Food and Jewelry

SOME IMAGES FROM SUMMER 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

Water fountain

Steamed Vegetables with Cold Sesame Oil

Nutritious Lunch - Steamed Vegetables with Sesame Oil

Steamed Veggie Salad Seasoned with Sesame Oil, pepper and Salt
I had a very simple, but tasty lunch today. Later on, I realized that what I had made was actually vegan. Here goes, I steamed some frozen broccoli, cauliflower (5-6 mins), then added some kale - let that steam 2 mins, then finally added some mung sprouts and almonds to the top of the veggies in the steamer, turned off the heat and closed the lid. 

After a minute, I laid out these steamed items in a bowl - sprinkled some pepper and salt and drizzled some sesame oil and chowed it down fast. Wait, after two bites I also brought out a wedge of lime and squeezed that over this "salad?".

Anyway, the main thing i realized was that it was the first time I had used unheated sesame oil to season vegetables (I do olive oil usually) and the flavor was great! Has anyone else tried that? A picture of what I made with the ingredients in roughly volumetric proportion is attached!

Extra tasty tip: You can get something called paruppu podi/kandhu podi in many indian grocery stores. You can use this instead of just black pepper. 
You can also use bbq seasoning powder if that is your style to flavor things. 

Some of the images are a montage from the following flickr cc users. Many thanks to these users!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lablasco/5398414094/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hulagway/5941767410/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurelfan/89790979/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/conskeptical/2343262086/

Upcoming Recipes

During April I will be Adding Some New Recipes

  

Okra-carrot/potato crunchy stir fry           Couscous (or quinoa), bean/almond salad

  

Quick quesadilla with black beans        Cabbage green pea curry

  

Crepe style desser using tortilla, banana and nutella     Tofu stir-fry with cummin seeds.

Converting flat breads to quesadillas in 10 minutes or less.

Do you want any particular ones? Comment and I will come up with the recipe and my take on it!

Mung Dal Recipe (Lentils) and Vegetable Stir Fry

Easy, Delicious Dal and Mixed Vegetable Medley (Sabzi)

-by Nari Soundarrajan

(Author's note: originally published in Dec 2011, Recipe is from 2002, Republished by popular request)
Accompanies any carbohydrate staple such as: Naan, roti, steamed rice, quinoa etc.

carrot and cauliflower curry during preparation in a wok

Plate with mung beans (greenish color), stir fried vegetable curry, rice

INGREDIENTS (for 2 people)

Vegetables - preparation

Red pepper- 1 :Cut to slender pieces 1 inch long
Potatoes or sweet potatoes- 1 :Chop to small 1 inch blocks, microwave soft with 2-3 tbsp water
Zuccini squash- 1: Chop to 1/2 inch sized bits
Green chilis- 2: Chop to small 1/4 inch bits

Cilantro- 2-3 stalks: Chop to fine, or pinch to small pieces
Onions (medium)- 1: Chop fine or slice into long thin pieces
Tomatoes- 2: Chop into 1 inch sized thin slices (or use a small can of tomato paste)

[Note: the use of red colored peppers and green zuccini and yellowish potaoes with red tomatoes gives the dish a very pleasing colorful look. Feel free to experiment with cauliflower, aubergines, yellow peppers, okra or carrots too to impart other hues]

SPICES

Note: tsp = teaspoon; tbsp = tablespoon
Cumin seed 1 tsp
Cinnamon 1/4 tsp
Garam masala/curry powder 1 to 1 1/2 tsp
Garlic cloves (optional) 1 or 2 chopped fine or minced
Ginger (optional) 1 inch piece chopped fine or minced
Asafoetida powder ½ tsp

1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
½ cup water or vegetable broth

MUNG DAL COOKING
Take  1 cup of split mung dal, rinse well, drain the water.
Then add to a pot, add 2 cups water and bring to boil, then simmer down, add 2 tbsp oil or butter and cook while stirring regularly for 20-30 mins on medium heat.
Season with some sauteed cummin, onions and ginger garlic paste, add salt to taste and serve
I will add more detailed recipe soon if this is not very elaborate.

