Pineapple Cranberry Punch

 Long long time ago, I used to volunteer at a library and for Christmas they had a party for all the volunteers. At that party was served a Punch. And that was the most amazing drink I ever had. It was awesome.

The punch I made today is kid friendly...no Alcohol :( but it is great.

Pineapple Cranberry Punch

Pineapple Cranberry Punch

Ingredients:

1. 12 oz pineapple juice
2. 12 oz Cranberry juice or Cranberry cocktail with whatever other flavors you like
3. Sprite
4. Cranberries and/or pineapple pieces

Chill all the drinks until ready to serve. 

mix all the drinks except sprite in a punch bowl. Add ice to glasses and before serving add sprite. Garnish with pineapple pieces and/cranberries. Enjoy

Chicken Kale Wraps

 I had such great plans for this year. It was such a good number 20 20. But it turned out to be such a bad year for so many thousands and thousands to people. But finally it is coming to an end...but I do not have any great hopes for the following year. Anyway...I will stop.

This is one of the recipes you can make with left over chicken.

Chicken Kale Wraps (Chicken and Kale salad wrapped in a Tortilla)

Chicken Kale Wraps

Ingredients:

1. 4 burrito size tortillas of you choice of flavor. I got spinach.
2.  2-3 cups of Rotisserie chicken shredded.
3. 2 cups loosely packed shredded chopped
4. 4 oz each of cream cheese, 3-4 oz sour cheese
5. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, pepper
6. 1 tablespoon hot sauce
7. 2 tablespoons finely chopped onions
8. 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
9. 1 teaspoon olive oil

in a pan heat the oil and add the onions and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and fry for 30 seconds. Add chopped kale and stir to combine. Add 1/4 cup water and salt and stir. Cover and reduce the flame to small. Let steam for 5 minutes. Drain if there is any more water left.

Mix all the ingredients together.

Lay the tortilla on a flat surface and spread 2-3 tablespoons of chicken mixture on the tortilla. Leave about 1 inch of edge.

Roll the tortilla into a roll and let sit in the fridge for 20-30 minutes. Cut into 3-4 inch pinwheels and serve with Salsa

Mediterranean meat balls

 Meat balls are a good way to sneak some veggies into your picky eaters' tummies. I always add some grated veggies to the meat balls and they taste super yummy and healthy for you and the eaters do not have to know, that they are eating a veggie, otherwise they will not touch.

Mediterranean Meat Balls (Dill filled Meat balls with Zucchini)

Mediterranean Meat balls

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb lean ground meat
2. 1 medium small zucchini grated and squeezed out to get as much liquid out as possible
3. 3/4- 1 cup loosely packed Dill weed, chopped
4. 1 teaspoon minced garlic
5. 1 teaspoon each of salt, cumin powder, coriander powder
6. 1/2-1 teaspoon black pepper
7. 1/2 cup grated red onion, squeezed out for liquid
8. 2 tablespoons whole milk
9. 1/4 cup bread crumbs (optional)

Mix all the ingredients together and set aside for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Make about 12-16 meat balls and lay them in a oven safe pan 1 inch apart. Bake for 15 minutes. Drain as much liquid off of the pan and flip the meat balls and bake 10-15 minutes. Enjoy with spaghetti and marinara sauce or with Pita bread 

Raagi Dosa

I know the lock down has made all of us innovative cooks. What else can we do, if we have to cook meal after meal after meal at home, every single day!!!

There are only so many recipes you can make with wheat flour and the plain all purpose flour. On one of my trips to the Indian store, I picked up different kinds of flours. One of them was Raagi flour. 

First off..what is Raagi or Ragi. It is called Finger Millets in English .Here is a very good resource to know more about Super Millet- Raagi

Raagi Dosa (Crepes made with Finger Millet and Black gram flour)

Ingredients:

1. 11/2 cup Raagi flour
2. 1/2 cup urad dal/ Black gram flour
3. 1 cup plain yogurt beaten
4. 1 cup water
5. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
6. 1/2-1 teaspoon salt
7. Oil for frying

To Garnish:

1. Finely chopped onions
2. finely chopped ginger
3. cumin

Sift the raagi and urad dal flour along with the salt and mix the yogurt and water. Set aside for 20-30 minutes. Add the baking soda and mix well.

Heat a griddle. Add a ladle of batter to the center of the griddle and with a light hand spread the batter outward in circular motions. Add oil to the edges of the dosa. Garnish with onions, ginger and cumin and if desired finely chopped green chillies. Fry for 3 minutes and when the edges start to raise a bit, flip the dosa and gently press so that the onions stick to the dosa. Fry for 2-3 more minutes. Flip it and fold it into half and serve with any chutney or ketchup

Coconut Rice with Black Beans

Coconut rice feels like a delicacy when you eat plain white rice pretty much every day. Coconut rice has that subtle coconut flavor to it, which is awesome. I combined the coconut rice with black beans and increased its nutritional value that much. Its a one pot meal...can't beat that, when you do not want to do the dishes.

