A stir fried warm salad with fresh vegetables and kidney beans .... perfect, healthy meal for cold winter days

 Hi all!!
Hope you are having a wonderful festive time.
I did not have the time to come here and greet you but here is wishing you a beautiful Diwali and a prosperous new year!
The festive season has started in India long back with Ganesh chaturthi and continues still. Now with Diwali and then with Christmas and then New year and so on.
We Indians have no dearth of festivities and festivals.
And may we continue to celebrate life thus ... always.

Diwali this year has been more boisterous than the last two years, all around.
Last night, we saw crackers bursting with gutso and the air was so filled with thick smoke that we could only see the lights of our immediate neighbourhood.
The rest of the city seemed to be plunged into darkness.
We, as usual, take pleasure in watching the fireworks from our bay windows. Both of us do not believe in buying and burning crackers.
Rather, we set deck the house with flowers and lights and offer puja, prasad and aarti to the gods in the evening after the customary call home.
Mummy tells us the muhurt of the puja and perform the aarti then.

This year I made the family tradition of kachoris, puris and aloo ki sabzi for dinner.
And gulab jamun for dessert.
I have not made gulab jamuns for ages and B loves them. So made them.
Offered the food as prasad to the gods and then had a quiet dinner while watching the fireworks.
And of course in between attending to the occassional phone calls to wish us.

I have been caught up with some work that has been eating into my time for the last few weeks.
And no matter how much I tried, it was extremely difficult for me  to sit down and pen something here.
This will go on for some more time.
And so I will be taking a break from posting here.

I will, however, try to come and write a post or two and update you with the happenings ... but cannot promise.

Today, I will leave you with this beautiful warm salad made with seasonal fresh, winter vegetables.
I throw in as many vegetables as I can . And add some legumes to give it some body as well as balance.
I do not add any extra carbs ... you can throw in some cooked rice or noodles too, in which
case you will need to increase the amount of your condiments or sauces , if you are using them.

This makes for a full meal on any winter day or night.
You can also add some croutons and some plain Tomato soup on the side of you are having this for dinner.
This is my favourite dinner and I often add pieces of boiled or stir fried chicken , boiled eggs or sausages to it too, for that extra kick of protein.
And, of course, taste. :-)


Need :

Fresh winter vegetables - cut into slices
I used carrots, capsicums, cabbage, cauliflower, purple cabbage, fresh corns , spring onions, green peas, etc.
Boiled kidney beans
Chopped garlic
Chopped ginger
Onions - cut into slices
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Mixed herbs (optional)
Olive oil or any white cooking oil
Fresh lemon juice
( You can add vinegar too but lemon juice is a better choice for winters )
You can add kind of sauce you love

How :

Heat the oil in an open pan or kadahi / wok.

Add the garlic + ginger.

Raise heat and add the vegetables one by one.

Quickly toss and add the rajma / kidney beans.

Mix well on high heat.

If using any protein, add now.

Add salt + herbs + lemon juice + black pepper and give a quick toss.

Remove from heat before the vegetables turn soggy.

This is best eaten hot or warm.

So settle back in your softest couch and draw your warmest throw around you.
Have your bowl of hot soup ready beside you and a plateful of this super salad in your hands.
And sit back and enjoy your dinner snug in warmth, with maybe a movie on the telly.
While the quiet, cold, winter night sets itself on the world.

Bye all for now.
Will catch you the soonest.

Till then ... take care.
And enjoy every moment of life with kindness and joy in your heart!!

Carrot and cabbage stir fry

Makar Sankaranti came and went by.
For some days, before it came, I was on a fast forward mode .... planning, prepping and writing ... in my mind ....  a good post as well as recipe of a good Pithe or Puli that are traditionally made on Sankaranti in Bengali homes.
It has been ages since I made a Pithe last; so was really looking forward to making something good.
Had soaked some rice and dal too.
Had stocked up with some good Patali gur ( date palm jaggery, available only in the winters ).
Had boiled the milk well and kept it ready in case I wanted to make some Pulis too.
Was waiting for a coconut to arrive ... had delegated that work to the man of the house.
When  .... bam! ... fell the lightning.

