Vegetable Spring Rolls

This is for BM #49 Week 2 day 3 under the theme – Accompaniments.  The spring rolls are served along with the main dish in one of Thai restaurants near by our place.
For today’ we enjoyed this as a snack with tomato sauce along with hot tea.
Ingredients
Pastry sheet  ( I used the store bought one )
Carrot  grated – 3/4 cup
Cabbage grated – 3/4 cup
Peas – 1/2 cup ( I used frozen )
Onions - 1, sliced
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Salt and pepper - to taste
Oil - 2 tsp
Chilli powder – 1 tsp ( optional )
Note : you can use other vegetables like capsicum , corn as well.
Method
1. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onions.
2. Add the ginger garlic paste and fry for few mins
3. Next add the vegetables , sprinkle some water and cook it until soft, but crunchy.
4. Mix it well for a minute on high and salt , pepper. Remove it and allow to cool
5. Pre heat the oven to 425°F
6. Place the spring roll sheets in a plate and cover it with a moist towel to prevent from drying
7. Take one sheet at a time, Place 2tbsp of the vegetable mixture
8. Fold the bottom of the wrapper over the filling.Fold-in both of the sides of the wrapper and continue rolling.
9. Brush some oil over the rolls and place it in  baking tray.
10. Bake for about 10-12  minutes and turn them over and bake for another 5 – 8 mins until slightly brown
11. Serve hot with the sauce.

Baked Pita Chips

 

This is for BM #49 week 2 day 2. We got this chips as an accompaniment in Mediterranean restaurant with spices mixed in olive oil as a dip.

For today's recipe I baked the pits chips and served with home bought hummus.

Ingredients

pita bread – 1 pkt

Olive oil - for brushing

Salt and pepper – as per taste ( optional ) – I did not add it.

Method

Brush the pita bread with olive oil . Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Cut the pita bread into triangles and place them in the oven. Bake it for 7 – 10 mins.

Enjoy it with your favorite hummus.

Baked Tortilla Chips

Baked Tortilla Chips

This recipe is for the BM#49 Week 1 under the theme ‘Accompaniments’

               Tortilla chips are the popular accompaniments in most of the Mexican restaurants and usually served with dips such as salsa or guacamole. For Today’s recipe, I baked the chips and served with homemade guacamole.

Ingredients ( For Chips )

Whole wheat tortillas – 3 to 4 medium size

Olive oil – for brushing

Method ( Tortilla Chips)

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2) Cut each tortilla into small triangle shaped wedges and arrange them in cookie sheet

3) Brush the chips with olive oil

4) Bake them for about 7- 8 mins or until they start little browning,

Serve it warm with salsa or guacamole.

Note : I did not season it with any salt or other spices like chilli powder. If you are seasoning the chips , you can avoid the dip. Below is the recipe for guacamole.



Add caption



 

(For Guacamole)

Avocado – 2 ripe ones

Onions – ¼ cup nicely chopped

Tomatoes – ¼ cup nicely chopped

Salt – as needed

Pepper – as needed

Lemon juice – from 1 lemon

Coriander leaves – little

Jalapeno or Chilli – 1 (Optional, I did not add it)

Method

1.      Cut the avocadoes and remove the seed.

2.       Mash avocados in a bowl leaving some chunks.

3.      Gently stir in remaining ingredients and mix it.

4.      Enjoy with the Chips



 

 

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Broken Wheat Upma

Broken wheat Upma

This is for BM #48 Week 3, day 3 under the theme ‘Nasta time’.  Broken wheat or Godhumai rava upma is a simple recipe. You can have it as a breakfast or tiffin or for dinner.

Ingredients

Broken wheat – 1 cup

Water – 1.5 cups

Mustard seeds – 1tsp

Chana dhal – 1 tsp

Urad dhal – 1 tsp

Curry leaves – few

Green chillies – 2- 3 depending on the spice.

Coconut – 1 – 2 tbsp. (optional) – I used the frozen one

Onions - ½ cup diced (optional)

Salt – as per taste

Method

Dry roast the broken wheat in a pan (Note if it is already roasted broken wheat, you can skip this) and keep it aside.

Take little oil in a pan and do the seasoning with mustard seeds , urad dhal , chana dhal and add the curry leaves. Add green chillies (note: Add onions now if you are using it and fry for some time)

 Add 1.5 cup water and add the required amount of salt and boil it. Once the water boils, Add the broken wheat and mix it and switch off the stove.

Transfer the mixture into a bowl and pressure cook for 2 whistles. Add Coconut and mix it well and Serve it with chutney or sambhar.

I served the upma with sambhar.

Note: I usually do not add vegetables for this upma but you can add mixed vegetables along with onions and make this upma. (Add little more water if you are adding the vegetables)

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Brown Rice Idly

Brown rice idly

We have been eating brown rice regularly for the past few years. I have made few recipes by replacing white rice with brown rice and liked it so much. I made this brown rice idly last week and it was a hit.

This is for BM #48 Week 3 day 2 under the theme ‘Nasta time’  .

Ingredients

Brown rice – 2 cups

Whole urad dhal – ½ cup

Salt – as required (I always use coarse sea salt)

Fenugreek seeds – handful (optional) – soak it with urad dhal

Method

Wash brown rice and urad dhal and soak in water for 4-5 hours. Grind them to a smooth batter like the usual idly batter. Add salt and allow it to ferment (I usually grind the batter in the evening and leave it till next day morning)

Grease the idly plates with little oil and pour the small ladle of batter in the idly plates and steam for 10-12 mins. Remove it and serve it hot with chutney or sambar or idly podi

I served it with Coriander chutney.

