Quick and Easy Quesadillas

Quesadillas are a great quick fix recipe, it is easy, simple and really quick to make. You can pretty much add any ingredient to the filling as per your taste or depending on the leftovers in your fridge and with the right amount of seasoning there's nothing much that can go wrong with this one! Here's my version, hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients: 

2 green chilies finely chopped

1 capsicum finely chopped
1 large onion finely chopped

1 cup boiled sweet corn kernels

1-2 jalapenos finely chopped

1 cup shredded cheese

Black pepper powder as per taste

Salt as per taste

1 tsp red chili flakes

1 tsp mixed herbs

Butter for sauteing and frying

Method:

1.    Heat some butter in a wok, add to it the chopped green chilies and sauté for a few seconds, next add the onions and sauté till soft and pink, next add to it the chopped capsicum, boiled corn, chopped jalapenos, sauté till the capsicum is cooked.

2.    Now add the black pepper powder, salt, chili flakes & herbs to the mixture and mix well. Lastly add the shredded cheese, mix well and turn off the flame. The cheese should have melted by now and the mixture will be gooey.

3.    Next take the tortilla, spread the mixture on one half of the tortilla and place the other half on top of it to make a semi circle. Heat a pan, smear butter on both sides of the tortilla and cooks it till it browns lightly and crisps. Cut the quesadillas into triangles and serve with some sour cream or salsa.

Tips:

 I’ve used ready-made tortillas that are easily available in the markets; however you can make your own tortilla as well. You can either mix whole wheat flour, maize flour or white flour or use any one of the flour to make the tortillas. Sometimes I also use like to use leftover parathas or chapattis. 

Dum Aloo

Me without potatoes is like sneakers without laces :D Potatoes rank among the highest in my list of foods and ingredients that I can’t imagine my life without! Almost ever subji that I eat has to have potato in it, like aloo-gobi, aloo-pyaaz, aloo-baigan, aloo-capsicum, aloo-choli and the list goes on.  

However I choose my husband over my love for potatoes and married a ‘Jain’ guy and now having potatoes at home has become a rarity! So whenever I drop by at my mom’s place for my experiments with food, potatoes top the list of must-add ingredients and so last week I decided to indulge in some Dum Aloo, the gorgeous baby potatoes in a rich brown gravy with the tantalizing aroma of spices is a must try for all potato lovers! Hope you enjoy this!

Ingredients:

8-10 baby potatoes, peeled, boiled and cut into halves

2 large onions grinded

2 tomatoes pureed

8-9 whole cashews soaked in water and grinded into a fine paste  

7-8 cloves of garlic grinded

1-2 curry leaves

1 dried red chilly

½ tsp black cumin and mustard seeds

 1 tsp ginger and green chilli paste

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp garam masala powder

½ tsp dried kasuri methi

½ tsp turmeric powder  

Salt as per taste

1 tsp cream and a small handful of coriander leaves for garnishing

Oil 

Method:

1.    Heat about 3-4 tbsp of oil in a wok, then add the curry leaves, dried red chilly, cumin and mustard seeds, a pinch of hing, ginger and green chilli paste, once the seeds crackle add the grinded onion and garlic paste to it.

2.    It is really important to fry the onion paste till it turns brownish and the oil starts separating. Once that happens, add to the paste 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp red chilli powder, ½ tsp turmeric powder, salt as per taste and sauté for about two minutes.

3.    Next add the pureed tomatoes to the gravy and let it cook till the oil separates again. Make sure that you stir it frequently so that the gravy doesn’t burn and stick to the base. Once the oil separates, add the cashew paste to it and again cook till the oil separates

4.    Next add the baby potatoes to the gravy, gently mix so that the potatoes get nicely coated with the gravy. Let it cook for about 5 minutes. Next add about 2 cups of water to the gravy, then add the garam masala powder and kasuri methi to it, mix well. Let it simmer till the gravy gets thickened to your desired consistency.

5.    Once cooked, turn off the heat, add about 1 tsp cream and garnish with coriander leaves. Relish with some parathas or jeera rice!

