Cranberry Orange Chocolate Cheese Cake

 Today being Christmas, I wanted to make something with Cranberries in them. I like those little red jewels, how they make everything look a bit more "Christmasi " 

The original recipe called for white chocolate chips and all I had were Orange coloured whiye chocolate chips. Hence my cheese cake turned out to be orange in color.

But this is one of the best cheese cakes I made yet!!!

Here is original cheese cake recipe

Cranberry Orange Chocolate Cheese Cake

Ingredients for crust:

1. 12 oreo cookies scrapped out of the cream (reserve this) and pound into powder
2. 1/4  cup melted butter

Ingredients for cheese cake:

1. 16 oz 1 pack  or 2 packs of 8 oz cream cheese at room temperature
2. 2 large eggs
3. 1/3-1/2 cup white chocolate chips of your choice of color
4. 1/3-1/2 cups dried cranberries (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the ingredients of the crust and prepare a 9 inch round pan. Add the crust mix and press it onto the bottom and by the sides

For the filling, beat the cream cheese with the melted chocolate chips. If some of them do not melt completely , do not worry...they turn out to be extra fun in the cheese cake . Add the eggs one at a time and  mix again until everything is incorporated. Add cranberries if using. Add the filling to the pie pan and bake for 45-50  minutes. Let it cool and freeze for 1-2 hours before serving. Enjoy

Buffalo chicken rollups from scratch

 These buffalo chicken roll ups are so easy to make and so delicious to make, I think I found my new favorite.

You can use the pillsbury crescent rolls or pizza dough if you do not want to make the dough from scratch . But because I did not want to use the pillsbury crescent rolls and they are a bit sweet for me for this recipe, I made my own dough, which is also super simple to make

Buffalo chicken rollups from scratch

Buffalo Chicken Rollups

Ingredients for Buffalo Chicken Filling

1. 1 12.05oz canned chicken breast drained completely
2. 3-4 tablespoons Frank's hot buffalo sauce
3. 1 tablespoon each of ranch dressing mix, sour cream or mayo
4. 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese

Recipe for the Dough

Mix all the ingredients for the chicken filling .

Divide the dough into 2 equal parts and roll it into 8X6 inches rectangle about 1/3 inch thick. Lay the filling on the sheet about 1 inch away from all side. Roll it jelly roll like.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Cut the log into 1 inch bites and lay them 1 inch apart in a prepared sheet to bake. Bake them 30 minutes .

If you want you can melt 2 tablespoons of butter with a tablespoon of Italian seasoning and a pinch a salt and apply to the sides of the roll ups. Enjoy!!!

Here is another recipe Chicken Stromboli

Grilled chicken

 This grilled chicken recipe is super delicious.

Do not want to grill...pan fry it with a bit of an oil and its equally delicious.

Serve it with Naan, Pita bread, rice, spaghetti..whatever you live...eat it on the side with a salad as the main dish. 

Grilled chicken (Chicken marinated with Indian spices)

Chicken grilled on stove top grill

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces
2. 1 small/medium small onion ground to paste
3. 1 inch x 1 inch ginger peeled
4. 2-3 cloves of garlic
5. 1 tablespoon each of oil, fresh lemon juice or white vinegar
6. 1 teaspoon each of salt, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala
7. 1/2-3/4 teaspoon chilli powder

Grind the onions and ginger and garlic into paste. Mix all the ingredients together and marinate the chicken 30 minutes to 4 hours

Heat a pan or a grill. If you are grilling it, put the pieces of chicken on skewers and grill on a pan, else all the "masala" (onions and spices) will fall on the grill fire and make a mess.

If cooking in a pan, heat the pan and on high heat cook the chicken for 15-20 minutes until it becomes dry and light brown in color. Enjoy

Garlic baked Salmon and Broccoli

 This is a super easy and super delicious recipe. The Salmon and Broccoli just flew out of the pan

Garlic baked Salmon and Broccoli

Ingredients:

1. 3-4 Salmon Fillets
2. 2-3 crowns of broccoli and cut into florets
3. 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
4. 1 teaspoon salt
5. 1/2 teaspoon pepper
6. 1 tablespoon olive oil

Heat oven to 400°F or 375 degrees for dark pan. On a large rimmed baking sheet, lay the Salmon fillets and the broccoli.  Sprinkle salt and pepper all over the fish and the broccoli. Run the chopped garlic onto the fish. Drizzle with oil all over. Bake for 15 minutes.