Note:

If you take the idly batter from refrigerator, take the required quantity and leave it outside for 30 mins before preparation.

For idly – Do not add water to make the batter thin. For dosa, you add water to make a thin batter.

If the weather is cold, you can keep the batter in the oven with light turned on, otherwise you can keep it outside for fermentation.

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Instant Ragi Dosa

This dosa is for BM#48 , Week 3 , day 1 for the theme ’Nasta time’. Week days are usually so busy and crazy and when I don’t grind the regular idly/dosa batter , I usually make instant dosas.
For regular ragi dosa , I grind urad dhal and mix with ragi flour and ferment it. This recipe does not require any fermentation and is easy to make.
Ingredients
Ragi flour – 1 cup
Rava (sooji )– 1/2 cup ( I actually used chiroti rava )
cumin seeds – 1 tsp
salt – based on taste
buttermilk or water – as needed.
onions – 1/4 cup chopped ( optional ) – I did not add it
green chilli – 1 small chopped - ( optional ) – I did not add it
Method
Mix ragi flour , rava , cumin seeds , salt and make a thin batter using buttermilk or water and leave it aside for 15 – 30 mins
Heat the dosa pan. Pour the ladle of batter in pan and quickly spread the dosa. Add little oil on the sides and top and once cooked flip it to the other side . Remove the dosa once it is crisp and browned.
Serve with chutney or podi. I served it with onion/tomato chutney and thengai milagai podi.

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Baked French Fries

For the week 1 day 3 of BM #48 , I had several recipes in my mind but could not make as everyone was sick at home.  I decided to keep it so simple and baked it after coming back from work. Both my kids loved it and ate it with ketchup.
French fries are usually served hot along with lunch or dinner or as a snack  by itself and is popular all over the world , but it is originated from Belgium.
Ingredients
Russet potatoes – 2
Olive oil – 1.5 tbsp
salt – based on taste
pepper – based on taste
Method
Cut the potatoes lengthwise into thin slices ( I did not peel the outer skin ) and cover it with cold water. After 10—15 mins pat dry them to remove the moisture on a paper towel. In a bowl , mix olive oil , salt and pepper.
Meanwhile pre heat the oven to 400 F. Add the potatoes to olive oil mixture and toss it well. Line up the potatoes in a baking pan in a single layer and bake for about 20- 25 mins. Flip the fries for every 10 mins and bake it until golden brown.
Serve it immediately. You can add other seasonings if needed ( chili powder , cumin , dried basil powder  or parmesan cheese )

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Roasted Cauliflower and Potato Bisque

 

For the Week 1 day 2 BM#48 , on 1 cuisine 3 dishes ( I chose French cuisine ) , I prepared roasted cauliflower and potato Bisque  for dinner tonight. Bisque is a highly seasoned soup and belong to French origin.

 Ingredients

Cauliflower – 1 big head

potato – 1 big

garlic cloves – 6 to 7

onion – 1 big

freshly ground pepper – 2 to 3 tsp ( adjust to taste )

salt – 1 1/2 tsp ( adjust to taste )

fresh basil leaves –  handful

Olive oil – 4 tbsp

milk  - 1 cup ( I used 2 % )

vegetable stock or water -  3 cups

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Cut cauliflower and potato into 2 inch florets. Toss them with little salt , pepper and oil and arrange them in the aluminum foil in single layer and bake for about 20- 25 mins until it is golden brown.

Mean while heat a large Dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot and saute the onions and garlic in olive oil. Add the vegetable stock , milk and bring to boil. Add the caulflower , potato mixture and basil leaves. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 – 15 mins.Use the immersion blender and puree the soup , add the remaining salt and required pepper and remove from heat. Serve it hot with a bread in the side.

It was a perfect dinner for a cold weather. Both my kids loved it.

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Whole Wheat Waffles

Wish you all a happy new year 2015! This is the first time I am joining the Blogging Marathon and am excited to be a part of this. I am hoping this would motivate me to blog more and cook different foods. For the blogging marathon of 48th edition , I have chosen 1 cuisine and 3 dishes and decided to cook on French Cuisine. Waffles are eaten throughout everywhere and originated from French/Dutch. In US , it is commonly called as ‘Belgian Waffles’
I purchased the waffle maker during the Thanks giving holidays and tried it couple of times . I followed the basic recipe from the booklet which was provided for the first time and then browsed through the recipe from different sites . I finally made it eggless for our breakfast.
Ingredients
Whole wheat flour – 1 cup
Baking powder – 1.5 tsp
salt – a pinch
sugar – 2 tbsp.( I use brown sugar )
vegetable oil – 1 /4 cup
milk  - 3/4 cup
flaxmeal – 1 tbsp
water – 3 tbsp
vanilla extract – 1 tsp.
Method
In a small bowl add the flaxmeal with water and beat well. In another bowl , add all the dry ingredients and thoroughly mix. Now add the wet ingredients one by one and stir it continuously so that there are no lumps and keep it aside.
in the mean while , Preheat the waffle maker. Once it is ready , brush it with little oil and pour mix on the waffle iron and cook it until golden brown ( Mine had a setting to choose little brown – dark brown )
Once ready , take out an serve it based on your choice I served it with strawberries / blueberries / whipped cream with chocolate syrup. Kids really enjoyed it..

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