Bread cigars

Today's dish was a creativity flowing in my kitchen and hopefully it was moulded  pretty good which i never thought it would.I had a lunch potluck  party with some of my blogger friends a week back and the starters were on me so i decided to try and innovate a  new dish ,had babycorns at home so i wanted to try something with them,i had hardly used babycorn all this while and thought why not give it a try with these little beauties.Bread and babycorn are so common and vibrant ingredients that anyone can create their own personal best out of it.I reckon you can even try baking the bread rolls instead of frying and that would be more healthier ,on the other note one can use brown breads instead of white bread for the healthy variation.Deep frying is always so luxurious method and hence without a thought i jumped over to fry these cigars :D .I made some paste salad for the potluck as well which is my next post,see you then,have a nice weekened people .

approx for 3-4 ppl
ingredients :
10-12 slices of sandwhich bread
10-12 babycorns ( slice ,sprinkle salt and ltl garam masala on the babycorns )
1/2 cup plain flour ( maida )
garam masala to taste
1 cup shredded cheese
salt to taste
for the spread :
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
3 tbsp chilli garlic paste ( i used ready made red chilli garlic paste )
black pepper to taste
method :
Trim the edges ( the brown parts ) of the bread slices.Make the spread by mixing the the tomato ketchup ,chilli garlic paste ,a pinch of salt and pepper .Steam the bread slices and roll them with a roller pin to flatten them ,spread a tbsp of sauce - paste mixture all over one side,spread some cheese all over,place a slice babycorn in one end and start rolling the bread  like a cigar or a pipe .Mix plain flour with very little water to make a medium thick paste . Dip the bread rolls in the flour paste and deep fry till golden brown in colour .Drain on the paper towel and serve hot with ketch up or chilli sauce.

mangode ( green split lentil fritters )

Mangode are very popular snack in Northern parts of India ,its made up of green split lentils and yellow grams,they are very crisp and lip-smacking fritters .Perfect with tea/coffee ,can warm you up easily in this foggy freezing weather.My family really loved this crispies in this comforting cold month.These fritters are kinda simple to make with our regular ingredients and are very inviting .One of my friends made these during our gals potluck ,she spiced up our gathering with these yummy and irresistible munchies as a starter .Thanx a bunch to my friend Poonam for this lovely recipe,i made this quite a few times now but i am posting it late as i didnt had good pic of it,we always pounce upon the mangode as soon as i fry them and hence till now didnt had enough chance to plate it up !

ingredients :
1 cup green split lentils ( hare chilke wali moong dal )
2 tbsp yellow grams (chana dal)
1 tbsp corriander seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
2 tbsp finely chopped onions
2 tsps grated ginger
2-3 finely chopped green chillies ( add acc to your taste )
1 -2 tsps  red chilli pwd ( adjust acc to your taste )
salt to taste
handful of corriander leaves finely chopped
oil for deep frying
method :
Wash and soak the green split lentils and yellow gram together for 3-4 hrs .Strain the water and grind both the lentils together to a coarse form in to a grinder,if required add couple of spoons of water,the less water used the more crisp will be the fritters so try using less water.Add rest of the ingredients except oil and mix well.Heat oil in deep pan ,take a spoonful  of mixture and slide into the hot oil and fry on medium flame till dark in colour and crisp .Serve hot with ketchup .

Poha cutlets ( rice flakes fritters )

These poha cutlets are one of my hubby's favourite snacks and it has to be because this recipe is my mom in law's recipe ,this poha cutlets are very common tea-time snacks but this one is in my mom in law's method and ingredients.It is so very crispy,crunchy and delicious finger food,perfect for this freezing weather .I made them with my gulab jamuns to celeberate my blog's success .This dish is very simple with few everyday ingredients which makes it more easier and handy .

method :
1 cup poha (beatened rice flakes, medium or thin variety )
2 boiled potatoes  OR 3-4 bread slices ( i used potatoes )
1-2 finely chopped green chillies
2 tbsp finely chopped onions
1/4 cup besan ( gram flour )
2 tsps red chilli pwd ( pls adjust to ur taste )
salt to taste
lemon juice to taste
handful of chopped cilantro
oil for deep frying
method :
Wash poha under cold running water ,strain and keep it aside for 10-15 mins.Meanwhile,chop onions ,green chillies and cilantro finely.Crumple and mash the poha with your hands,add mashed boiled potato ,besan ,chillies,ilantro,salt,red chilli pwd and lemon juice.If adding bread slices instead of potatoes,then just dip them in water and squeeze them completely and mash it with your hands .Mix everything together and make walnut size balls out of it and give desired shapes.Deep fry in hot oil on medium heat till golden brown in colour.Serve hot with ketchup or green corriander chutney.