Turn the fish and broccoli and bake for 10 more minutes. 
Enjoy Salmon and Broccoli with some brown rice 

French Toast

 My mom was wayyyyy ahead of her times in many many ways. One of the ways she was way ahead of the times in India was cooking. She used to make some of the dishes that I have no idea where she got the ideas from.

And on top of it, some of the dishes were baked and of course we did not have an oven in India in those days. But every single one of those items she made, was amazing.

But this French Toast doesn't seem that extra ordinary...in those days...back in the mother land...we barely ever had bread for breakfast...heck...we rarely used to get bread in the first place.

Stuffed French Toast

Ammi's French Toast

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 cup milk
2. 1 egg
3. 4-6 slices of few days old bread
4. 1/2 teaspoon water
5. 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and chilli powder
6. butter or ghee for frying

In a wide bowl (wide enough to lay the entire slice of your bread flat), melt the salt and chilli powder in 1/2 teaspoon water. Now add milk and add the egg and beat it.

Heat a griddle.

Dip the bread for few seconds until it soaks some of the custard. pick it up and hold it over the over the bowl for excess liquid to drip back. 

Add some ghee/butter to the griddle and carefully place the bread on the griddle. Fry for 1-2 minutes and flip. Add some more butter/ghee and fry for a minute or 2 again. Enjoy!!!

Stuffed French Toast

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 cup milk
2. 1 egg
3. 4 multi-grain (or 7 or 12 grain) bread slices 
4. Peanut butter, Nutella, banana sliced into 1/4 cm circles
5. butter or ghee for frying

In a wide bowl (wide enough to lay the entire slice of your bread flat), add milk and add the egg and beat it.

On 2 slices spread peanut butter and on the other two Nutella. Spread the banana slices and put the nutella topped bread on the peanut butter and banana slices and smoosh it a bit. 

Heat a griddle.

Dip the bread for few seconds until it soaks some of the custard. pick it up and hold it over the over the bowl for excess liquid to drip back. 

Add some ghee/butter to the griddle and carefully place the bread on the griddle. Fry for 1-2 minutes and flip. Add some more butter/ghee and fry for a minute or 2 again. Enjoy!!!

Shanghai Scallion Pancakes (Cong You Bing)

 Some time ago, one of kids' friend's family invited us fo dinner. They were from Shanghai. The food she served was so different from what we call "Chinese" when we go to the restaurants here. It was amazing. Like, when people come to my house and say ..."oh you mean to say you do not eat Tandoori chicken or Butter chicken every SINGLE day???"

Anyway, that day she served these delicious Scallion pancakes, which were so much like the layered paratha were have in India.  Which is our favorite kind of paratha. So finally yesterday I decided I would make it and it was so great. It takes a while to make but at the end the results are delicious. The original recipe is here

Shanghai Scallion Pancakes (Cong You Bing) (Pan fried layered flatbread with scallions)

Shanghai Scallion Pancakes

Ingredients:

1. 3 cups all purpose flour + more for making the bread
2. about 1 cup hot water
3. 2 cups finely chopped green onion or scallion
4. 3/4 teaspoon salt
5. oil for brushing and pan-frying

Ingredients Oil Mixture:

1. 1/3 cup vegetable oil
2. 2 tablespoons cup AP flour
3. 5 scallion whites

Make the main dough: Slowly stir the hot water to the flour. Wait until cooled down and knead until it forms a smooth dough. Or knead the dough with a stand mixer for 5-7 minutes with low speed.

Rest the dough: Cover with plastic wrapper or a wet cloth and rest for at least 30 minutes. So the gluten can be well rested and we can easily roll the pancake out.

Make the oil-flour mixture: heat oil over medium fire and fry green onions until browned. Discard the green onion and keep the oil. Pour flour into a small bowl and stir in the hot oil slowly.