 Coconut Rice with Black Beans

Coconut Rice with Black Beans

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups long grain rice
2. 1/2 can coconut milk unsweetened
3. 1 can black beans rinsed and drained
4. 1 tablespoon oil
5. 1/4 cup chopped onions
6. 1 large or 2 medium garlic chopped fine
7. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, fresh ground black pepper
8.  1 tablespoon coconut flakes toasted (optional)

In a pan heat the oil and fry the onions till they become translucent. Add garlic and fry for a minute. Add beans 1/8 cup water. 

Add 2 cups of water and the coconut milk and salt and bring to a rolling boil. Add rice and reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is done. Add the black beans to the rice and mix gently. Garnish with toasted coconut flakes and enjoy

Some similar recipes

Black beans and Golden Corn rice

Coconut Rice

Thai Green Egg curry with vegetables

 I usually do not like to add sweet potato to the curries. I always have a feeling that the curry would turn out to be sweet and I will not like it. But today I dared and I added sweet potato to this amazing gravy and it was super delicious. The original recipe is here . Of course I had to modify it. I added boiled eggs top it and made it more hearty.

Thai Green Egg curry with vegetables (Boiled egg curry Thai based coconut gravy with Sweet Potatoes and Green Beans)

Thai Green Egg Curry

Ingredients:

1. 1 Tablespoon + 2 teaspoons oil
2. 1¾ cups Unsweetened Coconut Milk
3. 4 oz Green Beans, ends trimmed and sliced length wise
4. 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
5. 1 medium Onion sliced into half circles
6. 1 medium small Sweet Potato cubed into 1 cm cubes
7. 2 Tbsps Green Curry Paste
8. 6 hard boiled eggs peeled

In a deep pan heat the oil and add the ginger garlic paste and the green curry paste and fry for a minute stirring. Add the onion slices and the sweet potato cubes and fry for 3-4 minutes. Add the coconut milk + 1 cup hot water and bring to a boil. Add the green beans and let it boil for 10 minutes. 

In the mean time, in another pan add the 2 teaspoons oil, give the eggs small slits with the knife. Do not cut the eggs. This is just to create space with the skin of the boiled eggs, so that when you fry it, it will not explode in your face. Fry stirring 2-5 minutes*.

Add the fried eggs to the curry and simmer for 5 more minutes. Give it a taste test, adjust the salt and garnish with cilantro and enjoy with White/Ponni rice

*My Hubby likes the skin crispy and rubbery...so fry till the skin becomes brown. The rest of the family does not, so fry it just for 2 minutes, to get better flavor

More Yummy Curries:

Thai Red Curry Mushroom

Thai Coconut Peanut Wings

Thai Chicken Watercress Soup

Anda Bread Bhurji

 I was looking for some inspiration for breakfast and I stumbled upon the Bread Bhurji recipe from Tarla Dalal. Since I am not a vegetarian and I eat eggs, I added eggs to the dish and made it more hardy. 

Super yummy and filling and gets ready quite quickly.

Anda Bread Bhurji (Yogurt soaked bread stir fried with eggs)

Anda Bread Bhurji

Ingredients:

1. 4 eggs lightly beaten with salt and pepper 
2. 6 slices of wheat bread
3. 1 tablespoon oil + 1 teaspoon oil
4. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, mustard seeds, turmeric powder, grated ginger
5. Few curry leaves
6. 2 dried red chillies broken to pieces
7. 1/2 cup plain yogurt
8. 1/3 cup sliced onions

Cut the bread slices into 4 strips and cut them again to 4 pieces.

In a bowl mix the yogurt with the turmeric +a pinch of salt. Add the bread pieces to it, mix  and let them get soaked.

Add 1 teaspoon oil and add the beaten eggs and scramble them. Drain and set aside.

In the same pan pan heat the tablespoon of oil and add the mustard seeds and curry leaves and fry till they start to splatter. Add cumin and red chillies and fry for a minute. Add onions and fry for 3 minutes. Add ginger and fry for 30 seconds. Add the yogurt bread and fry on medium high flame for 3-4 minutes. Add the scrambled egg and mix well. garnish with cilantro and enjoy yummy breakfast

Pan Fried Salmon and Gnocchi

 It was the "Challenge word" of the day for my family...Gnocchi. This dish is super delicious and very easy to make. And as the weather is getting really cold here, I put a ton of garlic in it so that the family will sleep all nice and cozy. Here is the actual recipe

Pan Fried Salmon and Gnocchi

                                        Gnocchi with Salmon

Ingredients:

1. 3 salmon filets, cut into 1-2 inch cubes
2. 1/2 tsp cumin
3. 1/2 tsp paprika
4. 2 tsp olive oil
5. 2 tables spoons butter
6. 1/3 cup each of chicken stock, plain yogurt, sour cream
7. 3 tbs sherry
8. 2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard
9. 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
10. 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
11. 10oz fresh gnocchi

Boil gnocchi in rapidly boiling, salted water just until it floats. Drain.
Heat 2 tsp oil in a medium skillet, large enough to hold the gnocchi in a single layer.  Add gnocchi and brown lightly on both sides, about 10 minutes.
Heat 2 tsp oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add cumin, paprika and sauté 30 seconds.
Add salmon pieces and brown lightly on both sides, about 5 minutes.
Reduce heat, cover and cook until salmon is done, about 10 minutes longer. It will be opaque and flake easily when done.
Remove salmon to a plate and cover to keep warm.
Add stock, sherry, dill and mustard to skillet, stirring to get up the brown bits.
When simmering, remove from heat and stir in yogurt and sour cream and 1 tbs Parmesan.

