One Day At A Time!

Coleslaw is a raw cabbage and carrot salad with a mayonnaise dressing.  I am not a big fan of mayonnaise because of raw eggs used in it.  This coleslaw recipe has a yogurt dressing with a few Indian tweaks.  In Marathi and Konkani this curd salad is well known as Koshimbir . Ingredients: Green Cabbage/Kobi/Pata Gobi - about 3 cups Carrot/Gajar - about 1 cup Yogurt/Curds/Dahi - about 1 cup Coriander/Cilantro Leaves/Kothimbir - few sprigs Pomegranate Seeds/Anardana/Dalimb - about 1 tbsp (optional) Cumin Seeds/Jeera - 1/2 tsp Black Pepper Powder/Kali Miri - 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper/Red Chilli Powder - 1/8 tsp Sugar or Honey - 1/2 tsp Salt How to prepare Cabbage Coleslaw: 1. Finely chop cilantro.  Chop cabbage and carrots into long thin strands or the way you prefer.  1/2 cup of red cabbage can also be added. 2. In a big vessel, add hot water and little salt.  Soak cabbage and carrots in this hot, sa...

Lettuce and Cucumbers with a fruity orange and apple cider dressing. Ingredients: Iceberg Lettuce - about 200 gms Romaine Lettuce - about 200 gms Cucumber - 1 medium Carrot - 1 medium Red Cabbage - about 1/2 cup Red Onion - about 2 tbsp Garlic - 1 big clove Orange Juice - 2 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar - 1 1/2 tbsp Olive Oil - 1 tbsp Black Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp Red Chilli Flakes/Powder - 1/4 tsp Salt Method: 1. Roughly chop iceberg and romaine lettuce.  Wash and let them drain in a strainer or salad spinner.  Finely chop red onions.  Dice carrot, cabbage into julienne thin slices and cucumber into round thin slices.  Finely chop/mince the peeled garlic clove. 2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a small pan.  Add garlic and saute for a few minutes, so that the raw smell of garlic goes off.  Turn off the heat and let it cool. 3. In a mixing bowl, add the garlic and the oil too.  Now add apple cider vinegar, oran...

Lettuce is the most commonly used Salad vegetable here.  There are different types - Iceberg, Romaine, Chinese.  I have used Iceberg lettuce which looks similar to cabbage. I generally use dry Italian Herb Seasoning for salads, but this time I tried Cajun Seasoning.  Cajun Seasoning tastes great with grilled veggie pastas and salads.  You can substitute it with any of your favourite seasonings. You can use 'Iceberg and Romaine Blend' of Salads which also have carrots and red cabbage.  Along with lettuce, you can add few cucumber slices and diced tomatoes too. Ingredients: Iceberg Lettuce - 1 Red Onion - 1 small Jalapenos Peppers /Green Chillies - 1 Garlic - 1 big clove Bread Slices - 2 or 3 Black Pepper/Miri Powder - 1/2 tsp + 1/4 tsp Cajun Seasoning - 1/2 tsp (optional) Honey - 1/4 tsp Olive Oil - 2 tbsp + 1 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar - 2 tbsp Lemon or Lime Juice - 1 1/2 tbsp Parmesan Cheese/Parmigiano Reggiano (optional) Salt Method: 1. P...

Boiled Potatoes in yogurt or curd sauce.  Less spicy, easy recipe for potato lovers. Ingredients: Potatoes - 2 big (Russet) Yogurt/Curd - about 1 cup Cilantro/Coriander Leaves - few sprigs Green Chillies - 4 Chat Masala - 1/8 tsp (optional) Salt Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp Curry Leaves/Kadipata - a sprig Asafoetida/Hing - 1/4 tsp Dry Red Chillies - 1 Oil Method: 1. Boil and peel the potatoes.  Dice them into bite size pieces.  Medium chop green chillies. 2. Blend curds, chat masala, salt and cilantro leaves in a blender/mixer for few seconds.  3. Chat Masala adds sourness, so skip if you dont want the curds gravy to be too tangy.  You can add little sugar or jaggery as well.  And if you like it hot, blend the green chillies with yogurt.  Substitute yogurt with buttermilk for lesser calories. 3. In a mixing bowl, add yogurt, chopped green chillies and diced potatoes.  Mix well. 4. For tempering/tadka, heat 1 - 2...

Sasam is an iconic Konkani delicacy. A friend of mine ate this Sasam at a Konkani wedding and asked for its recipe. So here it is. A sweet and savory fruit salad with coconut and mustard seeds. Generally, this fruit salad is made with mango (Ambe), pineapple (Avanas) with a few grapes. This treat gets its name from mustard, which in Konkani is called as Sasam. Ingredients: Mango (chopped) - about 2 cups Pineapple (chopped) - about 11/2 cups Red Grapes (halved) - 1/2 cup Shredded Coconut (fresh or frozen) - 1 1/2 cups Mustard Seeds/Saasam - 1/2 tsp Dry Red Chilies  (Byadagi variety)  - 2 or 3 Turmeric/Haldi - 1/8 tsp Jaggery/God/Gool (grated) - 3 tsp Salt - 1/8 tsp How to make Konkani Ambe Sasam: Peel the mango skin and dice the flesh into bite size pieces. Repeat the same for pineapple as well. Cut the grapes into halves. You can make this Sasam with just mango as well. I like adding grapes for a little more color. You can skip grapes. Grin...

Creamy potato soup with leeks seasoned with Italian herbs. Ingredients: Potatoes - 3 small Leeks - 2 Garlic - 3 big cloves Fennel/Saunf Seeds - 1 tsp Black Pepper Powder - 1/4 tsp Dry Italian Seasoning - 1/4 tsp Milk - 1/4 cup Butter or Oil Method: 1. Cleaning Leeks: Discard the root part of the leeks.  Dice the whitish and light greenish parts of leeks and place them in a bowl of water.  Mix with hands so that the dirt settles down and clean leeks float on the water.  Place the leeks on a clean towel to wipe excess water. 2. Coarsely grind fennel seeds.  Finely chop garlic.  Peel the potatoes, dice them and place them in a bowl of water.  I used red potatoes. 3. Heat 1 - 2 tbsp oil in a pan.  Add diced leeks, garlic, black pepper powder, little salt.  Saute till leeks turn soft.  4. Add 1 - 2 cups water, diced potatoes, ground fennel and dry Italian seasoning (marjoram, thyme, rosema...

Maharashtrian salad with cucumbers, tomatoes and curd.  An easy, quick and tasty side dish. Ingredients: Cucumber/Kaakdi Slices - 1 cup Tomato Slices - 1/2 cup Red Onion Slices - 1/4 cup Curd/Yogurt/Dahi - 1/2 cup Cilantro/Coriander Leaves - few sprigs Mint/Pudina Leaves - 5 (optional) Black Pepper/Kali Miri Powder - 1/8 tsp Salt - 1/4 tsp Method: Finely chop cilantro and pudina leaves.  Cut the cucumber, tomato and onion into thin slices.  I used a slicer.  In a mixing bowl, add curd, salt, black pepper powder and mix well.  Now add veggie slices, chopped cilantro, mint and mix well.  You can also add peanut (groundnut) powder and/or dalia (roasted split chickpea) powder as well.  Instead of black pepper you can add finely chopped/minced green chillies as well.