Here is another quick one..keeping up my birthday resolution – of posting a recipe a month. This recipe takes less time to make than it did for me to post it and take photos of it. Perfect for fall season, it is inspired by some of my favorite snack bars the Apple pie Larabar. I love the flavor of almonds and dates together and I have an abundance of apples from our tree, and this recipe has put it to good use. I will be posting more recipes using apples very soon.

Ingredients:
1 apple, peeled, cored and chopped
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1/4 cup of almonds
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 dates

Method:
Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Serve with a sprinkle of cinnamon.

The post Apple Almond Date Smoothie first appeared on Denny's Recipes.

After a long time, I have finally have managed to post something. Instead of something grand or complicated, I just wanted something simple, a straight forward and an everyday dish…It is a warming bowl of dal, that is a staple in most Indian meals. This version is based on the taste I have recreated from an Andhra ‘mess’ I had been to many many years ago. Got to use some of the season’s last tomatoes to good use in this recipe. Nothing better than home grown organic- and fresh from garden to plate in 15 minutes, thanks to the latest gadget added to my kitchen, the Instant Pot.

The Instant Pot is the new gadget in everyone’s kitchen. I have the 7-in-1 IP-DUO 60 in a 6 quart size. I joined the cult following and bought the Instant pot for the ease of ‘fix and forget’ meals. I was so used to Indian pressure cookers and was set to compare the Instant pot with the existing Pressure cooker experience. To be honest, they are not comparable – they each have their own advantages and disadvantages. That said, I love my Instant Pot.

It is true that it can be a little intimidating at first. The first thing I attempted to cook, was of course rice. I then got a trivet that helped me cook two items together at the same time. This dal was the first ‘pot in pot’ meal that I made that was an ultimate success, that I decided to post this on my blog – after a really long hiatus.

Ingredients:
1 cup toor dal
2 cups chopped tomatoes(I’ve used cherry tomatoes which made it extra red)
1 onion, finely chopped
4 green chillies slit
1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chilly powder
salt to taste

For tadka:
1 tsp ghee
2 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
3 red chillis, broken
5 garlic cloves, sliced
pinch of asafoetida
a few curry leaves
chopped cilantro

Method
Set the Instant Pot to saute mode. Add the ghee and oil. Add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds. Let it sizzle and then add broken red chillies, garlic cloves and asafoetida. Add the chopped onions and green chillies, saute for a couple of minutes. Add the tomatoes, ginger, turmeric and chilly powder and salt as required.

After a couple of minutes, add the washed toor dal along with 1 cup of water. Set it on Manual mode for 6 minutes. Natural Release for 5 minutes and then Quick Release the pressure and chopped cilantro and slightly mash the dal.

Serve with rice or roti.
You can also do ‘Pot in Pot’ and make rice along with the dal, which is what I actually did.

The post Instant Pot Tomato Pappu/Andhra style tomato dal in Instant Pot first appeared on Denny's Recipes.

One of the Christmas traditions when I was growing up was setting up the crib/nativity set as a family. Second, was making of a fruit cake, or Plum cake as we call it in India. It is one of the best memories I have of Christmas at my home, where my mom would work on making the cake, involving each one of us in our family. From shopping, to sifting, mixing and baking, each of us had a role to play. I still continue to hold the tradition in my family here in the US.

These fruit cookies were made with some left over candied fruit, after having made the fruit cake. Don’t be discounted with this being a leftover ingredient recipe, it is worth going out to buy a box of candied fruit peel, just to make this. Also, it is suitable for freezing, which is definitely a key feature for all the cookie recipes I make. You can make these and freeze these as logs, or slice and freeze them for ease of baking.

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup chopped candied citron
3/4 cup glaceed cherries

Method:
Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Beat butter and granulated sugar with a mixer until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture, and beat until combined.

Once the flour is incorporated according to dough recipe, beat in citron and cherries. Divide dough into 2 halves. Shape each half into a 10-inch-long square-shaped log. Wrap in parchment. Refrigerate until very firm, about 2 hours. You can even freeze the dough like this for up to a month.

Slice dough crosswise slightly thicker than 1/8 inch. Bake at 350 degrees on parchment-lined baking sheets until firm, 12 to 14 minutes.

Verdict: These cookies are so Christmasy, the colored flecks of candied fruit studding the cookie dough, like ornaments on a Christmas tree. What could be more perfect for the season! Merry Christmas!

The post Candied Fruit Cookies first appeared on Denny's Recipes.

Ingredients:
(Makes 4 dozen cookies)
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup granulated white sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup unsalted pistachios, coarsely chopped
1 cup sweetened dried cranberries, coarsely chopped

Method:
In a large bowl whisk the flour with the salt.

In the bowl beat the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and beat until smooth. Add in the vanilla extract. Gently stir the flour mixture just until incorporated. Fold in the chopped pistachios and dried cranberries. Make sure that the nuts and cranberries are evenly distributed throughout the dough.(I had to switch to using my hands, kind of like when you make pizza dough, to form the dough together.)

