Immunity booster Series -3 Pepper Rasam

When you are down with a cold or flu, all you need is some magic portion to get you back on your feet. This used to be the go-to thing as it has all the secret ingredients you need to cure all the ailments relating to cold and/or flu. By the next morning, all the discomforts are all behind you and you feel as fresh as ever all over again.

Difficulty level: Medium
Preparation time- 10 min
Cooking time- about 45 min

Ingredients

Dry tamarind- 1/4 cup, packed
Ginger- 2 inch square chunk, skin on
Garlic- 5 small or 2 big cloves, skin on
Whole black peppercorns- 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds- 1 1/2 tsp
Dry red chillies- 3
Curry leaves- 2 sprigs
Salt-to taste

For spluttering:

Organic virgin coconut oil- 1 tsp
Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
Dry red chillies- 2
Curry leaves- 1 sprig


Soak the tamarind in 5 cups of warm water for about 15 minutes.

In the meantime, use a mortar and pestle to crush most of the other ingredients in 2 batches. First crush the ginger and garlic with their skins on. Transfer to another bowl and crush the peppercorns, curry leaves, cumin and red chillies in the same mortar and pestle. Crush them and add to the earlier batch.

Squeeze the tamarind well and dispose of the waste. To this water, add the crushed items and a pinch of salt. Let it come to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Let it simmer away for atleast 15 min allowing all the flavours to marry together and turn it into a magical concoction. The water should have reduced to three-fourths its original quantity. Keep aside.

In a small fry pan, add 1 tsp of organic virgin coconut oil and add the mustard seeds. Once it splutters, add the red chillies and curry leaves. Mix everything well and pour it right on top of the rasam prepared. Cover and set it sit for atleast 2 minutes. Make sure you drink just the top portion only. Serve warm with rice or drink it as it is to feel better. 

Best Homemade Garlic Knots

These are the best homemade garlic knots. They are made from homemade dough, leftovers freeze beautifully, are super soft and fluffy, golden brown and works best with extra garlic butter.


Who doesn't love the aroma of fresh home-made breads & rolls filling the air? This simple recipe gives you soft, fluffy rolls and the garlic herb butter adds a nice flavour to the already piece of heaven.

This batch yields 2 lbs of dough for 16 knots or 1 pizza plus 8 knots. I use the same dough for cheesy breadsticks as well. You can buy the store-bought pizza dough, but I like to make it from scratch if you can allow 60-90 minutes to rise. Also make sure that the yeast is fresh and use the correct temperature (between 100-110°F/ 38-43°C) water.

Difficulty: Easy
Preparation time: about 2 hrs
Baking time: 18-22 min

Ingredients
1 and 1/3 cups (320ml) warm water
2 and 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast(1 standard sachet)
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
3 and 1/2 cups (450g) all-purpose flour plus more for hands and work surface

Topping:
5 Tablespoons (70g) unsalted butter, melted
3 garlic cloves, minced or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
optional after baking: 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
optional after baking: 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley



Whisk the warm water, yeast, and granulated sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or paddle attachment. Cover and allow to rest for 5 minutes. *If you don’t have a stand mixer, simply use a large mixing bowl and mix the dough with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula in the next step.

Add the olive oil, salt, garlic powder, and half of the flour. Beat for 15 seconds, then add the remaining flour. Beat on low speed for 2 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. With lightly floured hands, knead the dough for 3-4 minutes. The dough can be a little too heavy for a mixer to knead it, but you can certainly use the mixer on low speed instead. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger – if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading.

Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray– just use the same bowl you used for the dough. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 1-2 hours or until double in size. (Tip: For the warm environment on a particularly cold day, heat your oven to 150°F (66°C). Turn the oven off, place the dough inside, and keep the door slightly ajar. This will be a warm environment for your dough to rise. After about 30 minutes, close the oven door to trap the air inside with the rising dough. When it’s doubled in size, remove from the oven.)

Shape the dough: When the dough is ready, punch it down to release the air. Using floured hands on a lightly floured work surface, shape the dough into a 16×5 inch log. (5 inch width really isn’t as important as the 16 inch length here, no need to be exact.) Using a very sharp knife, pizza cutter, or bench scraper, slice into 16 1-inch strips. Roll each strip into 8 inch ropes. Tie each into knots. You can tuck the two ends of the knots underneath the knot or leave them out, that’s up to you. Arrange the knots on 2 lined baking sheets. (Either parchment paper or silicone baking mats work.)

