Tomatoes stuffed with Del Monte Mint Mayo and Paneer

Tomatoes stuffed with Del Monte Mint Mayo and Paneer is a simple side dish/snack, easy to put together, perfect for picnics or get-togethers. The delightful Del Monte mint mayo bursting with flavor makes it a refreshing snack any time of the day .This mint mayo also goes well with crispy tikkas and vegetable sandwiches. Use it as a dip for all grilled & fried snacks like tikkas, kebabs, cutlets, etc. You can also use it as a spread for sandwiches, subs, wraps and rolls. Try to use fresh but small tomatoes so that it is easy to serve and eat…

Spaghetti with Del Monte cheesy Dip

Spaghetti with cheesy dip is a quick and simple dish which can be made in no time. The recipe is incredibly easy, thanks to the delicious Del Monte cheesy dip, which saves you the hassle of making pasta sauce from scratch. A delightful blend of mayo, cheese, black pepper, garlic Del Monte cheesy dip makes for a perfect instant pasta sauce. You can use any vegetables of choice or totally skip adding them. Spaghetti with Del Monte cheesy Dip makes for a quick and comforting weeknight dinner.

Back to School with Egg Bhurji Stuffed Pita Pockets

Egg Bhurji stuffed Pita pockets is a great for the kids lunch box or for a lazy weekend brunch or very handy as a meal/snack ‘on-the-go’. You can even involve the kids to make their own lunch/snack.

Ande ka Funda- Omlete:Curry

This delicious Omlete- curry is a great way to have brunch on lazy weekends. The inspiration for this recipe comes from a cookery show on Zee Marathi. A simple Omlete served with a little curry completely transforms the ‘same old Omlete’ to a fabulous complete meal!

I made this Omlete –Curry for brunch this weekend and at the same time Bee and Jai announced this fabulous event ‘Click: the photo event’.So the timing of this post just clicked! J

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Omlete-Curry recipe

Serving: 1 person

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For the Omlete:

2 Eggs

¼ cup chopped Yellow Capsicum

¼ cup chopped Red Capsicum

½ tsp green chilli paste

Salt to taste

1-2 tsp Oil  

For the Curry:

1 Tomato chopped

½ onion chopped

1 tsp tomato ketchup (optional)

1 tsp pepper powder or ½ tsp Red chili powder

1 garlic pod crushed

Salt to taste

1 tsp butter/oil 

For the Omlete:

Mix all the ingredients for the omlete except oil. Whisk well.

Heat oil in a flat bottom pan.

Pour in the mixture to make an omlete

Flip on the other side and cook for 1 min.

Remove on a plate and cut into small strips as shown in the photo 

For the Curry:

Heat butter in a pan.

Add the garlic and the chopped onion and sauté for a few minutes

Add the chopped tomatoes, pepper powder, ketchup, salt and mix well.

Cook till the tomatoes soften.

Add little water to give it a sauce like consistency. 

For serving:

Add a spoonful of the curry to the serving plate.

Top with the Omlete Strips and serve with some brown bread slices.

Variation:This time I did not add any Masala to the Gravy. But next time I intend to add a little Garam Masala powder or maybe Pav bhaji Masala .Also a little cheese can be added to the omlete for variation.

Thai style vegetables in Red curry and Saffron Rice

In contrast to week days, Weekends I cook some elaborate meals. This weekend I made this Thai style vegetables in Red curry and Saffron Rice.

For the curryI made everything from scratch right from coconut milk.

I used the recipe for the Red Curry paste from Sanjeevkapoor. This spicy Thai style vegetables in Red Curry we had with Saffron Rice. I used lime leaves from our garden to flavour the curry .

I followed this recipe for Saffron Rice, Except that I made it in the Rice cooker and with our regular long grained white rice-no jasmine rice.

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Thai style vegetables in Red Curry recipe

For about 4-5 servings

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For the Red curry paste

8 Red chillies whole

2-3 Lemon grass stalk (I have used dried sticks)

1 tsp Coriander seeds/powder

1 tsp Cumin seeds

8-9 Peppercorns

2 medium sized Onions (chopped)

4-5 cloves Garlic (chopped)

Salt to taste  

For the Vegetables in gravy

200 gms tofu cubed

7-8 button mushrooms, thoroughly washed and sliced

6-7 Babycorns slit lengthwise

1 large Yellow capsicum julienned

~ 2 cups cabbage diced

3/4 cup thin coconut milk

~ ½ cup Mung sprouts

A handful of roasted peanuts (crushed)

1 tsp Lemon juice

4-5 lime leaves torn with hand

1 tbsp oil

Salt to taste 

To make Coconut milk

Take about ½ cup fresh , grated coconut in a blender along with ~ ½ cup lukewarm water. Blend till the coconut becomes creamy. Sieve through a fine mesh (like a cheesecloth)to get the coconut milk. Repeat this procedure with the coconut ‘flesh’ and less water one or two times more till most of the milk comes out.  

