Amaranth is widely available in Indian grocery stores in my area (CA bay area). It is called "mulai keerai" or simply " keerai"The traditional way to cook it is to make kootu which kind of a wet curry that can be eaten with rice or flat breads like chapathi. Ingredients Spinach /amaranth Greens - 1 bunch Lentils toor dal or Mung Dal - 1 cup cooked till soft with enough water to get oatmeal like consistency For curry paste: Fresh /frozenGrated Coconut - 1 cup Dry Red Chilli -1- 3 nos (As per your taste) Urad dal - 2 tbsp Jeera/Cumin seeds - 1 tspn For Seasoning/Tempering Oil - 1 tspn Mustard - 1/4 tspn Urad Dal - 1/2 tspn Dry Red chilli - 1no Preparation Method Wash and chop spinach/amaranth into small pieces. Cook toor or mung dal soft with water. Cook spinach in a vessel with salt and turmeric. Make curry paste as follows: Roast the red chilli, the urad dal in 1/2 tsp of oil until urad is pale golden brown. Grind with Grated coconut, and cumin to a fine paste. Once spinach/ amaranth is well cooked(You will know by the bright green color) add grounded mixture and dal. Add salt as required. Mix well and until it boils. If its too thick add little water while boiling. Can also add 1/2 tspn of coconut oil. Now season with above ingredients in a hot pan and add to the Keerai Kootu. This is a good sidedish for Chapathis or also with plain rice.

Two other couples came over yesterday to play Canasta. We went out for dinner, & I made dessert. It was really good & tastes better warm. Despite the length of the recipe, it's easy to make, especially as it can be done a day ahead. There are a lot of apples, but the cake is better with a lot, & I rewarmed the leftover for breakfast this morning. Yum, yum. Brown-Sugar Spice Cake with Cream and Caramelized Apples from Gourmet, March 2006 For caramelized apples 8 Gala apples (3 1/2 pounds) 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar For cake 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar 1 large egg 1/2 cup dark amber or Grade B maple syrup 1/2 cup sour cream 1 teaspoon vanilla For cream 1 1/4 cups chilled heavy cream 1/2 cup sour cream 2 tablespoons sugar Special equipment: an 8-inch square nonstick cake pan (2 inches deep) Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter and flour cake pan, knocking out excess flour. Make caramelized apples: Peel and core apples, then cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges. Spread softened butter in an even layer over bottom of a 12-inch heavy skillet and sprinkle with brown sugar. Add apple wedges and cook over moderate heat, without stirring, until sugar is melted and apples start to give off Cook, stirring occasionally, until apples are just tender and juices become syrupy, about 30 minutes more. Pour syrup from skillet into a small heatproof bowl, then sauté apples, stirring occasionally, until caramelized and very tender, about 30 minutes more. Return syrup to apples and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Make cake while apples cook: Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices in a bowl. Beat together butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg until combined. Add maple syrup, sour cream, and vanilla and beat until combined well. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, then mix until just incorporated. Spread batter in cake pan and bake until cake is golden brown and a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes. Make cream just before serving: Beat cream with sour cream and sugar using cleaned beaters at high speed until it just holds soft peaks. To serve: Run a thin knife around edge of pan, then invert cake onto a plate and cut into squares. Serve warm or at room temperature, topped with warm apple mixture and cream Cooks' notes: ·Caramelized apples can be made 1 day ahead and cooled completely, uncovered, then chilled, covered. Reheat over low heat. ·Cake can be made 1 day ahead and cooled completely, uncovered, then kept, loosely covered with plastic wrap, at room temperature.

