Caesar salad (Chicken or veg)

There are days when you want to go light after feasting for days or you just want to lose those extra pounds. Well what is better than a light salad for such days. Salads have evolved a lot it no longer means few raw things thrown together. In fact if it is thoughtfully made it can be a balanced meal with proteins, vitamins and limited carbs. You can make your own healthy and yummy dressings and add a zing to it. Gone are the days when salads used to be boring.

I had tried this whole wheat bread but it came out dry and compact. But it turned out into great tasting croutons. I will share with you the recipe for my croutons too.

This salad can be made by vegetarians as well as chicken eaters.

Ingredients:

For the Croutons:

• 4 cups bread cut into 1/2" cubes (you can use fresh or 2-3 day old bread)
• 1/2 cup olive oil 
• 3 cloves garlic minced 
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tsp dried parsley, thyme (optional)

For the Dressing:

• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 cup greek yogurt or regular yogurt (whey drained by hanging in muslin cloth for an hour)
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 tbsp tomato ketchup

For the Salad:

• Around 8-9 cups Romaine lettuce sliced as needed or you can use the mixed bag of romaine lettuce, iceberg and red cabbage.
• 1 cup sliced red bell pepper
• 2 cups chicken grilled and chopped into cubes or 2 cups paneer or tofu roasted in oven or grilled.

Directions:

For the Croutons:

• Preheat oven to 350 degree F.
• Mix minced garlic with olive oil or blend olive oil with garlic.
• In a large bowl mix together bread cubes, olive oil, salt, pepper and herbs
• Ensure that bread cubes are evenly covered with oil to avoid dry or soggy pieces.
• Bake at 350 degree F for around 15 minutes or until browned in a single layer on a greased cookie sheet.
• Let it cool and store in an airtight container.

For the Dressing:

• Blend together all the ingredients in a blender and keep aside.

For the Salad:

• In a large bowl toss together lettuce, bell pepper and chicken/ paneer/ tofu (whatever you are using).
• Add the dressing, mix well and add croutons and enjoy your light and healthy meal.

Mini Greek Pizza Muffins

These are savory muffins that have the subtle greek pizza taste. You can taste tomatoes, onion, garlic, olives and feta cheese, all those things which go into a greek pizza. These can be served as appetizers with marinara sauce while entertaining or you can also have them for breakfast or tea. It is not my own recipe I happened to see it on www.delish.com and it sounded wonderful and I made them and they taste wonderful too.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2/3 cup finely chopped onion
• 2/3 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
• 1/3 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh oregano, or 1/2 teaspoon dried
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder or 3 garlic cloves minced
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup low-fat milk
• 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1  large egg, well beaten
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tbsp chopped kalamata olives

Directions:

• Heat olive oil in a deep pan. If you are using fresh garlic then add it at this stage along with onion and red bell pepper. Keep stirring and cook for around 5 minutes till the onions are tender. Remove from heat and let it cool.
• Preheat oven to 400 degree F and spray a mini muffin pan with cooking oil 
• Whisk whole-wheat pastry flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, oregano, sugar, garlic powder (if using it in powdered form) and salt in a medium bowl.
• Stir milk, feta, egg, tomato paste and olives into the onion mixture. Make a well in the dry ingredients; add the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Fill the prepared muffin cups two-thirds full.
• Bake the muffins until lightly browned, 13 to 15 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Couscous Khichdi

I love the taste of Sabudana Khichdi which is a stir fried preparation for tapioca pearls. However it is said that it is not very healthy for you. I think it is the fact that it is loaded with starch and carbs and has little or almost no nutritional value. Sabudana by itself is bland but the preparation with chillies, cumin seeds and peanuts adds all the jazz to the dish and you get a yummy combination of flavors. I just wanted to have that taste but with health so thought about making it with couscous and it came out very close and now you also have nutritional value. You can use the regular couscous or whole wheat couscous.

