Rice Paper Rolls with Peanut and Mustard Dipping Sauces

I've always been intrigued by Rice Paper Rolls. They are dry, thin sheets of rice that become translucent when you immerse them in warm water. I love the idea of blurred colours of the vegetables stuffed in them popping through the sheets, waiting to be dipped into spicy sauces.

I found Rice Paper rolls in a store inside Crawford Market here in Mumbai. They are a bit expensive because they are imported but they are worth every rupee. They are perfect to make rolls or wraps and I'm sure would taste great with sweet stuffing.

What I love about them is that you can do so much with them. You can stuff them with thin noodles or lots of lovely raw vegetables. It doesn't have to be the same every time.

To make them you need:

Rice Paper
A continuous supply of hot water
A large deep plate big enough to fit one rice paper sheet in it

Cooked Rice Vermicelli Noodles (optional)

Any of the following:
Cabbage
Purple Cabbage
Peppers- Red, Yellow and Green
Carrots
Leeks
Sauteed Mushrooms
Sauteed Spinach, Chard, Kale
Coriander to Garnish

Chop all the raw vegetables into long, thin slices.

Dipping Sauces:

Peanut Sauce
2 tbsp Peanut Butter
1 Clove of Garlic
1/2 tsp lime juice
Red Chilli Powder(Optional)
Salt
Water

Mustard Sauce
3 tsps Whole Yellow/Black Mustard
1 Red Chilli
1/2 inch piece of Ginger
1/4 tsp vinegar
Salt
Water

Sriracha (because it makes everything better)

To make the sauces, grind the ingredients of each sauce until smooth.

To assemble the dish, pour a little of the hot water into a plate. Now carefully immerse the rice paper roll in it while keeping it pressed so that it doesn't roll up. Be careful not to burn yourself. Once the rice paper has gone from white and hard to translucent and lose, it is ready. Carefully pick it up without folding it and put it on a dry plate. Add you choice of stuffing in the center in a line leaving at least 2 inches space along the top and bottom edges. You can also add a bit of the sauces inside the roll. Working quickly, roll the top and bottom of the rice paper towards the stuffing and then do the same with the sides. Either top it with your sauces or serve them separately. Garnish with coriander.

Continue to do the same with every sheet of paper while replacing the water in the plate as it gets cooler.

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Three Chutney recipes for the three days I missed!

I am back after a three day break from the big bad world of the WWW. I just needed to switch off the laptop, give my eyes a rest and find other ways to cool off the sunny October days. It was a welcome break because I'm refreshed and raring to go forward.

Because I have missed three days of Vegan MoFo where my theme this month is 'chutneys', I'm going to write about three easy peasy chutney recipes to make up for my absence.


Mixed Peel & Seed Chutney
This one my mom made with mixed peels and seeds of Beetroot and White Pumpkin and also the insides of a Snake Gourd. I have made a chutney with only pumpkin seed -Skeed Chutney. You can use any left over peels, seeds and fiber for this chutney.

Mixed Peel & Seed Chutney
1 cup mixed peels, skin and fiber
1 cup coconut
1/2 lime sized piece of tamarind
1/4 tsp asafoetida
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal
1-2 Red Chillies
2 tsp oil (optional)
Salt

Heat the oil if using and cook the skin, peels and fiber. Remove it and add it to the blender jar. Heat more oil and temper the mustard seeds, urad dal. Add the asafoetida and red chilli. Remove only the red chilli and add it along with Coconut, salt and tamarind to the blender jar. Blend till smooth. Add the tempered mustard seed and dal. Store in the refrigerator.

Horse gram Chutney
This is a not so common chutney made with a not so common dal. I haven't seen many people use Horse Gram. Wikipedia says it is common as cattle feed. Doesn't stop me from eating it! This chutney was made by my granny and is actually a very typically South Indian chutney.

Horse gram Chutney

1/2 cup horse gram
2-3 Red Chillis
1 tsp Urad Dal
1/4 tsp Asafoetida
Salt

Roast the horse gram till it splutters. Roast the red chilli, urad, hing. Powder the horse gram and them add the rest of the ingredients. Add little water and then grind to a smooth paste.


Cumin & Green Tomato Chutney
Green Tomatoes make great salads but they also make great chutneys. I love the flavour of green tomatoes in a chutney and I didn't do much to this one wanting to preserve the great flavour they give. Cumin was a perfect spice for this one because it cuts through the sourness and give a nice finish to the chutney.