INSTRUCTIONS
Cut to long slender pieces
1. In a skillet or wok heat oil over medium heat.
2. Add the cumin seeds, as they start browning, add onions. (don’t let cumin blacken)
3. Cook, stirring often, until the onions are golden, ~ about 5 minutes.
4. Reduce the heat a little, stir in the garlic, ginger and green chilis and cook for 1-2 minutes.
5. Add the tomatoes and cook for 2 mins. (optional)
6. Add the cauliflower and carrots, and stir for 1 min. Sprinkle some water.
7. Cover and simmer until the vegetables are tender, 10-15 minutes. Stir once in 3-4 minutes lightly to prevent charring at the bottom.
8. Season with salt. Add the cilantro, switch off the heat and cover with the lid. When you open again, the flavor would be really uplifting.

Split Mung Dal without skin looks yellow in color after cooking. This color is also slightly enhanced by addition of some turmeric powder here.

Indian Chicken Curry

Indian Chicken Curry

Ingredients (Legend: tsp= teaspoon, tbsp= tablespoon)

2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into bite-size pieces

3 Tbsps Oil (olive or vegetable blend)

1 onion (medium to small) chopped to small pieces

2 garlic cloves, diced or minced

1 inch fresh ginger root, peeled and grated (~ 1 tsp)

½ tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp cinnamon ground

1 bay leaf

3 tsp curry powder or garam masala powder

1 tsp red chili powder or 2 fresh green chillies (minced) (optional)

1/2 teaspoon white sugar  (optional)

1 /2 teaspoon black pepper powder

Salt to taste

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 cup plain yogurt

3/4 cup vegetable stock or coconut milk (coconut milk increases the calories and fat but is creamy and delicious)

½ lime or 1/2 lemon, juiced or keep other half kept as small chunks to garnish (optional)

Preparation

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat.
Add cumin seeds and once the they turn dark brown, add the onions and saute onion until lightly browned. Stir in the diced garlic, cinnamon, bay leaf, ginger, sugar and salt.
Continue stirring for 1 minutes.
Add the masala (curry powder and chili powder and continue stirring for another minute.
Add chicken pieces, tomato paste, yogurt, and stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove bay leaf, and stir in black pepper. Simmer 5 more minutes. (Optional: add chopped cilantro leaves). Stir in lime juice and serve with rice or Naan or Warm corn/wheat tortillas.

Recipe prepared by: Nari Call 814 753 4459 for cooking demos/classes; Email: psusaver@gmail.com

Garden Bounty: Tomatoes and Zucchini

I manage a community garden plot near the Windmill on Penn State campus. The plot is my friend's plot but there was some open space, so I planted some Italian zucchini. I planted the seeds in early July and a little sapling came out around July 20th.

Zucchini plant emerging ~ July 20-22nd.

I watered this regularly during the dry spell in late July and plant grew to have much larger leaves and looked healthy.. However, I moved apts early August and also there were some good rains every other day, I did not go to the garden for a week or so. When I went today to check it out, I had a BIG surprise. I found a massive zucchini, which I harvested, then weighed it on a scale (2.11 kg ~ 4.6 lb) and then "hauled" it home.

The cellphone gives a sense of how long the zucchini is! That's about how wide the whole plant was 20 days back!!

Cherry tomatoes that had grown wildly all over the plot, and they occupy the background. Who wants some?

Any recipe ideas? I already made fried zucchini flowers earlier today!

Me-Waste Food - No way!

             A few days back my sister (in India) posted a comment about millions of tons food getting wasted. Well, guess what, I have an impending apartment move coming up and I hate lugging stuff around even if it is within town, so I took a quick stock of all the food materials that I had in my kitchen cupboard as well as refrigerator and laid it out.

First set of vegetables. Tomatoes, Peeled carrots Cabbage, Potatoes, Zuccini, Lime, Cucumber, Garlic, Ginger.

I need YOUR HELP in converting this to edible food. So, any ideas, comments, links to specific recipes are all very very welcome. If you know any of your friends who can help me out by giving an idea, a recipe (with the existing items) I welcome that with open arms! All comments will be appreciated much!!

Brown rice, Pasta, pasta sauce, Split mung beans, White split beans (white urid), Parboiled rice, white rice, fenugreek seeds, Black gram lentils, Millets, Barley (the last two in small amounts)

Then, on top of all of this, which amounts to a few pounds of rice, lentils etc. and small amounts of pasta, herbs etc, I also realize that I have a bunch of baking supplies.

