Rosemary Focaccia

Also known as Italian flat bread, Focaccia is one of my personal favorite. You can mix and match different ingredients and come up with something spectacular.  I got to work again with my favorite herb- rosemary and my whole house smelt so good after baking this :)

Ingredients-

3 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp dry yeast

luke warm water

olive oil

1 small red onion (sliced)
3-4 garlic cloves (crushed and chopped fine)

rosemary leaves

salt (1/2 tsp)
5-6 Black olives (optional)

Preparation-

• Sift the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add in the yeast.
• Pour in warm water, crushed/chopped garlic, olive oil and knead the dough on a lightly floured surface (for good 10 minutes)
• The dough should be smooth and elastic.
• Once done, place the dough in a greased bowl and cover it with a damp tea towel.
• Leave it in a warm place for an hour till it doubles in volume.
• After an hour (when the dough has doubled up), punch the air and knead the dough again for 2-3 minutes.
• Roll out the dough to a large circle (about 1 cm thick)and transfer to a greased baking tray.
• Brush the dough generously with olive oil.
• Sprinkle the sliced onions, chopped rosemary and some salt on the dough (generally sea salt is used- I just used the regular salt) - Press them gently on the dough so that they stick and get embedded.
• Using a finger, make deep indentations in the dough- stick the black olives in a pattern.
• Cover the dough with a plastic wrap and leave it to rise for 30 minutes. 
• After 30 minutes, when the dough has risen a bit, pop it in a preheated oven and bake it for 25-30 minutes (220 degree celsius)
• Serve warm with salad/soup.

Breezy Sunday evening snack- Baked rosemary potatoes!

I recently discovered the herb Rosemary- Never had an opportunity to work with it much and when I did get an opportunity, I fell in love with this gorgeous herb! Rosemary is extremely high in Iron & Calcium- so all the more good reasons for me to get pally with this herb :)  Baby potatoes work great with rosemary and bring in the garlic and shallot twist to make an easy peasy snack!

Ingredients-

500 gms baby potatoes (unpeeled)
5 peeled shallots cut in slices or wedges
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
5-6 crushed garlic cloves
salt & pepper according to taste

How did I make it?

Preheat oven to 200 degree celsius. Throughly wash the baby potatoes and mix them with onions, olive oil, rosemary, vinegar and garlic. Toss well till the vegetables are well coated. Grease a baking pan and place the potatoes in the pan. Bake them for about 30 to 35 minutes till the potatoes are completely cooked. Once cooked, remove them from oven and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Serve hot with chilli sauce!

Paneer Kathi rolls!

Saturday evenings before the telly always requires some kind of finger food- Yup, something finger looking good! Introducing, Paneer kathi rolls- Cottage cheese cooked with Indian spices and tucked in rotis/flat Indian bread. Well, to make things easier I used tortilla soft wrap and tucked my paneer for a quick snack.

What do we need?

1 cup paneer (cottage cheese)

one medium sized onion sliced

one green bell pepper (chopped)
1 tomato (chopped)
3-4 tortilla wraps

I gave it a twist by marinating my cottage cheese in a yoghurt base-

For marination, we need-

1/4 cup yoghurt
red chilli powder 1 tsp
turmeric powder 1/4 tsp
ginger-garlic paste (1 tsp)
garam masala (1 tsp)
kasoori methi leaves (1 tsp)- Dry fenugreek leaves
gram flour (1 tsbp)

How did I put together?


Mix all the ingredients for marinade and toss in the cottage cheese. Set it aside for half an hour till paneer absorbs the spices. In a wok saute onions, bell peppers and tomatoes. Add paneer mixture and adjust salt. Cook on a high flame for 5 to 8 minutes. Cook till the mixture is dry and set it aside. Spread the paneer mixture on tortilla wrap and roll up tightly. Enjoy! You can choose to just saute cottage cheese without the marination and use it in your wrap. Get creative and add ingredients according to your choice.

Rich and Flavorful- Dal Makhni (north Indian lentils recipe)

Dal Makhni is a very popular dish that is served in Indian restaurants. People generally assume that this lentil dish is healthy - The word "Makhni" means with butter and this lentil dish practically swims in butter and cream. But the taste is gorgeous and just melts into your mouth. It is assumed that if you can cook a good dal then you can manage the Indian cooking well. I like the dal without cream or butter and love to keep it simple. But when you crave for something rich and need that perfect restaurant dal then this dish is worth the effort.

