Confetti Soup

This soup is super delicious an looks pretty too and one of the healthy soups you would eat. I made this soup to serve with my chicken stuffed bread

Confetti Soup (Broccoli and carrot soup)

Confetti soup

Soup and chicken stuffed bread

 Ingredients:

1. 4 cups broccoli florets
2. 1 cup chopped carrot
3. 1/2 cup chopped onion
4. 2 large or 4 small garlic pods
5. 1 chicken buillion
6. 2 tablespoons each of flour, butter
7. 1 tablespoon olive oil
8. 1/2 teaspoon garlic
9. 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
10. 2 cups milk
11. 1 cup water

In a pan heat the oil and fry the onions for 5 minutes. Add the broccoli and carrot and cover and cook for 8 minutes. Add garlic and cover and cook for 2 more minutes. Let cook and grind to a small coarse pieces.

In the same pan heat the butter and fry the flour stirring continuously for 3 minutes on medium low heat. Add heated milk and water to it and mix until there are no more lumps. Add the ground paste and everything else and simmer for 10-15  minutes. Give it a taste test and adjust the salt. Serve with breadsticks 

Chicken stuffed bread

Long long time ago I made stromboli...at that time I was a novice at baking and I felt it was very difficult to knead the dough and all. But now I have become a pro - baking things for kids lunches every single week.

So, today I made buffalo chicken stuffed garlic bread and man its delicious. And I made green and orange confetti soup to go with it. The combination was sooo filling and great on a cold night. SO here you go

Chicken stuffed bread (Shredded chicken stuffed in bread and baked)

Turkey Stromboli with caramelized onions and mushrooms

Ingredients:
For Shredded chicken:

1. 1 chicken breast butterflied
2. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, lemon pepper, ground cumin
3. 1 teaspoon garlic powder, onion powder, coriander powder

Sprinkle the chicken with all the ingredients and set aside for atleast 15 minutes. Spray a pot with tight fitting lid with cooking spray. On medium heat fry the chicken on each side for 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup hot water to the pot and reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered for 8-10 minutes. Drain, let cool and shred

recipe for dough

After the dough is ready, divide the it into 2 part. roll the dough on a clean counter until it is 12 inch thick and 8x6 flat. Spread half of the chicken, top with it 1/2 cup mexican 3 cheese blend, roll the edges 1/2 inch and the roll it the longer side. Put it on a prepared baked sheet seam side down. Poke the bread a few times.

NOTE: for spice loving adults, I added 1/2 cup spicy salsa to the shredded chicken before using it to top the dough

Set it in a warm place for 20 minutes.

Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes. Brush the bread with 2 tablespoons butter and 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic and 1/4 teaspoon salt

One other way of shredding chicken

Ingredients for Turkey Stromboli with caramelized onions and mushroom:

1. Oven roasted deli turkey
2. 1/2 cup  onions chopped
3. 4 oz button/cremini mushrooms sliced
4. 1 teaspoons olive oil
5.  for filling along with turkey provolone cheese and feta cheese

In a pan heat the oil and add the onions and mushrooms and cook on low heat for 7-8 minutes. Let cool and assemble the stromboli with laters of turkey , cheese, little marinara sauce, some onions and mushrooms and repeat. Make into stromboli, let rest for 20 minutes and bake and enjoy with marinara sauce on the side

Khaja

Khaja is an Indian sweet which is pretty sweet and super delicious. This is a layered deep fried dough which is then dropped into sugar syrup to absorb the syrup. And it is super yummy delicious. It is available in every sweet stall where I come from in India. But here it is quite difficult to find. So finally I mustered up the courage to make it at home. And boy oh boy, I am happy about my decision.

The recipe is very easy to make and the end result is great. So go ahead...take a plunge and enjoy the results

Khaja (Deep fried layered dough in sugar syrup)

Khaja

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup all purpose flour
2. 1 tablespoon ghee
3. 2 tablespoons milk
4. 1/4 teaspoon salt
5. water as needed
6. Oil for deep frying

Ingredients for filling:

1. 2 tablespoons rice flour
2. 2 tablespoons ghee

Ingredients for syrup:

1. 1 cup sugar
2. 1/2 cup water
3. 1 teaspoon rose essence

Mix the flour with salt and milk and ghee. Add water little by little to make soft dough. Cover the dough and set it aside for 15 minutes.

Divide the dough into 2 or 3 parts and roll it on a clean counter top into a thin circle.

Add a tablespoon of filling and spread it. Roll the roti and cut it into into 1/2 inch pieces. Flatten the edges and pinch the place where the edge is.

Make the sugar syrup with and boil it for 5-7 minutes.

Heat oil in a frying pan and fry the khajas till golden brown. Add them to the sygar syrup and drain after 1 minutes. Enjoy warm Khajas :)

Dosa with rice and urad flour

My household is a big fan of Dosa. But making dosa is a long process. You can't just think you want to eat it and make it then and there. It needs "pre thinking". At least planning a day ahead. Sometimes it is not possible and you absolutely want to eat dosa  right then. That's when making it with the flours instead of with the legumes comes in handy.

And this recipe is absolutely great. It turns out to be exactly like the once made with soaked dal and rice. They are crispy and yummy. Do try when in a time crunch or just when you are craving hot crispy dosas

Dosa with Rice and Urad Flour (Indian crepes made with rice and black gram flour)

Instant Dosa

Ingredients:

1. 1/4 cup flattened rice ground to fine powder
2. 1 cup rice flour
3. 1/2 cup urad dal flour
4. 1/2-3/4 teaspoon each of salt, baking soda
5. water as need to make thin batter
6. oil for frying

Mix all the powders together. Add water little by little ( up to 2 cups) and make a thin batter. 

