Fruit Spring roll

This is a no cook spring roll, so healthy and tasty. It can be served either as appetizer or as dessert.Its easy to make and it can be a game for the guests to do their spring rolls by themselves. These spring wraps/rolls are easily available in the Asian section of the supermarket. I usually have this in my pantry as they have a very long shelf life. All you do it get the filling ready and soak the roll sheets in water and stuff it. As simple as it sounds. Its yummy and even my son enjoyed it as it was filled with his favorite fruits.

Recipe Coutesy: "Everyday Italian "-Giada de Laurentis from Food Network.

Ingredients:

4 Spring Roll sheets
2-3 Strawberry
1 Mango
1tbsp Honey
Hand full of Rice Noodles
1tsp Chives/dill

Method:

Cook the Rice noodles and drain it and put it in a bowl. Add honey and chopped chives/dill and mix it well and keep aside. Now chop long strips of strawberries and mango . Now soak a sheet of spring roll sheet in warm water and when soft spread it on a kitchen towel and add the noodle mixture and mango and strawberry and roll it once and then the sides and roll again. You can dip it in honey or enjoy just like that.

Oatmeal Dosa(crepes)

Oatmeal Dosa is a one of the easiest and healthy Dosa I have eaten. Dosa is something I do every weekend and was so bored of soaking and grinding process. Since I was on a diet and not eating Rice items I was in hunt of a healthy version of Dosa and gave this a try. It was a gr8 hit in my house and tasted good too. Its simple to make and can be eaten any time of the day. Just mix and soak for an hour and its ready to make. The aroma of oatmeal on the griddle is superb. I enjoyed making and eating it.

Ingredients:

For Dosa
~~~~~~~~
1cup Instant Oatmeal
1/2cup Rice flour
1/2cup Yogurt/curds(if sour its still better)
1/2cup Semolina/fine Sooji
1tsp Finely chopped Green chillies
1tsp Cumin seeds/powder
1/2tsp Sugar
salt to taste
1tbsp Chopped Cilantro

For Rasa
~~~~~~~
1tbsp chopped Onion
1tbsp Tomato
1tsp Rasam Powder
salt and jaggery to taste
1tbsp Dalia/hurigadale Powder
1cup water+1tbsp
1tsp oil
1/2tsp Mustard seeds
a little Hing
cilantro for garnish

Method:

Soak oatmeal , rice flour, semolina and yogurt together. Soak for atleast an hour , add the other ingredients to the above mixture and make a semi-thick batter.Pre-heat a tava/griddle and pour a big spoon of batter and make a thick dosa or else they break while they are turned to cook on the other side. Put a spoon of oil on the sides serve hot with chutney/sambar/Rasa. Eat this dosa hot from the griddle, if cooled dosen't taste that good.

Rasa:

In a small pan make the tempering with hot oil ,mustard seeds and hing and let it splutter.Now add onion and fry till they are soft . Add tomatoes and 1 cup of water. Add Rasam powder, salt and jaggery and bring to a boil. Mix the hurigadale powder in a little water and make a thin batter and add it to the rasa with a low flame bring it a boil for 3-4 mins and garnish with cilantro. It tastes good with Dosa. (don't add too much jaggery it will taste like gojju, It has to be a little sweet and little spicy at the same time.)

Vegetable Jalfrezi

Jalfrezi is Indian version of Chinese stir-fry. This word is derived from different languages...Jhal/jal is a Bengali word which means spicy hot and frezi a slang for fry-zee. Zee is Urdu word and it means fry.Together this Jalfrezi makes a spicy hot fried dish. This is really interesting how a dish gets its name an its equally interesting to eat. Its a perfect Indian stir-fry, it spicy, tangy and filled with vegetables. Our family enjoyed every bite of it. Here vegetables have to be a little raw and crispy, you should not fry/cook it completely. But if you have somebody in your family who doesn't like the half cooked vegetables then cook a little more but fry less.

