Cooking Escapades

Roasted pumpkin gnocchi

2018-10-19T06:55:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
1/3 cup roasted pumpkin puree
1/3 cup ground paneer
1/4 cup ground cooked rice
1 to 1.25 cups flour
2 large potatoes
dash of turmeric
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp parsley
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
Method

In a bowl, assemble all the ingredients except the potatoes and flour and mix well together.
Place the potatoes in a vessel and put some salt on it. Put it in the prepared pressure cooker and cook for 15 minutes after reducing the flame on first whistle. Turn off the flame and wait for 5 mins and start releasing the steam. You don't want the potatoes to absorb a lot of the water or cool down. Once all the steam is released, remove the potatoes and place on a wire mesh or paper. Using a paper towel to hold the potato, remove the skin with a knife. On a wooden board or your work surface, using a ricer to mash the potatoes and spread them all over to avoid them going mushy and wet. Repeat for the potatoes.

I did not have a ricer so I just chopped the hot potatoes on the board and spread them. Once I completed chopping all the potatoes and a masher to quick break them down and not let too much moisture settle in. Then I used a grater to push the potatoes through to ensure there are no chunks left.

Put some flour on the potato that has spread on your work surface and spread the rest of the mixed ingredients on it. To gather the dough, the technique I used was to spread the flour and flip it over. Put some more flour on the other side and bring back half the dough and push it. Keep adding the flour in this manner and keep pushing, gathering the dough as you go till it is still sticky but holds together. You may need all the flour depending on the moisture and humidity levels.

To test if the dough is ready, keep a small pot of boiling salted water ready. Reduce the flame to make it a gently roll. Add a small rolled piece of dough in the boiling water. It should sink and after some time float to the surface and hold it's shape. If it starts to disintegrate, it needs more flour. I did this since it ensure that you do not end up with a batch that is too gummy or one that does not hold it's shape.

Once the dough is done, cut it into 8-10 pieces. Take each piece and roll it into a long cigar on a lightly floured surface. Cut it into small pieces and use your thumb make a indentation. You need to flour the knife to ensure it does not stick to the dough while cutting it. Place the gnocchi on a well floured baking paper, ensuring that each is kept separately so that it does not stick.

At this point you can cook them or you can cover them with another baking paper and stick them in the fridge to make them later. They should survive a day. Just ensure that you cover them well so that it does not dry out.

Sauce
Ingredients
2 cups White sauce
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 onion
2-3 grated garlic
half jalapeno chopped fine
1/3 cup basil leaves chopped fine
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp parsley
1 tbsp olive oil
salt to taste
1 cup boiled broccoli florets
Method
Heat olive oil in a frying pan. Add the garlic and jalapeno and fry for a min. Add the onion and cook till it softens. Add the rest of the ingredients except for broccoli and bring to a boil. Transfer to a serving plate and add the gnocchi and brocoli florets.
Serve hot.

Vegetarian Sizzler with two sauces

2018-10-19T06:54:00.002-07:00

Yet another sizzler recipe. I have focussed purely on the ingredients here assuming that it is easy to understand how to assemble and prepare. The seasoning needs to be adjusted as per taste. I eyeball some basic recipes and ingredients. Like I never measure how much chaat masala to add.

Sizzler sauce
Ingredients
3 boiled, de-skinned, pureed tomatoes
1/2 onion
4 garlic
3/4 jalapeno
5 tbsp barbeque sauce
3-4 tbsp black pepper sauce
2 tbsp hot sesame sauce or any chill garlic sauce (smooth)
1 tbsp oil to fry the onion & garlic
salt to taste
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp light soy sauce

Mint coriander lemon sauce
Ingredients
3 tbsp lemon sauce
juice of half lemon
1 tsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp sugar
salt to taste
1 tbsp garlic & jalapeno chopped & fried in some oil
1/2 cup water
dash of black pepper
2/3 cup mint leaves or combination of mint + coriander

Creamed cabbage
Ingredients
1 cup white sauce made with some onion & garlic
3/4 cup boiled cabbage
1/2 jalapeno
salt to taste
black pepper dash
Use salted paneer as the based when you place the creamed cabbage on the sizzler

Cutlets
Ingredients
2 potatoes, mixed veggies, 1/4 cup cooked quinoa, 2 bread, handful chopped coriander and mint, chaat masala, 1/2 cup cooked ground peas, black pepper, 1/2 cup onion, 4-5 garlic grated 1 jalapeno chopped.

Stuffing for tomatoes
Ingredients
1/4 cup cooked quinoa, 1/3 cup grated paneer, 1/4 cup mint leaves, black pepper, 1 tsp jalapeno, 1/2 tsp garlic, salt to taste

Oven baked Potatoes
Ingredients
boiled potatoes, turkish chilli flakes,oregano, garlic powder, chaat masala, salt to taste, black pepper, parsley

Weekend Dips

2018-09-08T22:27:00.002-07:00

I enjoy making dips since they are versatile. I use them in a wrap, add them to a salad or top them on the grilled chicken, or roasted potatoes. On weekends, I like to roast vegetables but I hate to think that I wasted electricity just for one vegetable so I roast many of them together. I tossed pumpkin, tomatoes (green or red), jalapeno, onions and garlic in some olive oil and salt. I spread them on a baking tray and roasted till soft at 200C.

For the pumpkin, you need to cover it with silver foil until tender and then roast it for another 5 mins uncovered. Pumpkin takes longer, so you need to remove the rest of the ingredients half way through. Generally takes about 30 mins for them and the pumpkin about 1 hour. Keep checking it after half an hour to see what is done. But if some of them burns it's fine, the burn bits taste good :-)

Once they are cooled, you can de-skin them and use them in different dips. I used a mini food chopper for a chunky texture but for a smooth texture, I use a mini mixer.

Guacamole
Ingredients
1 ripe avocado
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 roasted jalapeno deskinned
1/4 tsp roasted cumin powder
4-5 garlic roasted
dash of black pepper
salt to taste
Method
Pulse all the ingredients together.

Roasted Tomato salsa
Ingredients
4 roasted tomatoes halves
1/2 roasted onion
4 roasted garlic
1/2 roasted jalapeno deskinned
handful of basil
1/4 tsp dried oregano
juice of half lemon
2 peppercorns

1 tsp honey

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt to taste
Method
Pulse all the ingredients together.

Water chestnut dip

Water chestnuts are the green shingada that are available with fruit vendor. I use them in Chinese gravies and it is supposed to be eaten raw. They have a crunch and you should take care to not overcook them.

Ingredients
5 green water chestnuts
1 tbsp roasted pistachio
1 cup basil leaves
1/2 tsp dried oregano
4 roasted garlic
1 roasted jalapeno deskinned
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp honey
salt to taste
Method
Boil whole water chestnuts in salted water for 2-3 mins. Allow to cool and remove from skin. Add to the food processor with the remaining ingredients and pulse together.

