Surprise Roti Sandwich

This dish makes use of a very versatile ingredient - left over rotis and a very tricky ingredient - brinjal! Brinjal or eggplant or aubergine (depending on which part of the world you are reading this from) does not usually have too many takers and that's the surprise factor in this dish as its really difficult to tell that you are eating baingan :)  A friend's family has a tradition of visiting Haridwar when a child is born in the family and as an offering of thanks, renouncing one particular food item for ever ! My friend's mom gave up eating brinjal and I thought smart lady! who loves eating brinjal anyway...how about renouncing chocolate ??
Talking about left over chappatis....growing up , my mom had the tastiest solution to left over rotis - fried papads. Just cut the roti into two and deep fry, sprinkle salt and red chilli and you have the best accompaniment to dal chawal. But gone are the frying days and its all about healthy eating ..this is a great way for an interesting combination

Ingredients

1 cup steamed corn
2 cups diced brinjal (Use the dark purple variety and dice into small cubes)
1 onion, sliced
1 teaspoon ajwain(carom) seeds
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon garlic paste
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tablespoon ketchup
Grated cheese
6 rotis (you can use fresh ones also)
olive oil

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the carom seeds. When they splutter add the ginger and garlic paste and fry for few seconds on a medium flame
2. Add the onion and cook till soft.
3. Add the brinjal and salt and cover with a lid. Cook on slow flame till it is soft and cooked.
4. Add the corn, pepper and ketchup. Toss and turn off the flame.
5. When slightly cooled, take a roti , fold in half and put two spoonfuls of this mixture on the bottom half. Put some grated cheese (or paneer) , fold the other half over and grill in sandwich maker till roti is crisp. Brush the roti with olive oil before putting in the grill.
6. Cut into two with a pizza cutter and serve with ketchup.

Shakarkandi Mayo Chaat

If you wondering what exotic dish I have served up today then gotcha! Shakarkandi is the hindi name for...........Sweet Potato ! :) So if you have ever visited the North in winter months, nothing is more soothing than the sweet and warm taste of the roasted sweet potato chaat served in cute li'l dried leaf katories..anyways the taste of street food is rarely matched elsewhere. Well winter is nowhere near but my vegetable vendor had a good stock of sweet potatoes so I am experimenting with what all I can come up with this delicious root vegetable.
Firstly you must cook this correctly and the best way is to cook in a steamer as boiling it in water makes it.. well.. sloshy (I can't come up with a better word ) . I cook mine in a steamer in a pressure cooker, just one whistle on high flame then left for 5 minutes on a slow flame. Open the cooker when the steam has released and smile at the pretty pink fella staring at you. Try this variation with mayonnaise for a super quick evening snack fix..

Ingredients

2 big sweet potatoes
4 tablespoons mayonnaise (low-fat preferred)
1 tablespoon tomato ketchup
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
1 teaspoon salt
Juice of one lemon
Chaat masala, coriander leaves to garnish

1. Boil the sweet potatoes. Roast them on a tawa with the skin on, till browned on all sides.
2. Peel and cut into chunks.
3. Mix all the remaining ingredients and pour over the sweet potato pieces.
4. Garnish with chaat masala and coriander leaves (I added colour with a little pomegranate)
5. Serve with toothpicks and watch them vanish !

Minty Peas Poha

The greatest gift from Maharashtra to the world in my opinion is Poha :) find me a soul who doesn't love this simple yet wholesome dish . I remember a trip to Shirdi a few years back where we diverted (read got lost) from our usual route and ended up passing through a small town that I refer to as Poha town (if someone knows the actual name,please tell me). Vendor after vendor, selling cartloads of poha!! My husband in a hurry to find our way back had to be arm twisted to stop the car and get me some to eat and more packed for later...I always miss great food from an earlier meal  and wonder why I dint eat more then :)
This is my variation to usual onion/potato variety..the freshness of the mint and the peas gives it a great twist...