Ingredients:

1/2 Onion (cut into long thin strips)
1 Bell Pepper (cut into long thin strips)
1 Potato(Skin peeled and cut into long strips like french fries )
1 tomato(preferably hard cut into long strips after De-seeded)
1Zucchini(cut into long thin strips)-optional
1 Carrot (cut into long thin strips)
5-6 long cut Tofu/Paneer pieces
5-6 Baby corn
1tbsp oil/butter
1/2tsp Cumin seeds
1/4tsp Turmeric powder
1tsp Garam Masala
1tsp Chilli powder
1/2tsp Dhania-Jeera powder
cilantro for garnishing

Method:
Put the potato, baby corn and Carrot in a microwave safe bowl and boil the potatoes for 5 Min's, till they get tender and not mushy. Heat the oil in a frying pan add cumin seeds and once they splutter, add turmeric powder and onion. Fry till they r soft, now add bell peppers saute them for few Min's and then add zucchini and saute them, now add cooked vegetables and finally add tomatoes. Meanwhile shallow fry/deep fry the tofu on a griddle. Once all the vegetables are saute well add tofu and dry masala and few drops of water and fry them few Min's till the masala's are well blended. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot.
Note: If you want this to be a gravy version then add some water and bring to a boil andd 1/2tsp cornstarch powder mixed in 1tbsp milk. Mix well and serve hot.

Surprise cake

This is a cake I made for my friend Preeti-Pramodh on their 10th yr anniversary and it was a surprise, that's why I called it a surprise cake. It was a Vegan Marble cake with Butter cream Icing. I used store bought cake mix but substituted egg with Ener-G egg replacer and water with Applesauce and it was a very dense and moist cake.
The inspiration/idea for this cake was from Dhanya's collection.Thanks to her, I know I couldn't make it as professional as her. But I was happy that I tried and I loved it.

Indian Pav/ Dinner Rolls

Pav....at home??you all must be thinking why would u do it at home when u can get it in store for an affordable rate. I also thought the same when I saw this entry in DK's Blog. But looking at those amazing pictures and so good step-by-step explanation I was carried away to try this at home. I really wanted to see 'is it that easy?' I have never baked a bread at home so far. But believe me its that easy and taste's way better than the store bought. Mine was super soft and perfect. If u have a day which u wanna bake try this. You can refer the method and ingredients in DK's blog but for my future reference I shall have the method and recipe. I haven't changed anything in the recipe, since it was my first attempt in baking a dinner roll and I wouldn't do it either now.

Ingredients:

3 cups Bread flour ( or use all purpose flour) plus few more for dusting
1 packet/21/4tsp Dry active yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1-1/4 cups milk
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
Method:

First warm the milk and add the butter and let it melt. Meanwhile take the yeast in a cup and add sugar and warm water and set aside for 10 mins so it rises. Now take a bowl and add the bread flour and salt and mix well. Combine the Milk and butter mixture slowly and then add it to the flour and mix well. It will be pretty sticky don't add any more flour to it. Now the flour the counter and put this sticky dough and start knead the dough, till the stickiness is gone. For about10-15 mins. Now grease a bowl and place this dough and cover it with a plastic wrap and let it rise double in volume.

Once its raised well take it out on a floured counter and roll into a square shape. Cut it into 12 equal parts and make a ball shaped with each piece. Place them on a baking sheet about11/2 inches apart. Let it raise again till they stick to each other. Pre heat the oven to 350*F and bake for about 25mins or till its golden in color. Let it cool for 10 mins before serving. We had this with Bhajji and it was awesome.

Thanks DK for this wonderful recipe. I was very excited it turned out great.

Note: Use Bread flour and dont replace it with APF. It makes a lot of difference.

Pita Bread

Pita Bread is a Arabic word khubz (ordinary bread). Its mainly used in Mediterranean Cuisine but now a days its pretty common in almost every cuisine. Its simple bread and similar to our Naan bread. Its either deep fried or baked on a very high temperature. But when you want to do it at home the oven's max temp is 500*F. But it still puffs and you get a pocket when cooled. Only thing i didnt like is it becomes a little crispier and hard when cooled. Next time i would like to try on a hot griddle and see if it stays soft. Here I have tried wheat pita bread, but White flour will make is still more softer i guess.

