Grilled Peppers

After owning and using several small charcoal grills, and doing plenty of BBQ parties...we think we are ready for a big charcoal grill. My husband has had his eye on this charcoal grill since past 4 years now. The fun part of this grill is a handle to crank up the charcoal tray. A new toy for him! :) But on a serious note: it indeed is a useful and a fun appliance for my backyard kitchen.  The pictures below are self explanatory.

So we spent last weekend not only setting up our new grill and grill gazebo, but also BBQing. And the first recipe that sizzled with taste, flavor, and aroma were my grilled peppers.

We love grilled peppers: sweet peppers stuffed with cream cheese is my husband's favorite. I have made them ample number of times cooked either in a pan or baked in an oven or deep fried with a batter.  They just taste delicious in all combinations. Check out various pictures and recipes below.

Stuffed with Paneer and Cashews

Stuffed with Cheese and Onions

Stuffed with purple potato and deep fried

Sweet peppers stuffed with potatoes and pan fried with little oil and cumin seeds.

Ingredients to make Grilled peppers:

10-15 colorful sweet peppers

1 cup boiled, peeled, and mashed potato

1 cup grated paneer

1/2 cup cream cheese

1 tsp. salt

Finely chopped green chili (as per your spice level)

chopped cilantro

• In a bowl mix mashed potatoes, grated paneer, cream cheese, salt, chopped green chilies, and chopped cilantro. Mix all ingredients well till it comes together like a dough. The mixture should be cold. If not, stuff the peppers and refrigerate it for some time.
• Slit sweet peppers, remove seeds if any, and keep them aside.
• Stuff each pepper with the stuffing. The stuffing needs t be cold and not room temperature. The reason here is that while grilling you do not want the cheesy stuffing to ooze out of peppers. Cold stuffing will turn soft and creamy after grilling, but if your stuffing is already room temperature and soft, it might ooze out and create a mess on the grill. If grilling after few hours, it is a good idea to keep stuffed peppers in a plate, cover them, and refrigerate till ready to use.
• Use double bar skewer to secure peppers. If using bamboo skewers, it would be a good idea to to use 2 secures parallel to each other to secure peppers so that then are easy to flip on the grill.
• Grill on high temperature. till it chars on both sides.
• Serve immediately while the stuffing is soft and warm.

Here is step-by-step pictorial recipe:

In a bowl mix mashed potatoes, grated paneer, cream cheese, salt, chopped green chilies, and chopped cilantro. Mix all ingredients well till it comes together like a dough. The mixture should be cold. If not, stuff the peppers and refrigerate it for some time.

Slit sweet peppers, remove seeds if any, and keep them aside.

Stuff each pepper with the stuffing. The stuffing needs t be cold and not room temperature. The reason here is that while grilling you do not want the cheesy stuffing to ooze out of peppers. Cold stuffing will turn soft and creamy after grilling, but if your stuffing is already room temperature and soft, it might ooze out and create a mess on the grill. If grilling after few hours, it is a good idea to keep stuffed peppers in a plate, cover them, and refrigerate till ready to use.

Use double bar skewer to secure peppers. If using bamboo skewers, it would be a good idea to to use 2 secures parallel to each other to secure peppers so that then are easy to flip on the grill.

Here is the link to buy double bar skewers.

Grill on high temperature. till it chars on both sides.

Serve immediately while the stuffing is soft and smooth from warm cheese.

Let's Get Grilling!!!

Mixed Grain Dhokla

We all know the importance of a good breakfast.  Each day, getting a healthy breakfast on the table can be a task. But with little preparation and planning ahead of time, this is totally possible.

