If you thought sushi art was difficult!

My 8 year old went to a Japanese restaurant and instantly fell in love with the food. I couldn't quite appreciate the taste at once though, but now we love it and its a weekly dish for us. The popularity of the food is definitely growing as you can find fusion dishes, you can find sushi rolls with Arabic and Lebanese flavors like falafel, zatar etc.

Since its now a frequent food for us, eventually I tried it at home. Today I will share the recipe for most popular sushi rolls.Though, some of the other popular vegetarian Japanese dishes are Edamame ( the green sweet pea pod), Maki rolls ( Nori sheets or seaweed sheets rolled with  rice and flavoring ), tofu katsu curry ( tofu made in a curry- the sauce is very typical and is called katsu- served with rice), firecracker rice ( its kind of fried rice- Japanese rice with vegetables and a 7 spice flavor called shichimi togarashi) and Yakisoba ( Japanese noodles with vegetables). Japanese usually have very small servings and you would see the same at restaurants. 


Collect all the ingredients , make the rice and you are ready to roll. Japanese rice is cooked like any other rice but takes a bit longer as has to be washed several times. Wash the rice until the water runs clear. Soak the rice for 30 min in cold water. Usually you would need 3 parts water to 2 parts rice. Bring it to boil first and then cover and cook for about 10-12 min or until tender. 

For Sushi rolls, cooked rice is then flavored with rice wine vinegar and salt and sugar. So in 1 cup rice- around 2 tbs vinegar, 2 tbs sugar and 1 tsp salt. Adjust to taste. Let the rice cool down in a wooden bowl before you can start rolling. Wooden works best as it absorbs any extra moisture from rice.

Now, take the Nori sheets and spread rice evenly. Spread some wasabi sauce(its kind of harsh Japanese hot sauce)if you like to make it hot. Put the slit vegetables length wise on one side and roll the sheets using a bamboo sheet. Cut horizontally into desired thickness- about 2 cm. Sprinkle shichimi togarashi and some black and white sesame seeds. Serve cold or at room temperature with Gari(pickled ginger), wasabi sauce and soy sauce. It can also be stored in refrigerator for couple of days if kept away immediately and wrapped in freezer wrap tightly. 

Ingredients required

• Bamboo sheet for rolling the maki rolls- you just need to get them once
• Cucumber/avacado/bell pepper/carrot- your choice of vegetables, thinly sliced length wise in 3-4 inches.
• 1/4  cup Rice- Rice almost doubles after cooking
• Nori sheets- One Nori sheet will use about 1/4 cup uncooked rice and will make about 7-8 rolls.
• Rice Vinegar- you can buy a small bottle and reuse later.
• Wasabi sauce- you can buy in dry powder form and store it. Mix water in amount required.
• Soy sauce
• Gari-pickled ginger- can be stored in refrigerator.

As you can see, once the rice is cooked, you can roll sushi rolls. You can also make fire cracker rice. Just toss with cooked mixed diced vegetables ( onion, carrot, bell pepper, mushrooms, any of your choice), add 1-2 tbsp soy sauce and use the flavoring shichimi togarashi. Pretty much how we do fried rice.

Try it out. I find it very interesting.

Deepawali is coming up next week, have you thought of making some sweets at home?

Many of us have traditional sweets that are always made during this festive season. What is yours? Mine is yellow lentil fudge( Moong dal halwa) and Coconut rolls( Nariyal Ladoo). 

Did you know that this festival is not just celebrated in India but many other countries like Singapore, Bangkok etc.This is one of our favorite festival. Meeting people, dressing up, cooking food, decorating diyas, making those rangoli patters - lightning up the house with candles,exchanging gifts etc. The whole festivities brings in a lot of happiness and warmth among-st families and friends. 

Yellow Lentil fudge( moong dal halwa) and Coconut rolls ( Nariyal ladoo).This year I have another addition- Dates seeds and nuts rolls. Actually our traditional dish is moong dal halwa but I added the coconut ladoo few years back as my daughter loves them and this year I have added the date nuts roll for a healthier option. While the halwa is a slow cooking process the other two are no cook recipes. I have got inspired by these no cook recipes by my friend. She is an amazing cook and also does the brittle( chiki) also very well. Hopefully will be adding that to my diwali sweets next year! 

Quick recipes . 