Roll out the dough: Cut the dough into 4 equal portions and roll one portion out to a large rectangle wrapper. Sprinkle salt and top with a layer of oil-flour mixture and then another layer of chopped scallion.

Roll-up the dough: Starting from the long end, roll the dough up like folding a hand fan. Slightly stretch and roll one side up to the middle and then the other side to the middle too. Overlay the two ends. Cover the dough and rest for 15 minutes or so. Repeat the process and finish all of the remaining portions. The former twos with more layers are assembled with the hand folding fan methods, while the two in the second line is made with simply roll up method.

Roll each portion to a large pancake (around 5 inches in diameter). If you plan to cook the pancakes later, package each of them with an air-tight bag and freeze up for 1 week.

Frying the pancakes: add around 3 tablespoons of oil in a pan and fry the pancakes until golden brown on one side (takes 3-4 minutes over medium fire), turn over the fry the another side for 3 minutes too. After turning over, slightly press the center of the pancake so they can be fried evenly.

I served with with Soya sauce dipping sauce 

Soya sauce dipping sauce 

Soya Sauce dipping sauce

Ingredients:

1. 1/4 cup soya sauce
2. 1/2 tablespoon sugar
3. 1 tablespoon Sambal chillie paste
4. 1 tablespoon rice vine or white vinegar

Mix all the ingredients together well to incorporate

Pecan Banana Bread

 So...the kids have been asking for Bananas and me and my husband went out one day and both of us got Bananas. As the story of any house with kids goes...after eating a couple of them the kids were done with bananas. So...what does a good mom does...uses the leftover fruits in different ways. And one of those ways of using Bananas is Banana Bread ofcourse.

This Banana bread turned out to be so yummy...here is the original post

Pecan Banana Bread

Pecan Banana Bread

Ingredients

1. 1 Stick (½ Cup) Butter
2. 3 Large Ripe Bananas
3. 2 Large Eggs
4. 1 teaspoon each of Vanilla Extract, Baking Soda, poppy seeds (optional)
5. 2 Cups All Purpose Flour
6. 1 Cup Granulated Sugar
7. 1 teaspoon½ teaspoon each of salt, cinnamon
8. 1/4 cup walnuts or pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray or grease with butter and set aside.
Add the stick of butter to a large bowl and microwave for 1 minute, or until melted.
Add the bananas to the same bowl and mash with a fork.
Add the vanilla extract and egg to the bowl and use the same fork to mash and stir until no yellow streaks of egg remain.
In a second large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and poppy seeds..
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix together with a spatula just until combined. Add the nuts and mix one to combine .
Pour the batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for 45-55 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean.

Optional Glaze:

1/4 cup confectioner's sugar melted with 2 teaspoons milk and spread over the bread when it is hot. Enjoy!!! with coffee 

Muffuletta Sandwich

 We are in the middle of summer. It's been constantly above 90 degrees and I do not feel like cooking. And this was the perfect recipe for me from the episode of Pioneer Women which was coming on TV today.

Ofcourse, I had to change the recipe to meet my own requirements of no pork

So after a quick trip to the super market, my dinner is ready. And tastes pretty yummy and super filling too.

Muffuletta Sandwich (Deli meats piled high with various cheeses and olive mixture)

Muffuletta Sandwich 

Ingredients:

1. 12 oz package of Roast beef meat
2. 12 oz package of black pepper turkey (Use whatever meats you like)
3. 4-6 slices each of provolone, mozzarella
4. 1-11/2 cups thinly sliced iceberg lettuce
5. Ciabatta bread of your choice (I got toasted tomatoes and Parmesan cheese) 

Ingredients for Olive spread/mix

1. 1/2 cup each of green olives, black olives chopped
2. 1/4 cup each of finely chopped onions, pimento peppers, sweet relish
3. 2 tablespoons mayo
4. 2-3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Mix all the ingredients for the olive spread with 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar

Slice the bread into two slabs. Slather the bottom of the bread with the olive mix. Top with sliced meats and slices in whatever order you like.
mix the lettuce with 1 tablespoon of vinegar and pile it on top and top it with the top side of the bread.