Whole wheat regular couscous khichdi

Regular pearl couscous khichdi- this comes more close to sabudana khichdi

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat couscous (or the regular one)
• 1 medium potatoes cut into 1/2" cubes
• 2-3 green chillies chopped as per taste
• 7-8 currry leaves
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 cup peanuts (roasted and roughly ground)
• 2 tbsp olive oil (or any other cooking oil)
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• few sprigs cilantro chopped fine

Directions:

• Cook couscous as per package instructions. Usually it will ask you to cook a cup of couscous in a cup of boiling water, cover it and fluff it after 5-10 minutes. You will have couscous with separate grains just like sabudana.
• Roast peanuts and grind it coarsely. 
• Take oil in a deep pan and heat it on medium flame. Add cumin seeds and when they stop crackling add green chillies and curry leaves. Green chillies are as per personal preference because there are lot of varieties of green chillies with different heat level.
• Add chopped potatoes, mix well and cook it on low flame with a cover on the pan.
• Keep checking and mixing in between to ensure even cooking and so that the potatoes don't get burnt.
• When the potatoes are cooked add ground peanuts, cooked couscous, salt to taste and lime juice.
• Mix well and top it with chopped cilantro.
• Serve warm and enjoy.

Mango Shrikhand (Amrakhand)

Mango Shrikhand is a yummy sweet from India which is often had along with the main course as an accompaniment with puris. It has a taste similar to that of cheesecake but in texture it is like mousse. Shrikhand is mainly made of sour cream cheese or yogurt. Either whey is drained off curdled milk or from yogurt and you add sugar and other flavors to get this sweet and sour delicacy.

Ingredients:

• 5 cups plain yogurt
• 1-1/2 cups mango pulp (I used sweetened store bought alphonso mango pulp)
• 1/2 cup sugar (add more sugar as per taste)
• 1/4 cup chopped nuts (pistachio, almonds)
• 1 tsp cardamom powder
• few strands saffron about a pinch

Directions:

• Drain whey off yogurt using a cheesecloth for 7-8 hours or overnight is better.
• Remove the yogurt and but it in a bowl. You will probably be left with about 2 cups of yogurt.
• Put the yogurt in fridge for at least half an hour till you finish off preparing all other ingredients.
• Add sugar to the yogurt and mix it well.
• Take 2 tbsp mango pulp, warm it and rub saffron strands in it. Mix it with the yogurt
• Mix mango pulp and cardamom powder
• Add more sugar or mango pulp if needed but let the consistency of the shrikhand be creamy and not watery
• Add chopped nut and save some to garnish on top.
•  Chill in refrigerator for 2-3 hours before serving.

Other tips:

• If you want plain shrikhand omit mango pulp and rest of the ingredients remain the same. Just rub saffron in 2-3 tbsp milk instead of mango pulp.
• If you do not have time to wait overnight you can make instant plain shrikhand using 2 cups sour cream and add sugar as per taste and all other flavors. To make instant mango shrikhand you can use a mix of 1 cup sour cream, 1 pack cream cheese, and mango pulp and sugar as per taste.

Zucchini Bhaji/ Stir fried Zucchini

It was one of those days when I was feeling brain dead. Just couldn't think of what to make for lunch and I also get bored of the run of the mill daily dishes. So wanted to make something different with my numb state of mind. I started looking for recipes and also I was in no mood for an elaborate dish. I happened to find just the right one on about.com. The recipe is from Petrina Verma Sarkar. It is an Indian based dish using zucchini. So it is one of those quick dishes that you can squeeze in on a busy day or make it when you are in a state like me. It is quick but flavor wise very satisfying.

Ingredients:

• 3 large zucchinis
• 3-4 tbsp chickpea flour/ besan
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp carom seeds/ ajwain
• 1 tbsp olive/ canola/ vegetable oil
• Salt to taste

Directions:

• Clean zucchini and cut it into 1" cubes
• In a mixing bowl put zucchini pieces and add chickpea flour, red chili powder, turmeric powder and cumin powder. Mix well and keep aside.
• In a deep nonstick pan, heat oil. I prefer nonstick cause you need less oil in it. If you are not using nonstick then just add 1 more tablespoon of oil. Add cumin seeds and ajwain seeds and when it starts spluttering add the zucchini mixture.
• On low flame, cover the vessel and let the chick pea flour get cooked. When the flour starts turning golden and gives an aroma the bhaji is done because zucchini will also be cooked by then.
• Serve warm with roti, rice and dal.