cheese and cheese croquettes

I had made these cottage cheese( paneer) &  mozerella cheese croquettes/cutlets/fritters long back ,i suppose in october 2010 month for my daughter's kinder friends .The oct 2010 month was quite busy and exciting as i was shopping and packing for my india trip ,so was not able to post ,but now its high time and have thought of starting my new year blogging with some of my favourite recipes which are lying in my drafts.This recipe is picked up from pari,one of my fav bloggers ,i luv her photography skills too and had bookmarked many of her recipes,this is one of them and is my personal favourite .Thanx pari for sharing such beautiful and innovative recipes.The original recipe is here,i had sticked to the recipe and so just linking back to the original one.Am linking this to the bookmarked recipes-every tuesday event ,started by priya and co-hosted by aipi.

Flaky Puff Pizza ...Domino's style ;-)

Have u ever been to Domino's recently and had their new vegeroma,square flaky puff pizzas ??If not then u should definately try once,i really liked it as it was very simple , light and at one glance you would know that u can make this at home..trust me this is the simplest of all and more over very instant one ,if  you have any unexpected gusts at home u can really try this one ,it would be a change over with your ready rolled store bought puff sheets ,this was my first attempt hence it was not that neat but dont go by pictures,the taste was simply awesome and delectable,it was really difficult for me to take these many pics as we all wanted to eat right away,straight from the oven and didnt wanted to waste a single minute on taking pics and plating it up :)).

makes 2 thin puff pizzas

ingredients :

2 ready store bought puff pastry sheets

1onion chopped

1 tomato chopped

8-9 jalepenos

8-9 pitted olives

1-1/2 cup shredded mozerella cheese

4 tbsp pizza sauce /tomato sauce ( i used store bought pizza sauce )

dried oregeno/pizza topper for taste

salt and black pepper pwd to taste

method :

Thaw the pastry sheets,spread the pizza sauce on one side.Preheat the oven at 200c.Spread shredded cheese,chopped onions,tomatoes,jalepenos,olives on to it,sprinkle some pizza topper or oregeno,salt and pepper and place it on a greased baking tray.Fold around 1/2 inch towards inside of the sheet from all the sides and place the baking tray in the preheated oven for about 10-12 mins or till the cheese is melted and the puff sheet is golden brown in colour,remove from the oven and cut into desired sizes and serve immediately.

pls note :

While baking the puff sheet might puff up (blow up ) from centre but dont worry once it is out of the oven it will settle down back.

You can make your own topping with ur fav veggies so go ahead and make your own flaky puff pizza .

falafels

Falafels are basically a very common middle eastern food made up of chickpeas which is the key ingredient in this dish,its a very healthy dish ,it is not too oily when deep fried and tastes best with the hummus dip and in pita bread/tortillas as wraps.I had tasted this first time when i was in dubai for a holiday ,3 yrs back and after that here in melbourne,now its one of our  common favourite during luncheon ,but it was long we had it now and so decided to give it a try on my own and it turned out super delicious and i wont exaggerate but according to my dear hubby AJ, he said he would now prefer eating home made falafels anytime :)),coming soon my home made hummus dip recipe so stay tuned guys ;-)

makes 25-28 falafels

ingredients for falafel :

2 cups chickpeas

4-5 garlic cloves

1 cup chopped  parsely

2-3 tspn red chilli pwd

2 tsp corriander pwd

2 tsp cumin pwd

1/4 cup plain flour/maida

2 tbsp olive oil

salt to taste
oil for deep frying

method :

Wash and soak chickpeas,pressure cook till tender,strain the water,add rest of the  ingredients except plain flour and crush in mixer into coarse paste.Add plain flour and mix well. Make small, walnut size balls,slightly flattened them and deep fry in hot oil on medium flame.

makes 4 wraps 

ingredients for falafel wraps :