L-R: Chocolate chips, Semisweet chocolate bar, Fine powdered sugar, walnuts,  almonds, eggs,  plain yoghurt (2 x 5oz) , 6 eggs, All purpose flour (1 lb) and pastry floor (1/4" lb).

1. I did call some friends on Sunday and cooked up some stuff.
2. But time is running out and I need more ideas.. fassst!
3. I am not yet sold on "donating to food banks" because I feel that food may get wasted.. or I have to lug food over there - so it is not my style!
4. I am fine calling people over to cook and eat though, it's fun!

Vegetables

Some fresh vegetables that I bought this week.

This is a just a picture of Okra that I cooked separately a day before.

Then these were all stuffed into our stomachs with rice, cheese, chickpeas and homemade tomato sauce to become a great dinner for me and room mates.

Thanksgiving 2009

It has been a tradition for me to host vegetarian thanksgiving meals for several years now. This year (2009) I hosted my first vegan Thanksgiving (just to see if I can do it). It also helped that one of the guests was going to be vegan.

Here follows an amateur video shoot (recorded by myself with a Sony W760 while cooking). final 30 secs are dark, sorry! The menu:

• Potato leek & red onion stir fry with crunchy lentils and flavored with curry leaves
• Carrot, potato, spinach and yellow lentil stew with south indian spices
• White rice
• Crisp fried tofu with cilantro and black pepper seasoning

YOUTUBE COOKING VIDEO

Cooking Lesson and Demo: Mung Dal and Stir Fried Veggies

Easy, Delicious Dal and Mixed Vegetable Medley (Sabzi)

-by Nari Soundarrajan

(Author's note: originally published in Dec 2011, Recipe is from 2002, Republished by popular request)
Accompanies any carbohydrate staple such as: Naan, roti, steamed rice, quinoa etc.

INGREDIENTS (for 2 people)

Vegetables; their preparation

Red pepper 1 Cut to slender pieces 1 inch long
Potatoes or sweet potatoes 1 Chop to small 1 inch blocks, microwave soft
with 2-3 tbsp water
Zuccini squash 1 Chop to 1/2 inch sized bits
Green chilis 2 Chop to small 1/4 inch bits

Cilantro 2-3 stalks Chop fine, or pinch to small pieces
Onions (medium) 1 Chop fine or slice into long thin pieces
Tomatoes 2 Chop into 1 inch sized thin slices
(or use 1 small can of paste)

[Note: the use of red colored peppers and green zuccini and yellowish potaoes with red tomatoes gives the dish a very pleasing colorful look. Feel free to experiment with cauliflower, aubergines, yellow peppers, okra or carrots too to impart other colors]

SPICES

Note: tsp = teaspoon; tbsp = tablespoon
Cumin seed 1 tsp
Cinnamon 1/4 tsp
Garam masala/curry powder 1 to 1 1/2 tsp
Garlic cloves (optional) 1 or 2 chopped fine or minced
Ginger (optional) 1 inch piece chopped fine or minced
Asafoetida powder ½ tsp

1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
½ cup water or vegetable broth

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a skillet or wok heat oil over medium heat.
2. Add the cumin seeds, as they start browning, add onions. (don’t let cumin blacken)
3. Cook, stirring often, until the onions are golden, ~ about 5 minutes.
4. Reduce the heat a little, stir in the garlic, ginger and green chilis and cook for 1-2 minutes.
5. Add the tomatoes and cook for 2 mins. (optional)
6. Add the cauliflower and carrots, and stir for 1 min. Sprinkle some water.
7. Cover and simmer until the vegetables are tender, 10-15 minutes. Stir once in 3-4 minutes lightly to prevent charring at the bottom.
8. Season with salt. Add the cilantro, switch off the heat and cover with the lid. When you open again, the flavor would be really uplifting.
9. Spoon the rice into individual soup bowls and top with the curry. Serve immediately.

How to Limit BPA exposure

BPA (bisphenol-A) is a precursor used in making of certain plastics and is increasingly being thought of as a serious (endocrine/hormonal) disruptor during early child development. So, how do you "avoid or limit BPA exposure" especially in food preparation and ingestion:

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and other experts have several suggestions for limiting BPA exposure including:

• - Avoid using plastic containers with recycle codes 3 and 7 because the may be made with BPA.
• - Reduce your consumption of canned foods; choose fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables instead.
• - Use glass containers to heat foods in the microwave, instead of polycarbonate plastic food containers because high temperatures may break down the chemical and increase the chances of BPA entering your food.