Methi Kela Subzi (Fenugreek Banana Fry)

Well I seem to be getting obsessed with banana recipes. I dont know these days we seem to be having lot of bananas getting brown before we got eating them. I hate wasting food. So there I try to create something out of those unappetizing looking but still good to eat bananas. I did post recipes for banana bread and banana cookies but you dont crave sweet alll the time and banana bread is a kind of bread which you either hate or love. That depends on how much you love the humble, versatile, quick to eat, yellow fruit.

This time I am posting an Indian entree, Fenugreek Banana Fry called as Methi Kela Bhaji in India. When you listen to the name it sounds like a wierd combination, a fruit and a vegetable togther. One bitter and other sweet but that is what creates magic together. The bitterness is masked by bananas and the extreme sweetness of those overripe bananas are subdued by fenugreek leaves.

Ingredients:

• 1 large bunch fenugreek/methi leaves (picked, cleaned and chopped)
• 3-4 ripe bananas (peeled and cut into large 1" slices)
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 green chili chopped
• 1 inch finely chopped ginger
• 1/4 tsp asafoetida
• 1 tsp read chili powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• salt to taste
• 1 tbsp oil

Directions:

• Take oil and heat it in a large nonstick vessel.
• Add mustard seeds and when they splutter add green chillies and ginger.
• Add asafoetida and red chili powder and immediately add the prepared methi leaves.
• Mix well, add turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and salt.
• Add thick slices of bananas and lightly mix well.
• Do not stir too much after you add bananas, just cover the vessel and let the methi leaves get cooked on low flame.
• In between just stir lightly to mix all spices and ensure even cooking.
• This is a very quick cooking dish so it will not take very long. So once the methi leaves are cooked turn off the gas and you can serve it warm with roti, paratha or naan.

Spicy Corn Soup

This a soup which my soup hating husband loves. It is very yummy especially if you like spicy food, you will love that little heat with corn flavor. It has a creamy texture. I bet it can become your favorite soup too once you try it.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion chopped
• 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 3/4 tsp red chili powder
• salt as per taste
• 6 cups water/ chicken stock/ veg stock
• 1/3 cup heavy cream

Directions:

• In a large vessel, take a tablespoon of olive oil and heat it.
• Add onion and garlic and saute well for a minute or two.
• Add red chili powder and corn kernels, mix well.
• Add water or stock and cook the corn kernels well.
• When the corn is cooked, take the vessel off the stove top and let it cool.
• Blend the mixture in a food processor and pass the puree through a strainer or a sieve into a vessel. Discard the corn particles collected in the strainer.
• Heat the puree add salt and heavy cream. Let it simmer for some time.
• Enjoy it warm in this cold weather.

Adapted from A Foodnetwork Recipe

Old fashioned chocolate cake (eggless)

Since I got interested in cake decorating, I have been on a lookout for good cake recipes. I want to have a good collection of eggless and regular cake recipes, so that I do not spend too much time trying out things. I need that precious time for decorating while handling my 2 year old.

Baking is definitely a science, which I have realized after baking so many cakes. It is not easy to tweak recipes, because everything has a role to play in giving the cake its texture. The type of fat used, number of eggs, leavening agents all have to be balanced for the perfect cake. Try to omit and replace something and you might end up with a dry, dense or an off texture cake. After all my browsing I have understood that baking soda is completely alkaline and baking powder has acidic elements too. So when you are dealing with acidic elements like fruits you need to add baking soda to balance the Ph. Well with so many things going on when you want to bake without eggs, it is a bigger challenge.

