Gajar koshimbir (Carrot salad)

Koshimbir is a salad, served as a side in a full Maharashtrian meal.( Maharashtra-- a state in India). It is generally made with different crunchy vegetables like cucumber, carrots, tomato, onion, etc which are grated or chopped to tiny pieces and mixed with simple seasonings like salt, sugar and lime juice. Peanut powder or yogurt are also part of this salad. It tastes yummy just by itself, but I usually make it as a part of the meal with chapatis, dal, dry vegetable curry, etc.

For this recipe, I found the unusual purple carrot. (It looks a bit dark pink in pictures here) Any other variety of carrot like the regular orange one or the deep red one can also be used. I thought that purple is some new variety of carrot, but I googled for this information about them and was really surprised to know that they were grown as early as 2000 BC. The orange carrot that we know and use are of much newly modified variety. More information about PURPLE CARROTS HERE.

Ingredients:

• 1 large purple carrot (or orange or the red one)
  
• 1/2 -1 tomato
• 1 green chili
• a bunch of coriander 
• 1-2(or more) tbsp of roasted peanuts crushed to powder
• salt and sugar to taste (about 1 tsp each)
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• A seasoning made with 1/2 tsp of mustard seeds,1/4 tsp asafoetida and some curry leaves added to a heated  tsp of oil/ghee) --- optional

Recipe:

• Wash, peel and grate the carrot after chopping off the top part.

• Chop tomato and green chili.
• Add it to the grated carrot. 

• Add crushed peanut powder and mix it well with a spoon.

• Add salt, sugar and lemon juice.
• Mix it well.

• Garnish with chopped fresh coriander leaves.

• Serve it as an accompaniment to an Indian meal or as a meal by itself.

Quantity:

• 4-5 servings as a side to a meal with other accompaniments.
• 2 servings as just a meal by itself.

gajar koshimbir with black urad dal, chapati and onion

Notes:

• You can use other colored carrots.
• Increase chilies, peanut powder and seasoning according to taste.
• Chill it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes or so before serving.
• You can add a "tadka" made with mustard seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves heated in some ghee or oil and pour it over the salad at the time of serving. I served it as is...without this optional seasoning.

Tofu Chocolate Mousse

When my friend +Meenoo Joshi  suggested that I try out tofu chocolate mousse for a vegetarian version of chocolate mousse, I was really surprised. I had heard about tofu as a replacement for eggs, but I never believed that it would blend in so well and can be used for a dessert. I am not a vegetarian and neither am I a big fan of tofu, but this easy "made in minutes" dessert  recipe is a keeper. This is so simple dessert, just mix 2-3 ingredients and you are done. Even your kids can make it ....!!! The texture of the mousse is not as light and airy as the one with eggs, it's more like a pudding, however it tastes awesome. A chocoholic heaven!! and best of all it has only 1/4 cup of sugar.(or lesser if u prefer it that way) I googled for the recipe, I liked this one and finally came up with this recipe made with the ingredients I had in my kitchen.

Ingredients:

• 1 pack (about 300 gms) silken tofu
• 100 gms dark chocolate (I used Lindt 90 percent cacao)
• 1/3 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips (or u can use another 50 gms of dark chocolate)
• 2 tsp vanilla essence
• 1/2 cup of dark cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 1 tsp instant coffee powder
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup of sugar

Recipe:

• Take out tofu from it's pack and put in on a strainer to remove all the water.

• Break the chocolate into pieces, put it in a microwave safe bowl and melt it in the microwave along with the chocolate chips. You can melt it on stove top, using the double boiler method too.

• Puree the tofu in a food processor.

• Heat 1/4 cup of hot water. Add a tsp of instant coffee. Once it is blended add cocoa powder and mix it well. 

• Add the coffee-cocoa mix to the melted chocolate.

• Whisk it with a hand blender, it will start thickening.

• Add the tofu puree and the vanilla essence and whisk it well.

• Add about 1/4 cup(or less or more -- according to your taste) of sugar and blend well with a hand whisk. Tadaa !!! Done !!

• Pour about 2-3 tbsp of the mix to nice bowls and glasses and allow it to chill in the fridge for 3-4 hours or overnight.

• Serve it garnished with grated chocolate, whipped cream or fruits /berries of your choice.

Quantity:

• Makes about 5 (3 tbsp) servings.

Notes:

• I used exactly 3 tbsps of sugar. With this combination you get a bittersweet dark chocolate kind of taste. Do increase the sugar content if you like the mousse on the sweeter side.
• Use good quality dark chocolate with more than 70 percent cacao. 
• There is a lingering tofu flavor. It will lessen with a better quality chocolate and once it is chilled for about 12 hours.
• Also, use pure vanilla extract and increase quantity to 2 tsps.
• You can also add 2 tsp of coffee powder or additional 50 gms chocolate(making it 200 gms in all )
• Instead of coffee, you can use 1/4 cup of orange juice and 1 tbsp of orange zest.
• You can add about 1/2-1 cup of whipped cream to make it richer.
• Chilling it overnight, will give a better taste and better texture. I photographed it within an hour and half of chilling so it's kind of melting, but after 7 hours or so it was of firmer texture.

Spinach soup

A very simple, quick cooking recipe for my fussy kiddo who refuses to eat vegetables. I usually make soups for him, boil some assorted veges in a pressure cooker and then grind them and season with salt and pepper. This recipe was shared by my friend +gautami khadkatkar. I have used two different varieties of spinach to make this soup. The long green chinese spinach and the lovely red spinach. This is what we get here locally in Singapore.

Ingredients:

• A bunch of chinese spinach
  
• A bunch of red spinach
• 5 cloves garlic
• 2 red chilies (I used the round variety)
• 2 cups of milk
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• olive oil or fresh cream to garnish

Recipe:

• Remove thicker part of stalks of the spinach. Discard them.

• Wash the leaves in running water thoroughly.

• Microwave the spinach for about 2-3 minutes and wilt them slightly. (alternatively, you can blanch the spinach leaves in a pot of water and discard the water)

• Grind the spinach to a fine puree in a food processor or a blender. I got about 1.5 cups of puree.

• Heat 1-2 tbsp olive oil in a pan.
• Add the grated garlic and red chilies.

• Saute till the garlic is browned for about a minute.

• Add the spinach puree and saute for another minute.

• Now lower the heat and add milk, while stirring the mixture continuously.

• Heat it for about 4/5 minutes till the soup starts bubbling.

• Season with salt and serve hot.

• You can garnish with a few drops of olive oil, fresh cream or butter. (or just some leaves of spinach)

Quantity:

• 3-4 servings

Notes:

• You can use any variety of spinach available locally.
• You can use part cream to make the soup richer or part water to make the soup lighter.
• You can add a paste made with 1-2 tsp of cornflour or plain flour mixed with 1/4 cup of water and add it to the soup to make the soup thicker.
• You can arnish with toasted walnuts, fried onions or red peppers too!!

loved photographing fresh leaves :)