Tuesday 31 January 2012

Stir Fried Salad

I have one restaurant on my 'swear-by' list and that is Pot Pourri..eaten there a zillion times and never returned disappointed. While I do wish they had more vegetarian options, some of their veggie stuff is lip-smacking good! A great and super-healthy appetiser on their menu is this stir fried veggies salad ..and I am pleased that my experiment to replicate the dish turned out near perfect! Again..feel free to play around with veggies of your choice

Ingredients

1 zucchini,diced
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into cubes
1 cup chopped broccoli florets
1/4 cup chopped black olives
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 tablespoon black pepper,freshly ground
1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon mixed dried herbs
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Salt

1. Heat the olive oil in a pan. Saute the garlic for a few seconds.
2. Add all the vegetables and the salt. Cook for 3-4 minutes on a medium flame till they turn slightly tender.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and serve hot...works great as an appetiser or a side dish


Monday 30 January 2012

Strawberry n Banana Gelato

Not really ice cream weather since the weather gods have been so kind..enjoying a wintery feeling after ages...but saw a recipe for a mango gelato on TV and was tempted to try it with the fruit of the season - strawberry. The fruits are chopped and frozen and then just blended with the curd..as easy with that! The slushy texture is achieved by freezing the fruits but it did make the grinding a bit difficult..so best would be to thaw the fruits for 5-10 minutes before churning,do not thaw completely. Turned out delicious and with such a low fat content,it was a guilt-free dessert ! The topping is of raspberry jam mixed with strawberry pieces ..this is optional,did add a nice twist though :)

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 dozen medium sized strawberries
2 medium bananas
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup thick curd

1. Chop the fruits and freeze in any container for 8-10 hours.
2. When frozen, remove from the freezer and thaw for 5-10 minutes,do not thaw completely as the gelato will not have a slushy texture .
3. Blend with the curd and sugar in the mixie and pour back into the container.
4. Re-freeze for 1-2 hours and your gelato is ready to serve


Thursday 26 January 2012

Triple-M Paratha

This would sound nice on a menu for James Bond :)) 3 simple ingredients,1 yummy and healthy dish. The m's are - makki,methi and mooli...all what the heart desires in this lovely winter weather. Plain makki ka atta is a tricky thing to handle (even by some experts), so I've mixed in some plain atta..you can play around with the combination and even use nachni/jowar/bajra atta...The edges were not perfectly round,adding more to the rustic appeal. Served it with my mom's home-made pickle of another winter favourite..gaajar-gobhi-shalgham pickle (translating it would ruin the fun:)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup atta
1 1/2 cup makki atta
1 cup chopped methi
1 cup grated mooli
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1 tablespoon chilli paste
Salt
1 tablespoon ajwain
1 tablespoon jeera powder
Water
Oil for cooking

No steps really..Mix together all the ingredients with the salt and leave aside for an hour ,before adding the water to knead the dough..this ensures that the dough doesn't become extra sticky later as the veggies would have already shed their water content :)
Roll out into parathas, cook on a tawa with oil and serve hot !



Monday 23 January 2012

Tex-Mex Frankie

Two ingredients you should always spare for rainy days-- boiled chana and boiled rajma. Whenever you make either,just boil and keep some aside for a variety of snack options..hummus/salad/chaat/refried beans/tex-mex ! This is also a great way to use left over chapatis..you can use fresh chapatis/tortilla wraps also. The topping is of salsa ,posted earlier ( http://sparrow-in-the-kitchen.blogspot.com/2012/01/red-bell-pepper-salsa.html) and sour cream (which can be store bought Or just mix equal amounts of hung curd and light cream...you can skip the cream entirely if you choose to )

Ingredients 
6 chapatis

For the filling
1 cup boiled rajma,with little water retained
1 large onion,finely chopped
1 pod garlic,crushed
1 green chilli, finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons mexican seasoning (available readily in supermarkets)
salt
1 tablespoon ketchup

To assemble
Grated cheese
Lettuce leaves
Salsa
Sour cream

1. Lightly grind the rajma in the mixer to get a thick and chunky paste.
2. Heat the oil. Saute the garlic and green chill for a few seconds
3. Add the onion and cook till soft.
4. Mix in the rajma paste and all other ingredients of the filling. Fry for a minute till paste becomes thick.
5. To assemble, lightly grill each roti on the tawa. Place the lettuce first followed by a spoonful of the filling. Top with grated cheese and roll into a frankie. Re-heat again on the grill/tawa for a few seconds.
6. Serve hot garnished with salsa and the sour cream..a great and healthy snack!