Divide the dough in half. Place each half on a piece of wax paper. Roll the dough on the counter, along with the paper to form a smooth log. Twist the ends of the paper to seal the logs, and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least two hours, or up to three days. (At this point, you can freeze the logs, for up to 2 months. Or remove aftr 2 hours, slice as noted below and freeze in an airtight container separating each disc with was/parchment paper.)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F . Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Using a sharp knife, slice the logs into 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick cookies. Place the cookies on the lined baing sheet and bake for about 15 – 20 minutes, or until the cookies are just beginning to brown around the edges. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

Verdict: Buttery crust with flecks of green and red, the pistachios get toasted in the buttery crust and taste awesome. This is the best shortbread I have made so far.

The post Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread Cookies first appeared on Denny's Recipes.

Yet another recipe born out of our veggie garden. This is the first year, that I planted basil in our garden. Every year, I’ve tried growing basil from seeds, and for some reason I never had success with it. This year, I got a small basil plant and put it next to our tomato plants in the veggie patch. I have been using this as a herb in pastas and soups, and the basil plant just grew to be so huge, and it was beckoning me to use up all of the fresh basil in something that would make it the main ingredient and not a garnish.

I have for a long time wanted to make a classic Pesto Genovese from Italy – but have stayed away of not having basil readily available. This pesto is traditionally uses fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts and sheep’s milk cheese and is usually made using a mortar and pestle. The word ‘pesto’ itself means to pound, much like the Indian sauces that were hand ground in the early days. I was so inspired to make this classic sauce that I went out and bought pine nuts and pecorino romano cheese and set out on making the most authentic sauce my pasta would ever touch.

Ingredients:
2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup pine nuts
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method:
Place the basil, garlic, and pine nuts in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Stream in half of the oil and process pushing down the basil mixture, so that the oil is fully incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Add the grated cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Stream in the remaining oil and process until smooth.

Toss with pasta, use it to make pesto pizza or toss in salads.

Freezing tip: You can also transfer it to a glass jar and freeze for later use. Just make sure the jar is clean and dry and cover the bottled pesto with a layer of extra virgin olive oil before freezing. The pesto may slightly discolor on freezing, the green tinge may vary, but it will still taste the same. I doubled the above quantities and have frozen pesto to last me for the next year.

Verdict: Super fresh and vibrant. Basil is one herb that make the entire kitchen smell so divine. The pine nuts do add a unique flavor to the pesto and so does the pecorino romano. So happy to have made an authentic Italian classic in my very own kitchen.

The post Pesto Genovese – Classic Basil Pesto first appeared on Denny's Recipes.

Summer here is all about eating ice creams and lemonades, however summers in India are very different. In addition to it being the time for mangoes, it is also the time my grand mother used to gear up to make vathal,applam and pickles. Pickle making was reserved for the summer months, and although this particular recipe is not something you have to make in the summer, the memory is what has prompted me to post it now.

This is a very very old post that has been lying in my drafts for a long time. In fact, this pickle is specially made as a postpartum food for mothers, and that’s when I had made it. My mom didn’t come for the birth of my second son, but she had hand written a recipe for making this and sent me the spice powder to make it as well. This was one item I made the weekend before my scheduled C section – in addition to other things, to ensure I was prepared to come home with my baby. My son is two years old now, that’s how long its been since I made it the last time, but I have been craving this pickle and I decided to post it so that I can make another batch this week.

This is a very easy recipe and uses ayurvedic ingredients that aid in digestion, cleanse your system and build immunity. Garlic has found to be a natural way to prevent cholesterol and heart disease and this is a very yummy way to ensure you include it in your diet.

Ingredients:
For spice powder:
20 – 30 red chillies(depending on how spicy you like it to be)
2 1/2 tbsp coriander seeds
2 1/2 tbsp fenugreek
2 1/2 tbsp cumin seeds
2 1/2 tbsp pepper
2 tsp asafoetida

For pickle:
5 cups of peeled garlic, sliced if the cloves are too big
1 cup spice powder(from above)
1 1/2 cup thick tamarind extract(if watery extract use 2 cups)
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste
200 ml gingelly oil
2 tsp mustard

Method:
For spice powder:
Dry roast each item seperately. Let it cool and grind to a fine powder. This powder can be stored in an air tight container and can be used when making kara kuzhambu, vatha kuzhambu, puli kuzhambu etc.in addition to using it for making this pickle.

For pickle:
Heat 3 tbsp of gingelly oil. Add the peeled, sliced garlic and saute over medium heat until cooked, but not too soft – for about 6-8 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Heat the remaining oil. Add the mustard seeds, let it splutter. Add the reserved tamarind extract, salt, turmeric powder and bring to a rolling boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until raw smell of tamarind goes away, and it becomes a thick syrup. Add the lemon juice and bring to a boil again. Add the cooked garlic and let the garlic cook for about 5 minutes, and add the spice powder. Mix the spice powder into the garlic and tamarind and let the mixture cook over medium heat until it thickens, comes together and oil floats to the top. Remove from the heat and cool completely.

Bottle in a clean dry glass container. Store in fridge for up to a month.

Verdict: This garlic pickle is a great condiment, and also very addictive. I lived on this for about a month – had it with pretty much everything from rice, rotis, idlies and dosas. My absolute favorite pickle ever!

The post Garlic Pickle first appeared on Denny's Recipes.