4 tortillas or pita bread/pita pockets ( store bought/home made )

12 falafels

1 cup hummus

shredded lettuce as per required

few onion slices

tomato ketch up

mix salads of your choice ( cucumers,tomatoes etc )

method : 

Heat tortillas for few seconds both the sides on a non stick pan,spread generously around 2-3 tbsp of hummus all over the tortilla ,place 3 falafels in the centre of the tortilla ,slightly pressed through your palms ,squeeze some tomato ketchup ,throw some salads,lettuces,onions on it and wrap it up,fold it like rolls and Njoy eating immediately.
Sending this to nithu for guest hosting CWF - LB : CHICKPEAS ,an event by Kiran.

Beetroot ,rocket and feta cheese bruschetta

Beetroot ,rocket leaves and feta cheese,this unique combination and topping on italian bruschetta was very wonderful and the best appetizer i ever had till date,trust me,you may definately not try at once hearing the wierd combo,but one should definately go for this,you will surely ask for some more,also if you dont have french/italian bread slices for your bruschetta ,try using this topping on your normal sandwhich bread slice or can have it on its own as a salad,beetroot and rocket leaves combination is so fresh and healthy.I would like to thank my friend Ramya for sharing this healthy,beautiful and gorgeous appetizer ,its been more then a month now,when she made for our family potluck as an appetizer and that day itself i took the recipe from her and since then i wanted to make it immediately.

makes 4 slices of bruschetta (2 ppl)
ingredients :
4 baguette slices
1 large beetrrot ,peeled and chopped into small cubes
1/4 th cup of roughly broken feta cheese ( i used lemnos brand )
handful of fresh rocket leaves
2 tsp garlic paste mix in 2-3 tsps of olive oil
salt to taste
black pepper pwd to taste
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
method :
Heat olive oil,add beetroot cubes and saute repeatedly by jerking the pan till tender(it may take some time ).Brush the baguette slices with garlic and olive oil mix and toast in hot oven for 5-6 mins.Once the beetroot are sauteed,add rocket leaves,pepper pwd and salt .Spread some beetroot mix on toasted baguette slices and top it with some crumpled feta cheese and serve immediately.
pls note :
pls take care when using salt as feta cheese is very salty and u may need to add  less salt accordingly in beetroot.
Sending this to the following events :
1.priya for her event bookmarked recipes-every tuesday ,now co-hosting aipi of usmasala.
2.akila for her event the dish name starts with : B
3.priya for hosting this month's healing foods-beetroot ,an event by siri.

garlic rolls

Exactly two weeks back i was  blogging as usual and suddenly i revcd a comment on one of my posts by ayeesha of taste of pearl city ,  she also became my blog's follower,i immediately  landed up on her blog to thank her and that day itself she had posted these garlic rolls recipe , i was just amazed to see the pics and i immediately bookmarked it.A couple of days back i had made them (but posting now ,had some problems with uploading my pics....finally :D) and to my surprise it came out very good,i always thought iam very bad at baking...but i guess im improving day by day :)..and credit definately goes to all my fellow bloggers,whose recipes im trying and tasting .I was very happy to see the outcome,it looked beautiful and tasted divine,we three luv garlic bread very much and often we get it from super markets and bake them at home for our dinner and from now on i can make them at home ..yay !  !Thank you so much Umm Mymoonah for sharing such gorgeous recipe.

approx makes 8-9 (pcs)garlic rolls
ingredients for dough :

3 cups plain flour

1 tbsp active dried yeast

1tsp salt to taste

2tbsp sugar to taste

1 cup warm water ( i used little more )

2 tbsp olive oil

ingredients for garlic spread :

2 tbsp butter

3-4 grated garlic cloves

1/4 tsp salt 

2 tbsp chopped corriander leaves or any italian herb ( i used dried chopped chives and oregeno )

1-2 tbsp sesame seeds

method :

