Gutti Vankaya Kura (Stuffed eggplants)

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1gutti vankaya kura

As February was ending, our Blogging Marathon creator (and the main reason why my blog is still alive) Valli’s birthday was coming up and we bloggers decided to throw her an online food party. We all chose recipes from her blog and surprised her with wishes and food from all corners of the world. I went straight to the root and took the first recipe that she published. Gutti Vankaya Kura.

I paired it for a meal with her coconut rice.

Ever since making it for her birthday, its kind of become my regular dish. May be I will take better pictures the next time I make it. Right now I am clearing my drafts and thought its a good time to post this recipe.

This curry is a flavor burst and so I thought it better to pair it with simpler recipes. May be I will pair it with biryani and see how it turns out to be! Read on for the recipe and step wise pictures.

1gutti vankaya kura

Recipe source: Cooking for all seasons

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Dry roast 1/3 cup peanuts, 3-4 dry red chillies in a pan. When the peanuts are brownish, add 1 Tablespoon coriander seeds, 1″ stick of cinnamon, 3-4 cloves and fry for a minute. Add 1/4 cup dry or fresh coconut and saute until the coconut changes color and releases a sweet aroma. Remove from heat.

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When the dry mix is cooled down, blend it along with a small diced onion (or 4 pearl onions), 2 cloves of garlic and 1″ piece of ginger. Grind without adding any water.

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Cut a ‘plus’ in the brinjal, cutting it through till the stalk. Keep the stalk intact so that its not cut into four pieces. Carefully fill the brinjal with the prepared peanut mix. I was able to fill 7 small brinjals with this amount.

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Heat 1 Tablespoon of oil in a pan. Add one teaspoon mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add one chopped big onion and saute till pink. Follow it up with a finely chopped large tomato.

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Add 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder, salt as needed and cook until its mushy. Add the stuffed brinjals carefully and let it cook for a couple of minutes.

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Slowly turn it over (stalks help ;-)!). If you have any left over ground mix, blend it with some water and add to the curry.

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Add enough water to help with the cooking and to have a bit of gravy. Lower the heat and cover and cook for about 25 minutes, carefully turning the brinjals once or twice in between. Turn off the heat with the veggies are completely cooked and oil floats on top. Serve with rice or roti. Pairs well with coconut rice.

Ingredients:

To grind:

  • 1/3 cup peanuts
  • 3-4 dry red chillies
  • 1 Tablespoon coriander seeds
  • 1″ stick of cinnamon
  • 3-4 cloves
  • 1/4 cup dry or fresh coconut
  • 1 small onion (or 4 pearl onions)
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1″ ginger piece

For the gravy:

  • 1 Tablespoon oil
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1 big onion, finely chopped
  • 1 big tomato, finely chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • salt as needed
  • 4-6 brinjals*

*the size of the brinjal vary vastly, so its difficult to give a finite number here..

Method:

Prepare the ground masala first: 

  1. Dry roast 1/3 cup peanuts, 3-4 dry red chillies in a pan. When the peanuts are brownish, add 1 Tablespoon coriander seeds, 1″ stick of cinnamon, 3-4 cloves and fry for a minute. Add 1/4 cup dry or fresh coconut and saute until the coconut changes color and releases a sweet aroma. Remove from heat.
  2. When the dry mix is cooled down, blend it along with a small diced onion (or 4 pearl onions), 2 cloves of garlic and 1″ piece of ginger. Grind without adding any water.

Prepare the curry:

  1. Cut a ‘plus’ in the brinjal, cutting it through till the stalk. Keep the stalk intact so that its not cut into four pieces. Carefully fill the brinjal with the prepared peanut mix. I was able to fill 7 small brinjals with this amount.
  2. Heat 1 Tablespoon of oil in a pan. Add one teaspoon mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add one chopped big onion and saute till pink. Follow it up with a finely chopped large tomato. Add 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder, salt as needed and cook until its mushy.
  3. Add the stuffed brinjals carefully and let it cook for a couple of minutes. Slowly turn it over (stalks help ;-)!). If you have any left over ground mix, blend it with some water and add to the curry.
  4. Add enough water to help with the cooking and to have a bit of gravy. Lower the heat and cover and cook for about 25 minutes, carefully turning the brinjals once or twice in between.
  5. Turn off the heat with the veggies are completely cooked. Serve with rice or roti. Pairs well with coconut rice.

