Eggplant Avocado Dip

Ingredients:

3 small eggplants

1 ripe avocado

1/4th cup finely chopped green pepper

1/2th cup finely chopped onion (preferably red)

1 green chillies (more by choice)

1 tsp lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

fresh cut cilantro and spring onions for garnish

Method:

Roast the eggplants, i just did it over my stove (should be prefect for outside grill). Use small eggplants so they cook nicely all through. Remove the skin. Mash them in a bowl. To that add the ripe avocado, finely cut onion, finely cut green peppers, lemon juice, salt and pepper. For the green chilli, I lightly roasted it directly on my gas stove and crushed it inside the mixture. Use your hand to nicely mix in all the ingredients and make sure the eggplant and avocado blend well. Add fresh cilantro and spring onions on top.

I purposely did not use garlic (key ingredient of guacomole) because I did not want garlic to overpower the eggplant and avocado. But if you are garlic fan go ahead and use garlic, roasted or raw whatever you prefer.

This can be served as a dip for chips, with toasty bruschetta, with naan/paratha or I ate it with dosa today.

Enjoy!

By Priya Vaidya

Eggplant Raita

Eggplant Raita

Ingredients:

6 small/mid size eggplants

1 Red onion – finely chopped

1/2 cup curd

Oil for seasoning

1/4 cup peanut powder

Chopped Coriander to garnish with

Method:

Cut small pieces of eggplants.

In a frying pan heat 1/2 tablespoon of oil and add cut eggplants in it.

Put lead on the pan and let it cook/roast on low flame for 10mins

Take it in a big bowl, mash well and let it cool

Add onions, peanut powder and mix well

Add salt and chili powder as per your taste

Add curd at the end and mix well

Apply seasoning with little bit of oil

Garnish with coriander.

This tastes great with fresh and hot Jawar/bajara roti.

 

By Vaishali Kulkarni

Spinach Quesadillas

This recipe is the quickest ever I love to do anytime we reach home at the end of the day. Very light and easy to make. I love the fact that there are only three ready made ingredients involved in it 😉

Ingredients:

Tortilla – Plain/your favorite flavor

Fresh Baby Spinach

Grated cheese of your choice

Method:

Place a tortilla in a pan/tava on low flame

Spread baby spinach ( you can either cut the leaves or use uncut baby spinach) and cheese over it.

Add little salt and paper – optional

Let it cook till the point Tortilla becomes slightly crispy and cheese starts melting down on it.

Put another tortilla on it and change the upside down with both the tortillas carrying the stuffing.

Let it cook on the other side till it becomes sufficiently crispy

Get it in a plate and cut 8 pieces of it with the help of pizza cutter

Serve hot.

Great and healthy 2-mins food for kids.

By Vaishali Kulkarni

 

Crispy Tangy Dry Gobi (Cauliflower) Machurian

One of our all time favorite dishes ever, I have been making this for a long time now, it comes out very well but never crispy.

It always got soggy. This time however, it turned out very crispy and crunchy and tangy at the same time.

Timing plays a big part in the crunch! If you keep the cauliflower ready few mins before serving, all you have to do is toss them in the sauce and serve.

I am sure most of you have the recipe for this dish and would know how to make it but I  was so happy with the results that i am sharing it anyway!!

Ingredients:

1 cauliflower, cut into large florets about an inch in size

1 bunch spring onions for sauteing and garnishing.

The batter:

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup rice flower (this is what makes it crispy!)

2 tbl spoons of corn flour

Seasoning for the batter:

1 tbl spoon chili sauce

1 tbl spoon soy sauce

Salt to taste.

Basic sauce for coating the manchurian:

4 tbl spoon tomato ketchup

4 tbl spoon chili sauce ( i use sriracha sauce)

1 tbl spoon green chili sauce

2 tbl spoons soy sauce

salt to taste.

green onions for sauteing.

Method:

Make the batter of the flours adding little water at a time into a medium thick consistency.

Make sure the batter is not too thick.

Add the sauces mentioned for seasoning the batter.

Mix well, no lumps.

Heat the oil for frying the florets.

Take a few florets of cauliflower and dip them in the batter.

While frying, make sure the florets are well done, a dark brown in color and fry them until they are crispy.

One at a time, fry the all the florets and let them cool completely and separately not piled on over another.

Making the sauce:

In a sauce pan, take a tablespoon of oil, saute the chopped green onions, add the sauces mentioned for the basic sauce.

Mix them together and then toss the florets in the sauce.

This manchurian is not with the gravy but is coated with this tangy sauce.

Garnish with green onions and serve hot and immediately.

I personally felt that this machurian turned out very good vs the one i usually made without the rice flour and also the crispness was preserved because of less gravy or liquid.

By Aditi Sheth

Oven roasted winter vegetables

There comes one day in a week when i am almost dead, hate the kitchen and everything in it and on that very day, i am always short of ingredients except few vegetables lying around that were left out from the week’s cooking :))

Funnily, sometimes best flavored dishes are produced under pressure.

Here is one that turned out really good, colorful, healthy and clean, perfect for wintery days.

 

Oven Roasted Winter Vegetables:

 

2 carrots

1 Bell pepper

1/2 a Zucchini

1/2 a Green squash

1 Cup cauliflower florets

Few Asparagus, if you have any.

Or any add any vegetable of your choice like onions also taste very good.

 

1/4 cup Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

A pinch of rosemary leaves (optional)

A pinch of curry powder (option)

 

Method:

 

Julienne  the vegetables into 1/2 inch thick long strips, all same size.