In a serving dish add Gnocchi at the bottom, top with salmon pieces and topped with the sauce.

Enjoy with side of Toasted garlic bread and canned sliced beets

Apple Galette

 The original recipe is here . 

Apple Galette

Apple Galette

Ingredients:

1. 1 teaspoon  fennel seeds 
2. 1/2 teaspoon  kosher salt
3. 1/3 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
4. 3-4 mediaum apples (such as Pink Lady, Honeycrisp, or Granny Smith), scrubbed, cored, peeled and thinly sliced
5. 1/4 cup pineapple cubes (optional)
6. 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
7. 1 teaspoon  vanilla extract
8. 1 teaspoon corn starch
9. 1 pie crust store bought or made for scratch

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Toast fennel seeds until golden brown and fragrant. Let cool, and grind to powder. Transfer to a medium bowl and add salt and 1/3 cup sugar.  add apples and toss to coat. Add vinegar and vanilla; toss gently.
2. Arrange apple mixture in the center of chilled dough (still on parchment on baking sheet) and spread out evenly, overlapping slices if desired and leaving a 3" border. Fold edges of dough up and over fruit, pleating as needed and being careful that folded edge of dough doesn’t tear (if it does, patch with dough scraps and pinch to seal). Sprinkle sugar evenly over dough.
3. Place galette in oven and immediately reduce heat to 375°F. Bake, rotating halfway through, until crust is deep golden brown everywhere, apples are softened, and juices are bubbling, 45–50 minutes. Let galette cool 2 hours.
4. Serve galette with whipped cream or ice cream if desired.

Chicken Philly Sandwiches

I have been craving Philly cheese steak sandwiches and there is no place close by which has good Phillies. And also by the time you bring them home and eat it, they will become all soggy and BLAH...

I found the best recipe here and I followed it pretty much as is

Chicken Philly Sandwiches

Ingredients:

1. 2 Tbsp butter
2. 1 pound fresh chicken tenders, diced
3. 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
4. 1 large garlic minced
5. 2 teaspoons lemon pepper seasoning
6. ½ teaspoon each of salt, fresh ground black pepper
7. ½ onion, diced
8. 3 slices provolone cheese +extra for each sandwich
9. 4 Hoagie rolls or big hot dog buns
10. 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
11. 1/2 bell pepper of your choice of color diced

Season the chicken with Worcestershire  sauce and lemon pepper and set it aside for 30 minutes. Heat the butter in a pan and cook the onions on low flame for 10 minutes. Add garlic and fry for a minute. Increase the flame to medium high and add the chicken and fry for 8 minutes. Add the bell pepper and stir to combine 4 more minutes. Give it a taste test and adjust the salt and pepper. Cut the flame and layer with 3 slices of  provolone . Cover.

Head a griddle and toast the buns on the inside. Spread each with 1 tablespoon mayo. Layer the top side with more provolone or Colby-pepper jack cheese slices. Add the chicken mixture to the bun and enjoy

Poha tikki

 This is one of those tea time snacks which is super delicious and easy to make. The original recipe is here

Poha Tikki (Shallow fried cakes made of flattened rice)

Ingredients:

1. 1.5 cups of Flattend Rice/Chiwda/Poha 
3. 2 What or white Bread slices
4. 2 tablespoons Rice flour/Corm flour 
5. 1 green  chilli finely chopped
6. 1/4 cup Finely Chopped Onion 
7. 1/2 teaspoon each of Ginger Garlic paste ,Red Chilli flakes cumin powder, coriander powder
8. 1 teaspoon each of Chaat masala,Salt
9. Handful of Fine Chopped Coriander 
10. 2-3 tablespoons of plain yogurt
11. oil for shallow frying

Wash the poha under running water and st it up for drying/draining in a colander for 5 minutes. Cut the crust off of the bread and dip it in a bowl of water and squeeze off the water. Shred it into small pieces and mix all the ingredients together. On an oiled plate flatter the mixture into 1/2 inch thick piece. Let rest in the fridge for 5-10 minutes.

Cut it into desired shapes like squares, cubes or diamonds.

