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.

Healthy Tortilla Wrap with Tofu & Stir Fried Veg

I made this wrap to cut the boredom of regular menu @ home and it turned out to be nice.

Ingredients:

3 Tortilla Wraps or 3 Rotis
Zucchini - 1 (deseeded & Chopped into cubes)
Bell Peppers (Red and Yellow) - 1 each (chopped into cubes)
Onion - 1 small (Chopped roughly)
Baby Corn - 5 (chopped)
Szechuan Sauce: 2 tsp
Sesame/Olive Oil - 3 tsp
Salt - to taste
Garlic - to taste
Green Chili - To Taste
Tofu - 150 gms - Cut into 1"square and pan fried lightly

Procedure:

In a wok pour the oil and saute garlic, green Chili and Onion for couple of mins. Add all vegetables and salt. Cover to cook till half done. Add Szechuan Sauce and mix it up nicely.
Now spread this mixture on a tortilla wrap and add a layer of pan fried tofu. Roll it up and Serve.

Lentil & Tomato Soup with Sweet Thai Basil

This is a thin soup and has high nutritional and health value.

This would serve 2

Ingredients:

Red Lentil (Masoor) - 50 gms
Tomato - 1 Big (washed and cut)
Ginger - 1/2" (juliennes)
black Pepper - few pods
Salt - to taste
Lemon Juice - 1 tsp for each serving
Fresh Sweet Thai Basil leaves - few sprigs Alternative: Regular Basil fresh or Dry
Water - 3 cups

Wash Red Lentil thoroughly. Put it in a pressure pan/cooker along with ginger, black pepper, tomato and salt. Give it 3 whistles and take it off the flame. Sieve it through and pour it in a pan. You can pick out the pepper and add to the soup later if you like. Bring it to a boil and add roughly shredded Sweet Thai Basil. Let it simmer for few more mins. Add Lemon Juice and serve hot.

Greens & Apple Salad with Honey-Mustard Dressing

I have this close friend of mine who has asked me for a Soup or Salad recipe which she would love to eat on a balmy rainy night!! Here you go Ash. This is one my fav and I hope you'll love it too. Easy to make. I will write Soup Recipe separately for you.

Ingredients:
Green or Golden Apple - 1 cored and diced Alternate - Red Apple
Cucumber - De seeded and Diced- 1
Shredded Lettuce - as much as you want :) Alternate - Finely Shredded Cabbage
Bell Pepper - 1 Optional

Dressing:

Lemon Juice - 1 lemon
Olive Oil - 2 tsp
White Pepper powder - to taste
Honey - 1 tsp
Crushed Mustard - 1 tsp
Choice of Herb (just 1) - Parsley/Oregano/Marjoram/Cilantro

Tip Shredded Lettuce/Cabbage, Apple and Cucumber in a Salad Bowl. Mix all ingredients of the "dressing" in a separate bowl and mix it nicely. Pour it over the salad and give it a decent toss. Eat as is or serve Chilled.

Theekhi Khatti Arbi

I discovered to be innovative with Arbi. I made pakoras out of it as well as some curry. This time i wanted to put minimum efforts and still create something that we can eat as a side-dish or snack on it. My tasters loved it :) Let me know what do you think?

Arbhi 250gms (Boiled/Peeled and Cut into bite size)
Ginger Garlic Paste 2 tsp
Green chili paste 3-4 tbsp
Amchur/Mango Powder 2 tsp
Ajwain/Oregano seeds 2 tsp
Turmeric 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil - little to saute

Heat Oil in a skillet. Add Ajwain seeds and wait till they turn brown. Add Ginger Garlic and green chili paste. saute for just few seconds and add turmeric. Add Arbi and coat nicely. add salt, mix it up and leave it uncovered to cook on high flame. Toss frequently till they become crispy and brown. Add Amchur, give it a nice mix. Serve Hot with Chili or Ginger Julienne garnish.

Mixed Fruit Panacotta with reduced mango sauce

Panacotta is an italian dessert which literally means "cooked cream". I have made my own version of it. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

For Panacotta:
200 ml Cream
1 leaf of unflavored Gelatin soaked in little water
Sugar To Taste

Pour Cream in a skillet and add cream sugar to it. Heat it up till it is about to boil. Do not boil. Take it off flame. Add Gelatin to it and keep stirring till dissolved. Pour it in Glass Bowls or a Dessert Glasses. Put them in refrigerator for 6 hours to set.

Mixed Fruit cocktails:

Choice of fruits
Cinnamon powder - about a pinch for each serving.

