Tzatziki sauce

There are a few things I like about going to a middle Eastern restaurant. Mostly the meats and then the sauce...the Tzatziki sauce. It is soooo simple to make and sooo delicious to eat

Tzatziki sauce (Yogurt sauce with cucumber)

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 medium cucumber peeled
2. 1 garlic clove
3. 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill 
4. 1 cup full-fat Greek yogurt
5. 1  tablespoons fresh lemon juice
6. 1 tablespoon olive oil
7. ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
8. Fresh ground blak pepper

Grate the cucumber using a box grater, then place the shreds in a fine mesh strainer and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Sprinkle with kosher salt, then let stand for at least 10 minutes to drain any remaining water. Squeeze once more to drain.
Mince 1 clove garlic and chop 1 tablespoon fresh dill.
Mix cucumber, garlic, dill,  yogurt, lemon juice, 1 tablespoon olive oil, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt,  fresh ground black pepper. Refrigerate for at least 1 to 2 hours so the flavors can marry. Serve with pita, crackers, or vegetables or with kofta kababs

Chinese okra soup

Call it the resolution fever or just going with the flow with so many people getting into the diet mode at the beginning of the year, I am deciding to eat/drink more soup . So this is my first soup of the year.

U heard about this soup a long long time ago when I was shopping for Chinese Okra or as it is called in India Ridge gourd. In India most of the recipes with ridge gourd call for cooking it till most/all of the water is evaporated. It is super delicious because of the concentrated flavor, but if you ask me , a bad way to cook a vegetable which has high water content. 

Anyway I made this brothy soup and yum yum even my kids loves it

Ridge gourd soup

Chinese Okra Soup

Ingredients:

1. 1 okra peeled and washed. Cut into 1/8 inch thick semi circles
2. 1/2 tablespoon butter or olive oil
3. 1 big or 2 small garlic cloves grated
4. 2 tablespoons finely sliced onion
5. 2 cups chicken broth or water
6. Salt and pepper to taste
7. Cilantro for garnishing

In a pan heat the oil or butter and fry the onions till translucent. Add garlic and fry for a minute. Add ridge gourd or chinese okra and fry for about 10 minutes until they lose their raw color. Add the broth/ water salt and pepper and simmer for 15 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy hot

NOTE: If you want enhanced flavor add a tablespoon of cooked chicken or lamb or shrimp finely chopped

Hasselback potato chips

See, the jewelry at the top of the page, I made those but the app was supposed to be 2x2 inches box. And it is occupying a whole lot of page and spoiling the whole purpose of this blog. Google needs to fix it and I am so sorry because those jewelry pieces are soooo in your face :(

Anyway, this hassel back potatoes are so nice to look it but it is quite a bit of work and you have to serve it as immediately as possible after you bake it. Otherwise they become hard

The photo does not do any justice

Hasselback potato chips

Hassel back Potato Chips

Ingredients:

1. 3 or 4 russet potatoes scrubbed well
2. Handful of garlic peeled and sliced length wise into thin slices
3. 1 teaspoon of salt
4. Oil as needed
5. Pepper or any other seasoning you like

Slice the potatoes into 1/8 inch thick slices being careful to leave the bottom intact. Insert a slice of garlic between two slices of the potato. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Drizzle oil and sprinkle with salt pepper and any other spices you like. Bake for 50-70 minutes. Serve immediately with Ketchup or anyother dipping sauce like tzatziki

New year eve appetizers

Such an eventful year and it is at an end. I rise the bubbly to an year where many many things which took years in the making finally happened. Today is a day to celebrate and say good bye to a happy year and pray and hope the coming year would be equally, if not more successful. Happy new year to you

Egg stuffed chicken kabobs

Ingredients

1. 2 lbs ground chicken ( if you can use lamb, it is the best)

2. 8 eggs hard boiled, peeled and cut into quarters length wise

3.  1 teaspoon salt

4. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin powder, coriander powder, chili flakes 

5. 1 teaspoon grated garlic

6. 1/4 cup very finely chopped onions

7. Oil for shallow frying

Mix all the ingredients and set aside until ready to use

Apply oil to both your palms. Heat about 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan. Take a small egg sized meat mixture and flatten it. Put an egg quarter on it and roll the meat so that you cannot see any egg. Fry on medium low heat for about 10 minutes. Turn the kabobs every 4-5 minutes until you do not see any raw meat. Serve with tatziki or ketchup