I tried lot of egg less chocolate cake recipes. I was not very satisfied with the moisture of the cake inspite of the amount of fat that went into each recipe. Finally I came across this recipe on food.com. God bless the lady for posting that recipe. It was the solution to my egg less chocolate cake problem. The cake is perfect just as I wanted it to taste and feel. Does not feel eggless at all. It goes as follows:

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 2 cups hot water
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 with rack in the center.
• Spray two 8" round cake pans with nonstick spray.
• Whisk dry cake ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
• Combine water, oil, vinegar, instant coffee granules, and vanilla in a large measuring cup.
• Add to the dry ingredients and whisk until combined- a few lumps are ok.
• Divide batter between the two pans (about 3 cups each), then bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (35- 40 min).
• Cool cakes for 15 minutes on a rack, then invert them onto the rack.
• Leave upside down until completely cooled before frosting them.

Recipe Source: Old fashioned Chocolate Cake by PanNan

The original recipe also gives instructions for an icing, as I was just trying out cakes I did not try that. But it sounds wonderful to go with the cake.

Mango Cheesecake (eggless)

I wanted to make an eggless cheesecake and was looking at lot of recipes for it. I just combined few recipes and decided to add mango puree to it. I used the Alphonso mango puree from the Indian store, I think that is the best mango puree that you can use. Alphonso mangoes have a rich sweet taste. If you have tasted it you will agree that they the best mangoes in the world. I wanted to get that taste in my cheesecake.

I was not sure whether I would get that result in my cake because sometimes baking subdues the taste, especially with added fruits. But the result was amazing and I would say that it has become my favorite dessert. It is the best thing that I ever had as a dessert. The melting creaminess with mango flavor makes you forget the world, when your mouth is full of it. Just savor the sweet mango moment, I bet it will be a pampering moment for you, a spa for your taste-buds.

Ingredients:

Crust-

• 1-1/2 cup crackers (graham, oreos or any regular/ chocolate cracker on the sweeter side) crushed
• 6 tbsp melted butter

Filling-

• 4 8oz cream cheese packs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 cups mango puree
• 3/4  cup sugar (add more sugar a tbsp at a time if you like it sweeter)
• 1/4 cup egg replacer 
• 3 tbsp cake flour

Mango Glaze-

• 1-1/2 cup mango puree
• 2 tbsp agar agar powder or gelatin
• 2-3 tsp sugar

Directions:

Crust-

• Preheat oven to 350 degree F.
• Mix the crushed crackers and melted butter.
• Spread the mixture on the base of a springform pan.
• Press it firmly using a spoon or your hands.
• Bake it for ten minutes and let it cool completely.

Filling-

• Remove cream cheese and sour cream out of the fridge for an hour before you start mixing ingredients for your cheesecake, so that they are at room temperature.
• Cream together cream cheese and sour cream.
• Add mango puree and sugar, and mix well so that everything is well blended.
• In a separate large bowl mix together egg replacer and cake flour and add the liquid mixture a cup at a time and mix really well so that there are no lumps.
• Mix the batter really well and pour it over the crust in the springform pan.
• Bake at 350 degree F for 1 hour 15 minutes.
• Just turn the knob of the oven to off and leave the door ajar with the cheesecake still inside.
• Let the cheesecake cool in the oven completely and then transfer it to the refrigerator for another 24 hours.

Glaze-

• Mix agar agar powder and mango puree really well so that there are no lumps.
• Heat the mixture for 5 minutes in a microwave or stove top stirring well.
• Add sugar, mix well and pour it over the completely cooled cheesecake and put it back in the refrigerator.

Enjoying-

• After 24 hours remove the cake from fridge.
• Loosen the edges with a knife and remove the sides of the springform pan. You can serve it in the pan itself or transfer it to another serving platter.
• Enjoy your cheesecake.

Banana Oat Cookies

Another twist to banana bread, these cookies are soft and banana bread like. They are healthy and you can grab them as a quick breakfast or can carry them along with you for a healthy snack.

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup oat bran
• 1/2 cup milled flax seeds
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg powder
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1/4 tsp clove powder
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 3 ripe bananas mashed
• 1/4 cup canola/ vegetable oil

Directions:

• Preheat oven at 400 degree F.
• Mix together all the dry ingredients in a bowl.
• Add mashed bananas and oil and mix well.
• Take spoonfuls of the mixture and drop on a cookie sheet
• Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degree F.
• Cool and enjoy these healthy cookies.

