Cod and Couscous En Papillote

Since there was no school on Sundays, my sister and I decided that meant we could sleep in. Our mother did not agree, and we woke every Sunday to the sound of her insistent knocking on the door of our bedroom, as she hurried us to awake and get ready for church.

We would sleepily nudge each other to get up and get bathed first so that the other would have a few more cozy minutes, buried under the covers. Usually this meant we were almost always late, arriving at church bleary eyed and grumpy as we went through the motions, waiting for the service to end so we could get to our Sunday feast and favorite TV shows.

How things have changed! Today, going to Sunday Mass with my little family is one of the highlights of my week and I am always, like my mom, the first one to be dressed and ready, urging T and the  toddler to hurry so we won't miss a bit of the service. Mostly because today as an adult, I understand the significance of the symbols, the meanings behind the motions. Over the years, life's many ups and downs, God has drawn me closer to Him and I hope, He draws me closer still. 

The Golden Gate Bridge- from the beautiful Marin Headlands

In our busy, sometimes unrelentingly demanding week, the peaceful church is a serene, soothing retreat. Joyous hymns raise my spirits and strengthen me ( this one and this are two favorites) I smile when the toddler loudly joins in- the fact that he doesn't know too much of the words doesn't deter him in the least. He usually just makes up his own! The sermon fills my heart and inspires me to be a better person and rise above my flaws, feelings of in-adequacy and petty anxieties. I am reminded of God's enduring, unconditional love for me and my fellow human beings. I leave feeling rejuvenated with a song on my lips and a feeling of contentment in my heart. After mass, the world is more beautiful. 

Today is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of a solemn time when we count down to Easter and the death and Resurrection of Jesus. It is a time of prayer, reflection, and many fast and abstain from things they usually enjoy, during this forty day period before the celebration of Easter. 

Like last year, I plan to give up or at least reduce my consumption of my biggest weakness-sweets.
Unfortunately, since it also happens to be Valentine's day tomorrow, I am surrounded by decadent chocolate cakes and tempting sweets in pink and red hues. Seeing these and the many adorable heart shaped cookies and cakes on Facebook and all my favorite blogs, I almost broke down and baked today, using a V-day themed blog post as an excuse to give in. Then I reminded myself that this is an austere time, a time to grow spiritually, a time for self-discipline, so I resisted.

Instead I decided to post this fish en papillote that the hubs and I made together last Sunday  A simple, healthy and romantic meal and a special day spent together.

After last Sunday's mass, we were thinking about where to head for lunch when the hubs suggested that instead of going to a restaurant how about going to the nearest Whole Foods to pick up some fish and attempt en papillote ( in parchment) cooking. "I don't know how!" I exclaimed. It sounded complicated, and the only similar thing I had seen my mother make was Meen Pollichathu where fish is cooked with spicy masala inside a banana leaf."We'll learn together." said he.

So we did. With guidance from Alton Brown, I was sous chef to the hubs for the afternoon as we sipped wine and cooked together, packaging the fish with herbs, vegetables and couscous in  a sheet of parchment paper. It turned out to be very easy, didn't take much time at all, and was a lot of fun!  There was much drama, excitement and anticipation at the escaping steam when the hubs cut open the package in the end. 

One of the most delightful Sundays ever, and a fresh and delicious meal that although we devoured completely, we didn't feel stuffed, but rather left us feeling energized and light.

A tasty mess! 

The couscous and the carrots absorbed all the juices and flavors and the lemon and onions almost tasted like they were pickled and I found myself eating slice after slice.

I hope you have a wonderful day tomorrow, filled with love. The three of us are a little under the weather, and will most likely be staying in, but we plan to cook something special, maybe try something new, because this was so much fun!

Cod and Couscous En Papillote
Recipe adapted from: Alton Brown here

Ingredients:

• 1 cup couscous ( I would recommend that you don't skip this) 
• 2-pounds cod fillets or whole red snapper, cleaned, head on
• 2 teaspoons salt, plus a sprinkling for the couscous
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 small bunch fresh oregano ( we used 1 tsp dried) 
• 1 small bunch fresh parsley
• 1 whole lemon, thinly sliced
• 1 cup thinly sliced red onion
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 cup halved grape tomatoes
• 1 cup drained and quartered artichoke hearts ( we didn't use this) 
• A few carrots sliced in half lenghtwise (optional but recommended)
• 1/2 cup white wine 
• 1 tablespoon butter

Special Equipment:

A Baking sheet 

Parchment Paper or aluminium foil ( do not use wax paper) 

