Yum! Yum! Yum!

As you know I am veggie lover, I am always on the look out to try new recipes with different vegetables that are available in the market. Squashes are catching my eye lately, though I have used soft squash variety like Green and Yellow Zucchini, but didn't experiment much with hard squashes like Acorn and Butternut Squashes. Today I am set to experiment with Acorn Squash, and this stuffed Acorn Squash became happy medium when i am determined to try something new and healthy recipe. This turned out be so so delicious, now Acorn Squash has become a regular vegetable staple on my grocery list. Try it for your self and cherish this new veggie, Here is the recipe, Njoy!

Stuffer Acorn Squash Beauty

Ingredients:
Acorn Squash - 1
Olive Oil - 2 tsp
salt - 1/2 tsp
paprika - 1 tsp

Stuffing:
Paneer - 1/2 block (or 1 cup grated)
Grape Tomatos - 6 to 7
Onion - 1/2 medium
salt - 1 tsp
Spices - 2 tsp ( Any of your favorite, cajun or PavBaji or Creole seasoning etc)
Turmeric - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 Tbsp
Cilantro - 1/4 cup

Cheese - 1/2 cup ( i have used 4 cheese Mexican blend)


Method:

1. Fist chop Acorn Squash into half vertically, remove seeds from inside and wash thoroughly. Mix salt, paprika and olive oil. Brush this oil mixture all over the squash. 
2. Heat oven to 400 F, take a baking sheet, add aluminum foil and place the seasoned acorn squash halves facing down and bake for 30 min.
3. Meanwhile start making the stuffing ready. Heat non-stick pan and add oil to it. Once oil is hot, add chopped onion, followed by grape tomato halves and add salt and seasonings. Add grated panner to pan and mix everything well together. Add half of cilantro to the paneer mixture, taste and adjust seasonings according to your taste and switch off the stove.
4. Take the acorn squash out of oven after 30 minutes, the acron squash must have become tender.
5. Turn the squash halves facing up in the same baking sheet, fill it with paneer stuffing, top with cheese evenly and sprinkle the remaining cilantro on top. Place it back in the oven and bake at 350F for 15 min. 
6. After 15 min Stuffed Acorn Squash Beauty is ready. Serve immediately and enjoy when it s warm. 

The shape of Acorn Squash Half resembles a heart, this could be a special healthy and loving treat for your loved one on Valentine's day or any special day.


Step by Step with Pictures:










Checkout more vegetable recipes:

Acorn Squash Recipes

Zucchini Recipes


Will be back with another simple yet exotic recipe,
Take care until then
-Mythreyi

This recipe is very simple and quick to make, will be ready under 15 min. Since I was in India I love Bell peppers, as they were known as Capsicum or Simla Mirchi back at home. They usually available in cold places in North India or Cooler Cities like Bangalore. I have first tasted this vegetable in Bangalore at my relatives house, after that I used to insist my mom to buy these in winter (that's when they are available in our town), however they used to be very expensive. After coming to states I am glad they are abundant through out the year. I use Bell Pepper mostly in my Breakfast Dishes along with omelets or in wraps. This English Vegetable Bell Pepper pairs with Indian Spice Powders like Besan or any other Curry Powders nicely creating a nice tasty and unique combination. This recipe is super easy and made with Besan powder ( should usual stable in Pantry) can be a quick win for those busy days. Here is the recipe, Enjoy!


Ingredients:
Bell Pepper - 3
Onion - 1 medium
Oil - 1 Tbsp
Red Chili - 1
ChanaDal, Urad Dal - 1 tsp each
Cumin Seeds, Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp each
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp
Besan Powder(Sanaga Pindi) - 2 Tbsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1/2 tsp
Cilantro - 1 Tbsp (for garnish)




Preparatory Steps:

• Remove stems from bell pepper and cut it open and remove seeds and membrane from the inside. Then chop Bell Pepper into 1 inch cube pieces. Avoid cutting bell pepper into small pieces, that makes the curry mushy and watery.
• Remove skin and chop onion length wise into long thin slices ( to match Bell Pepper pieces). Cutting vegetables in the same size helps the curry to look and cook even allowing all veggies to be cooked properly under same heat. 
• In a small bowl add Besan (Sanaga Pindi) and Red Chili Powder mix well until everything is combined.