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Garlic pepper kuzhambu

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A little less than two years ago, our lives took a totally different turn and we landed up in a different country to start a new life. We left behind the life we had known and most of what we had owned. With 2 suitcases packed with some new clothes and some old vessels, I crossed the oceans to start everything from scratch.

I loved two things here immediately : lots of greenery and secondly, abundant parking space :-). But everything else was difficult. My family was back home, my friends were back home, my ‘home’ was back home. I was living one day at a time and slowly – very very slowly -things started improving. I still miss home and I miss some of my friends in particular, but on the whole, life is good now.

Now, why am I talking about home all of a sudden? Because I was going through my drafts folder and came across this old post sitting there, patiently waiting for its turn. It was taken when I was in Chennai and everything there in the frame just took me back home. That’s my favorite wooden board there with all the white ceramic set I collected from the multiple trips to Currimbhoys store in Adayar :-). Yeah, among the other big things, I miss my food props too .

From just two suitcases of things I owned, I now have an apartment full of stuff. I have whole new food props, wooden backgrounds and cloth napkins. Am I happy? Yes, of course. But a part of my heart will always miss my home and all I had there. …so far away and yet so close!

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Recipe source : Always Hungry 

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For the ground masala paste : In a pan over low heat, heat 1/2 Tablespoon sesame oil. Add 4 red chillies (or per taste), 1 teaspoon chana dal, one teaspoon urad dal. Saute until the dals turn slightly brown. Now add 2 Tablespoon coriander seeds, 2 teaspoons black peppercorns and 2 teaspoon raw rice. Saute until the rice changes color and puffs up a bit. Take off the heat and once its cool, grind with a little water to get a smooth paste.

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In a pan, heat 1 tablespoon of sesame oil. Add 1 teaspoon mustard seeds and once they crackle, add 1 teaspoon fenugreek(methi) seeds. Let it change color a bit. Toss in 6-8 (or more) garlic cloves.

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Follow the garlic with one medium sliced onion. Saute it till pink. Add 2-3 cups water, salt as needed and 1 teaspoon tamarind paste. Give a good stir to combine everything and let it come to a simmer.

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Its time to add the ground paste. Mix well and let it boil for 7-10 minutes. Taste test, adjust seasonings and take off the heat when done. Serve with rice and chips.

Ingredients:

For the ground masala paste:

  • 1/2 Tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon urad dal
  • 1 teaspoon chana dal
  • 4 red chillies
  • 2 Tablespoons coriander seeds
  • 2 teaspoons black peppercorns
  • 2 teaspoons raw rice

For the gravy:

  • 1 Tablespoon of sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds (methi)
  • 6-8 cloves garlic (or more if you prefer)
  • one medium onion, sliced (or shallots/pearl onions)
  • 1 teaspoon tamarind paste
  • salt

Method:

  1. For the ground masala paste : In a pan over low heat, heat 1/2 Tablespoon sesame oil. Add 4 red chillies (or per taste), 1 teaspoon chana dal, one teaspoon urad dal. Saute until the dals turn slightly brown.
  2. Now add 2 Tablespoon coriander seeds, 2 teaspoons black peppercorns and 2 teaspoon raw rice. Saute until the rice changes color and puffs up a bit. Take off the heat and once its cool, grind with a little water to get a smooth paste.
  3. In a pan, heat 1 tablespoon of sesame oil. Add 1 teaspoon mustard seeds and once they crackle, add 1 teaspoon fenugreek(methi) seeds. Let it change color a bit.
  4. Toss in 6-8 (or more) garlic cloves. Follow the garlic with one medium sliced onion. Saute it till pink. Add 2-3 cups water, salt as needed and 1 teaspoon tamarind paste. Give a good stir to combine everything and let it come to a simmer.
  5. Add the ground paste. Mix well and let it boil for 7-10 minutes. Taste test, adjust seasonings and take off the heat when done. Serve with rice and chips

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Brown rice detox salad

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1brown rice salad

If you have a particularly bitter or sour or any horrible tasting medicine, it leaves you with an impression that its good for you. Anything that bad must definitely do something..you know what I mean? Its a psychological thing. A friend of mine used to prefer Dettol (stings when applied on wounds) over Savlon (non stinging one). Her policy was “The mild one doesn’t do anything, I don’t think it works!” Where as when Dettol goes in, you really FEEL that it works.