Roasted pumpkin with mint and onion
Ingredients
250 gms roasted pumpkin
1/2 roasted onion
4 roasted garlic
handful of mint
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
juice of lemon
1/2 thai bird chilli since it very spicy
salt to taste
1 tsp honey
Method
Pulse all the ingredients together.

Low fat no-bake tiramisu cheesecake with whole wheat cake

2018-09-04T09:56:00.005-07:00

Tiramisu in restaurant is just cream and some uninspired cake with coffee flavour. I find it too dull with empty calories. So I made a low fat, eggless version using paneer and yoghurt with a whole wheat cake as two layers. Since I used agar agar instead of gelatine, it is important that the strength of the agar agar is understood. The brand I am using currently is very strong, so the cheesecake did not turn out as soft as I expected it to be. Next time I will use half of what I used.

Ingredients
For the cheese cake
2 cups finely ground paneer
1.5 cups hung yoghurt
1 cup sugar
a pinch of salt
5 gms Five star brand agar-agar (I used the entire pack and it was not as soft as I expected) soaked in 3/4 cup water
1 cup milk mixed with 1 tsp corn flour
1 tsp vanilla essence
For the cake
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup maida
1 tsp baking soda
4 tbsp olive oil
1 cup cold milk
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
a pinch of salt

2 tbsp vanilla custard powder
1 tbsp corn flour

1 cup cane sugar
For the coffee syrup
3 cups water
4 tbsp instant coffee powder
1.5 cups sugar
2-3 drops vanilla essence

Method
Cake
Line an 8 inch spring form, baking pan with greased baking paper and dusted with some flour. Preheat oven to 180 c. Sift all the dry ingredients except the sugar. Stir the sugar in the flour. Whip the wet ingredients together and add the dry ingredients. Fold until just combined and you see no dry lumps or streaks. Pour in the baking pan and bake for 25-30 mins till the top is golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes clean. Remove from oven and let it cool for 5 mins. Flip over and remove the baking paper. Turn over and allow it to cool completely on the wire rack. Wash,clean and wipe the spring form pan.Using a string cut the cake in half. Scrape of the top to make it more even. Place the bottom half of the cake in the spring form pan. Liberally douse the cake with the cofee syrup.
Coffee Syrup
Plan all the ingredients in a pan. Gently heat it. stirring occasionally till the mixture reduces by 1/3.

Cheese cake layer
Soak the agar agar in the water overnight. Pulse in the mixer and keep aside. Beat the paneer, yoghurt and sugar in a mixer with the vanilla drops. Heat the pulsed agar-agar and keep stirring it. Place a small drop on a plate and check if the agar-agar gels up. Heat the milk on another flame, since you need to mix it with the agar-agar. Pour the milk in the hot agar-agar. Keep the milk vessel on flame and strain the hot milk and agar agar mix to remove any undissolved agar agar lumps. Slowly add it to the paneer, yoghurt & sugar mix keeping the machine on. Beat for 2-3 mins. Pour half of it on the prepared half. Gently place the second half on the cheesecake mix. Douse the cake with the coffee syrup. Pour the remaining cheesecake mix. Refrigerate it uncovered for at least 4 hours (preferably overnight) at least or until it feels firm when touched. Dust it with cocoa powder.
Serve with the extra coffee syrup.

Burmese Khow Suey

2018-09-04T08:55:00.004-07:00

Rich coconut milk with the fragrance of kaffir lime and lemon grass makes this tangy dish really special. It has many elements - some crunch, tangy with the lime, rich in taste due to coconut milk spicy, complex flavours with the galangal, lemon grass & kaffir lime and it is a complete meal with vegetables, proteins and carbohydrates. Amazing taste and it is now one of favorite dishes in my rather long list :-)

Ingredients
1 cup julienned/ chopped and steam vegetables (zucchini, coloured peppers, carrot, broccoli/ cauliflower, baby corn)
1/2 cup chopped chicken marinated in light soy sauce
1/4 cup spring onion chopped roughly
4-5 garlic
1 inch piece galangal or ginger
2 inch piece of lemon grass
1 tsp turmeric or 1 inch fresh turmeric
1 bird chilli
3 tbsp sesame oil
4-5 leaves thai basil
1 cup thick coconut milk (I used fresh coconut milk)
1.5 cups water
2 tbsp gram flour
1 tbsp ground roasted peanuts
salt to taste
100 gms dried noodles prepared according to package specifications
For garnish
1 lemon cut in quarters
1/4 cup chopped coriander
1/2 cup chopped spring onion greens
1/4 cup crispy fried onions
1/4 cup fried golden garlic
1/4 cup roasted and salted peanuts

Method
Grind the galangal, lemon grass, turmeric, garlic bird chilli and basil into a fine paste. In a wok or kadhai, heat 1 tbsp oil, fry the chicken pieces till cooked. Remove the chicken and keep aside. Heat the remaining oil in the same wok. Add the spring onions and fry for a minute. Add the ground paste and fry until you see the oil floating. Add the gram flour and keep stirring for 2 minutes. Slowly add one cup water and keep stirring to avoid it from forming lumps. Add the coconut milk and mix well. Add the remaining water. chicken, ground peanuts and bring to a boil . It is now ready to serve.
To serve
Divide the noodles in 2 bowls. Add some vegetables. Ladle the khow suey soup in both the bowl. Top with peanuts, coriander, spring onion greens, fried onions, and golden garlic. Squeeze some lemon according to taste and enjoy this rather complex flavoured soup.

Salsa & Dips - Roasted Green, Red Tomato Salsa & Pumpkin swirl dip

2018-08-28T12:06:00.002-07:00

Roasted dips & salsas are something that I love to make and they make a simple wrap so amazingly scrumptious. I roasted red & green tomatoes, pumpkin and garlic in the oven and made salsa and dips with it.

Pumpkin dip
Ingredients
250 pumpkin peeled/ chopped and raosted in oven till tender with a dash of salt & pepper
salt & pepper to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup warm water
3 cloves roasted garlic
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
juice of half lemon
1/3 cup mint leaves
Method
Plus all the ingredients together except the mint leaves. Chop the mint leaves and stir to combine.

Paneer Gherkin Dip
Ingredients
2 cups of milk
1/2 cup yoghurt
1 large pickled gherkin slice
salt to taste
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 cup of whey from the paneer
a dash of spearmint (optional)
Method
Boil milk. Once it reaches the boiling point, add the yoghurt and stir. The mixture will curdle. Turn off the heat. Pour the curds in a strainer. Retain the whey. While the mixture is still warm, pulse all the ingredients in a mixer together till smooth. Use 1/4 cup of reserved whey if the mixture is too thick.

For the pumpkin swirl. Add the pumpkin and paneer dip in a bowl and just swirl it around.

