Category: snack

Poha by Ankitha Gadag

Poha is a traditional South Indian breakfast made with minimal ingredients. The ayurvedic turmeric gives it a beautiful golden color while the warmed cumin adds a depth of flavor.

While Poha goes by a variety of names in South India (Pohay, Chuda Santula, Kande Pohey, Avalakki, etc), the ingredients and flavor profile tend to be the same across the board. In it’s essence, Poha is a spicy rice dish with peanuts that is best served with a piping hot cup of masala chai (mmmm…).

This dish takes me back to my Aunt’s home in Davengere, Karnataka. She is an incredible cook who loves to feed everyone around her. This was one of my favorite dishes to eat around an evening snack-time (although traditionally eaten during breakfast). Today, this dish is something I serve to my friends during a weekend brunch, just so they can experience some of my favorite foods growing up 🙂

Without further adieu, let’s get started!

You’ll need:

Please note: These items can all be found in your local Asian-Indian grocery store

  1. Poha ( Puffed Rice – this one is my favorite) : about 4 cups
  2. Thai green chillies or serranos ( depending on your spice level, I use 4-5 green TC, use less for serranos) : Roughly chopped
  3. Dry, Unsalted Peanuts: 1/4 cup
  4. Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
  5. Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
  6. Onion: 1/2 fine diced
  7. Hing (asofetida) : 1/2 tsp
  8. Turmeric: 1 tsp
  9. Curry Leaves: ~10 leaves torn
  10. Squirt of lemon juice (optional)
  11. Aloo bujia (optional)

To get started:

  1. Start by soaking the poha in a colander with cold water. This helps the texture of the dish go from crunchy to a chewy consistency.
  2. In a shallow pan, warm up roughly two tablespoons of ghee. (Any form of oil you have on hand can be used, but ghee makes a difference in flavor)
  3. In low heat, start by tempering the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Once they start popping, add in your chilies, curry leaves and saute for a couple of mins.
  4. Next, change the heat setting to medium-high, and add in the peanuts. The trick here is to roast the peanuts without burning them, so watch carefully.
  5. Now, add in your onions, turmeric and hing. Reduce heat to medium and let cook for 4 – 5 mins until golden brown.
  6. Salt your drained poha (to taste) and add in to the mixture. Turn off stove. Top of with lemon juice and combine.
  7. Enjoy! I love to serve this dish with aloo bujia. This crispy potato snack makes a huge difference so highly recommend!

Ankitha’s Roasted Tomatillo Salsa Verde

Easy tomatillo salsa with less than 5 ingredients!

ankitha_gadag_salsa

Tomatillo salsa has an extremely unique taste in my opinion. The green tomato adds a tartness to the mix that can be a little hard to handle if its not blended with the right spices. It needs balancing flavors to take the bite out of it. Originally, I had planned for this recipe with an addition of roasted spicy hatch peppers. I had never heard of hatch peppers before coming to Texas, but they are a BIG deal in the Southwest. There are entire festivals dedicated these roasting events and you can find hatch flavored anything at the grocery stores. Salsas, cornbread, biscuits,cheese, bread, etc. It only made sense that I hop on the bandwagon and incorporate them into a recipe. Unfortunate for me, my hatch peppers sat in the fridge way too long, and um, expired… so we will be omitting that today from the recipe. But, feel free to incorporate them if you are able to get your hands on some hatch peppers! Instead I used a regular tomato to balance the tartness of the tomatillo.

What you need:

  • 1 onion
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 2-3 Tomatillos (green tomatoes)
  • 1 -2 serrano peppers (depending on your spice preference)
  • handful of cilantro
  • 1 red tomato

Method:

ankitha_gadag_veggies

 

  1. Start by setting your oven to broil, and laying all your ingredients in a tray to broil. Leave skin on everything
  2. Drizzle with olive oil, sea salt and black pepper
  3. Roast until veggies are blistered

ankitha_gadag_tomatillo

  1. Now, dispose of the blistered skin, and blend all the veggies in a blender.

ENJOY!

Cold Cucumber Soup w/ Zucchini!

Welcome to Ankitha Gadag recipes. I am your “host” Ankitha Gadag. Ankitha is the recipe curator behind all of the original recipes found here on Ankitha Gadag’s Recipes. 

Here is a cool spin (get it… cool? cucumbers? …nvm) on a recipe I posted a while back on Ankitha Gadag Recipes for a chilled avocado & cucumber soup. This recipe is great, because it’s dairy free for all my vegan friends and still has the same great flavor of cucumbers.

Check it out on the blog below!

Since the girls started school, it feels like a whirlwind of nonstop activity! It seems as though I am even more time challenged than ever before. I want to post this recipe, however, before the winter really sets in and no one can even think about making a cold soup. There is always the possibility […]

via Cold Cucumber Soup — cookingforthetimechallenged

Cotija guacamole with pepitas

Looking for a creative spin on traditional guacamole? Look no further. This recipe is bursting with flavors  from your traditional guacamole – garlic,  onions and cilantro… while keeping it “fresh”. This guacamole gets an element of salty crunch from the pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and robust full-bodied flavor from the cotija cheese. This recipe is sure to be a hit with your guests.

Ingredients: (2 Servings)

  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 3 avocados
  • 1/4 white onion
  • 1/2 cup packed cilantro
  • 1 lime
  • sea salt (to taste)
  • pepitas (to taste)
  • cotija cheese (to taste)

 

 

Let’s get started!

 

  1. Chop garlic, onion and cilantro finely
  2. Combine avocados & mash
  3. Add in lime, sea salt and mix well
  4. Top with cheese and pepitas!

 

How simple is that? Leave your thoughts below!

guacamole-pepitas-cojita

 

 

 

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