Whole Wheat Banana Bread

I had 2 very ripe almost black bananas on my counter. Neither was it tempting to eat those nor I had the heart to trash them. That is when I thought of baking them into banana bread. I looked for lot of recipes and finally made the needed adjustments and came up with the recipe below. It is a perfect solution if you are faced with a dilemma with over ripe bananas.

Banana Bread is almost cake like and you can enjoy it for breakfast or snack any time of the day. I used whole wheat to make it healthier. I have added a little bit of all purpose flour to get a better texture but you can use whole wheat flour completely to make it more healthy. I like it very mildly sweet with lot of banana flavor in it. The recipe goes below.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 2- 3 ripe bananas mashed(riper the better)
• 1/3 cup sugar (1/4 cup if you are using 3 bananas)
• 1 stick- 1/2 cup butter softened
• 2 eggs beaten lightly
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

Directions:

• Combine flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon in a bowl sing a fork or whisk.
• In another bowl cream softened butter, add eggs, mashed bananas and sugar and mix well.
• Mix dry and wet ingredients together. Mix it really well so that there are no lumps.
• Fold in chopped walnuts.
• Pour in a greased baking pan. You can use an 8" cake pan, loaf pan or a bundt pan.
• Put it in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F. Bake for around 30 minutes till a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
• Cool for 15 minutes in the pan and then turn it over on wire rack. Let it cool completely and enjoy.

French Toast

French Toast is a quick way of having a delicious and filling breakfast. When I used to go to school my mom used to make something similar to it for my mid morning munch break. It was more on the savory side with bread being coated with a spicy egg mixture. I used to enjoy that too. 

French toast is mildly sweet and becomes sweeter when enjoyed with maple syrup or honey. Mostly breakfast for us is a savory affair. But occasionally we enjoy French toast, whole wheat pancakes/ waffles and bajil (a spicy sweet mangalorean snack) on the sweeter side. Let me share with you the recipe for French Toast, our occasional piece of morning sweetness.

Ingredients:

• 8 -1/4" to 1/2"slices of 2-3 day old bread (whole wheat, challah bread)
• 4 eggs
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• maple syrup to serve

Directions:

• In a bowl, beat eggs and milk till well blended. Do not over beat.
• Add salt and sugar and mix well.
• Dip each bread slice in the bowl for around 20 secs on each side and put it on a hot skillet on stove top.
• You can use butter to fry it on each side but if you use a non stick pan you can omit the butter.
• Fry well till both sides brown up and eggs are set well.
• You can serve French toast with butter, maple syrup or honey according to your preference.
• Enjoy it warm.

Cornflakes Chivda

Cornflakes chivda is a great way for enjoying the corn cereal especially for us Indians, I know many of us can't have cereal because it's bland! It is just like a regular chivda but only makes use of corn flakes giving it a healthier twist, omitting the regular fried corn chips. Chivda is basically a mixture of grain flakes fried or toasted with dry fruits and nuts and spices.

I have not added any salt and sugar to make it healthier. I feel the salt and sugar present already in cornflakes are enough  for the desired taste. Raisins also give a natural sweetness to it. You can make this and stock it in your house for guilt free snacking and can also be served as a quick snack to guests at tea time.

Ingredients:

• 5-6 cups corn flakes
• 2 tbsp canola/ olive oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 4-5 green chillies chopped
• 7-8 curry leaves
• 2 tbsp dalia dal
• 2 tbsp peanuts
• 2 tbsp cashew nuts broken
• 2 tbsp walnuts chopped
• 2 tbsp raisins
• 1 tsp turmeric powder

Directions:

• In a vessel take 2 tbsp oil, add mustard seeds and heat it.
• When mustard seeds crackle, add green chillies and curry leaves. Mix with oil.
• Add dalia dal, peanuts, cashew nuts and walnuts. Mix well and let them get fried on low flame till they get light brown in color.
• Add turmeric powder, mix well and soon add corn flakes and start mixing very lightly.
• Remove from heat and let the mixture cool.
• When it has cooled completely add raisins.
• Store it in an airtight container.
• Enjoy whenever you feel like.

