Mung-Sprouts Paratha

Hope you all had a great weekend.  This summer has been great for us, as we spent many weekends hiking, Jet skiing, rock climbing, etc.  The weather is getting slightly cold and we hope to manage a couple more outdoor activities before the winter comes around.  As for the past weekend, we relaxed at home with some friends and good food.  My husband made Vegetable Biryani, something he is really good at, while I prepared Pani Puri and some Chhole to go with the Biryani.  Chaat, Pav-bhaji and Biryani are some of our favorite dishes to make when we have people over.  They are fun to make and perfect for the weekend mood frame.   Do you have a favorite dish(s) that you make when you have to feed a crowd?   I would love to know what they are.

We will post the recipe for Vegetable Biryani soon, but for today, I am sharing with you a recipe for Mung-Sprouts Paratha.  I had some extra and a little overcooked mung-sprouts that I didn’t want to waste.  Then I thought of making parathas with it for Saturday brunch.

Dough

Ingredients and Method

2 ½ cups of whole wheat flour

½ tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. carom seeds (optional)

2 tbsp. oil

Water as needed

Mix the first four ingredients really well, then add water as needed to knead the dough (either by hand or in a food processor).  Cover and set aside.

Stuffing

Ingredients and Method

2 tbsp. oil

1 green chili, minced

1 clove of garlic, minced

¼ tsp. turmeric powder

1/2 tsp. garam masala

2 cups of mung-sprouts

¼ tsp. dry mango powder

¼ cup cilantro, chopped

Salt to taste

Heat the oil in a pan.

Add green chili, garlic, turmeric powder and garam masala. 

Stir-fry on medium low heat until the spices are cooked, less than a minute.

Add the next four ingredients on the list and mix well.

Set aside to cool.

Now, divide the dough in ~7 equal parts. 

Take one part and roll it big enough to fill the stuffing.

Place about 1 ½ tbsp. of the stuffing in the center and close from all sides.

Roll again to thickness of your preference and put on a hot pan.

Roast from both sides, applying oil as needed.  

A Recent Trip to A Dong!

A Dong is an Asian supermarket in Hartford, CT and a wonderland for foodies like me.  They have a wide variety of curry pastes, sauces and noodles.  It's quite fun shopping there and a really nice change from the mundane grocery trips to the regular supermarkets.  Taking suggestion from a post from One Hot Stove , I chose to buy a Maesri brand curry paste.  Below are two of the simple dishes I made using this paste along with other ingredients I bought.  Both dishes were fairly quick, easy to make and tasted good.  Moreover, what I like about these dishes is the fact that they are a complete and healthy one-pot meal, loaded with vegetables and protein.  

Notes:

• ·      The curry paste is flavorful, but not too spicy.  If you want some heat, add white pepper, chilli garlic paste or red chilli flakes. 
• ·      The curry paste is a bit oily but little or no excess oil is required for cooking.

Vegetable and Tofu Curry, served with noodles.

 Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups of mixed vegetables (I used baby corn, snow peas, zucchini, eggplant, carrot, cucumber, tomato and mushrooms)

1/2 cup extra firm tofu, diced into cubes

4 tbsp. Maesri Massaman curry paste

1 cup vegetable stock

1/2 cup coconut milk

Thai basil (a handful)

Scallion, chopped

Salt to taste

 Method:

1) Heat a wok or any cooking pot.

2) Fry the curry paste and coconut milk for 2 mins. until heated through and fragrant.

3) Add the vegetable stock and bring to boil. (keep it on medium-high heat)

4) Now, start adding the vegetables and cook them uncovered.

(Add the vegetables that take the longest to cook first and continue adding vegetables making sure to add the one with the shortest cooking time last.  Be careful not to overcook the vegetables.  They should have a crunchy texture)

5) Lastly, add the tofu.

6) Taste and adjust the salt.

7) Mix in the basil and scallion. 

Serve with rice or noodles.  

Massaman Curry Fried Rice

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. vegetable or canola oil

3 tbsp. Maesri Massaman curry paste

A good amount of (~2 cups) mixed vegetables; and extra firm tofu, diced into small cubes

3 cups of cooked rice

2 tbsp. light soy sauce (divided)

1 tbsp. oyster sauce

1 tbsp. fish sauce

1/2 tbsp. sesame oil

2 scallion, chopped (whites separated)

Thai basil (a handful)

Method:

1) Heat 1 tbsp. of oil in a wok.

2) Add the curry paste and the white parts of the scallion.  Fry for 1-2 mins.

3) Add the vegetables, tofu and 1 tbsp. of soy sauce. Fry for another 3-4 mins.

(Sprinkle some water on the vegetables.  The steam created from the water helps the vegetables cook faster and remain crunchy).

4) Add the rice, remaining soy sauce, oyster sauce and fish sauce.

5) Taste and adjust the salt.

6) Garnish with the remaining scallion and basil.

Coconut stuffed potato patties 

Finally, here is my first blog post.  It's been a while since I wanted to start my own food blog, but wasn't sure which recipe to start with.  I've been taking pictures of the food I've been cooking and there is one picture that looks absolutely mouth-watering.  We used to get these patties from a local store in our hometown and my mom told me how to make them, so the credit for the recipe goes to her.

This delicious dish makes a great appetizer.  The method is a little tricky and time consuming but is worth the effort.  When you make the potato mixture, adjust the amount of breadcrumbs, so that the mixture is not too slimy or not too dry.  I dipped the balls in the batter before frying in order to prevent them from falling apart, and the cornstarch gives them a nice crispy layer.  The all-purpose flour can be replaced with chickpea flour, according to your choice.  

I used frozen coconut and green garlic.

Coconut filling:

1/2 cup shredded coconut

2 green chilies, minced

1/3 cup cilantro, chopped

Mix the above ingredients and set aside.

Potato mixture:

5 medium potatoes

3/4 cup breadcrumbs

1/3 cup frozen green garlic

1 tbsp. grated ginger

3/4 cup cilantro, chopped 

4 green chilies, minced

2 tbsp. sesame seeds (optional)

1/2 tsp. turmeric

Salt to taste

Boil and mash the potatoes to a smooth consistency.

Add the bread crumbs followed by the remaining ingredients and mix well.

Batter:

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. corn starch

Mix the flour and corn starch and add enough water to make very thin batter, making sure it’s lump-free.

Now, make a decent size ball of the potato mixture and press it down with the back of your palm.  Fill it with about a 1/2-3/4 tbsp. of the coconut filling and close it from all sides.  Roll it back into a ball shape.  Repeat until all the potato mixture is used up.

Now dip them in the batter and fry them in hot oil on medium heat until they are dark red in color.  

Serve Immediately.