Roasted green tomato salsa with rocket leaves
Ingredients

8 Roasted green tomato halves,

4 peeled roasted garlic

a pinch of black pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

1/3 cup onion,

1/2 cup chopped rocket leaves,

1 tsp chopped jalapeno

juice of half lemon

Method

In a food processor, pulse all the ingredients except the rocket leaves. Fry the onion in and rocket leaves in olive oil. Remove from fire and add to the tomato and mix well.

Roasted red tomato salsa
Ingredients

8 Roasted tomato halves,

1/2 cup chopped basil,

4 peeled roasted garlic,

2 roasted jalapeno

1/3 cup onion

2 tbsp olive oil

a pinch of cumin

juice of 1/2 lemon,

salt & pepper to taste

Method

In a food processor, pulse all the ingredients except the rocket leaves. Fry the onion in and basicleaves in olive oil. Remove from fire and add to the tomato and mix well.

Flavoured Cooked Rice balls and vegetable soup

2018-08-28T11:52:00.000-07:00

Hot soups with vegetables is comforting after a long stressful day. The rice balls made from pre-cooked rice with ground anise lends a nice fragrance and flavour. I generally have steamed julienned vegetables and mushroom that I use to quickly whip up a salad or a stir fry.

For the stock, I am not very particular about what vegetables go in to make my stock (I generally used, bottle gourd, cauliflower, cabbage, celery and carrot with garlic and black pepper). Most of the recipes are combinations which I thought of on the spur of the moment. The sauces and flavours can be varied while the basic principle of making a rice ball soup remains intact.

Ingredients
2 baby pok choy chopped
4-5 garlic chopped fine
1 small onion chopped fine
6-7 cups stock
7-8 mushroom steamed
1.5 cup steamed Julienned mix vegetables zucchini, capsicum, baby corn
1 cup paneer or tofu pieces
2 cups basmati rice, cooked & cooled
3 petals of star anise
1 tbps chui-chui oil
1 tsp miso sauce
1 tsp corn flour
2 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tsp vinegar
1 tbsp teriyaki sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil + 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
salt & pepper to taste
a pinch of brown sugar
Chilli oil to drizzle
Mixed greens - romaine, basil, celery, any other flavoured green(optional)

Method
Pressure rice with 2.5 cups water, salt to taste and star anise for 7 minutes after the first whistle. Allow it to cool. Chop finely 1/2 cup of the julienned vegetables. Grind the cooked rice and star anise, chui-chui oil, miso sauce, corn flour 1 tsp light soy sauce and the chopped vegetables. Shape them into small balls.
Heat the stock and keep it on low. Heat the sesame oil in a large pan. Add the garlic & onion.Fry for a min and add the chopped pok choy. Fry for another minute and add the hot stock. Add the remaining sauces and chilli oil, salt & pepper to taste. Allow it to come to boil.
In individual bowls, ladle in the soup. Add about 3 rice balls per bowls. Carefully add the mushroom, capsicum, tofu/ paneer and the julienned vegetables. Top with the mixed greens.
The soup is ready to serve. If you like the vegetables extra soft, you can add all the vegetables with the sauces except for the paneer when you preparing the soup.

Chicken in cider vinegar with oyster mushrooms straws

2018-05-19T17:44:00.000-07:00

I discovered this recipe on a day when there was no electricity and I had no clue when it would be restored. So I decided that I would not open the fridge since I had just too many spices & sauces bought during my travels and I did not want the fridge to really warm up with my frequent opening. I had already removed the chicken on the counter so I had to figure out some way to cook it. I needed some spices, a bit of sourness and flavor. So I chose, cider vinegar, fresh garlic, freshly pound pepper and some honey to aid in the caramelisation of the chicken. The cider vinegar added a nice flavour to chicken and since I used basic spices, I could serve the chicken with variations.
I used oyster mushroom for the first time too and I really enjoyed their flavour. The mushrooms absorb a lot of water so after you wash them, squeeze them out to remove the excess water. Cut of the thick stems and peel them off in straws and they are ready to be used.
By the way, the lights did come after 3 hours so it was just in time for lunch and I could get the rest of the ingredients from the fridge.

Ingredients
Chicken in cider vinegar
400 g chicken cubes
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tsp honey
4 crushed black pepper
3-4 grated garlic cloves
2 tbsp olive oil
salt to taste

Oyster mushroom straws
1 packet oyster mushrooms washed, de-stemmed and peeled in straws
1 jalapeno chopped fine
2-3 garlic cloves
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil

Raspberry sauce
1/2 cup freeze dried raspberry
1/2 cup water
1 tsp sugar
1-2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp cornflour
2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp jalapeno chopped fine
1 large garlic clove chopped fine
1/2 tsp black pepper

To serve
1 cup cooked brown rice
10-15 pieces green and yellow zucchini cut in rounds
mixed greens (red lettuce, argula, romaine)

Method
Chicken in cider vinegar
Mix all the ingredients except oil for the chicken and marinate for 15-20 mins. Heat the oil and place the chicken in a single layer. Cook on high flame for 1-2 mins. Turn over the chicken pieces. Move them around until the redness is removed. Keep the flame high and keep stirring the chicken around. Allow it to brown all over. If it is not done, reduce flame to let it cook. Ideally the chicken will cook while you stir fry it on high.
Oyster mushroom straws
Heat the olive oil in the same pan where you made the chicken. Add the garlic, jalapeno & herbs. Fry for a minute, add the mushroom, pepper and salt and keep stir frying on high till the mushroom start browning and appear wilted. Remove from pan and keep aside
Raspberry sauce
Pulse the raspberry and water together in a mixer. Strain to remove the seeds. Stir in the cornflour and sugar. In a small pan, heat the oil, add the jalapeno and garlic. Fry for a minute, add the remaining ingredients and the prepared raspberry. Stir till it thickens and boils. Switch off flame and transfer to a small cup.
To serve
Sprinkle some salt on the zucchini rounds and pan grill them in the same pan on both until brown spots appear. Using the same pan, allow the flavour to intermingle and also expedite in the caramelisation. In a dish, scoop the brown rice and place it on the plate. Top with the mushroom straws. Place the zucchini rounds, some pieces of chicken and the salad green. Spoon some of the raspberry sauce on the dish. Relish.

I shredded the chicken and mixed with the remaining straw mushrooms. I made a chinese gravy and served it for my husband with white rice since he does not much care for brown rice.

With chinese gravy

Leftovers
I stir fried the shredded chicken and mushrooms to make them a bit more crispy and ate it with raspberry sauce. to top the rice, I used some spiced grated carrots to add a bit of color to the dish

Eggless chocolate ombre naked cake

2018-03-28T07:08:00.002-07:00

The idea of a of a naked cake appealed me. Slathering the slides with sugary icing is something I did not really care for both in terms of taste and the unnecessary calories in it. Combine that with an ombre cake and it's something that appealed to me. I used an eggless cake recipe since I was baking the cake for my daughter's birthday and most of her friends are vegetarians. It was a 3 layered ombre cake with two different cream cheese based frostings - dark chocolate & nutella topped with dark chocolate ganache. My ganache did not flow very well. It kind of stuck while trickling down so that something I need to work on.