What do we need?

Whole black gram (sabut urad dal)- 1 cup
Red kidney beans - 1/2 cup
Grated ginger- 2 inch piece
Butter- 4 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Onion- 1 big sized (chopped)
3 medium sized tomatoes (chopped)
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Fresh cream - 1/2 cup
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Fresh coriander leaves for garnishing
Garlic - chopped (7-8 cloves)
Salt according to taste

How did I make it?


Soak urad dal (black gram) and red kidney beans in water overnight. The next day, drain and pressure cook it with half portion of the grated ginger till they become soft (reserve the other half portion of grated ginger for later use). Melt butter in a pan. Add cumin seeds. As they start to change color, add onions. Fry onions till they become golden brown. Add garlic, remaining ginger and tomatoes. Cook till the tomatoes are mashed and has mixed well with the rest of the ingredients. Add cooked dal to this. Add two cups of water and adjust salt according to your taste. Mix red chilli powder, garam masala powder and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Add fresh cream and mix well. Cook your dal on a low flame for 5 minutes. Serve with rotis/rice. Works great with naan! Garnish with coriander leaves and decorate it with a bit of cream.

There are two versions of making this dal- with/without onions- I find it more flavorful with onions and it really adds that zing to your dal!

Lemon Vermicelli

Small black mustard seeds merrily bouncing in a pan- happy, carefree till they meet up with rough and hot green chilli pieces. A savory story unfolds in my kitchen with the main star as vermicelli (type of pasta, thinner than spaghetti) and carrot pieces, green peas, green beans acting in a supporting role. The story becomes vibrant with turmeric powder in a special role and of course one can't undermine the role of lemon juice which becomes the whole essence of our savory story. The story rocks the box office with every bit of vermicelli lapped up by the hungry audience :) -

Ingredients-

Vermicelli - 2cups

1/2 cup green beans

1/2 cup carrot (sliced)

1/2 cup peas

curry leaves (4-5 leaves)

mustard seeds 3/4 tsp

cumin seeds 1/4 tsp (omit if you want)

1 tbsp lemon juice

turmeric powder 1/2 tsp

grated ginger (1/4 tsp)

1/2 tsp gram dal (yellow lentils) 

green chillies (2 ) chopped

coriander leaves chopped for garnishing

**Generally this dish is made without the vegetables- but then my savory story had to be different! 

How did I make it?

Cook vermicelli in boiling water with a little bit of oil (so that it doesn't stick together). Once cooked, drain excess water and keep it aside. This removes the starch and makes it non sticky! Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds. As they begin to sputter, add gram dal (yellow lentils), ginger, curry leaves and green chilli pieces. Add turmeric powder and mix well. Toss in the vegetables and cook on a medium flame till the vegetables become soft and tender- sprinkle a bit of water to cook the vegetables. Once the vegetables are cooked, add lemon juice. Mix in the vermicelli and adjust salt according to taste. Garnish with coriander leaves!

Hearty pumpkin soup with herbs n garlic bread

Pumpkin is a versatile vegetable- You could do so much with pumpkin- it is used extensively in south Indian cooking. Of all things, I love it in the soup form! It's so easy to make and tastes really good. I combined my soup with sizzling garlic bread and had an amazing starter. So if you are tempted to grab a packet of ready to make soups at your super market- think again... All you need is pumpkin, onions and a good blender for this soup.

Pumpkin soup Ingredients-

1 medium sized pumpkin - peeled & cut in small chunks
1 medium onion chopped
2 garlic cloves chopped
bay leaf - 1
cumin seeds
salt (according to taste)
1 cup vegetable broth (1 to 1.5 cups- enough to cover the pumpkins for boiling)
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Preparation-

Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds with bay leaf. As the seeds start to sputter, saute onions and garlic over moderate heat for five minutes. Add the pumpkin chunks and pour vegetable broth to cover all the pumpkin in the pan. Add salt and pepper. Allow the pumpkins to soften and cook till they become tender. Remove from flame and allow it to cool a bit. Pick out the bay leaf and puree the soup with a hand blender.  Serve hot with chopped coriander on top.

Now comes the star- Herbs n garlic bread!

Ingredients-

Butter at room temperature
Garlic powder
Italian herbs/seasoning
dash of chilli flakes
salt (if you are using unsalted butter)
Bread slices

Preparation-

Mix garlic powder, herbs, chilli flakes and salt to the butter. Quote liberal dose of this butter on your bread slices and toast it in a frying pan till the bread absorbs the butter and becomes golden brown. Enjoy!

