Lets Paint It 'Green': Mint Peanut Chutney {Pudina Chutney}

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No, it is not St. Patrick's Day yet. I will be 'going green' with my recipes, all of this week for an another reason. (Click here to know why) To know what it is, you gotta wait till December 31st 2011. :-).

On an another note, I can't believe that the last week of the year 2011 has already started and I have to post only 6 photographs more to finish my Project 365. Trust me, posting a photograph every day of the year has not been easy. Especially when we had to pack our bags and move back to India in April, I thought of just giving up. But, my love for photography was at its peak then, so couldn't let it go, just like that...and I am so glad I stuck with my decision. Or else, how else would I have captured my little sister's wedding (or) found out my new passion for Black and White photography...

Mint leaves are available in abundance in the markets. Go grab some and make this chutney..

For me, a piquant chutney is what completes a meal. I, sometimes just spread some on a piece of toasted bread and enjoy it as-is. Today's recipe -  Mint Peanut Chutney is one such combination which tastes delicious with everything and anything. It is incredibly easy to make and last for a good whole week when refrigerated. Enjoy!

Cook mint leaves and green chillies until wilted.

Grind the chutney to a consistency of  jam..

 Mint Peanut Chutney {Pudina Chutney}

Mint Peanut Chutney {Pudina Chutney}

Ingredients:

pudina/mint leaves, 1 big bunch (3 tightly-packed cups)
green chillies, 8-10 , halved
sesame seeds, 4 tbsp
peanuts, 4 tbsp
oil, 2 tsp
tamarind extract, 1 tbsp

Tadka -

oil, 1 tsp
urad dal, mustard seeds, cumin seeds - 1 tsp of each
red chilli, 1
hing (asafoetida), pinch

Preparation:

1. In a pan, dry roast peanuts and sesame seeds. Keep aside.

2. Heat oil on a medium-low heat. Add mint leaves and green chillies. Cook for few minutes, until wilted. Season with salt and turmeric. Finally add tamarind extract. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Allow it to cool a bit.

3. Grind together - mint leaves mixture with dry roasted peanuts & sesame seeds. Adjust salt if needed.

4. In a small pan, heat oil and add all ingredients listed under 'Tadka', until slightly brown.

5. Add tadka to pudina chuntey and Serve with hot rice or with dosa or idli. Store the rest of it in an air-tight container & refrigerate until next use.

Here is what other FSB members have posted until now -

Mittu - Blueberry and Lavender Cream Pie [Violet]
Nags - Easy Basic Cake Pops [Blue]
DK - Risotto Alla Milanese [Yellow]
Deepti - Citrus Golden Sangria [Orange]
Lata - White and kidney beans falafels and spicy hot vandikkaran chutney, Filled and Grilled Red Peppers, Jam and Fruit Tart [Red]


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Give Away: 

It is Holiday Season and best time to spread some happy cheer all around. Its time to give-away something special to my readers who supported me all along the way. Check out these two give-aways - One for peeps in India and other for US residents and enter today, if you haven't already. Last Date - December 31st 2011.

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until next time,

{Recipe} Cointreau Diabolic and two exciting giveaways to win..

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Robert Fulghum sure knew a thing or two about partying as he once said - "If you want an interesting party sometime, combine cocktails and a fresh box of crayons for everyone.".. I agree too as a holiday-get-together is never complete without a fizzy, signature cocktail as it gets people into a jolly-good mood. That is when the real conversations will start. Isn't it :-)

..there are tons of cocktails that you can make this season, some within a span of minutes. Today's recipe is one such drink which uses Cointreau as its base. There is cranberry juice that renders a gorgeous color, strawberry puree for a nice, fruity feel and tabasco for a hint of spicy note.

{Recipe} Cointreau Diabolic

Ingredients:

50 ml cointreau
30 ml cranberry juice
20 ml lemon juice
10 ml strawberry puree
2 drops of tabasco

Preparation:

Mix in a shaker with ice. Pour into a Martini Glass. Serve.

Do you have any holiday signature cocktail ideas? I would love to know them all about them :-)

Now, coming to the fun part. I have planned two fun exciting give-aways this holiday season for readers in India and US. Sorry for others, but if you want to gift these for somebody in either of these two countries, you are most welcome to enter the giveaway!.

For peeps in India - A chance to win one full-year subscription of BBC Good Food India magazine.

BBC GoodFood is a magazine internationally popular for its devotion to fine dining. The magazine comes with great recipes for home cooking, and entertaining. Their triple-tested hand picked recipes make the magazine a must have for every kitchen. Each recipe is also paired with entertaining food photos and each issue also reveals culinary secrets from Internationally renowned chefs., BBC GoodFood India also comes packed with restaurant reviews and news on India’s dining scene. For the globe-trotting food-lover, they have recommendations for eating well across the world. In short, it is a must-have for every food-lover out there..

For US residents - A chance to win 75th Anniversary Edition of Joy Of Cooking.

The Joy of Cooking -- selected by The New York Public Library as one of the 150 most important and influential books of the twentieth century -- has taught tens of millions of people to cook, helped feed and delight millions beyond that, answered countless kitchen and food questions, and averted many a cooking crisis. JOY remains the greatest teaching cookbook ever written. 