To make the Red curry

Blend all the ingredients of the Red curry paste together to a smooth paste. 

To make the Vegetables in gravy

Heat oil in a pan.

Add the mushrooms and sauté till all the water dries up.

Add the babycorns and the Mung sprouts. Add about ½ cup water. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the cabbage. Cook for few minutes more.

Then add the tofu and capsicum. Cook for few more minutes.

Add the red curry paste. Mix nicely and heat on high flame for few minutes.

Stir in lime juice and salt and mix nicely.

Add the coconut milk , simmer for 2 minutes.

Add the lime leaves and crushed peanuts.

Serve hot with Saffron Rice.

Pav Bhaji

I am back after an extended weekend in ‘Amchi Mumbai’ (Our Mumbai) for my little niece’s first birthday. Mumbai- the city that never sleeps. Even at 12 in the night you feel as if it is Prime time! People getting back home from work (yes that’s true), some going for a stroll, partying crowd ,the roadside vendors selling all types of typical ‘Mumbaiya’ food. From Chinese Hakka noodles to Bhakri-Pithla/Zunka you get it all. Pav Bhaji is one of the most popular fast foods typical to Mumbai and you find ‘Pav Bhaji ki Gaadi’ (Hand cart) anywhere on the streets of Mumbai. Cheap and filling Pav Bhaji can be eaten for Breakfast, lunch dinner- anything. It is almost impossible to resist the aroma coming from these ‘Gaadis’ or eateries serving Pav bhaji and the distinct ‘tak tak’ sound the Pav Bhaji masher makes with the Tava is just melodious. 

Pav Bhaji as the name suggests is a combination of Pav – bread and bhaji – a potato based mixed vegetable curry. The key ingredient for the mouthwatering flavour of this dish is a blend of about 13-14 spices-the Pav bhaji masala. There are a lot of variations of the original recipe…Amul Pav Bhaji (Garnished with Amul butter), Sada Pav bhaji (without butter), Jain Pav bhaji (without onion and garlic), Khada Pav bhaji (without mashing the vegetables)etc… The Bhaji is made on a big flat tava (griddle) and a masher is used instead of a ladle to stir it. If you don’t have this tava at home a wide mouth pan works just fine.

 

Literally a fast food Pav bhaji is very fast and easy to prepare and very filling. Addition of vegetables takes care of the nutrition aspect of this dish. So when you make it at home add vegetables of your choice (mostly the so called ‘English vegetables’ like carrots, cauliflower, peas etc.) to boost its nutritive value.  For Pav Bhaji you need: Serves 4

6-7 potatoes- boiled, peeled and mashed (no lumps, mash them finely)

1 cup cauliflower florets boiled and finely chopped

½ cup finely chopped and boiled carrots

½ cup fresh green peas boiled and mashed

½ cup capsicum (green bell pepper) finely chopped

4-5 medium sized tomatoes finely chopped

4 onions finely chopped

1 tsp garlic paste

¼ cup fresh green coriander finely chopped

1tsp cumene seeds

2 tsp Pav Bhaji masala

1 tsp Red Chilli powder (The one which is hot and red like Bedgi mirch)

2 tsp oil

2 tsp salted butter like Amul –for the tadka

2 tsp butter for garnishing (optional)

Salt as per Taste

1 lemon cut into pieces for garnishing.

8-10 Pav ( soft Buns) 

Heat oil and butter on the tava or a pan. Add the cumene seeds.Add the garlic paste. Fry for ½ a minute. Add ½ of the chopped onions. Keep the remaining half for garnishing.Fry onions nicely till golden brown. Add the finely chopped tomatoes. Fry nicely stirring with the masher (you can use a round spoon too) till all the moisture evaporates and the tomatoes are properly cooked. The mixture starts leaving oil on the side. At this point add the Pav Bhaji masala and the Red chilli powder. (Pav Bhaji is usually spicy…so adjust the proportion of red chilli powder to your taste)Fry for one minute and then add the potatoes and all the vegetables except capsicum. Mash and stir the mixture nicely.Once the mixture is homogenous, add the finely chopped Capsicum. Add salt.Cook till the capsicum becomes little tender. Don’t overcook it, it should be crunchy. Add  about 1 cup water to the Bhaji. Let it boil for a few minutes. Once it boils nicely remove from the tava and serve.Slit the Pav horizontally like you would for a burger and apply butter on both sides. On the same tava, which you made Pav bhaji roast the buns for a few minutes. 

Top the bhaji with  1-2 spoons of butter  and serve with hot Pav , chopped onions, chopped green coriander and a piece of lime.  