Mix flour,yeast,sugar and salt all together,add water and make a soft dough,add oil and knead till elastic.Cover and keep aside to prove it for 30-40 mins or till double in size.Punch down the dough to remove air and knead again for few mins,divide the dough into 2 ,roll out the one portion of dough into a rectangle shape keeping approx 1/2 inch thick with the help of dry flour.Mix all the ingredients under garlic spread together.Spread around a table spoon of garlic spread all over evenly,start rolling it from one end to other ,cut the roll into 4 equal portions and place into a greased cake tin/loaf tin ,brush the garlic rolls with some milk and spread some more garlic spread on top and sprinkle sesame seeds all over,repeat the same with the other portion of the dough too.Cover the garlic rolls while they are in cake tin / loaf tin and let it rest for 15-20 mins.Bake in a preheated oven for 15-20 mins at 180c or till brown in colour .Remove from the oven and serve hot with soups or salads.
Since im posting it today,on my tuesday, im sending it to priya's bookmarked recipes-every tuesday  event.

chilli paneer

Last friday i had some friends over dinner and my menu was completely chinese cuisine,i had made chilli paneer ,spring rolls,gobi manchurian (gravy),chinese fried rice,chinese haka noodles and to end with fruit custard with icecream,i and my husband ( my daughter just likes noodles ) just freak on chinese food and it was long i made all these stuff so planned a chinese meal ,also was just tired of making north indian food everytime for everyone who comes,specially my husband use to crib about the same cuisine everytime so this time for a change i switched over ;) .So to start with my first post of chinese menu ,here is chilli paneer recipe which i simply cherish and could not resist over eating,this recipe is my dear friend mamta's (verma)one of the famous dishes,its been so many times i had this at her place and also i made many a times before using her ingredients just some measurements are here and there ,otherwise its more or less the same ,i still miss her taste and infact all the food,i luv anything that she cooks ,when she was in US ..maybe 6-7 yrs back she use to write for bawarchi.com and her kaju korma recipe was quite famous but when she moved back to india she stopped writing and got busy in her daughter's schooling ..hats off  to our indian school education who gives so much of burden to young children and above all the competition that makes small kids/children to attempt suicide,its really shameful,but there is no other option and choices i guess ! Newaz,mamta im coming to india soon for this diwali and will definately land on bangalore especially to eat all  food made by you and ofcourse to meet u ;)..oops ..i hope she is not reading this otherwise she will kill me :-)Actually had written this post a couple of days back but was not sure to post as i just have this one picture ,infact have only one each pics of the whole dinner menu as was really in hurry and was busy cooking till last moment as i feel chinese is best when served immediately from the wok..hence could not click and arrange the plates nicely.Just not happy with my clicks this time :(

ingredients :

250 gms paneer,diced

1 cup cornflour

1/2 cup plain flour

1 tsp soya sauce

1 tsp vinegar

1 tsp chilli sauce

2 tbsp ginger garlic green paste

salt to taste

1 tsp sugar 

oil for deep frying

ingredients for the sauce :

1 onion chopped

1/2 capsicum chopped

1/2 cup spring onion ,sliced

1 tsp finely chopped ginger

1 tsp finely chopped garlic

2 tsp finely chopped green chillies ( adjuct acc to your taste )

1 tbsp vinegar

2 tbsp green chilli sauce ( adjust acc to your taste )

1 tbsp tomato ketchup

1 tsp black pepper pwd

1 tsp red chilli pwd

1 tsp sugar

salt to taste

2 tbsp oil

method :

Mix cornflour,plain flour and add little water to make a thick paste (batter),add soya sauce,chilli sauce,vinegar,salt,sugar,ginger-garlic-green chilli paste and mix well.Dip paneer pieces in the batter and coat well with the batter,deep fry on medium flame till brown in colour.Drain on paper napkin and keep aside.

Now prepare the sauce,heat oil on high flame,add garlic,ginger,green chillies,spring onion,onions,capsicum and fry on high for 2 mins,add soya sauce,chilli sauce,red chilli pwd,vinegar,salt,sugar,pepper pwd,tomato ketchup and mix well,lastly add fried paneer pieces and mix well,serve hot.
Sending this and the following recipes to jay's letz relish paneer event.
1.paneer butter masala