Sunday 22 January 2012

Fresh Fruit Cake Pudding

Back from my travels to Singapore..a city I love for so many reasons but my only problem being there is being on a constant hunt for pure vegetarian food ! Was pleasantly surprised to find an eggless desserts chain called 'Emicakes'..really nice stuff and eggless in a land of non-veggie lovers! Went back there a couple of times actually..its at the basement of Plaza Singapura, Dhobhy Ghat MRT (if anyone is looking!)
This is my version of a very simple but delicious cake pudding..you can buy store made sponge cake or use any home-made recipe of yours. If you are wondering what to do about the whipped cream (only if you live in India as we sadly are so deprived of good baking ingredients) , locate your nearest vendor for Rich's whipped cream..this is the cream used by most professional bakers. Leave a comment if you want exact locations in Mumbai..so this is actually a soya based cream that is lactose free and has a great shelf life..freeze it and thaw when you want to use it...beat with an electric beater till you get a stiff whipped cream texture..do try this dessert as it is is super easy and the ooohs and aaahs when you serve it are totally worth it:))

Ingredients

One 5-6 inch diameter plain sponge cake (about 300 gms in weight)
2 cups whipped cream
1/4 cup raspberry/strawberry jam
2 cups sliced strawberries
2 sliced kiwis
1 cup mixed fruit juice (I used tropicana)

1. Slice the cake in half. Keep the top half aside. On the bottom half, pour half the juice all over the cake ,taking care that all parts of the cake are soaked. Use a spoon to pour the juice .
2. Spread the jam over the cake..be gentle as the cake is soaked and can break easily. Spread the strawberries over the jam, leaving about 1/4 cup for the top layer decoration.
3. Spread 2/3 cup of whipped cream over the strawberries.
4. Now place the top layer of the cake over the strawberries layer. Soak this top half the same way with the remaining juice..don't worry about the juice running down the sides :)
5. Spread the remaining cream over the top and the sides of the cake using a spatula.
6.Decorate the top of the cake with the sliced kiwis and the remaining strawberry pieces.
7. Chill for 3-4 hours before serving :)



This is a picture of the first layer before adding the cream..


Tuesday 10 January 2012

Red Bell Pepper Salsa

Salsa may refer to any type of sauce. In American English, it usually refers to the spicy, often tomato-based, hot sauces typical of Mexican and Central American cuisines. So I decided to give a slight twist to the traditional recipe and it worked out greeeeaaaat! And while most of us serve salsa as a dip with chips (plain or nacho) or for the dieters,with vegetables..nothing is really as comforting as the taste of a crisp potato chip with this fiery accompaniment.. (music playing) No one can eat just one :))


Ingredients (makes one medium sized bowl)


1 large red bell pepper
2 large tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green chilli, chopped
Salt
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/4 cup coriander leaves
1 1/2 teapoon sugar
1 teaspoon red chilli powder


1. Roast the bell pepper on the gas flame ,turning all around once the flame side turns black. Cool and peel off the charred skin. Use a wet hand to wipe away any stubborn bits.
2. Repeat the same step with the tomatoes.
3. Chop the bell pepper and tomatoes into chunks and place in the mixer jar with all other ingredients.
4. Grind till you get a smooth but slightly chunky paste..do not grind into a fine paste. You can grind for 2-3 seconds at a time and check till you get the required consistency.
5. Chill and serve with chips/vegetables ..



