The ‘cartwheel’ that won me the first prize!- Ruote pasta and eggplant gratin

Ruote pasta is popularly known as Cartwheel pasta or Wagon wheel pasta owing to its shape. This Ruote pasta & Eggplant gratin is a scrumptious one pot meal which is sure to please everyone.

Spicy Crepe Packets

These Crepe Packets have been on my mind for quite some time. I had seen crepe packets with a fish filling (I think) on a food show on TV some time back. I forgot to note down the recipe and also forgot where I saw it, but the idea kept hovering in my head.

There is an ever hungry lad in my house who, sometimes, needs to be fed every hour! The little lady on the other hand is very very choosy. Finding a balance between their diverse tastes and wants is quite a challenge. One rainy afternoon (yesterday actually 🙂 ) when the kids had a holiday, they pestered me to make something ‘nice & tasty’ and so the crepe packets were made! I am happy to report that these Spicy Crepe Packets got a thumbs up from both of them and both of them thought they were ‘nice & tasty’.

Since I did not remember the recipe I saw, I used a basic crepe recipe. Mushrooms & Corn are loved by the kids in any form. So they went into the filling. The veggies were flavoured with a Cajun spice mix and fresh Oregano from our garden. But as you will see from the recipe, pretty much any seasoning or masala mix or for that matter any filling of your choice should be ok. The lad had the Crepe packets with Sriracha Sauce while the little lady preferred it with Tomato sauce. I thought they were good on their own too.

The crepe packets were accompanied by a glass of Hot Chocolate (made with a Homemade Hot chocolate mix) and the awesome weather !

Participating in food events provides the much needed motivation for me to blog regularly or I just keep posting photographs on My Foodcourt’s  FB page or Twitter or Instagram ( If you are not already following me, please do so now 🙂 Thank you)

These Spicy Crepe Packets is my second entry to the Monsoon Snack Recipe Challenge @ The Hub hosted by Archana’s Kitchen

Thanks Archana, the Hub is providing the much needed blogging motivation for me 🙂

Here’s the recipe for Spicy Crepe Packets

Makes ~ 8-9 Crepe packets

Ingredients

For the crepes

½  cup Plain Flour/Maida

¼  Cup Whole wheat Flour

¼ Cup Oat Flour (Ground Instant Oats)

1 Tbsp melted butter or Ghee

2 eggs

½ tsp salt

½ cup milk

~ ¾ cup  water (more or less to get a thin consistency batter)

Pinch of baking powder (optional)

For the filling

1 packet button Mushrooms cleaned, stems removed and finely chopped (~ 1 cup chopped mushrooms)

¼ cup Sweet Corn Kernels

1 Onion finely chopped

1 small Bell pepper finely chopped (Red/Yellow or both)

2 Cloves Garlic

2 tsp Cajun Spice mix (I used Spice Supreme)

½ tsp Chilli Flakes

Salt to taste

Grated Cheese as required

Few Fresh or dried Oregano leaves

2 tsp Oil

½ egg for brushing and sealing the crepe packets

3-4 tbsp Ghee or butter for frying the packets

Method

For the filling

Heat Oil in a pan.

Add the Garlic and onion and sauté for few minutes.

Add the corn and cook covered for 4-5 minutes

Add the mushrooms and cook on high flame till the water evaporates (2-3 minutes).

Add the bell peppers and cook 1-2 minutes more.

Add the spice mix, salt, chilli flakes and oregano leaves.

Mix well and keep aside.

For the crepes

Sift the flours, salt and baking powder together.

Blend all the ingredients together in a blender or by hand .The consistency of the batter should be thin. Add more water if required. Sieve to remove any lumps.

Keep the batter aside for ½ hr to 45 mins.

Heat a nonstick pan.

Pour a ladleful of batter and swirl the pan immediately to spread the batter evenly. (I used a 6” non stick pan)

Cook for 30-40 seconds or brown spots just appear on the bottom

Take it out the crepe and place it on a flat surface.

Repeat the procedure for more crepes

To make the crepe packets

Place a crepe, cooked side up on a flat surface.

Place about 1 tbsp filling in the centre. Grate some cheese over it.

Fold 1 side of the crepe over the filling and brush with egg.

Fold the other side and brush again with egg.

Fold the ends to make a packet and press slightly to seal.

Brush with egg on the folded side as well as the other side.

Heat 1 tbsp butter or ghee in the same non stick pan and place the crepe packets, folded side down .

Fry on both sides till brown.

Repeat for other packets.

Serve Hot immediately with Sauce or Chutney of choice.

Kid Friendly, Quick,Easy Snack- Corn & Sweet Potato Tikkis

My kids need to carry breakfast once a month to the school for their ‘Sharing Day’. Breakfast otherwise is provided by the school. Variety of Appe, sandwiches, pancakes have been the norm for the past months. This time the lad wanted something different. Since Sweet corn is a permanent resident in my refrigerator, we made these quick Corn & Sweet Potato Tikkis.

