Tag Archives: yogurt

Incredible India… Breakfasts

12 Nov

Be careful what you wish for… because you might actually get it.

I decided at the beginning of the year that I wanted my official job description to read – PROFESSIONAL JET-SETTER. Because travel is one of my true, deep passions… well, this last October I got to visit India for the second time.  In the last 2 months, this is my 4th trip.  My friend Annie Mariel asked me to accompany her run some errands in Delhi and I immediately said yes.  How could I really say NO to that invitation?!?!?!

My first trip, exactly 5 years ago, had a spiritual purpose – visiting various religious temples in the Himalayas – but this one was much touristy.  We visited Delhi, Varanasi and Agra, to see the Taj Mahal. 

nataraja    varanasi 2

Taj Mahal

Breakfasts are really important to me… especially when traveling.  I do not know why, but my appetite is HUGE during breakfast when I travel.  Delhi has a lot of smog and is much dustier than what we’re accustomed on our side of the world.  So I made it a point to always eat lots of fruit and yogurt to maintain my body’s defenses.  Here are a few examples of typical breakfasts I had at our hotels:

The first was in Delhi – papaya pieces, plain yogurt, porridge or oatmeal made with milk.   Just the way I like it.  I always complemented breakfast with some freshly squeezed juice and apparently something very popular is watermelon juice.  I found watermelon juice in Delhi and in Varanasi.  They would even prepare it to order… super sweet and delicious.

    Breakfast Delhi

watermelon juice - KFC

This second was in Agra – papaya pieces with pomegranate seeds, plain yogurt, corn or wheat flakes.  Here breakfast was complimented by salted lassi and pineapple juice.  I much more prefer sweet lassi, but we’ll talk about that a little later on in a future post…

Agra Breakfast

But these are very typical breakfasts… you might be thinking.   But this was not all I ate each morning… this was just the starter complimented also by one of two Indian versions of breakfast too.  Indians do not limit their curry and savory food intake from lunch on.  They have their savory and spicy foods right after they open their eyes.  Even though we stayed in Northern India, we got to taste the breakfast preferences of both North and South India.

NORTH INDIA

When we were in Delhi, I was intrigued by what my table neighbor was eating.  I saw this puffed up bread and I immediately was curious.  It is called chole bhature and it is fried bread made from either maida flour (very-fine wheat flour) or rice flour.  I had them both and you can barely notice a difference.  You eat this fried, puffy bread with curried chickpeas and spicy/sweet mango chutney.  The yogurt on my regular breakfast plate helped to cool my mouth because of the spices for the chickpeas and chutney. 

North India Breakfast

Our servers at the hotel restaurant were so impressed with our interest in their local food, after I ordered just out of curiosity, that they would bring a service of this chole bhature without us having to order it.

Not what I normally crave for breakfast, but certainly interesting enough to enjoy it while in India…  and I am all to have the most out of my travel experiences.

SOUTH INDIA

After an overnight train experience that left a lot to be desired, we arrived in Agra at 9:30AM and we were HUNGRY for breakfast.  The buffet spread was exactly what we needed.  That’s where we learned about Dosas.

Dosas are the typical South India version of breakfast… it’s a rice flour crepe filled with a curried-potato mixture.  They’re made to order and you enjoy them with a coconut or tomato chutneys.  And you know me, I am a crepe fanatic.

Dosa 4

The potato mixture is spicy, but the chutneys were way spicier for my taste.  So after tasting them initially, I kept on eating without the accompaniments.  Salted lassi helped ease the spice level on the tongue.  They were so good, we had dosas every morning we had breakfast in Agra.

 Dosa 1     Dosa 3

Dosa 2

I hope this encourages you to try out these Indian favorites the next time you travel to India or visit an Indian restaurant in your neighborhood.  Tasting the local flavors is an integral part of getting to know a new country/culture.  It’s what separates the travelers from the tourists… don’t you think?

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Green Goddess Dressing

16 Jul

This is a dressing I have been making for the Yoga Center Saturday buffets for a while now…  And a new resurgence of retro recipes has made it popular and chic once again…

I make several different version of this dressing, with the pale green color being the common denominator.

 

 Green Godess Dressing

GREEN GODDESS DRESSING

½ cup buttermilk
½ cup plain yogurt
3 tbs of white wine vinegar
2 tsp honey
¼ cup fresh spinach leaves
¼ cup fresh basil leaves
2 scallions, chopped
A handful of fresh parsley, chopped a bit
2 tsp mustard – Dijon or grain mustard will do
¼ tsp salt
A few grinds of black pepper
1 cup canola or olive oil

 

  1. In a blender, mix all the ingredients except the oil.  Blend well and add the oil thru the blender cap while the blender is still running in a thin stream.

 

Use it to dress your salad or as a dip for crudités…  if you’re using specifically for crudités, I may blend also 4oz of cream cheese to make it thicker.

