Caramel Cardamom Popcorn

A few weeks ago we went to watch the Hindi film 'Neerja'. If you haven't seen it, we can't recommend it enough. It's the true story of the incredibly brave woman Neerja Bhanot who saved hundreds of lives during a plane hijacking in India. Our grandmother named Neeru after her!

So, movies demand snacks and these usually take the form of unhealthy buttery, sugary popcorn. We decided to create our own South Indian inspired oil free popcorn and we came up with this.... a caramel spiced popcorn which is completely oil free!

We used jaggery instead of sugar to create a caramel syrup and infused it with cardamom for subtle scented spice. Some chopped toasted pistachios added in at the end give a wonderful crunch and nuttiness.

The secret to this popcorn is the two step procedure - first pop the kernels in a large metal pan and mix in the syrup and then step two, bake in the oven! The baking step is key and is what gives the popcorn it's delicious crunch without any added oil!

Mix up the flavours by adding a pinch or two of chilli powder or throw in some more toasted nuts for additional crunch.

So next time you curl up for a movie at home, make yourself a bowl of this healthier popcorn! If you're more of a savoury person, try out our savoury spiced trail mix which uses puffed buckwheat!

N&N

Time: 20 minutes

Makes: about 5 cups of popcorn

Ingredients
1/3 cup corn kernels
1/4 cup jaggery
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder
1/4 cup chopped pistachios

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. 
2. Make the popcorn! If you're doing this in a microwave then skip directly to step 4.  Find a large thick bottomed metal pan - having a thick walled pan is really important as the walls will become really hot when it gets heated up and create the conditions needed to pop the kernels without any oil. 
3. Add the popcorn kernels to the pan, add a lid and then turn on the heat.  After the pan has heated for 3-4 minutes you should start hearing some popping sounds - leave the pan on the heat for 5 minutes until most of the kernels have popped!
4. In a separated smaller pan, heat the water together with the jaggery. Once the jaggery has dissolved turn up the heat to a gentle simmer and let the sugar syrup thicken for 3-4 minutes but be very careful that it doesn't burn!
5. Then add in the cardamom and chopped pistachios and pour the syrup over the popcorn. 
6. Mix it all through and spread out the syrup coated popcorn onto a baking tray lined with foil. 
7. Bake in the oven for 7-10 minutes until crisp and golden!

Tomato Dosa

Dosa is undoubtedly South India’s most iconic dish.  Every culture has it’s own pancake, the Galette from France, Blini from Eastern Europe the Okonomiyaki from Japan…. Ours is the Dosa!

Dosas are traditionally eaten for breakfast or afternoon tiffin and can be served in a host of different ways. Classic: simple thin dosa with a side of onion sambhar. Oothapams: slightly thicker dosas topped with finely chopped coriander, onion, tomato and chilli. Or our all time favourite, the Masala Dosa - a crispy paper thin dosa rolled up with a spicy potato filling and served with an array of colourful chutneys: tangy tomato and onion, creamy coconut, and fresh green coriander and lime. 

Making the perfect dosa is an art in itself - it takes some practice to get a neat outward spiral of the batter and a crisp golden brown base. But its well worth the effort and a lot of fun too! Dosas are usually made with white rice and cooked with generous ladles of oil or ghee. Our healthier Onelifetwoways version uses red rice giving additional fibre, vitamin B, calcium and antioxidants, and we only use as much oil as needed to prevent the dosa from sticking to the pan. The bare minimum necessary! We’ve also added pureed tomatoes into the mix which add a beautiful red colour and help boost your veggie intake.  

Some freshly grated ginger, cumin seeds and chillies mixed into the batter before cooking add a delicious additional flavour dimension. We love to top our dosas with chopped onion and fresh coriander for some additional crunch and herby goodness.  These tomato dosas are a complete meal by themselves, and if you make a batch of the batter at the weekend, you’re all set for great weeknight dinners.  You can vary up the toppings too, we like adding grated carrot and beetroot, spring onions, or even spreading a little tahini and lemon juice for a ‘cheesy’ hit!

