Pohe- savory flattened rice snack

Potato Pohe with green peas.
I love pohe. This simple snack is associated with so many delightful childhood memories. I remember waking up to the smell of freshly made pohe. Pohe can be made as an evening snack, something that you enjoy with a cup of hot tea.
the thing to remember is that pohe needs a lot of onion, salt and oil.
Recipe:
1 bowl "thin" pohe.
1 large onion, diced
1 large potato cut into bite sized wedges
1/2 cup green peas
2 sprigs curry leaves
4 tsp oil + some reserve
4 green chillies, cut into pieces
2 tsp clarified butter
1/2 tsp tumeric powder
salt, sugar to taste
1/4 tsp asafoetida
1/2 tsp mustard deeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
chopped cilantro and or fresh coconut for garnishing
Procedure:
Heat a heavy bottom pan and warm up oil in it. Add hing and mustard seeds, when they start to sputter add cumin seeds, curry leaves and chillies. Then add onion and tumeric on it. Cover and let the onion cook till translucent. Then add potatoes and peas and some water. Cover till the potatoes are cooked and some water dries up. Then add salt and mix well the wet pohe in this. Cover and let it steam for some time. If the pohe flakes look dry, then add some of the reserve oil to it. Then mix well the sugar and clarified butter. Taste it and adjust salt-sugar accordingly. Garnish with cilantro, grated coconut and serve hot.
Enjoy
Dipti!
Pohe taste best when they are served hot.

Healthy Vegetable Cutlets

Gorgeous red beet patties

A long time ago, when I was very young and studying, I had gone to a friend of mine to help her with her course work. And of course her mom gave us snacks to eat and they turned out to be these gorgeous red colored patties which tasted a lot like fish fry but turned out to be humble vegetable cutlets.
Fast forward 12-13 years later when I develop this sudden hankering for the same taste. I still remember that taste:) So off i went and tinkered about in my kitchen and came up with these vegetable cutlets which can be eaten as a snack or if you really fatten up the cutlets and put them between a bun, they are your main course veggie burgers.

Recipe:
2 small beets, grated
2 carrots, grated
1/4 of small cabbage, grated
1/4 of small cauliflower, grated
1 cup peas
1 cup green beans
2 medium potatoes
all the veggies should be more or less equal, if quantity varies, dont worry.
1 Tbs ginger garlic paste
salt to taste
1 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala
handful breadcrumbs
rice flour for dredging
oil for frying

Procedure:
Dry roast all the grated veggies. Cover and let it steam. Add peas and mashed potatoes and all the other ingredients except for oil and rice flour. Mix well. Form patties. Dredge in rice flour and shallow fry. Makes around 40 small patties. Freezes well.
Serve hot with ketchup.
If you want a great veggies burger, make a big patty and shallow fry well. Put it between 2 buns with tomato, onion cucumbers and other condiments.
enjoy
Dipti

Fish Cutlet

Cod Fish Cutlets

Cutlets before frying
Here's how it goes at my house.

my duckie: I want fish. mamma!! I WANT FISH FRYYYYY!!!

me: ok, I will ask baba to go and get some from that shop which is 25miles drive away.

my duckie: no, i want it. fishieeeeeeeeee!!!

me: Ok, I will get some tilapia/salmon/cod fish for you. my poor kid, you wont know the enjoy of eating Arabian sea fish like pomfret, bombil, ravas, surmai and ghol..

So, I drive alll the way upto either meijers or jewel and pick up whatever fresh fish they have. Mind you, the fish we get here isnt exactly as fresh as the fish we get in India..I miss fresh fish.

So i get home some fresh cod and decide what to do. Curry making is out of question because duckie had demanded something fried. So I flash back to my office colleague who had gotten this absolutely fantastic ghol fish cutlets for lunch one day. I think I had gobbled up her entire lunch. So now thinking back and scratching my brain, I tried to remember the ingredients and the -procedure. Of course i trolled the internet too. What I did was an amalgamation of my preferences and few recipes tossed around.

The verdict: both hubby and son loved it. I froze some and fried them on a later day when I was in dire need of snacks.