2.paneer paratha

3.mughlai paratha

4.paneer bhurji

tofu and eggplant 65 or shall i say tofu and eggplant chilli

I had some leftover tofu and ever since i saw preeti's tofu and mushroom 65 ,i had to made that one but i didnt had any mushroom and saw some thin ,long lebanese eggplant and thought why not give it a try,as wanted to use my tofu that very day or else would have to throw it in rubbish ,and had no time to go out and get mushrooms,i wasnt sure etall that how will it taste with eggplant but still wanted to give it a try and it really turned out superb,more or less the taste was of paneer chilli and we loved eating this as an appetizer ,my daughter enjoyed wating the fried tofu very much ,while making this recipe i was happy as i managed to declutter my fridge by using the sauces and tofu which were quite close  to their expiry dates,sending this over to nupur's BB-4 event.I have used the same recipe just some few changes here and there and also shallow fried in 1/2 cup oil and made the sauce in the remaining leftover oil instead deep frying them.

ingredients for marination :

200 gms  cubed tofu 

1 tbsp corn flour

1 tbsp plain flour / maida

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

1 tsp red chilli pwd

salt to taste

1-2 tbsp water 

 ingredients for the sauce :

2  sliced eggplant ( mushrooms were used in the original recipe )

1 chopped onion

2-3 broken curry leaves

3-4 chopped green chillies ( adjust more or less according to your taste )

1 tsp grated ginger

1 tsp soya sauce

1 tsp red chilli  sauce ( optional,i added though it is not in the actual recipe )

2 tsp vinegar

1 tsp tomato ketchup

1 tsp grated garlic

1 tsp black pepper pwd

pinch of red colour ( i didnt add though it is highly recommended )

salt to taste

1/2 cup oil for frying /oil for deep frying

method :

Cut the tofu in cubes,mix cornflour,plain flour,salt,ginger -garlic paste,red chilli pwd with little water just make a thick paste,add the cubes and dip evenly and keep aside for half an hr. ( i had refrigerate it for half an hr )so that tofu is well marinated.Carefully and gently roll over the tofu in the paste and  fry in a medium flame,just make sure they dont break and strain aside on a paper towel.( i took 1/2 cup oil and shallow fried the tofu cubes and in the remaining leftover oil i made the sauce ,you can deep fry the tofu chunks and can use 1/4th cup oil to make the sauce .)In the remaining oil add cumin seeds,onions,ginger,garlic ,green chillies,curry leaves and fry for few mins.Add the egg plants,vinegar,soya sauce,tomato ketch up and chilli sauce and food colour,mix well and fry for 2 mins or till the eggplant are tender enough.Add tofu,pepper pwd,chilli pwd,salt and mix well,fry for 2-3 mins and serve hot.

baked samosa

Now a days many of my friends are going back to india and settling down there and few are gone for a month's vacation,so all of them have handed me their leftover pantry stuff ,i guess they know that im a big foodie and now that i have started blogging ,i try many new dishes and they were very confident that i would make good use of it rather than wasting and throwing such useful nutritious and expensive stuff ,and so these days my kitchen is full of different kind of mix groceries though in small quantities ,one of my friend gave me her home made maharashtrian kala masala,which is just mind blowing and tastes just perfect,this time when i was making samosas i added this masala and to my surprise they tasted awesomely good .Actually  this masala is very useful and handy while making amti,kala chana,masala bhaat etc,many people still make this at home though its a bit long process and requires umpteen number of spices but let me tell you its worth it,and i was quite lucky to recieve this ready made from my dear friend sheetal ....miss you yaa :(

ingredients : 

2 ready rolled store bought  puff pastry sheets

2 potatoes boiled and cubed

1/2 cup boiled fresh peas or thawed frozen peas soaked in hot water for few mins.

2 tsp home made maharashtrian kala masala ( you can find the recipe here ) or if u dont have it use garam masala instead ( adjust according to your taste )

1/2 tsp turmeric pwd

1 tsp red chilli pwd

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

2-3 broken curry leaves

1/2 tsp amchur pwd / lemon juice to taste

salt to taste 

chopped corriander leaves

2 tsp oil

method :

Heat oil,splutter cumin,curry leaves,add potatoes,peas and all the masalas and mix well.Let it cool down.Thaw the pastry sheets for 5-10 mins,take one sheet and cut in any desired shape ,spoon a potato and peas filling and seal the edges with water ,grease a baking tray and bake in a preheated oven at 200 c for 10-15 mins or until brown in colour ( pls keep an eye as different oven may vary the temp.).I luv using puff sheets in  different shapes ,so i made the filling and tried using it in various shapes ..serve hot with tamarind chutney without any guilt feeling ;)