Happy dosa making!

N & N

Makes: 20 Dosas

Time: 3 hours to soak the rice and 30 mins prep to make the dosas

Ingredients: 
4 cups red rice (can also use brown rice)
1 cup urad dal
4 medium sized juicy red tomatoes
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons cumin seeds
2 green chillies
1/4 inch piece fresh ginger
Sunflower oil

Topping (optional)
2 tablespoons chopped coriander
2 tablespoons chopped white onion 

Method

1. Place the rice and dal in a bowl and cover with hot water. Soak for 3 hours. 
2. Blend the rice and dal into a smooth mixture.  Add in the tomatoes and continue to blitz adding as much water as necessary to get a thick pancake batter consistency.
3. Finely chop the ginger and chillies and add this to the batter along with the cumin seeds and salt. 
4. Chop the coriander and onion for the topping
5. Heat a flat non-stick pan and brush lightly with sunflower oil. Keep the heat low and add a ladle of the batter onto the pan and spread outwards in a spiral shape. Turn up the heat and add top the dosa with the chopped coriander and onion. Once the top dries out (after about 3-4 mins) flip the dosa using a flat spatula. 
6. Cook on the other side for another 3-4 minutes. If the dosa looks a bit dry, drizzle 1/8 teaspoon of sunflower oil around the sides of the dosa.  Flip onto a plate and its ready to serve!
7. Before making the next dosa, turn down the heat again and wipe the pan with a tissue spread with a little sunflower oil. 

Cashew Butter Biscuits

 

Butter biscuits and South Indian filter coffee. McVities digestives and English breakfast tea. Every country has its own classic biscuit and hot drink combinations that represent all things comforting, relaxing and familial.

In South India, we love sweet, decadent butter biscuits (also known as vennai biscuits) - they melt in your mouth and they're just perfect for dunking into any hot drink.

As the name suggest though, these biscuits are made with copious amounts of butter and a generous helping of sugar! Not the healthiest of choices by any measure.

We tried our hand at a creating a healthier N&N version and the result were these beauties.

We swapped the traditional butter for creamy cashew butter and swapped out the sugar for dates and maple syrup! We used oat flour to sub in for regular flour, so essentially these golden discs are vegan, refined-sugar free and gluten-free too! 

We threw in a little hint of cardamom and saffron for a South Indian spice hit and combined with the creaminess of the cashews these cookies taste ultra decadent - but they're guilt free as they don't have any of hydrogenated fats and refined sugar!

This tempting treat is plant-based and full of healthy ingredients - we love that we can count all of them on two hands. Nothing artificial or dodgy in here. 

This recipe tastes fabulous raw as well! You can leave out the baking powder and just pour the mixture into a flat dish,set in the fridge for a couple of hours and slice up into energy bars! Or roll up to make a different take on our dry fruit laddoo. We couldn't resist snacking on the mixture before putting it in the oven!

They are super quick to make so go on, make yourself a batch this weekend!

N & N

Makes: ~ 16 cookies
Ingredients: 

• 1 1/2 cups raw cashews 
• 3/4 cup raw oats
• 1/2 cup pitted dates 
• 2 tbsps maple syrup 
• 4 cardamom pods 
• Generous pinch saffron 
• 1/2 tsp baking powder 

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C
2. Purée the cashews in a blender until smooth. Scrape down the slides frequently. Put aside in a bowl
3. Using the blender again, puree the dates with the maple syrup. 
4. Break open the cardamom pods and crush the seeds into a powder using a pestle and mortar (or alternatively you can just use cardamom powder for convenience)
5. Blitz the oats in a blender until it forms a fine powder.
6. Add the cashew butter, maple and date mixture, cardamom seed powder, saffron and baking powder into the oat flour and blitz until well combined. Scrape down the sides as the mixture will stick. If the blender keeps getting stuck too often, then pour into a bowl and mix by hand!
7. Shape into walnut sized balls, and place on a baking sheet leaving plenty of space between balls. Flatten slightly and press down with a fork to create ridges for decoration.
8. Bake for approx. 8-10 minutes but monitor the biscuits carefully! They catch very easily and go from golden brown to burnt in the blink of an eye.

