beetroot Upkari

• Rooting for  ruby red beetroot, here's a quick & super easy side, nothing glamorous or fancy - just a good for you 'unmessed with' beets.  I've been making repeats with a couple of delicious ways to serve these healthy addition to our diet. A sweetish hot beet upkari  &  oven roasted beets are 2 favourite side dishes devoured happily by both my kids. Did I mention that I have one picky kid & another extremely picky?!
•    A week  ago few of beet shreds went into the red velvet cake as a trial & I was very proud that the kids had no idea that they were eating healthy. I almost feel powerful to have complete control of what goes into their bodies...well, almost! In near future I do have plans of making a raitha & a cold soup as well. Did I mention that I have a few golden beets growing in my kitchen garden?

 

  Ingredients:

• beets - 4, peeled, cut
• mustard seeds - 1/8 tsp
• red chillies 3
• curry leaves- a sprig
• coconut - 1tbsp
• salt

 

• Heat oil in a pan. Temper with mustard, red chillies & curry leaves. Add the matchstick beets, salt & half a cup of water. Cover & simmer for 15 to 20 mins till completely cooked. Garnish with grated coconut.

Chicken Bhuna/ chicken roast

Khawan (store brought) is a perfect roti for this chicken roast

•  A very 'fine food critic, hard to please taste bud' of the family really approves that the justice has been done to this borrowed recipe. That says it all!

A quick chicken roast saves the gloomy sunday eve at the Rao household. I for one needed something 'desi', cooking at my stove top this evening. There is only so much take outs, food courts and frozen dinners one can eat all in one weekend.

 Picturing a rich spicy dish, loved by all (yeah, I want the kind I know for sure is a winner) that shouts 'eat me', on this cold cold winter eve, I set out to go to my staple bhuna/roast chicken.

 You know how Sunday eve sneaks up on us faster than we want it to arrive. I want it all to slow down, bring the family to the table for a favourite meal & conclude the leisure event-free weekend, happily.

Chicken bhuna is the name that is screaming loud, much louder than I can hear my thoughts. I shuffle through the papers of hand written recipes to find the one from years ago. I wish I remembered who I wrote it down from (ah, I miss my apartment friends), so I could giving her the right credit. I can't keep a good recipe down, so here I am sharing our family favourite.


Ingredients:
Chicken 2 lbs, cut into big pieces
Onions 1, diced
Tomatoes 4-5, finely chopped
Ginger -Garlic paste- 2tbs
Green chillies 4, slit
Red chilli powder 1 tsp
Coriander seeds - 2 tablespoons
Cumin seeds - 2 teaspoons
Blackpepper - 8
Garam Masala - 2 tablespoons
Kasuri methi - 1 teaspoon.
Oil -3tbs
Salt - to taste.
Fresh cilantro to garnish



Method:
Dry roast coriander seeds, cumin and black peppercorns and grind to a coarse powder.

Heat oil in a kadai over medium-high heat until very hot, add onion and saute till lightly browned. Add the ground spice powder,red chilli powder, ginger-garlic paste and green chillies and saute for a couple minutes.

Add tomatoes and salt and continue to saute till the tomatoes softens, add in chicken, lower the heat to simmer and continue to cook until the chicken are cooked through and the sauce has thickened coating the chicken (about 5 to 6 minutes).

Once the chicken is tender, add half a cup of water and cover the pan and simmer for 5 more minutes. At this point, chicken is cooked through and the gravy is thick and rich. Add in garam masala and kasuri methi (crush in your palms to wake up the aroma) and cook for 2 minutes .

Garnish with cilantro (I ran out justifying that kasuri methi was flavorful enough). Serve immediately with rice and roti.

Beet's with greens bhaji

• As I picked up this bunch of beets, I pondered on the thought that there must be a reason why the beets in American groceries always have the greens still attached to it....I haven't seen beets used in any restaurants that I've been to nor have I heard by my friends who use beets regularly...but beets must be a sure sell for the groceries to carry it all year long.

We met up a friend at the store and he saw beets in my cart and asked me what I was going to make with it. 'The usual bhaji', I replied and saw disappointment in his eyes as he was expecting some great recipe, I guess. I was now on a mission to cook it in a few different ways and get my family's opinion on what tasted best.

The first favourite is roasted beets, of course since we love roasted veggies. Second runner up is the 'upkari' recipe posted below and the third preparation is still stirring up in my thoughts.

The normally thrown out greens and stems was put up to good use today. I cringed with the thought; the amount of wastage of greens done by me in the past 10 years...what was I thinking! Well, no use, crying over thrown beets: I say, and as a strong believer of 'better late than never'....so here's a start!
The side dish that turned out very tasty and was just as beautiful to look at! I wish I had a picture before we relished this savoury sweetish side!


Ingredients
beets - 2 peeled and thinly sliced
greens - from 2 beets, finely chopped
mustard seeds 1/2 tsp
red chillies 2-3
oil 1tbsp
salt

In a kadai, heat oil and season with mustard seeds and red chillies. Add beets, hald a cup of water cover and cook for 10 mins. When cooked, add greens and saute till greens wilt. Cook for 3-5 mins.

Roasted veggies

veggies cut thinly: beets, arvi, bell peppers
cut up in chunks: broccoli,cauliflower.
red onions cut in half.

Line the tray with foil and spray with cooking spray. lay all the veggies, spray and season with salt. Bake at 350F for 20 mins and broil on low for 10 mins.