Also to avoid exposure to BPA via skin, especially when you may be pregnant, you should avoid handling most cashier receipts as much as possible (source: studies reported in C&EN articles).

New Ways to Cook Chickpeas

FIVE MORE WAYS TO COOK CHICKPEAS
(courtesy New York Times

State College / Penn State : Top Ten Restaurants

ITALIAN
Mario and Luigi's (fine dining, full service bar)
North Atherton St. near Blockbuster

Faccia Luna (large wood fired oven, wine)
South Atherton Street (near intersection with Allen St.)

THAI and VIET

Cozy Thai Bistro (bring your own beer/wine)
Allen Street
Galaga Thai cafe - on East College Avenue

My Thai
Westerly Parkway

Pho 11  (*new*)
North Atherton (near Greyhound bus terminal)


Lemongrass Cafe (*new*)

TEX-MEX FOOD (my friends would kill me if I use the word Mexican as they feel none are authentic enough)

Qdoba: http://www.qdoba.com/
State College #211
206 West College Avenue
State College, PA 16801
814-861-3288

Chipotle Mexican Grill
Heister Street (opening Sep 11th)
Chipotle - Penn State University
116 Heister St.
State College, PA 16801
814-231-0442 (phone)
Open 11am - 10pm

Baja Fresh
Downtown (on Garner Street and Calder way) open till 10pm usually

Rey's Azteca  (*new*) By the Nittany Mall on Benner Pike (next to Office Depot) open till 11pm weekends

Jalisco (coming soon)  (*new*) - on North Atherton


AMERICAN CUISINE
The Deli on Heister Street
Great beers, wide menu, great desserts; They are also connected to Inferno - restaurant and bar

The Tavern Restaurant on College Avenue

INDIAN

Kaarma (on Beaver Avenue close to x-tion with Allen St)

India Pavilion (on Calder Way) close to Pugh Street - between Beaver and College Avenues.


Spicetruck Indian Cooking  (*new*) -  Cooking demonstrations and customized dinners at site of your convenience (where possible)- Please contact Nari at psusaver@gmail.com or call 814 753 4459 for more information. Both South and North Indian cooking available.

MIDDLE EASTERN CUISINE & CREPES

Pita Cabana Grill 
Next to Chipotle on Calder Way

Joie De Crepe
East College Avenue - next to Penn Stae McLannahans Room-
 in Basement next to Big Bowl Noodle House

ALTOONA
El Campesino (Altoona, PA) http://elcampesino.net/


and more will be added as time goes on!

Cooking Lesson (part of service activity)

CAULIFLOWER-CARROT CURRY (IN TOMATO SAUCE)

- Nari Soundarrajan
@ State College May 2009

Accompanies: Naan or roti or steamed rice, quinoa etc.

INGREDIENTS (for 4 people)
Vegetables

Cauliflower ½ to 1 head Remove stalks, break into small 1 in pieces
Carrots 1 large Chop into small bits, or ½ in small rounds
Green chilis 1 or 2 Serrano peppers; chop in ¼ in chunks
(or chop fine if you want to sneak it in)
Cilantro 2-3 stalks chop fine, or pinch to small pieces
Onions 1 med chop fine or slice into long thin pieces
Tomatoes 2 medium Chop fine;
(or 1 small can of paste for laziness or big hurry )

SPICES

Cumin seed 1 tsp
Garlic cloves 1 or 2 chopped fine or minced
Ginger 1 inch piece chopped fine or minced
Asafoetida ½ tsp or less powdered
Dry red chilis 1 or 2 Only if NOT using green chilis
1/4 tsp salt
1-2 Tbsp vegetable oil or butter if you prefer rich taste
½ cup water or vegetable broth
1 Tbsp curry powder (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

• 1. In a skillet or wok heat oil over medium heat.
• 2. Add the cumin seeds, as they start browning, add onions. (don’t let cumin blacken)
• 3. Cook, stirring often, until the onions are golden, ~ about 5 minutes.
• 4. Reduce the heat a little, stir in the garlic, ginger and green chilis and cook for 1-2 minutes.
• 5. Add the tomatoes and cook for 2 mins. (optional)
• 6. Add the cauliflower and carrots, and stir for 1 min. Sprinkle some water.
• 7. Cover and simmer until the vegetables are tender, 10-15 minutes. Stir once in 3-4 minutes lightly to prevent charring at the bottom.
• 8. Season with salt. Add the cilantro, switch off the heat and cover with the lid. When you open again, the flavor would be really uplifting.
• 9. Spoon the rice into individual soup bowls and top with the curry. Serve immediately.

