Zucchini Tomato Au Gratin

I have modified Classic Au Gratin Recipe a bit to make this One Dish Meal. Its a layered casserole dish which can be eaten as light lunch or as an accompaniment.

Ingredients:

Firm Green Zucchini 1 medium size
Firm, Ripe Tomato 1 large
Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2 tbsp
Salt 2 tsp
Potato 2 (boiled and mashed)
Cheddar Cheese 1 cup (grated)
White Sauce 80 ml
Garlic 3 cloves (crushed)
Parsley 2 tbsp fresh or 1 tbsp dried

Method:

1. Thinly slice Zucchini and Tomato. Line them on a wide dish. Sprinkle salt and let them stand for 20-30 minutes. This will drain any excess water.

2. Heat Olive Oil in a pan. Place slices of Zucchini and cook them for a min on medium fire. Flip them and cook. You may have to do this in batches.

3. Add salt to mashed potatoes and mix well..

3. In an oven proof dish of 5"x5" line Zucchini slices at the bottom. Put a layer of Tomato on top of it. Pour white sauce over it. Sprinkle some cheese and parsley. Layer again with Zucchini, then Tomato. Sprinkle cheese and parsley. Finish it with final layering of Potato mash.

4. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 C for 30 mins. Top layer will turn golden brown. Take it out and let it sit for 15 mins before serving.

Raspberry and Chocolate Chips Crumble

Ingredients

For Filling
Raspberry 250 grams
Castor Sugar 1 tbsp
Chocolate Chips 50 grams

For Crumble
Self Raising Flour 140 grams
White or Brown Sugar 70 grams
Unsalted Butter or Margarine 70 grams (cubed and at room temperature)
Almond Slivers 1 tbsp

Method

1. Take an oven proof dish of 5"x5" size. Layer it with Raspberries. Sprinkle Chocolate Chips and Castor Sugar on top of it.

2. Take a large shallow bowl and put all ingredients of crumble in it. You can use fork to mix it, I prefer using fingertips to mix all till it resembles a fine crumb.

3. Now spread a layer of crumble on top of the raspberries. Half inch thick layer should be good. Bake it for 40 mins in a pre-heated oven (180 C).

4. Serve it as it is or with Ice Cream. You can also use it with vanilla custard or as a base for trifle pudding(variation)

Kadhai Nuggets

Ingredients:

Soya Nuggets: 1 Cup
Yellow Bell Pepper 1/2 Chopped
Red Bell Pepper 1/2 Chopped
Green Bell Pepper 1/2 Chopped
Onion 1 Finely Chopped
Tomato 1 Finely Chopped
Onion 1 Cut into four pieces
Tomato 1 Cut into four pieces
Garlic 2 Finely Chopped
Ginger 1/2" Grated
Salt To Taste
Red Chili Powder 1 tsp or To Taste
Coriander Powder 1 tsp or To Taste
Turmeric 1/2 tsp
Green Chilies 1 chopped
Oil 1-2 tsp

Marinade for Soya Nuggets

Yogurt 2 tsp
Lemon Juice 1 tsp
Garlic 1 crushed
Ginger 1" crushed
Mustard/Sesame Oil 1 tsp
Salt 1/2 tsp

Method:

1. Put Soya Nuggets in hot water for 1/2 an hour soak. Squeeze them dry and put them in a bowl. Mix all ingredients of the marinade. Whisk till emulsified. Pour over the Soya Nuggets and mix well. Let it stand for 1 -2 hours. If weather is hot then refrigerate after 1 hour.

2. Put Soya Nuggets in a pressure cooker with enough water to cover Soya Nuggets. After 2 pressure whistles, take it off the fire. Post cool down, open and put it back on the slow fire. Dry the remaining water by stirring it continuously. Keep them aside.

3. In a Kadhai pour oil, add green chilies and Garlic. Saute for a minute, add finely chopped onions and grated ginger. Stir, when onion turn a bit brown add finely chopped tomato and fry for few more minutes or till tomatoes are tender. Add salt, red chili powder, coriander powder and turmeric. Give a nice stir.

4. Add Red, yellow and Green bell peppers, give it a good mix. Cook for a minute and add Onion and Tomato (cut into 4 pieces). Stir and cover for 3 mins. Give a stir again and add Soya Nuggets. Cover and cook for 5 minutes on slow fire. Check for bell peppers, once half cooked turn off the fire.