Gobble up warm or leave to cool to get a chewy texture.

Jaggery, Coconut, Banana Muffins

This week we’re thrilled to feature a guest post from our lovey Aunty Srividya all the way from sunny California!

“My niece Nikki came to visit us in California a couple of weeks ago and she and Neeru invited me to come up with my own healthy South Indian creation. The challenge of creating something novel and healthy from a traditional recipe was really exciting and got me thinking… Having a sweet tooth myself, and being partial to Indian sweets made with jaggery, ‘appams’ immediately came to mind. Little deep fried dough balls, crisp on the outside, soft and luscious on the inside, sweet with jaggery and with a burst of coconut and banana flavour! They are simply delicious. And the only really unhealthy part of this sweet treat is that they’re deep-fried. So instead, during Nikki’s visit, I experimented with baking them... and we both agreed—“Appam muffins” were here to stay!”

These little muffins are super moist and have a wonderful caramel-ly flavour from the jaggery with nutty notes of coconut and some cardamom spice. We think its a bit like South Indian banana bread! 

So, next time you have guests, skip the ghee laden Indian sweets and serve them a plate of warm appam muffins!

Love,

N & N and Srividya

Time: 25 mins
Makes: 16 mini or 8 normal sized muffins

Ingredients
1/2 cup jaggery (broken into small lumps)
1/2 cup rice flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons shredded coconut (fresh frozen is best but if not available, use dessicated coconut instead)
1 tablespoon coconut cream (can substitute with 1.5 teaspoons of coconut oil)
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup water
1/2 a mashed banana

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 F (180 C).
2. In a pan heat the water and add the jaggery. Stir the mixture on a medium flame until the jaggery has dissolved. Let the mixture cool and if there are any impurities in the jaggery, strain it through asieve.
3. Add the coconut cream to the jaggery mixture. 
4. in a separate bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together. Then add the dry ingredients into the jaggery mix.
5. Grease a muffin pan with a little coconut oil.
6. Pour the batter into muffin cups (up to half the volume of the cup) and bake for approximately 12 minutes.

Best enjoyed while they’re still warm!

Beetroot Stew

Sambhar is a South Indian staple - a savoury stew made with tamarind, lentils, veggies and spiced with a special blend called Sambhar powder. It is hearty, wholesome and full of flavour and is a regular feature on our Sunday Lunch menu. Blood red beets in this version of the dish make it a feast for the eyes as well as the stomach.

Traditional Sambhars are made with juicy shallots or a mixture of diced potato, radish and pumpkin. But it's such a versatile dish that you can throw in any vegetable you like! We've tried it with Brussells sprouts,  red peppers , butternut squash, mangetout and carrots. You can savour this warming comforting stew by the bowlful or ladle over nutty quinoa or brown rice to soak up all the juices. 

Sambhar powder is a mix of several spices including ground cumin, coriander, fenugreek, red chilli and tumeric. The exact recipe differs in different parts of South India and its often passed down in families by word of mouth! We use our Grandmother’s recipe to make ours but you can usually find pre-packaged Sambhar powder in Asian Stores. 

Sambhar is usually an earthy golden colour with the lentils and turmeric but this beetroot infused variation is a striking contrast. We're not quite sure who invented it, but we do know that it's a firm family favourite.  Trying to think of a parallel in western cuisine, the only one we could come up with is Borscht, the traditional Eastern European Beetroot soup! 

This beetroot sambhar is one of those recipes that we've not really had to alter to make healthy, because it already is! It's high in protein from the lentils and is packed with iron, calcium and vitamins A & C from the beetroot.  

To make it super quick, we've used vacuum packed beets that you can get in most supermarkets like Sainsbury’s or Tesco. Make sure you add in all the extra beet juice in the pack too to deepen and enrich the colour. 

Cooking with beets can be a little messy. But just go with it, embrace the artistic pink tinge it gives your skin and enjoy the stunning results of your cooking endeavours! 