When it comes to diet food or to a good extend, vegetarian food in American restaurants, the same theory applies. The honest truth is that doesn’t taste good most of the time. You end up telling yourself that you are eating healthy and that’s the bonus for going through the torture of eating it. Eventually our taste buds do adapt to eating bland food or diet food, but it is a continuous process where you have to remind yourself of the benefits involved. (Or you should be like me and have no taste buds at all. All I have is sweet buds and I am not trading them for anything! :D).

So this particular recipe really caught me by surprise. Its a detox recipe and yet it tastes fabulous. Keep in mind that I really love eating veggies raw, so if you are not a salad person, then its an effort for you to appreciate this. What I liked most about this recipe is the sauce. I am already thinking of using it with pasta or even as a sandwich spread.

And why does a diet recipe have rice in it? Are we not supposed to torture ourselves when dieting? Well, one of the ideas behind a detox diet is to eliminate the common allergy foods from your plate. That includes stepping away from gluten and diary. Whole foods are in and refined foods are out. So that means, brown rice is in and white bread is out. And to an Indian, everything is fine if rice is there in the menu – at least to this particular Indian :D. So read on for this recipe that was pure joy to have :-)

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Recipe source: Swef the Chef

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup brown rice
  • 1/2 tomato, diced into small pieces
  • 1/2 of a small bell pepper, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup cucumber, chopped finely
  • 1/4 avocado, sliced
  • fruits like pomegranate or more veggies of your choice
  • salt, if needed

Blend together for the sauce:

  • 1 small red chili
  • 1 inch piece ginger
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 tablespoon peanut butter**(or handful of peanuts)
  • 1 tablepoon sesame oil
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • handful of cilantro

**Peanut butter was a bit of surprise for me in this recipe, but since it works for me, I left it as such. It can be substituted with almond butter.

Method:

  1. Blend everything together to make the sauce. Set aside.
  2. Cook brown rice according to package instructions. When its done, let it cool to room temperature.
  3. Gently mix the sauce with the rice, you may not end up using all the sauce. Add half at first, taste test and then add more as you need.
  4. Mix in the chopped veggies and combine carefully for even distribution. Top with avocado slices. Enjoy.
  5. Since there is soy sauce in the recipe, you might want to taste taste the salad before adding salt.

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Celery juice

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3celery juice

I live in a decent sized apartment. Its not as big as our home in India, but its not a teeny tiny one either.There is enough space to move around without bumping into each other. But one single trip to the wholesale store Costco and it changes that feeling completely. I feel as if there is hardly any space in the house! I come back with giant packs of everything right from cereals to kitchen napkins and that’s when the house starts looking small and poses me this huge question : Where do I store all these things?!

I have found nooks and corners of the house to store my Costco supplies, but the refrigerator takes a major hit. The big boxes of yogurt, milk cans and eggs easily take up almost all the room in there. The good thing about Costco is that its not a weekly shopping trip, its almost monthly or at times even a bimonthly trip. Well, the quantities are wholesale and it lasts for a really long time. Though I usually don’t buy vegetables from there, last time I ended up buying a pack of celery from there. And true to Costco size, it was a big pack.

I have heard about juicing celery, so when it showed up in the detox recipe searches, I decided to give it a try. There are many health benefits, but the best part was that the juice tasted good. Added advantage is that this is good recipe to take care of the celery overload in the fridge :D. Read for the recipe.

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Recipe for two glasses of juice:

  1. Wash, clean and dice the ribs and leaves from one whole head of celery.
  2. In a mixer or blender, add enough water to cover the vegetables and blend it.You can substitute a portion of water with juices if you like.
  3. Pass the mix through a sieve kept over a bowl to collect the juice. Press the pulp onto the sieve with a spoon to squeeze out most of the juice. Discard the pulp. Transfer the juice to glasses and its ready to drink!

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Chia pudding

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2chia pudding

Three days of detox recipes, that’s the theme for this week’s Blogging Marathon.

The idea behind the detox diets is that it flushes out toxins from our body. This is a little controversial as many medical professionals believe that the body can handle the toxin eradication by itself. I am with them for most of the part. But at the same time, good sensible eating never hurt anyone. The way I look at these diets is that they help in taking a break from your regular cooking, reset your palette a little bit towards eating healthier and if you loose some weight in the bargain, then why not?!

