Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Eggplant Pizza

This is based on a recipe that I got from Parents Magazine site.I was searching for something else but ended up with this.But I twisted it a bit and ended up with this.

Ingredients:
Large Eggplants:1
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese:1/2 cup
Broccoli : 1/4 cup
Corn kernels:1/4 cup
Bell Pepper/Capsicum:1/2 cup
Salt:as per taste
Oregano:a pinch
Pepper:as per taste
Marinara Sauce:1/2 cup
Parmesan Cheese:1/2 cup

Preparation:

Cut the eggplant into 1/2 to 1 inch circles.Add salt to these pieces and set aside for 10-15 minutes.Pat them dry on a paper towel or squeeze slowly between your hands in such a way that they do not lose shape.This reduces the bitterness of eggplants.

Preheat the oven to 475F.Spray a baking dish with olive oil and arrange the eggplant pieces on this dish and top it with ground pepper.Bake in the oven for around 12-15 minutes.Otherwise you can put them in a tawa and roast them.Keep aside.


In a bowl mix together oregano,salt,pepper and chopped broccoli and thawed corn.You can actually add any other spice you find interesting that goes with the veggies you use.Well, you can use any other veggies as well.I used these as I had these in excess.You can add red pepper flakes if you like it more spicy.Steam the veggies for few minutes as this reduces the baking time.No need to cook the capsicum though.Let the steamed veggies cool a bit otherwise the cheese will start melting before baking itself.

Take an eggplant piece, spread marinara sauce on one side.Top sauce with shredded mozzarella cheese or any other pizza cheese blend.Top it with a spoonful of cooled cooked veggies.Top the veggies with more cheese and /or grated parmesan cheese.In order to give it a colorful look and stop the sauce from flowing out as it is not a regular crust(it did not) ,I gave toppings a border of orange capsicum.You can use any capsicum you want.Cut them into long thin pieces. Do so with each eggplant piece.

Bake in a greased dish at 350 F for around 15-20 minutes.Serve as an appetizer.


This goes to A.W.E.D-Italian as a Vegetarian Appetizer.


Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Bread Chole

This ia a recipe that is meant for baturas.But this also goes well with bread,puttu,puri, rotis etc.Most of the times I serve it with bread ,hence the name.This is not the authentic chole recipe but it brings out the best of black chanas.Here's the recipe.
Ingredients:
Black chana:1 cup
Red chillies:4
Cardamom:2 to 3 pods crushed
Coriander seeds:1 tbspn
Onion:1 big
Coconut:1 tspn(optional)
Mustard:1 tspn
Salt:as per taste

Preparation:
Soak chana overnight and cook in a pressure cooker adding salt.

In a pan add little oil,roast together coriander seeds,crushed cardamom and red chillies.Adjust the no: of red chillies with the amount of chana.Grind these adding little coconut(optional) ,one or two spoons cooked chana and water in which it is cooked.

Chop onions thinly.Heat oil in a pan,add mustard.As it splutters, add onions and saute.Once the onions turn transluscent add the paste, mix well and saute for a minute and then add the cooked chana.Adjust the salt.Boil till the gravy becomes a little bit thicker.Serve with bread,puttu,puris,rotis,appams,baturas etc.





This also travels to SriValli's CurryMela along with my other dishes:



Shallots Curry

Tomato Fry

Rajma Masala

Jelly Filled Scones

I saw the announcement for BBD:Small Breads and was excited.I had earlier baked white bread but did not blog it.I am not confident about my baking,but the scone recipe (Click here for the recipe)I tried came out well.

Scones are English snacks /biscuits usually associated with Tea parties.They are usually made of oats,wheats and barley but the recipe I used goes for flour.Next time I am thinking of replacing it with wheat or oats.I also did not add any eggs. But replaced it with more butter, more milk and also ground flax seeds.Milk is also used as an alternative to heavy whipping cream. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
All purpose flour-2 cup
Baking Powder-2 tspn
Salt:1/4 tspn
Sugar:1/4cup
Butter-3 tbspn unsalted
Milk:1 cup
Vanilla extract:1 tspn
Preserves:1/4 cup
Flax seeds :1tbspn
(1tbspn flaxseed + 3tbspn water = 1 egg)
Almonds:1 tspn chopped

Preparation:
In a bowl mix together flour,sugar,salt and baking powder.Cut or shred cold unsalted butter into this and mix well till the entire mixture looks like course crumbs.Add zest of orange or lemon and mix well.