Method:

1. Heat non-stick pan and add oil to it. Once the oil is hot add tempering ingredients in the following order Red Chili, Chana Dal, Urad Dal, Cumin Seeds, Mustard Seeds. Sautee until lentils turn to golden color and mustard seeds starts spluttering.
2. Add chopped onion to pan and mix with tempering, add turmeric powder and sauté until onions become tender. Add salt and coriander powder to onions in the pan.
3. Now add Bell Pepper pieces to pan and stir-fry on high for 2 min, then close lid and let them cook for 3 min. Then open lid and keep stir frying on medium heat. 
4. Bell Pepper becomes tender, then add the Besan and Red Chili Powder mix to pan and toss until all pieces are coated well with spices.
5. Keep Stir-frying for 5 more minutes allowing Besan to cook completely. You will notice it will get stick to pieces. Now taste and adjust any salt or seasonings according to your taste. 
6. Top with Cilantro and switch off stove, transfer to serving bowl and serve warm with hot white rice. 

Notes:

• In step #3 stirring on medium to high heat with open lid is critical as it prevents the bell peppers from getting soft and mushy and it helps in retaining their beautiful green color with out getting faded.

• Bachelor Recipes

• Recipes under 15 min

Potato and Green Beans is a new combination to me until my college days. I have been introduced to this combination (while i was in masters at UTD) by one of my roomies, where we used to have weekly cooking turns and get to experiment each other's regional varieties. Those were good old college days filled with masti (fun). My friend used to make a simple stir fry with Potato and Green Beans, i used to love that. Today I have used the same base recipe, but jazzed it up with touch of this South Indian Spice Powder (Kobbari Nuvvula Podi ~ Sesame Coconut Spice Powder) and that became super hit on the dinner table. This goes well with roti & rice and perfect for Thali Setting as well. Here is the recipe, Njoy!


Ingredients:
Potato - 2 medium
Green Beans - 1 lb ( Fresh or Frozen)
Onion - 1 medium
Green Chili - 1 medium
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Oil - 2 Tbsp
Red Chili - 1 whole
Chana Dal, Urad dal, Cumin Seeds, Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp of each for tempering
Curry Leaves - 1 stem or 5-6 leaves
Salt -1 tsp ( per your taste)
Cilantro - for Garnish

Sesame Coconut Spice Powder - 1/3 cup


Preparatory Steps:

• Peel Potato, wash and chop into medium cube size pieces. Chop Onion and Green Chili into small pieces. 
• If you are using fresh green beans trim the edges and cut them into 1 inch size. Heat 1 cup of water add 1 tsp salt. When water boiling add green beans and boil for 5 min. Drain water through colander and transfer green beans to a plate.
• If you are using frozen variety thaw them in microwave for 2 to 3 min (until they become tender)

Method:

1. Heat Non-stick pan, add 2 Tbsp of Oil, once oil is hot add tempering ingredients in the following order, red chili, chana dal, urad dal, cumin seeds, mustard seeds followed by curry leaves. Saute for 1 -2 min until lentils are browned or mustard seeds starts spluttering. 
2. Add chopped onion and green chili to tempering. Add turmeric powder and mix everything in the pan and close the lid. Let onion saute for couple of min until they become translucent.
3. Add chopped potato cubes to the pan, mix with everything and close the lid and cook for 4 to 5 min until potato pieces become tender. 
4. Now add thawed or boiled green beans to the pan and mix with potato & tempering mix. Add 1 tsp salt & toss everything together in the pan, stir-fry on medium heat for about 5 min. 
5. Now add Sesame Coconut Spice Powder to the pan and mix everything well until potato and green beans are coated with spice powder evenly. Taste and adjust salt and seasoning as needed. 
6. Close the lid and cook for 3 min, now open lid and stir-fry for 5 min and add chopped cilantro. 
7. Switch off the stove and transfer curry to serving bowl and serve warm with Rice or Roti.

Notes:

• I make this recipe with Frozen Green Beans, as it saves time in trimming and chopping the Green Beans. And also it is easy to keep frozen green beans handy in the freezer, that allows you to whip up this curry irrespective of the season while Potatoes are available all around the year. 