Ingredients:

1tsp Sugar
1packet Yeast
2cups All purpose Flour(1cup APF + 1cup Wheat Flour)
11/2tsp Salt
1cup Warm Water
Method:

In a small cup put sugar, yeast and add warm water mix well and let it stand for 10 mins and rise. Meanwhile Put the APF in a bowl and add salt. Now add the yeast and mix with while adding warm water. Make a very soft dough. Its fine if its sticky. Grease another bowl with a spoon of oil and dump the dough and coat it well with oil and cover it with a damp cloth/plastic rap. Let it rise for an hour or 2.

Flour the counter well and start kneading the dough with a folding motion till the dough is no more sticky to hands. Divide them equally and let it sit covered for 10 more mins. Preheat the oven for 500*F and place the baking sheet too.Now roll each one at a time for 6-8' diameter. Put it on the hot baking sheet and let it bake for 4 mins and then turn and bake for 2 mins on the other side. Let it cool before u cut it. I like to cut it with a scissor. Store in a plastic bag or hot case for couple of days and enjoy it with a nice filling. I have one Mexican Pita Pockets recipe, will post it soon. U can put a burger/hummus/just vegetables and make a sandwich. Its easy for even kids to hold it and eat.

Sorry the picture quality is not so good. I was in a hurry and tired. Will to upload one next time.

Home made Cream

Heavy cream is something so easy that you can make it at home just before a dish which demands. I learn't this trick from a cookery class I attended few yrs back and always do that at home. So here is the simple recipe, you can make fat free or full fat cream. Choice is yours. Here I have made low fat Cream.

Ingredients:

1/4cup Cream from the 2%Milk(When you boil the milk and cool it for the yogurt or anything else, start collecting the cream on top of the milk in a small box)
1-2tbsp 2% Milk
Method:

Put the cream and milk in a blender or Food processor and blend it well for 1-2 mins till its foamy and thick. Store it in an airtight container and use within 2-3 days. Or make fresh every time.

Vegetable Pot Pie

Now a days I am trying some new dishes which I would have never thought of trying it at home. After getting calorie conscious I am digging for new dishes with less calories and more vegetables and filling. This is one such dish which has high amount of vegetables and flavors but if done individual pot pies it cuts a lot of calories in the pie base. This was a nice change on a cold/rainy day. The crust was crispy with soft and tender vegetables and the perfect sauce with it.

Ingredients:

12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)[I used Canola oil]
2 cups sliced yellow onions
1 fennel bulb,
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
Pinch saffron threads
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 1/2 cups large-diced potatoes (1/2 pound)
1 1/2 cups Green Beans
1 1/2 cups carrots
1 1/2 cups butternut squash
1 1/2 cups frozen small whole onions
1/2 cup minced parsley

For the pastry:

1box of ready pastry mix.

Method:

Melt the butter/oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and fennel and saute until translucent, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the flour, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 3 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Slowly add the stock, saffron, salt, and pepper, and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the heavy cream and season to taste. The sauce should be highly seasoned.

Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for 10 minutes. Lift out with a sieve. Add the beans, carrots, and squash to the pot and cook in the boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain well. Add the potatoes, mixed vegetables, onions, and parsley to the sauce and mix well. Let it stay warm.

For the pastry, make the pie base as given in instruction on the box.Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.Make 4 pie base for an ovenproof bowls filled with the filling.. Divide the dough into quarters and roll each piece into an 8-inch circle. Brush the outside edges of each bowl with the butter wash, then place the dough on top. Trim the circle to 1/2-inch larger than the top of the bowl. Crimp the dough to fold over the sides, pressing it to make it stick. Brush the dough with egg wash and make 3 slits in the top. Sprinkle with sea salt and cracked pepper. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling hot.Vegetable Pot pie is ready. Serve at Room Temperature.