Ingredients
Basic cake recipe
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
4 tbsp olive oil
1 cup cold milk
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
a pinch of salt
For the ombre colors :

Dark Chocolate cake

3 tbsp Hintz cocoa powder (I used Hintz since it gives the cake a darker color than Hersheys)

1 cup dark brown sugar/ demerara sugar

Light chocolate cake

2 tbsp Hershey's cocoa powder

1 tbsp vanilla custard powder

1 cup cane sugar

Lighter chocolate cake
1 tbsp Hershey's cocoa powder
2 tbsp vanilla custard powder
1 cup castor sugar

Dark chocolate frosting

3 oz cream cheese

1 tbsp milk

1/8 tsp salt

2 oz dark chocolate

2 cups icing sugar

2 tbsp cocoa powder

Nutella frosting

6 oz cream cheese

2 tbsp butter

1/2 cup nutella

3 3/4 cup icing sugar

Ganache

100 ml single cream

200 gm dark chocolate

2 tbsp maple syrup

Method

For each cake the following procedure needs to be followed. Line an 8 inch round baking pan with greased baking paper and dusted with some flour. Preheat oven to 180 c. Sift all the dry ingredients except the sugar. Stir the sugar in the flour. Whip the wet ingredients together and add the dry ingredients. Fold until just combined and you see no dry lumps or streaks. Pour in the baking pan and bake for 25-30 mins till the top is golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes clean. Remove from oven and let it cool for 5 mins. Flip over and remove the baking paper. Turn over and allow it to cool completely on the wire rack.

Dark chocolate frosting

Melt the chocolate on a double boiler and keep aside to cool. Beat the cream cheese, milk and salt together. Add the cooled chocolate to the cream cheese. Beat in the icing sugar and cocoa powder slowly 1 cup at a time until fluffy and smooth. Keep aside.

Nutella frosting

Beat the cream cheese, butter and Nutella together. Add the vanilla extract and beat the icing sugar slowly until fluffy and smooth. Do not over beat it though

Ganache

Place the chocolate, cream and maple syrup on a double boiler. Whisk till smooth.

To assemble

Place the dark chocolate cake on the cake stand. Level the cake from the top if required. Top with the dark chocolate frosting and spread it to form a thick layer. Place the light chocolate cake on the frosting carefully and top with a generous layer of the Nutella frosting. Place the lighter chocolate cake. Using a spatula even out both the frosting from the sides. Place in the fridge for 1 hour and pour the ganache from the sides. Decorate with chocolate curls or some Ferro Rocher or Lindt chocolate balls.

Cauliflower soup with pistou and roasted rice crunch

2018-03-10T20:15:00.001-08:00

Poha - roasted rice has a nice crunch to it. Poha is used in making a lot of savouries but it is typically fried. When I came across this bag of roasted rice in my supermarket store, it was something that I felt could a healthy snack at anytime. And at some point of time, I started topping it on soups for a crunch and making it a complete meal - some healthy carbs.

Ingredients
2 cup water or stock
8-10 cauliflower florets
2 garlic pods
3 black pepper crushed
1 stalk celery
salt to taste
1 tbsp olive oil

Pistou
1 cup packed basil
2 garlic pods
3 tbsp olive oil
salt to taste
2 tsp lemon juice

Method
Put all the ingredient for soup in a large bowl and pressure cook it for 10 mins on medium after first whistle. For the pistou, grind all the together to get a nice creamy bright green paste and keep aside.
Blend the cooked soup in a blender and serve with a dash and pistou. Top with roasted poha.

Note : Poha softens quickly so keep a bowl ready next to you and add it in small batches to enjoy the crunch

Grilled chicken with vegetables and rice cylinders

2018-03-04T17:55:00.001-08:00

I bought sushi cylinders on a visit to Singapore since I felt it would be good to use to shape just about anything. I decided to use it to create a good looking dish for my daughter. I pan grilled some chicken using a barbeque sauce marinade. Added some vegetables tossed in olive oil and herbs and for the rice, I had some cooked medley of black & brown rice and white rice. I stuffed the white rice in the cylinder and put some of the black rice just to add a different color to the rice. Served it with barbeque sauce on the side and it was a perfect meal - restaurant style

Burnt Garlic Hummus - Three ways

2018-03-04T17:47:00.002-08:00

I love the flavour of burnt garlic and I decided to incorporate it in a basic hummus recipe. The burnt garlic made the hummus darker but added a flavor that is smoky and garlicky. Since I had a lot of boiled chickpeas, I decided to make some variations to the same recipe since this would stay in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Ingredients
Basic Burnt garlic hummus
1 cup boiled chickpeas
1 tbsp roasted sesame seeds
2 tbsp liquid in which the chickpeas were boiled
1 tbsp olive oil
4 garlic chopped fine
salt to taste
juice from half a lemon
1/2 tsp black pepper

Burnt garlic cumin hummus
2 garlic chopped fine
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp roasted cumin powder

Green olive, basil and jalapeno hummus
1/2 tbsp chopped jalapeno
5-6 pitted green olives
1/4 cup packed & chopped basil
1 tbsp olive oil
a small pinch of sumac & celery

Black olive and aleppo pepper hummus
5-6 pitted black olives
1/2 tbsp red jalapeno in brine
1 tbsp olive oil
a large pinch of aleppo pepper
a small pinch of dried oregano

Method
Place the roasted sesame seeds in a mixer and grind it with the chickpea liquid until smooth. Fry the garlic in the olive oil until brown. Add the fried garlic with the oil and the remaining ingredients to get a smooth mix. Divide into 3 portions

Burnt garlic hummus : Fry the garlic in the olive oil and add it to the first portion and mix well. Keep aside a few of burnt garlic aside to top it. Sprinkle cumin powder and the burnt garlic.

Green olive, basil and jalapeno hummus : Fry the jalapeno and basil in the olive oil. Add the green olives and fry for about 10 seconds or until just heated. Stir into the second portion of hummus. Sprinkle with sumac and celery

Black olive and aleppo pepper hummus : Fry the olive and jalapeno in olive oil until heated through. Stir into the third portion of hummus. Sprinkle with aleppo pepper and oregano.

Serve with pita, toasted bread or

Note : Frying the pickled olives and pepper is optional. I do it since the weather in India is pretty humid and hot so I feel it is best to fry them. Maybe it's just my quirk of ensuring food safety.

Whole wheat American pancakes

2018-02-25T03:26:00.001-08:00

Pictures on the internet showing a stack of fluffy pancakes has always enticed me but somehow I did not really get down to making them. I would always thin the batter to make them a cross between crepes and pancakes.