I didn’t follow any particular detox diet plan. These are three different recipes that I tried from the internet. I was browsing this page which had a lot of sensible eating detox recipes. That is how I landed in this chia pudding recipe. The best part is that this is overnight recipe, so a little mashing and mixing in the night and breakfast is ready for you in the morning! Read on for the pictorial.

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Recipe source : Oh She Glows

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For one serving, mash a banana well. Add two tablespoons of chia seeds to the bowl.

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Add about 3/4 cup milk of your choice. Mix well. Refrigerate overnight or for at least 2-3 hours for the seeds to bloom. Soak handful of raisins and some almonds. At the time of serving, drain, dice the nuts and sprinkle it on top of the pudding with a dash of ground cinnamon if desired.

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Hara samosa with roti

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“Honey, your breakfast is ready for clicking. Will serve it to you soon.” is a dialogue you will hear only at a food blogger’s place. Mothers usually go,”Please don’t touch the food before washing your hands.” And I go,”Please don’t touch the food before clicking is over.”

Well, the family gets used to these quirks over a period of time. Though I gotta say I dish it out to my man than to my kid. For sometime now, I have been planning so that the photo shoots are done before 3 pm. So for most part, it doesn’t interfere our lives much. But every now and then you will hear the “All it needs is a little camera love” statement.

Like this morning!

Yesterday’s leftover chapatis were given a wonderful makeover with some coriander chutney to spice it up. I made a batch without chilies for my son’s lunch box. Then I added the power packed green chilis and gave another round in the blender for the two of us. The chutney tends to be watery, so a little standing time is good for the water to separate. But I just scooped the chutney from the thicker side and it was fine.

The recipe is from Vaishali’s space. She has stepwise pictures to make this even more simpler than it sounds. This post goes to Blogging Marathon #64 under the theme wheat based recipes.

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Recipe source:  Ribbon’s to Pasta’s

Ingredients:

For grinding

  • 1 bunch coriander leaves, cleaned
  • 1 tomato, diced
  • 1″ piece ginger, peeled and diced
  • 1 clove of garlic, peeled
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 2 green chilies or per taste
  • salt

To serve:

  • 4 leftover chapatis/ tortillas
  • ghee/butter/oil for the pan

Method:

  1. Pulse everything from coriander to chilies together without adding any water.
  2. Take a chapati. Apply a thin and even layer of the ground chutney into it. Fold it into half. It will be a semi circle now. Apply some more chutney onto it. Fold again in half to get quarter of a circle shape.
  3. Heat this in a tawa with a little oil or ghee until its golden brown. Flip and cook both sides. Serve with ketchup or curd. Yum!!
  4. Apply chutney just before putting the samosa in the pan as the wet chutney might tear the folds if it sits for a long time.

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Koki

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It came as a shock to me that off the 30 plus recipes in my drafts folder, there are only a handful of wheat based recipes. Almost everything centers around rice. That was quite an eye opener for me! I needed to do some quick thinking as this week’s chosen theme for Blogging Marathon is wheat based dishes.

Whenever I am in doubt, I just go to Vaishali’s blog. She makes everything look simple and I always find myself willing to try her tasty, but easy to make recipes. Today’s trip ended with me trying the recipe for Koki from her space. I would have loved to try the recipe that uses up leftover rice, but looks like I should reduce my rice fixation a bit. Oh..Who am I kidding? I will try it some other time :D.

Koki is a healthier version of paratha and has a shelf life of couple of a days making it ideal for travel food. It can be made with onions and other masalas also, but that will impact the shelf life. The one here is a simple recipe with only black pepper in it for flavor.

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Add one cup wheat flour, 1 tablespoon ghee/oil, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper and salt as needed. Mix with hands until it comes to a sandy texture. Make a well in the middle and add water (it took a little less than half cup for me) in small batches. Keep kneading until you get a stiff dough. Divide it into four equal balls.

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Roll out the koki into thick chapati using a rolling pin. Use a little flour, if needed to prevent sticking. I didn’t need any. Score lightly with a knife in diamond pattern. Cook in a heated tawa.