Spring Rolls

Spring rolls are an all time favourite! It’s a good party starter, as the rolls can be prepared beforehand and be frozen, you will just need to fry them before serving it. Spring roll wrappers are easily available in the markets so you can even skip making your own dough and sheets part. A lot of variations can be done in the stuffing of the spring rolls, as per your preference, you can even bake your spring rolls instead of frying. Here I’ve made simple veggie spring rolls, hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients:

1 cup of all-purpose flour

½ cup milk

½ a cabbage shredded

1 carrot shredded

1 large onion thinly sliced

1 green bell pepper thinly sliced

7-8 cloves of garlic minced

1 tsp ginger and green chilli paste

1 tsp Ajino Moto (Chinese salt)
1-2 tsp soya sauce

Salt as per taste

Black pepper powder as per taste

Oil 

Method:

1.    Start by preparing the dough. In a bowl take 1 cup of flour and about half a cup of milk for binding, add to it about 1 tsp of oil and salt as per taste. Bind the dough nicely; the dough shouldn’t be too soft or too hard. Cover it with a wet cloth and keep aside.

2.    Now for the stuffing, take a wok, add to it about 1-2 tbsp of oil, add the minced garlic, ginger and green chilli paste, sauté for a few seconds and then add the sliced onions & bell peppers sauté for a minute, next add the shredded cabbage & carrot. Keep the wok on a high flame so that the veggies get cooked but also retain its crunch, stir continuously to avoid the veggies from burning.

3.    Once the veggies are cooked, add to it salt and black pepper powder as per taste, 1 tsp of Chinese salt and about 1-2 tsp of soya sauce, mix well and then keep the mixture aside for cooling.

4.    Now divide the dough in equal parts, roll out one part of the dough into a flat thin chapatti, cut out the edges of the thin chapatti to give it a square shape. Place about a tbsp of the veggie stuffing in the centre of the square dough sheet, dab some water on the edges, start by folding from the top edge and roll tightly, seal the side edges and press the edges with a fork.  Keep the rolls covered with a wet cloth.

5.    Once all the rolls are ready, heat some oil in a wok, fry the rolls till they turn golden brown. Place the rolls on a kitchen roll, cut into two and serve!

Quick Veg Pulao

Most people are becoming extremely cautious of the food choices that they make and a major leap that calorie conscious people are making is the shift from white rice to brown rice. White rice is basically the refined form of brown rice, in brown rice only the outer husk is removed whereas in white rice the husk, barn and all layers are removed leaving only the endosperm behind. So obviously brown rice is the healthier choice as compared to white rice as the refining process results into nutritional loss.  

I tried looking up the internet to get some idea on whether really is there any major difference between brown and white rice and it seems a lot of experts/health sites etc have very contrasting views on the topic. However from as much I could gather it seems that there isn’t a very major difference between the two specially if your bowl of rice is accompanied with a bowl of veggies or dals etc. even otherwise even though brown rice has a higher nutrient content it seems there isn’t an alarming difference between the calorie contents of brown and white rice.

For foodies like me who do not mind choosing the less healthy options by giving taste a priority would agree that all that said, white rice is more flavoursome in the sense that it blends with and absorbs other flavours more easily. Whereas brown rice needs more cooking time and tends to be chewy and nutty, also it has a limited shelf life as compared to white rice. On days when I am feeling extremely guilty for not being a calorie conscious person I turn to brown rice but otherwise I use white rice just like I’ve done for my easy peasy veg pulav, which is a very simple homely recipe, with mild flavours.

Ingredients:

2 cups boiled rice (preferably long grain rice)

1 medium size carrot diced finely

1 large onion diced finely (or spring onion with its greens)

1 cup finely diced beans

1 capsicum diced finely

1 pinch of cumin seeds

4 - 5 cloves of garlic finely chopped

1 - ½ tsp ginger and green chilli paste

1- 1 ½ tsp tandoori masala

Salt as per taste

1 pinch turmeric powder

Oil/butter

6-7 cashews and raisins   

Coriander for garnish 

Method:

1.    Begin with heating about 1 ½ tbsp oil or butter in a wok. Once the oil is heated add the cumin seeds and a pinch of hing (asafoetida). Then add the finely chopped garlic and the diced onions. Once the onion is pinkish and slightly softened, add the ginger and green chilli paste to it.

2.    Next add the finely diced beans, capsicum and carrots, let them cook through, once all the veggies are cooked nicely, lower the flame and add the boiled rice to it and at the same time add salt, tandoori masala and turmeric powder to it. Also add the cashews and raisins.