In another bowl mix together finely powdered flaxseed and 3tbspn of water till the mix becomes gooey.This is our egg replacer.To this add milk and vanilla. I did not add entire 1 cup of milk but only 1/4 cup. To this wet mix add the the flour mixture little by little and mix gently.Add little of the remaining milk and then flour and do so till all the flour is mixed well and looks combined.Do not overmix.

On a floured surface knead the dough gently few times and then divide into halves.Pat each half into an 8 inch wide circle of around 3/4 inch thickness. Take a circle,spread preserve on it(I used grape jelly and also topped it with chopped almonds) and close it with the other circle.Cut this big circle into 2 halves and cut each half into 4 wedges thus making jelly filled scone triangles. If you want you can brush the tops of scones with eggwash or butter or milk.I did not do any such thing.Simply put the scone in a lined baking sheet.

Preheat the oven to 375 F.Place the rack in the middle of the oven. Put the baking sheet in this rack and bake for around 30-35 minutes.Even though the actuall recipe called for 15 minutes it took around 30 to get the right consistency of scones.I also did not go for the broiling suggested in the actual recipe but served as such right from the oven.The aroma that permeats the house during the baking makes you hungry.Thus no topping with sugar!


Serve as such or with cream or jam. We had it as such and it was very tasty.
This is my entry to BBD#12:Small breads hosted this time by Aparna of MyDiverseKitchen. Enjoy.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Rajma Masala

This recipe I got from a magazine.This recipe is good with rotis as well as rice.Here's the recipe

Ingredients:
Rajma : 1 cup
Onions:1
Tomato puree:2 tbspn
Ginger-1 inch piece
Garlic:1clove
GreenChilly:1 big
Chilly Powder:1 and half tspn
Ghee - 1 tbspn

Preparation:
Soak Rajma overnight and cook it with salt in a pressure cooker. Grind together ginger,garlic and green chilly.Chop onion thinly.

In a pan heat ghee,add onions.Saute till transluscent. Add the ground paste,saute for 1 minute,add chilli powder,tomato puree and cooked rajma.Mix well.Adjust salt.Boil.Serve.You can make it more gravy by adding water/more puree.





This goes well with dosas,bread,puttu(breakfast items) and rice(by adding more puree/water) as well as rotis. This also goes well with Srivalli's Curry Mela


Cheesy Pasta

This is a recipe for Mac n Cheese which I twisted a bit by using Fusili pasta which was the only one I had in my hand and also added peas to it.But the result was so good that I said 'Good Bye' to Kraft MAC.I can only imagine what would have happened if I had macaroni in hand. Anyway here's the recipe :

Ingredients:
Fusilii Pasta: 1 cup
Cheddar cheese:1/2 cup shredded
Milk:1/4 cup
Butter:1 tbspn unsalted
Salt:as per taste
Pepper:as per taste
Green Peas:1 tbspn
Cornstarch: 1/2 tbspn
Parmesan Cheese:1/2 tbspn

Preparation:
Cook Pasta as per package instructions. Also add peas to it.If the peas is frozen then add 2 minutes before cooking completes.Mix together cheese and corn starch. This avoids the cheese from being too stringy.

Heat butter in a pan.As it starts to melt lower the gas and add pasta peas combo first and then milk to it.Mix to coat well.Add cheese -cornstarch mixture.Mix well.Top with grated parmesan cheese.Add salt and pepper.Serve hot.


This is my second entry to A.W.E.D -Italian as a Main Vegetarian Course


Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Ginger Grape Punch

This is a recipe that I found in an old cookbook.I had all the ingredients and summer was the perfect time for it.Here's the recipe.

