Pav Bhaji

Pav Bhaji is a spicy medley of vegetables, eaten with dinner rolls/ buns. It is from the Western part of India, put now popular as a snack or even as a main course entree.

Serves 3
3 boiled potatoes
1 cup chopped onions
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped bell peppers
1/2 cup peas
1 cup tomato puree (or 3 large tomatoes grated)
Pav Bhaji masala (you can buy this in any store)
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons cooking oil

For garnishing:
1/2 tablespoon Melted butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
Chopped cilantro
Juice of 1 and a 1/2 lemons

Heat oil in a wok, and add chopped onions. Saute till they are golden brown, and then add the ginger. All the finely chopped bell peppers, carrots and peas, and cover and cook for 10 minutes, or till they are tender. Mash the boiled potatoes, and add to the wok. Add the tomato puree, 2 teaspoons of pav bhaji masala and salt to taste. If you want the medley to be more spicy, you can add another teaspoon of the Pav Bhaji masala. Cover and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, till all the vegetables are mixed and a little like a paste.

Remove from the wok, and garnish with chopped onions, cilantro, lemon juice and melted butter.

Serve with toasted and buttered buns (pav).

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

So now that we have all the baking ingredients readily available, I decided to try out Chocolate Chip Cupcakes for breakfast. This recipe is from Martha Stewart Living, and needless to say, we worked around the instructions. But the results were soft and delicious, great recipe!


Serves : 6 cupcakes
1/2 cup enriched flour
1/4 spoon baking powder
A pinch of salt
1/4 cup softened butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/4 spoon vanilla extract
Almost 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1 Large egg
Chocolate frosting (if you want it)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the muffin tin with paper liners

Beat the sugar and butter at low, so they mix. Add milk and vanilla extract, and beat a little more. Add the egg, and beat at medium for 1 minute, or till it looks a little frothy

Mix together the enriched flour and baking powder. Then add to the batter, and fold together. Add the chocolate chips and fold it into the batter.

Bake at 350 for 22-24 minutes. Check with tester, it should come out clean.

Quinoa Salad with Almonds and Grapes

Quinoa is not a typical Indian food. A close friend introduced me to quinoa sometime ago. Quinoa is a great source of proteins, fibres and iron. In an effort to eat healthy, I have been experimenting with some salad recipes while trying to add a bit of Indian touch to them. Here's one I did yesterday (I am not sure of the Indian flavor, but we quite enjoyed it).

Quinoa
1 cup quinoa
1 1/2 cups of water

Salad
2 tsp Olive oil
1/2 cup chopped white onions, red and yellow bell peppers
1/4 cup cubed cottage cheese
1/4 cup red seedless grapes cut in halves
12-15 chopped almonds

For dressing
Fresh lime juice
White vinegar
Black pepper
Garam masala
Salt to taste

Soak the quinoa in the water for 15-20 minutes. Rinse thoroughly (I do it 3 to 4 times, if not washed well, Quinoa can taste bitter). Cover it in water in a pot, add salt to taste and cook until soft.

In a pan, add olive oil and the chopped onion, bell peppers and cottage cheese and saute (the bell peppers should be slightly soft but not mushy).

Whisk the dressing in a salad bowl and mix the cooked quinoa, the sauteed vegetables, grapes and almonds.

Eggless Chocolate Cupcakes

I am trying some egg less chocolate cupcakes, as a trial run for my son's birthday party at his pre-school. This was the first time I tried egg less cake/ cupcake. The recipe has been taken from Taste and Tell Blog, and modified a bit. It turned out to be pretty good, and the cupcakes were chocolate-y and moist.

For 8 cup-cakes

3/4 cups enriched flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder (the recipe said baking soda, but I didn't have any)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup whole milk (the recipe said water, but I prefer milk)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 tablespoon vinegar

Mix all ingredients together - first the dry and then after adding the liquids, until moist and well blended.

Put in cupcake cups and bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Cottage Cheese Koftas (dumplings) in Spicy tomato curry

Last night, we felt like eating something rich, yet light. And I thought of making koftas, loosely translated these are dumplings.

Serving size: Serves 3 people
Can be served with flat bread, or rice

For the koftas
Fresh cottage cheese - 75 gms, crumbled
2 Large potatoes, boiled and mashed
Salt to taste
3-4 Cardamoms
Garam Masala
2 tablespoons Gram Flour (used for binding the koftas, so they don't break while frying)

For the curry
1 red onion, finely chopped
4 large tomatoes, pureed
1 inch ginger, grated
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp red chili powder (red paprika is a good substitute, I like it as it is not as hot)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

For garnishing - Fresh, chopped coriander leaves

First mix all the contents of the koftas, and make 15 equal balls. Heat oil in a fryer, and deep fry the koftas till they are light brown. Remove and drain oil on a paper towel.

For the curry, heat 2 tablespoon oil and add the bay leaf. Add the finely chopped onion and grated ginger, and cook till the onions are golden. Add tomato puree, and the rest of the spices, and cook till the oil seems to be separating from the gravy. Add water and simmer.

Since the koftas are soft, add them to the hot gravy 15 minutes before serving, and close the lid and let them sit. Garnish with fresh chopped coriander leaves before serving.