3.    Gently mix all the veggies, rice and masalas so as to not break or mash the boiled rice. Let it cook for about 2 minutes. Next garnish it with some coriander and cashews and that’s it!  

Corn Cheese Capsicum Sandwich

If you are planning to eat healthy then the next time you pick up a loaf of multi-grain bread, stop for a moment and read the contents carefully, unless it mentions “whole” grains or “100 % whole grains” it’s not really healthy.

Multi-grain bread basically means bread made with a combination of 5 or more different types of grains like say corn meal, oat, wheat, rye, white flour etc. However in spite of it being multi-grain it may not be as healthy as whole-wheat bread unless it has been made with whole-grains. Firstly because it consist of white flour and secondly because even if it consists multiple grains all the grains are refined or processed which reduces the fibre and other nutrient content of the grains making it a less feasible option for healthy eating.

As opposed to that whole-wheat bread is a much healthier option because it’s made up of whole-wheat grains i.e. the entire unrefined wheat grain with its endosperm, bran and germ therefore making it very rich in fibre, protein and other nutrients.

So the next time you are looking for healthy options, opt for whole-wheat breads over multi-grain breads unless the label of the multi-grain bread mentions using “whole or 100 % whole” grains.

Having said this, the recipe of corn-cheese-capsicum sandwich is anything but healthy, as it’s fully loaded with cheese, butter and bread (unless you are using whole grain bread) but it’s a must-try for all cheese lovers who like to indulge with food healthy or not.

Ingredients:

Slices of bread (white/whole wheat/multigrain)
1 large capsicum diced finely
1 cup boiled sweet corns kernels 
1 1/2 cup grated cheese
2 green chillies finely chopped
1 tsp red chilli flakes
1 tsp black pepper powder
1 tsp oregano/mixed herb powder
Butter 
Salt to taste
Coriander chutney

Method:

1.    Begin with making the cheese paste. For that take a mixer-grinder. Throw in the grated cheese, 1 dollop of butter and about 2 tsp of milk. Grind the mixture till a thick paste is formed.

2.    Take a bowl, add the cheese paste, Diced capsicum, boiled corn, finely chopped green chillies, chilli flakes, black pepper powder, oregano and salt. Mix well.

3.    The filling for your sandwich is ready.

4.   Now simply take a slice of bread and apply coriander chutney on one slice and butter on another slice. Thereafter apply evenly a big spoonful of the cheese mix on the slice with butter on it, place the slice with chutney on top of it and grill in a sandwich maker. Try it with some thousand island dressing!

Homemade Sizzler

Being busy doesn't necessarily mean being productive but it surely does involve being mentally fatigued and it is after a week full of days where I juggle between court rooms, rushing to office, managing overenthusiastic clients, demanding seniors and piled up work of all-is-important and all-cases-are-urgent-files that when I finally approach the weekend, all I crave for is a day of doing absolutely nothing. However the one thing with which I don’t mind busying myself on such weekends is – Cooking! Although I end up eating a lot of extra calories the pleasure that it gives me is immeasurable just like my BMI :D

 So one such weekend I decided to treat myself to an extra-large size sizzler! Though it is time consuming but when the aroma of sautés and burnt butter fills up your kitchen you know that all the elaborate preparation are absolutely worth it!

For me sizzlers are a combination of all the things that I love to eat, potato wedges, sautéed veggies, the scrumptious veggie cutlet, pastas and sauce and that is what I have done in this recipe (refer pictures). I've combined all the things that I love to eat. You could substitute them with garlic sauce noodles, rice and Manchurian, or a steak or satay and your choice of stir fried veggies, you can add mashed potato and peas if you aren't a fries fan, a side salad, spaghetti instead of macaroni, stuffed capsicums or tomatoes, cottage cheese with gravy, or maybe you can have a Mexican version with nachos, tacos, bean salads and rice. The list of variations is endless! For now I hope you enjoy my version of made-to-choice sizzler J

It took me quite some time, lots of cups of coffee and patience to pen down this five-in-one recipe as it has a lot of elements to it, hope it’s worth the amount of trouble and caffeine. Hearty Cooking J

For the stir fried veggies:

Ingredients:

1 cup of baby corn, par-boiled carrots, green beans, red and yellow bell peppers cut in thick juliennes

1 ½ tbsp butter

Salt and pepper as per taste

1 small cup of broccoli, cauliflower florets and baby onions and baby tomatoes (optional)

Method:

1.    Melt some butter in a thick bottomed pan and then add all the veggies and sauté till all the veggies have softened but still maintain their crunch.