Spicy spinach strudel

Oh the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful, and since we have no place to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! I made some spicy spinach strudel and with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand I sat by my window to enjoy the snowy Christmas. It is a tasty tea time snack and you can get super creative with the dish!

Ingredients for filling


1 onion (chopped finely)
3 garlic cloves (crushed &chopped)
1 tomato (chopped finely)
1/2 tsp garam masala
Cumin seeds
Coriander leaves
Salt(according to taste)
1 big cup frozen spinach thawed
1/4 tsp chilli powder
1 tbsp butter

For the base-

4 frozen phyllo sheets thawed
Melted butter for brushing

Preparation-

In a wok add cooking oil and add the cumin seeds. As the cumin seeds begin to sputter sauté garlic and onions till translucent. Mix the tomatoes and fry them for a couple of minutes. Add thawed spinach and cook it till it blends well with the onion tomato mixture. Add garam masala, chilli powder and salt. Cook them for 5 minutes. Before removing from fire add butter and mix it well for a minute. Garnish with coriander leaves. Our stuffing is ready!

On a clean working surface lay one phyllo sheet and brush it completely with butter. Place another sheet on top of it and brush it again with butter. Repeat till you have a stack of four sheets. With the help of a spoon spread the spinach mixture. Fold and tuck the bottom edges over the mixture. Nicely roll it up with the filling inside so that it forms a log. With a knife make slits on top and brush it lightly with butter.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in a oven (200 degree celsius)or till they become golden brown. Serve hot with garlic chilli sauce!

Veggie fried rice, anyone?

You take your brain that calculates the calories and just throw it out of the window on friday nights. Then you go make sumptuous food in the kitchen and eat it to your heart's content. After all, you slog the entire week in your office and you deserve a break? That is exactly what I did. The recipe is simple with no tedious work involved (except chopping the veggies, which I don't mind). Sit back and enjoy!

Ingredients-

3 cups water

1 1/2 cups rice

olive oil for cooking

1 onion chopped

1 bell pepper chopped

1 carrot chopped

1/2 cup green peas

2-3 garlic cloves (crushed and chopped)

red chilli flakes (1/4 tsp)

2 tsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Salt

Preparation- 

First step will be to cook your rice. Cooking your rice without getting it sticky is an art. You have to rinse your rice thoroughly and allow it to soak in water for 20 to 30 minutes. Boil 3 cups of water in a deep bottomed pan. As the water starts boiling, add the rice and cover the pan. Cook it in a low flame for about 20 minutes. In a separate pan, heat some oil and saute all the vegetables with garlic. Add chilli flakes, ground pepper and soy sauce. Cook on a medium flame till all the vegetables are crisp and not mushy. Add the cooked rice to this mixture. Adjust the salt according to your taste and cook the rice for a couple of minutes. Enjoy!

Chaat time!

Something that is unique to India is Chaat- You might recreate all the masala food at home but nothing can beat the road side vendor's chaat items- Don't confuse chaat for chat...Chaat is nothing but savory snacks usually sold by street stalls in northern India. Delhi is so famous for chaat and once you are hooked then come 4 pm all you can think is chaat with chai (tea). Chaat varieties are different and if you are really interested in knowing the various types- here is a good read- Chaat (thanks to wikipedia!)

My all time favorite is Bhel puri- It's easy and simple to make-

What do we need?

1 cup puffed rice
1/2 cup chopped tomato
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped corriander leaves
chopped green chilli pieces (2-3 green chillies)
lemon juice (1 tbsp)
tamarind chutney 2 tsp
1/2 cup boiled mashed potatoes
mint chutney 2 tsp
1/2 cup sev (fried lentils based noodles- readily available in the stores)
chopped ginger (1 tsp)
dash of garam masala

Tamarind chutney can be home made- Take about a small cup of tamarind (without seeds) and allow it to soak in warm water for half an hour. Extract the pulp. In a pan, add the tamarind pulp and around 1 cup of grated jaggery. Cook on a low flame. Add salt, roasted cumin powder (1 tsp), red chilli powder (1tsp). Cook till the jaggery disolves and the mixture becomes semi thick. Remove from fire and store in a tight container. Can be used as a dip for samosa and other savory snacks!

