        3. Place them on a baking tray and bake them for an hour.

        4. Cool completely and gently peel off the skin.

        5. Slice them thinly with the help of a mandoline or a sharp knife.

        6. Arrange the slices on a platter, slightly overlapping each other.

        7. Mix all the ingredients of the orange vinaigrette to prepare the dressing.

        8. Sprinkle half of the vinaigrette dressing on the arranged beetroot slices. Place arugula leaves in the center, sprinkle feta cheese and toasted hazelnuts, drizzle rest of the dressing on top of arugula leaves and serve immediately.


        COOK'S NOTES:


        • Beetroots can be baked and kept wrapped in the refrigerator for 2 days. Cool them completely before placing in the refrigerator.

        • Dress the beetroots only at the last minute before serving else the beetroot will sweat and the arugula salad leaves will wilt and won’t stay fresh and crisp.

        • I added ginger in my vinaigrette but you can always skip it if you don’t like the flavour.

        • Prepare vinaigrette few hours ahead or a day before and refrigerate. This will intensify the flavours and make it more delicious.

        • I don’t prefer to boil the beetroot as all essential nutrients and deep colour of beetroot is lost. Always try and bake them wrapped in foil to ensure all the nutrients are still intact.


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