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.

Adding one more to the recipes born out the fresh veggies from our garden. This year, we planted 3 different kinds of cherry tomatoes, in addition to the usual larger tomato varieties. ‘Sweet 100’ red cherry tomatoes, Orange cherry tomatoes and yellow pear tomatoes. There has been a steady supply of these little beauties, and I’ve been adding them to my salads every day. However, I have been yearning to create a recipe where these beauties are the start of the dish, where the fresh, juiciness of the tomatoes stands front and center to add flavor and zest to the dish. Add in a few other summer ingredients, such as cucumber from our garden and the home grown mint – there is born a great dish: Mediterranean Tomato Salad.

Ingredients:
1/2 medium red onion
1/2 lb mixed cherry tomatoes(I used red, orange and yellow pear tomatoes)
1 small clove garlic
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips
1/2 english cucumber, thinly sliced
2 tbsp kalamata olives, halved
2 tbsp fresh mint, julienned
2 tbsp feta cheese, crumbled

For the dressing:
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small clove garlic, minced
salt, pepper to taste

Method:
Take the salt, pepper, garlic and vinegar together in a large bowl. Whisk steadily, while streaming in the olive oil, until you get a good emulsion. Set aside.

Finely slice the red onion and put the slices in a bowl of cold water. Halve the baby tomatoes. You can also use bigger hierloom tomatoes. If so, cut them into bite sized chunks. Drain the onion and pat dry with a paper towel. Add the onion to the bowl with the dressing. Add the red pepper strips, cucumber, olives and mint. Let this sit in the dressing for 10 minutes. Finally toss in the tomatoes and remove using a slotted spoon to a serving plate. Top with the crumbled feta.

Verdict: This is perfect way to relish home grown tomatoes. The tomatoes are the star in this recipe, and you can truly taste the divine juiciness that only summer can bring. A fitting dish for the summer table!

The post Mediterranean Tomato Salad first appeared on Denny's Recipes.

‘Cappelletti’ are small hat shaped pasta, that is very similar to its stuffed cousin toretlloni. I found it as an interesting shape and picked it up from Costco last week. Thinking of what sauce to toss it in, I remembered I had bookmarked a Sundried Tomato Pesto recipe by Giada. I absolutely love the tartness and the mild sweetness from the sundried tomatoes and always have a jar of oil packed sundried tomatoes on hand. The oil packed version of sundried tomatoes works really well in this recipe, coss you don’t have to add any additional oil while making the pesto.

I have tweaked the original recipe from Giada, by adding some toasted almonds while making the pesto. The almonds add a very nice buttery nutty flavor to the pesto. It is a great addition of protein to the meal, coss it is just pasta tossed in the pesto. Makes it very filling too.

Ingredients:
1 cup oil packed sun dried tomatoes
1 cup basil leaves
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/3 cup whole almonds
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
salt, to taste

Method:

In a skillet over medium heat, toast the almonds until fragrant and slightly browned. Remove, let cool and chop coarsely. Place the almonds, sundried tomatoes, basil leaves, garlic and red pepper flakes in the blender and pulse, until everything comes together. Add the parmesan cheese and blend to combine. You may stream in extra olive oil if the consistency doesnt look right to you. I thinned the pesto with pasta water, and hence kept it sort of thick.

Boil the pasta in plenty of salted water, until al dente. Reserve about a 1/4 cup of the pasta water and drain the pasta. Toss the pasta with the sundried tomato pesto while drizzling with the reserved pasta water. Serve with shaved parmesan and a sprig of basil for garnish.

Verdict: Love how easy it is to make a fresh sauce for pasta, as opposed to breaking open a jar of premade sauce. The sundried tomatoes adds a tangy, sweet taste, balanced by the rich buttery taste from the almonds and the mild heat from the garlic and pepper flakes. The basil cuts through the richness with its peppery, lemony flavors and really brings the dish to life.

Sending this delicious Pasta to ‘Herbs and flowers – Basil’, event series by PJ.
Also, sending my pumpkin seed pesto recipe – ‘Pepita Pesto Pasta’ to this event.

Also sending these two dishes to ‘Only Pasta, Pizza and Noodles’ event, the original series, started by Pari of Foodelicious. Also sending it to ‘Fusion Food – Pasta’ event.

And to ‘Healthy Cooking Challenge – Lunchbox’ , series by Smita.

Also sending this to ‘Dish it out – Tomato and chilly’, event series by Vardhini.

The post Cappelletti with Sundried Tomato n Almond Pesto first appeared on Denny's Recipes.