Mint chutney- Grind half cup of mint leaves with handful of coriander leaves with green chillies. Blend it to a smooth paste with salt and lemon juice.

Preparation-

Now for the Bhel puri- (You don't have to stick to the above list as a rule- You can use your own creativity and improvise the chaat)

Mix puffed rice, tomatoes and onions in a bowl
Add the mashed potatoes
Mix the mint chutney and tamarind chutney along with a dash of garam masala
Add the sev, ginger, chilli pieces and lemon juice- blend all the ingredients well.
Garnish with coriander leaves!

The best part is they will roll the bhel puri in a newspaper cone and give it to you- Really worth a try!

Vegetable stir fry Thai noodles

This is a simple recipe which can be cooked with no fuss- Ah, the hard part is chopping the vegetables...Especially, when someone like me becomes over ambitious and tries to add all known vegetables to mankind :P


Jokes apart, stir fry noodles can be made without much fuss and you can be super creative with it- 

Ingredients-

• 1 packet of noodles
• 1/2 red bell pepper (chopped into thin strips)
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper (chopped into thin strips)
• 1 medium sized onion (sliced)
• 1/2 zucchini (chopped into thin strips)
• 1/2 carrot (chopped into thin strips)
• 1/4 cup sweet corn (that comes in a tin)
• 5-6 pieces of mangetout or snap peas
• 1/4 cup sprouts
• 1/4 cup mushrooms (sliced)
• 1 spring onion (sliced)
• 1 small piece ginger (chopped into thin strips)
• 3 cloves garlic (crushed and chopped)- Needless to say, I am a huge fan of garlic!
• 2 tbsp mild soya sauce
• crushed black pepper
• 1/2 tsp red chilli flakes
• salt (according to taste)

Phew! now that's one long list of vegetables...In all the hassle, I forgot to include tofu pieces-

Preparation-

• Add the pack of noodles to a pan of boiling water. Allow it to simmer for five minutes. Don't over cook your noodles and keep loosening them with a fork to stop them from sticking together.
• Drain and refresh in a bowl of cold water. Keep it aside.
• Stir fry the vegetables in a wok. Add the ginger and garlic first. Allow the oil to take the flavor. 
• Saute the sliced onions.
• Add mushrooms, bell peppers, carrots, sprouts, spring onions and sweet corn. Keep stirring the vegetables.
• Add the zucchini, snap peas and continue stirring.
• As the vegetables start to get tender add the soya sauce, crushed black pepper and chilli flakes.
• Add salt according to your taste.
• Keep stirring till all the ingredients are well combined.
• Add the noodles to the wok and stir fry for five minutes. 
• Sprinkle some chopped coriander (optional) and serve immediately!

Flavorful quinoa!

It is small, red and very intimidating to look at! It will look at you from the package and dare you to come up with something innovative...Once you get to know it, you will be humbled by its sheer goodness- that's quinoa in a nutshell for me :) I spiked it up with some Indian flavors- Check out!

Ingredients-

Red quinoa- 2 cups

Bell peppers- 1/2 cup (preferably yellow one- color combination works great with red quinoa)

Broccoli (1/2 cup)

Onion - 1 medium sized (sliced)

Corriander leaves - chopped

Cumin seeds

Dry red chilli piece- broken in half (alternatively, you can use chopped green chillies)

2-3 tbsp grated coconut

Salt according to taste

Sambar powder (1/2 tsp)- completely optional (alternatively, you can use garam masala, curry masala powders)

** sambar powder is a spicy powder consisting of lentils, corriander seeds, mustard, black pepper, curry leaves, fenugreek seeds** (you will get it ready made from any Asian grocery shop)

Preparation-

Bring some water to boil and put the quinoa in. Allow the quinoa to cook for 15 minutes or until the water is fully absorbed. Keep it aside. In a seperate wok heat some oil. Add cumin seeds and allow them to sputter. Add the red chilli pieces and sliced onions. Fry them till they are translucent. Toss in the bell peppers, broccoli. Cook for few minutes before adding sambar powder and salt. Add the cooked quinoa and cook all the ingredients for a few minutes. For the finishing touch add the grated coconut and corriander leaves. 

Pizza for a rainy saturday afternoon?