I chanced upon Sally's Baking Addiction recipe and I really liked it. I made some small additions but it did not really require any changes, it is perfect and my family really enjoyed this healthy, delicious breakfast.

Stack of pancakes cooked to perfection !!

Top each pancake with a different topping like I did or you can make them plain or just one topping. I like variety so I tried different toppings.

Since we have different timings for breakfast, I did not mix all the batter together. I made individual servings using 1/2 cup dry mix and 3/4 cup of the wet mix. It made 4 small pancakes which is sufficient for each person.

Blueberry pancake and pecan with chocolate chip pancake for my daughter with maple syrup

Whole wheat American pancakes (Courtesy : Sally's Baking Addiction)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 tsp cinnamon powder

1 cup thick yogurt (Sally's recipe called for greek yoghurt)

1 1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 large eggs

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp black poppy seeds (optional)

Topping

toasted pecans & chocolate chips

dried blueberries

toasted mix of sesame,sunflower, melon, flax and pumpkin seeds

Method

Sift all the dry ingredients together except poppy seeds. Stir the poppy seeds and keep aside. In a large bowl, add the eggs, oil, vanilla and yoghurt. Beat it all together with a whisk. Add the milk and beat it well. You can now add the dry ingredients to the bowl and fold in just enough to ensure there are no dry streaks. There will be lumps but it's okay.

Heat a flat griddle and baste it with some olive oil. Pour a ladle of the batter to make 3-4 small pancakes at the same time.

Stack of pancakes doused with a generous drizzle of maple syrup!!

To serve, stack 3-4 pancakes on top of each other and pour a generous amount of maple syrup. Enjoy a healthy and delicious breakfast.

High protein breakfast with easy paneer spread

2018-02-25T03:26:00.000-08:00

We barely buy cheese spread anymore for breakfast since paneer spread is our new healthier and nutritious choice. It is rich in protein and really versatile. You can combine it a sweet or a savory toppings. You can change the consistency to turn into a dip for wraps or crackers. Add flavors as you wish. This is my go-to recipe for all kinds of dips and spreads. So I stopped buying cream cheese or any cheese spreads regularly for our breakfast.

The recipe is simple!! You can top it with maple syrup and toasted seed mix of sunflower, watermelon, flax seeds and sesame

Or some pizza seasoning for a savory version!!

I like it plain too sometimes!!

Some jam would do too. How about figs??

High protein breakfast Spread
Ingredients
2 cups cow milk
1/2 -3/4 cup beaten low fat yoghurt
salt to taste
1 tsp lemon (optional)

Method
Heat the milk to it's boiling point. Add the yoghurt and keep stirring it. The milk will curdle and you can see the watery whey being separated. Drain the curds in a fine mesh. Grind the drained curds with the salt and lemon juice until smooth. Remove in a bowl and allow to cool. It tastes best when it is cold. So refrigerate it and use it the following day. It will stay for 4-5 days.

Potato Gnocchi without eggs

2018-02-18T20:00:00.000-08:00

Gnocchi made gently with potato and flour that melt in your mouth when you place them. There is something so surreal about them but the reality is that they are one of the difficult dishes to make if you want an eggless version. Well I would not say, I nailed it but thanks to Gordon Ramsay who showed how I could use ricotta. I have always replaced ricotta or even cream cheese with paneer so that seemed like a good idea. I made the gnocchi and it turned out pretty good. Since it is eggless, I cannot toss it around in the sauce, so you need to treat them gently. I have put down some tips that I gathered from the various videos and blogs I read. Almost everyone had a different technique except that you need to handle the dough gently and not knead it too much

Potato Gnocchi in spinach and pistachio sauce

Gnocchi in tomato olive herbed sauce

Ingredients
3 large potatoes
1/3 cup flour and a little extra
1/4 tsp salt
ground paneer as given at the bottom of the recipe

Method

Place the potatoes in a vessel and put some salt on it. Put it in the prepared pressure cooker and cook for 15 minutes after reducing the flame on first whistle. Turn off the flame and wait for 5 mins and start releasing the steam. You don't want the potatoes to absorb a lot of the water or cool down. Once all the steam is released, remove the potatoes and place on a wire mesh or paper. Using a paper towel to hold the potato, remove the skin with a knife. On a wooden board or your work surface, using a ricer to mash the potatoes and spread them all over to avoid them going mushy and wet. Repeat for the potatoes.

Sprinkle the salt and put some flour on the potato that has spread on your work surface. Spread the paneer mix roughly. To gather the dough, the technique I used was to spread the flour and flip it over. Put some more flour on the other side and bring back half the dough and push it. Keep adding the flour in this manner and keep pushing, gathering the dough as you go till it is still sticky but holds together.

Once the dough is done, cut it into 8-10 pieces. Take each piece and roll it into a long cigar on a lightly floured surface. Cut it into small pieces and use the back of the fork get the characteristic ridged surface or you could just make a indentation like Gordon Ramsay. Place the gnocchi on a well floured baking paper, ensuring that each is kept separately so that it does not stick.

When you are ready to boil them, put about 10-15 in each batch. Once it floats to the top, allow to boil for another 30 seconds. Remember that the water should be in a gentle roll, keep the sauce ready and put the cooked gnocchi in it and serve. I find that tossing these gnocchi a bit difficult since they are soft. But once in the sauce you can reheat them slightly and devour.

I made a spinach and pistachio sauce and a tomato & olives herbed sauce to go with the gnocchi. Ingredients at the end of this page for my reference.

How to make the ground paneer
Ingredients
1 cup milk
1/3 cup curd

Method

Bring the milk to a boil. Add the yoghurt immediately until the milk curdles and starts to separate. Drain it using a fine mesh filter. Put some weights on it to allow it to drain. Once the whey has drained off about 10-15 mins (or when you have almost finished boiling the potatoes). remove from mesh and grind it in the mixer to get a fine paste.

Spinach & pistachio sauce

Ingredients : 1 cup chopped and wilted spinach , 1 tbsp raw pistachio softened overnight and deskinned, 2 grated garlic, 1 tbsp chopped jalapeno, dash of black pepper, 1/4 tsp oregano, 2 tbsp olive oil, salt to taste

Method : Puree the pistachio and spinach together. Heat a frying pan and add the olive oil. Add the

grated garlic and chopped jalapeno and fry for a minute. Add the puree and remaining ingredients. Heat till it starts bubbling and turn off the flame.

Tomato olive herbed sauce

Ingredients : 2 cups tomato puree, 1/2 cup fresh mixed herbs (basil, celery, parsley), 1/4 tsp dried oregano, 1/4 tsp thyme, a large pinch of crushed rosemary, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1/2 chopped green & black olives, 1/2 cup chopped onions, 4 chopped garlic, 1/2 tsp hot chilli flakes, 1 tsp date syrup, salt to taste, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/3 cup milk mixed with 1 tsp whole wheat flour

Method : Heat the olive oil, add the garlic and fry for a minute. Add the onions and fry until softened. Add the tomato puree and simmer till it thickens and the oil separates. Add the remaining ingredients except the milk mix and adjust the seasoning. While it is still hot and bubbling, add milk mix. Keep stirring till the sauce thickens and is well mixed. Please ensure you stirred the milk mix before adding.