Being a Lacto Vegetarian, I put lot of effort to add protein to my breakfast and daily meal. Earlier I had posted information on proteins in my Khichdi recipe. Check out more information on Complete Proteins below. I have also cited the sources.
"Grains, such as rice, oats, wheat, rye and corn, can act as complementary proteins for legumes such as lentils. They contain the cysteine and methionine that lentils lack, and lentils provide the lysine that grains do not contain enough of. Whole grains are a more nutritious option than refined grains. Legumes and grains are one of the most common pairings for complementary protein. Indian daal with rice is an example of a lentil and grain dish".  http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/foods-mixed-lentils-provide-complete-source-amino-acids-1195.html

This dhokla recipe is a protein rich healthy recipe. I grind grain for fresh flour in my KitchenAid grain mill. The Ingredients I use are good quality and mostly organic. That way I know what I am feeding my family. Check my recipe of homemade Handvo flour. It is fresh and better than the store bought one.You can either dry grind the grains and store the flour till use or soak the grains overnight and then grind and use the batter. We also know the benefits of fermenting food. This recipe is khatta or sour from fermentation and benefits of all the grains: A mixed Grain Khatta Dhokla! Check out all my dhokla recipes.

Ingredients to make Dhokla (serve 2-4 people)
1 cup handvo flour
1 cup sour yogurt
Water (if needed to make batter)
1 tsp. fenugreek seeds
1tsp. chana dal
1 tsp. salt
!/4 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. red chilli powder
1/4 tsp. grated ginger
1 chopped green chili
2 tbsp. oil
Pinch of baking soda (optional)

• Mix handvo flour, yogurt, fenugreek seeds, chana dal. Add water if needed to form a thick batter. Cover and leave the batter in a warm place for 8-12 hours up to 24 hours. The batter needs to ferment well and will also get delicious sour taste.
• Mix salt, turmeric, red chili powder, grate ginger, chopped green chilies, and oil. Mix well.
• Add baking soda only if the batter is not fermented well. A well fermented batter will be porous and will make soft dhoklas. 
• Get the steam bath ready.
• Grease a dhokla plate well with oil. Add batter to the plate till it covers 1/4 inch in the plate. Steamed for 5-8 minutes.
• Remove the steamed dhokla plate.
• Let it rest for 2-3 minutes before cutting into pieces and serving.
• Enjoy mixed grain, healthy dhokla.

Here is step-by-step pictorial recipe:
To make mixed grain flour

Coarsely Ground grains

Mix handvo flour, yogurt, fenugreek seeds, chana dal. fenugreek and chana dal will provide crunch to soft dhokla. 

Add water if needed to form a thick batter.

Cover and leave the batter in a warm place for 8-12 hours up to 24 hours. The batter needs to ferment well and will also get delicious sour taste.

Mix salt, turmeric, red chili powder, grate ginger, chopped green chilies, and oil. Mix well.

Add baking soda only if the batter is not fermented well. A well fermented batter will be porous and will make soft dhoklas.

Grease a dhokla plate well with oil. Add batter to the plate till it covers 1/4 inch in the plate. Steamed for 5-8 minutes.

Remove the steamed dhokla plate.

Let it rest for 2-3 minutes before cutting into pieces and serving.

A Healthy Snack!!

Moong Dal Dhokla

Like I have said before and described in one of my earlier posts, we Gujaratis can make dhokla with anything. Moong dal being rich and protein is perfect for vegetarians. It is split moong lentils and there are various delicious recipes made of these. Combination of moong dal and rice makes delicious soft khichdi which is perfect to recover from a disease. Easy to digest and also energizing, introducing moong dal to regular meals is excellent.

As you know by now, Dhokla is a savory steamed cake from Gujarat: Western India. Pulses and ground and batter is fermented to prepare soft steamed dhokla. So these steamed soft dhoklas are great as breakfast or snacks.

Do not confuse this recipe for khaman dhokla. Khaman dhokla is made of chana dal or besan which is chick pea flour.

Here is the list of my dhokla recipes:
Green Moong Dhokla
Khaman Dhokla
Khatta Dhokla
Rawa Dhokla
Dhokla shots
Mixed Grain Dhokla

Ingredients (serves 3-4 people)
1/2 cup yellow split moong dal
1 cup water
1/2 inch ginger
1-2 green chillies
1 tsp. salt
Pinch of turmeric
1 tbsp. lemon juice
2-3 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. oil
1/2 tsp. ENO fruit salt (optional only if batter is not fermented)

For tempering:
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp. mustard seeds
Chopped green chilies

Chopped cilantro to garnish.