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Smear some ghee and flip over to cook both sides until golden spots appear. Serve with yogurt.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup wheat flour
  • 1 tablespoon ghee
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • salt as needed
  • ghee for smearing on koki while cooking

Method:

  1. Add one cup wheat flour, 1 tablespoon ghee/oil, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper and salt as needed. Mix with hands until it comes to a sandy texture. Make a well in the middle and add water (it took a little less than half cup for me) in small batches. Keep kneading until you get a stiff dough.
  2. Divide it into four equal balls. Roll out the koki into thick chapati using a rolling pin. Use a little flour, if needed to prevent sticking. I didn’t need any. Score lightly with a knife in diamond pattern.
  3. Cook in a heated tawa. Smear some ghee and flip over to cook both sides until golden spots appear. Serve with yogurt.

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Pumpkin cake

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pumpkin cake

I know I am coming with a Fall recipe in Spring, but this was made during Fall. It just sat in the drafts folder waiting for an opportunity to come and see the world outside.

The cake is special in more than one ways. This was made with a pumpkin picked from a farm by our friends. I pressure cooked, mashed and measured it to make this cake. It was for a Halloween get together. And the cake here is a second trial.

I may make a lot of mistakes when I cook, but when it comes to baking, especially cakes, my mistakes are kind of minimal. Its been ages since I have had a cake fail on me, so it was quite startling when the first trial fell apart right in front of my eyes. I had used a bundt pan and neglected to grease it properly. The cake came out of the pan in pieces. So this cake was put together in a hurry with whatever that was leftover in the pantry. That would explain the rough finish, whole wheat in the cake and mobile photos (except the top one).

As it was to be expected, the cake was a bit dense, but the taste was amazing. I always feel that whole wheat pairs beautifully with fruit or veggie in a bake.

This post is part of Blogging Marathon #64. Check out this page to see what other participating bloggers have come up for this edition.

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Recipe adapted from Food.com:

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In a big mixing bowl, beat 4 eggs and 1 3/4 cups sugar with a hand mixer.IMG_4446

Add 1 cup neutral (odorless) oil and 2 cups (or a 15 ounce can) pumpkin puree. I used pressure cooked and mashed pumpkin. Beat it in.

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Add 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, pinch salt and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon. Make it 2 teaspoons if you like cinnamon. Blend again until no lumps remain.

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Add  2 1/4 cups wheat flour (or plain flour) in 2-3 batches, whisking it in until no lumps remain. Do not over mix.

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Transfer the batter to a greased 9″ X 13″ pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 350F/180C  until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes free of crumbs, about 45-55 minutes. Decorate as you wish. Here I have gone in for ready made cream cheese frosting. Fondant leaves,  fondant pumpkins with cloves as stems and rock chocolate as fence for decorating the cake :D.

Ingredients:

  • 4 eggs
  • 1 3/4 cups sugar
  • 1 cup oil
  • 2 cups pumpkin puree (one 15 ounce can)
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon* (make it 2 spoons if you like cinnamon)
  • a pinch of salt
  • 2 1/4 cups flour

Method:

  1. In a big mixing bowl, beat 4 eggs and 1 3/4 cups sugar with a hand mixer. Add 1 cup neutral (odorless) oil and 2 cups (or a 15 ounce can) pumpkin puree. I used pressure cooked and mashed pumpkin. Beat it in.
  2. Add 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, pinch salt and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon. Make it 2 teaspoons if you like cinnamon. Blend again until no lumps remain.
  3. Add 2 1/4 cups wheat flour (or plain flour). Whisk it in until no lumps remain. Do not over mix.
  4. Transfer the batter to a well greased 9″ X 13″ pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 350F/180C  until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes free of crumbs, about 45-55 minutes.
  5. Decorate as you wish. Here I have gone in for ready made cream cheese frosting. Fondant leaves,  fondant pumpkins with cloves as stems and rock chocolate as fence for decorating the cake :D.

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A-Z recap of popular American dishes

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The last post for the alphabetical journey is over and its time for a quick recap. I am going to keep the talk to the minimum and let the pictures talk for themselves.

Please click on the desired picture to take you to the recipe link.