What else? I fall ill. Yes. Again.
A bout of fainting; hit the back of my head hard; resultant ... a temporary vertigo.
The funny part is I have no recollection of any of the events except the last one ... which is making me see daylights both during the days and the nights.
And in the noons and the evenings.
Everytime I try to lie down, or get up, the world and everything in it goes into a dizzy circle, spinning round and round and round ; till I have to shut my eyes to stop the dizzy picture.
Which of course makes matters worse.
It takes my eye shutting as an insult and starts spinning with double the speed.

The spell goes on for a few seconds but for me it might as well have been a whole lifetime.
And the back of my head throbs all the while.
Which is why I refuse to watch any inane Hindi movies these days. Those fights .... ugh.
The idiots have no idea what it feels like when the back of the head is hit. Else they wouldn't show people getting beaten up all over, so easily.

So that is where I am these days ... on a merry-go-round that refuses to stop.
Only ... it does not seem merry to me at all.

And instead of an exotic Pithe or Puli, I am serving you a simple stir fry, making the most of winter vegetables.
Quick, simple, tasty,easy. The mantra of my blog. 

 This recipe actually belongs to a blogger friend who had posted it on fb. I immediately tried it and shared it there too. And met her approval.
Since the winter sun is at its best on my table these days, I clicked a few photos, hoping to add to my quickly depleting drafts folder.
And yes, thanks to your encouragement in my earlier post, I have clicked these on my phone too. :-)

Also. there have been too many of posts on fish here, these days.
So while some good pieces of the Katla, some prawns, two pomfrets and half a kilo of Parshe fish sit in my freezer, I am posting this vegetable stir fry today.
 
I have used just carrots and cabbage in this fry.
Since it is abundant now, you can use some fresh green peas too. 

Need :

Cabbage, 1 cup - cut very thinly
Carrots - cut into juliennes
Mustard seeds - ½ tsp
Hing / Asafoetida  - 1 pinch
Fresh green chillies - 2 chopped
Lemon - half
Salt - to taste
Sugar - to taste ... a pinch maybe
Roasted and crushed peanuts - 1 tbsp
Cooking oil - 1 tbsp 

How to :

Heat oil in a kadahi.
Add the mustard seeds.
When they start to splutter, add the hing + green chillies.
Immediately add the carrots and the cabbage.

Stir fry on high heat for a minute. Mix everything well.
Lower heat and fry for another two minutes.

Add salt and fry some more on medium heat.
The vegetables should get cooked but not soggy ... there should be a slight crunch in them.

Add the crushed peanuts and squirt the lemon all over it.
Add the sugar, stir well on high heat.

Remove from heat and serve immediately.

This is great as a warm salad and goes great with some toasted garlic bread.

Otherwise, this can be enjoyed with both rotis as well as plain parathas ( recipe for the parathas here. )
Or on the side with some dal and rice.


Hope all of you had a beautiful Makar Sankaranti / Lohri / Pongal!
Have fun all ....  while I go back to that ice pack.


Enjoy!!

Macaroni Salad

The best thing about winter is fresh veggies. Even though we do get everything the whole year through, there is something definitely different about veggies in winter. The carrots are juicier, the green peas sweeter, the spring onions look happier ....

And this is the best time to have them raw. Nothing can compare to that fresh juice or that crunch.
I try to put in as much veggies as possible into anything that am cooking. Or have them as a salad.

I like macaronis ... but not the usual way .... messed up in a gooey white sauce (which I do like once in a while) or with lumpy, elastic cheese ( which I positively hate).
So I make them my way .... will post sometime.

And if I have some already boiled macaroni in the fridge .... I make a salad for lunch ( anything to not to cook for only myself ).

And here's my salad. You can add black olives too. I do not like them ... so did not.
And if you like garlic ... can add a very finely chopped clove. Nonveggies can add slivers or cubes of boiled chicken or cubed hard boiled eggs.

I added some toasted bread croutons .... loved that dry crunch with the juicy ones. :-)


Need : Boiled macaroni or any pasta, raw fresh vegetables like carrots, spring onion, green peas, tomatoes, chopped green chillies, lime juice, bread croutons, olive oil, salt and sugar to taste.

How to : Chop the veggies. Shell the peas. Toss everything together with a dash of lime juice and lots of olive oil.

Done ! :-)
Another closer look. :-)