Mixed Daal (Lentils) Tadka with Egg Drop

I decided to try out this recipe on one of the foggy fall days in California. I was craving something piping hot with roti and suddenly, I remembered a similar dish my mom used to make for us during winter. I grew up in a relatively colder place and Maa would often make this wholesome meal. During the week, I typically slow cook a batch of lentils to be prepared into some dish or the other. This week, I slow cooked the following lentils overnight.

Ingredients

(for slow cooker):

1 cup - Black whole urd daal (also known as black gram)
1/2 cup - white split urd daal
1 cup - Green whole mung daal
1 cup - Red kidney beans
Salt to taste
Water (covering three fourth of the cooker)

(for tadka):

Onions (chopped) -  1 medium
Garlic (chopped) - 4-5 cloves
Ginger (paste) - 2 tbsp
Oil - 3 tbsp
Fenugreek leaves (dried) - 1 tbsp
Garam masala pwd- 2 tsp
Corriander pwd - 3 tsp
Turmeric - 2 tsp
Red chilli pwd (optional) as desired
Green chillies (as needed)
Egg (as needed)
Cilantro (as needed)
Ghee (as needed)
Salt to taste

The lentils were soft and ready to be eaten next morning. Right before lunch, I browned the garlic and onions in oil in a cast iron skillet. The ginger was added later and the mixture was cooked for about 5 minutes on low heat. To this, I added the dried fenugreek leaves, coriander powder, turmeric and garam masala. Once this was done, I mixed it with the daal in the slow cooker.

Right before serving, I added one egg to the skillet along with cilantro, green chillies and red chilli powder. Then, I scooped about 4 ladles of the daal from the slow cooker into the skillet and sauteed for a couple of minutes. Topped it off with few drops of ghee and this was ready to be served with roti. The hot and spicy daal was great to soothe my damp and cold nerves from this weather :)

I made the daal in a big batch and will be using it for the rest of the week. My kindergartener loves to eat freshly cooked food (read right out of  the pan) and is very particular about it -- not so much in words but in appetite. I have no idea how she figures out  even if it was cooked a day before -- my mom says I was the same way :) Karma, eh? This recipe is mommy's way of tricking the senses ;-). Just need to add some fresh ingredients like cilantro, ghee, green chillies, eggs and saute in a skillet before serving and this will be ready to go.

Maa's french toast (Indian style)

My friends often ask me what snacks or lunches I provide to my soon-to-be kindergartener. I smile and empathize because that is one question that probably goes through the minds of most iMoms, who have kids of school-going age. There are several things to consider -- is it healthy enough, am I providing a balanced diet, is it going to comeback unfinished and then, the dreaded word, 'boring'.

I am lucky in that I have a readily available list of snacks to pack for school. The credit goes to my mom, who provided me home-made snacks every day when I returned from school. I loved them so much that I would often make them my dinner :) I am sure all my readers will vouch for the fact that kids are the most hungry when they are being picked up from school :) French toast, dosa, paratha, noodles, poori....the list was endless. We never grew up on junk and luckily or unluckily, the way you see it, I have managed to pass on that tradition. We call it 'real' food at our home now :) and it is in high demand whenever the four-year old is super hungry. And guess what, you have to have it ready in an instant! I have often heard of women wishing they had ten hands like Maa Durga but does anyone wish they had ten heads like Ravan? I feel I would benefit more from the latter :D.

Ingredients (makes 4-6 little triangles):

Egg - 1
Wheat bread - 1 slice
Cilantro - 4-5 tender twigs
Onions (prefer red) - one sixth of a medium sized one
Baby carrots - half
Salt to taste
Saffola or other oil to fry

The reason I like this as a snack is because it literally takes 10 minutes from start to finish. In a magic bullet blender,  add the cilantro, onion, baby carrot, salt and egg and blend until the mixture turns to a fine puree. Heat oil for shallow frying. On one side of the bread, apply the egg mixture and let it soak on the bread. When the oil is hot enough, shallow fry with egg side down. Put mixture on the side of the bread facing you and flip.

Now, parents may be concerned about giving fried food to their kids. I, on the other hand, am perfectly fine as long as it is done in moderation and made from fresh ingredients at home. The wheat bread and carrots are my 'healthier' additions to the original recipe. If you have a little of the mixture left, make some little triangles for yourself --  go ahead and indulge :) I tell myself it is a reward for that healthy meal I had last night, or the exercise routine I did day before yesterday or whatever :)

I served this dish as a snack when I picked up my daughter from school last week and the dazzling smile to see the 'surprise' snack was just cherry on top.