Recipe:

1/2 lb cod fish, cleaned

marinate with:

1 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp tumeric powder

2 tsp ginger-garlic paste

salt to taste

1 large potato

1 tsp garam masala powder

handful bread crumbs

1 bunch green onions- only the green onions part, diced

handful chopped cilantro

oil for frying

Procedure:

Marinate the fish the usual way. Pressure cook the fish and the potato seperately. Drain water from fish. Heat oil, add cooked fish, garam masala and saute till fishy smell disappears. Add green onions, breadcrumbs, potato and cilantro. MIx well. Make small patties and dredge in rice flour. Shallow fry till brown and crispy on both sides. Serve hot with ketchup. Makes around 20 patties.

Sabudana VAde

Fried Tapioca Fritters

Now thats a fancy name...fried tapioca fritters.
I prefer calling it as plain old sabudana vada. Generally prepared during mom's fasting, this delightful snack is one of my favs. I love eating this with plain ketchup. Again as all sabudana dishes go, this one is loaded with carbs and fried too. So double the danger, but so worth it:)

I love eating this snack on a rainy day and curling up with a good book while munching on it and mom refilling my empty plate. But gone are those days...now i have to prepare my own food and cant even sit for 2 mins alon forget curling up w/ a book. Duckie likes this and S loves this. He likes it with plain yogurt mixed with salt and sugar and roasted cumin seed powder.

Recipe:

1 cup sabudana soaked the previous day

3 potatoes boiled, peeled and mashed

1 cup roasted peanut powder

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

salt to taste

sugar to taste

1 tsp cumin seeds

Oil for deep frying

Preparation:

Mix all the above ingredients together and form lime size balls and then flatten them into patty.

Heat a heavy bottom pan preferably a kadai and heat oil in it. When hot, turn the flame to medium-low and deep fry sabudana patty in it 2-3 at a time depending on the size of the kadai. Fry till golden brown taking care that it doesnot get burned but is cooked all through the inside.
Serve hot with ketchup or yogurt.

If you want to serve as appetizers, make smaller size patties. The trick is too make sure that vadas are cooked properly from inside and serve them hot.

Enjoy,

Dipti!!

Sabudana Khichidi

Sabudana Khichidi
Sabudana khichidi is one of my fav things to eat...ever. It is quite easy to make but the main thing is that the sabudana itself has to be of good quality. If the sabudana doesnot soak through properly, then the resultant khichidi is very hard to eat. Soak it more, and the khihidi turns a soggy mess. My mom used to make this khichidi whenever she used to fasts. makes sense eating this during fasting, being rich in carbohydrates and everything...I learned how to make the right khichidi from my MIL. Personally, I think she still makes the better khichidi.:)
Recipe:
1 cup sabudana, soaked in water overnight. make sure that you wash the saubadana first and the water is just one layer more than the sabudana. cover the sabudana while soaking.
1/2 cup roasted, coarsely ground peanuts
1 potato boiled and chopped in medium-size chunks
3 minced green chillies
salt to taste
sugar to taste
2 tsp cumin seeds
3 tsp oil
2 tsp clarified butter
chopped cilantro for garnishing
Procedure:
Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan, when hot add cumin seeds. Add the potato chunks and green chillies. Then add the roasted peanuts and then the soaked sabudana. Saute the sabudana on medium-low flame. Keep on doing it till the sabudana is transperant and soft to touch. Donot cover while cooking.
After the khichidi is cooked, garnish with cilantro and add clarified butter for extra flavor. Traditionally, this khichidi is prepared in clarified butter, but cooking in oil cuts down the extra calories.
Serve this khichidi when hot and with a side of yogurt. Some peopl like wedge of lime and grated coconut with this. The above quantity serves 2 people.
Enjoy
Dipti!

Grated Potatoes (batatacha kiss)

Grated Potatoes with a dollop of Yogurt..

The Potato Mix
My mom usually made this great grated potatoes whenever she was fasting. This dish is a good source of carbohydrates, proteins and everything in between. Add a healthy serving of yogurt and you have a complete meal. The only hitch is that you actually have to spend a good amount of time grating potatoes. I alternate my hands while grating:) I love this dish because even though it has very few basic and simple ingredients, it is very filling and tastes great.