2.    Add some salt and pepper as per taste.

For the veggie cutlet:

Ingredients:

2 cups boiled and mashed potato (4-5 potatoes)

1 cup very finely chopped/grated boiled veggies (carrot, beans, peas)

A small handful of some chopped coriander

½ - 1 tbsp cornflour

1 cup breadcrumbs

1 pinch of turmeric powder

1 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp ginger and green chilli paste

1 tsp minced garlic (optional)

1 tsp garam masala

 Salt to taste

Oil for frying

Method:

1.    In a bowl add the mashed potato, chopped/grated veggies, all the masalas  ginger chilli paste and minced garlic. Mix all the ingredients uniformly.  

2.    Now once the mixture is ready, divide the same in equal portions and make medium sized round flatten cutlets out of it or you can give it an oval shape like I have done for my sizzler.

3.    Take a flat bowl and pour in some water and the cornflour to make a thin paste of the cornflour and take another flat bowl and put in the breadcrumbs in it.

4.    Now carefully drop the cutlets in the cornflour paste, coat it well and then drop it in the bowl with the breadcrumbs, make sure that the breadcrumbs get applied on all sides of the cutlet.

5.    After all the cutlets are nicely coated with the cornflour paste and the breadcrumbs, turn on the flame and in pour in some oil in a wok.

6.    Carefully deep fry all the cutlets till they turn golden brown and drain out the excess oil on a tissue paper.

 Tips:

ü  In order to get crispy breadcrumbs what you can do is first toast the breads in a toaster or an oven and then crumble/grind it.

ü  Do not overmix your potato and veggie mixture or else it will turn sticky.

For the pasta in arrabiata sauce:

Ingredients:

1 – 1 ½ cup penne pasta

5-6 medium sized tomatoes

1 medium sized onion diced  

5-6 cloves garlic finely chopped

1 tsp ginger and green chilli paste

1 tsp red chilli powder

Salt as per taste

Oregano, mixed herbs and red chilli flakes

Some Oil (vegetable/olive)

1 tsp sugar

Method:

1.    Begin the blanching of the tomatoes by cutting an ‘X’ on the bottom of the tomatoes skin. Heat some water in a pan, add the tomatoes into the water once it starts to boil.

2.    After about 5 minutes the skin of the tomatoes will start to loosen and peel, once that starts remove the tomatoes from the pan and immerse into ice water for about two minutes to stop the cooking process. Peel off the skin of the tomatoes and cut them horizontally into two halves and scoop out the seeds. Thereafter roughly chop the tomatoes.  Puree 1/3 of the chopped tomatoes and leave the rest as it is.

3.    Simultaneously boil some water in a stockpot, add 1 tsp of salt to it. Once the water starts boiling add the pasta to it. Let it cook for about 10 minutes, stir occasionally. Check if the pasta is cooked by tasting it. Once cooked, drain out all the water with a colander pour about a tbsp of butter/oil on the pasta, shale well and put aside so that the pasta doesn’t stick to each other.

4.    Now heat some oil in a wok, add the chopped garlic, sauté for a while and then add the diced onions to it, sauté till softened. Add the ginger-chilli paste, stir.

5.    Now add the diced tomatoes to it, stir. Then add the pureed tomatoes, red chilli powder, salt and sugar and let it cook till the tomatoes gain a saucy consistency.

6.    Once the sauce is ready add the red chilli flakes, oregano and mixed herbs to it. Now throw in the pasta, mix gently and garnish with oregano.

For the Baked Macaroni:

Ingredients:

1 cup macaroni

500 ml Milk

2-3 tsp All purpose flour

1 tbsp Butter

½ tsp Sugar

½ cup Cheese

Salt and black pepper powder as per taste

Method:

1.    For the white sauce: mildly heat up a thick–bottomed pan, add the butter and let it melt. Once the butter is melted add flour to it and whisk it well (do not let the flour brown).

2.    Once the butter and flour is whisked properly and forms into a smooth thick paste, start to add the milk slowly (preferably your milk should be warm). Stir the milk and the mixture nicely till no lumps remain.