From China Town

    A couple of years back I visited Sydney, Australia. Just after 2-3 days of having sandwiches and fruits for lunch/dinner I craved for Indian food. We discovered a place called China Town during one of our expeditions for food! I was all excited to have Chinese food -something to remind me of food at home! The menu boasted of a range of Chinese dishes. We ordered for some Rice and some Noodles. To my utter disappointment the rice and noodles were nothing like the ones we have at home…here in India.The Chinese food served in India is more of a Indo-Chinese fusion.Basic Chinese recipes altered to suit the Indian palette,with lots of garlic and chillies and sauces!I am not complaining, I prefer it that way.I am a great fan of this Indo-Chinese food.Here’s my favourite Veg Fried Rice and Veg Hot and Sour …Indi style..my style

      

For the Veg Fried Rice you need:

1 cup rice, cooked

2 cups finely chopped vegetables (Carrots, French Beans, Green Capsicums, fresh button Mushrooms, fresh green spring onions)

3-4 garlic cloves finely chopped

½ tsp ginger grated

2 tsp green chilly sauce

2 tsp Soya Sauce

¼  tsp white/black pepper powder

A pinch of Ajinomoto (Mono Sodium Glutamate) -optional

2 tsp oil for cooking

Salt as per required  Heat oil in a wok. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 min.Add the ginger and then add the spring onion whites. Sauté for a few minutes on high flame. Then add the carrots and French beans and cook for a few minutes till the carrots and beans become a little soft.Add the green capsicum, Mushrooms and spring onion greens.Cook for a few minutes.Now add some Chinese green chilly sauce, soy sauce, ajinomoto and some salt .Adjust the salt depending on the soy sauce and ajinomoto added. Add the cooked rice mix and cook for few minutes more on high flame.Serve hot.

 

For Veg Hot and sour you need:

1 small cabbage diced. 2 Carrots sliced (in thin rounds)

1 medium sized green Capsicum cut into thin strips

2-3 sprigs green onions (bulbs as well as greens)

½ tsp ginger grated

2 tsp green chilly sauce

2 tsp Soya Sauce

1 tbsp hot and sweet tomato sauce (or just add some red chilli powder to tomato ketchup)

2 tsp cornflour

½ cup water

¼ tsp white/black pepper powder

¼ tsp sugar

Salt as per taste.

2 tsp oil

     

Heat oil in a wok. Add the ginger and chopped onions (white part).Sauté for few minutes.Add the carrots and then add the cabbage.Cook for a few minutes then add the capsicum.When the veggies are just cooked add the sauces, salt and sugar.Add some water to the veggies.In a small bowl mix the cornflour with little water.Add it to the veggies and mix nicely.Cook till the gravy becomes little thick and saucy.Sprinkle pepper powder. Serve hot with Veg Fried Rice.

CapsiCups (Stuffed green Bell peppers)

Fresh Green Capsicums ( green Bell Peppers) or any veggies for that matter are quite difficult to resist, the way they are stacked neatly in the vegetable markets here. I also like the freedom these veggie vendors give you for selecting the veggies on your own. That’s the reason I dislike buying veggies in the malls …prepacked in polythene bags.

I picked up some fresh, firm, crisp, greenest (I know there’s no word like that, but I am using the superlative to let you know  how much freedom the vendor gave me to choose the best he had!) baby capsicums (again I could choose the size that I wanted from the range of sizes he had)

I like adding capsicums to any recipe for the color it gives to that recipe. Be it Red, Yellow or Green (these are the only colors available here) the recipe looks great. That these peppers are rich in Vitamin C is an added advantage. I also like its crunchy texture so am always careful not to overcook them.

Here’s a simple and nutritious recipe for green Baby capsicums, stuffed with whichever veggies I had in my stock!

      

You need:

8-10 green Baby capsicums (green bell peppers)

2 large potatoes boiled and mashed

½ cup Carrots finely chopped

½ cup French beans finely chopped

½ cup Sweet Corn kernels boiled

(You can add any other veggies like peas, onions etc.Adjust the amount of veggies according to the size and number of capsicums.)

 

½  tsp coriander powder

½  tsp cumene powder

¼ tsp turmeric powder

½ tsp cumene seeds

½ tsp Garam Masala powder

½ tsp dry red chilli powder

½ tsp amchur powder(dry mango powder)

salt as per taste.

1 tsp oil

Cut the capsicum tops and remove the seeds inside. Blanch them in boiling water for 5-6 minutes (don’t overcook them.) and drain them. Keep aside.

In a pan heat oil, add cumene seeds. Add the carrots and sauté for 1 minute.Then add the French beans, sauté and cook covered for few minutes or till the veggies are just done. Add the boiled corn kernels and cook for a few minutes more.Add the mashed potatoes and mix nicely. Now add the masalas- turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumene powder,red chilli powder and Garam masala .Add salt and mix nicely.Lastly add the amchur powder, mix and remove from steam and cool the mixture.

Stuff the blanched capsicums with this mixture.

Arrange the capsicums in a greased baking dish and bake at 190^oC for about 10 mins.

Serve hot.