Ingredients:
Black seedless grapes:1/2 cup or 15 big ones
Pineapple cubed:1/2cup
Ginger:1tbspn
Lemon :1 juiced
Sugar:3 tbspn
Salt:1/2 tspn
Ice Water:1-2 cups

Preparation:


Blend together all the ingredients and strain.You can dilute it if needed or if you do not want the gingery fruity flavour hitting your tongue.Serve chilled topped with ice cubes.



This drink is perfect for summer and as an afterdinner dessert as it has ginger that helps digestion and also the fruits.So this goes to WYF:Juices & Icecream event at Simple Indian Food







and also to Sweet Series:Cool Deserts event at Paajaka recipes.




Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Fried Idli cutlets

This dish makes use of leftover idlis and is a very good evening snack.I got this recipe from my mother and love it.Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
Leftover Idlis: 2 atleast
Cabbage :1 tbspn
Onion:1 small
Carrot:1 medium
Riceflour:1 tbspn
Breadcrumbs:1/2-1 tbspn
Salt:as per taste
Green Chillies:2 medium
Tomato:1 small

Preparation:
In a big bowl, mash idlis with hands into fine grains or very small pieces.Chop /grate onions,carrot,cabbage and add to idlis.Also add chopped green chillies,rice flour,bread crumbs,finely chopped tomato and salt.You can substitute green chillies with pepper and tomato with puree. Adjust the riceflour and bread crumb with the no:of idlis you have.

Mix together with very little water to form a dough. Make small rounds out to dough.Roll out each round or circle in your hand to flatten it.You can actually go for any shape you want.Do so for each cutlet.

Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the cutlets to a deep brown color, in batches if needed.Serve hot with tomato sauce.



Saturday, July 19, 2008

Roasted Coconut Chutney

This is a chutney recipe I got from my mother and it goes well with Idlis.This chutney can be stored for several days as all the ingredients are roasted and thus is very good while travelling. This goes well with Idlis but not with dosas.The actual recipe is a thick chutney but here I have made it a bit watery.


Ingredients:
Coconut grated:1/2cup
Chana dal:1 tbspn
Curry leaves:few
Tamarind:small berry size
Red chillies:2 medium
Green chillies:1 large
Salt:as per taste


Preparation:
Heat very little oil in a kadai and roast all the ingredients except salt.Roast them till the coconut turns dark brown.Switch off the gas and let it cool in the kadai itself so that remaining heat in the kadai can be absorbed as well.Grind in mixer adding salt and very little or water. Serve with a steaming plate of idlis.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Vegetable Idlis

This dish I prepared after seeing Priya's Vegetable Idli.Only thing is I used Idli Rava instead of the normal Upma Rava.Here's the recipe

Ingredients:
Idli Rava:1 cup
Mixed veggies(carrot,peas,potato,corn,onion):1/2cup cubed
Ginger:1/2 inch chopped
Mustard:1/2tspn
Pepper:3/4tspn
Buttermilk/Yoghurt:1 cup
Urad dal:1/2tspn
Chana dal:1/2 tspn

Preparation:
You can steam the idli rava a bit to avoid the hardening of idlis and also reduce the coarseness.In a bowl mix some oil with the rava and blend it.When you squeeze them they should be able to hold their shape.It is similar to making of puttu dough. Otherwise add more oil.To this add mixed chopped veggies and ginger,salt,pepper and buttermilk and mix well. The batter should be of idli consistency.Otherwise add more buttermilk/water as per taste & sourness.

In a pan heat oil and add mustard.As it splutters add dals and pour this seasoning to the batter and mix well.Pour spoonful of batter into greased idli vessels.Steam cook in a pressure/Idli cooker for about 20 minutes. Serve hot with chutney.



Tomato Sambar Powder Chutney

I love tomatoes and this recipe add the taste of sambar to it as well.This recipe can be made in busy mornings for those who miss the Sambar.You can use either home made or store bought sambar powder.