Ingredients

1 cup poha
1 cup boiled peas
1/2 cup mint leaves, lightly chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons crushed peanuts
1 green chilli, finely chopped
1 teaspoon mustard seeds (rai)
Pinch of heeng
1 teaspoon sugar
1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic
2 tablespoons oil
1/4 teaspoon haldi

1. Wash the poha in a strainer and leave to drain.
2. Heat oil. Add heeng and rai seeds. When spluttering , add green chillies and cook for few seconds.
3. Add onion and cook till soft. Then add the garlic and cook for few seconds (don't add garlic earlier as the flavour should not be of burnt garlic)
4. Add the haldi, salt, crushed peanuts, mint leaves, salt and toss with the poha.
5. Add the sugar and juice of one lemon and mix.
6. Serve with sev and sliced lemon .

Warm and happy start to any day :))

Fruit Delight with a Yoghurt dressing

I had plans for a savoury crepe recipe today but thanks to all the time spent in helping out with upcoming Navratri activities , I barely had the energy and time to make dinner. (I live in a retired Army and Naval officers' complex so it upto us as the 'younger' lot to try and make the most of the festive occasions:))
As part of my daily fruit quota, this salad saved the day. It is superrr easy and the best word I can use to describe it is 'beautiful'..look at the picture and you'll know . You can actually use any fruits of your choice for this as the dressing goes well with anything. Try it even on vegetable salads...

Ingredients

2 oranges
1 pomegranate


For the dressing

4 tablespoons yoghurt
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon mustard sauce (whole grain preferred)
1 garlic pod, crushed
1/2 teaspoon grated orange rind
Salt and pepper

1. Arrange the pomegranate seeds and peeled orange pieces on a plate (use your imagination here).
I removed the white orange membrane and used the flesh only .
2. Mix all the dressing ingredients and serve separately or poured over the salad.
3. Garnish with finely chopped mint or coriander leaves
4. Serve this salad chilled

Chocolate Kheer

This dessert usually elicits the same response from everyone - 'CHOCOLATE' kheer??? And why not I ask? Kheer can be made of anything combined with milk and sugar, its just that we are used to only rice or semiyaan kheer . Someone I know has even claimed to have eaten 'garlic' kheer (I can't even imagine what that tastes like)
This is the best 'emergency'/low on time dessert to whip up. It is also one of the more popular items on my catering menu ..

Ingredients  (serves 4)

3 tablespoons sooji(semolina)
1/2 litre milk (I use cow's milk)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa dissolved in half cup cold milk
1 tablespoon butter

1. In a heavy-bottomed pan, melt the butter. Add the sooji and roast on a slow flame till the sooji becomes changes colour slightly (about 2-3 minutes)
2. Add the milk and whisk continuously.Leave the milk on medium flame till the milk starts boiling. Add the sugar and cocoa-milk mixture and whisk. Reduce the flame to slow.
3. Keep stirring intermittently and turn off the gas when the kheer becomes thick in texture and there are slow,thick bubbles on the surface (takes about 5-6 minutes)
4. Cool the kheer(a must) , garnish with whatever you can find in your fridge (chocolate chips/raisins/walnuts/grated chocolate) and slllllllllurp away
5.When serving if you find that its turned too thick (it will thicken as it cools) ,you can add some cold milk or serve as it is and you can pass off the dessert as chocolate mousse :))))

A very close friend of mine had prospective mom in law and father in law coming over for dinner , I was asked to give dessert ideas and my idea was this Chocolate Kheer recipe..and guess what, the dinner had some really 'sweet' endings.......chirpy na!

Peas Pancake

Being a vegetarian certainly deprives you of the easiest form of protein - chicken and fish , so I am on a constant hunt to find new ways to incorporate more protein into what I eat. I sadly am not much of a dal chawal person either so the easiest way gets eliminated first :( but this recipe is my mom's and I LOVE it..tasty,healthy and easy...it works great for breakfast or kiddie's tiffin boxes as well. No time to soak and prepare the batter in the morning then make the batter at night and keep it in the fridge for the morning rush hour!
Am really happy with the response my earlier posts have got (blogspot has a great stats page) but I would be happier to know how the dishes you try turn out..so please leave a comment if you've tried something out...will also be doing some non-vegetarian posts once my guinea pig (read hubby) is back from his travels.
And by the way, this is not a pancake in the true sense, just sounds fancier than 'cheela' as that's what it really is:)))

Ingredients (makes about 7-8)