Heat a non stick griddle and add some oil to it. Fry the pieces of poha cake 2-3 minutes per side until golden brown. Enjoy with ketchup and mint chutney

Garlic Parmesan Roasted Carrots

 The other day, I got beautiful scallops. I needed a side dish which would compliment the "Butter Garlic Scallops" I was making. So I found the recipe here. To make it a meal, I got store bought cheese tortellini which were ready in minutes. It was a yummy dinner ready in 35 minutes

Garlic Parmesan Roasted Carrots

Garlic Parmesan Roasted Carrots

Ingredients: 

1. 3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 2-3 inch pieces, halved or quartered to make 1/2 inch sticks
2. 1/4 cup olive oil
3. 2 large cloves garlic, minced 
4. 2 tablespoons each of grated Parmesan cheese, Panko bread crumbs,
5.  1/2 teaspoon Salt
6. 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
7. 1 tablespoon dried Parsley

Preheat oven to 400°F . Then I reduced the heat to 375 degrees as I have a dark baking pan. Spray a baking sheet with cooking oil spray.

Arrange carrots on baking sheet. Mix the olive oil, garlic, Parmesan, bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Toss all ingredients together to completely coat the carrots. Spread out and bake for 20-25 minutes or until tender. Toss the carrots half way through.

Remove from oven and serve immediately. 

Stove top Chicken Biryani

Hyderabadi Dum ka Biryani is the only kind of dish my Big B would call Biryani. He would probably put me in a corner for calling the dish I made "Biryani". But when you are short of time and are craving yummy food, anything goes.

And anything close to a "Biryani" on a week night after a long day's work and home cooked f is "the best" no matter what you call it. So call what you may...I present
Stove top Chicken Biryani (Stove top One pot chicken and rice dish )

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb chicken breasts or better yet chicken tenderloins cut at a biase, into 3/4 inch slices 1-2 inches long  
2. 1/2 teaspoon each or salt, turmeric, chilli powder, garam masala powder, cumin
3. 1 teaspoon each of coriander powder, ginger-garlic paste
4. 2 tablespoons oil
5. 1 medium large onion sliced thin
6. 1 bay leaf
7. 2 cups (Measure uncooked) Basmati rice cooked according to package directions. Cooked with 1/2 teaspoon salt
8. 1/4 cup warm milk + pinch saffron (optional)
9. few mint leaves

Marinate the chicken with the spices and set aside.

In a wide pan heat the oil and add the bay leaf and cumin and fry for a minute. On medium high flame fry the onions till 90% of them turn brown. Add ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute. Add the chicken and fry for 10-12 minutes until they start turning golden brown. Add the cooked rice , topped with saffron soaked in warm milk if using, garnish with mint and cover and cook for 2-3 minutes, on very low flame.

Garnish with 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice and coriander with available on hand.

Enjoy with Gravy for Biryani
More recipes...
Hyderabadi Mutton Biryani
Shrimp Biryani 
Egg Biryani
Fish Biryani

Lahori chana masala

Chana masala or Cholay is one of those street foods which you would find in every corner, every street, every city in India. Everyone has thier own way of making it and every single one of them is delicious. The cholay masala I made today, is unique to me but it is so delicious. Next time I have to double the recipe because there wasn't enough :)

And to make it a meal...I got Samosas today, when I went shopping in the Indian store. So that was a crazy yummy dinner

Lahori chana masala(Chickpeas curry with Indian Spices)

Lahori Chana Masala

Ingredients:

1. 1 can chickpeas
2. 1 small onion sliced
3. 1 medium tomato chopped
4. 1 tablespoon tomato paste
5. 1/4 cup yellow moong dal cooked
6. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, saunf, salt, turmeric, red chilli powder (or more), ginger garlic paste
7. 1/4 teaspoon ajwain, garam masala
8. 1 teaspoon each of coriander powder, amchur powder, dried fenugreek leaves, 
9. 2 tablespoons oil
10. coriander leaves for garnishing

In a pan heat the oil and add the cumin and saunf and fry for a minute. Add the onions and fry till they start to change color to brown. Add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Add the dal and tomato paste and cook for 5 more minutes along with all the spices and mix well. Add washed chickpeas and 1/2 cup water and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy with Pav or Poori or Samosa or as is

Dosa kaaya pachadi

Once upon a time, long long ago, back in the mother country I went to a friend's house and her mom made this "Chutney" with Yellow Cucumber. My mom never made it. I had no idea what it was, but boy oh boy it was delicious.

I had to ask my friend's mom for the recipe and then finally one day when I found this in the market I got it and I made it myself. Its super delicious and it goes great with white rice or with Dosa or Idli or anything else you want chunky chutney with

Dosa kaaya pachadi (Yellow cucumber side)

Yellow Melon cucumber

Ingredients:

1. 1 medium sized Dosakaya/yellow Cucumber
2. 2 tsp Oil
3. 2 Garlic cloves
4. 3 Red chili
5. 1 teaspoon Coriander or dhaniya powder
6. 1/2 teaspoon each of Cumin seeds, Fenugreek seeds, salt, mustard seeds
7. 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
8. 1/2 cup thick juice from golf ball sized tamarind
9. few curry leaves

Peel and chop the cucumbers into small pieces.