Ingredients:
Tomatoes:2 medium
Coconut grated:2 tbspn
Sambar Powder:1 tbspn
Onion:1medium
Mustard:1/2tspn
Red chilly:1 small
Curryleaves:few
Salt:as per taste

Preparation:
Chop onions finely and set aside.Grind together chopped tomatoes,sambar powder and coconut grated.In a pan heat oil and season with mustard.As it splutters,add chopped onions,red chilly and curry leaves and saute till the onions brown.Add salt and the ground paste and cook till the raw smell goes.You can add water/tomato juice for more gravy.Adjust salt.Serve with idlis and dosas.

Eggplant Parmigiana

I have started loving Italian food (apart from pizzas)and am trying to make it at home.Only thing is it should be vegetarian. I loved the Eggplant Parmigiana that I had from the nearby Italian Grill and tried to make it at home.I got the recipe from Food Network site and here's it.

Ingredients:
Eggplant : 1 medium
Marinara Sauce:1cup
Basil leaves:1/2 tspn
Mozzarella Cheese shredded:1/2 cup
Parmesan Cheese grated:1/2 cup

Preparation:
Cut the eggplants into 1 inch thick pieces.Mix with salt and keep aside for 10 minutes. Then pat the pieces dry by placing them on a paper towel or slightly squeezing them between your hands .I squeezed them and this should be done in such a way that they do not lose their shape.

Preheat the oven to 475F.Spray a baking dish with olive oil and arrange the eggplant pieces on this dish and top it with ground pepper.Bake in the oven for around 12-15 minutes.Otherwise you can put them in a tawa and roast them.Keep aside.

Reduce the oven temp to 350F.Spray a baking dish with olive oil.Place 2 or 3 eggplant pieces as a layer(adjacent to each other).If your baking dish is small you can place a single eggplant piece as a layer.Top the eggplant layer with marinara sauce. You can make your own marinara / spaghetti sauce or buy them.I used store bought one which made this recipe a quickie. On top the sauce sprinkle dried basil leaves. On top of the basil you can keep a fresh mozzarella cheese slice or use the shredded one. I used the latter.Even mozzarella blended with other cheeses goes well with it.On top of mozzarella sprinkle parmesan.Top this with eggplant pieces and repeat the entire process of eggplant-sauce-basil-2 cheeses till all the eggplant pieces are over.Bake for 20 minutes.Serve hot.




Update on Friday July 18th,2008:

I am sending this dish to A.W.E.D-Italian as a Main Course-Vegetarian.Enjoy





Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Onion Chutney

This is a very quick recipe and is very tasty.

Ingredients:
Onions: 2
Tamarind:1 berry size
Red chillies:2
Salt: as per taste

Preparation:
Chop onions into cubes or small pieces.Heat oil in a pan,add red chillies,tamarind and onion pieces and saute till onion turns brown.Cool and grind after adding salt.Serve with Idlis and dosas.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Tomato Fry

This is an easy recipe that my mother adapted from a cookery show. The actual recipe includes vegetable cubes and all but we refined it this way.This fry goes well with rice,idli/dosa and rotis.

Ingredients:
Tomatoes:2 minimum
Onion:1
Ginger:1&1/2 inches
Green chillies:2
Tomato sauce : 2 tbsp
Salt:as per taste

Preparation:
Chop onions,tomatoes and ginger finely.Slit green chillies.Heat oil in a pan,add chopped onion,ginger and green chillies.Stirfry till onions become transluscent. Add chopped tomatoes,little salt and tomato sauce/ketchup.Cook till done.Add water/more sauce/tomato juice/puree if you want more gravy.Adjust salt depending on the saltiness of the sauce. Serve.



This dish goes well with breakfast(idli /dosa/bread),lunch/dinner(with any type rice) and is also a nice gravy with rotis(any type).So this is my entry to Srivalli's Curry Mela.