Heat a griddle and test with a drop of water. If it sizzles then the griddle is ready. Add a ladle of batter in the center and spread it into a circle getting bigger and bigger with a light hand. Add oil to the edges. Let fry for 2-3 minutes and when the sides lift up turn the dosa and fry for 1 more minute on the other side. Serve with your favorite chutney or Potato Curry

Maat ki Phalli Khatta

Maat ki Phalli or cluster beans...I have a love hate relationship with them. I really crave them sometimes and sometimes I do not want to even see them. Right now I am going through the "loving it" phase and this is one of my fav recipes.

Maat Ki Phalli Khatta (Cluster beans in tamarind gravy)

Maat ki phalli khatta

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup of cluster beans cut into 1 inch pieces
2. 2 cups of juice from a lime sized tamarind
3. 2 tablespoons rice flour
4. 1 tablespoon each of oil, roasted peanuts powder
5. 1/2 cup chopped red onion
6. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, mustard seeds, urad dal, turmeric, chopped garlic
7. 2 green chillies
8. few curry leaves

In a pressure cooker add the oil and heat it. Add cumin, urad dal, mustard seeds and curry leaves and fry till they start to splutter. Add onions and fry for 5 minutes. Add garlic and fry for a minute. Add cluster beans and fry for 2 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and close the cooker and cook for 3 whistles.

If you are not using cooker then cover and cook for 20 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy with white rice and shrimp

Amaranth Shrimp fry (Dry peanut based leafy vegetable and Shrimp fry)

Thota kura Shrimp fry

Ingredients:

1. 2-3 cups chopped Amaranth leaves (Thota kura)
2. 12 oz medium shrimp peeled and deveined
3. 1 cup chopped onions
4. 2 tablespoon oil
5. ½ teaspoon each of salt, turmeric, urad dal, mustard seeds, chopped ginger, chopped garlic
6. 1 heaped teaspoon coriander powder
7. 2 dried red chillies

Dry roast

1. 2 tablespoons peanuts
2. 2 dried red chillies (reduce if you like less spicy)
3. Few curry leaves
4. 1 tablespoon dried coconut
5. 1 teaspoon cumin

Dry roast the ingredients under dry roast and let cool. Grind to a fine paste

In a pan heat the oil and add urad dal and mustard seeds along with broken chillies and curry leave. Fry for a minute. Add chopped onions and fry till they start turning brown. Add ginger and garlic pieces and fry for a minute. Add chopped thota kura and add salt and turmeric and cover and cook for 10 minutes. Add shrimp and all the other spices and cook for 10 minutes. Add ground peanut powder and mix well. Garnish with cilantro and serve with hot steamy rice

Pasta with Lamb and Mushroom

I started by thinking I will make Cheese steak pasta i.e pasta in white sauce along with lamb but what I ended by making was much more delicious and not as much cheesy. It just flew off the table

Pasta with Lamb and Mushroom

Pasta with Mushroom and Lamb

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb lamb cut into 1 cm pieces
2. 1 tablespoon each of olive oil, butter
3. 8 oz mushrooms sliced
4. 1 cup chopped fresh spinach
5. 1/2 cup chopped onions
6. 2-3 garlic pods chopped fine
7. 1 heaped table spoon flour
8. 1/4 tomato sauce
9. 1 cup each of water, milk
10. 1 chicken bouillon
11. 1/2 teaspoon each of cayenne pepper, salt, fresh ground black pepper, oregano, tarragon
12. 2.5 cups of your fav pasta cooked to al dente

Marinate the lamb with 1 little oil, salt and pepper for 20 minutes.

Heat a pan and fry the lamb for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside. In the same pan add the rest of the oil and butter and fry the onions till 5 minutes. Add garlic and fry for a minute. Add mushrooms and spinach and fry for 6-7 minutes. Scoop them to one side of the pot and add the flour and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the tomato paste and all the rest of the ingredients and and simmer until the pasta is done. Add the drained pasta simmer for 5 more minutes. Serve topped with Parmesan cheese

Amaranth Mushroom fry

Happy new year every one...It has been one heck of an year 2017. I hope 2018 brings the best of everything for everyone and above all may there be world peace and less people getting dislocated from their homes, no matter what the cause.

Anyway, I got my favorite leafy vegetable when I went to the Indian stores and I wanted to make something which the kids will also eat without fussing because mushroom is their fav. And this dry curry is so delicious, I had to blog it fast before I would forget it. You should try and if possible please let me know.

Amaranth Mushroom fry (Dry peanut based leafy vegetable and mushroom fry)

Thota kura Mushroom fry

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups chopped Amaranth leaves (Thota kura)
2. 8 oz button mushrooms sliced
3. 1/3 cup chopped onions
4. 1 tablespoon oil
5. ½ teaspoon each of salt, turmeric, urad dal, mustard seeds, chopped ginger, chopped garlic
6. 1 heaped teaspoon coriander powder
7. 2 dried red chillies

Dry roast

1. 2 tablespoons peanuts
2. 2 dried red chillies (reduce if you like less spicy)
3. Few curry leaves
4. 1 tablespoon dried coconut
5. 1 teaspoon cumin

Dry roast the ingredients under dry roast and let cool. Grind to a fine paste

In a pan heat the oil and add urad dal and mustard seeds along with broken chillies and curry leave. Fry for a minute. Add chopped onions and fry till they start turning brown. Add ginger and garlic pieces and fry for a minute. Add chopped thota kura and add salt and turmeric and cover and cook for 10 minutes. Add mushrooms and all the other spices and cook for 10 minutes. Add ground peanut powder and mix well. Garnish with cilantro and serve with hot steamy rice