Varada's Kitchen and Garden

Eis und Heiss literally translates to 'cold and hot'. This hot and cold dessert is super simple to make and very delicious. When I found the recipe  here  I simply had to make it. It was perfect for a hot summer day. Ice cream with fresh berry sauce poured over the top - hot and cold I found some really fresh raspberries and strawberries in Whole Foods. There is no real recipe here. Heat the fruit in a pan until the juices begin to flow. Let the fruit cook in their own juice on low heat for about 5-10 minutes. If the fruit is very juicy and the sauce looks runny add a little cornflour to the juice to thicken it. Turn off heat. Let it cool a little. While it is warm pour over ice cream and enjoy! This is my entry for week 36 of the 2014 52 week challenge for the theme hot and cold.

Kale is one of the most abundantly available green in the US. It is nutritious, a great source of protein. These parathas are a great way to include kale in your diet. I am not at all fond of greens that are cooked with spices in water giving you a sodden mess. There is no way I am making that ever in my kitchen. You know what I am talking about. The one that kids have the most problem with during dinner time. I would never torture my kid with that. Instead these parathas are eaten happily. Kale can be bitter and needs to be boiled to remove the bitterness. You will need for 5 parathas 10 leaves kale 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour 1 tsp. paprika 1 tsp. cumin powder 1 tsp. carom seeds (ajwain or ova) salt to taste 1 tsp. olive oil oil to cook the parathas Wash the leaves and cut off the stem. I even take off the center vein on the leaves. Boil in water or steam for about 4-5 minutes. Drain and wash in cold water. Puree in a blender to a fine paste using little or no

I few days ago my sister was visiting and I decided to make bhel. For some reason I believed the small bag of churmure would not suffice so decided to get the big one. The big one was really big but I went ahead and got it. Well, needless to say it was too big and I had a lot of churmure left over. When my sister was ready to leave I put half of what was left into a large ziploc bag for her. Even with that gone there was so much left. I have started making every snack I know using churmure. This chiva is one of the simplest you will ever make. It takes no more than 15 minutes but is so tasty it will gone before you know it. My father was staying with us for a few days and he loves chivda. That was reason enough to make a big batch. Unfortunately, I have enough churmure to make another 5 such batches of chivda. You will see a lot more posts from me with churmure in the near future. This recipe is very similar to what my mother made. I got it from a Marathi cookbook my father

We love dahi vada but not the oil absorbed during deep frying. So what is the solution? Do not deep fry the vadas, use you aebleskiver or appe pan instead. With a few drops of oil you get the same deep fried taste and flavor. Instead of using urad dal for this recipe I used moong dal. I was in a hurry. I decided to make dahi vada at 2 in the afternoon. There was no time to soak the dal so I switched dals and used moong dal instead. Worked out well. After I had run the soaked dal through the food processor I ran a hand blender through the dal to make it light and fluffy. That and the use of some baking soda helped make the dahi vada soft and light. I recently invested in an appe or aebleskiver pan. Since then I have tried a few deep fried treats using the pan. So far I have been very happy with the results. You will see many more recipes from me using this pan. You will need 1 cup moong dal 1 Serrano pepper 1 tsp. baking soda or 1/4 tsp. Eno Fruit salt 1 tsp. paprik

This chutney is used as a garnish for a lot of snacks and chaat. It is a simple basic recipe that is good to know. You have to remember to soak the tamarind but the recipe itself is very simple. 1 orange size ball tamarind 12 dates 1 tsp. paprika 1 tsp. cumin powder 1/2 tsp. rock salt (kala namak) salt to taste In a microwavable mixing bowl bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Break up and add the tamarind to the water. Keep aside for 30 minutes. In another microwavable bowl bring a cup of water to a boil. Add the dates and let them soak for 5-10 minutes. Blend the dates to a puree in a blender. Keep aside. After 30 minutes rub the tamarind in the water to squeeze out all the pulp. Pour the liquid through a strainer and discard the pulp. In a pan bring the tamarind juice to a boil. Add the date puree, paprika, cumin powder, rock salt and salt. Add half a cup of water. Let the chutney cook until it thickens and the flavors blend together. Adjust seasoning. If the chutney is to

Stromboli is a stuffed turnover. I had bookmarked this recipe a long time back but never got a chance to make it. My daughter loves stuffed bread a lot. I had made stuffed buns before and decided to use the same paneer and tomato filling for the stromboli. My daughter helped me fold it and really did justice to the end result as well. The dough was crispy but not chewy and the filling was delicious. It was gone very quickly. Next time you are looking for a quick crowd pleaser try this recipe. I made the dough as given in this link. It is the same as the recipe for Italian bread. You will need For the dough 3 cups flour (I used 50% whole white wheat and 50% all purpose flour) 1/4 oz. instant yeast 1 1/2 tsp. salt 1 pinch of sugar 1 cup warm water 1 tbsp. olive oil 1 tsp. dried oregano For the filling 14 oz. paneer (directions for homemade paneer  here ) 2 medium tomatoes 1 tbsp. olive oil 1 tbsp. cumin seeds 1 tsp. turmeric powder 1 tbsp. dried basil 1 tsp. papr