Oregano-Rosemary Chicken with warm Brussels Sprout salad

For dinner yesterday, I wanted to escape from the mundane. Having had a strenuous exercise session in the morning, I wanted to cook something easy, healthy and tasty. And while thinking about what to cook, a realization dawned upon me. Supermoms of today are not pressurized by anybody else but themselves. We secretly desire to look like supermodels, be the best in what we do in our professional lives, have a sparkling clean home and yet, we want to devote the same amount of time to our kids that our previous generations did. I am not saying that all of these wishes come true at the same time but there is no stopping us from dreaming :) I guess while kids never grow up for their moms, mothers too never see themselves playing any other role across generations -- maybe more but never less.

Oregano-Rosemary Chicken

Ingredients:
Chicken drumsticks - 5
Garlic cloves (large) - 3 (crushed)
Fresh oregano leaves chopped - 1tbsp
Fresh rosemary leaves chopped - 2 tsp
Balsamic vinegar - 1tsp
Olive oil - 1tbsp
Salt & black pepper to taste

Yesterday evening before I picked up my daughter from school, I made some preparations ahead for the family dinner. I marinaded the chicken with all the ingredients mentioned above in a ziploc bag and left it at room temperature. The idea was that it would go in the oven, at 400F, as soon as I was back, for about an hour. Did I tell you moms also love to serve food fresh? :) While making this dish, I realized the key ingredient is freshness -- fresh garlic, fresh herbs and freshly cooked are must. I became so enticed with the smell of fresh herbs while cooking that I am now inspired to grow my own herb garden!

Warm Brussels Sprout salad

Ingredients:
Brussels Sprout (halved) - 15
Red beet (diced) - 1 small
Red onions (sliced) - one-fourth of a small onion
Olive oil - 1tsp
Balsamic vinegar  - 0.5 tsp
Almonds (sliced) - 1tsp
Goat cheese as desired
Salt and black pepper


This salad was easy to make and can serve the purpose of a side dish or salad. In a saucepan of boiling water, I boiled the Brussels sprout until tender (7-8 minutes should do it). Alternatively, you can also soak it in hot boiling water, after turning heat off, for about 30 minutes. The diced beets, sprinkled with olive oil, salt & pepper, were roasted in the oven at 400F, alongside the chicken, in a separate pan. When it was ready to assemble the salad, I roasted some almonds and lightly sautéed the red onions in olive oil. In the end, the Brussel sprouts, roasted beets, sautéed red onions and goat cheese were tossed with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Topped it with the almonds, a pinch of salt and fresh black pepper right off the hand mill.

When assembled together, dinner looked beautiful and eating it made us content. Even though there was nothing Indian about these recipes, the iMom thought it was worth a share for all the supermoms out there while they strive to be the perfect mom for yet one more day.

Chicken stew in crockpot

Whenever I have time or necessity, I experiment with my crockpot. I have been making this dish for a long time now (discovered it as a new mom) and have shared with many friends. Never had the time to write it down but when a friend called today and mentioned what a life-saver this comfort food was, I decided to finally pen it down...err I mean, type it :)

I had recently made this dish when I was down with flu and working from home. Yes, you read it right..parents work when they are down with flu. Their vacation/sick days cater to their children's schedules. 15minutes of prep time was all I could afford on a working day.  I decided to share  this recipe with all the iMoms out there with the hope that it will save them some relief from cooking time atleast for a day. Or who knows: maybe more than one day as my friend's child asked her if she could make it again tomorrow!

Ingredients:

Chicken thighs - 6 (bone in or boneless)
Red onions chopped - 1 small
Ginger grated (fresh) - 1 tbsp
Garlic crushed (fresh) - 2 cloves
Organic tomatoes on the vine (diced) - 2
Roasted beets (or fresh golden beets to avoid coloration of stew) - 3 (diced)
Green beans (trimmed and cut into halves) - 12
Dried bay leaf - 1
Cinnamon stick - 1 inch
Garam masala powder - 1 teaspoon
Safflower oil - 3tbsp
Salt to taste
Green chillies - chopped (optional)
Butter (optional) - for garnish

I toss all ingredients in a crockpot and topped it with water to fill upto almost half of the crockpot. The volume of water should be almost two times of the solid after being cooked. I covered the crockpot with an aluminum foil to avoid steam from escaping and put it on high for about 4 hours. By the time I finished my work, popped some pills and brought my daughter back from school, there was a hearty dinner waiting for all of us. You can serve it with rice or bread. If this sounded too simple, please try it before being skeptical.   Time and again this has saved me during crunch time. I am hoping this will be a savior for many other moms too -- note, I did not say working moms only because having tried both, I know moms are working around the clock, whether outside or at home. And at the end of the day, their goal is to keep every tummy in the family happy :)

I took the leftover for lunch next day at work and when everyone stopped by and said, "That smells so good!", the Bengali in me smirked and quietly told myself "Misson accomplished" :)