Mango Sauce:
cut 1 fresh Mango and pass through sieve. Add 2 tbsp orange juice and mix it well.

Final arrangement:

Take out Panacotta servings and tip few spoons of fruit cocktail in it. Pour some mango sauce and sprinkle cinnamon powder. Serve chilled.

Garden Pasta with Tomato & Cream Cheese Sauce

Created this pasta recipe today. Sharing it with you. Try it out and let me know if you liked it too.

Pasta:

Pasta (Shells/Twisted) - 2 Cups
Salt - To Taste
Olive Oil - Per Choice

For Sauce:

Tomatoes - 3 (Roasted and Peeled)
Garlic - 7 pods
Cream Cheese - 1 Cube
Olive Oil - 2 tbsp

For Vegetables:

Zucchini - Green and Yellow - 3" each
Carrots - 1 medium
Baby Beans - few
Baby Corn - 3 Pods
Capsicum - 1/2 of medium
Bell Peppers Red and Yellow - 1 each
Black Pepper (freshly crushed) - To taste
Mixed Herbs or Fresh Basil & Thyme. You can used the dried version too

Baking: Cheddar Cheese and Chilli flakes
____________________________________________________________________________________
Prepare Vegetables: Cut all vegetables. Heat a little olive oil and add all vegetables. Sprinkle some salt, black pepper and herbs. Cook till half done.

Prepare Sauce: Roughly chop roasted and peeled tomatoes. Heat little olive oil and add crushed garlic. Saute just for a min and add tomatoes. cook till almost done. Add Cream Cheese & little salt. Give it a good mix on reduced heat. Take it of the flame once you have a smooth sauce.

Prepare Pasta: as per instructions on the pack. After cooling pasta under running water toss a little olive oil so that they don't stick together.

Now, Mix all three together and put them in a baking tray. Add a thick layer of Cheddar Cheese. Sprinkle few chili flakes if you prefer. Bake it at 150C for 15 mins.

NB: If you don't want to bake it, you can enjoy it just like that. Just cook the vegetables a bit more.

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

For those who wanted this recipe :)
This is a new version which is loaded with calories but does wonders to your taste buds.

Potatoes (mashed) - 2 cups
Butter(room temperature) - 20 gms
Salt - to taste
Milk - 10 - 20 ml
Marjoram or Parsley - few sprigs
Pepper (White/Black) - to taste

Take mashed potatoes in a big bowl and put butter into it. Mix it with a masher. Add milk and keep mixing it till smooth. Add Salt, Pepper and chosen herb and give it a nice mix. Better the mix, creamy the texture. Enjoy!!

Rush Hour Kadi

As I am always on the lok out for"Rush Hour" recipes, here is another one in the collection. This recipe comes from my mother in law. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Ingredients

2 cups curd well blended
4 cups water
4 tbsp Besan
Salt to taste
1 green chilli (optional)
1 tsp Methi Powder or Methi seeds
1 tsp Dry Coriander Powder
1 tsp Ginger Garlic paste
1 cup Khara Boondi or masala Boondi (you can try Haldiram Boondi)

Tadka:
Oil
Mustard seeds
Red Chilli powder to taste

Method

1.In a bowl put all ingredients except Boondi. Blend well with a churner.
2.Heat a heavy bottom pan and pour the churned mixture into it. let it boil. stir occasionally. Once boiled, simmer it for 10 mins.
3.In a serving dish pour the Kadi
4.Prepare Tadka by heating oil and spluttering mustard seeds. Add Red Chilli Powder and add it to Kadi.
5.Sprinkle boondi just before serving.

Hare Matar Makai ke Kebab (Peas and Corn Croquet)

I tried this variation today morning and it came out really well. Here it goes:

Ingredients

1 cup shelled Peas (fresh or frozen - nicely thawed)
1 cup American corn
1/2 onion chopped coarsely
1 inch ginger
3-4 garlic cloves
1 cube of processed cheese - grated (optional)
2 small size or 1 medium size potato (boiled, peeled and grated)
2 tbsp rice flour or corn flour or gram flour
2-4 dash of Tabasco original or 1 tsp lemon juice
2 Green chilies or 2 tsp of Red chili powder
Salt to taste

Method

Put peas, American corn, onion, green chilies, ginger, garlic and salt into a mixer and coarsely grind it. Remove it in a bowl. Add Cheese, potatoes, tabasco/lemon juice and rice flour to it. Mash it all nicely to get an even and thick paste.