Sunday, July 13, 2008

Mini Veg Pot Pie

I had extra broccoli and had to do something with it.I hit upon the idea of a pot pie after seeing Sunita's post(Click here).I did not have a cookie cutter and made do with the knife and scissors.Anyway here's the recipe

Ingredients:
Puff pastry sheet :2
filling
Broccoli:1/2 cup
Shredded cheese:2 tbspn
Tomato Sauce/puree:1 tbspn
Italian seasoning(optional):1 pinch
Salt &Pepper:as per taste

Preparation:
Thaw the frozen puff pastry sheet for about 30-40 minutes.You can even make your own pastry dough as well. Pre heat the oven upto 400 F.

In a bowl mix together all the ingredients under the filling except the cheese. Coat a muffin pan with butter/olive oil.

Roll out the pastry a bit in a floured surface and cut it into square/shapes that fit your muffin pan.Layer the squares into the muffin pan and put a teaspoon of filling into them . Top the filling with the shredded cheese and cover each mufffin with another square cut from pastry sheet.You can either completely cover them or use criss-cross lattice or as per your wish.Top each pie with shredded cheese or you can brush oil/butter for that golden glaze. Bake for 15-20 minutes.Serve with ketchup.


Spinach Cutlets

I had an extra bunch of spinach and did not know what to do with it.I had also not prepared any evening snack with spinach and decided to use spinach for that.I did not want to saute the spinach as in usual recipes so simply chopped it and added to make the cutlets.I have added whatever ingredients I had that were leftover like mashed potato,breadcrumbs with cheese etc.It was good thing 'coz they served as binders and the cooking was done quickly.

Ingredients:
Spinach:1 bunch
Potato:1medium
Onions:1 medium
Ginger:1/2 inch
Bread Crumbs:1tbspn
(Mine were cheesy breadcrumbs.You can use regular and/or add extra shredded cheese(any cheese))
salt&Pepper:as per taste
Semolina(Rava):1 tbspn

Preparation:
Chop spinach onion and ginger finely.Boil,peel and mash potato.In a bowl add all the ingredients and little water as needed to form a dough.Shape into small cutlet shapes and freeze for 5-10 minutes.Heat a skillet/tawa add oil,place the cutlets and roast on both sides till the spinach is done. Serve hot with Tomato Ketchup.

If you want you can avoid bread crumbs/rava and use corn flakes/oats and can add any veggies you like for a healthy snack.

Quick Pasta

This recipe I obtained from a magazine and is good for a quick Italian treat.I tried it out with the fusili pasta.
Ingredients

Pasta :-1cup
Onion:1 medium
Garlic:2-3 cloves
Tomatoes chopped/crushed:1/2 cup
Basil,oregano:1/2 tsp each
Mixed vegetables(broccoli,capsicum,mushrooms,peas,frozen corn):1/2 cup
(I used broccoli,peas and corn)
Salt &Pepper:as per taste

Preparation:
Cook pasta as per the package instructions,adding the veggies at the last 2 minutes of cooking.Drain and keep aside.In a pan, heat oil and saute chopped onion and garlic till lightly browned.Add tomatoes,salt,basil and oregano and saute till they get cooked and juice oozes out.Add the pasta and mix well till it gets coated with sauce.Adjust the salt and add freshly ground pepper as well.Garnish with parmesan cheese.

It would be better if you could add the fresh herbs rather than the dried powders .But I made do with the powders and the result was quite good.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Shallots Curry/Ulli Theeyal

This is a recipe that I relish from my childhood.This is a Kerala dish made with small/sambar onions/shallots.It is easy to prepare as it does not involve prolonged cooking.The word 'ulli' in Malayalam means small onions/sambar onion/shallots.I think 'theeyal' stands for roasted.This recipe may not be authentic as there are several versions and changes made from region to region in Kerala,but this is the way I make it and enjoy it as a curry for lunch.