Cover and refrigerate for 2-4 hours. Slice into 6-8 pieces and enjoy

Mooli Paratha

 As I write this, it strikes me that I did not take a picture of the mooli stuffing I made for the paratha. Mooli...Daikon...white Radish. One of the rare vegetables which was not in my mom's favorite list. Mainly because the creates a lot of smell when it is getting cooked and back in the day, we did not have ant exhaust in our house in the mother land.

But here is it not a problem. I have my exhaust on any time I am cooking. The stuffing is very very simple.

 Mooli Paratha (Daikon stuffed Indian Wheat bread)

Mooli paratha

Stuffing Ingredients:

1. 1 daikon about a foot long. scrapped clean, washed and grated
2. 1 teaspoon  each of salt, coriander powder, cumin powder, mustard seeds
3. 1/2 teaspoon each of urad dal,  cumin, turmeric
4.  1 tablespoon sambar powder (optional)
5. 1/2 tablespoon oil
6. 1 red green chili chopped fine (optional)

Ingredients for paratha:

1. 3 cups wheat flour
2. oil for frying paratha
3. water for mixing the dough
4. 1 teaspoon salt

In a pan heat the oil (turn the exhaust on) and add the mustard seeds and cover and fry till they splutter. Add cumin and urad dal and fry for 30 more seconds. Add the chilli if using and add the grated Daikon. Add all the spices and mix well and cover and cook for 10 minutes. Garnish with finely chopped cilantro if you want. Let it cool.

Mix the wheat flour with salt and water into dough and set side for 10 minutes. Divide into 8 parts. Roll on a clean surface to about 4 inch circle. Add a tablespoon of the stuffing and "wrap" the stuffing with the dough and make it into a ball between your palms.

Add more flour to the surface and roll the stuffed dough ball into 6-8 inch ball. Heat the griddle and fry the roti until dark brown spots appear on most of the surface. Add a teaspoon of oil or ghee on both side and serve with your favorite chutney or yogurt or as is.

Mediterranean salmon

Mediterranean salmon (Pan fried Salmon with Mediterranean flavors)

Mediterranean Salmon Recipe

1. ½ cup olive oil 
2. ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
3. 4 cloves garlic, pressed
4. 4 (3 ounce) fillets salmon 
5. 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
6. 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
7. 1 ½ teaspoons garlic salt
   
   
   

• Mix together the olive oil and balsamic vinegar in a small bowl. Arrange the salmon fillets in a shallow baking dish. Rub garlic onto the fillets, then pour the vinegar and oil over them, turning once to coat. Season with cilantro, basil, and garlic salt. Set aside to marinate for 10 minutes.
  
  Heat a pan and fry the salmon 4 minutes on each side

• Serve it with Mediterranean rice and Potatoes

Baingan Gosht Pulao

 Baingan gosht or Eggplant lamb curry is one of my favorite recipes. It goes great with white rice. But today I made a one pot rice dish with eggplant and lamb and it is super delicious and easy to make for a satisfying dinner.

Baingan Gosht Pulao (Rice cooked with spicy Lamb and eggplant)

Eggplant Lamb pulao

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups chopped eggplants (if using American eggplant, peel it and then chop into 1 cm cubes)
2. 1 lb lamb cut into bit size pieces
3. 2 cups basmati rice washed
4. 1 tablespoon oil
5. 1 medium large onion sliced thin
6. 1 teaspoon each of salt, garam masala powder
7.  2 teaspoons ginger garlic paste
8. 1 cup coconut milk (optional)
9. 2-3 green chillies slit
10. handful of coriander leaves and mint leaves chopped

In a pressure cooker, heat the oil and fry the onions till they start turning brown. Add ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute. Add lamb and fry for a minute. Add eggplant and all the spices and mix well. Add 1/4 cup water and cook for 3 whistles.

Let the steam escape and add 1 cup coconut milk + 11/2 cup water or 21/2 cups water and bring to a boil. Add the rice and cook for 3 whistles and cut the heat. Let all the steam escape. Open the cooker and stir the rice and service with Raita and/or Gravy for Biryani

Sabudana Bonda

 This is a recipe from my never ending hunts for "something new" . 
Its summer...meaning...all three meals have to be cooked. No "left overs" as people are all at home and they finish up everything there is  edible at home. No complaints :) May be!!!