The other day after a heavy lunch nobody was in the mood for a full meal for dinner. I offered to make upama when my daughter asked if I could make sheera instead. That was when I realized that I did not have the simple sheera recipe on this space. I have  banana sheera  and mango sheera  but not the plain version. So I decided to set that straight and post this recipe right away. If you choose to heat the milk and water in a microwavable cup use a mitten when pouring it over the rava. I learnt this the hard way when the steam burnt the fingers of my hand. You will need 2 tbsp. ghee 1 cup semolina or rava 1 cup water 1 cup milk 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp. sugar To garnish Cashews Raisins 1 pod cardamom 1 tsp. ghee Heat the ghee in a pan and add the rava. Roast the rava stirring occasionally on low to medium heat taking care it does not burn. Do not let it turn brown. Combine the water and milk in a microwavable cup and bring to a boil, anywhere from 1 and half to 3 minutes

Gajar Halwa is usually a favorite with kids of all ages. It is a simple dessert that can be very rich or lightened up considerably. My health conscious mother always went for the lightened up version. I remember coming home from school and having warm freshly made halwa as a snack. My husband has a sweet tooth and so does my daughter. But neither like the rich loaded version of halwa. Instead we all prefer this version. My father is visiting so I made this as part of lunch today. I made a very small portion with two carrots because no one likes to eat big portions of desserts in my house. You will need 2 carrots 1/4 cup milk (at least 1%) 1/2 tsp. ghee For garnish 4-5 cashews 8-10 raisins 5-6 slivered almonds 1/2 tsp ghee 1 pod cardamom Pressure cook the carrots whole until tender. In my pressure cooker this is 5 minutes with whistle on before turning off heat. For whistling cookers this would be one whistle. Let the pressure go down on its own before opening th

Banana, chocolate and peanut butter - what more could your child want? Bite sized treats are always the most loved and these chocolate covered bananas filled with peanut butter are no exception. My daughter has a sweet tooth and likes something small after a meal. She is not really fond of anything very sweet so this is a perfect treat for her. She can make it herself and it satisfies her need for something sweet. I made these on a very hot day and even in my temperature controlled kitchen I had a hard time piping the peanut butter. I finally put the piping bag in the refrigerator for a few minutes along with the chocolate dipped bananas and that did the trick. You will need 1 banana 1 handful of chocolate chips (I use Nestle semi sweet chips) 1 tbsp. milk 3 tbsp. peanut butter Peel and cut the banana into 1-1 1/2 inch pieces. Using a spoon scoop out the center. Place the chocolate chips in a bowl and melt them in the microwave. About 30-35 seconds stirring twic

A few days back I froze a few blueberries for another recipe and had a few leftover. Perfect for this smoothie! Just throw in the frozen berries with a few slices of banana and unflavored yogurt. You will need 1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen) (I used fresh berries that I froze for a day) 1/4 cup chopped banana (a little less than half) 1 cup unflavored yogurt a pinch of cinnamon powder (optional) 5-6 ice cubes (use only if using unfrozen berries) Mix everything together in a blender jar and blend until smooth. Enjoy!

Cantaloupe and lime with a little bit of peach! The result is a refreshing and filling smoothie great for breakfast or to cool down on a hot summer afternoon. I like to make this whenever I have a really sweet cantaloupe. You will need 1 1/2 cups cantaloupe 1/2 peach 1 lime handful ice cubes Squeeze the juice from one lime in a blender jar. Add the cantaloupe, peach and ice cubes. Blend until smooth. Enjoy! Note: Use the juice of a whole lemon especially if the cantaloupe is sweet. The peach is needed to complete the flavor profile. Do not skip the peach.

Narali purnima or the full moon during the month of Shraavan. The day when coastal Maharashtra breaks a coconut at the beach to pray for a good post monsoon fishing season. The menu for the day includes the dessert Narali bhaat or coconut rice. Fresh coconut is combined with the local staple - rice, to make this delicious dish. The menu includes, from the top clockwise, a bowl of tomato dal, potato bhaji , bharli wangi , poli , cucumber koshimbir and in the center narali bhaat. The recipes for tomato dal and cucumber koshimbir will be updated in the next week. For narali bhaat you will need 1 cup brown rice 1 cup shredded fresh or frozen coconut 1 scant cup jaggery or sugar 1 clove 1 tbsp. ghee or clarified butter For garnish 1 tbsp. ghee a few each of cashews, almonds sliver, raisins etc. 1 pod cardamom Thaw the coconut if using frozen. Grate the jaggery. Soak the rice for half an hour. Drain and rinse. Melt ghee in a pan and add the clove. When fragrant in ab

If you like your smoothies sweet then this smoothie is not for you. But if you really like fruits and berries then you will love it. Three ingredients and ice is all it takes. The first time I made this smoothie I decided to make just one cup for myself. I loved the rich creamy texture and the taste of berries. The next day I made it for my breakfast but asked my daughter to take a sip. Expecting a sweet smoothie she crinkled her nose at the mildly tart taste. Without thinking I starting my mommy lecture 'the first strawberry never tastes sweet. Your tongue needs time to adjust to the tart taste. By the third strawberry you start enjoying it.' She took two more sips and the next thing I know she put down an empty cup. It is that good. Try it. You will need 1/4 cup cranberry juice 8 oz. strawberry yogurt (any brand) a handful of strawberries (preferably fresh but frozen will do) a handful of ice cubes (leave them out if using frozen strawberries) Put everything in t