Heat oilin a pan and add cumin and methi seeds, curry leaves and red chillies until they start to splatter. Add chopped garlic and fry for 30 seconds. Add the cucumber pieces and cook covered for 10 minutes or until they get soft. Add the tamarind juice and mix well and coo for 5 more minutes. Enjoy with rice/dosa or idli

Paneer with Chick peas

Some people in my family love paneer, others love chick peas. This curry is so simple to make and hearty and delicious and versatile to serve with many different things. Serve it with Roti or rice or with Aloo Tikki or Oats Aloo Tikki
Chole Paneer (Indian cottage cheese with chickpeas)

Paneer Chole

Ingredients:

1. 1 can chick peas drained and washed
2. 8 oz paneer cut into 1 cm cubes
3. 1-2 tomatoes chopped
4. 1/2 cup chopped onions
5. 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
6. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric and Nigella (onion) seeds
7. 2 tablespoon oil

Add a tablespoon of oil and fry the paneer pieces for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.

In a pan heat the oil and add the onion (Kalongi) seeds if using. Let them fry for a minute. Add the onions and cover and cook for 5 minutes. Add ginger garlic paste and stir for a minute. Add tomatoes and all the powder ingredients. Cook for 5 minutes. Add chickpeas and paneer and 1/4 cup water and cover and simer for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally. Garnish with coriander and enjoy

Rolled oats potato cutlet

Once in a while the people in my house start thinking of eating "healthy" and we get a ton of things which will not finish up once the initial fad has faded. One such ingredient is the rolled quick oats.

I was looking for something different to make on a Sunday so I found the recipe for Oat Aloo Tikki by Tarla Dalal. Its pretty yummy. I served it with Paneer chole

Rolled oats potato cutlet (Quick cooking oats and potato patties)

Oats Potato patties

Oats Aloo Tikki Paneer Chole

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup plain rolled oats
2. 1 cup masala oats (or increase the rolled oats quantity)
3. 2 medium large potatoes boiled and mashed
4. 1 medium small carrot grated fine
5. 1/2-1/3 cup paneer grated (optional)
6. 1 teaspoon salt (use less if using masala oats)
7. 1 teaspoon amchur powder (dried mango powder) or substitute with 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
8. 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
9. 1 Thai chillie chopped fine
10. handful of coriander leaves chopped fine
11. 2-3 tablespoons water
12. oil for shallow frying

Mix all the ingredients for the patties and add water in the end to make a stiff dough. Divide it into 12 parts and make them into 1/2 inch thick patties.

Heat 1-2 tablespoons of oil on a griddle and fry the patties 2-3 minutes on each side. Serve it as is with ketchup or with Chole on the side for a full meal

Shallow fried plantain chips

The original recipe is from here . This is a pretty easy and yummy recipe to make. To those of you who do not know what a plantain is...its the green banana you see near the vegetables. The Indian variety are small...may be 6-8 inches where as the Mexican or American variety are pretty bug. I used the Indian plantain for this

Shallow fried plantain chips (Shallow fried green plantain with Indian spices)

Shallow fried plantain chips

Ingredients:

1. 2-3 medium plantain
2. 1/2 teaspoon each of turmeric, sambar powder, salt, mustard seeds, urad dal, fennel seeds, cumin, asafoetida
3. 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4. 2 tbsp oil divided
5. 1 dried red chilli
6. few curry leaves
7. 2 tbsp water

peel the plantain and slice them about 1/8 inch thick coins.

add  turmeric, sambar powder, pepper and  salt and coat the spices on the plantain and set aside.

In a pan heat 2 tbsp oil and add mustard seeds,  urad dal, cumin, fennel, broken red chilli, pinch hing and few curry leaves and let it splutter. Now add the plantain pieces

Stir-fry for 2 minutes till raw banana gets coated well with oil.

Spread the plantain in a single layer in the pan and add the remaining oil.

cover and cook on medium flame for 10 minutes. Abut 7 minutes, add 2 teaspoons water and cover and cook stirring  occasionally.

Uncover and fry for 2-3 more minutes to make them crispy

Serve with Sorrel leaves rice

Ginger Chutney

Its still lockdown central here at home and today was Vada/Garal for breakfast. The recidents of my house  aka my fam...they looooove Peanut Chutney but today along with that I also made Ginger Chutney. This one is equally easy to make.

The red onions I used , gave the chutney a purple hue

Ginger Chutney(Ginger and Onion side for Indian Breakfast)

Ginger chutney

Ingredients:

1. 1 medium small onion chopped
2. 2 inches of ginger peeled and chopped
3. 1.5 tablespoons chana dal
4. 1 tablespoon urad dal
5. 1 teaspoon oil
6. 2 dried red chillies
7. 1 teaspoon cumin
8. 1/2 cup thick juice of tamarind
9. 1 teaspoon salt
10. 2-3 tablespoons jaggery or brown sugar

Heat the oil in a pan and fry the chanadal for a minute. Add the urad dal and fry till they start turning brown. Drain and add the onions and chillies into the same pan and fry for 2 minutes. Add ginger and fry for 3 more minutes. Let them cool.