Make medium size balls then flatten slightly between your palms. You can give this kebab any shape. I recommend round and flatten shape because kebab paste is fragile and this shape is easy to manage. Put it in freezer for 10-15 mins before frying.

Heat oil and fry the kebabs till golden brown. Serve with any sauce or dip.

Variations for getting crusty kebabs

- Dip the kebabs in beaten egg white and then roll it on sooji before frying.
- Dip the kebabs in beaten egg white and then roll it on coarsely ground cornflakes before frying.
- Dip the kebabs in corn flour/water mixture (1 cup water and 2 tsp corn flour) and then roll it on breadcrumbs before frying.

I hope you enjoy this recipe. Leave your comments :)

Masala Baigan (eggplant)

I have a colleague who prepares and bring amazing food for lunch. Literally, we all want her to adopt us during lunch hour :) Yesterday she bought Masala Baigan which was superliciously tasty. I wanted to put this recipe up on my blog. I am trying this today for dinner. I hope it turns out as tasty as Miss S makes it.

Ingredients

4 round purple Baigan (Cut them diagonally, do not cut through to separate them)
2 big onions - very finely chopped
6 -8 Curry leaves
2-3 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
2 tsp Tamarind Pulp or Amchur - 1.5 tsp
1 tsp Turmeric
2-3 tsp chili powder
2 tsp Dhania Powder
1 tsp Zeera Powder
1 tsp Methi Powder
1 tsp Sugar
1 tsp coconut Powder
1-2 tsp Peanut Powder
1 tsp Sesame Powder
Oil
Salt to Taste

Method

Heat oil, fry onions till nicely brown. Add ginger garlic paste and curry leaves, haldi and baingan. Mix it well and cover with lid. Cook till baigan is half cooked. Put chili powder and tamarind pulp with little water. Mix it well. Lid it till Baigan is 3/4 cooked. Add salt, dhania powder, zeera powder, methi powder, sugar, coconut powder,peanut powder and sesame powder. Mix well and cook until done.

If you want more Gravy then you may would like to add a little water while adding tamarind pulp to the dish.

Top Ten things I miss of Mom’s cooking

Stuffed Karela (Bitter Gourd)
Aloo Gobi
Kadhi
Makka ki Roti
Sarson Palak Saag
Masala Baigan
Bhindi
Stuffed Tinda
Ghoogri (Spiced peas)
Stuffed Capsicum

Much more….. like

Long chit chats over the food preparation
Being Mom’s taster
Mom asks what to cook for today and everyone saying “anything Mom!!!”
Being served hot meals ….Yummy
Samosa time with Mom

Sabudana Croquet

Ingredients

Sabudana 1 cup(soaked overnight)
Boiled potatoes 2 medium size (Grated)
Cornflour 2 tbsp
Red Chili powder 2 tsp (or to taste)
Mild Tabasco Sauce 2 tsp or alternatively you can use juice of 1 lemon
Salt to taste
Oil to deep fry

Procedure

Mix all ingredients and mash them nicely.
Make croquet (round, flat or oblong)and deep fry them.
Drain the oil on a kitchen towel
Serve with a yogurt dip or any sauce.

Rush Hour Palak Paneer

Ingredients

Palak (Spinach) - 1 kg (Chopped, blanched)
Paneer – 100 gms (cut into cubes, you can fry it slightly if you want)
Onion – 1
Garlic – 6- 8 cloves
Ginger – 1 inch (peeled)
Zeera – ½ tsp
Turmeric – ½ tsp
Garam Masala* - ½ tsp (recipe given below)
Green Chilies – 2 (or to tatse)
Curd – ¼ Cup (beaten)
Butter – 2 tsp (optional)
Oil – just enough to give baghar
Salt to taste

Procedure

1.Blend Palak, Onion, Green Chilli, ginger and garlic to a puree. Add little water if required.
2.Heat oil. Add Zeera. When it turns brown, add turmeric and sauté it for half a min. Add the Palak puree to it and stir continuously till it comes to a boil.
3.Add beaten curd to the Palak and stir continuously till it comes to a boil. Add salt.
4.Simmer it for 5 mins. Add Paneer to the curry and simmer for next 5 mins.
5.Pour it in a serving bowl. Sprinkle garam masala. Add butter on top and serve immediately .

Garam Masala

4 cloves
8 Black Pepper
1 Black cardamom
1 Green Cardamom
1 pinch nutmeg

Toast it on a girdle (Tava) for 2 mins and grind it to a fine powder