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Mango Lassi

18 Aug

When my mom turned vegetarian, one of the ways she maneuvered into getting me to like vegetarian cooking was to encourage me to take vegetarian cooking classes.   I never disliked cooking, yet it was something done in my house to appease your hunger, not something we had a passion for.

I learned to make whole grain rice, textured soy protein, some sort of potato pastelón, a basic cake recipe without using eggs and as a beverage I remember extra clearly, Mango Lassi.  I remember expressly because I had never mixed mango with yogurt before and it tasted DIVINE!!! 

Maybe the divine part was because Lassi comes from India – the land of deities and divinity.  It’s traditionally made with mangoes, which are plentiful in India, but it can certainly be made with any other fruit.  Lassi is nothing more than a fruit shake made with yogurt and ice.  I read there are versions with rosewater, pistachios, and other spices.  The funny thing is that I went to India 4 years ago;  I never had a lassi – plenty of mango juice, but no lassi.

My version of lassi is simple and very refreshing.  What I like about lassis is they’re great to prepare the digestive system to receive food.  It very well is the active cultures in the yogurt, or that it’s a way to consume fruits BEFORE food instead of as a dessert.  But no matter the reason, they’re just delicious any time of day, particularly in the summer heat.

 

 

 

MANGO LASSI

1 mango, peeled and diced
1 cup of plain yogurt
2 tbs agave nectar
3-4 ice cubes
¼ cup of water, to thin out the mixture if it’s too thick for the blender to process

 

  1. Mix all the ingredients in a blender.  Blend it at the highest speed for about 1-2 minutes to make sure the mango fibers are broken very well.

 

Enjoy as an appetizer, as a snack or as a great breakfast shake.

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BB Shake

5 Jul

We definitely need to integrate more fruits and vegetables in our diets.   I’ve heard the saying that we need to eat “the rainbow” – eat food from all the colors of the rainbow throughout the day.

Let me give you an idea for purple… the BB Shake.  I am sorry if I am turning into Rachael Ray naming the inventions I create in the kitchen.  To be honest, I do it so I can keep track of them.  Because if I’d name everything only by the main ingredients it contains, the picture folder names would be ultra long.

No matter how I name it or you want to call it, this shake is GOOD!!!  The B’s come from the Banana and the Blueberries in the recipe.  So it’s basically a Banana Blueberry Shake.  You can make it vegan or not… just play around with the ingredients and enjoy a great breakfast drink full of antioxidants and potassium.

 

 

 

THE BB SHAKE

1 banana
1 handful of blueberries
¾ cup of pineapple juice
½ cup of yogurt or kefir – I use the plain kind, but vanilla would also work nicely
A big squirt of agave nectar
2-3 cubes of ice

 

  1. Mix everything in a blender.

 

If you rather not consume anything dairy… this shake works equally well without the yogurt/kefir.  If the shake is too think, add a bit of water or extra juice and it should loosen up.

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Carrot Cupcakes

24 Apr

It’s Spring, or as we say here in Puerto Rico… Summer’s here!!!!   The heat is blazing already, the humidity is rising and I am in the mood to bake cupcakes.

I learned this recipe from Mr. Alton Brown, one of my culinary teachers from the Food Network.  I love this cupcake recipe because I do not need a mixer.  It’s super easy to make and super reliable.  I always make them to raise funds for the Yoga Center… people can’t get enough of them.  They’re moist, chewy, and taste delicious.  I usually make them without the traditional cream cheese frosting because of all the dairy-free people at the center.  But I will make some with cream cheese frosting and share the recipe with you.

Also, these cupcakes are the 1st recipe I am making for my “catering/baking” business.  I am looking to understand if my next serious career move should be something regarding my cooking and selling these cupcakes are a start…   The picture is from the dry run I did before I actually go out and sell these to people.  I know I still need to make them larger, so I am playing around with quantities… but for your personal enjoyment, the measures in the recipe work very well.

 

 

 

CARROT CUPCAKES

Adapted from an original recipe from Alton Brown
2 ½  cups, whole-wheat or spelt flour
About 5 medium carrots, grated medium
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
½  tsp salt
1 ½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
4 ½ tsp egg replacer mixed with 6 tbs of water
6 oz plain yogurt
6 oz vegetable oil
½ cup raisins
½ cup chopped walnuts

 

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Measure the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk to sift and combine.  Add the carrots to this flour mix and toss until they are well-coated with the flour.
  3. In the bowl of the food processor or in a blender, combine the sugar, egg replacer, vegetable oil and yogurt.   Pour this mixture into the carrot mixture and stir until just combined.   Add the raisins and walnuts and stir one last time to combine.
  4. Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners and pour about ¼ cup batter measure per cupcake.   Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 45 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees F and bake for another 20 minutes.
  5. Remove the pan from the oven and allow cake to cool 15 minutes in the pan. After 15 minutes, take the cupcakes out of the pan and allow them to cool completely.

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