I made a spicy sun dried tomato pesto with cashews and red chillies, tossed with feta, whole grain fusili and some broccoli. Beautiful, healthy and tasty. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 box wholegrain fusili pasta
1 head broccoli, broken into florets
3 garlic cloves
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
3 dried red chillies
1/4 cup cashews
1 tsp italian seasoning
1/2 cup feta cheese
1/2 cup cream
salt to taste

Method:
Cook the pasta in plenty of salted boiling water until a little shy of al dente. Place the garlic, sun dried tomatoes, cashews and chillies in a bowl. Remove about 1/2 cup of the hot boiling water and pour it into the bowl. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and let it steep for about 20 minutes. Place the broccoli florets in a colander and pour the pasta over the broccoli to drain the pasta. Let it cool.

When the 20 minutes have passed, place the sun dried tomatoes, chillies, garlic, chillies and the warm water in a blender along with a pinch of salt and the italian seasoning. Blend until thick. Remove the pesto and toss it with the pasta, the broccoli and the feta cheese and some cream to thin the pesto and make the sauce moist. Taste for seasoning. You may serve this as is.

I assembled this earlier in the morning and so I baked it up in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes until warm. This is optional, it does melt the feta cheese and brings it together I believe.

Verdict: The sauce was spicy, thick and perfect. The broccoli was cooked perfectly and the feta cheese added a nice salty bite.
This will be my entry to ‘Presto Pasta Nights #191’ hosted at my blog.
Also sending this to ‘Healing foods – Broccoli’ , an event series started by Siri and ‘Food Palette – red event’

The post Sundried Tomato and Cashew Pesto with Broccoli and Pasta first appeared on Denny's Recipes.

Ingredients:
3 tomatoes
1/2 cup shallots
2 garlic cloves
4 red chillies
1 tsp oil
1 tsp urad dal
1 tsp channa dal
1 tbsp fried gram/pottu kadalai
2 tbsp grated coconut
a pinch of tamarind
a pinch of salt

Tadka:
1 tsp oil
1 tsp mustard
1 tsp urad dal
a sprig curry leaves

Method:
Heat oil in a pan over medium heat, add the urad dal and channa dal. Fry until it turns golden brown. Add the red chillies and let it infuse the oil. Add the shallots and garlic, and saute until slightly golden. Add the tomatoes and fry until slightly soft, it will give out a lot of moisture. Add in the tamarind, it will absorb some of the moisture. Add the coconut and fry. Add the fried gram dal. Let it cool and grind to a coarse paste.

Make the tadka by heating oil…splutter mustard and add the urad dal and the curry leaves. Add this to the chutney. Serve with idly or dosa.

Verdict: This is a great accompaniment with idly or dosa. Make sure you don’t leave the tamarind out…it adds great flavor. You may susbstitute a little bit of onion for the shallots…but it would be a compromise on flavor. Try it with chips as a dip, its wonderful.

Sending this to ‘Complete my Thali – Chutney’ event.

The post Tomato Chutney first appeared on Denny's Recipes.

Ingredients:
3 ears of corn/1 1/2 cups frozen corn
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 14 oz can stewed tomatoes, chopped
1 14 oz can low sodium chicken broth
2 chipotle chilies in Adobo sauce, minced
1 tsp Adobo sauce
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp ground paprika
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/4 cup whole milk/fat-free half and half
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Scrape the corn kernels from the ears of the corn by placing the corn cob over a folded kitchen towel and run a knife in a gentle sawing motion. Take care of slippage and hurting your hand. Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. Add the onions, carrots and garlic with a pinch of salt. Let these veggies sweat and cook in its own juices. Add the corn and saute. Mix in the tomato paste. Add the chicken broth, cook until all the veggies are tender. Now add the chopped stewed tomatoes and the juice it came in. Add the chipotle chilies, adobo sauce, paprika, oregano, thyme and turmeric. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes.

Now you can serve the soup just as it is, but I chose to blitz it using my hand blender. I like a coarse textured soup, but you can puree the soup to have a smooth mouth feel. Once blitzed, add the milk or half and half, and bring the soup to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste and check for seasoning. Serve hot, topped with more corn if desired.

Verdict: Spicy, tangy and wholesome. Served with a piece of baguette, it was a perfect soup on a rainy day. The paprika and turmeric added great color to the soup and the chipotle peppers added a smoky and spiciness to the soup. If you don’t have chipotle peppers, you may substitute with fresh jalapenos instead, but that would just not taste the same.

Sending this to ‘No Croutons Required: Corn’ this month and to this week’s ‘Soup/Salad and Sammie Sundays’.

The post Chipotle Corn Tomato Soup first appeared on Denny's Recipes.