Toss them with olive oil, generously.

Sprinkle salt and pepper, toss again.

Add the herbs. ( a pinch is enough, rosemary is a very strong herb and over seasoning it will spoil the taste)

 

lay them randomly on the baking sheet and put them in the preheated oven at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes or until the vegetables are done. (not mushy)

 

Oven roasted vegetables are so aromatic, do not need any frying or excessive cooking and they taste so good!!!

Spread them on a bed of pasta, toss them in a salad or eat just like that with a bowl of soup!!!

 

By Aditi Sheth

Dal Coriander Chutney

A little twist on standard coriander chutney, I decided not to use coconut and groundnut and lemon juice so the chutney can stay longer in fridge. I had left over cilantro so I added that in but my intention was not to use that much cilantro. In any case giving the recipe for what I made. You can improvise and make it without cilantro. It will taste very good.

Ingredients:

2 tsp chana dal

2 tsp urad dal

2 tsp moong dal

1/2 cup chana dhalia (softer version used in chiwda)

1 full packet of curry leaves

3-4 red chillies

tadka: oil, mustard seeds, asofeotida

cilantro as per taste

salt as per taste

1/2 tsp amchur powder

In a pan, make tadka (oil, mustard seeds and asofoetida), add curry leaves (as much as you want, i added full packet from patel).

add all the dals, chana, urad and moong, add the red chillies and dhala and fry for

few minutes. Picture shown.

Once cool transfer the contents to mixer, add amchur powder and salt and grind in

to powder.

At this point, this can be eaten as is like the dry chutney powder.

To make it into idli or dosa chutney, add fresh cilantro and water and blend it nicely.

You can add tadka on top or yogurt or serve as is.

 

By Priya Vaidya

 

Bottle Gourd (Lauki) Skin Chutney

 

1 Lauki skin only grated (fine side of grater)

2 tsp sesame seeds

2 tsp dry grated coconut

salt to taste

1-2 green chillies

curry leaves

for tadka: oil, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asofeotida, turmeric powder

If you are making lauki subji, instead of throwing away skin, grate it using a grater and put it in ample water, so that it does not discolor. In a frying pan make tadka (standard, oil, mustard-cumin seeds, asofoetida, turmeric powder, curry leaves and add cut green chillies to taste). Squeeze out water from the grated lauki skin and add it to the tadka. Keep stirring on medium flame, until the water is dried and it looks toasted. Add sesame seeds, dry grated coconut and salt to taste. Keey stirring and toast the mixture for another 5-10 minutes. When it looks nice light brownish color, chutney is done.

This is a dry chutney, tastes amazing, nice way to not waste the skin. You can also make similar chutney (exact same receipe) from snake gourd skin. That comes out amazing as well.

 

By Priya Vaidya

 

Tofu Spinach Paratha

Ingredients:

7-8 cubes hard tofu
1 cup spinach puree or finely chopped
2 garlic cloves minced
1 green chilli
1/2 tsp amchur powder
1/2 tsp garam masala powder (optional)
1/4th cup very finely chopped onion (optional, with onion the dough leaves water, you need to be careful)
fresh cilantro chopped
2 cups of whole wheat flour
1 tsp oil
salt to taste
Water to mix the dough

Instead of paneer I tried tofu parathas with spinach and they came out nice and tasty.

Method:

Crumble the tofu with hand or you can blend it with spinach into paste. Add the rest of the ingredients and knead dough to roll out parathas.

YOu can also add 1-2 tsp soya bean powder (you get in indian store, good for protein supplement) anytime you make any parathas or even plain rotis.

Also add avocados if you want to, to the dough.

By Priya Vaidya

Chinese Chili Bread

This is a super delicious snack specially when you don’t have anything in the house except few vegetables and bread and you are craving chinese flavors

 

Ingredients:

 

8 pieces of bread (choose the healthier version, whole wheat, multigrain or whatever is around will do)

3/4 bell pepper diced (keep the pieces big, about 1/2 inch square)

1 onion (cut the same size as the peppers)

1/2 carrot (thin and round cut)

 

2 tablespoons tomato ketchup

2 tablespoons chili sauce (any kind, sriracha, chings)

2 tablespoons soy sauce

salt to taste.

 

Method:

Remove the crust of the bread, cut into same size pieces as the peppers and onions.

Heat a spoon of oil in the pan, add the onions, peppers and carrots.

Saute for a few minutes until soft but not cooked through, there should be a bite to the veggies.

Add the bread, all three sauces and salt.

 

Stir and cook for very few minutes until bread is well coated in the sauces.

 

Serve Hot.

By Aditi Sheth

 

 

Spinach Methi (Fenugreek) Delight

Ingredients:

1 cup finely cut spinach leaves

1 cup finely cut fenugreek leaves

1/2 cup onion finely chopped

2-3 tsp lemon juice or 1/2 cup yogurt

2 red chillies or 1 tsp red chilli powder

2-3 tblspoons toasted groundnut powder

fresh cilantro for garnish.

Salt to taste

Method:

For the tempering: oil, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds each a pinch, asofoetida, curry leaves and turmeric powder

Mix the spinach and fenugreek leaves in a bowl. Add chopped onion. Add either lemon juice or yogurt (whatever you prefer both tastes really good, if you like raita use yogurt, if you want to serve it like salad add lemon juice). Add groundnut powder and salt to taste.

In a tempering pan, make the standard tempering and spread it on top of the salad, add red chillies or if adding chilli powder add it separate in the salad. Mix all together, garnish with fresh cilantro.

By Priya Vaidya