Recipe:

2 medium washed potatoes, grated, and squeezed to removed extra water

2 TBS roasted peanuts, coarsely ground

2 tsp cumin seeds

2 tsp oil

2 green chillies finely minced

salt to taste

sugar to taste

chopped cilantro for garnishing

side of yogurt

Heat a heavy bottom pot and add oil to it. When hot, add cumin seeds and then green chillies. Then add the grated potatoes and roasted peanuts and mix well. Cover and let the potatoes cook. You will know the potatoes are cooked when the pot starts steaming. Donot add any water for cooking. Add salt and sugar according to your taste. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with a side of yogurt.

Sometimes, this recipe is made with clarified butter, but I use oil just to reduce the fat. Make sure that the potatoes are cooked completely before eating otherwise they just taste weird.

Enjoy

Dipti!

MInced Chicken Meatballs- Served with Basil Pesto Sauce and Sundried Tomato Sauce

Pan - Fried Chicken Meat Balls

These minced chicken meat balls are the easiest to make. They tasted great too. The sad part? i dont have enough pictures to describe what i did to these meatballs. I made these meat balls the way i make them for my spaghetti but instead of serving with pasta and sauce, i served them with basil pesto sauce and sundried tomatoes pesto sauce. They taste great as a snack/appetizer. Add a salad to it and it becomes a light meal, minus the pasta carbs.

Recipe:
1lb minced chicken
8oz whole ricotta cheese
1 egg
2 cloves garlic, minced
handful bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste
2-3 tsps dried basil or italian herbs mix
1 small minced onion
1 tsp red chilli flakes- I take 4 red chillies and make my own in mortar and pestle
oil for shallow frying

Preparation:
Mix all the dry ingredients except the chicken first. Then add the chicken, donot over mix the chicken, the meatballs tend to get tough. Heat a pan and add oil to it. Drop lime size meat balls in the pan and fry them till well done. Remember, when you bite through the meatball, the meat should be juicy and succulent, not tough and hard.
Serve hot with Basil Pesto Sauce and Sundried Tomato Sauce.

Enjoy
Dipti

Veggie Spring Rolls

All ready to be eaten

Half and Half

The mixture

While Cooking The Mixture

These Spring Rolls are my very very favorite. Like I mentioned before, to me, no indo-chinese meal is complete without spring rolls. I am salivating just thinking and writing about them. In India, many restaurants serve spring rolls with the noodles mixed in them. They taste good too. The earlier version had just 2 veggies in them. I used a coleslaw mix for these rolls, added julienned ginger and minced garlic, little chopped green onions and salt and pepper. S just loved it. Dukie loved the crispy cover and had little veggies to eat. But he liked it too. The Nasoya brand of wrappers had 15 wrappers I think. And they were big. So I made spring rolls for 2 consecutive weekends.

Recipe:

1 packet coleslaw mix

bunch of spring onions chopped

mung sprouts (optional)

salt to taste

pepper to taste

1 tsp minced ginger

1 tsp minced garlic

2 tsp oyster sauce

6-8 wrappers

oil for frying

Preparation
Heat a wok and add oil to it. On high flame add the ginger garlic first and then coleslaw mix, sprouts and spring onions in rapid succession. Stir fry on high heat for 3-4 mins. Tunr of the flame and the add oyster sauce along with salt and pepper. Let the mixture cool for few mins. Scoop a single spoonful of the mix on a wrapper and roll, fold and seal per the packet directions. Prepare all the rolls like this.

Heat a frying pan and then shallow fry the spring rolls. Serve hot with ketchup on your own fav sauce.

Dipti

Carrot-shrimp Spring rolls

Spring Rolls all ready to be eaten

Folded and ready to be fried

The start

Spring Rolls to me are an essential part of Indo-chinese cuisene. Whenever we go out to a chinese restaurant in India, we ALWAYS used to order this crispy fried roll of either vegetables or meat-veggie combo. The most difficult part is to do the wrappers right. In Indian restaurants, these spring roll wrappers are always made fresh from scratch using all-purpose flour and egg mixture. I have done that twice or amybe thrice in my cooking lifetime. But somehow, it always misses its mark. The wrapper doesnot turn out that great.