Our Dabbas got colorful this Holi! (That is as much as I celebrate the festival 🙂 ). These gorgeous beauties are from The Chalk Boutique. A colorful makeover of the traditional tiffin, these Dabbas are a welcome change from the Tupperwares and lock-n-locks (though they have their advantages :))

The Corn tikkis are quick and quite simple to make. Boiled corn, Sweet Potatoes, Breadcrumbs, cheese ,a few herbs /spices and you have a kid friendly snack ready in minutes.

Here’s the recipe:

 Corn & Sweet Potato Tikki

Makes ~ 12-13 bite sized tikkis

Ingredients

3/4 cup Boiled Sweet Corn kernels,drained completely

2 slices Multigrain bread

2 small Sweet Potatoes boiled,peeled and mashed

½ tsp Ginger garlic paste

½ Onion finely chopped

2-3 Tbsp grated Cheddar Cheese

½ tsp Turmeric Powder

2 tsp dried or fresh Mixed herbs

2 Tbsp Corn Flour

Chilli flakes/Chilli powder/crushed black pepper to taste

Salt to Taste

~ 3-4 tbsp Oil for greasing the pan and to Saute the onions

Method

In the bowl of the food processor pulse together boiled corn and the bread slices to a coarse crumbly mixture.

Sauté the chopped onion in 1 tsp oil.

Add the ginger garlic paste and the turmeric powder.

Sauté for a minute more and cool.

Add the onions to the corn mixture and pulse once or twice .

Take this mixture in a mixing bowl. Add the mashed sweet potatoes, herbs, cheese, salt,Corn flour, chilli flakes/crushed Black pepper.

Mix together and form about 12-13 small balls of the mixture. Flatten these to make a small disk/tikki shape.

Grease a griddle pan with oil and grill the Corn Tikkis till lightly browned on both sides.

Serve hot with Tomato Ketchup, Imli Chutney or any chutney of your choice

(The lad took these to school and said they were just as good cold too)

A Festive Tea party

Last One month we having been celebrating one festival or the other and the festivities still continue with the Ganesh festival. I am not a typical ‘rituals person’ but enjoy the festive food that is prepared during the festivals. We have been indulging in all kinds of traditional feasts and still continuing with it maybe for another month! As my grandmother would say ‘you do not think of the calories during these feasts’. Homemade fresh sweets and savories (majority made with homemade ghee (brown butter) are stored in steel containers luring you with their delectable aromas each time you pass by! I have decided to give up concern for my growing waistline till the festivities last and indulge in the feasts without any guilt! 🙂

Last week we celebrated the festive season with some family friends over to our house for high tea. Usually this is referred to here in the local language as Faraal (snacks) instead of tea party. A variety of Indian savories and sweets are served along with tea or coffee. Given our guests’ festive diet restrictions we decided to have dishes without onion and garlic, which was really difficult for an onion-garlic addict like me.

Apart from some fried crispies we had Tamarind Poha and Sweet Corn Appe (recipe below) as the main snacks along with some Mint-lemon Tea for the tea party. I do not have the photos of the actual party since I was very busy making and serving hot Corn Appe , so these are all ‘after’ photos with whatever leftovers I had.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, I had some 2 kgs of corn to be used up, I made a no onion- sweet corn version of Appe. Appe are small round savoury steamed cakes usually made with the Idli batter and spices to enhance the flavor. An Appe mould or tava as it is called (Aebleskiver pan) is a must for making these delightful little balls of goodness.

The Sweet corn added a lovely crunch to the spicy appe and I did not miss the onions at all. Infact, everyone asked me for the recipe. A simple sweet corn twist in the recipe changed the taste of the humble appe!

I served mint-lemon tea along with the snacks. This was a welcome change from the traditional double boiled, tannin loaded dark brown tea that is normally served with Faraal.

My small high tea party is going to be a part of the Big Tea Party at A Mad Tea Party hosted by the wonderful Anita. I love her yearly parties and thanks Anita once again for a lovely theme!

 

Here’s the recipe for the Sweet Corn Appe:

For about 10 Appe

Ingredients:

1 cup Idli batter (I used readymade)

½ cup Sweet corn kernels

3-4 tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaves

2-3 tsp green chilli paste (adjust to your taste)

Salt to taste

1 tsp mustard seeds

2 tsp oil for the tadka(tempering)

more Oil for shallow frying the Appe.

Method

Mix together the idli batter, sweetcorn, coriander leaves, chilli paste and salt.

In a small pan heat 2 tsp oil and add the mustard seeds and heat till they crackle.

Add the mustard seeds+oil to the above batter.

Mixwell.

Heat the Appe pan/tava.

Drop spoonfuls of the batter into each round mould in the pan.