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Rinse and soak the couscous in cold water for about 10 mins, then strain and lay out on a plate, after sprinkling some salt.
• Cut parchment paper into a 15 by 48-inch sheet, large enough in width to cover your baking sheet twice. 
• Fold in half and lay on baking/cookie sheet so that it resembles a greeting card. 
• Open the "card" and lay the fish on the inside layer of parchment so that you can cover it woth the outer flap of parchment.(As though placing the fish inside a greeting card.)
• Generously sprinkle salt and pepper on the fish, on both sides of the fillets or if using a whole fish, inside and out. 
• Place herbs in between the fillets or inside cavity of fish along with half of the sliced lemons, and half of the sliced red onion. 
• Arrange couscous next to fish on all sides. 
• Place minced garlic, and remaining lemon and red onion on fish and lay tomatoes, carrots and artichoke hearts around outside of couscous, creating what Alton describes as somewhat of a wall. 
• Cut up the butter into small chunks and place them over the fish. 
• Pour wine over fish and cover with the outer flap of parchment
• Fold along the edges of parchment paper, to create a package and staples the edges if necessary, so that it won't leak. 
• Bake in oven for 30 minutes. Carefully cut open, keeping away from the escaping steam.

Make sure to serve enough couscous which absorbs all the juices. Along with the carrots it was perhaps my favorite part about this dish.

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quick cooker carrot pal paysam and a girl's day out in the city!

Gosh has it been a long time since my last post! Where to begin. Well I started working with a non-profit. Even though it is only part-time and I get to work from home,  it has been challenging managing deadlines and conference calls, what with having to report to a toddler as well, who we all know is the most demanding kind of boss!

While I have been cooking some and photographing a little, sadly blogging was put on the back burner. I wished for more hours in the day, but what I was really lacking was motivation.

And then last week, much needed motivation came  in the form of my lovely friends and super talented fellow bloggers Vijitha, Prerna and Kankana.  Along with two other new friends, Viji's Mom and our kids, we took a day off from our everyday routines to meet up in the city. We had been planning and discussing this for weeks. The night before we all made and packed snacks for the little ones, yummy beetroot parathas, ragi patties, chocolate loaf and some vattayappam from me ( recipe coming soon) I was so excited the night before I could hardly sleep, just like before long ago school excursions!

On the morning of our trip, I had a long call from work and all along I kept thinking of the bus I had to take to go meet the girls and if I missed it (which I did) I would have to wait an hour for the next one.  Thankfully T came to the rescue dropping me off to the ferry landing so that I could take the ferry to San Francisco and I must say we traveled in style! My little monkey and I thoroughly enjoyed our ferry ride and I am so glad I ended up missing that bus.

 

If there is one thing that I learnt in life is that everything is much, much better shared with a gang of girl friends. Whether it be prawn pickle in a hostel mess or pre-exam panic, or a beautiful outing. I miss my girl friends and roommates from my college and hostel days a lot and was beginning to think I would never be able to enjoy that kind of female bonding again. I am so thankful to have met some good friends even after moving here and at this stage of my life as a mom, when I think I need friends most!  We talked and laughed and munched, wandering through the market, pushing our strollers with our naughty toddlers along, while around us the city whirled and buzzed. Smartly suited professionals out for lunch waited patiently behind us as we discussed and debated what to order at the numerous little stalls within the ferry building.Young couples out on a date and nosy little pigeons edged out of the way of not one,  not two, but four strollers and us large group of chattering women, brandishing our cameras and clicking away. We must have been quite a sight!

I only took my point and shoot along and left the photography to the experts, but then they decided they wouldn't let me eat my ice cream in peace and suddenly, my melting malted chocolate cone from Humphry Solocome was caught up in the middle of a full blown photo-shoot.  I love that picture taken by Prerna and you can see Kankana and Viji's versions on their blog posts, beautifully capturing our magical day at the San Francisco Ferry building.

There was a farmers market happening that day and some of the girls bought gorgeous heirloom carrots to take home. Since they posted their carrot dishes as part of or impromptu group blogging activity to record our magical day out, I thought I too would blog about this super easy and very delicious cooker carrot pal payasam- a perfect spring time dessert!

Pal payasam is a sweet milk pudding that is commonly served in temples as prasadam in Kerala and most of South India. Phirni is a similar sweet dish, popular in North India which is served in clay pots which impart an earthy flavour and draw out the water, making the pudding thicker and creamier. While we add a handful of rice to give the sweet some body, it is not really a rice pudding, more of a milk pudding I think!. I used basmati rice although traditionally a special type of payasam rice called Unakalari is used in Kerala which imparts a pinkish colour to the pudding. You could use brown rice, but do not use glutinous or sticky Asian rice. This payasam is mainly sweetened milk which is slowly cooked, stirring for hours until it has reduced and tastes somewhat like condensed milk. Often it is made with creamy buffalo milk.

