WHAT DO I MAKE...

Its been an eternity since I last posted the results of any culinary efforts here. The entree for dinner tonight turned out so lip-smackingly good that I had to share the recipe with you all. Sorry for the long hiatus post baby and Sasha's toddler years. I am hoping that I will be able to post more interesting recipes here from now on. That said, here is the recipe of the creamy dumplings that mom-in-law made for dinner tonight. That's right, the comeback post does not feature my cooking but that of the master chef in the house. DUMPLINGS/KOFTA BALLS Ingredients: 1 medium sized squash 1 big potato cashews handful handful raisins 1/4 c gram flour/besan turmeric, salt, red chili powder - as per taste Method: Boil squash and potato. Smash and mix with gram flour and salt, turmeric and chili powder. Cut cashews roughly into chunks as big as the raisins. Mix them along with the raisins in rest of the ingredients. With your hands, make 1 inch balls with the mixtur...

A BIG thank you to all our readers and friends for contributing to the Valentine's Heart Drive! We apologize for the unfortunate delay in publishing some of your posts but here's a final(lly!!) Recipe Round Up from the drive. Cranberry Sauce Coffee Cake     Honey Wheat Bread with Oats Arachu Vitta Kaara Kozhambu Hyderabadi Biryani Vanilla Berry Rosette Cake Eggless Red Velvet Heart Cake Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie Dal Makhani Sprinkles Cake Whole Wheat Pesto Pizza Poondu Kozhambu Bell Pepper Fajitas and Guacamole

Bell pepper Fajitas and guacamole Guacamole : Mash 2 avocados with a fork. Then squeeze the juice of 1 lemon on it. Then add finely chopped onions, tomatoes, jalapenos, cilantro. Add salt and a little bit of jeera pwd. Bell pepper mix for fajitas : In some olive oil , add onions that have been chopped lengthwise and some chopped garlic Then add half each of red, orange and yellow bell pepper. Cook nicely and then add store bought fajita mix powder. Garnish with cilanto and serve with tortillas and other fixins!

A big thank you to our next guest contributor - Shilpa Sarang - from Denver, Colorado. Poondu Kozhambu Ingredients: 10-12 cloves of whole peeled garlic Medium sized onion (preferably red) chopped lengthwise Juice extracted from a ping pong ball sized tamarind  curry leaves Mustard 1 tsp jeera 1tsp Salt chilli pwd (as per taste) haldi pwd 1/2 tsp dhania pwd 1/2 tsp Method: In some gingelly oil, splutter the mustard and jeera seeds. Then add curry leaves, onions and garlic. Fry for a bit till onions are tender and garlic has browned. Then add the tamarind extract, salt and haldi powder and boil till the raw smell of the tamarind goes and the liquid has reduced to half its quantity. Finally add the chilli pwd and dhania pwd and let it boil for a couple more minutes. Then its ready to serve.

A quick thank you to all our guests that sent us their contributions. I have been down with the flu and Niti has been busy with some sudden changes at work. So, sorry if you don't see your post(s) here, we promise to put them up along with a  Round Up very soon. Stay tuned!

Whole Wheat Pesto Pizza Trader Joe's 100% Whole Wheat pizza dough - 1/2 the quantity i.e. 8oz Fresh asparagus - about 10, I used the top 4" Frozen broccoli - about 10 florets, thawed Sun dried tomatoes - 3 T Basil pesto - 4 T Cheese - 1/4 C or less of any low-fat variety. I might try nutritional   yeast flakes as a substitute next time! Suggestions for other substitutes are welcome :) Preheat the oven at 350 F. Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle some cornmeal over, this helps easy removal of the pizza post baking. Place the dough on the sheet and roll it out, use some flour if required. If you are using your "clean" hand/fingers, rub some EVOO before you start. I rolled it out to about 6-7" but for next time, I might try close to 9-10" because when you bake, it rises/puffs up really well. Once you've rolled your dough out, brush some EVOO all over including the ends. I used about 1T of the oil from the sun dried tomatoe...

Another guest baker - Maha Ramani - shares her V-day baking adventure. Maha lives in Baltimore, MD and here are some of the pictures of her valentine cake! Thank you, Maha.