Anyway, this Sabudana bonda recipe, is usually deep fried byt as I tend to avoid deep frying things...I used the Appam pan . And I also made my fam favorite Peanut Chutney to go with it

Sabudana Bonda (Tapioca fritters)

Sabudaana Bonda

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup Sabudaana washed
2. 1 cup plain yogurt beaten
3. 2-3 tablespoon rice flour
4. 1/4 cup finely chopped onions
5. 1 heaped tablespoon finely chopped cilantro
6. 2 Thai or 1 Serrano chilli chopped fine (reduce if you want less heat)
7. 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
8. 3/4 teaspoon salt
9. 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
10. 1 tablespoon grated coconut
11. 1 teaspoon baking soda
12. oil for deep frying to to add to the Appam pan

Beat the yogurt and add the washed tapioca to it and set it aside for 4-8 hrs. Check how much water there is in the Tapioca yogurt mixture and add more water 1 tablespoon at a time. Mix it with all the other ingredients except oil. Set aside for 10 minutes.

Heat the appam pan or oil in a pan. Make 1 to 1.5 inch balls out of the tapioca mixture. Deep fry them or add each ball to the appam pan and cover and cook for 3 minutes. Turn and cover and cook for 2 more minutes. Turn if needed and cook for 1 more minute. Let cool a bit and enjoy with ketchup or with Any Chutney

Another Sabudana Recipe : Sabudana Khichidi

Delicious Cajun Chicken Pasta

 I have made a number of different pasta dishes ...but this one takes the cake. This pasta recipe is super simple but is so flavorful. The original recipe is here

Delicious Cajun Chicken Pasta (Pasta cooked in spicy Cajun seasoning)

Delicious Cajun Chicken Pasta

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb chicken breast cut into small bite size pieces
2. 1 tablespoon each of butter, olive oil, Cajun seasoning
3. 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
4. 1/2 cup chopped onions
5. 2 tablespoon each of cream cheese and sour cream
6. 1 cup mushrooms quartered (optional)
7. 3 cups of your favorite paste cooked to package directions
8. 6 oz tomato paste
9. 2-3 cups chicken stock
10. salt to taste +Salt to put in the water for boiling pasta

While the pasta water is boiling, in a pan heat the oil and fry the onions for 5 minutes. Add garlic and fry for a minute. Take care to NOT burn them. Add chicken and stir well. Add mushrooms if using and cook for minutes. Add tomato paste and chicken stock and the Cajun seasoning and mix well. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add the cream cheese and beaten sour cream and stir to combine. Add drained pasta. Garnish with chives, parsley or cilantro and enjoy

Banana Pancake Bites

 This is super delicious. A bit of a work to make but its delightful to see all the people's happy faces when they discover the secret after the initial happiness of seeing tiny pancakes

Banana Pancake Bites

Banana Pancake Bites

Ingredients:

1. 1-1/4 cup pancake mix
2. 2 medium sized bananas sliced into 1/4 thick rounds
3. butter for frying pancakes.

Mix the pancake batter little thicker than usual. Heat a griddle and spread butter all over.

Add few pieces of bananas into the batter and flip them so that they are covered in batter on both sides. Using a fork drop each banana piece and some batter onto the griddle and fry for 1-2 minutes. Flip and cook 1 more minute. Add some more butter if needed. Enjoy as is or with maple syrup

Chicken Samosa

 Spicy chicken samosa is pretty awesome. Its great for tea time snack or make the spice level low so that it becomes a yummy lunch for school or office.