Pictures will be added soon at: http://naridon2000.blogspot.com

Pita

Courtesy Flickr User

For those of who know me, you know by now that I really like love taking pictures of food, of prepared food as well as of raw material under preparation. One of the foods from a non-Indian cuisine that I love = pita. So when I heard that a friend of mine was into pitas and is going to France, I quickly googled out restaurants serving pita based foods in Paris [I was procrastinating] and whipped up this post.

View Larger Map

Mashup Link

I also ran a youtube search on Pita sandwich recipes and found the one that is not too boastful about their recipe. I dislike sites/video that overpromote their recipe as BEST BEST BEST, whatever. lol.

Pita making videos

New Orleans 2008Food Food

The first two pics are of my quesadilla from our favorite tex-mex restaurant - The Green Parrot (or something like that) in NOLA.

The last two pictures of food that we ate at an Indian restaurant "Nirvana" in New Orleans, LA. The interesting story behind this eatout was that myself and my friend took the street car to reach the locality where Nirvana was located (several miles from Downtown NOLA), but on the way back we walked back the entire distance on the streetcar track. The weather was great with a cool breeze blowing in from the Gulf, making this walk one of the most memorable.

Cooking Stuffed Poblano Peppers

This post is a mini cookout that I did on a quick break from studying. Came back from the lab with my friend Claudia and we both cooked stuffed poblano peppers. It came out quite well, but what I loved was the amazing colors of the raw materials! Enjoy.

Colorful peppers! yumm.

Poblano peppers

Claudia giving finishing touches.

Filling the peppers with salted rice, cheese and tomatoes!

Quick recipe:

Bring 3-4 quarts water in a large pan to boil

Cut the tops of the peppers, take out the innards, keep the tops by the side.

Preheat over to 400 F.

Add the whole peppers to the boiling water and scald for 3-4 minutes. Take out and place them in a colander in the sink to drain the water.

Arrange the peppers standing up in a deep baking tray (glass/pyrex tray of the correct size is preferred) and fill them each with layers of rice, cheese, chickpeas and tomatoes sauce.

Top with some tomato sauce once each pepper is filled, then pour one or two more large spoons of sauce around the peppers.

Place in oven and bake for 15-20 mins or until a sharp knife pokes into the pepper easily.

Remove from oven and serve.

Food (Dosas)

Captions: (Left to Right) 1. Dosa batter after grinding; 2. My telugu speaking friends who were excellent "dosa flippers"; 3. The creations, crisp masala (stuffed) dosas; 4. Idlis - Dosas - Allotropes? 5. The entire feast spread Top row: Onion-tomato chutney, Tamarind chutney, Idlis, Podis.
Bottom row: Sambar, Cilantro-coconut chutney (green), Dosas, more masala dosas.

Where to get Awesome "South" Indian food.
(Note that south indian food is very different tasting compared to "indian" food in most restaurants named Delhi Palace, India Palace, Taj etc. etc.. in the US. The texture and feel of the food is different, you do not have "breads or naans" on the menu, there is lot of rice or rice based items. They are all spicy. But it is fun! Dosas are 'crepe' like items.

Excellent locations to have dosas (by city)
NYC: Lexington Ave & 3rd St., Saravana Bhavan, Udupi, other places nearby.
Washinton DC.: Amma Vegetarian Kitchen, Georgetown.
San Francisco/San Jose/Bay Area: Komala Vilas, Santa Clara.
Los Angeles:
New Orleans (new!): That Indian Place -a very inexpensive dosa joint (lunch only) in New Orleans, LA.
A short video on dosa making.
Delhi, India: Saravana Bhavan, Connaught Place/Rajiv Chowk area.
Kulithalai, Trichy District, Tamil nadu : Venganna Cafe. (rocks!!!!)
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India: Saravana Bhavan, Adyar Woodlands, Pretty much everywhere in TN seriously!