Drizzle little oil from the sides of the batter.

Cover and cook for 5-6 minutes on low heat or till the lower part of the Appe turns golden.

Turn each Appe with a wooden skewer (if using non stick pan) and cook on the other side for another 5 minutes.

Insert the skewer and test the Appe for doneness. (The batter should not stick to the skewer).

Serve hot with chutney or sauce.

Note:

I used readymade Idli batter since I had to make ~ 50 Appe’s.

My mom makes a version of Appe with a mixture of daals and rice for the batter. So you can also add a mixture of Daals instead of just Urad daal to the batter.

A Savory Sweet Punch- Golden Onion Corn Quiche

Managed to get this month’s Sweet Punch challenge made just in the nick of time. Having missed the last month’s challenge, I did not want to miss this one, that too, a savory bake. This month Ria challenged us to a Savory Sweet Punch- Golden onion Quiche.

This month’s challenge seemed quite simple and I had all the ingredients. The moment I saw it I had decided to do it right away instead of the usual last minute rush! I made the Quiche –photographed it- wrote a post about it… all in my mind! 🙂

Everyday I kept thinking there’s still time for the posting date. Shravan festivities made the Quiche schedule take a back seat until finally yesterday I realized that its already the 6^th and I had to bake the Quiche ; procrastination still rules here as far as Food events are concerned. Reminds me of my exam days in the college. 🙂 Now I have decided to do the next month’s challenge way ahead of the posting date; and the cycle continues….

Ria wanted us to bake a simple Golden Onion Quiche. Her recipe used Chicken along with the caramelized onions; I substituted that with Sweet corn (I had 2 kgs of Sweetcorn given by a friend waiting to be used up!) and spiced it up with sliced green peppers on top.

I also added some Buckwheat flour which Deeba sent to the Quiche pastry shell. I almost halved the recipe for the filling and this gave me four mini Quiches + a small muffin sized Quiche.

I served The Golden Onion Corn Quiche for dinner along with a red bell pepper soup and some Zucchini crispies! My Quiche crust was a little crumbly, maybe due to the addition of the Buckwheat flour. The caramelized onions paired very well with the sweetcorn in the rich cheesy filling. It is a perfect recipe for a simple weeknight dinner.

Thanks Ria for the lovely recipe, I had great fun (though last minute) doing it!

Here’s the recipe:

Golden Onion Corn Quiche

Ingredients:

 For the pastry:

150 gms All Purpose flour/Maida

50 gms Buckwheat Flour

100gms Butter (frozen) (I used salted butter and skipped the addition of salt)

1/4 tsp Baking powder

1 egg beaten

 For the filling:

3 medium sized onions chopped

½ cup sweet Corn kernels

½ cup milk

½ cup Cheddar Cheese grated

2 eggs beaten

2 tsp oil

Chopped green chillies/peppers for topping (optional)

Salt and black pepper powder as required

Method:

I first made the filling and then the pastry

For the filling:

Heat oil in a pan.

Add the onions fry till they caramelize.

Add the Sweet corn and fry for another 5-6 minutes.

Take off from the flame.

Slightly cool and mix in the remaining ingredients for the filling except the green chillies if using.

Keep aside and make the pastry shell.

 For the pastry:

Preheat the oven to 180^oC

Sieve Maida and baking powder together.

Add the Buckwheat Flour.

Grate in the butter and mix it with the flour with your fingertips till it resembles coarse sand.

Add in the beaten egg and gather it into a soft dough. (Use a few drops of ice cold water if does not gather together, I did not need the water)

Roll it out on a lightly floured surface and lift it up carefully and line the tin/tins that you will be baking it in. For mini Quiches roll I made 4 balls of the dough and rolled out each ball separately and then lined the tins.

Press the dough evenly to line the tin for the pastry shell and make sure make sure the dough comes a little way up the sides, so that it can hold the filling.

Pour in the filling in all the pastry cases and top with the green chillies.

Bake in the preheated oven till golden brown. (it took about 35 minutes for me)

Cool in the tin completely and then serve it in wedges.

Drop in here to see some more versions of the lovely Golden Onion Quiche.

Power Breakfast for these ‘under the weather’ days

The monsoon bug does not seem to leave our house; it’s been almost like a hospital for the past few days! The wet sultry days are no help for recovery. The coughing and sneezing seems to have affected the palate as well as the appetite. Quick, wholesome food is helping us sustain these depressing days.

Here’s a recipe for a quick and wholesome Cracked wheat (Dalia) Upma dressed up with corn, moong bean sprouts and a few spices. Corn was added for the little ‘corn fan’ in the house. To pep up our appetites I added some kasuri Methi and a hint of Pav Bhaji masala to the cracked wheat, and that’s what is did-jazzed up our meal!