Wednesday 4 January 2012

Mooli Thechwani

No, this is not a sindhi recipe or a sindhi surname :)) it's a super easy and tasty Garhwali dish to mark my beginning of a few favourite recipes of some winter veggies...I have already posted a recipe on Mooli raita earlier (http://sparrow-in-the-kitchen.blogspot.com/2011/11/radish-n-walnut-raita.html )...this dish is called by this name as the radish and potatoes in this dish are not cut but 'thechaoed' or crushed/bruised into pieces.Traditionally this is done over a stone mortar and pestle (those heavy ones used by our moms/grand moms) ..My shortcut method is to slice the radish/potato into slices of medium thickness and then bash them around a bit in the mortar and pestle :) The vegetables should look bruised slightly ,don't totally crush them ..best had hot with parathas or even rice . Also the recipe used a seed called jhakiya which even I have not been able to locate in any store here, so use small black rai instead..

Ingredients (serves 4)

2  moolis, thechaoed :)
2 potaotes, thechaoed :)
2 tablespoons oil
pinch of heeng
1 teaspoon jhakiya/rai seeds
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1 green chilli, finely chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 large tomatoes, pureed
1 teaspoon haldi powder
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
Salt
4 cups water , add more for a thinner gravy
2 tablespoons atta

1. Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Add the heeng and rai/jhakiya and let the seeds splutter.
2. Add the ginger,green chilli and fry for few seconds.
3. Add the onion and cook till soft.
4. Add the tomatoes and cook till the paste dries up.
5. Add all the masalas and salt and fry for a minute.
6. Add the potatoes and mooli ,and toss for 2-3 minutes with the masala.
7. Dissolve the atta in half a cup of water and add this paste along with remaining water and cover the lid.
7.Place on high flame and after one whistle,reduce to sim. Leave on sim for 7-8 minutes and turn off gas.
8. When steam is released, open the lid and serve hot,garnished with coriander leaves


Monday 2 January 2012

Broccoli ,Corn n Potato Side

Happy New Year !!! A welcome to new beginnings and new journeys and new experiences :)) I am still trying to figure out what my new year resolution should be ..I want one that I can keep :)) One wish that I do have is to travel more to learn about new cultures and food experiences ..and like me,most of you must now be on a de-tox plan with definitely some binging after christmas and new year's ..so salads,veggies and fruits it should be ! This dish is a great side dish or a light meal (it was my lunch with a whole wheat toasted bagel ) and light as well as the white sauce was made with atta (!) and skimmed milk ,minimal cheese on the top ..but be as generous as you like with the cheese ..I used cheddar, you can use either cheddar or parmesan. Just some tips for the white sauce ..
1.turn off the gas before adding the milk so that no lumps are formed
2.always add the salt after turning off the gas so that the milk does not split

Ingredients (serves 2)

1 boiled potato,sliced
1 cup corn
1 cup broccoli florets
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt
pepper

For the white sauce
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons atta
3/4 cup skimmed milk
1/2 teaspoon sugar



For the garnishing
grated cheese
dried herbs
few chopped tomato pieces,just for the colour effect
paprika/chilli flakes

1. Pre-heat oven to 220 degrees Celcius
2. Boil the broccoli and corn in hot water till tender ,about 7-8 minutes. Drain and cool.
3. For the sauce, heat the butter on a slow flame. When slightly brown, add the atta and mix with a whisk. Turn off the gas and whisk in the cold milk. When lumps are removed, turn on the gas again and leave on a slow flame for 5-6 minutes till the sauce becomes thick (look for slow bubbles on the outer edge of the pan ). Add the sugar,pepper.Turn off the gas and add the salt.
4. Grease the bottom of the baking dish with the olive oil. Arrange the potatoes first,then top with the boiled vegetables.Sprinkle salt and pepper.
5. Pour the sauce over the vegetables and garnish with cheese etc...
6. Bake on the top rack for 15-20 minutes or till the cheese is browned. Serve hot





When taken out of the oven...