I love beans, peas, dried lentils, so I have recipes that call for those ingredients. I really like this recipe, but I use fresh mango when I can find it and I don't broil because my broiler is on the bottom of the oven so I have to lie on the floor on my stomach to use the broiler! I give it a quick toast in the skillet instead. Poblano, mango and black bean Quesadillas 1 teaspoon olive oil 1 1/2 cups sliced onion 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon black pepper 1 poblano chile, seeded and chopped 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained 1 cup jarred sliced peeled mango (such as Del Monte SunFresh (I use fresh, it's fine) 1/3 cup cubed peeled avocado 4 (8-inch) fat-free flour tortillas Cooking spray 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese Preheat broiler. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, oregano, salt, pepper, and poblano, and sauté 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Add beans; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat; stir in mango and avocado. Place flour tortillas on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Arrange about 3/4 cup bean mixture on half of each tortilla, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons cheddar cheese over bean mixture, and fold tortilla in half. Lightly coat tortillas with cooking spray. Broil 3 minutes or until cheddar cheese melts. Nutritional Information Calories:334 (25% from fat) Fat:9.3g (sat 2.9g,mono 3.5g,poly 0.9g) Protein:13.2g Carbohydrate:54.5g Fiber:7.2g Cholesterol:10mg Iron:3mg Sodium:753mg Calcium:253mg I also like vegetarian chili, this one is from nancybc and your italian sausage could easily be replaced by turkey sausage. Sweet Potato Chili 1 Italian sausage- hot or sweet 2 medium yams or sweet potatoes peeled and cubed 2 onions chopped 2 garlic cloves minced 1 tablespoon chili powder ( I like Gebharts) 1 teaspoon dried oregano ( try the mexican version) 1 teaspoon cumin 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes w/ juice (try the fire roasted) 1 19 oz can red kidney or black beans rinsed and drained salt to taste sugar if needed chopped cilantro or parsley for garnish if you like Remove sausage from casing and brown in a heavy pan for about five minutes. Remove,pat sausage dry and return to pan. Stir onions and seasonings into sausage and cook over low heat for about 2 minutes. Spices will stick but just stir them around and do not add additional oil. Add everything else, bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender. This varies but can be 30-45 minutes or so. Taste to decide if the spices are to your liking and adjust if necessary. This freezes well! Then there is this recipe for lentils and mango. I see a mango theme here, LOL. Indian Mango Dal From EatingWell January/February 2010 More than 60 different types of dal (or dhal) are made across India. The basic dish contains lentils or other legumes flavored with aromatics and spices. Here, yellow lentils (toor dal) and mango are cooked in a more traditionally Southern India stylemore souplike. Both ripe and underripe mango will work: less-ripe mango imparts a tart flavor and holds its shape, while riper mango breaks down more during cooking and gives the dish a sweeter taste. Serve over basmati rice or with roasted chicken. 6 servings, about 1 cup each 1 cup yellow lentils 4 cups water 1 teaspoon salt, divided 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric 1 tablespoon canola oil 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds 1 medium onion, chopped 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 2 mangoes, peeled and diced 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro 1.Place lentils in a colander and rinse until the water runs clear. Combine lentils, 4 cups water, 1/2 teaspoon salt and turmeric in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, partially cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. 2.Meanwhile, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add cumin seeds and cook until fragrant and starting to brown, about 30 seconds. Add onion; cook, stirring, until soft and beginning to brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, coriander, cayenne and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, for 1 minute more. 3.Stir the garlic mixture and mangoes into the lentils. Return to a simmer; cook, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are falling apart, 10 to 15 minutes more. Stir in cilantro. Per serving : 186 Calories; 3 g Fat; 2 g Mono; 9 g Protein; 9 g Fiber; 398 mg Sodium; 511 mg Potassium 1 1/2 Carbohydrate Serving Exchanges: 1 starch, 1 fruit, 1 lean meat, 1/2 fat Stay healthy! Annie

Paneer is EASY - here is how to make it in the microwave. This is my preferred method nowadays. I use a 4 qt Pyrex bowl and do half a gallon at a time. Curdling it with yogurt only seems to work any more with home-made yogurt, which I haven't made in years. I can't seem to get good organic yogurt with the proper live cultures any more, so I've reverted to just using the white vinegar. http://barbariansatthekitchengate.wordpress.com/2012/05/01/paneer-revisited-another-reason-to-love-your-microwave/ Not only do I use a dabba, I use TWO! One is the traditional metal dabba with all metal cups inside; the other is a Lock&Lock version which is slightly larger. I put my whole seed spices in the metal one and my ground spices in the Lock & Lock version, on the premise that the inner plastic lid and the Lock & Lock seal provides a better - well, SEAL, and preserves the ground spices better. The flavor is far more subject to oxidation/degradation in the ground vs whole spices so I want to protect them better. I put little labels on each inner container because some spices look similar enough in the ground state that I want to be sure what they are. Also my son (rarely) cooks and he often can't tell a spice by sight or smell alone. It's better to have them marked. After many years of always buying my cumin and coriander both whole and ground, I no longer buy these spices pre-ground. It got to the place where I could not tell the difference between commercially ground cumin and commercially ground coriander at all. So I started roasting and grinding these from whole seed and there is now a night-and-day difference. The cumin is noticeably better, but the coriander is just a universe away from the pre-ground stuff. There are citrus notes in the roasted and fresh ground stuff that are (and have been for some time) totally lacking in the commercially ground version. Now I roast and grind my own whenever possible. Fennel, cumin, and other woody/oily seeds are best roasted and fresh ground. I don't bother with pepper or red chilis or turmeric, those I continue to buy pre-ground. The more volatile the flavor components, the more you will benefit from roasting and grinding it yourself. I use a cheap Krups coffee grinder (which has, of course, NEVER so much as seen a coffee bean). Here is a link that might be useful: How to make paneer in your microwave