One fine day on my visit to our local supermarket. I literally stumbled upon these organic ready to be fried and eaten wrappers. Welcome to the Nasoya brand of goodies. These were really good as compared to the other brands I have tried. And since these were made of soy, I felt less guilty of eating fried rolls. Though I am sure these can be oven-fried, I was impatient enough to try them fried.

Made them on my whim and they were great. I used the basic recipe given on the back of the wrappers. ofcourse, I made my own changes.

Recipe:

6 wrappers

1 cup grated carrot

2 tsp grated ginger

1 bunch spring onions finely chopped

salt to taste

Black pepper to taste

2 tsp oil for cooking

6 shrimps finely chopped

2 tsp oyster sauce

Oil for shallow frying

Preparation:

Heat a wok and add oil to it. Once hot, add shrimps and ginger and let it cook. Then add carrots and spring onions and stir fry on high heat for 2-3 mins. Turn of the flame and then add salt, pepper and oyster sauce to taste.

Let the mixture cool.

Take a single wrapper and scoop 1 tsp of mixture onto it. Fold and roll the wrapper and seal it with water. Finish folding all the wrappers per the packet directions. Heat a frying pan and add oil to it. When hot enough fry rolls in it. Fry on medium heat so that the wrappers are cooked from inside too and are golden-brown crispy on the outside.

Serve hot with ketchup or any other of your fav sauce.

Dipti

Kheema Samosas / Minced Meat Samosas

Samosas before frying Samosas after frying ...and after a bite.

Hmm Kheema Samosas. Anything nonveg is welcome at my place. But this was so awesome that S just finished up everything. I had to steal his plate to take a picture. This samosas are really very smalls and can be classified as cocktail samosas. Perfect for a gathering. But it does take a long time to make these. Ofcourse there is appreciation at the end. And the best part is duckie loved them too!!! They were a little spicy for him, but you know how it is with kids and nonveg food. Even if it is spicy he will eat it. But give him spicy veg food- he hates it.:) I read somewhere that you can also freeze these samosas. Just fry them till light brown and when cold, ziplock them and pop it in the freezer. Wouldn't that be great? I have to give it a try sometime. For this I used minced lamb meat marinated few days earlier.
I remember my mom trying to make kheema samosas once...a long time ago..She couldnt get the pastry puff right, but they were awesome just because she made them:) So mamma, this one's for you.:)

Recipe:
1lb minced meat either chicken or goat or even beef will do.
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
salt to taste
1 medium onion.
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
handful chopped cilantro
4 tsp oil for cooking

for the pastry cover:
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup sooji (wheat creamlets)
salt to taste
1 tsp ajwain
1 tsp hot oil while kneading.

Oil for frying samosas.

Preparation:
Wash the minced meat properly. Dice the onion. Heat oil in kadai. When hot, add onions to it and fry till cooked/golden brown. Then add minced meat and rest of the ingredients and cook till the meat is tender. If any water is there, then cook on low flame till the water evaporates and the meat is dry. Let the mix cool. Garnish with cilantro.
Mix whole wheat flour, all purpose flour and sooji together with ajwain, salt, and oil. Add water as required and knead properly. Cover it and let it rest for 15-20 mins.
Take a small portion of the dough and divide it into 2 balls. Roll out one ball into a small pancake / puri size circle. At the same tme warm up a frying pan. Roast one side of the puri on the frying pan. This is done so that the samosas cook from inside too, because sometimes while frying, they remain raw from inside. But this takes some work, the next time I am going to fry it directly on high heat and lets see how it works out. For now, I will stick to pre-raosting and post-frying.
Divide this into 2 portions (2 semi circles). Take one half of the semi circle. Fold it into a cone, seal the edges of the cone, make sure that the roasted side is inside. Fill up little minced meat inside the cone and seal it completely. Complete all the samosas this way. It takes a little time, but it is definetly worth it.
Heat up wok with oil in it and fry all the samosas on medium heat. The inside has to get cooked too. Serve hot with ketchup or mint chutney.
Dipti