5. Eat it with Roti or use it as Crepe/Kathi roll filling.

Sweet Spicy Rice Paper Wrap

Ingredients

(Veg Filing)
6 Rice Papers
1/2 Cup Bell Peppers Julienne - Red & Yellow
1/2 Onion, cut lengthwise
1/2 Cup Carrot Julienne
1/2 Cup Zucchini Julienne
1 tsp Sesame Oil
Salt to taste
1 Cup water to moisten the Rice Paper

For Dressing

2 tsp Soy Sauce
1 tsp Honey
1 tsp Schezwan Sauce
2 tsp Rice Vinegar or regular vinegar
1 tsp Green Chill Sauce (optional)

Method

Heat Oil in a wok, add all vegetables to it. Stir fry for a min or two. Take it off the flame and empty the contents into a bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine all ingredients from Dressing section and whisk. Mix well. Pour it over the vegetables. Fold and Combine.

Pour water in a shallow plate, and place a rice paper sheet in it. Wait for a min. Pick up the rice paper and place it on a preparation surface. Spoon vegetable mixture on the rice paper and roll it carefully.

Enjoy it with Spring rolls Sauce or just like that

Cornbread with Caramelized Onions

To make a fabulous Cornbread remember few important things:

1. Sift the dry ingredients 2-3 times.

1. Never Over mix the batter,lumps are fine, just mix the dry portion stuck at the bottom of the bowl properly

Run a blunt knife along the cake tin soon after taking it out of the oven. Cornbread tends to shrink post "cool-off", it'll crack.

Happy Cooking CornBread :)

Ingredients:

3/4 Cup All Purpose Flour
3/4 Cup Yellow Cornmeal
1 Large Egg
1 1/4 Cup Buttermilk
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tbsp Sugar
1/4 Cup Butter (melted) or you may use Olive Oil/Vegetable Oil
Caramelized Onions - as per taste (ideally around 1-2 Yellow/Sweet Onions makes 1 Cup)

Method:
Take a bowl to mix Cornmeal, All Purpose Flour, baking soda, baking powder and sugar. Sift, Sift and Sift again. In another bowl, add Egg, Butter and Buttermilk. Mix well.

Pour the Egg, Butter and Buttermilk mixture into the sifted ingredients. Mix with a wooden spoon. Remember not to over mix. Some lumps are Ok.

Fold in the caramelized onions into the mixture.

Grease and dust the Cake tin. Pour in the mixture and bake in a Preheated Oven to 190 C or 375 F for 30 mins. It should have a nice brown color to it. You can do a toothpick test.

Run a blunt knife along the inside edge of Cake tin to loosen up the Cornbread. Let it wait to 5-10 mins, flip it out and let it cool on wire rack.

Enjoy :) Any comments and suggestions would be appreciated.

Lemon Coriander Soup

This is on request from Sudha :). Sudha, I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did few days back. Its simple and yet so full of health and comfort.

Ingredients:

For Stock:
Coriander Stalk and Leaves - 1/2 cup
few stalks of Lemon Grass
4 cups water

For Soup Vegetables:
Butter - to Saute
Carrots - Sliced in roundels - wafer thin or as thin as possible
Mushroom - sliced thinly
Beans: Sliced Thinly
Broccoli - Sliced
Scallions (spring Onions) - White & Green Portion chopped - 1/2 cup

For Soup Seasoning:
Salt - To Taste
Chili Flakes - 1 tsp
Lemon Juice - 1 tsp for each serving

Procedure: For Stock - boil all ingredients together till the stock is reduced to 3/4cups. Strain and store. Heat a teaspoon of butter in a skillet and add vegetables to it. Saute for a min or so. Add Stock and let it come to a boil. Simmer for 10 mins. Add salt and chili flakes and let it simmer for 1 more min.

Serve in soup bowls with lemon juice and chopped coriander leaves.

Aromatic Potatoes

I made this dish out of sheer love for Nutmeg!!! I love this spice. It uplifts my mood and gives flavor & aroma to food. Try and I can guarantee that you'll fall in love with this simple yet tasteful recipe. Of course you have to have love for potatoes too :)

Ingredients

Baby Potatoes 500gms (par boiled and peeled)or Regular Potatoes.
Cumin (Zeera) - 1 tsp
Green Chillies - 3 chopped finely (you can adjust this to taste)
Garlic - 5 chopped finely (again adjust to taste)
Turmeric - 1 tsp
Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup shredded
Nutmeg - 3 tsp grated
Salt - to taste
Cooking Oil - 2 tsp
Lemon - 2 tsp

Procedure

Heat Oil in a wok. Add Zeera and fry till it browns lightly.
Add Garlic and Green Chilies. Fry for a min. Add turmeric, saute for few seconds. Add Potatoes. If you are using regular ones then pls cut them into medium size.
Toss them nicely so that they are well coated with the mixture. Add salt, give a toss. Let potatoes cook for 20 mins on slow flame. Keep tossing every 5-10 mins. Add nutmeg powder and let it cook for another 5 mins. Add coriander leaves and lemon juice. Toss nicely and switch off the flame. Serve with light sprinkle of grated nutmeg.