Here's another post from Hema. Dal Makhani is a crowd pleaser yet there are so many varieties of this Indian delicacy. I wanted to  surprise my hubby with something different today and remembered having urad dal (black lentils) in my  pantry, so that was a start. I managed to keep it heart healthy by cutting down on the usage of butter  and cream, but making sure the taste was intact. As always Google came to my rescue and I have tried so many versions.  To name a few: Adding “dals" (lentils) to a onion + tomato + ginger gravy Slow cook the lentils in onion and tomato and let it turn into a gravy But this particular recipe claimed to be from the chefs at Oberoi and I thought that should be great! So  here we go with my version. I call it  made easy  since it’s a simple 3 step process Cook the dals Cook the gravy Mix the 2 A few tips before you start: The dals soaking calls for overnight or at least 6 hours. I made it simple by letting th...

This one was fun making, it's always fun to use up leftover vegetables and clear the refrigerator! Also, this dish is packed with the goodness of fresh vegetables and couscous, considered to be one of the healthiest grains-based products. Ingredients: Top coat: Potatoes - 4, medium Butter - 1-2 T Hot milk - 1/4-1/2 T Bring a pot of water to boil. Cut the potatoes in half and add them to the boiling water and cook till soft. Drain, remove the peel and put the potatoes back in the pot. On medium heat, mash the potatoes well. Add the butter and milk and continue to mash till all lumps are gone! Add some salt, pepper and some dried basil. I also added a pinch of turmeric powder for some color. You could also add some spring onion greens and chives. Filling: Onions - 1/4 of a big onion, finely chopped Tomato - 1/2 of a medium, finely chopped (you can be generous here, I am using leftover veggies remember!) Vegetables - I used a mixture of cabbage, turnip, scallions, broccol...

Here's another guest contribution, from Archana. Archana lives in Singapore and we are glad she found time to share some pictures amidst her busy schedule settling down in a new city and managing her two little kids. Thank you, Archana. Eggless Red Velvet "heart" Cake Adapted from: Heritage Red Velvet Cake by Heather @ Sprinkle Bakes Icing: orange flavored cream cheese and heavy cream icing right out of the oven!

After a lot of debating I finally decided that my V-Day cake would have rosettes on it! I picked the blue velvet cake I made for M's birthday and changed that to a vanilla cake. I also folded in some berries in the end so it wouldn't be a plain cake. As for the frosting, well read on, this baking/decorating project was a true learning experience! the two little hearts in the center were cut out from pink fondant using a cookie cutter Vanilla Berry Cake Cake proportions adapted from Paula Deen's Blue Velvet Cake Butter - 1 stick or 1/2 C Sugar - 1 C Applesauce - 1/4 C (I substituted 1 egg with 1/4 C of applesauce) All Purpose Flour - 1 1/4 C Salt - 1/2 t Buttermilk - 1/2 C Clear vanilla extract - 1/2 t (non clear version should work too!) Baking soda - 1/2 t Apple cider vinegar - 1/2 T (regular vinegar should work too!) Chopped strawberries, fresh or frozen - 1/2 C  Preheat your oven at 350 deg F. Grease one 8x3 baking pan with PAM for Baking. In your stand mixer ...

Our guest contributor, Hema sent another interesting recipe for Hyderabadi biryani that definitely qualifies as a heart healthy recipe for all the fresh vegetables and potent spices it has. Take a look at the recipe below. Another way to win your sweetheart would be a BIRIYANI, a no-brainer! Sunday morning and hubby's like "I feel like eating Biriyani". Luckily,  I had all the spices in my pantry and researched a few recipes online. I added a few extra spices on my own and came up with the Biriyani paste which I guess is the 'secret to success'. Enjoy!!!!! Hyderabadi Biriyani Inspired by Hyderabadi Kitchen's RECIPE Ingredients:  .  Basmati rice - 2-3 cups (this depends on the ratio of “rice to veggies” that you like)  .  Jeera seeds – 2 tbsp ·    Sliced onions – 2 ·    Carrot and peas – 2-3 cups ·    Ginger garlic paste – 2 tbsp ·    Coriander leaves – for the garnish ·    Mint corian...