1/2 cup moong dal (split dal, yellow in colour)
1/2 cup peas
1 teaspoon jeera
1 green chilli
1tablespoon ginger paste
1 garlic pod
1 onion, finely chopped
salt to taste

1. Soak the dal in warm water for an hour.
2. Grind the dal with all other ingredients(except onion) and approximately 1 cup of water to get a batter of medium thick consistency.Add the chopped onions to the batter
3. On a hot tawa (I use a non-stick tawa) pour a ladle full and spread into a thin circle like you would for a dosa. Put little oil along the edge.
4. Cover with a lid and cook on slow flame till the bottom side starts leaving the tawa.
5. Flip on the other side and cook till brown.
6. Serve with chutney or ketchup :0
7. You can also grate cheese or paneer if this is a kiddie breakfast.

Almond ,Corn and Bell Pepper Salad

This post is on a special request from a very dear friend who has recently had the cutest baby girl and so the momma is on her way back to a healthier and trimmer self (I still love how she looks but no arguments against being fitter)
The ingredients for this salad literally scream out HEALTHY! Bell peppers are great sources of Vitamin C and beta carotene, almonds are one of the few high-fat foods that are good for your health (eaten in moderation off course) and Corn is just guilt-free nutrition.
I like cold salads and I always add the dressing just before serving so that the vegetables stay fresh and crunchy , especially if your dressing contains salt .
Momma friend, let me know how this one turns out :))

Ingredients

1 red bell pepper
1 cup sweet corn
12-15 almonds, soaked in water

For the dressing
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons white sesame seeds (til)
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Pepper to taste
2 small garlic pods,crushed
1 tablespoon light soya sauce or Maggi seasoning

1. Soak the almonds in water for 2-3 hours and then peel.
2. Place water in a saucepan ,bring to a boil , add the corn and boil for five minutes .Drain and cool.
3. Mix all the ingredients of the dressing and toss in with the sliced bell peppers, corn and almonds.
4. On a tawa, toast the sesame seeds till light brown . Garnish over the salad.

Poached Cinnamon Pears

I like cooking that is quick and easy but while this can be factored into making savoury , its the desserts that usually take longer . That's why I love this dessert as it takes minimal effort in planning and executing. And who can resist a hot fruit pudding fragrant with cinnamon and devoured with a dollop of vanilla ice-cream!
I mentioned my Holy Book of Recipes in my earlier post and this recipe is adapted from there as well. Well this book was gifted to me by my dad on one of his first trips to the US about a decade back and at a time when airlines clearly had more baggage allowance as this book weighs about as much as 2-3 kgs! It's titled '1000 Classic Recipes from around the world' and is really a classic,no author mentioned, just says edited by Jo-Anne Cox and Elizabeth Towers on the cover...if you ever get your hands on it, do pick it up (but please continue reading my blog:)). I hope someday I can say that I have tried every recipe from this book...a dreamer (my profile description)
Back to the recipe,this will turn out as great with apples..

Ingredients

2 pears
2 tablespoons brown sugar (try not to substitute with white sugar)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1 cup orange juice
1/3 cup raisins
2-3 toasted cashewnuts to garnish
Ice cream to serve

1. Peel the pears and cut in halves. If the pear is large then cut into quarters . Remove the seeds and the core.
2. In a saucepan bring the juice,sugar and cinnamon powder to a boil and add the pears.
3. Reduce the heat and simmer with the lid covered for 15 minutes or till the pears are cooked . You can insert a knife and test if it goes into the pear smoothly.
4. If the pears are large and not cooked and the juice is drying up then you can add more juice ,2-3 tablespoons at a time till the pears are cooked.
5.Add the raisins and turn off the heat.
6. Place the pear piece on a plate ,pour some of the juice from the pan over it and serve hot with ice cream and toasted nuts.

Olive Pâté

When I think of the parties my mom used to host (a fairly common event for a Naval wife) and the deliciously scrumptious spread all prepared without the fancy ingredients and the equipment we are so addicted to now, my fondest taste (read gobbling) memory is of little golden fried bread squares topped with grated cheese and a little dot of ketchup ( my job was always to dot the squares)...who knew then about the existence of calories and fat content and that one square meant maybe ten minutes on a treadmill..sigh!!
To do justice to that classic, this post is a much healthier version which I have adapted from a recipe in my Holy Book of recipes ( more about that in a later post)
So pâté means paste and traditionally a meat paste, but this is a vegetarian version. If you love cheese and bread like I do, read on....

