I have 3 reasons to blog today…
The weather is great here today, though a little humid , its been so long since it has rained in this part of the world, My part of world has brown coloured trees not the usual green , thats how dry it is… so , its been an oasis in the desert for us today with the showers yesterday and the drizzle today.
For most part of the year , Its my off over the weekends. So I dont venture into the kitchen, its invisible for me. However , when I saw my beloved in a sorry state , typing away on his laptop , juggling between 2 phones, weary after traveling too often, I melted as usual and went into the kitchen and wanted to make something fast and get over with it.
I am happy , cos I shed some weight that I have been struggling to , got down 2 sizes, more importantly , my BMI reduced 
YAY!!!! and went out and bought a new panini grill for ourselves
I had some Rajma coconut rice made from yesterday , grilled some sweet peppers, zucchini and eggplant ,
I made a tamarind marinade for the tofu , let it sit for a couple of hours and then grilled the tofu, wrapped everything into a tortilla and enjoyed it ! If you do not have the patience to spruce up the rice , just use plain rice or you can eliminate it altogether.
Ingredients:
For the Tamarind Marinade and grilling:
2 teaspoons of thick tamarind pulp
1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts
1 teaspoon of ginger
1 tablespoon of dark sesame oil
1 garlic clove , minced
1/4 teaspoon of cumin powder
1 teaspoon of soy sauce
2 shallots , chopped finely
1 tablespoon of honey
a few sprigs of fresh coriander
A few drops of hot sauce like sri racha or black pepper or paprika
Salt to taste
Take all this , except the oil in a food processor and blend into a pulp , then halfway through start pouring the oil and blend to a smooth paste.
Use extra firm tofu , for this , wrap it with paper towels, place it on a plate and place another skillet or a plate which is at least one pound in weight for 20 minutes, so that the water comes out and it becomes dry.
Dice the tofu , and slather it with this marinade , cover and keep atleast for 1/2 hour.
Place the tofu pieces on the grill and grill until the grill marks appear on the chunks and keep aside, It takes about 4 -5 minutes ,we need to flip them onto the other side after 2 minutes
For the Rajma Coconut Rice:
I cooked rice seperately , heated ghee in a skillet , add a can of kidney beans for 2 cups of rice and then added 1/4 cup of coconut , salt and immediately added it to the rice and garnished it with coriander . Trust me m, it was amazing !!
Coconut Rajma Rice , simple yet outstanding!
For the vegetables:
slice the vegetables of your choice using a mandoline , add oil,paprika and salt and grill them until grill marks appear on the veggies
For assembling the wrap , here is a diagramatic representation for people like me , who dont have the patience to wrap it properly,
Finally I was so fascinated by the grill marks , I decided to grill my wrap . It was fantastic.
Tamarind Tofu and Veggie Wraps , delightful!
I served it with Bissap , a traditional african , hibiscus and mint sweetened tea taken from The soul of a new cuisine .
Edible Hibiscus Flowers
Ingredients :
1/4 cup of edible hibiscus flowers , about 6-8
1 vanilla bean split , use the seeds
2 tablespoons honey
2 cups of water
2 mint leaves crushed
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
Take all the ingredients, except the flowere in a saucepan and bring to a boil , Add the flowers and let it seep for atleast 10 minutes .cool and serve chill ! Alternatively , you can make a granita out of it .
Bissap, Traditional African Hibiscus and Mint tea
The wrap goes to Archana’s One dish meals , Sangeeth’s Eat Healthy – Protien Rich Meals
The Bissap goes to my event , Herb Mania- Mint which ends on 15th July and Jihva for Ingredients – Flower Power hosted by Rachna .
July 14th, 2008 at 4:57 am
Congratulations Dee, for loosing the weight. That alone is worth a celebration. You will be my hero when I make way into the gymn and try to shed some pounds.
All these dishes are new to me and the pictures look stunning and professional.
July 14th, 2008 at 5:40 am
I am glad to see I am not alone either in real or in virtual world – Women want to chisel themselves:) Congrats, Dee! The pics look great, and so does the tea:)
July 14th, 2008 at 6:24 am
It’s an exotic feast Dee. First congratulations on dropping 2 dress size, it’s a big deal dear. Actually I haved added a couple of pounds and I’m desperate to lose it back again.
Another surprising thing, I also prepared iced mint tea yesterday and have posted it today for the event.
I guess you have started using the ego lights! Wonderful pictures.
July 14th, 2008 at 9:35 am
everytin looks delicious,..enjoyed readin ur post too,..lovely pics,..specially ice tea one
July 14th, 2008 at 10:45 am
everything here looks absolutely fantastic dee! I love tamarind dressing myself, use it loads of times:) btw, those wraps look healthy gal, so how about sending them to my healthy cooking event too?:) unless you plan to make something else for me:)D
July 14th, 2008 at 10:46 am
and this is a special comment! congrats on losing inches Dee!! this deserves a special applause, as I so know how ecstatic you feel!!!:)
July 14th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
Dear manas, I have something else for you
coming up soon!!!! yes I feel ecstatic more about the BMI loss than the dress size , I have been struggling for a while , cos after losing for a while , there was a lull , worked pretty hard the past 2 months 
home to lose some more in the coming months 
July 14th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
@ Madhu , yes this is a product of the lights , thanks for the entry pal and yes I worked very hard for the dropping, hope to do some more of it though
@Thanks RC, its been a lot of hardwork , but paid off, I had to give up rice though
, yesterday was the first time in weeks that I ate rice, difficult while your spouse is enjoying it while you are eating wheat berriers or some other whole grain 
Shame on K, he has not yet reached his goal 
, and I’m a gemini not a cancerian 
July 14th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
where can one buy hibiscus?
July 14th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
I bought in Trader Joe’s Bee, heard they sell it it west indian or african stores or tea shops , sometimes as jamaican flower
July 14th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Those pics are so wonderful and all the cooking you did when u weren’t in a cooking mood………u must be cooking a storm when u wud be on it….once again, loved those pics
July 14th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
lovely lovely pics!! i am so glad u left a comment on my space and made me come over here
glad i did!
July 15th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
What a lovely spread, Dee. I have got to try that rajma-coconut rice soon!