Another healthy and filling recipe that can be used for dinner or snacks. This one also is really quick and takes less than 30 minutes, can be served with flavored yogurt. Here I made cucumber raita to go with it which add more veggies to the plate.

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Servings: 4

Kitchen instrument: None

Difficulty level: 3/10

Ingredient:

-         4 cups of Mamra (Puffed Rice)

-         1/2 cup chopped bell pepper

-         1/2 cup chopped tomatoes

-         1/2 cup sliced onions (optional)

-         salt per taste

-         2 tsp green chillies chopped

-         1/2 tsp mustard seeds

-         1 tsp curry leaves

-         1 tsp red chilli powder

-         3 tsp oil

-         1/2 tsp turmeric powder

-         1 cup cucumber shred

-         2 cups plain yogurt

-         1/2 cup chopped mint leaves

Preparation:

1.      In a large bowl add Mamra .

2.      Add water until the Mamra is completely covered.

3.      Let them soak for a minute.

4.      Now drain and press to remove access water.

5.      Let it stand in another bowl for 5 minutes.

6.      Heat oil in a pan.

7.      Add mustard seeds and hear them crackle.

8.      Now add curry leaves and vegetables of your choice.

9.      Saute it for 2 minutes.

10. Add salt and other seasonings.

11. Saute it for another 5 minutes.

12. