Jackfruit Seeds Curry, Palakottai Varuval

          This year's jackfruit season is over, as much as I miss the fruits, I miss the seeds too. In fact my daughter doesn't like the fruit at all, but she likes the seeds very much, especially in the sambar that I make with drumstick and the seeds. Usually I'll buy a dozen jackfruit bulbs or the edible part of the fruit and always used the seeds for making the sambar. Once, I got a large quantity of the seeds alone and I wanted to try out a varuval ( curry ) with it, I made it just like the way I make potato curry. It's an easy dish and it goes very well with rice and dal/sambar..

Need To Have

• Jackfruit Seeds - about 2 cups
• Onion - 1 big, chopped
• Sambar Powder - 1 teaspoon
• Red Chilly Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Fennel Seeds Powder - 1 teaspoon
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 10
• Salt to taste

Method

          I have shown how to peel and clean the seeds, usually when you remove the seeds from the fruit, it has a slimy outer skin, remove that and let the seeds dry. Then remove the outer white skin, usually I cut the seeds into half, then peel the skin, it has another thin brown skin inside.

           Either you can use it as such, or soak the seeds in water for some time, then scrape the brown skin, cook the seeds with some water and salt till cooked.

          Now heat some oil, add the chopped onion, followed by the fennel seeds powder and saute till the onion turns pink. Now add the jackfruit seeds, turmeric powder, sambar powder, red chilly powder, curry leaves and salt and keep sauteing on low heat till the seeds are well roasted.

Note
The seeds should be soft to the bite but should not become too soft or mushy.
If you like pepper powder, you can add a little towards the end and roast, it'll give a nice flavor.

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Fresh Peach Pie

My neighbor made this for us when I had the baby and Mom, Dad, and Julie were in town. She brought us dinner that night too and it was so filling that we didn't have enough room for this pie until later that night. I was nursing Caroline at like 10:30pm that night and Mom came in my room and said, "you have got to come try this pie. It's the best pie I've ever eaten." I was soooo tired and just wanted to hit the sack, but I'm so glad that I went and tried it. I could hear the "mmmm's" coming from the kitchen as soon as I walked out of my room. It was so funny. Everyone was dying over this pie. And, it WAS seriously the best pie I've ever eaten. So, get out there and make it before peach season ends!

Fresh Peach Pie
from Kathi Kimble

For crust:
Crush 7 graham crackers in a bag, not in blender (this is key for bigger pieces of graham cracker).
Add 3T. Powdered sugar, then put in pie pan and stir in 6T. melted butter.  Form a crust.

For filling:
Slice and peel about 5 peaches into crust.
Mix 1/4 C lemon juice with 1 can sweetened condensed milk and pour over peaches.
Cover with Extra Creamy Cool Whip (I would prefer fresh whipping cream).
Can be served immediately or refrigerate.
 

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Caramel Brownies

My neighbor made these brownies for us when we moved in and Christian said they were the best brownies he'd ever had. So, naturally, I requested the recipe. I made them for a baby blessing last week and they were the first thing gone. They are so scrumptious.


Caramel Brownies
from Kathi Kimble

Melt together in microwave:
14 oz. caramels (2 Cups)
1/2 C. evaporated milk

Mix:
1 German Chocolate cake mix
3/4 C. butter
1/2 C. evap. milk
3/4 C chopped pecans - optional (of course I left these out:))


-Spread HALF of cake mixture in 9x13 greased pan.  Bake at 350 for 5 minutes.

-Remove from oven and sprinkle 6 oz. milk choc. chips over top evenly.

-Pour caramel mixture over.

-Drop the remaining cake mix in clumps on top and mix lightly with caramel.

-Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Refrigerate. 

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One-Pan Farro with Tomatoes

 

 Pic courtesy Smitten Kitchen

Someone in my ward made me this when I had Caroline and I was blown away by its yumminess. It was my first experience with farro and I'm now a huge fan. It is so simple and so flavorful. I made it again last week and it was just as delicious as I remembered! Oh, and I tripled it for our family.