Spicy Chicken Samosa (Indian Empanada with ground chicken)

Chicken Samosa

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb ground chicken
2. 1 medium small onion chopped
3. 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
4. 1/2 teaspoon each of chilli powder, curry powder
5. 3/4 teaspoon salt
6. 1 tablespoon fenugreek leaves
7. 1/2 cup frozen peas thawed
8. 1/2 cup chicken broth
9. 1 tablespoon oil
10. Oil for spraying on the baking sheet

Mix all the spice ingredients in the chicken. Heat oil in a pan and add the onions and fry for 5 minutes. Add ginger garlic paste and fry for 1 minute. Add the chicken and stir and break well and cook for 10 minutes or until no longer pink. Add the chicken broth or water and cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Add peas and cover and continue for 5 more minutes. Garnish with cilantro and cut the heat and let it cool

Home made dough or use store bough empanada circles. Cut them into halves. Fill each half with 1-1.5 tablespoons chicken filling. Touch your finger with water and run it at the edges. Close the half circle into a triangle and lay on a sprayed baking sheet.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray the samosas with cooking spray. Bake for 15 minutes. Flip the samosas spary again and bake for 15 more minutes. Let it cool a bit and enjoy

Thai Peanut Ramen noodles

 I love saucy noodles, I love peanut butter. Like the Geyco from Geico says "why not marry them?"

Thai Peanut Ramen noodles

Ramen noodles in spicy peanut sauce with vegetables and Egg 

Ingredients:

1. 1 Package Ramen Noodles
2. 1 tablespoon each of Creamy Peanut Butter, Low Sodium Soy Sauce, roasted chopped peanuts
3. 1 Teaspoon each of Chili Garlic Sauce, Sesame Oil, Honey or sugar
4. 1 Green Onions Sliced Optional
5. 1 egg soft cooked
6. tiny pinch of salt per your taste preference

Cook the ramen noodles according to package directions (without the spice packet). Drain 2/3 water and set aside.
In a medium bowl whisk together the peanut butter, soy sauce, chili sauce, sesame oil, and honey/sugar.
Pour the sauce over the noodles and toss to coat.
Serve topped with sliced green onions and crushed peanuts and egg if desired.

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Murgh Kalimirch

I have exhausted my recipe stash in the last one year of pretty much eating every meal at home. In my eternal search for something new I stumbled upon this delicious recipe which has a ton of black pepper in it.  It worked out great for a cold evening. The original recipe is here  . If you want a dry stir fried curry here is another black pepper chicken recipe

Murgh Kalimirch ( Chicken in yogurt gravy with black pepper)

Ingredients

1. 1 medium large onion chopped
2. Handful of  Cashew Nuts
3. 1 tbsp Vegetable oil
4. 3-4 Cardamom
5. 1 bay leaf
6. 1 teaspoon Ginger garlic paste
7. 1 lb chicken breast cut into bite size pieces
8. 1 cup plain yogurt lightly beaten
9. 1  teaspoon each of Coriander powder, salt, freshly ground black pepper
10. 1/2 teaspoon Cumin powder
11. 1 tablespoon Kasuri Methi

Heat a cup of water and add the onions and cashews to it and let sit for 5-7 minutes. Drain and grind the onions. Reserve the liquid.

Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan. Add cardamom and bayleaf to the pan. Add onion paste and fry for 8-10 minutes.Add ginger garlic paste and fry for 2 minutes.

Now add chicken and fry for 10 minutes on medium high heat. Add yogurt and reserved onion water and mix well. Add all the spices and mix well. Simmer for 10 minutes. Enjoy with roti, steamed rice or Zeera rice

Ancient grains Dosa

 Exactly a year when we were getting into lock down, we went to Costco and my husband was on one of those healthy shopping sprees and got a box of Tasty bites Ancient Grains. Of course after eating it a couple of times, it was forgotten in the pantry. Today I used one of those packets and the dosa was super delicious.

Ancient grains Dosa (Crepes made of Ancient grains and lentil/rice batter)

Ancient grains Dosa

Ancient grains crepe

Ingredients:

1. 1 8.8 oz Tasty Bites Ancient grains pouch
2. 1/2 cup urad dal flour
3. 1/4 cup rice flour
4. 1/2 teaspoon salt
5. 2 cups water
6. Oil for cooking the dosa

Grind the ancient grains into a smooth paste with 1/2 cup water. Heat the rest of the water for 1 minutes in the microwave. Mix all the ingredients together except oil and set aside for 20 minutes.