Whole wheat French crepes

2018-02-16T21:27:00.000-08:00

After eating some disastrous crepes in fancy restaurants and a really good one at 99 pancakes, I thought it was time I learnt to make to make them at home. Guess what helps is that I am on a break so I can spend some time researching, watching a couple of recipes and enjoying what I love doing most - learning and cooking new dishes. I finally zeroed on a recipe that I felt would work best but with my alterations to it.

Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup milk
1 3/4 cup water (original recipe called for 1 cup, I had to add more water maybe because, I used ww flour)
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sugar

Method

Mix all the wet ingredients. Sift the dry ingredients and prepare a well in the centre. Pour the liquid slowly and with an electric beater, beat it till smooth. Cover and allow it to rest overnight or for at least an hour

Heat a flat large griddle(non stick tava). Once it is hot, grease using a potato stuck in fork as a spoon. Pour a ladle or two on the pan and rotate the pan to allow the liquid dough to flow across the pan to make a large crepe. On a medium high flame allow the crepe to cook from all side and turn over when the sides begin to leave and the bottom looks brown. Cook for a min and flip over. Now it is time to top the ingredients, keeping the flame on low. You can apply some butter for some added flavour. Some topping that would work best

1. Strawberries and melted chocolate with a sprinkling of sugar
2. Sugar and lemon
3. Plain with maple syrup
4. Just plain chocolate

You can also use it for a savory pancake.

Whole wheat Pizza without cheese

2018-01-21T20:27:00.000-08:00

Pizza are an all-time favorite but now with the aim to cut down on calories, I thought of making some changes to this much loved recipe. Instead of cheese, I used paneer based sauce to top the pizza instead of the cheese. I used 2 flavors barbeque and a simple gherkin pepper sauce. But on a pizza I felt the gherkin pepper tasted better and worked as a better substitute for the gooey cheese. Check out the pizza recipe in the link - Pizza recipe

Gherkin pepper paneer sauce
Ingredients
2 cups cow milk
1/2 cup slightly beaten low fat yoghurt
salt to taste
1 pickled gherkin
1/4 tsp pepper powder

Method
Boil milk till boiling point. Add the yoghurt. Once it curdles, turn off the heat and strain the paneer. Retain some of the whey. In a small mixer, add the remaining ingredients and paneer. Pulse till it is smooth. Add a little whey (2-3 tbsp max) to make it smooth and creamy. Store in refrigerator once the sauce is at room temperature. It will firm up so that it is easier to pipe on the pizza.

For the barbeque flavor, substitute the pickled gherkin with 1/3 cup smoky spicy barbeque sauce. Omit the whey.

To assemble
Top the pizza with chopped tomato sauce, vegetables (I used zucchini as well) and bake it. Fill the paneer sauces in a ziplock bag and snip off one of ends so that you can pipe on the pizza in a zig-zag pattern.
Top it with some torn fresh rocket leaves and romaine lettuce.

Dal khichdi with tomato and herb relish

2018-01-01T20:10:00.001-08:00

Dal Khichdi is a one pot nutritious dish which I typically turn to when I run out of ideas. But this time, I had to make it customisable (IT speak) since my daughter wanted something bland but flavorful and we wanted it spicy with loads of sambar masala flavor. Hence this recipe was born.

Ingredients

Dal Khichdi
1/2 cup rice washed & drained
1/2 cup moong dal or mix of dals (masoor, moong, udal) washed & drained
1/4 tsp methi seeds
3-4 cups water
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp jeera
garam masala (1 bay leaf, 4 peppercorns, 2 cloves, 1 inch cinnamon stick)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tomato chopped
salt to taste
1 cup steam veggies (carrot, baby corn, cauliflower, red, yellow capsicum, zucchini)

Tomato relish
3 cloves garlic
1 onion
3 tomatoes, deskinned & chopped
4 tbsp olive oil
salt to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper

Herb relish
1 cup chopped coriander
1/2 cup chopped mint
1/2 cup chopped basil leaves
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup chopped oregano or 1/4 tsp dried oregano
1 jalapeno chopped
4-5 cloves garlic
4 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt to taste

Method

Dal Khichdi
Mix all the ingredients except for the steamed vegetables and pressure cooker for 20 mins after 1 whistle on low. Mix the steamed vegetables and leave aside

Tomato Relish
Heat the olive oil in a small frying pan. Add the garlic and fry for a min till it threatens to burn. Add the onion and saute till soft. Add the tomatoes and other ingredients till the tomatoes soften (about 5 mins).
For spicy sambar masala twist : Add 2 tsp sambar masala and 1 tbsp chopped coriander
For fragrant twist : Add 1 tbsp chopped basil and 1 tsp dried oregano

Herb Relish
Heat the olive oil in a small frying pan. Add the garlic and fry for a min till it threatens to burn. Add the rest of the ingredients except lemon juice and fry till the herbs just wilt. Remove from fire and add the lemon juice.

To Serve
Place the khichdi and serve with the relish to allow each person to mix it as per their taste.

Black and white Tahini

2017-05-27T16:56:00.001-07:00

Adding Tahini to a dip or salad dressing brings a smoky and earthy flavour to it. I made 2 version of tahini using white and black sesame seeds. Very easy to make and can easily last for 2 weeks. I make small portion since just it is quite strong and you need to use very small portion of it.

Ingredients
1 tbsp roasted sesame seeds
2 tsp olive oil

Method
Place the roasted sesame seeds in the mixer and grind till it is finely ground about 2-3 mins. Add the oil and grind to combine well. Store in refrigerator. Stays for about 2 weeks.

Mango yogurt bowls with chia seeds

2017-05-09T15:24:00.001-07:00

It's mango season in India and with so many mangoes, it is time to experiment with it. The heat is really getting to us here in India and a cold healthy mango yogurt bowl is the best way to cool off.

Ingredients
2 mangoes chopped
1 mango chopped and crushed
1/2 cup low-fat yogurt
a dash of salt
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp chia seeds
some chopped mango cubes for decoration
dried

Method
Pulse the 2 chopped mangoes, yogurt, salt, maple syrup together. Mix the crushed mango. Pour in small glasses. Top with chia seeds, chopped mango and 1 dried raspberry. Refrigerate.

I also poured the remaining mix in popsicle moulds to make fresh fruit mango popsicle.

Basic Hummus & various flavors

2017-05-09T15:21:00.002-07:00

Hummus - a Levantine dip has been transformed with so many flavors that you can play with -beetroot hummus, basil hummus, sun dried tomato hummus, jalapeno hummus.