Ingredients:
Small onions:1 cup
Coconut scrapped-1/4cup
Coriander seeds:1 tbspn
Red chillies:2-3 depending on taste.
Mustard:1 tspn
Curry leaves:few
Cumin seeds(jeera)-1/2 tspn
Tamarind:quarter lemon size

Preparation:
Heat oil in a pan.Add coriander seeds,red chillies and coconut.Saute till the coconut turns brown. Put aside and let it cool and later grind them in a mixer adding water and tamarind.you can even soak the tamarind in water and the use that water for grinding.It depends on how much tanginess you prefer.
Meanwhile peel the skin of shallots and it they are too big chop them into small pieces.This can be a bit 'tearful' so it is recommended that you freeze the shallots(this will solidify their juices) or put them in water with their skins before chopping. After cleaning and chopping(smaller shallots can be left as such)roast them in little oil (if possible in the same pan in which the ground ingredients were sauteed).
Put the ground paste in a bowl and boil it after adding salt and water(if needed).Then add the roasted shallots to this gravy and heat through.Adjust salt and add more water if needed.Season in oil/ghee with curry leaves and jeera.Serve hot.


You can also reduce the quantity of shallots and add drumsticks or dal or even tomatoes to it(in this case adjust the tamarind).

As far asI am concerned this goes well with idlis/dosas and is great with lunch.So I am sending this as well to Srivalli's-Curry Mela


Thursday, July 10, 2008

Vegetable Rice with Mint

I got this recipe from a tamil cookery show.I did not see it,but it was passed to me by my mother.It is a lunch box recipe from a working mother.It uses fresh mint leaves for flavoring.You can add any vegetables to it and the original recipe contains paneer pieces as well.Here I have removed the paneer and added extra vegetables. Even those who do not like mint leaves would love this.

Ingredients:
Basmati/Long grain rice :1 cup
Mixed vegetables(carrots,peas,cauliflower,beans,sweetcorn etc):1 cup
Onion-1
mint leaves:3 to 4 sprigs(10-12 leaves)
pepper:1and 1/2 tspn
salt:as per taste
cloves,cardamon:1/2 tspn

Preparation:
Cook rice.Keep aside.In a kadai/pan heat ghee/oil.Add thinly chopped onion,cloves and cardamon.Saute till transluscent.Add the chopped vegetables and stirfry till cooked.If you are using potato then it is better to cook it before adding to the pan.Add chopped mint leaves.Saute till the mint is wilted.Add salt,pepper powder.Mix well.Turn the gas off.Add rice cooked and mix well.It is at this stage that panneer pieces if using any are to be added.Serve hot with raita

Layered Parotta

This is an experiment that I tried after seeing Cham 's Layered parotta recipe. I like layered Parotta and have been searching for a good recipe.This is actually tedious work if you are a beginner(which I am). So I did not take any photos at all.But it turned out well (That's a surprise)

Ingredients:
Maida/All purpose flour:1 cup
Baking Soda :1/4 tpn
Hot water:1/2 cup
Oil - 2 tspn + 4 tbspn
Salt - as per taste

Preparation:
Mix in a big bowl flour,salt,2 tspn oil in hot water.Make a dough and smear with oil/butter and cover it. Let it rest for a few hours or overnight.By that time it will have doubled in size. On a floured surface divide the dough into equal sized balls. There will be 5 or 6 balls only. Take a ball of dough and roll it out into a really thin disc.Brush some oil on the disc.Then fold from one end to the other like a fan or rather the folds of a saree.You will get a fan/saree pleats and hold it together and roll from one end to another to close it into a small ball.Roll out gently to obtain a thick disc -neither too thick not thin but with folds clearly seen.You should not put any pressure as it will flatten the layers.(Click here for Cham's pictorial version). Do so with other balls.
Fry on a tawa on either sides until they are brown.Serve with gravy.

Chana Masala

I got this recipe from my aunt who is an expert in cooking. She simply mixes and matches spices and vegetables and out comes a wonderful dish. This dish actually proves that. Enjoy this with rotis,rice or in rolls or sandwiches. This does not requires any onions so out goes chopping. Here's the recipe

Ingredients:
White Chana-1/2 cup
Tomato puree/crushed-1tbspn
Ginger -1/2 inch chopped finely
Cumin -1/2 tspn
Green chillies - 2 small (Adjust with chilly powder)
Chilli powder :1/2 tspn
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tspn

Preparation:
Soak chana overnight. Cook the chana with salt in a pressure cooker. Heat oil.Add cumin seeds,ginger,slit green chillies and chopped or pureed tomato.Stirfry till oil comes.Add cooked chana,chilli powder and turmeric powder. Adjust salt. Serve with rotis/or in sandwiches by making it a dry curry. If you want thick gravy add more tomato puree and/or water and adjust the powders.