Heat a griddle. Take a ladle of batter and add it to the center of the griddle and with a light hand spread it into a circle with outward motion until it gets to 6 inch circle. Drizzle oil around the dosa and cover and cook on medium low for 2 minutes. Flip and add little oil and cook for 2 more minutes. Serve with your favorite chutney or curry

Banana split Cake

This is one of the most awesome dessert recipes I have ever made. Its so easy to make but tastes like heaven. My son says he wants this for this birthday instead a a cake...and that is a huge compliment :)

The original recipe is here 

Banana Split Cake (No bake layered cake with cream, pineapple and banana)

Banana and pineapple layered cake

Ingredients:

1. 9 graham crackers, crushed (about 1-1/2 cups)
2.  1 cup sugar, divided
3.  1/3 cup butter, melted
4.  2 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
5.  1 can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple in juice, drained
6.  3-4 bananas peeled and sliced
7.  1 5.1 oz JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding
8.  2 cups cold milk
9.  2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, divided

Combine graham crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar and butter; press onto bottom of 13x9-inch pan. Freeze 10 min.

Beat cream cheese and remaining sugar with mixer until blended. Spread carefully over crust; top with pineapple. Arrange the sliced bananas over pineapple.

Beat pudding mixes and milk with whisk 2 min. Stir in 1 cup COOL WHIP; spread over banana layer in pan. Top with remaining COOL WHIP. Refrigerate 5 hours.

Serve with ,pre sliced bananas or cherries if desired

Shrimp Okra Fry

 Okra fry and shrimp fry are super delicious dishes. This dish combines both of those and creates one yummy dry fry dish, to be served with white rice and dal.

Shrimp Okra Fry( Okra and shrimp fried with Indian spices)

Shrimp Okra Fry

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb medium or large shrimp peeled and deveined
2. 12 oz frozen okra thawed or fresh okra, ends discarded and cut into 1/2 inch rounds.
3. 1/2 cup red onion sliced
4. 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
5. 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
6. 3/4 teaspoon salt
7. 1 teaspoon each of cumin powder, coriander powder, chilli powder
8. 1 tablespoon oil

In a pan heat the oil and fry the onions till they start turning dark brown. Add okra cover and cook for 10 minutes on medium heat. Add all the spices and ginger garlic paste and stir well and fry for 2 minutes. Move the okra to the edges of the pan and add the shrimp. Let them cook for a minute. Flip and cook for 1 more minutes. Stir to combine. Fry for 5 more minutes or until you are sure the shrimp are cooked through. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy with steamed rice and dal or any of your favorite rice recipes

Alphabet Stew

 I used to get the "Alphabet Pasta" when the kids were little. It was fun asking them to find a specific alphabet in their food when they used to eat it. Then they became older and I stopped brining this pasta. The other day I found it in the super market and I got nostalgic and some a pack. :)

Alphabet Stew

Alphabet Stew with vegetables

Alphabet stew and chops

Ingredients:

1. 1 packet alphabet pasta or about 1.5 cups
2. 3.5 cups of chicken broth
3. salt and pepper to taste
4. 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
5. 1/2 cup each of chopped onions, frozen spinach thawed, small cubed carrots, frozen green peas thawed, chopped bell pepper of your fav color
6. 1/2 tablespoon each of butter, olive oil (or use 1 tablespoon of either butter or olive oil and skip the other)

In a pan heat the oil and butter and seat the onions for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and stir well. Add the pasta and stir for 2 minutes. Add hot broth cover and cook on medium high for 6 minutes (My pasta had a cook time of 11 minutes). Add all the vegetables and stir and cover and simmer for 5 more minutes. Taste test for salt and adjust it and add pepper and serve with your favorite meat . I served it when beef chops. Enjoy on a cold evening.

Good for you Chicken Rice

 This rice dish has good for you ingredients in it. It is like an Indian Pulao or Pilaf. You can want you can use regular white rice but since it is "Good for you" Chicken Rice, I made this with Brown rice.