The round ones are corn kix cereal, you can get creative and add your own ingredients

Vegetable Kofta Curry- Baked

Yesterday I wanted to make a special valentine's day dinner for my husband, something which I had never tried before. I also did not want to go for an out and out greasy and unhealthy dish considering that we have recently came back from a vacation loading ourselves. I browsed for recipes and came across one on a site called khanakhazana for vegetable kofta curry. The koftas were fried in that recipe I just baked them instead. I omitted the sugar from the original recipe and YUM it came out very delicious. Right amount of spice, sourness and creaminess.

I had one fiasco though, I prepared the gravy, baked the koftas (that went perfect too) and put the koftas in the gravy and when my husband came in an hour later I just went to heat my curry. To my disappointment the koftas became soft, too soft, in the gravy. Even the lightest touch of spoon disintegrated them and I ended with one thick curry with all the koftas disappearing one by one from the gravy. I saved few koftas to take a decent picture but it is not decent enough.

Veg Kofta curry shouldn't be looking like this....but it was yummy anyways

Got it pretty the second time

Lesson Learnt: Put the koftas in the gravy right before serving, especially if you bake it.

But the recipe is a keeper and I will definitely make it again, probably then I will have a good picture to share.

Ingredients:
For koftas:

• 5-6 potatoes cooked and mashed
• 3 carrots grated fine
• 1 cup green peas cooked
• few sprigs cilantro chopped
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• 1/2 tsp amchur powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• salt as per taste

For gravy:

• 2 onions finely chopped
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 3 tomatoes blended into puree
• 1 cup cashew nut powdered
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1/4 cup cream 
• 1 cup yogurt
• few sprigs cilantro chopped
• salt as per taste
• 1-1/2 tbsp oil/ butter

Directions:

For koftas:

• In a vessel, take mashed potatoes, carrots and green peas and mix well.
• Add red chili powder, amchur powder, garam masala, salt, cilantro and mix well.
• Mix together and make small golf ball sized balls.
• Place the balls on a pan covered with aluminium foil sprayed with cooking oil.
• Bake in preheated oven at 375 degree F for 20 minutes. 
• Spray top of the balls with cooking oil and bake for another 10 minutes at 500 degrees F.
• Remove from  oven  and the balls should have golden brown color.
• The koftas are ready, keep aside to cool.

For gravy:

• Take oil in a pot and saute onions till they become soft and translucent
• Add ginger garlic paste and saute well.
• Add tomato puree and let it cook for a minute. Add yogurt and mix well.
• Add cashew nut powder, red chili powder, turmeric powder and garam masala. Mix them well.
• Add cream and mix well. Let the gravy simmer.
• If you think the gravy is too thick you can add water as needed. 
• Add salt and mix well. Let it simmer for more 5 minutes. At this stage adjust the spices in the gravy as per your taste. Add cilantro finally.
• Your gravy is ready

Finally, it is very important that you add the koftas in the gravy (you can warm it ) right before serving or you will just end up with one messed up gravy with no koftas.

Enjoy this yummy, simple yet rich dish that you can serve while entertaining.

Handvo- Savory Rice Lentil Cake

I tasted handvo (made by my mother in law) for the first time, after my marriage to my Gujarati husband. Coming from a South Indian household I just knew about dhokla and thepla as gujarati dishes. But now after tasting dishes like handvo, muthia, undhiyu I have fallen in love with them.

I like the fact that handvo is flavorful and a healthy snack. In fact you can have it as a light lunch or breakfast item too due to its goodness of grains, lentil and veggies. I like handvo more than dhoklas because of its spiciness and it's crisp outer crust. Traditionally it is made in deep vessel, hence the name handvo. However I like to bake it in oven.