Lightly cover the shaped knots and let them rest for at least 30 minutes and up to 45 minutes. They will slightly puff up during this time, producing softer rolls.

Towards the end of the rise time, preheat oven to 400°F (204°).

Topping: Stir the melted butter, garlic, Italian seasoning, and salt together. Brush on the knots. Reserve some of the topping for when the knots come out of the oven.

Bake for about 18-23 minutes or until golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and brush the warm knots with remaining garlic butter. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and/or parsley, if using.

Serve plain or with marinara sauce for dipping.

Cover and store leftover knots at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Freeze baked and cooled knots for up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter, then reheat as desired. (I usually just microwave them for a few seconds.)

Spicy Artichoke Wraps

Artichokes have a very subtle taste and flavor. It is a seasonal vegetable, except may be not in California. 

Even though subtle, it really comes through when you combine it with a mild cheese and may be some bread crumbs. I always indulge in the fresh ones when it is available. During the rest of the months, I keep a couple of canned artichoke hearts handy in the hope of transforming them into something yummy.

Here I made the artichoke hearts which is originally from USA with Indian spices and combined it with Middle-eastern tahini sauce and kaboos(Arabic bread) pairing it with Peri-peri sauce for the spread. It also adds in a Mediterranean touch with Kalamata olives and onions, making it a truly International dish. You can substitute the peri-peri sauce with any spicy sauce and kaboos with tortilla or chapathi, depending on what is available to you. 

Difficulty level: Medium
Preparation time: 5 min
Cooking time: 20 min


Ingredients
Artichoke hearts- Canned, in water- 1(240 g ,drained)
Cooking oil- 1 tsp
Coriander powder- 1 tsp
Red chilly powder- 3/4 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Salt-to taste
Tahini sauce - 2 tsp
Peri-peri sauce- 1 tsp
Red onion- half of an onion, cut into long strips
Kalamata olives- 10 nos., pitted & cut into long pieces





Chop up the well-drained artichoke hearts roughly. Heat oil in a pan and add the spices. Stir for a minute and add the chopped artichoke hearts. Add salt to taste . Mix well and cook for a few minutes on a low flame, until the water is all gone and it gets the artichoke gets a good coating of the spices all over it.

In the meantime, warm up a large kaboos. In a small bowl, mix the tahini with the peri-peri sauce well. Pour the mix on the kaboos and spread uniformly all over it. Spread a layer of the onions and olives in a single line . Add the cooked artichoke right on top. Tightly roll the kaboos into a tight log making sure everything can be tasted in every bite. Enjoy the wrap warm right away, as it gets soggy if left assembled for a long time.

Immunity Booster Series- 2 Gooseberry Chutney

Indian gooseberry or Amla is another nutrient-packed food that can be eaten fresh, as nature delivers it to you.  It is a very seasonal fruit. Traditionally, we have the practice of preserving it in brine or in the form of pickles (with both salt and oil acting as preservatives).  

It is a superfood for the whole body from hair ( I really mean it, it is SO SO good for your hair) to toe. Whenever I can find it here, I buy it and preserve it in some water  with a generous amount of salt and a few spicy green chillies slit in half. It lasts forever and it can be had even as a snack, when you want something different. In the recipe, I have used the ones in brine, but you can always substitute for the fresh ones. 

Difficulty level: Easy
Preparation time: 10 min
Cooking time: 0 min


Ingredients

Gooseberry (or Amla) - 8 or 9, big ones pitted
Dry red chillies- 3 or 4, to your liking (I use a skewer to roast them on a flame for that smoky flavor)
Grated coconut- 1/8 cup
Curry leaves- 2 sprigs
Salt- to taste
Organic Virgin coconut oil- a few drops(optional)

In a mixer grinder, add the grated coconut, dry red chillies(roasted or not), salt and curry leaves. Grind until it's almost fully smooth. Add the pieces of amla and continue grinding until everything is uniformly smooth. Check salt at this stage and add more if needed. Drizzle a few drops of organic virgin coconut oil for added aroma and goodness. Enjoy right away or keep it fresh in the refrigerator for about 4-5 days.