Here’s the recipe:

2 cups Cracked wheat, washed and pressure cooked (with salt and 3 ½ cups water)

1 cup Sweet corn

1 cup moog bean sprouts

1 small onion chopped

~ 2-3 tsp kasuri methi

½ tsp Pav Bhaji Masala (I used Everest)

3-4 dry red chillies broken into pieces

~2 tsp roasted peanut powder

½ tsp ginger-garlic paste

½ tsp turmeric powder

½ tsp cumene seeds

½ tsp mustard seeds

Salt to taste

~2-3 tsp oil

Lemon juice, coriander/mint leaves for garnish

Heat oil in a pan. Add the tadka ingredient; mustards seeds-cumene seeds-turmeric- redchillies.

Add the onion and ginger garlic paste and sauté for 1-2 minutes.

Add the corn and moong beans.

Add salt and mix nicely (the cooked Cracked wheat also contains salt.)

Cook covered for ~5-6 minutes. (Don’t overcook, the corn and moong sprouts should be crunchy)

Add the Pav Bahji masala.

Crush and sprinkle the Kasuri Methi.

Add the cooked Cracked wheat and peanut powder, mix well.

Cook covered for 1-2 minutes more.

Garnish with Lime juice/coriander/mint leaves and serve hot.

 Note: You can use any fresh vegetables of your choice along with the corn and Moong sprouts.

From the Salad Bar

      Winter is almost here and the temperature is gradually dropping down. I love this season since we get a variety of very fresh vegetables and fruits here. Veggies like carrot sport their actual pink -red color, instead of the orange-red color found during the rest of the year.Preserving fruits and veggies is also easier during this season. I stock on veggies and fruits for the whole week in this season without bothering about them rotting.

These are few simple salad recipes I usually make. These are some contemporary mix-n-match type of salads, made with the available ingredients, not the typical Koshimbir or Raita type salads usually cooked in Indian households. They can be eaten by themselves without any accompaniments as a light lunch or dinner. I enjoy making and eating salads with the variety of colourful veggies and fruits available now. Most of the days I carry them for lunch. Relatively easy to make, Salads provide a lot of scope for innovation and imagination. Right from the ingredients, dressing to the presentation there is a lot of room to showcase your culinary talent.

These Salads are nutritional powerhouses – low on calories and high on nutrients. A few simple things to remember while making salads:Wash the veggies / fruits thoroughly before peeling/cutting/shredding them. Do not wash after peeling or cutting. Go easy with the dressing. Savor the natural taste of the veggies.

Veggie Salad

½  cup Moong bean Sprouts

½ cup peeled and grated carrots

½ cup cucumbers peeled and diced ½ cup tomatoes chopped¼ cup green bell pepper finely chopped

1 tbsp fresh green coriander finely chopped

For the dressing

2 tsp lime juice

½ tsp black/white pepper powder

Black salt or Plain salt as per taste.

Mix all the ingredients together. Just before serving add the lime juice and salt. If the weather is warm you can chill the salad for ½ an hour or eat it straight away.

Quantities for the veggies can vary as per availability and choice.

Fruity-Corn Salad

¼ cup sweet corn kernels

¼ cup beetroot grated 

¼ cup fresh pomegranate seeds

¼ cup fresh Pineapple chopped

½ cup peeled and grated carrots

½ cup cucumbers peeled and diced

½ cup tomatoes chopped (optional)

¼ cup green bell pepper finely chopped

2 tbsp yellow split moong dal soaked in water for 1 hr

3-4 lettuce leaves torn into pieces1 tbsp fresh green coriander finely chopped

For the dressing

2 tsp Mosambi (Sweet lime)/ Orange juice

½ tsp black/white pepper powder

Salt as per taste 

Toss all the ingredients in a large bowl. Just before serving add the Sweet lime juice or orange juice and salt.

High Protein Salad

¼ cup sweet corn kernels

¼ cup fresh pomegranate seeds

½ cup Moong bean Sprouts

2-3 Salad leaves torn into pieces

½ onion cut into thin slices

2-3 lettuce leaves torn into pieces

4-5 seedless Dates chopped

For the dressing

Salt as per taste

1tsp Chaat masala 

Toss all the ingredients in a large bowl. Just before serving add the Chaat masala and adjust the salt. Remember that Chaat masala too has some amount of salt so adjust accordingly.  

 

Crunchy Pepper Salad

1 Red bell pepper chopped

1 yellow pepper chopped

1 green pepper chopped

2 cucumbers peeled and diced

For the dressing

Salt as per taste

1tsp Chaat masala

2 tsp lime juice 

Toss all the ingredients in a large bowl. Just before serving add the lime juice, Chaat masala and adjust the salt. 

All the above salad ingredients can be mixed and matched as per your tatse!

Enjoy these light and healthy salads! If you have any more ideas for quick and easy salads I would appreciate if you can share them here.

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.