Here's our first guest post for the Valentine's Heart Drive. We are pleased to introduce our readers to our guest contributor, Hema Srinivasan, who lives in LA and is passionate about all things FOOD! Here is the post in her own words. When Anuja asked me to contribute towards the Valentine's Heart Drive, Italian was the first cuisine that came to mind. But  then I thought, why not Indian. In fact South Indian, only because there is no other better way to win my sweetheart's attention!  Heart healthy was sure an option, but I'd say its safe to take this exception, cause it sure was worth it :) So, my first contribution here is a Arachu Vitta Kaara Kozhambu (spicy stew made with a ground paste). As a foodie, I have always loved   South Indian cuisine in particular and kaara kozhambu has always been a top favorite.  I researched online quite a bit and also took recipes from a friend.  I am yet to make that 'Perfect' Kuzhambu in my books, but safe to say th...

Not quite the hearty contribution to our "drive" here but Super Bowl was begging for some attention. We were going to a friend's house and I decided to make a quick dip. After a quick scan, I figured I would do something with the sole can of corn in my pantry! Jalapeno-Corn Dip Inspired by Kevin's Hot Corn Dip Corn - 1 can Red onion - 1/4th of a big onion, finely chopped Bell pepper - red or green or a combo - 1/4th of a big pepper, finely chopped Jalapeno - 1/2 of a big pepper (or 1 for a borderline spicy dip) - finely chopped Green onions/scallions - 3, chopped, whites and greens Garlic - 3 pods, finely chopped Mayo - 1/4 cup Cheese - 1/4 cup monterey jack + 1/4 cup mexican blend - that was the original plan but I ended up using mexican blend for the entire 1/2 cup since we couldn't find monterey jack! Panko breadcrumbs - 1/4 cup Butter - 2 T In a non stick pan, heat 1 T butter and saute the corn with a sprinkle of salt and pepper till all the ...

With easy access to a zillion Indian stores and restaurants in the Bay Area, I hardly make rotis at home and that means my atta  (whole wheat flour) is sitting idle and I had to find an alternate use for it. I have tried wheat cupcakes before and I must say I am not a big fan of those! So, I decided to bake my own bread at home :) Recipe adapted from: Krissy's  Honey Oat Wheat Bread Makes one 8.5x4.5x2.5 loaf Ingredients: Active dry yeast - 1 packet Warm water - 1/4 C (110 deg F) Honey - 1/4 C Unsalted butter - 2 T, melted Milk - 1 C (I used 2%) Whole wheat flour/atta - 3 C Rolled oats - 3/4 C Salt - 1.5 t Add the water to the stand mixer bowl and mix in the yeast and let it rise for 5 minutes. Stir in the butter, milk and honey. Now, add the flour, oats and salt and mix on medium speed till the dough comes together. I used the stirrer attachment and then switched to the hook attachment right before adding the dry ingredients. Place the ball of dough in a big greased mix...

Considered as one of nature's super foods, cranberries are known for a wide range of health benefits. This would be my first time working with these nutritious berries. Our friends Hema & Madhu visited us in January and I wanted to bake a welcome cake for their daughter --- 4-month-old baby Maya! Of course, Maya was certainly not eating the cake but I created an opportunity for us to include some hearty antioxidants in our diet and also created the perfect excuse to pile on those sugary calories :) The first thing that came to mind was the frozen cranberry sauce from our Thanksgiving dinner and thus began the quest! I initially thought of making this Cranberry-Swirl Quick Bread I found on The New York Times' website. But then I figured this recipe may not have enough butter and eggs to make it moist and cakey  so I decided to go ahead with a coffee cake recipe (excuse my ignorance but I always thought coffee was a key ingredient in coffee cakes, well, you learn somethin...

Keeping fit and thinking about keeping fit are two very different things. How many times have you thought about rehashing your lifestyle to include some exercise and healthy eating habits? How many times have you actually started and have had a relapse? I believe that our resolutions fail because we get too rigid too fast. Instead of going full steam on a workout on day one, what if we try starting with a 5 minute simple routine and slowly ramp it up at our own pace? What if, instead of going vegetarian or fat free all of a sudden, we start with small changes to our diet, eliminating one objection item at a time? Food for thought (for once on this blog)! In celebration of Valentine's, we at whatdoimake have decided to post heart healthy recipes this month. Of course, there will be those cookies and cakes being baked in the oven for that special Valentine dinner. But while we overdose on all the 'love' that one night, let's compensate by adding the 'heart' pa...