 One-Pan Farro with Tomatoes
from Smitten Kitchen 

Serves: 4 as a side, 2 as a hearty main
2 cups water
1 cup semi-pearled (pre-cooked) farro (I used Trader Joes 10 minute farro)
1/2 large onion (I usually use a white one, for mildness)
2 cloves garlic
9 ounces grape or cherry tomatoes
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher or coarse sea salt
Up to 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (to taste)
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
Few basil leaves, cut into thin ribbons
Grated parmesan cheese, for serving (optional)
Place water and farro in a medium saucepan to presoak (I find just 5 to 10 minutes sufficient) while you prepare the other ingredients. Adding each ingredient to the pot as you finish preparing it, cut onion in half again, and very thinly slice it into quarter-moons. Thinly slice garlic cloves as well. Halve or quarter tomatoes. Add salt, pepper flakes (to taste) and 1 tablespoon olive oil to pan, and set a timer for 30 minutes. Bring uncovered pan (no lid necessary) up to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally. When the timer rings, the farro should be perfectly cooked (tender but with a meaty chew), seasoned and the cooking water should be almost completely absorbed. If needed, though I’ve never found it necessary, cook it for 5 additional minutes, until farro is more tender.
Transfer to a wide serving bowl. If there’s enough leftover cooking liquid to be bothersome, simply use a slotted spoon to leave the amount you wish to behind. Drizzle farro lightly with additional olive oil (I left this part out), scatter with basil and parmesan. Eat immediately. Repeat tomorrow.
 

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Mohanthal ( Besan Fudge )

          After making payasam I had some leftover condensed milk in the fridge and I wanted to try out something new with it. For quite some time now, I had wanted to try out a sweet using besan flour and condensed milk, then I saw this recipe here for Mohanthal. I had all the ingredients in hand, so just went ahead and made it today, the entire dish took about 30 minutes to cook and a little extra time to cool and slice the burfis. The sweet turned out really good, it had a fudgy texture unlike our Mysore Pak but it's much easier to make..

Need To Have

• Besan Flour - 1 cup
• Condensed Milk - 1/2 cup
• Ghee - 5 tablespoons
• Milk - 2 tablespoons
• Pistachios - 6, chopped
• Almonds - 3, chopped

Method

          Mix the besan flour and milk with hand to get a crumbly mixture. Heat the ghee, add the besan flour and saute it well till you get a nice aroma and the besan changes color, takes about 10 to 15 minutes.

          Now add the condensed milk and keep stirring till the mixture becomes thick and it becomes a little tough to mix.

          Spread it out in a greased ( with ghee ) tray, smooth it out with a spatula, then spread the pistachio and almond pieces and press it a little. Let it cool, then slice out with a sharp, greased knife.

Note
Don't skimp on the ghee, and also roast the besan well till the raw smell goes away.
Also you can add some saffron along with condensed milk, I forgot to add, but still the flavor from the ghee was good.

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Vegetable and Chickpea Curry

I'm looking for new vegetarian recipes, and this one is a great find, especially because it can be thrown in the crockpot!

Vegetable and Chickpea Curry

Source: myrecipes.com

1 tablespoon olive oil 

1 1/2 cups chopped onion 

1 cup (1/4-inch-thick) slices carrot 

1 tablespoon curry powder 

1 teaspoon brown sugar 

1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger 

2 garlic cloves, minced 

1 serrano chile, seeded and minced 

3 cups cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans) 

1 1/2 cups cubed peeled baking potato 

1 cup diced green bell pepper 

1 cup (1-inch) cut green beans 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1/4 teaspoon black pepper 

1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper 

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained 

1 (14-ounce) can vegetable broth 

3 cups fresh baby spinach 

1 cup light coconut milk 

6 lemon wedges 

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and carrot; cover and cook 5 minutes or until tender. Add curry powder, sugar, ginger, garlic, and chile; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Place onion mixture in a 5-quart electric slow cooker. Stir in chickpeas and next 8 ingredients (through broth). Cover and cook on HIGH 6 hours or until vegetables are tender. Add spinach and coconut milk; stir until spinach wilts. Serve with lemon wedges.

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Mushroom And Basil Rice

          Mushroom And Basil Rice, this is another easy rice that can be put together in no time. The main and important ingredient here is the basil leaves, the leaves along with the chopped garlic gives all the flavor to this simple rice. I have just added a few sliced mushrooms to the rice, it goes well with the basil, just serve it with some chips and raitha for a delicious meal..

Need To Have

• Cooked Rice - 3 cups
• Button Mushrooms - 5 or 6, sliced
• Tomato - 1 medium, chopped
• Chopped Garlic - 1 teaspoon
• Cashews - 5, broken into pieces
• Red Chilly Flakes - 3/4 teaspoon
• Basil Leaves - 1/2 to 3/4 cup

Method

          Heat some oil, add the chopped garlic and cashew pieces and saute it for a minute or two till the garlic and cashews turn golden. Then add the chopped tomato and saute till it breaks down, then add the sliced mushrooms.

          Saute the mushrooms till it's cooked ( should take about 2 to 3 minutes ), then add the chilly flakes, salt and basil leaves and mix for another minute. Finally add the cooked and cooled rice, mix it well, garnish with more basil leaves and serve.

Note
I usually cook quinoa and rice together ( 1 cup rice and 1/2 cup quinoa ), I have used that here, but you can make it with only rice.

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