Tiny Idlis

I had gone to my friend's place for lunch sometime ago. She had promised to make something special just for me. She made the usual idli sambar and chutney, but with a little surprise. She made small idlis instead of the big ones. My duckie loved them so much. He just gobbled up a few of them as it is.
I immediately asked my in-laws to get the idli stand when visiting us. So now I have a small idli stand and I just love it. The tiny idlis are a sure hit with the kids. The elders love them too because one idli is same as one bite.
Recipe
1 cup split urad dal
2 cups Idli rava
salt to taste
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds for fermentation

Soak urad dal and idli rava overnight seperatetly. Add the fenugreek seeds to urad dal while soaking. Next day, drain all the water from the urad dal and blend it in a blender to turn it into a batter. The batter should not be too thin. The consistency should be like pancake batter. Make sure that the batter is very fine to touch and dosenot have any remanants of urad dal. Drain the water from idli rava and keep aside. Add the urad dal batter to this and mix well. Add salt to taste. Let this idli batter ferment overnight. The batter usually rises to twice the size when well fermented.
If the weather is cold, turn on the oven to 200F for few mins and then keep the batter in the oven overnight.
When making idlis, make sure that the idli stand is clean. Apply a little oil on the inside of the stand. Pour the batter in this. Heat up a big pot or pressure cooker with little water in it. Put the idli stand in the pot and let the idlis steam. Small idlis take very few mins to cook. Test if the idlis are done with a fork, it should be clean when removed.
Serve the idlis hot with chutney or sambar.
Enjoy.

Harayali Chicken Tikka

This is not a great picture. I was in a hurry to grill this skewer:)

But the chicken tasted great:) This is an easy recipe. I had this kababs first at a place in Pune. A puree of spinach, mint and cilantro with few green chillies for heat gives it an excellent taste. There are no complex masalas used so you can be sure of the taste each time you make it.

Recipe

1 lb boneless breast chicken

few sprigs mint

some cilantro

bunch of spinach

3-4 green chillies

salt to taste

ginger-garlic paste

2 tsp yogurt

2 tsp oil for marinating

Wash, clean and cut the chicken into small pieces. Blend mint, cilantro, spinach, green chillies, ginger-garlic paste and yogurt together to get a smoot marinade. MIx this with the chicken. Add salt and oil to this chicken. Refrigerate for atleast 1 hour.

Pre-heat the oven to 350f. You can skewer this chicken and grill them in the oven or just bake them on a steel plate( the one you have at home works) Cook the chicken for 20-25 mins till the juices run clear and the meat is no longer pink inside. Broil it for 5-7 mins for the charcoal flavor. Keep a close eye on it.

Serve this warm with mint chutney garnished with onions.

enjoy

Lamb liver cooked to perfection:)

I know...When people think of liver EWWWWW is what comes to mind. But not in our household. Liver is a rich source of iron and most of the people in my household love this simple dish. Mind you I said "most".
This dish is a "dry" appetizer, but my son loves to eat it with chappati. S loves to eat it as it is. At my mom's place a delicious curry is made instead of the appetizer.
This recipe is very simple to make once you get over the queasiness of it.
Recipe:
1 lb lamb liver or goat will do. Salt to taste.
Black pepper to taste
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
clarified butter for frying/cooking

Wash, clean and cut the liver into small bite size pieces. marinate with salt and pepper and ginger-garlic paste. Heat a kadai on medium flame. Once hot, add ghee to it. Then add the liver pieces to it and stir it well. Keep on stirring till the ghee separates from it and the juices run clear. The meat is well cooked when it is no longer pink inside. Fry for few more mimnute if you want the meat to be extra well done.
Serve hot immediately. This can be eaten as it is or served dry with chappati.
ENjoy

Easy corn nibblets

As you can see my baby loved these corn nibblets. And they were so easy to make. I used the frozen sweet corn kernels for these. But ofcourse if you have tiome, you can actually remove the kernels yourself. I made these as a snack for my duckie.

Recipe:

1/2 cup frozen sweetcorn kernels

1 tsp olive oil

salt to taste

dash of freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tsp cumin powder....optional

1/2 tsp corriander powder....optional

lemon juice for garnishing

Preparation:

Warm up olive oil in a pot and when hot add sweetcorn kernels to it. Add black pepper, cumin powder and corriander powder to it. Add salt to taste. Stirfry the corn till cooked and serve warm. Squeeze little lemon juice for tangy taste.

You can add many different ingredients to this dish and turn it to salad or snacks.

Enjoy

D

Chicken Malai Tikka

Now tikka is a general term. When anyone says tikka, the only thing people think of is the red colored chicken tikka. But there are so many different kinds of tikka. My fav beinig malai tikka, harayali tikka and ofcourse the "red" chicken tikka.

I had made this tikka for a barbecue party we had at my place. I marinated this chicken 2-3 days in advance and used ricotta chese for this recipe. The end product was creamy juicy melt-in-your-mouth Malai Tikka. The best thing is, this tikka is very mild and because of that kids enjoy it. My duckie loved this tikka and so did S.

Recipe:

1 pound boneless chicken cut and washed

1/2 container of low fat ricotta cheese

1/2 cup hung yogurt

1 tsp ginger-garlic paste

salt to taste

1 tsp white pepper (black will do) more if you want spicy tikkas

2-3 tsps oil for marinating

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp corriander powder

1/4 cup cashew powder

Preparation:
Marinate the chicken with all of the above ingredients and refrigerate for atleast 1 day. I grilled the chicken instead of baking it. My hubby S helped me with grilling. Skewer the chicken with an oiled skewer. Retain the leftover marinade. Turn the chicken twice on the grill making sure that it doesnt overcook. Baste the chicken with some oil and the leftover marinade. Serve hot with naan and onions or as it is.
If baking in oven, preheat the oven to 350F. Bake on a greased baking sheet till cooked. It takes approx. 25 mins. Broil for 5 mins to get the charred flavor.
Enjoy
D

Chicken Tikka

Everyone loves chicken tikka. Haven't met a chicken eating person who doesn't like chicken tikka. The best chicken tikka should have an explosion of flavors including the charred flavor from the charcoal. In INdia chicken tikka is mainly prepared in a tandoor oven. which is basically an open oven with burning coal. Chicken tikka tastes great as an appetizer, with a naan or even as a sandwich.
Chicken tikka is found in indian restaurants all over the world and my guess is it would be the most commonly ordered nonveg dish in any restaurant. My son loves chicken tikka and so does S. He loves to eat chicken tikka with naan and raw onions. That is a complete meal for him. While my little duckie loves to eat chicken tikka as it is. If it is too spicy then he doesnt eat the masala exterior but just the white meat inside.

In India there are many small places which sell just tandoori chicken and assorted tikkas. There was one near my place which me and my sister would often visit. Even now, whenever I go back, it is definetly on my to-do list.

For the above chicken tikka recipe, I have used couple of shortcuts. LIke use packaged masala instead of making my own masala. I really like shaan masalas. These masalas come with a direction on how to use it and if you follow the directions then the dish turns out excellent. These masalas are found only in U.S. and not in India. Till now I have sent my mom many masala packages. I have used hung yogurt for this recipe because the normal yogurt gets runny for marinating and its too much of wastage. If you dont have any time for hung yogurt then greek yogurt will do and if not then plain yogurt will do. Once I made the same dish with ricotta cheese instead of yogurt and the tikkas turned out melt-in your mouth creamy and delicious.

Recipe:

1 pound boneless chicken breast washed and cut into medium pieces.

1 tsp ginger-garlic paste

half packet of shaan tandoori chicken masala..more for spicy

2 tsp oil for marinating

1/2 cup of low fat hung yogurt

Preparation and Cooking

Take a mixing bowl and mix all the above ingredients together. Salt is not necessary as the masala packet already contains salt. Marinate the chicken for 1 day. If cooking the chicken on a grill, skewer the chicken and ask hubby for help with a cute smile. If cooking in a oven pre-heat the oven at 350F for 10 mins. Either use a skewer or oil a baking dish for the chicken. Cook the chicken till the chicken is just done around 20-25 mins. Then put the chicken in the broiler for the charred effect. Do this for just 5 mins as the chicken browns very quickly. If the chicken is kept for longer then it gets tough to chew and loses its moistness.

Enjoy the chicken with naan, onions, mint chutney.

Grilled veggies

Easy, easy, very easy. Thats what I was thinking all the time while marinating this dish. Grilled veggies taste great with chicken tikka and naan. And I marinated them 2 days in advance. I love veggies and this is a great way to get some in your meal. Though we had these as a side course, i bet they would taste great in a sandwich or a salad. I used zuccini, mushrooms, red bell pepper, white onions, idaho potatoes. For marinating, I used salt papper, basil ( I love it) and olive oil.

Recipe:

Zuccini 1 whole

Bell Pepper -1 whole

Mushrooms loads of them

1 large onion

1 large potato

Salt

fresh ground black pepper

Olive oil

dried basil 1 tsp

Wash and cut zuccini into 1/2" slices. Wash and cut the bell pepper into 1" slices. Quater the potatoes and the onions. I just cleaned the mushrooms and used them whole. Now get the mixing bowl, add veggies to it add oil, salt , pepper and basil and mix well. Cover with foil and refrigerate for atleast 30 mins. Then skewer them and grill over the open flame. Eat hot or in a sandwich/salad.

The potato tasted great since i had left the skin on which had turned crunchy. Next time I am going to cook red potatoes in foil. Mushrooms tasted really good and I am glad I used the entire packet. Red bell peppers tasted wonderfully soft and little sweet. The next time I grill, I will try different colored ones.

Aloo (potato) Parathas

I love parathas of all kinds. These are very simple to make and great as an anytime meal. But here I have put it down as breakfast and snacks. Few years ago I had the good fortune of going to delhi. Now Delhi is a great place for eating as well as shopping. We went to paratha galli where they served us hot straight from the stove whatever-you-want parathas.

Aloo parathas are real easy to make and taste little like a potato pancake. S likes aloo parathas. When my mom visited me, I made aloo parathas specially for her and she loved them too. Infact, she said I make better parathas than her. And my little duckie also likes parathas. I make hot parathas for him and serve it with butter/ghee.



Recipe:
2 large potatoes
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder ...can use minced green chillies
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp corriander powder
1/4 cup kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
salt to taste
water, oil for kneading
2 cups whole wheat flour for kneading
salt to taste
oil for shallow frying


Preparation:
Boil, cool, peel and mash the potatoes. Add all the spices, salt and kasuri methi and mix well and keep aside. Mix the flour, salt, water, oil and knead well. Consistency should be like chappati dough. Take a lime size ball of dough and roll it out to the size of a puri. Take a golf ball size amount of potato mix and put it on the puri. Envelope the entire potato mix by the puri and close it at the top properly. Lightly flour the surface for rolling the paratha. ROll the potato-dough ball from all sides on the surface sprinkling with flour whenever necessary. Roll it properly taking care that no potato mix comes out and if it does come out then just close the surface by pinching the dough. Roll out the paratha the size of chappati and gently slide it on the hot pan. Cook one side for 1 min, flip it cook the other side for 1 min and apply oil to both sides and cook till well done.
Serve hot with butter, ketchup, chutney, yogurt. This is very good for breakfast or even lunch box.
dough around it.

Kheema Pattice / Minced Meat Patties

What can I say about this totally yummy dish??? Everyone in my family totally loves it. Its basically just a ball of mashed potatoes stuffed with minced meat, in this case kheema i.e. minced goat. This dish is very versatile and can be stuffed with peas, paneer, cheese, minced chicken etc.etc. My mom makes this whenever there are unexpected guests ( she usually has a stock of fish/meat in the freezer) or when there is very little kheema left. My mother-inlaw is very good at making this and I think even I am getting better day by day.
S loves this and I havent given this to my son yet, but I hope that some day my duckie would love it too.
Recipe
For the kheema
Minced meat 1/2 lb
1 large onion, minced
1 tsp ginger garlic pastealt chilli powderred 1/2 ticrmertsp tu
1/2 to taste
2 tsp garam masala...i like it spicy, reduce the quantity if you dont want spicy
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste
oil for cooking

for the pattice
3 big boiled potatoes
salt to taste
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 cup bread crumbs
1 egg roughly beaten
1 cup coarse sooji
oil for frying