Beetroot Rasam

This is actually inspired from Asha of FoodieHope (Click here for the original recipe).But I used the easy way out and made a quick rasam which was equally tasty.Here is my recipe

Ingredients:
Beetroot :1 medium
Tomato puree/crushed/juice:1-2 tbspn
Rasam Powder: 1/2 tbspn
coriander leaves- few
hing : 1 pinch
salt :as per taste

Seasoning:
Ghee -1/2 tbspn
Sambar onions/shallots-few
Curry leaves-few
Mustard:1 tspn
Cumin-1/2 tspn
Garlic -1 clove chopped
Dry red chilly - 1 medium deseeded

Preparation:
Chop beetroot into cubes and boil.Add tomato juice/puree/crushed tomatoes, rasam powder,coriander leaves,salt and hing. Boil for few minutes.Season in ghee with mustard,cumin,chopped garlic and shallots, dry red chilly and curry leaves. This is very easy to prepare and is very tasty. Serve with rice.


Thursday, July 3, 2008

Twirly Whirly Pizza

The other day I was browsing for recipes when I came to know about Nupur's MBP:Less is more.Actually Coffee is the brain behind this MBP(Monthly Blog Patrol) and this time Nupur is hosting it. These days I am always trying out someone or other's recipe that I thought it was perfect for me.That was until I read the rules. But I decided to give it a try and thus began the great search for a recipe with 5 or less ingredients.I came across Twirly Whirly Pizza(click here for original recipe) in one of my favourite blogger Madhuram's Egglesscooking.com . I am a vegetarian and do not use eggs as well. So I was delighted to find another blogger with the same mindset.

This is a very easy recipe and is my first attempt in making a pizza.I did not get pastry dough. But I made mine using Betty Crocker Pizza Crust Mix.I did not have Pizza sauce so I used Tomato sauce and also added a pinch of oregano to it. Here goes my recipe.



Ingredients:

1)Pizza dough:

Betty crocker Pizza crust mix :1 pkt
Hot water - 1/2 cup


Make a Pizza crust as per the instructions given on the packet




Sauce:
2)Tomato sauce -1/2 cup
3)oregano -1 pinch

Mix the sauce and oregano together
You can use a pizza sauce instead of this sauce.If you have no oregano you can even add red chilli flakes/pepper as well.


Topping:
4)baby spinach leaves-1/2cup or 20-25 leaves
5)shredded pizza cheese blend- 1/2cup

Total 5 ingredients and a meal is ready.

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 450 F.
Make a pizza crust.Press this dough into a circle on a greased pie pan. Spread the sauce and 3/4 cheese on the circle. Top with spinach leaves.Roll the dough from one end to the other to form a tube.Cut into 8 pieces. Arrange into a floral shape in the greased pie pan.





Bake for 12 to 17 minutes. Serve along with red chilli flakes/pepper/oregano for extra spiciness.



This is my entry for Nupur's MBP:Less is More

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Quick Potato Pancakes

This is a quick breakfast dish.I did this with Storebrought Pancake mix.Here's my recipe
Ingredients:
Potatoes- 2
Onions - 1big chopped finely
Pepper powder-1/2 to 1 tsp
Salt -a pinch/as per taste
Pancake mix-1and1/2 cup

Preparation

Boil,peel and mash potatoes.Chop onion finely.In a bowl mix,pancake mix,potatoes,onion, a pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper.Add water to make a thick pancake batter.You can actually spice it with any other spices or add finely chopped/grated veggies like carrot, zucchini etc. Make pancakes on a heated tawa/pan. Roast both sides and serve hot.


Thanks for visiting my Blog

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