This edition also brings back the encyclopedic chapter Know Your Ingredients. The chapter that novices and pros alike have consulted for over thirty years has been revised, expanded, and banded, making it a book within a book. Cooking Methods shows cooks how to braise, steam, roast, sauté, and deep-fry effortlessly, while an all-new Nutrition chapter has the latest thinking on healthy eating -- as well as a large dose of common sense. In addition to hundreds of brand-new recipes, this JOY is filled with many recipes from all previous editions, retested and reinvented for today's tastes.
 
How to enter these giveaways - very simple..:-)

Everybody - bloggers and non-bloggers can enter these giveaways. All you have to do is leave a comment when you -

1. 'Like' Cooking With Siri on Facebook
2. 'Follow' me on Twitter
3. Subscribe to the Cooking With Siri blog feed
4. RT this giveaway on your Twitter and/or Facebook.
5. Important: While leaving the comment, please mention your location - India or US, so that you are chosen for appropriate giveaways.

Do one or more of the above and leave a comment that you did so. If you are already following me on facebook, twitter or RSS feed, just leave a comment and you are automatically entered in the giveaway!

Giveaway ends on Saturday, December 31st 2011, midnight. Two winners - one from India and one from US will be randomly picked and announced on January 1st 2012.

Wishing you all Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays!

until next time,

Holiday Special: Vegan Christmas Tree Pie

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"When Christmas bells are swinging above the fields of snow, we hear sweet voices ringing from lands of long ago, and etched on vacant places are half-forgotten faces of friends we used to cherish, and loves we used to know."  

~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox (American poet and writer 1850-1919)

The one place that reminds me when I think of Christmas and Snow together is - New York City. As a first-timer in 2007, I was mesmerized by its energy and sheer liveliness in almost every street. If you are one of them, who took long walks on Fifth Avenue, tightly hugging your snow coat with hood & woollen mittens on, strolling near almost every shop's window, while its slightly snowing, then you know what I am talking about. :-)

Food, if you wanna talk about that, then we can go on-and-on for hours and never get tired. Such is the vibrancy of NYC which is so infectious and many vivid memories are etched in hearts & minds of everybody who visits there.

Make holidays fun by baking these cute Vegan Christmas Tree Pies

Today's recipe is dedicated to the big Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony that happens every year near Rockefeller Centre, which marks the beginning of the holiday season and personally for me, it symbolizes how happy & fun holidays are..The tree, traditionally a Norway Spruce, is illuminated by 30,000 environmentally friendly LED lights on five miles of wire, and crowned by a Swarovski crystal star. :-)

..miss you New York City.. I hope we meet sometime, real soon!

Santa is here...to fulfil all our wishes..

Step 1: Roll a dough ball into almost a square. Fold opposite sides towards the centre to create a rough mark. 

Step 2: Fold sides back and make cuts perpendicular to the mark, as shown in the picture above.

Step 3: Place some filling in the centre area. 

Step 4: Start folding the strips alternatively from the top, until the very end..

Finally, it would look like this - a Christmas Tree Pie is ready to go into the oven..

Pie Filling - Cauliflower, Potato, Peas with Indian spices.

Perfect for potlucks, parties and these are so much fun to make for family & friends..

Christmas Tree Pie..cut open..

{Recipe} Vegan Christmas Tree Pie

Adapted from Veganlovlie

Ingredients:

For the pie crust:

all-purpose flour, 2 cups
canola oil, 4.5 tbsp
water, 5-6 tbsp (to form a soft, non-sticky dough)

For the filling:

cauliflower florets, thinly sliced, 2 cups
potatoes, cut into small cubes, 1 cup
(fresh/frozen) green peas, 1/2 cup
onion, 1 small, finely chopped
tomato, 1 small, finely chopped
garlic clove, 1 or 2, finely minced
turmeric, 1/4 tsp
salt, to taste (Note: Add a little less salt as the pie crust is already salted)
coriander powder, 1 tsp
red chilli powder, 1/2 tsp
olive oil, 2 tsp
soymilk with a pinch of turmeric, for glazing

Preparation:

To make the dough:

Mix oil into the flour and mix in with fingers until it look more like fine breadcrumbs. Then slowly add water, little by little and knead to form a smooth, non-sticky dough. Divide into 3 balls.

To make the filling:

1. Heat oil in a pan on a low-medium heat and add onions & garlic. Cook until translucent and raw smell goes away.

2. Add potatoes and cook them half-way through. Next add cauliflower. Mix in and cook until slightly tender.

3. Add peas. At any stage, don't add any water. The filling has to dry, so that you don't end up with soggy pies..

4. Add tomatoes. Stir and mix well.

5. Season with salt, turmeric, red chilli powder and coriander powder. Cook for couple of more minutes.

6. Allow to cool the filling completely.

Assemble -

1. As per the photographs above, roll, cut and fill the pies.

2. Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F)

3. Place the pies on a greased baking sheet and brush with some (soymilk + turmeric) mixture.

4. Bake for 30-40 mins until light golden colour. Serve and enjoy..

Note: If you are feeling too lazy to make the pie crust, then use store-bought puff pastry, thaw and follow the same procedure.

Happy Holidays everybody..:-)

until next time,

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