3.    Once the milk is added whisk the mixture and dissolve all the lumps that may get formed. Use an electronic whisk for great results. Once the sauce is smooth, let it simmer on medium heat to thicken to your desired consistency. Next add some salt to taste, some pepper to taste as well, about ½ tsp sugar.

4.    Now cook the macaroni pasta. Cook the pasta as shown in the recipe of pasta in arrabiata sauce. Once the macaroni is cooked pour it into the white sauce and mix gently.

5.    Now take an oven proof bowl. Pour the macaroni in white sauce in it and top with some grated cheese. You can also add some canned pineapple to it if you desire.

6.    Bake in the oven for about 5-10 minutes till the cheese turns golden brown.

For the potato wedges:

Ingredients:

2-3 par boiled potatoes cut into thick wedges

some Salt, black salt, red chilli powder & black pepper powder, as per taste

Method:

1.    Cut the potatoes into thick wedges and place in a bowl of cold water.

2.    Now heat some oil in a wok, once the oil is hot, fry the potato wadges in it till golden brown.

3.    Now throw in all the spices in a bowl and mix it up. You can also add some garlic powder to it.

4.    Take the wedges out of the wok and drain the excess oil on a tissue paper, sprinkle the spice mix on it. And that’s it!

The Final Plating:

ü  Take a sizzler plate, in case if you don’t have one then use a large flat bottomed frying pan, place some cabbage leaves on it, nicely arrange the sautéed veggies, potato wedges, veggie cutlets and pastas on it.

ü  If you want your home made sizzler to sizzle, you’ll have to use a hot iron plate (sizzler plates are easily available in the markets). Heat up the iron plate till very hot, plate the dishes on a cabbage leave and then put a blob of butter on the really hot iron plate and that should make it sizzle.

ü  Be really careful so as to not burn your fingers! And in case you do, apply some white toothpaste on the burns, it’s a quick healer. 

Paneer Tikka Skewers

One very basic thing that I kept getting confused about was the difference between tablespoon and teaspoon. Understanding the difference between the two is very essential, especially for baking etc. The standard measure is that a tablespoon measures about 15mm and a teaspoon measures about 5 mm, to put it simply one tablespoon equals to three teaspoons. Hope this helps J 

Well coming back to the Tandoori paneer tikkas now, paneer tikka is an all time favourite of most people who love paneer and have a palate for Indian spices. I learnt about this recipe in a youtube video and added my bit to it, I’ve prepared my paneer tikkas on a flat non-stick tawa instead of a tandoor or grill, ofcourse there is something innately different about cooking tikkas on a tandoor but this preparation tastes just as good.

Ingredients:

1 cup cubes of paneer of about 1 inch in size

1 cup diced capsicum of about 1 inch in size

1 cup diced onions of about 1 inch in size

2 tbsp gram flour

1 tbsp corn flour

1 tbsp garlic paste

1 tbsp ginger and green chilli paste

1 tsp red chilli powder

2-3 tsp tandoori masala

Juice of 1 medium sized lemon

Salt to taste, and oil.

You will also need skewers and cling film.

Method:

1.   Marination - Take a bowl and throw in the gram flour, corn flour, garlic paste, ginger and green chilli paste, red chilli, salt, tandoori masala, lemon juice and about 1 tbsp water and one tbsp of oil.

2.    Mix all the ingredients well enough to form a smooth thick paste (not too thick) make sure no lumps remain.

3.   Once the marination is ready, add to it the paneer cubes, be very gentle so as to not crumble the paneer; add the diced capsicum, tomatoes and onion. Once all the dices are coated nicely with marination, cover the bowl with a cling film and put it in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes.

4.   Now take the marinated mixture and skewers the paneer, onion, tomato and capsicum alternating between one-one dice of each.

5.    Heat up a flat non-stick pan and spray some oil over it. Then put the skewers on it, spray some oil over it and grill the skewers from all four sides.

6.    Serve them with coriander and mint chutney and Relish!

Tips:

 You can always use toothpicks and make mini paneer tikka skewers.

 It’s very essential to cling film your marination and then refrigerate it. Also let it be outside the fridge for a while before grilling it or else I’ve noticed that the paneer tikkas tend to get a bit too dry.