Date and nuts rolls

Time- 10 mins. 
Makes about 15 rolls. 
What you need- 5-6 Medjool dates
Sesame seeds- 2 tbs
Pistachios-15-20
Flax seeds- 2 tbs
Chia seeds- 2 tbs
Walnuts- 10

Remove the seeds of the dates and mash them with your hand in a deep bowl. These dates are very soft and can be mashed easily.These dates also have good amount of moisture in them and hence makes rolling possible. Coarse grind the seeds together and keep aside. In the same jar coarse grind the nuts and keep aside. Add half of nuts and seeds mix into the bowl and mix well. Again add half of the nuts and seeds into the bowl and mix. Basically we are adding it in parts so that we get the correct amount of consistency. Take a little into your hands and see if it binds well. Divide into 15 equal portions and roll between your hands. Any kind of nuts and seeds that you need can be mixed in this. Peanuts, almonds, cashew etc. It can last in fridge in an airtight box, doesn't spoil. Make sure that the bowl, jar and your hands are fully dry. Even a drop of water can spoil the rolls.These can be dusted with coconut powder/chocolate powder for richer look and taste. I prefer them plain thou. I keep them in my fridge and eat them for my sugar cravings. Of course it takes care of my daily nuts requirement as well. 

No cook coconut rolls

Again very easy. Mix 1 cup warm sugar syrup, 2 cup desiccated coconut powder and 1 tsp saffron powder together.Mix well and roll. Dust with coconut powder. Pl adjust the mixture consistency before rolling so the mixture easily binds together. Instead of sugar syrup. dates or jaggery syrup can be used as healthier options.

Yellow lentil fudge( Moong dal halwa) 

Moong Dal- 1 cup
Ghee-1 cup
Saffron- 1 tsp
Almonds- half cup
Sugar- 2 cup

For vegan-use any oil like sunflower or peanut or coconut. 

This is a dish which can be cooked at leisure. The trick is to cook on slow heat because it brings out the aroma best when cooked for 2-3 hours over very slow heat.

Soak 1 cup yellow moong lentil with skin overnight. One can use lentils without skin as well.Even powdered dal is readily available. But for best results always use the yellow lentil with skin . Of course washing this dal takes longer. Also soak half cup almonds overnight.  

After you have washed the dal nicely ( - ie all the skin  has been removed and you have only yellow dal), grind it in the mixer using minimum water. Avoid water if possible. Grind to a coarse paste. Empty it out. In the same jar- grind the almonds- little coarser than the dal. 

Now,take 1 cup ghee in  a heavy pan and make it hot. Take the pan out from the heat and add the dal paste. Put back on the heat( low heat this time)  and stir constantly so that the dal doesn't stick. Add the almonds as well. Once  the dal is nicely mixed and doesn't stick any more, ( this should have taken about half hour) let it cook on the low heat. Stir occasionally.When the dal has turned light golden brown and you can see the ghee separated from the dal- you will know its done. Should have taken about another hour.

While the dal is simmering- take about 2 cup sugar  and half a cup water and saffron  in a separate pan. (Soak 9-10 stands of  saffron   in warm milk for 5 min and break the strands using a mortar and pestle if you have one;else you can use any bowl and a spoon). Mix these three on heat so the sugar dissolves in the water. The saffron mix will give the sugar syrup a nice yellow color. We need a syrup of single thread consistency. ( To know if the sugar syrup is done- take a small amount in one finger and close with thumb and open. See if you get one thread. )

Once the dal is done- add this sugar syrup and mix well. 

The moong dal halwa is now ready. I know it takes time, but when you see your family and friends closing their eyes as they take the first spoon- you will know its a pay off. 

What to eat and drink after yoga

Hi Friends, here are a few drinks that you can use after a light to moderate exercise like  yoga or Pilates. This morning when I was returning from yoga, one of the ladies also in the session, started discussing about her post yoga routine. She usually has a cup of tea with digestive biscuits. To this I told her about a vegetable juices and also thought of writing it down. I have been away from writing for a very long period, hopefully I am back now for stay.From my experience, post a workout, even if its a Zumba, if I drink a vegetable juice, I can keep my hunger pangs away for couple of hours at least. Here are few drink you should also try. I usually drink this vegetable juice with soaked almonds, about 5-6, and one walnut. For next couple of hours , I am not hungry and exceptionally energetic to carry on with my day. I sometimes do have a cup of green tea after about 30 min of having this juice.

1. Cucumber, lemon juice
2. Cucumber lauki ( white gourd), amla (indian gooseberry) juice
3. Green apple ,cucumber spinach smoothie
4. Green apple parsley chia seeds smoothie
5. Coconut water, mint leaves and lime juice
6. Green apple, basil and chia seeds. 
7. Aloe Vera lime and mint.

Basically, we are combining any sour source , sweet and a flavoring. e.g lime, gooseberry, green applies are sour while cucumber and gourd is towards sweet flavor and mint, basil are flavor. 

So usually about 1 cucumber, 4-5 inch gourd and 1 gooseberry is good for a glass of juice. Of course, half a glass of water. For the green apple, 1 small green apple is good. Spinach- about 4-5 leaves. Chia seeds- 1 tbs. Lime- 1 tbs. Aloe vera again pulp of 3-4 inches . 

Try different drinks every day and see how you feel after a fortnight.