Grind all the ingredients together until smooth. Enjoy with idli or vada or dosa

Turkish Meat Gozleme

Every country has their own recipe of stuffed bread. This is one of the best. I normally do not like Turkish food. I feel it is too bland. But this recipe and the dish are awesome. My family loved it. I am going to be making more variations of it in near future :)

The original recipe is from here

Turkish Meat Gozleme (Meat stuffed bread pocket)

Meat and Spinach Gozleme

Ingredients

Gozleme Pastry

1. 3 cups all purpose 
2. 3 tablespoon  extra virgin olive oil
3. water
4. 1/2-3/4 tsp salt

Spiced lamb

1. 1 tbsp olive oil
2. 2 garlic cloves , minced
3. 1 onion , finely chopped
4. 1 lb beef or lamb mince (ground)
5. 1/2 cup frozen spinach squeezed of all water or  3 oz baby spinach
6. 1 teaspoon each of  cumin powder, paprika
7. 3/4 tsp each salt and pepper
8. 4 oz  feta cheese (I got Mediterranean blend)

Filling:

Cook beef in a hot pan without oil (if it has more than 90% fat) else add 1 teaspoon oil, breaking it up as you go.

Add cumin, paprika, cayenne (if using), salt, pepper and water. Cook for 2 minutes.

Add spinach, stir until wilted.

Cool before using.

Add the salt to the flour and add water to it as needed to make the dough. Add 1 tablespoon oil to the dish you made the dough and start kneading it for 5 minutes. Repeat 2 more times with the remaining oil until the dough becomes pliable, and smooth. If you have a hand mixer, mix the dough for 7 minutes.

Cover and rest for 20 minutes.

Sprinkle work surface with flour. Cut dough into 4 pieces.

Roll out into 35cm/14" x 20cm/8" rectangle.

Add the filling to the dough and sprinkle with feta cheese and close the edges.

Heat a griddle and add some oil to it. Fry the Gozleme for 3 minutes on each side. Enjoy

Baked beans cookie sticks

Who says cookies have to be round? After seeing these cookie sticks/ fries I am in love with them and I want all my cookies to be shaped like this. They are the perfect shape to dunk it into your tea/coffee if you want to.

Also instead of making the regular chocolate chip cookies I added Bush's Vegetarian Baked beans in them. Oh Gosh...so yummy. You will not taste the beans but you will not be able to resist these cookies. sooooooo goooood.

Baked beans cookie sticks (Chocolate chip cookies in the form of a stick with baked beans)

Chocolate chip cookie sticks with baked beans

Chocolate chips cookie sticks

 Ingredients:

1. 3 cups all purpose flour
2. 1-1.5 cups Bush's vegetarian baked beans (drained as much as possible) and mashed
3. 1 stick butter
4. 2 eggs
5. 1/2 cup brown sugar (if you like it sweeter make it 3/4 cup)
6. 1-2 tablespoons hot water
7. 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Mix the room temperature butter with the mashed beans and add the eggs and sugar and beat them up for 2 minutes. Add the flour and mix well. If the dough looks too tight (dry) add 1-2 tablespoons hot water. Fold in chocolate chips.

Spread the dough in a 8X8 tray into a 1/2 inch flat and put it in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Pre heat oven to 325 degrees (even for dark pans)

Cut it into 1/2 inch thick 4-5 inches long stick, place them on a parchment paper. Bake for 20-22 minutes until golden brown. 

Cool on a wire rack for  10 minutes before consuming. :) Enjoy

Ravva Uttapam

This is one of the speedy lunch/dinner ideas ever. And it is super delicious. I made it a little more healthy by adding vegetables in the batter itself

Ravva Uttapam(Indian Pancakes with Semolina)

Ravva Uttapam

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup sooji (coarse, semolina)
2. 1/2 cup yogurt 
3. 1/2 cup each of cabbage finely grated, finely grated carrots, bell pepper chopped fine,  tomatoes chopped fine
4. 1 Tbsp each of cilantro ,green chili, ginger 
5. 1 tsp salt
6. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
7. oil for frying

Mix sooji, salt, green chili, ginger, cabbage, carrot and yogurt, and add water as needed batter should be little thicker than dosa batter. Set it aside for 20 minutes
Add more water if needed and add the baking soda and mix well. 
Heat the skillet over medium heat and lightly grease the skillet. Pour about 2 large spoons of batter and spread consistency should be of thick then dosa. Sprinkle with some chopped oni ons, bell pepper ,tomatoes and cilantro and press it lightly into the batter.
Pour about 1 teaspoon of oil around uttapam and cover it and let it cook for about 2 minutes and turn them over, uttapam should be golden brown from bottom making crisper, and top should be cooked well but not brown. Uttapam should be cooked over low medium heat.
Uttapam is ready to serve. 

Enjoy with Peanut chutney

4 ingredient peanut butter cookies

These cookies are sooooooo easy to make and they are ready in a jiffy and super delicious.

Best for the days when you want to eat a cookie but don't have a ton of butter to use.

