• 
  Recipes
  

A healthy riff on the French Crepe, American Pancake and the Indian Dosa.

By Ashok Vasudevan

Serves 4 | Prep time: 10 | Cook time: 15

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INGREDIENTS:

• 
  1 cup Oatmeal
• 
  1/2 cup Cream of Wheat
• 
  1/2 cup Urad Dal flour
• 
  1/2 cup Ragi flour (or flour of millet or quinoa)
• 
  1/4 cup Rice flour
• 
  8 oz. buttermilk
• 
  4 teaspoons Olive oil
• 
  Salt
• 
  1 pinch Hing (Asafoetida)

PREPARATION:

• 
  Lightly roast Oatmeal in a non-stick saucepan. You don’t need to add oil or butter. Grind to a fine powder and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
• 
  Mix Cream of Wheat, Urad Dal flour, Ragi flour and Rice flour in the bowl (you can find these in any Indian store). Add salt and Hing. Now add buttermilk and whisk together to form a smooth batter. Make sure there are no lumps. The final consistency of the batter should be such that it lightly coats a spoon dipped in it.
• 
  Set aside for 5 minutes.
• 
  You are now ready to make dosas or rice crepes. What you call it, depends purely on your politics!
• 
  Take Olive oil in a small bowl and keep ready by the stove. You will also need a large, flat nonstick pan, 1 sheet of paper towel, a ladle, a teaspoon, and a spatula.
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  Make a wad of the paper towel and dip lightly into the bowl of olive oil. Gently rub the paper towel over the surface of the pan to grease. The correct amount of oil is such that it is barely visible on the pan. Now turn on the heat/ flame at medium-high. The test pan is hot by lightly sprinkling water on the pan. It should sizzle.
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  Fill the ladle level with batter. Gently pour this batter onto the center of the pan and quickly and smoothly spread the batter in a widening circular motion starting from the center and moving out to form a thin crepe of roughly 6-8″ diameter.
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  As soon as you have finished spreading the batter on the pan, take a half teaspoon of oil and dribble around the diameter of the crepe. If needed, lift pan by its handle and swirl it so the oil spreads evenly around the crepe.
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  Wait for about 2 minutes. The upper surface will look cooked and will no longer be soft or runny. Use the spatula and carefully flip the crepe. Don’t be anxious if the first one does not flip easily or if the bottom is not evenly colored. This is normal and will get better with the second crepe onwards as the pan gets evenly heated.
• 
  Allow to cook for 1 minute after flipping.
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  You are almost done. Fold it in half and allow to cook for 30 seconds more.
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  Serve them hot straight from the pan or make a batch and keep them stacked warm in a closed dish.
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  Serve the dosa/crepe with side dishes like coconut chutney, gunpowder chutney, sambar, or even Pico de Gallo.
• 
  Before you start a new crepe, reduce the heat and use the paper towel wad to brush oil lightly as before. This will ensure the batter will spread evenly and the color will be a uniform brown.
• 
  You will probably make 8-12 dosas depending on the diameter.

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• 
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The summer heat makes us all yearn for cold drinks by the gallon. Mint & ginger buttermilk drink that is a real thirst buster that also helps cool the body. Buttermilk is also a good probiotic for your stomach.

By Vijaya Rajagopalan

Serves 2 | Prep time: 10 minutes | Cook time: 2 minutes

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INGREDIENTS:

• 
  2 glasses buttermilk
• 
  Salt to taste
• 
  3 – 4 mint leaves or curry leaves
• 
  ½ inch piece of fresh ginger, skinned and crushed

PREPARATION:

• 
  Put all these ingredients in a blender and run until fully blended.
• 
  Strain through a sieve
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  Add 2 glasses of cool water. Add a couple drops lime juice if desired.
• 
  Keep the buttermilk drink really thin.