American cuisine

 

1biscuits

Biscuits

1cornbread

Cornbread and Chili

2Deviled Eggs

Deviled Eggs

4Eggs_Florentine

Eggs Florentine

1French fries

French Fries

1grilledcheese_sandwich

Grilled Cheese sandwich

3hot chocolate

Hot chocolate

2ice cream cake

Ice cream cake

2jello

Jello

2Key lime pie

Key lime pie

3lemon pound cake

Lemon pound cake

1MacNcheese

MacNCheese

2Navajo fry bread

Navajo fry bread

1okra

Okra, fried

2potato_salad

Potato salad

1quesadilla

Quesadilla

4red velvet cake

Red Velvet cake

3sloppy joes

Sloppy Joes

1tiramisu

Tiramisu

2Uncrustables

Uncrustables

1veggieburger

Veggie burger

2waldorf_salad

Waldorf Salad

3Gingerbread house cake

Xmas Gingerbread cake

2smoothiebowl

Yogurt smoothie

burritto bowl1

Zucchini burrito bowl

 

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 63

Zucchini burrito bowl

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burritto bowl2

This post is a part of  the mega Blogging Marathon and A-Z challenge. I have chosen ‘popular American dishes’ as my theme.

I was out of zucchini for some time, that’s why this post is coming up later than it should have. I have been out of grater for a longer time, so that is why you don’t see a zucchini fritter. I end up grating my fingers so I have never been a fan of the grater. Back home in Chennai, I used to grate using the food processor. Here in US, I decided against buying it. There is no space for any more appliances in the counter top. So I took the shortcut and tried pulsing it in a blender, but I ended up with a paste and not grated zucchini. I had to change tactics at the very last-minute, so burrito bowl with grilled zucchini instead of zucchini fritters. It’s popular in America, after all.

Chipotle, the Mexican restaurant, was one of the first places that we tried here after coming to US. We were really hooked onto it and pretty soon eating out started meaning eating at Chipotle. Burrito bowl is my son’s favorite food there. He even wanted to have his birthday dinner there that year. Its a lot like the Subway sandwich bar, where we pick what we want from the different choices available. It has rice and believe me, that makes a lot of difference for an Indian :D. The food quantity is huge and  my son can never quite finish his bowl, but he loves every mouthful. Its a healthy meal sans the sour cream and cheese. We don’t eat out a lot now a days, so have started preparing this meal once in a while at home itself. The restaurant version is a bit different from what we have here.  With the child growing everyday and his tastes in everything changing a lot, I didn’t know whether he would like this version of his favorite food. But thankfully it pased with flying colors despite the presence of rice in there.

This post is special in that its the last post of the alphabetical journey through popular American dishes. Fritter would have been a more American food than Burrito bowl, but its popular all the same. Thanks for joining me in this journey and hope you enjoyed it as much as I did :-).

burritto bowl1

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Recipe source : The Pioneer woman

Ingredients:

  • For the rice : 1 cup brown rice, 1 teaspoon olive oil, 1 garlic crushed, 2 teaspoon lemon juice, salt
  • For black beans : 1 cup dry black beans, 1 clove garlic, 1 red pepper, 1 teaspoon chilli powder, 1 teaspoon cumin
  • For veggie part : 1 zucchini, 1 corn
  • For Salsa : 1 tomato, 1/2 red onion, 1 jalapeno, salt and pepper
  • Additional : Grated cheese, sour cream, avocado slices

*Rice and the salsa can use some coriander leaves. I was out of it.

Method:

  • Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a pan. Add the crushed garlic and let it cook. Add it to the rice along with lemon juice and salt. Cook the rice according to package instructions. I was out of coriander leaves, else you can add it once the rice is done.
  • Soak black beans overnight. Cook it with enough water to cover the beans, along with minced garlic, chopped red pepper, chili powder and cumin. I pressure cooked it for 5 whistles and then transferred to an open pan and cooked until it reached the consistency  (not runny) I was looking for.
  • Prepare the veggies. Slice the zucchini into thick slices. Brush them with oil, add a pinch of salt. Add into a pan, cook both sides until brown. Take off the heat, dice them and set aside. Let the corn cook, turning sides until its grilled. It takes longer time than zucchini. With a knife, cut the kernel off the cob once grilled.
  • For the salsa, chop everything into small pieces and mix well.
  • For assembling, add a layer of rice in a bowl. Top it with black beans. Add grilled veggies on top and then some salsa. Add a spoon of sour cream, cheese and serve with some avocado slices. I placed everything in a bowl and let everyone mix it the way they wanted.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 63

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