• Wash and soak split moong dal in 1 cup of water for 3-4 hours.
• Remove water and coarsely grind soaked dal, ginger, and green chillies together. Leave it aside for few hours or overnight to ferment. You could also use it immediately by adding ENO to froth and make soft dhoklas.
• Add salt, turmeric, sugar, lemon juice, and oil. Mix well for 2-3 minutes till sugar dissolves.
• Keep the steam bath ready. If the batter is well fermented pour in a thali and steam for 7-10 minutes.
• If you are making instant dhoklas without fermenting, add ENO and mix well. Pour batter immediately in a Thali or a plate and steam it for 7-10 minutes.
• Remove steamed dhokla plate and let it rest for 4-5 minutes before cutting into pieces.
• Cut into pieces.
• For tempering: heat oil, add mustard seeds and green chillies. Fry for a minutes. Spread this evenly over cut dhokla.
• Garnish with cilantro.
• Serve!

Wash and soak split moong dal in 1 cup of water for 3-4 hours.

Remove water and coarsely grind soaked dal, ginger, and green chillies together. Leave it aside for few hours or overnight to ferment. You could also use it immediately by adding ENO to froth and make soft dhoklas.

Add salt, turmeric, sugar, lemon juice, and oil. Mix well for 2-3 minutes till sugar dissolves.

Keep the steam bath ready. If the batter is well fermented pour in a thali and steam for 7-10 minutes.

If you are making instant dhoklas without fermenting, add ENO and mix well. Pour batter immediately in a Thali or a plate and steam it for 7-10 minutes.

Remove steamed dhokla plate and let it rest for 4-5 minutes before cutting into pieces.

Cut into pieces.

For tempering: heat oil, add mustard seeds and green chillies. Fry for a minutes. Spread this evenly over cut dhokla.

Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve.

Enjoy Fresh & Healthy Snack!!!

Rose Shaped Dumplings

Food videos on Facebook have been very popular lately. A quick 2-3 minute video of 'how to' are interesting and fun to watch. Even I enjoy making those. You would probably have seen some of my 'How to' or 'Timelapse' videos on my Facebook page. Rose shaped dumpling was an idea from one of such videos. I love dumplings: momo, potstickers, shumai, wontons...love all of them. I normally keep store bought wrappers for a quick dinner and with all veggies handy making potstickers was on my weekly menu list. When rose shaped dumpling video popped up on my Facebook feed, I could not wait to try this design.

On my first try itself, it looked so pretty and dainty. I was in love with this style. And it was a pleasant surprise for my husband. It is normally he who brings me flowers, especially roses, but as soon as he entered the house through the garage into the kitchen, I offered him this rose. At first I wasn't sure if he would make out the shape of it, but his immediate reaction was "WOW,  Rose!!" I aced it. Happy Happy Me!! :)

You can either use store bought wrappers or roll wrappers at home. Check out my recipes below:
Hand rolled wrappers
Whole wheat wrappers

Ingredients: (Makes 13 rose shaped dumplings)
1 packet round dumpling wrappers (containe50-52 thin round wrappers)
2 tbsp. oil
1 large onion
4-5 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger
1 cup finely chopped carrots
1/2 cup finely chopped bell pepper
1 cup finely chopped cabbage
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vinegar

• In a pan heat oil.
• Add minced or finely chopped onions, garlic, and ginger. Saute well till they are soft.
• Add minced or finely chopped carrots and bell pepper.
• Add finely chopped cabbage. 
• Add salt and mix well. Cook for 4-5 minutes till there is no moisture left in the pan.
• Add vinegar. Mix well and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
• Leave it aside to cool. Dumplings get sticky and soggy if the filling is not cooled well.

To make the rose:

• Line 4 wrappers overlapping slightly
• Fill around 1-1+1/2 tbsp. filling in the center.
• With a brush apply water onto the sides of the wrappers.
• Fold the wrapper into half.
• Starting from left the right roll the stuffed wrapper  and seal the end to form a rose.

Line all roses in greased steamer and steam for 5-7 minutes or till done.
Serve with spicy dip :)

Line 4 wrappers overlapping slightly

Fill around 1-1+1/2 tbsp. filling in the center.

With a brush apply water onto the sides of the wrappers.

Fold the wrapper into half.

Starting from left the right roll the stuffed wrapper  and seal the end to form a rose.

Enjoy Rose Shaped Dumplings!!