South Indian Salsa

Multigrain Crepes

Buttermilk Cooler

Yellow Lentil Soup

Chickpea Curry

Vegetable Couscous

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• 
  Recipes
  

Dal is a South Asian staple food eaten with rice or flatbreads. The yellow lentil is the whole green moong dal that’s split and the green skin removed. The Hindi word ‘dal’ refers to any lentil, whether raw or cooked. Here, we’ve adapted this to be a delicious, lightly flavored, nutritious soup.

By Meera Vasudevan

Serves 6 | Prep time: 10 minutes | Cook time: 15 minutes

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INGREDIENTS:

• 
  2 cups yellow mung dal (split yellow lentils)
• 
  4 – 5 cups of water
• 
  1-inch ginger root, peeled and grated fine
• 
  1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 
  Salt
• 
  1/2 teaspoon lemon or lime juice
• 
  1 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter); you can substitute ghee with cooking oil
• 
  1 pod garlic
• 
  1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder / red chili powder (depending on the heat level you desire)
• 
  1/2 teaspoon whole black pepper
• 
  1 tablespoon light cream (optional)

PREPARATION:

• 
  Rinse the lentils well. Add to a deep pan, add the grated ginger.
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  Add the water, and let it cook on low heat. Keep stirring occasionally to prevent the lentils from sticking to the pan and burning. (The lentils will tend to foam over when boiling, so low heat and stirring is important).
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  When the lentils are fully cooked and soft, add the turmeric and salt to taste. Let it simmer on low heat for about 10 – 15 minutes. At this stage, adjust the water level as needed to make your soup thicker or thinner as desired. It should not be too thin, nor should it be too ‘chunky’.
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  Switch off and remove from heat. Add the lemon or lime juice.
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  In a small saucepan, add the ghee or oil. When hot, add the garlic, cayenne powder and roast on very low heat for about 1 minute. Remove from heat and add to the lentil soup.
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  Just before serving, swirl in the light cream for added smoothness.

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• 
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Just get these ingredients together and that’s it. This is easy to make, hearty curry.

By Meera Vasudevan

Serves 2 | Prep time: 5 minutes | Cook time: 20 minutes

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INGREDIENTS:

• 
  1 can chickpeas (15 oz), fully drained, rinsed and drained again.
• 
  1 large potato, peeled, cut into 1” cubes
• 
  2 tomatoes, sliced into wedges
• 
  7 fl oz coconut milk
• 
  2 tbsp cooking oil
• 
  1 tablespoon curry powder
• 
  1 pod garlic, coarsely chopped
• 
  10 basil leaves
• 
  1/2 bunch cilantro leaves (coriander) – coarsely chopped
• 
  1/2 teaspoon whole black pepper
• 
  Salt to taste

PREPARATION:

• 
  Blend garlic, cilantro leaves and black peppercorns in a food processor, with a little water, to form a thick paste.
• 
  Heat oil. Fry paste lightly until it begins to brown.
• 
  Add coconut milk and stir in.
• 
  Stir in all remaining ingredients.
• 
  Add a little water as needed to give it a sauce consistency. Cover, reduce heat to low and let it cook, stirring occasionally till the potatoes are fully cooked. Add small dashes of water to prevent drying or burning and to keep the sauce consistency.
• 
  Remove from heat. Add a few drops of lemon or lime juice to taste. It should have a slight tang but not be sour.

(Tip: to thicken the sauce a little, mash a few of the chickpeas while cooking, and this makes a good thickener).

Serve hot over steamed rice.

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Coconut Chutney

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A twist on couscous, this South Indian breakfast is a nutritious blend of cream of wheat with vegetables, herbs, and spices.