Preparation
Wash and drain the minced meat thoroughly. Marinate with salt, red chilli powder, ginger garlic paste, turmeric and garam masala. Mince the onion. In a kadai, heat the oil. When it is hot enough, add the onions and cook well. Add the marinated meat and mix well. Cook till the meat is competely done. Do not add any water while cooking. Infact dry up whatever "gravy" is created. Let the meat cool completely. When cooled it should look like separate granules and that means the water/gravy is evaporated. Set this aside and work on the potatoes now
Boil, peel and mash the large potatoes. Add salt, turmeric, red chilli powder ( i like it spicy, if you want less spicy dont add red chilli powder), bread crumbs and mix well. If the mass is too mushy to work with, put it in the refrigerator for 30 mins and work with it later.
Oil your hands before working with this so that the potato doesnt stick to the hands. Take a golf ball size of potato mix on your left palm and with your right hand fingers press the middle of the ball in such a way that a hollow is created. Work it a little so a little "bowl" forms. Fill this up with 1 tsp of minced meat. Now press the mouth of the bowl close together using the fingers. This entire procedure has to be done in quick succession so that it is easy to work with and there is no spillage. Make rest of the pattice in similar way. HEat up a frying pan with oil. Take the roughly beaten egg in one bowl and coarse sooji in another bowl. NOw dip one patty in egg and then immediately roll it in sooji and let it gently on the frying pan and fry it. Fry both sides till golden brown and crispy. Serve hot with ketchup/ mint chutney.
S loves eating this with bread and it serves as a complete meal for him.

Thalipeeth

When I was a kid, I used to love thalipeeth. Then I went through a phase where I hated thalipeeth so much that I couldnt even stand the smell of it. But now, after many many years of hate, I am in love with this higly nutritious, multi-grain, spicy savory breakfast/ snack pancake. My mother-in law makes really good thalipeeth. The thalipeeth flour is homemade and not store bought and I think this just changes the taste. Sometimes veggies like shredded cabbage or spinach or raddish are added. I have had thalipeeth with leftover rice added to it too. And it is almost always served with either sweet or salted butter. Some people like it with ketchup too.


The main thing about thalipeeth is that it needs a good amount of oil for cooking. Use less amount of oil and thalipeeth turns dry and kind of sticks to the back of your throat. Use a generous amount of oil and the thalipeeth turns perfect.

Recipe:
1 Cup thalipeeth flour. : I dont have a recipe for this since mine is made by my mother-inlaw. But I think the store bought one would taste as good.
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder or 2 green chillies cut into fine pieces.
small white onion, minced
cliantro washed and chopped
salt to taste
oil for cooking
ghee or butter for serving

In a plate knead the flour, turmeric powder, green chillies, minced onion, chopped cilantro, salt and 2 tsp of oil together with enough water. The consistency should be soft and like pizza dough.
Cover the dough and let it rest for 15 mins. Divide it into 5 equal size balls
Heat a pan and apply oil on the surface. The key to make good thalipeeth is the way it is actually made. Take a big plastic sheet and lay it flat on the kitchen counter and oil the surface of the plastic. Apply oil to both the palms. Take a single ball and knead it with oil. Lay it flat on the oiled plastic surface and use the palm of your working hand to press on the edges of the ball. makiing it flatter, thinner and bigger. The edge of the thalipeeth should be as thick as a thin crust pizza. Apply some oil on the surface. When it is as big as a personal size pizza, take the plastic sheet and gently lay the thalipeeth on the hot pan, oiled face down. Cover the pan the way you would for making dosa and let it cook. When a sizzling sound is heard, it indicates that the bottom surface is cooked. Apply little oil on the surface and flip it over. Note: Like i said before thalipeeth needs a good amount of oil. You have to oil both the surfaces, or it doesnt taste as good.
Let it cook for a minute and then remove from the pan. Serve hot with ghee or butter spread over it.
It makes for an excellent breakfast. If really small thalipeeths are made they can serve as appetizers.
The recipe above is for traditional thalipeeth. But at the time of kneading, veggies can be added. It tastes deliciious.