One of my favorite types of laddoo is a Besan Laddoo. Besan is flour made from chickpeas (bonus! these laddoos are gluten-free!) which is easily found in any Indian store or most grocery stores. I have very vivid memories of being a little girl and eating besan laddoos made fresh by my mother and grandmother in the dining room of our house; I have always loved the nutty taste and smooth texture of a besan laddoo. In lieu of traditional Indian spices, however, I decided to update the besan laddoo with a beloved American flavor combination--cinnamon and brown sugar!
Diwali, "the festival of lights," is one of the most important Hindu holidays. Every year it falls on a different date sometime between October and November because the date is calculated based on the Hindu calendar. Diwali is a celebratory time when people light candles and firecrackers, clean and decorate their homes, buy and wear new clothing, buy and give presents, and enjoy feasts of food. Of course, as with all holidays, eating sweets is a big part of celebrating Diwali! This year I decided to take a traditional Indian sweet and put a spin on it with American fall flavors. Laddoo is a traditional spherical-shaped Indian sweet. Laddoos are generally made of some combination of flour, ghee (butter), and sugar. Often other ingredients are also added to the mixture, such as spices, raisins, and nuts.
One of my favorite types of laddoo is a Besan Laddoo. Besan is flour made from chickpeas (bonus! these laddoos are gluten-free!) which is easily found in any Indian store or most grocery stores. I have very vivid memories of being a little girl and eating besan laddoos made fresh by my mother and grandmother in the dining room of our house; I have always loved the nutty taste and smooth texture of a besan laddoo. In lieu of traditional Indian spices, however, I decided to update the besan laddoo with a beloved American flavor combination--cinnamon and brown sugar!
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It is finally fall! It has been feeling cooler the past few weeks, but fall officially began a few days ago. I love the cool mornings and evenings, and the sunny but mild afternoons. I am one of those people who perks up at the idea of pumpkin-flavored everything, but moreso for homemade pumpkin bread and pumpkin ravioli than a pumpkin-spiced latte. To me, there is really no better way to celebrate the start of fall than to combine beautiful winter squash with warm and comforting soup! I adapted this recipe from one in the book The Kind Diet. I am attempting to be a vegan for an upcoming ten-day religious holiday and was looking for good vegan recipes. This soup recipe is fantastic because it is incredibly filling from the combination of lentils and butternut squash. It is also packed with all the nutrients you need--fiber, magnesium, potassium, and Vitamins A, C, and E from the butternut squash; protein, fiber, folate, and iron from the lentils; calcium and iron from the spinach; the anti-oxidant lycopene and Vitamin C from the tomato; and of course, the many health benefits of spices like turmeric and cinnamon. This soup is an absolute health bomb!
A few weeks ago, I hosted my first three-course Indian food dinner party! It was a lot of work for a newbie like me, but it was much appreciated by our non-Indian guests. To make my life a little easier, I thought about sticking with easy desserts, like fruit. Then I thought about making kheer, a dessert I have always loved and which is not difficult to make! Kheer (also known as payasam in South India) is a type of rice pudding. It is usually flavored with saffron, almonds, pistachios, and/or cardamom. Kheer has a milkier texture and is not as thick as American rice pudding. If you ever have last-minute company, I highly recommend preparing kheer as dessert because it does not take a long time to make and is liked by most people. Our dinner party guests absolutely loved it!
My husband V and I have been quite busy as of late: we are busy at work, we are planning a few vacations for the summer, and we are looking for a new place to live as our apartment lease is up soon. In the midst of our daily hustle and bustle, it can be difficult to prepare home-cooked meals. Whenever I feel that my days are overwhelmingly busy, I turn to my favorite kitchen appliance: the slow-cooker. My mom provided me with a recipe for making raajma, a curry made with red kidney beans, which is made on a stove and takes roughly 30 minutes to make. Not that 30 minutes is a lot of time, but the idea of dumping the ingredients into the slow-cooker and not having to worry about it was much more appealing. I often use my slow-cooker to make chili, and it turns out amazing because the ingredients have time to blend together and thicken.
Raajma has always been one of my favorite dishes. It is so comforting, whether you are eating it with bread, rice, quinoa, or by itself. I have found that many cultures have some variation of "beans and rice" as a comfort food. The past few days have been scorching hot with actual temperatures in the 90s and a heat index in the triple digits! When it is so hot outside, I like to keep my meals light and cool and trend toward the amazing raw fruits and vegetables of summer. I have also been hitting the gym regularly as my husband and I are planning a trip to the Caribbean this summer; and more exercise = hungrier! This lassi recipe is perfect before or after a good summer workout, as a quick and filling breakfast, or even a healthy post-dinner dessert! Lassi is a yogurt-based shake, and can be either salty or sweet. Regardless of whether it is salty or sweet, lassi has a hint of sourness because it is made with yogurt. The most popular form of lassi is made using mangoes as the sweet component. My Dad makes an incredible mango lassi at home using buttermilk and Alphonso mango puree; it is a must-have when I am visiting home during the summer.
I whipped up this lassi in five minutes, so it is perfect when you are short on time but need something filling. |
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July 2015
AuthorExploring Indian cuisine and trying to learn the recipes of my family. I hope to help and inspire others along the way. |