By Meera Vasudevan

Serves 4 | Prep time: 10 | Cook time: 10

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INGREDIENTS:

• 
  1/2 cup cream of wheat (Semolina, Rava)
• 
  1 onion (finely chopped)
• 
  1/4 cup shelled green peas
• 
  1/4 cup mixed vegetables like carrots, green beans,etc.(substitute with other non-mushy vegetables of your choice)
• 
  1 tbsp split chickpeas (Chana Dal)
• 
  About 10-12 curry leaves, if available
• 
  2 whole green chilies (medium-sized)
• 
  1 whole red chili (for garnish)
• 
  1 tablespoon oil
• 
  1 teaspoon ghee (clarified butter), if available
• 
  Lime or lemon
• 
  1/4 cup freshly chopped cilantro
• 
  1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 
  2 tbsp roasted unsalted cashew nuts (substitute with almonds, peanuts or pistachio)
• 
  Salt

PREPARATION:

4-step Method:

• 
  Chop vegetables into small cubes, about ½ inch.
• 
  Finely chop onion, cilantro, ginger. Deseed and slice green chilies in half.
• 
  Heat ½ teaspoon oil in a saucepan. Roast the cream of wheat for about 5 minutes on low heat or until it just turns a little golden (not brownish). Set aside.
• 
  Separately boil 1½ cups of water in a kettle. Keep ready.
• 
  In a large dish, heat the rest of the oil. When the oil is hot, add mustard seeds. In a few seconds, the mustard seeds will sputter. Add split chickpeas (Chana dal), ginger, green chilies, and onions, and then cook on high flame for about 3 minutes till onions become slightly translucent. Now, add the vegetables and cook for about 10 minutes. Let the vegetables cook but still be al dente.
• 
  Add the 3 cups of hot water and bring to boil. (If you have not boiled the water separately, you may add regular water and wait for a few minutes for the water to boil).
• 
  Turn stove to slow cook or simmer. This is the pre-final step and perhaps the most delicate and important step in making Upma. Slowly add the roasted cream of wheat to the water, a little at a time, almost creating a slow “rain” of the cream of wheat, continuously whisking the mixture in the pan so it does not form lumps.

(Do not just add the cream of wheat in one go. This will make the Upma lumpy.)

• 
  In less than a minute the Upma will thicken rapidly and form a creamy porridge-like consistency. Add salt to taste and stir through. Switch off and remove the pan from heat immediately. Now add about a tbsp of lime or lemon juice.
• 
  Garnish with chopped cilantro & roasted nuts. Add the ghee, if using. Stir together.

Serving Suggestion: Serve the Upma with side dishes like Coconut Chutney, or Tomato Chutney or Pico de Gallo.

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  Recipes
  

If you’re totally vegetarian or trying to increase the meatless days in your week, you’ve probably discovered by now that one of the big summertime pleasures in America – the burger patty on the grill – becomes tough to do without meat. Or does it?

By Meera VasudevanServes 6 | Prep time: 20 minutes | Cook time: 20 minutes

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INGREDIENTS:

• 
  2 lbs potatoes – boiled, coarsely mashed
• 
  1 can chickpeas or 12 oz cooked chickpeas, coarsely mashed
• 
  1 small bunch fresh parsley or cilantro leaves – finely chopped
• 
  ½ onion – finely diced
• 
  1 tsp cumin powder
• 
  ½ tsp red chili powder or paprika powder (depending on your ‘heat’ tolerance
• 
  ½ teaspoon salt
• 
  2-3 tsp lemon juice
• 
  1 cup breadcrumbs

PREPARATION:

4-step Method:

• 
  Combine all the above in a bowl gently, adding the breadcrumbs at the end and mixing through.
• 
  Form burger patties by hand
• 
  Cover patties and refrigerate for 1 – 2 hours. It can be left in the fridge overnight if you wish to make it a day ahead.
• 
  Spray oil on your grill pan or stovetop skillet, set out the patties and grill until nicely browned and sizzling, flipping once midway to get both sides evenly grilled. Add a little oil to the flipped over the side as needed, so it does not burn or get dry. If using the broiler in your electric oven, set on ‘High’ and grill for about 15 minutes or until well browned and then flip over and grill the other side until well browned.

South Indian Salsa

Multigrain Crepes

Buttermilk Cooler

Yellow Lentil Soup

Chickpea Curry

Vegetable Couscous

Veggie Burger