I made this in the pressure cooker, so it was super easy and quick, but you can also make this in a slow cooker or the traditional way-cooking it in a wide pot ( so that there is more surface area for the water in the milk to evaporate faster) until the milk has reduced to half it's original volume, though you have to watch that the milk at the bottom of the pan doesn't burn, so you have to stir it occasionally.

I added some grated carrot which melded very well, imparting their sweetness without overpowering the flavour of the milk which is the star. Sometimes a pinch of cardamom powder or saffron is used, and the pudding is  usually garnished with chopped nuts, but I agree with purists that this is not necessary as you don't want anything distracting from the wonderful taste of the reduced milk. 

4 Ingredient, quick and easy Carrot Pal Payasam

Ingredients:

• Carrots 6 medium ( omit for traditional pal payasam)
• Kerala Rosematta or Basmati Rice 1/4 cup ( Not sticky or glutinous rice) 
• Sugar 1/2 to 1 cup ( You can easily adjust  sweetness depending on your preference, start with less and you can also add more sugar if needed at the end) 
• Milk 4 cups ( I used whole milk) 
• Ghee or butter 1 tbsp
• Chopped nuts for garnishing ( not necessary) 

Directions

Pulse the rice in a blender a few times to break it up. Do not grind it to a powder. 

(I skip this step if I'm in a hurry.)

Wash the broken rice and let it drain in a strainer

Grate the carrots using a box grater or food processor

Heat the ghee or butter in a large pressure cooker or a heavy pot 

Add the carrots and cook, stirring until they no longer taste raw

Add the sugar and stir for a few minutes more until the sugar melts completely

Now add the rice and the milk  and mix everything well

If you are using a pressure cooker, put the lid and the whistle on. 

Cook on medium heat until one whistle.

As soon as the whistle goes, switch the heat on to low for about 10 more minutes and then switch off the flame.

(If you leave it on for too long, the pressure cooker may leak all over your kitchen so be careful!)

Once you have switched off the heat, leave it on the stove until all the steam has gone.

(Go do something else like paint your nails or read that blog post you had bookmarked!)

Once all the steam has gone, open the pressure cooker and taste. If you want you can add more sugar now.
Stir the payasam occasionally on med-low flame (with the lid off) to thicken it more to your liking.
Serve warm or chilled ( I prefer it chilled as it gets a little thicker and creamier)

Keeps well in a lidded container in the fridge for a few days. Make sure it has cooled before keeping in the fridge.

The taste of this payasam is rich and luxurious and I was craving it for days after it was all over. You might think that 1/4 cup of rice is not much but it really bulks up, absorbing the milk and you really don't want to add more. Even if you are a cardamom freak like me, and be tempted to add some or other spices- don't. Let the reduced milk flavor shine through!

I will be sending my carrot pal payasam to The Kerala Kitchen hosted by Jehanne of The Cooking Doctor this month 

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cumin roasted cauliflower soup- hearty & healthy

“Let us be concerned for each other, to stir a response in love and good works” (Heb 10:24) BXVI: The Lenten season offers us once again an opportunity to reflect upon the very heart of Christian life: charity #Lent #Pope2You  - From the Pope's daily twitter updates during Lent

Sometimes an idea will come and settle in my head. Then it's like everything around me conspires to make me put that idea into action. That idea for some time now was earth shattering. Life changing. Actually it was just...cumin roasted cauliflower soup.

See, I discovered the joy of roasted veggies only after moving here with a large, lovely oven at my disposal. As a kid I wouldn't eat cauliflower unless it was crispy fried like in Gobi Manchurian a delectable but greasy Indo- Chinese dish. Since then I have grown to appreciate my veggies, but even more so after I discovered roasting them. Baked sweet potato "fries", broiled sweet bell peppers, smoky roasted eggplant and best of all, cumin roasted cauliflower bliss.
So while I have been routinely roasting my cauliflower sprinkled with a little cumin, pepper and salt and enjoying delicious cauliflower chips for some time now, one day I just had the idea to make them into soup.

Since that day I kept hearing cauliflower everywhere- the women at the table next to ours at a restaurant kept raving about the cauliflower soup they were having and which I then wished I had ordered. Then some good friends blogged about it or mentioned making it and by then I was longing/craving cauliflower soup and just had to make it!

There are lots of cauliflower soups out there. A friend recently made one that was light, refreshing and delicious and I'm looking forward to her recipe and hope to try it soon too.
This one is hearty, thick and robustly flavorful and very filling. Soup never makes me feel full. But this one does. And its healthy and yummy to boot.

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, which begins the season of Lent for us Christians. It is a period of penance, abstinence and sacrifice, remembering the pain and suffering of Jesus Christ, Who we believe died painfully on the Cross to atone for all our sins. This period of around 40 days leads up to Easter which celebrates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and reminds us that we too must strive not for the fleeting pleasures of this life but of eternal life in Heaven.

