I started using almonds in my cooking few days ago. I had used it to make pesto because I did not have the nuts required for it. So I thought I could use it in Indian dishes too. The first time I tried it in place of coconut, it worked very well. Unlike peanuts, they don’t give any distinct flavor to the dish. I used to put peanuts in many dishes before and now, I have started using almonds.
So last week I tried this beetroot kurma with almond paste instead of coconut. It turned out great. Here goes the recipe.
Ingredients: 2 cups beetroot pieces 1 tea spn mustard seeds 5 curry leaves 1/4 tea spn tamarind extract Salt
Almond powder- Heat oil, fry all the below ingredients and powder them 1 tea spn chana dal 1 tea spn coriander seeds 1 tea spn cumin seeds 1 tea spn urad dal A pinch asafoetida 2 tbl spn almonds (Use coconut if you don’t have almonds) 4 red chillies Oil
Method: Cook beetroot in pressure cooker. Peel it and cut into small pieces. Heat oil, add mustard seeds, curry leaves. Add beetroot, salt, tamarind, spice powder, a little water. Mix well. Cover and cook for 2-3mins. Serve hot with rice or chapati.
Serves : 3-4 Preparation time : 30mins
Finally we have started using salmon regularly. I have been cooking it with slight modifications every time. We love grilled salmon with different spices. This is one such recipe I tried recently. It tasted great.
Ingredients: 18oz salmon fillet Olive oil
Spinach paste (Make a paste of following) – 3/4 cup chopped spinach 1 tea spn ginger 1 tea spn garlic 4 green chillies 3 cloves 1″ cinnamon 1 tbl spn lemon juice Salt
Method: Apply the paste to salmon piece and keep it aside for about an hour. Heat a grill pan (or outdoor grill), spread some olive oil. Grill the salmon till done (I remove the skin after one side is done, like I did for this recipe ). Serve hot.
Serves : 1-2 Preparation time : 20mins
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