Basic Hummus
Ingredients
1 cup cooked chickpeas
1-2 tablespoon olive oil
2-3 garlic chopped
4 black pepper
1 tsp white tahini paste
juice of 1 lemon
salt to taste

Basil Jalapeno and Beetroot hummus

Method
In a small sauce pan fry the garlic. Do not let it brown. Add it to the chickpeas. Add the flavors if not making a basic hummus Pulse all the ingredients in a mixer till smooth. Transfer to a serving bowl

Drizzle 1 tsp sesame oil for a nutty flavor and spinkle some chilli flakes and sumac. If you don't have sesame oil, you can drizzle some extra virgin olive oil.

Burnt Garlic Hummus
Allow the garlic to brown while frying.

Beetroot Hummus
Add 1/2 cooked chopped or roasted beet while grinding the hummus

Basil & Jalapeno
Fry 1/3 cup chopped basil and 1-2 jalapenos with the garlic. You can also replace with mint or parsley or coriander to vary the flavor and black pepper with green pepper (optional).

Sun dried tomatoes
Soak 2 sun-dried tomatoes in 2 tbsp hot water, 1 tsp red pickled jalapeno. Replace black pepper with red pepper (optional)

Chicken tortilla wrap with green & red salsa

2017-05-08T16:03:00.003-07:00

Wrap allow me to be as creative with the food as possible. Bring 4-5 elements viz Protein, tortilla, Salsa or dips, Veggies - cooked & Veggies - raw. Play with them individually to create a new flavor. Here is a corn torilla wrap with yogurt herb chicken topped with 2 types of salsa(check this link for the recipe of salsa), olive protein dip and juliened veggies.
Char the tortilla on an open flame to make it crispier and the charred bits add a depth of flavor to the tortilla.

Corn tortilla
Ingredients
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp red chilli flakes
1 tsp parsley
salt to taste
1 cup hot water not filled to the brim. (I use fresh whey leftover from paneer)
1 tsp olive oil

Method
Combine the hot water and cornmeal and leave aside to cool. Add the remaining ingredients and knead to get a soft dough. Make about 12 portions. Roll into thin tortilla and roast on a tava/ griddle until it is just cooked.

Tip : I like to keep them partially cooked so that I can roast them directly on the flame before eating. The charred tortilla is something I love.

Yogurt herbed Cubed Chicken
Ingredients
400 gms chicken washed & cubed
5-6 grated garlic
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp italian herb seasoning
1/2 tsp hot red chilli flakes
1 tsp tandoori masala
1/2 tsp oregano
1/3 cup yogurt
salt to taste
3 tbsp olive oil

Method
Combine all the ingredients except for the chicken & olive oil. Adjust the seasoning if required. Add the chicken mix well and allow it to marinate for 2 hours at least. In a frying pan, heat the olive oil and fry the chicken on high till cooked and dry. Keep aside

Olive protein dip
Ingredients
1 cup paneer/ cottage cheese
1/3 cup yoghurt
juice of 1 lemon
2 garlic chopped
1/2 cup chopped basic and celery
5-6 green olives
2 jalapenos
salt to taste
8 black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil

Method
Fry the garlic and herbs in olive oil. Pulse all the ingredients including in a mixer till smooth and creamy. Topped with some dried celery or parsley.

Veggies Cooked
Julienne zucchini and carrots. Steam them for 1-2 mins. Allow to cool. In a small saucepan, add 1 tbsp olive oil, 2 chopped garlic, chopped celery, 1 tsp roasted red chilli (pickled will also do). Toss it over the veggies with 1 tsp honey, juice of 1 lemon and some black pepper. Combine and keep aside covered

Veggies Raw
Use some torn mixed salad leaves, chopped cherry tomatoes, raw sweet & sour mango

To assemble
Place the charred tortilla on the plate. Layer some veggies in the centre. Put the chicken. On each side place the salsa. Top with the olive protein dip and some raw veggies. Fold and enjoy a messy, healthy delicious and drippy meal.

Roasted tomatoes and pepper salsa - Green & Red

2017-05-08T16:00:00.001-07:00

I love to pair food with contrasting colors and flavors. Green tomato, yellow capsicum, bright red tomatoes and blood red capsicum. Basil & celery with garlic for flavor. Red & green jalapeno for the spice. Salsa is best way to mix these flavors. I made two salsa
Roasted Red Capsicum & Tomato Salsa
Roasted Yellow capsicum & Green Tomato salsa

Roasting the vegetables
Ingredients
1 large red capsicum
1 large yellow capsicum
3-4 red tomatoes
3-4 green tomatoes
2 green jalapeno
1 red jalapeno (In Mumbai a long thick red chilli which is very spicy is available and I love to use it in dips, hummus and salsa)

Method
Line a large baking tray with aluminium foil. Wash and wipe all the vegetables Cut the tomatoes in half. Smear each vegetable with some olive oil and place on the baking tray. Place in a pre-heated oven (200 C) and roast till the skin of the capsicums are charred black about 45 mins to an hour.
Remove from oven, wrap the foil around it and let is cool. De-skin the veggies, remove the stem and keep them separately. Do not throw away any of the liquid. You can use in sauces or while cooking rice.

Roasted Red Capsicum & Tomato Salsa
Ingredients
Roasted red capsicum
Roasted red jalapeno
Roasted red tomatoes
3 cloves chopped fine
1/4 cup basil chopped fine
3-4 black pepper crushed
1/2 tsp roasted cumin powder
juice of 1-2 lemons
salt to taste
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp crushed dried parsley
1/4 tsp crushed dried marjoram
1/2 tsp sumac
1/2 tsp crushed orange mint (optional)
Method
In a food processor, place the roasted vegetables and pulse till coarsely chopped. In a small saucepan, heat the oil, add the chopped garlic and fry for 1-2 mins. Add the fresh herbs and fry for another 1-2 mins. Now add the remaining ingredients and with the prepared oil & herbs in the food processor and pulse. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Roasted Yellow Capsicum & Green Tomato Salsa
Ingredients
Roasted yellow capsicum
Roasted green jalapeno
Roasted green tomatoes
3 cloves chopped fine
1/4 cup celery chopped fine
3-4 black pepper crushed
1/2 tsp roasted cumin powder
juice of 1-2 lemons
salt to taste
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp crushed spearmint (optional)
Method
In a food processor, place the roasted vegetables and pulse till coarsely chopped. In a small saucepan, heat the oil, add the chopped garlic and fry for 1-2 mins. Add the fresh herbs and fry for another 1-2 mins. Now add the remaining ingredients and with the prepared oil & herbs in the food processor and pulse. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Savor with a chicken tortilla wrap with veggies.