Ingredients

1/2 cup pitted olives (green or black)
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
3/4 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated cheese (any cooking cheese or soft cheese)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 garlic pod

To Serve
Bread slices (white or brown), preferably thick bread slices
Olive Oil


1.Roughly blend all the pâté ingredients in a food processor or a mixture, the paste should not be smooth.
2.Store the pâté in a jar and chill for several hours before using - this allows the flavour to develop
3.Cut the bread slices into any desired shape and shallow fry the pieces in olive oil until they are light golden brown colour. Drain thoroughly on paper towels. For a lower calorie version, you can toast the bread pieces in an oven.
4.Top each piece with a little of the pâté and serve immediately.  You can even store the pâté to be used later.

I used a heart shaped cutter :) so this is what the outcome was....

Planning the next post along some 'sweet' strains....
Oh and did you know that sparrows can swim to escape predators :)))

Pasta Upma - Pasta with a twist :)

I call this the Pasta with a twist - after an initial frown, I was pleasantly surpised when this was offered to me for breakfast by my sister-in-law. And while my favourite cuisine has and will always be Italian, I am sure there will be no offence done with this desi version :) Am sure all you moms constantly pondering what to feed your tiny tots for a snack/tiffin box will be the first to try this recipe out. Here goes....

Ingredients

1 onion, finely chopped
2 big tomatoes, finely chopped
1 green chilli, finely chopped
7-8 curry patta leaves
1/2 tablespoon rai (mustard seeds)
1 teaspoon ginger, crushed
2 garlic pods, peeled and crushed
Pinch of heeng
Pinch of sugar
2 tablespoons freshly grated coconut plus some for garnish
2 cups boiled macaroni (or any other pasta)
2 tablespoons oil
Chopped coriander, for garnish

1. Heat the oil. Add the heeng and rai seeds (there is hardly and Indian cooking that I do without heeng, the flavour I love and is great for digestion)
2. When the seeds splutter, add the green chilli, garlic and ginger and fry for half a minute.
3. Add the onion and cook till soft.
4. Then add the tomatoes and cook on medium heat till dried out. At this stage you can also add any boiled vegetables (peas, carrots etc..)
5. Add the grated coconut, salt to taste, pinch of sugar and toss the pasta in.
6. Stir for a minute or so on low heat till the sauce is combined well.
7. Turn off the gas , garnish with coriander and coconut .
8. Dig in !!!

Here is a dekho of the 'upma'

Muammarah Magic

Muammarah  Magic

I want to begin my blog with a dish that I ate in a restaurant and then re-read the menu description  because I had to know what went into it..it was that good! The dish is called Muammarah (spelling check!)- a Lebanese dip , not so popular(yet) as Hummus but as delicious and healthy . It works great in a party with pita bread/crackers/chips/salad or just stock up some in your fridge for food emergencies:)

Muammarah - Roasted Bell Pepper and nuts dip

Ingredients

1 red bell pepper

1/3 cup cashewnuts
7-8 walnut halves
7-8 almonds
2 tablespoon Olive oil
1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder
1/2 heaped teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 garlic pod, peeled and crushed

1. Soak the nuts in water for half an hour.
2. Roast the bell pepper by placing it directly on the gas flame and keep turning it around till it is roasted uniformly over. You can pierce with a fork to turn the pepper around.

3. Once the pepper is cooled, peel of the charred skin. Wipe the bell pepper gently with a wet hand to remove the last few clingy bits
4. Chop the bell pepper roughly (discarding the seeds) and grind with all other ingredients till you get a smooth paste.
5. To serve, garnish with olive oil, chilli powder (or paprika) and few chopped olives. Best served slightly chilled

I love this dip with Lavash ( the flatbread you see in the picture) or with warm pita bread ...
This dish is so easy to whip up and is sure to be loved by all and I hope it marks a warm and well-received beginning to my blogging journey... Back to my kitchen filled with the little strains from the little sparrow chirping on the window ...