Good for you Chicken Rice (Brown rice and Cauliflower with Chicken)

Cauliflower brown rice with Chicken

Ingredients:

1. 1.5 cups cooked chicken
2. 2 cups cauliflower rice
3. 1 cup brown rice soaked in water for 30 minutes.
4. 1 medium small onion sliced
5. 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
6. 1 teaspoon each of coriander powder, cumin powder, chilli powder garam masala, salt, chopped mint
7. 1-2 tablespoons oil

After the brown rice has been soaked for 30 minutes, discard the water. Cook it in a rice cooker with 2.5 cups of water.

In a pan heat the oil and fry the onions till they start turning dark brown. Add cauliflower and all the spices and mix well and cook covered for 10 minutes. Add the cooked rice and mint and mix well. Taste test for salt and add more if needed. Serve with boiled eggs if desired. Enjoy!!!

Click here for nutritional information

Qawami Seviyah

 Seviyah are the thin wheat noodles that are used in India and Pakistan predominantly during the month of Ramadan for sweets and breakfasts in general.

When we think of Seviyah...the main recipe which comes to mind is kheer or sheer khurma. This sweet I found today is so much better...Kheer being not one of my favorites

Qawami Seviyah (Thin Wheat noodles in milk and sugar syrup)

Qawami Seviyah

Ingredients:

1. 250 grams thin Vermicelli (Seviyan)
2. 1/4 Cup Clarified Butter (Ghee)
3. 1 Cups Milk
4. 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
5.  1 teaspoon rose water
6. 2 tablespoons each of  slivered almonds, slivered pistachios, desiccated coconut and raisins

Sugar Syrup

1. 1  Cup Water
2. 1 Cups Sugar

In a pan add all the ingredients of sugar syrup and cook until the sugar dissolves. Let simmer for 3-4 minutes and turn off the heat.

In an another heavy bottom pan add clarified butter (ghee) and add the dried fruit and toast it. Drain and set aside. In the same pan add vermicelli  and roast it until it turns brown in color. keep stirring so that they don’t burn.
Now add milk to the pan along with lemon juice, turn the flame to high and cook until the milk is absorbed.
Add to it the prepared sugar syrup and rose water. When it starts to bubble, turn the flame to low and cover with a lid. Cook until the milk is absorbed and vermicelli is cooked completely
Take out in the serving dish, sprinkle with nuts, desiccated and decorate with silver leaf
Enjoy

Blondies

 When you are craving something sweet and chewy but are out of chocolate...Blondies...

:)

The recipe originates form here

Blondies (Chocolate less Brownies...Blondies)

Blondies

Ingredients:

1. 6 oz unsalted butter melted 
2. 1 1/2 cup brown sugar
3. 2 large eggs  room temperature 
4. 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
5. 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 
6. 2 teaspoons cornstarch
7. 1/2 teaspoon  each of baking powder, salt
8. 2/3 cup chocolate chips white/regular

Preheat oven to 350F and line a 13x9 pan with parchment paper

Combine melted butter and sugar in a large bowl and stir well.

Add eggs and vanilla extract and stir until completely combined. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt.

Gradually stir dry ingredients into wet until completely combined.

Fold in chocolate chips if using.

Spread blondie batter into prepared pan and transfer to oven.

Bake on 350F for 25-30 minutes*** or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few fudgy crumbs.

Allow to cool before cutting and enjoying

Zucchini corn cakes

This recipe is called a cake for lack of any other proper term. This is not a cake nor does it have sugar as an ingredient. But it turns out a bit sweet because of the natural sugars in corn

This is a great sports night snack

Zucchini corn cake (grilled corn and zucchini patty)

Zucchini Corn Cakes

Ingredients

1. 2 cups frozen corn thawed
2. 1/2 cup each of grated mozzarella cheese, bread crumbs
3. 11/2 cup grated zucchini (Squeeze some water out of it)
4. 1/2 -1 cup all purpose flour (Depending on how watery your zucchini and corn are)
5. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper or more to taste

Pulse the corn 5-7 times. Mix all the ingredients and divide it into 6-8 parts and make it into 1/2 inch thick patties and let it set in the fridge for 30-60 minutes. Heat a grill and grill on medium heat for 3-4 minutes in each sides

Let it cool a bit and serve