Healthy Low Fat Baked Cottage Cheese cake with Strawberry Balsamic dressing

2017-02-23T19:19:00.001-08:00

New York's philadelphia cheese cake is amazing and the flavour & texture is something you can never get over. But when it comes to baking at home, I am always looking for healthier, low-fat alternatives. Cottage Cheese (paneer) happens to be my favourite subsitute for cream cheese. I just decided to go with my gut feeling about this cake and it turned out pretty good. The texture is dense not as light as a New York cheese cake but creamy enough. When I make it next, which I surely will, I will add some more tang to it using orange rind and a tbsp orange/ lemon juice.

Cheese Cake
Ingredients
For the cheese cake
2 1/2 cups fresh home made paneer
1 1/3 cups hung yoghurt
1 tbsp custard powder
1/4 cup cane sugar
few drops of vanilla essence
zest of 1 lemon
a dash of salt
2 eggs

For the base
1 cup marie biscuit
1 tbsp demerara sugar
1/2 cup crushed toasted hazelnuts
6 tbsp melted butter

Method.
Pulse the biscuit in the mixer coarsely. Mix the butter with the biscuit and hazelnuts and pat it firmly on the base of a clean and dry 8 inch spring-form pan. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes. Cover the spring form pan with at least 4-5 layers of aluminum foil from the bottom and the up the sides.

Whip the paneer, yoghurt & salt in a mixer till it is smooth and it is not grainy. Separate the egg yolks. Add the sugar, lemon zest and vanilla essence and beat well. Whip the egg whites with a pinch of salt till they are stiff. Sift the custard powder in the egg yolks and mix it well. Add the paneer & yoghurt mix and beat for 2-3 minutes. Fold in the egg whites gently till there are no white streaks.
Bake in a water bath at 180 C for 1 hour. The water bath should reach upto 3/4 of the springform pan.
Turn off oven and leave the door slightly open. Allow to cool for an hour. Remove from the oven and discard the aluminium foil. Allow the cool. Chill in the refrigerator overnight or preferably 24 hours.

Strawberry balsamic sauce
Thanks to the ample strawberries from Mahableshwar, I could experiment with new flavor and this was another flavor that I just loved. The balsamic gave the right amount of tang to the sweet strawberries. I used the recipe from Serious Eats and it is really amazing. I found it a bit runny, so you can add some corn flour when you add the strawberries.
Ingredients
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 cups ripe strawberries, roughly diced
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
zest of 1 lemon
Method
Bring balsamic vinegar to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. On low simmer until vinegar has thickened and reduced to 1/4 of its original volume, 5 to 10 minutes.
Stir in strawberries, sugar, salt, and lemon zest. Increase heat to medium and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until strawberries have released their juices and softened, about 5 minutes. Simmer until the sauce thicken a bit. Allow to cool. It will stay in the refrigerator for at least a week.

To serve
To serve run a knife along the edges of the cheese cake and remove from the spring form pan. Pour the strawberry balsamic sauce all over the cake. I had some extra left over strawberry sauce which I added to the center of the cake. Slice and serve in individual plates.

Chicken with strawberry balsamic vinegar and chunky mashed potatoes

2017-02-19T19:53:00.001-08:00

A visit to Mahableshwar means bringing home loads of strawberries and it also meant trying out new dishes. Strawberry sauce with balsamic vinegar was something I did not try earlier and I really loved the basic sauce I prepared which could be used as a base for dessert and spiced up for savory dishes. I tried both version and both turned out really good. Strawberry balsamic sauce has the right balance of tart and sweet. I used the recipe for the basic sauce from Serious Eats and it is a very simple easy to follow recipe. So here is one of the dishes we had using this sauce. This dish combines many elements which are recipes on their own - Chunky spice mashed potatoes, Chicken baked with strawberry balsamic vinegar and mixed grains with corn served on a layer of leaves melange.

Chicken baked with strawberry balsamic vinegar
Ingredients
400 gm boneless chicken breast, cut into large pieces and flattened
1 cup prepared strawberry balsamic salad sauce
1 tsp olive oil
For marinade
1 tbsp pizza seasoning
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp hot chilli flakes
1/3 cup yogurt beaten
1 tsp olive oil
Method
Mix all the ingredients for the marinade and coat the chicken pieces well. Allow to marinate in the refrigerator overnight or 4-6 hours.
In a large frying pan, smear the olive oil all over. Place the chicken pieces and sear on high flame on each side. Allow to cook for 2-3 mins on each side. To check if done, pierced the tip of the knife in the middle of the chicken, if it releases a clear liquid, it is done.
Keep warm in a prepared baking pan. Smear some strawberry balsamic salad sauce on top of the chicken and bake at 200 C for about 10 mins.

Strawberry balsamic vinegar dressing
I prepared strawberry balsamic sauce and made it spicy to suit our taste and make it a dressing.
Ingredients
1 cup strawberry balsamic sauce
1 green chilli
2 garlic cloves
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
some basil leaves chopped
Method
Fry the basil, garlic and chilli in oil. Pour it over the strawberry balsamic sauce and grind it in a mixer to get a smooth paste. You can dilute it by adding some water as per your taste.

Chunky spicy mashed potatoes
I am not a fan of creamy mashed potatoes and I discovered this method by accident when I decided to use a boiled potatoes for breakfast with mushroom omlette. In winter, the markets in Mumbai sell many types of chillies that range from spicy(tikha) to bleh(mori) with different hues from red to green. I used the small fat green chilli (dont know the name) instead of jalapeno. Not very spicy but adds a kick to make it that wee bit spicy.
Ingredients

4 medium potatoes boiled

1/4 cup milk

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

salt to taste

2 large cloves of garlic, chopped

1 tsp mix of dried celery, tarragon & oregano

1/2 tsp cracked black pepper (preferably green pepper)

1 jalapeno chopped

Method

Mash the potatoes in a bowl and add the milk, salt & black pepper. Heat the oil in a small vessel. Fry the garlic and jalapeno. Add the dried spices and pour over the mashed potatoes. Mix well to combine. You can prepare this ahead and keep. Warm in microwave before serving.

Mixed grains with corn

I used a combination of 4 types of grains - wheat dalia, jowar dalia, millet, white quinoa and mixed in a proportion of 1 cup grain with 1.5 cups water (use whey). A dash of salt & olive oil and it goes in the cooker to be cooked for 7 mins after one whistle. And you have well separated grains that can be used as you please.

Ingredients

1 cup cooked mixed grain

1/4 cup corn

1/4 cup onion chopped

1/2 tsp dried oregano

2 cloves garlic chopped

1 jalapeno chopped

1 tsp olive oil

salt to taste

Method

In a small pan, add the oil and fry the onion, jalapeno & garlic for 2 mins. Add the corn, salt to taste and cook until tender. Add the cooked mixed grain until well coated and heated through. This can be prepared ahead and heated just before serving.

To serve

On a serving plate, spread some chopped mixed lettuce leaves all over the plate. Place the prepared mixed grains at one end and the mashed potatoes at the other end. Place the warm chicken in the center and serve immediately.