I followed Tarla Dalal's recipe but tweaked it a bit. Here goes my recipe for handvo-

Ingredients:

• 2 cups rice
• 1 cup urad dal
• 1 cup toor dal
• 1/2 cup sour curd
• 1-1/2 cups shredded doodhi/ pumpkin/squash
• 4 tbsp oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 3 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 1-1/2 tbsp sugar
• salt to taste

For tempering:

• mustard seeds
• sesame seeds
• asafoetida
• 4 tbsp oil

Directions:

• Wash and soak rice and lentil with enough water for around 4-5 hours.
• Drain the water and grind into fine paste. Just ensure that you add very little water while grinding and do not add water directly from tap if you are in US. It has been my experience, due to the high chlorine content in tap water fermentation is affected. Use filtered water.
• Add sour curd and allow the mixture to ferment overnight. It won't rise too much like idli batter but you can get the sour smell and see the bubbles.
• Add shredded vegetable, oil, lemon juice, baking soda, chili powder, turmeric powder, ginger garlic paste, sugar and salt. Mix well. Be generous with the masalas and you can tweak proportions as per taste, depending upon your taste buds.
• Pour the mix into a greased cake pan of any shape or size. But see to it that you pour a thin layer of batter not more than 1-1/2 inch into the pan.
• Then take oil in a small vessel, add asafoetida, mustard seeds and sesame seeds. Temper them and pour over the batter in the pan.
• Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degree F for 30 to 35 minutes.
• Sometimes instead of tempering I just add  sesame seeds on the top of the batter and just spray the top with cooking oil after 20 minutes. Then just bake for another 10-15 minutes.
• When done, enjoy your soft on the inside and crisp and brown on the outside handvo.

Note: Alternately you can also make handvo in a nonstick pan on stove top. Just grease pan with oil and pour batter in it. Top it with the tempering and cover and let it cook on medium flame. When you feel the bottom is done just flip it in the pan to let the other side get done. You will see a nice golden brown to black colored crust. I like it black because that means crispier edged handvo.

Whole Wheat Pav (Indian bread rolls)

I can very well relate pav to the city I grew up in. Pav is an accompaniment for lot of street food or fast food in Mumbai. Pav bhaji and vada pav are the two most popular street foods in Mumbai. My husband is a vada pav lover and can rattle the places where you get best vada pavs. While the vada or the bhaji makes or breaks the dishes, they are incomplete without the humble pav.

Pavs are made of all purpose flour or maida as it is called in India. Now that I have to get health into picture in most of my dishes, I tried out whole wheat pav. I did mix in all purpose flour too to get a soft texture. Here goes my recipe for the pav-

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 packet dry active yeast
• 2 cups warm water
• 1-1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp butter melted
• melted butter for brushing pav

Directions:

• In a small bowl take warm water, add sugar to it and mix well so that the sugar dissolves completely.
• Add yeast to the surface of this warm water and let it stand for around 15 minutes.
• The water will be frothy on the top.

• In a separate large bowl, mix together whole wheat, all purpose flour and salt with a dry whisk.
• Add the yeast water to the dry mix and start kneading into a soft pliable dough.
• Add melted butter and knead further.
• Keep this dough in a well greased large bowl loosely covered with cling wrap.
• Keep the bowl near a warm place and let it sit for around 1 hour.
• The dough will double in size.
• Divide the dough into lemon sized balls and roll the balls using your palm till they become smooth.
• Place the balls on a sheet covered with greased aluminium foil, close to each other. 
• Let them sit for around half an hour, loosely covered with cling wrap.
• The balls will have grown in size again.

• Put the sheet in a preheated oven (375 degrees)
• Let it bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and quickly brush it with melted butter all over the top surface.
• Bake it for another 5 minutes.
• Your hot pav is ready, let it sit for 2 minutes and enjoy it warm with bhaji, misal or piping hot vadas.