Will be back with another unusual fusion recipe,
Take care until then and happy cooking!
-Mythreyi

I should say this spice powder is a happy accident happened in my kitchen that got super hit afterwards. Usually I like to make lot of dishes with various vegetables mostly stir-fry dishes and I like to spice up vegetable stir-fries with lentil or masala powders. That gives a nice twist adding special flavor to these vegetable stir-fries. I have been using sesame seeds in curries lately, as it adds very nice creamy flavor to any dish, it became a regular staple in my pantry as I am just loving the flavor plus it has lot of health benefits too. Today I just wanted to experiment with coconut and sesame flavors combined and mix& matched few more spices and boom this wonderful spice powder resulted. This can be paired with several other vegetable curries like Dondakaya Vepudu (Tindora Fry) or Capsicum Fry or Potato & Beans Fry. The possibilities are end less, here is the recipe, Njoy!




Ingredients:
Red Chili - 2 whole
Chana Dal - 2 Tbsp
Sesame Seeds - 1/4 cup
Dry Coconut Powder - 1/4 cup
Clove - 1
Coriander Seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 5 ( optional)

Method:

1. First dry roast sesame seeds in a non-stick pan. As they change color slightly, transfer them to a plate. In the same pan, dry roast rest of the ingredients by adding to pan in the following order, red chili, chana dal, coriander seeds, coconut powder. Dry roast for 2 to 3 min. Add roasted sesame seeds to pan, mix with rest of ingredients. If you are using, add curry leaves to pan. Switch off the stove and let the mixture cool for 10 min. 
2. Transfer the mixture to small mixie jar and grind until it becomes into powder. ( it will be little coarse).
3. Transfer this powder to air tight container, use in your curries as needed. 
4. This powder stores fresh at room temperature for about 2 to 3 weeks. 

This Carrot and Coconut Poriyal is very simple and quick to make. This fry goes perfect with Roti or Rice. As there is no garlic or any masalas used in this recipe, this can be considered as Satvik Recipe and perfect for thali setting on a fasting day or any festive day. Here is the recipe, Njoy!




Ingredients:
Carrot - 3 medium
Peas - 1/3 cup ( Frozen)
Grated Coconut - 1/4 cup (fresh)
Onion - 1 small
Red Chili - 2
Chana Dal - 1 tsp
Urad Dal - 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Curry Leaves - 5
Hing / Asafetida - pinch
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Green Chili - 2 medium
Oil -  2 Tbsp
Salt - 1 tsp ( according to your taste)
Cilantro - 1 tbsp (for garnish)



Preparation:

• Trim the edges and peel carrot, chop them into thin cube slices. Heat 1 cup of water and add chopped carrot when the water is boiling and cook for 5 to 7 min until notice the carrot pieces become tender. Then add frozen peas to water and switch off the stove, leave the pot on stove for 5 min.  Now strain water and transfer boiled carrots and peas to a wide plate. 
• Trim edges and chop green chili into small pieces.
• Trim edges and peel the onion and chop into thin slices.

Method:

1. Heat the non-stick pan and add 2 Tbsp of Oil. Once the oil is hot add red chili, followed by Chana Dal, Urad Dal, Cumin Seeds and Mustard Seeds. Once the mustard splutters, lentils turn to golden color, add curry leaves followed by hing. That makes tempering complete. 
2. Add onion slices, green chili and turmeric powder to pan. Mix well with tempering. Saute for 3 min until raw smell of onion goes away. Now add grated coconut to the pan and mix it well with onion tempering for 2 min.
3. Now add boiled carrot and peas to the pan and mix with coconut and tempering very well. 
4. Add salt and mix it in well and stir-fry on high for 3 min. Switch off the stove and transfer fry to serving bowl and garnish with thinly chopped cilantro. That is it, Carrot and Coconut Poriyal is ready under 15 min. Now serve this fry with hot roti or rice. 

Tips:

• Grate coconut in coconut grater, if you don't have coconut grater handy, grind coarsely in small mixie jar in mixie grinder. Coconut should be flaky should not become like paste. 
• If you are in states and not able to find fresh coconut, you can use frozen grated coconut to get the same authentic taste. However remember to thaw it before using the recipe. 
• If you don't have fresh or frozen coconut handy, you can use dry coconut powder but taste wouldn't be the same.