Cumin & Green Tomato Chutney

4 green tomatoes
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1 mild green chilli
Salt
Juice of 1/2 a lime
Water

Cook the green tomatoes with a tablespoon of water and salt for about ten minutes till they are soft. Blend in till smooth.

Roast and powder the cumin seeds. I powdered them using a mortar and pestle.

Add the cumin seeds and mix well.

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Vitamin C Chutney

If you ask any Indian what to eat to ensure Vitamin C in the diet, Aamla is surely going to figure in the list. This Indian Gooseberry  holds a very important place in the Indian heart (and hair). When it is in season, everyone laps it up making  pickles, chutneys or sun dries it to ensure a year long supply of Vitamin C. As kids, we used to buy small tiny sachets of dried and salted aamlas as an after school snack.

But I need to tell you my find of the day before that: Vegan Food Rocks. That cream of Broccoli soup looks so easy and awesome!

Now, if you have never tried an aamla, I'd like you to imagine biting into the sourest Sour Candy available and put aside the the sweetness of the sugar in the candy. It is sour and astringent but also has sweet and bitter undertones. My salivary glands are kicking it in as I type this. Apart from being an elixir, natural medicine-for-everything kind of fruit, it is also applied to hair to ensure good hair growth and I read somewhere that apparently Indians have the best hair on the planet. Well, all Indians except me at least.

This chutney is raw, vegan and oil free. It goes well with rotis and I'm sure some bread or dosa will be nice with it too.

You need:

4 aamlas or Indian Gooseberries
2 mild Green chillies
Salt

The Aamlas have tough flesh with a pit inside. Remove the pits and blend it with the green chillies and salt.

Enjoy your dose of sour, concentrated vitamin C!

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Raw food with Lisa and a month of surprises.

Lisa Pitman was in town and what a week that was. Lisa is a raw food chef from Canada who was travelling though India talking about her journey with raw food and sharing some lovely recipes. She had two events in Bombay one of which was a talk followed by a lovely raw vegan lunch, the other was a cooking demo done by Lisa followed by a lunch of the recipes she showed. Fresh salads, date cookies, Zucchini rolls in a marinara sauce, PAd Thai Salad and an amazing raw cheesecake were a few of the things we got to try. I also got to accompany Lisa to Elephanta caves. It was the first visit for both of us!  It is such great fun to hang out with a fellow foodie who shares a similar love for food and travel. I wish Lisa had more time in Bombay!

For more pictures of Lisa's talk and demo check out SHARAN's album

I love making lists of things I need to get my hands on for my kitchen and I love it even more when I can tick certain things off my list. November being birthday month was special not only because I turned a year older, but also because I had many Santa Claus moments this month. K was in London shopping for things for me and working whenever he got free from shopping and my two Yankee friends (Ara and Sri) got me lots of things I'm going to keep using in my kitchen!

I finally got my hands on a Pasta Machine and it is so much fun. I don't think I'll ever buy a sheets of Lasagne again! I made me some Semolina Lasagna in a tomato sauce with my depleting stock of Daiya on top. 

                       

We love mushrooms in this house and K called me from Borough Market all excited about how excited I would be if I was there. He picked some Chanterelle, dried Portobello and one huge Portobello from someone selling tonnes of mushrooms.

Avocados from UK v/s BIG Avocado from Bangalore!

Portobello Mushroom

After keeping the Portobello for 5 days, it started showing signs that it was time to use it quickly. I made a quick lunch of Portobello Risotto from an old cookbook that belongs to my mom called Traditional Italian Food by Laura Birch. I also made a soda bread and an Arugula & Roasted Yellow Pepper salad to go along with it. You could use regular button mushrooms or avoid the mushrooms completely if you prefer them on the trees. 

November also saw the addition of the newest member to our family. (K's brother and wife welcomed a baby girl) Babies are so much fun! And I spotted a dog I have never seen before. He was massive with enough hair for two St Bernards and the sweetest face ever. I don't know why but the bigger the dog gets the more friendlier they are! This one is called a Leonberger and they are native to Germany. I saw him after two nights and he instantly recognized me and jumped up to lick my face. If my neighbour wasn't trying his best to hold him back he would've knocked me down. He was easily 6 feet tall while on his hind feet. Unfortunately he was just visiting for a few days.

It's hard to believe how big he is!

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