4 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

4 ingredient peanut butter cookies

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup peanut butter
2. 1/3 cup (of 1/2 cup if you like it sweeter) sugar
3. 1 egg
4. 1/2 cup rolled oats

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all the ingredients together until well blended.

Drop with a scoop or with a spoon 1 inch apart and flatten to about 1/2 inch thickness.

Bake for 11-12 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack and enjoy

Beetroot Dal Tadka

This is one of the most yummiest dal recipe ever. And this is super high in nutritional value also . This is a great vegetarian option and if you eat eggs increase the nutritional value that much by adding egg to it.

Beetroot Dal Tadka (Lentils with beetroot)

Beetroot dal anda tadka

Ingredients:

 

1. 1/2 cup of finely chopped onions
2. few curry leaves
3. 2 dried red chillies
4. 1 can shoestring cut beetroot (or 1 -2 cups fresh beetroot chopped and boiled for 1 whistle)
5. 1/4 cup each of chana dal and green or yellow moong soaked in water for 30-60 minutes
6.  2 tablespoons oil divided
7. 1/2 teaspoon each of ginger-garlic paste, cumin, mustard seeds, turmeric, chilli powder, coriander powder, salt and asoefitida.

2 Eggs if using eggs (Non vegetarian option)

Pressure cook the dal for 3 whistles and set aside.

 In a pan heat 1 tablespoon oil and make scrambled eggs with little salt. Drain and set aside (Non vegetarian option)

In a pan heat the remaining oil and add cumin, mustard seeds and 2 dried chillies and curry leaves and fry till they start to splutter. Add onions and fry for 5 minutes. Add ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute. Add bettroot and all the powder ingredients and stir well. Add the pressure cooked dal and scrambled eggs (Non vegetarian option) and stir well. Simmer for 5-7 minutes. Garnish with coriander and enjoy with Tavva Paratha

Rolled Oat Crackers

This is an awesome snack and quite easy to make also. Since the snacks you get from outside last only so long when everyone is staying home all day long and all week long and every month long :(

Rolled Oat Crackers (Savory Baked Crackers with rolled oats )

Crackers with rolled oats

Ingredients

1. 3/4 cup Rolled oats
2. 1 cup all purpose flour + more for kneading
3. 1/8 cup finely chopped onion
4. 1 green chilli finely chopped
5. 1 tablespoon each of finely chopped Coriander leaves , mint leaves
6. Plain yogurt 1/3 cup
7. 2 tbsp Butter softened
8. 1 teaspoon each of Salt, cumin seeds, carom (ajwain) seeds
9. 1 tablespoon Sugar 
10. 1/4 teaspoon Baking soda
11. Water as needed

Mix all the ingredients except water and add water 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together. Knead the dough for 2 minutes. Roll the dough into 1/2 cm thick disk on a floured surface and cut it into 1-1/2 inch squares or the shape of your liking. 

Pre heat oven to 300 degrees F and place the crackers on a prepared sheet.

Spray the top of the crackers with vegetable oil and bake for 30 minutes. Let them cool completely and enjoy

Aloo Besan squares

Besan is Chick Peas flour. It is super delicious if you know how to cook with it and make sure it is cooked through.  This is similar to Aloo Bonda  but instead of  deep frying these I made the batter like a crepe and add the potato curry to it and toasted it again. Yum yum.
And I serve this deliciousness with beet root chutney

Aloo Besan Squares (Potato curry wrapped into a chick peas flour and toasted again with mustard seeds)

Potato curry for the stuffing

Potato stuffed chickpeas squares

Ingredients

1. 3 cups chick peas flour or besan
2. 1 cup plain yogurt
3. 3/4 teaspoon each of salt, baking powder
4. 1/2 teaspoon ajwain (optional)
5. oil for frying
6. 1 teaspoon mustard seeds

Beat the yogurt along with 1/2 cup water and salt. Add the besan to it and the ajwain if using and stir to combine and make the batter a little thinner than pancake batter. Set aside.

Heat a griddle.

Take a ladle of batter and drop it into the center. With light pressure and outward motion spread the batter into a circle 6 inches wide. Drizzle some oil on the perimeter. Cook in medium flame for a min till the edges start to rise. Flip the "dosa" and fry for a inute. Flip again. Add 2 tablespoons of cooked potato curry into the center and close it into a square. Set aside and continue with making the others.

Add 1/2 tablespoon of oil to a pan and add the mustard seeds to it and cover on a medium flame. Let all the mustard seeds splutter. Add the besan squares seam side down and fry for a minute. Enjoy with Beet root chutney

Beetroot Chutney (Beet root dip for Dosa and idly)

Beet root chutney

Ingredients:

1. 1 can beetroots drained
2. 1/2 tablespoon urad dal
3. 1 tablespoon chana dal
4. 2 red chillies
5. 1 inch ginger
6. 2 garlic
7. 1 small piece of tamarind soaked in 1/4 cup water
8. 1/4 cup dried coconut flakes
9. 1 teaspoon salt
10. 1 tablespoon oil

In a pan heat the oil and fry the urad dal and chana dal and the red chillies for a couple of minutes. Add ginger and garlic and coconut and fry for a minute. Add the drained beetroot and cook for 5 minutes. Cut the heat and let it cool.