Strawberry jelly roll

Today being Christmas eve I was searching for some cake recipes and whatever I found needed ingredients I didn't have at hand. And I don't want to go shopping today evening certainly. The shops are so super crowded.
           And finally I found the recipe here and this time around I followed it to the dot. I usually modify it in one way or other but today its not the case. And I am very happy with the results. It is so simple and easy to make and it can be made pretty fast too. Other than the 1 hr you need to wait for the cake to cool down

Strawberry Jelly Roll

Strawberry jelly roll

Ingredients:

1. 2 tsp. powdered sugar
2. 4 eggs
3. ¾ c. sugar
4. ¼ c. cold water
5. 1 tsp. vanilla
6. 1 c. flour
7. 1 tsp. baking powder
8. ¼ tsp. salt
9. ¾ c. strawberry jelly

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. (350 degrees if the baking tray is dark) Grease and lightly flour a 15” x 10” x 1” baking pan. Lay a clean kitchen towel on a flat surface and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
2. Using a hand mixer, beat eggs at high speed for 5 minutes or until thick. Add sugar ¼ c. at a time, beating until light and fluffy. Stir in water and vanilla.
3. With the mixer running on low speed, add flour, baking powder, and salt. Continue to mix until dry ingredients are moistened.
4. Pour batter evenly into prepared pan. Bake for 12 – 14 minutes. The cake is ready when it springs back after being lightly touched.
5. Remove baking pan from oven and run a sharp knife around the edges to loosen. Immediately invert on to the towel sprinkled with powdered sugar. Remove pan.
6. Starting with the short side, roll up cake in towel and set on a wire rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
7. Unroll cake and remove towel. Spread cake with jelly and re-roll loosely to incorporate filling. Wrap in foil or wax paper and store in the refrigerator until serving. Sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving if desired.

Power balls

There has been a bounty of sweet potatoes at my super market and I have been making the sweet potato scones and I was searching for some other recipes for sweet potato. I found the recipe to make with protein rich nuts. The balls are super delicious and power house of protein. You can make it into squares or bars or any other shape which is convenient to you

Power Balls (Protein rich breakfast balls)

breakfast protein bars

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 cup cooked sweet potato 
2. 2 packets quaker quick oats with walnut and raisins
3. 1/4 cup unsalted sunflower seeds
4. 1/4 cup almonds
5. 2 tablespoons each of dates paste, peanut butter
6. 1 tablespoon honey or to taste
7. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8. 1 tablespoon sesame seeds



Calorific info for the power balls

Pulse the oats, sunflower seeds and almonds till they become coarse. Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse till it all comes together. Make into walnut sized balls and store it in the fridge. Enjoy your breakfast balls rich in protein

Tandoori chicken

OThe Omni present dish in all the indian restaurants in America is the red chicken- tandoori chicken . Which on the way to America from India lost its spicyness but gained the color to fake the spice. Anyway, it is one of the favorite dishes of one and all and I finally got it at home

Tandoori chicken

Ingredients

1. 6 chicken thigh+drumstick bone in or 1 lb chicken breast cut into 1 inch pieces

2. 2/3 cup plain yogurt

3. 1/2 brown onion ground to paste

3. 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

4. 1/2 teaspoon each of red food color, salt, turmeric,

5.1 teaspoon coriander powder, red chilli powder, ginger-garlic paste

5. 1 tablespoon oil

Mix all the ingredients together and marinate the chicken for 12-24 hours. Or 30-60 minutes if you are in a hurry

Heat the oven to 425 degrees . Reduce heat to 400 degrees. Place the chicken on a grilling rack and bake for 30 minutes. Turn the chicken and bake for 30 more minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving with pilaf and onion rings and lemon 

I also have a stove top grill. So when I do not want to use the oven, especially for chicken breast pieces, I use the stove top grill. 

Lay the chicken pieces in a single layer and grill 3-5 minutes. Then flip and grill 2-4 minutes further. Cover and let stay on the grill for 1-2 minutes. Enjoy as an appetizer or a side dish