During Lent we are called to pause and reflect on our own lives and turn away from sin. We are to do charitable acts and to observe fasts as a simple exercise of "showing our passions who is boss" and knowing that we can control our desires if we want. Even if our desires in themselves may not be sinful, indulging every one of them could be dangerous, making us more likely to give in to sin so we practice a little self restraint during this time.

Some people give up meat and alcohol or something else they really like during this time. There was a little girl who gave up the colour pink, her absolute favorite :) People find really creative ways to make their Lenten sacrifices like this girl I read about who is giving up fashion for a cause. In support of those giving up meat for Lent I plan to post several more healthy vegetarian dinner ideas in the coming month like this soup.

For me eating only veggies is quite a treat and not really a sacrifice so I will have to find something unpleasant but good for me to do. Any ideas? maybe giving up sweets or undertaking a major kitchen and paperwork re-organisation effort. Or I might have to take up some form of exercise especially after the two year old  bumped his head against my tummy today and then kept saying "bouncy-bouncy!"

You don't have to be Christian to participate in Lent. A little self restraint once in a while is good for everyone. But I must admit -this soup with some flaky onion biscuits for dinner? Not very sacrificial at all!

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Cardamom Carrot Cupcakes- Vegan Dairy-free and Gooood for you!

A few days ago a friend asked me if I had a good carrot cake recipe. I didn't have one that I had actually tried and since then I have been dreaming of carrot cake. So this post is for her, for me and also for all those mommas out there who have kids (or hubbies) who don't eat their veggies. Here is the answer- put those unloved veggies in cake! Then sit back and watch them being devoured.Oh and devour some yourself-they taste fantastic!
I see myself doing this a few years from now when Jelly bean can but wont! eat his veggies. I will sneak zucchini in chocolate cake and make these tasty, healthy carrot cupcakes very, very often.
This genius, deceptively simple recipe is again from Vegan Cupcakes Take over the World.
Being Indian and because I love carrot halwa I had to play around with the spices so the changes I made were to add cardamom (elachi) and cloves in addition to the cinnamon in this fantastic recipe. I'm so glad I did. The whole house is filled with the aromas and I had to restrain myself from scooping up and eating all of the batter. I might also add some shredded fresh or frozen and thawed coconut next time.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Recipe source: Adapted from 

Vegan Cupcakes Take over the World

 from here


Dry Ingredients

• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger ( I overlooked this, maybe next time)
• I also added: 
• 1/8 tsp clove powder 
• 3-4 elachi powdered ( I just put the seeds on a paper towel, folded the towel over and whacked them with the back of my metal measuring cups until crushed and sort of powdery)
• 1/2 cup shredded fresh or frozen and thawed coconut ( Didn't add this time but will next time)

Wet ingredients

• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup soy yogurt (plain or vanilla) 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla 
• 1 cup finely grated carrots ( I thawed frozen carrots for 2 mins in the microwave then pulsed them in my food processor on the chop setting. Don't pulse for too long lest they turn mushy)
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts ( I didn't add these)
• 1/4 cup raisins (I hate raisins in cake so didn't add this either)

Frosting: I used the cream cheese frosting from here


Method

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners.
• In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the wet ingredients sugar, vegetable oil, yogurt, and vanilla. 
• Sift in the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices), and beat until smooth.
• Fold in shredded carrots, walnuts and raisins.
• Spray the cupcake liners with non-stick baking spray. Fill the liners 2/3 full. 
• I also pushed in a cashew on to the top due to my carrot halwa hangover.
• Bake for 26-28 minutes ( I had to bake for 40 minutes and it was still a little gooey), until a toothpick inserted through the center of one comes out clean.
• Once fully cooled, top generously with cream cheese frosting.

Or you could do what I did-poke a hole in the middle of the bottoms of each cupcake with my index finger, then using a medium round icing tip, fill with frosting.
I didnt have pastry bags so I tried using instead, an extra medicine dropper we had from the pharmacy, with which I sucked up the frosting and squeezed it into the centers. Worked quite well.

Verdict: 
Ease:  * * * * *
Taste: * * * * * 


I made one biiig mistake with this recipe. I didn't double it.and that makes me sad because these are so gooood. Tender, moist, aromatic, chewy, slightly sticky interior and crunchy top yummyness! I only made 12 and they are almost over already. I'm just eating carrots I rationalize. Adding this to my mental list of favourite recipes and I highly recommend you do too. And also lay your hands on Vegan Cupcakes Take over the World and try out all the other vegan and awesome recipes. I have posted a few here too. Look in the recipe index or click here

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