Grind all the ingredients along with the tamarind + water and salt to a smooth paste. Serve as is or temper it with 1 teaspoon oil + cumin + urad dal+ red chillies+ curry leaves and enjoy

Pretzel hot dogs

You remember the olden days when you would go to a mall and eat pretzels along with the most saltiest dips there are on the planet . Sometimes instead of the plain pretzels you would get hot dogs in pretzels...yeah these are the ones I made today. But I made the pretzels without yeast and they were super delicious. I served them with spicy mustard and the Boar's Head Deli Style Mustard with White Wine. They were so delicious.

If you want to make the pretzel the traditional way here you go Soft Pretzels

Pretzel hot dogs (All beef hot dogs baked in a yeast-less pretzel)

NO Yeast Pretzel dogs 

Ingredients:

1. 3 cups all purpose flour
2. 1/2 cup plain yogurt
3. Water for mixing the dough
4. 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
5. 1 teaspoon each of baking powder, baking soda
6. 1 tablespoon sugar
7. 3/4 teaspoon salt
8. 8 hot dogs

Ingredients for boiling water:

1. Deep pan with atleast 5 inches of water
2. 3 tablespoons salt
3. 1 teaspoon baking soda

Beat the yogurt along with lemon juice, sugar and salt. Sift the flour with baking soda and baking powder and mix into the yogurt mix. Add some water at a time until the dough comes together and it starts raising. Set aside for 15 minutes. Cut the dough into 8 parts.

 Start boiling the water the ingredients mentioned under boiling water.

Roll each piece of dough into an 8 inch log. Roll the hot hot diagonally so that most of it gets covered by dough. Drop it into the boiling water and try it a couple times within 1 minute. Drain onto a baking sheet.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brush the top of the pretzel dog with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse salt if desired and bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown top is formed.

Enjoy with your  favorite mustard or cheese sauce

Since "a" person in my house does not like hot dogs I made a pretzel pocket for "the" person with deli turkey slices and provolone

No Yeast Cheese Turkey Pretzel Pocket

Chicken Cauliflower fry

This chicken cauliflower dry is pretty similar to Chicken 65 but is a little more healthy , all thanks to the added cauliflower. Just to sneak in some vegetables into every one's plate.

Chicken Cauliflower fry (Chicken and cauliflower stir fried with spices)

Chicken Cauliflower fry

Ingredients

1. 2 boneless skinless chicken breast cut into small cubes
2. 1 tablespoons corn starch
3. 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
4. 2-3 tablespoons oil
5. Handful of curry leaves
6. 2 big or 3 medium garlic pods chopped
7. 1/2 of a large size cauliflower cut into florets
8. 1 teaspoon coriander powder

Ingredients for Marinade:

1. 1 heaped teaspoon ginger garlic paste
2. 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
3. ½ teaspoon each of turmeric, red chilli powder
4. ¾ teaspoon salt

Marinade the chicken with the ingredients in marinade and set aside for at least 45 minutes. Add the all purpose flour and corn flour and stir to coat well .

In a non stick pan heat the oil and add the curry leaves and after 30 seconds add chicken in one layer and on medium low flame fry the chicken  for 5 minutes. Add the cauliflower and coriander powder and stir to combine and cover and cook for 15 minutes.  Give a taste test and adjust the salt if needed. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy with hot steamed rice and Palak Dal

Yeast less Stromboli

Stromboli is one of my favorite foods...going back to the first time I had it, over 12 years ago. Over the last few years I have become an expert at baking buns

Tuna Buns
Eggless buns (These don't look golden because I even skipped the egg wash for the top)
Meat stuffed pockets

So, this recipe for Stromboli is for a day when you want to have a Stromboli but do not want to wait for yeast to do its thing. These days sitting at home, cooking all three meals, while managing kids school work, while working...who has time for that.


Yeast-less Stromboli

Stromboli with Turkey

Ingredients

1. 2 and 1/2 cup of all purpose flour
2. 1/3 cup each of oil, milk and hot water (plus more as needed).
3. 1 tablespoon sugar
4. 3/4 teaspoon salt
5. Optional (1 teaspoon each of poppy seeds, sesame, onion powder, garlic powder) or 2 teaspoons everything mix

In a bowl beat together the liquids well for 2 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and knead on a clean surface until it forms a smooth ball. Set aside for 20 minutes. Divide the dough into 4 pieces and roll into 6 inches wide by 4 to 5 inches wide oval. 

Layer with your favorite stuffings for stromboli

I used turkey, provolone, spinach, mushrooms and 1-2 tablespoons marinara sauce.

Roll the dough on the long side to form a log. Tuck the edges in and on a prepared baking sheet, lay on the seam side down.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Finish making the rest of the Stromboli. With a knife slit the tops across 4 places. Brush with either egg wash or oil and bake for 35-40 minutes.

Let it cool a bit and serve with marinara sauce