Pav with misal

Cracked Wheat Upma

I am just back from my trip to Puerto Rico. It is an amazing place. Wow the beaches are so relaxing and water so azure. Well it was a great trip but like every vacation I came back with the baggage of excess weight. Now with great difficulty as I am settling back into my routine, I am also figuring out ways to eat right to lose some pounds. So today while scouring my forgotten jars in the cabinet, I came across cracked wheat and whipped up an upma out of it. It turned out to be great tasting. The recipe for it goes as follows-

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups cracked wheat
• 1 large onion chopped
• 1 tomato chopped
• 1 red bell pepper seeded and chopped
• 3 green chillies chopped
• 5-6 curry leaves
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 3 tsp olive oil
• 1-1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 4 cups boiling water

Directions:

• In a pot, take 3 tsp olive oil. Add cumin seeds and let the oil heat.
• When the cumin seeds crackle, add green chillies and curry leaves. Saute well.
• Add onions and saute till translucent.
• Add tomatoes and let it cook till it gets mushy.
• Add red bell peppers and salt. Cook for a minute.
• Add cracked wheat and mix well. Reduce the flame and let it stay on heat for a minute or two, mixing occasionally.
• Add boiling water and lime juice.
• Let the cracked wheat cook till there is almost no water in the mixture, but it should be moist.
• Add pepper and mix.
• Turn off the gas and cover the pot for 5 minutes.
• Serve hot and enjoy.

Samosa Chaat- Healthy Way

Growing up in Mumbai, I have fond memories of chaats. During my college days while going back home I always enjoyed having bhel puri, sev puri or ragda patties with my friends. Samosa chaat is a yummy fast food from India. But it is loaded with calories since the samosa is a stuffed pastry which is deep fried. I just skipped the frying and used our regular whole wheat rotis to create the cover for potato stuffing.

To assemble the chaat we need:

• 4-5 large whole wheat rotis
• Potato stuffing
• Chhole curry
• Yogurt
• Green cilantro chutney
• Tamarind -date chutney
• Thin sev

To make Rotis-

Ingredients:

• 4 cups whole wheat flour
• Salt to taste
• 2 cups warm water (approximate)
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Directions:

• Add salt to the whole wheat flour. Add water one cup at a time and mix well.
• Add more water if you think the mixture is too dry, 1/4 cup at a time. Likewise if you think the mixture is too gooey you can add whole wheat flour, 1/4 cup at a time.
• Add olive oil and knead into a soft pliable dough.
• Keep aside for 15 minutes, well covered.
• Make large tennis ball sized balls from the dough.
• Roll them flat with a rolling pin about 1/8 inch thick on a smooth surface and cook well on both sides on a pan.

To make the Potato Stuffing-

Ingredients:

• 4-5 potatoes cooked and mashed roughly
• 1 cup green peas cooked
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp amchur powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• salt to taste

Directions:

• In a pan heat olive oil. Add cumin seeds and fennel seeds. When they start changing color add mashed potatoes and green peas. Mix well.
• Add chili powder, amchur, garam masala and salt. Mix everything together.
• You can adjust the spices as per your taste.
• The potato filling is ready.

To make the Chole curry-

Ingredients:

• 2 cups chickpeas/ garbanzo beans (soaked 5-6 hours and cooked)
• 2 large onions
• 2 tomatoes
• 2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
• 1/4 tsp asafoetida
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 2 tsp garam masala
• Salt as per taste
• 1 tbsp cooking oil

Directions:

• Make a paste of 1-1/2 onions and tomatoes in a food processor.
• Chop the remaining half onion.
• Take oil in a pot and when it heats up add the chopped onion, asafoetida and ginger-garlic paste. Saute well.
• Add the onion and tomato paste and let it simmer let the raw smell goes off.
• Add chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and garam masala. Mix well.
• Add chickpeas/ garbanzo beans and salt. Simmer till the gravy thickens and gives out a nice aroma of spices.

Assembling Chaat-

• Preheat oven to 400 degree F.
• Put the potato stuffing in each roti and roll it.
• Place the filled rotis, in a greased rectangular baking pan, with its open side down.

• Spray cooking oil on top of the rotis and bake it for 15-20 minutes. The rotis should not be burnt but browned with crisp tops.

• Take each roll on a plate. Top it with chhole curry, yogurt, green chutney and tamarind-date chutney.

• Finally top off with sev and you can enjoy samosa chaat in a healthy way.