Rain, rain come again coz I wanna eat pizza again...Lol! Yeah, that is my theme song for this afternoon after having eaten a sumptuous home-made pizza :) Pizza is my all time favorite. I have eaten almost every brand available in the market. Love all versions- thin, thick, stuffed. So, when a lovely saturday is ruined by rain gods, all you can do is wander around your kitchen thinking of all possible food items you can eat. Why not pizza? Why not make it from a scratch- dough, topping? Why not settle down on your couch with a good pizza and watch a slick flick? That is how the rest of my story unfolds....

Sound- pitter, patter...(Rain)
Characters-  (Base/ Main characters) All purpose flour, yeast, italian herbs, salt, water, sugar
Characters- (side role/toppings) - Tomato sauce, garlic, jalapenos, onion, baby corn, olive oil

** Warning- This is my first shot at pizza making (turned out pretty good)- Will improvise to a thin crust in my next attempt!

Action- mix, knead, roll, spread...

Pizza is all about the base! The base has to be perfect- Any one can spread the topping if you get the base ready made. How do you make a good base? I did a lot of research on net to learn about the base (courtesy- Youtube videos). This is what I did to get it correct-

Take about 300 ml of warm water and mix about 2 tsp of yeast. Allow the yeast to grow and ferment in the warm water for a few minutes. Add 1 tbsp of sugar, 1 tsp Italian herb mix, 1 tsp salt and mix it with the yeast water. Dump about 2 cups of flour on a flat surface. With the help of yeast water knead the flour till it is soft and fluffy. Put the dough in a container and seal it with a cloth. Allow the dough to raise for an hour.

Once the dough has risen, with the help of your hands flatten the dough. You will really get a good pizza with a pizza stone- Unfortunately, I don't have a stone and had to use a deep pan to make it.  Put your flattened pizza in a pan-

For the tomato sauce- Saute chopped tomatoes in olive oil with some oregano, garlic, chilli flakes and salt. Simmer it on a low flame till it thickens to a sauce consistency!

Spread some olive oil on the base before spreading the tomato sauce. Spread some chopped onions, chopped red bell peppers, shredded pizza cheese, jalapenos and baby corn. Pop it in the oven for 20 minutes at 400°F. 

Not bad for a first attempt- I will be back next time with a thin crust...Watch out !

Hummus

My shopping grocery list always has hummus in it. I love it so much that I decided to make a batch for myself- Pretty easy to make, after all! 

What do we need? 

1 can of chick peas

1/4 cup liquid from can of chickpeas

4 tbsp lemon juice

1 1/2 tbsp tahini

2 cloves garlic (I put 4 because I love the strong garlic flavor)

salt according to taste

2 tbstp olive oil

What is tahini?

Tahini is a sesame based gravy which you can get ready made in store. However, I couldn't find it and made it by myself. All you need is 3 tablespoon sesame seeds and 1/2 tbsp olive oil. Toast the sesame seeds in a pan on a low flame (don't allow it to get brown). After few minutes, blend it in a mixer to a fine paste with olive oil.

Now back to Hummus-

Drain the liquid from chick peas and keep it aside. In a mixer, combine all the ingredients and blend it for few minutes with the liquid from chickpeas. Place in a serving bowl and serve! 

                                                       

Tofu n corn stuffed roti

Cooking is therapeutic...After a long day at the office, you just need to unwind- I pity people, who think cooking is a waste of time. My kitchen is my world and I simply love trying out new combinations just for the fun of it. One such combination is the tofu and sweet corn stuffed parantha/roti (Indian flat bread). Got to admit, I loved this combo and if you are looking for something different, then this is worth a shot!

What do we need? 


For stuffing-

• crumbled tofu (1 cup)
• 1/2 cup canned sweet corn
• salt
• garam masala (1/2 tsp)
• chilli powder (1/4 tsp)
• oil for mixing
• chopped corriander leaves
• chopped green chillies (optional)

For base/making rotis-

• wheat flour 
• water
• salt 

How did I put together?

In a bowl, mix wheat flour, water and salt. Knead it to a smooth dough and keep it aside. Use oil to make the dough silky and smooth. Combine all the ingredients listed above for filling. Just ensure that the filling is not soggy or too greasy otherwise it becomes difficult when you make the rotis. Take a small ball of dough and flatten it with a rolling pin. Place around 2 spoons of filling in the middle. Fold the sides with the filling in middle so that it appears as a small pouch. Flatten this pouch to a round shape- 

Need visual description?

In a pan, fry the paranthas till golden brown on both sides. Serve hot with pickle/sauce.