N & N

Time: (1 hour for lentils + 30 mins for everything else)
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
1/2 cup yellow lentils (Toor Dal also known as Pigeon Peas)
3 cups water (for tamarind) + 1 & 1/4 cup (for lentils)
3 beetroots (preferably raw beets. If using cooked/ packaged beets add them at the end)
1 tbsp oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp asafoetida (you can find this in an Indian/ Sri Lankan store)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sambhar powder (you can find this in an Indian/ Sri Lankan store)
6 curry leaves (you can find this in an Indian/ Sri Lankan store)
1/4 cup tamarind pulp (fresh tamarind or puree)
5 cups water 

Method:

1. Cook the lentils and turmeric with 1 & 1/4 cup water in a pressure cooker or in a saucepan until soft. This should take around 1 hour in a pan or 30 mins in a pressure cooker.

2. Boil 3 cups water and add to the tamarind pulp. Leave to soak for 5 mins. Get your hands in and break up the pulp in the water.

3. If using raw beetroot, slice it into medium thick slices and then into half moons. If using cooked beets, slice them up the same way, skip step 5 and add at step 7.

4. Heat the oil in a small saucepan and add in the mustard seeds. When they start to splutter, add in the curry leaves and asafoetida.

5. Toss in the beets and sauté on a high heat for a few mins. If using cooked beets, skip this step.

6. Over a sieve, strain the tamarind mixture into your saucepan, squeezing the pulp to get all of the juices and flavour out.

7. Add the sambhar powder to the pot and mix. Let it bubble away for 10 mins with the lid on to let the flavours infuse and intensify. (If using cooked beets, add at this stage - we want to warm them up, but not overcook them so that they disintegrate.)

8. When the lentils are cooked, mash them with a fork and then pour into the beet and tamarind mixture. Stir and leave on a low heat for 5 mins.

9. Add salt to taste and you're done!

This Sambhar tastes just delicious warmed up the next day. 

Ginger, Lime, Mint Cooler

In South India we love a good 'Cool drink.' Usually when we're out and about this would be a Limca, a Thums Up or Maaza. Very refreshing in the middle of a roasting shopping trip but oh so sugary! When we're at home, we love making this naturally sweetened lime, mint and ginger cooler to sip on those balmy summer evenings. 

This refreshing drink has sweet notes from agave nectar, fiery heat from ginger and cooling freshness from lime and mint leaves. 

Ginger's a super appetiser so this one's a perfect drink to serve up before a dinner party or a Sunday South Indian Lunch.

We like our flavours strong, so we leave the ginger and mint to soak in the water jug over night to really extract out the full flavour.

Best served chilled in glass jam jars with lots of fresh mint and coloured straws.

N & N

Serves: 4

Time: 15 mins (+overnight if you want extra flavour!)

Ingredients:

• 6 cups water
• 5 inch piece ginger grated
• 3 handfuls mint leaves (+extra for garnish)
• 2 limes 
• 2 tbsps agave nectar/ maple syrup (+more to taste)

Method:

1. Measure out the water into a jug
2. Crush the mint leaves and add to the water
3. Peel and grate in the ginger, making sure you really squeeze  all the juice out. If you have a juicer obviously use it!
4. Add in the juice of the limes and the agave nectar
5. Stir well and add more sweetening if you feel like it! 
6. Pop in the fridge overnight to let the flavours marry and to chill it down.
7. Before serving, pass through a strainer. Pour into cups and garnish with fresh mint leaves.

Dry Fruit Laddoos

Raw energy balls and bars are all the rage in health conscious London- there are Bounce Balls, Nakd Bars, Primal Pantry Paleo Bars, Trek bars, Cliff bars... the list goes on. 

And the funny thing is, they existed in South Indian cuisine long before it took off here. How you ask? In the form of the dry fruit Laddoo! This is the lesser known cousin of the popular, iconic fried, yellow doughball, the Laddoo -  the sweet treat that greets you at every visit to the temple or a relative's house in India! 

The dry fruit Laddoo on the other hand, has been a well kept secret (maybe because its healthy!).  We want to bring it into the limelight! This Laddoo has got more texture, flavour and absolutely no oil!

Full of crunchy coconut, naturally sweet dates and raisins,  buttery almonds, and festive cardamom, these little balls are truly a taste sensation. We love to roll ours in some desiccated coconut for added nuttiness and crunch. 

As well as a healthier alternative to the traditional sweet treat, these Laddoos are an ideal grab and go snack for when you're on the run, before a workout or to satisfy those mid- afternoon hunger pangs. 

Get creative with your choice of ingredients- sub almonds for walnuts or cashews, mix up the raisins for cranberries or even roll the balls in some cacao nibs!

Whip up a box for a festival, dinner party dessert or your daily energy boost.

Happy snacking,

N & N 

Time: 20 mins
Makes: 16 balls

Ingredients:
20 dates
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup almonds
1/4 cup desiccated coconut
5 cardamom pods 

Method:

1. Toast the almonds in the microwave for 40 seconds. Blitz in a blender until a fine powder (or alternatively use ground almonds!) and transfer to a bowl.
2. Puree the dates and raisins until they're smooth. You'll need to scrape down the sides often as the dates will stick to the blades!
3. Add the ground almonds to the blended dates and raisins,toss in the coconut and blitz until well combined.
4. Break open the cardamom pods and finely powder the seeds using a pestle and mortar (or stone and cutting board) or alternatively use ground cardamom. Add the powder to the mixture and mix well.
5. Shape the mixture into ping pong ball sized spheres and roll in desiccated coconut. You can also use toasted coconut for extra nuttiness. 
6. The mixture is quite sticky (which is how it should be to stick to the coconut) but it will mean you'll get some mixture stuck to your hands as you roll them into balls. Fear not, it's all good stuff for you to lick off :P

Store in the fridge for a few hours to firm up and munch away.

Savoury Spiced Trail Mix

You've all probably heard of Bombay Mix but have you tasted Chennai Mix? We guess not, because we only invented it last weekend!

Savoury snacks are an essential part of any South Indian afternoon, to serve alongside some piping hot, frothy filter coffee or spicy tea. These usually take the form of moreish (fried) onion pakodas, crunchy (fried) lentil crackers or (fried) dough balls (cheedai for the South Indians in the audience).  See a common theme emerging? Yep you guessed it - frying. 

We're so done with the oil and grease and love the crisp and healthy feeling of this Chennai mix. We've taken some crunchy puffed good-for-you buckwheat, added in some toasted golden nuts and juicy raisins and cranberries and packed it with South Indian spices. Minimum oil, maximum crunch and flavour.

Feel free to experiment with your own combination of nuts and dried fruits. We love the sweetness the raisins add and the pop of colour from ruby cranberries. 

So if you're looking for a pre-dinner party nibble, an afternoon snack or something to munch on while watching a nail-biting cricket match, this one's for you.

We like to make a big batch on Sunday and devour throughout the week.

Happy healthy snacking! 

N&N

Take a look as well at our Tangy, Spinach, Protein crackers for another dinner party canapé idea.

Time: 20mins

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup almonds
• 1/2 cup cashews 
• 1/2 cup walnuts 
• 1/2 cup raisins 
• 1/4 cup cranberries 
• 3 cups puffed buckwheat
• 2 tsps cumin powder
• 1/4 tsp asafoetida 
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp chilli powder (add more if you can handle it!)
• Salt to taste 
• 2 tbsps sunflower oil

Method:

1. Toast the buckwheat in a low oven for 5-10mins. It should be crispy but not coloured or browned.
2. Toasted the nuts by spreading them out in the microwave and heating for 50 seconds. Watch out as they can burn easily!
3. Heat the oil in a large wok. When warm, remove from the heat, add the spices, let sizzle and mix well.
4. Toss in the toasted nuts and dried fruit. Mix well until the spices are well and truly dispersed.

Sample and adjust the spicing as you wish!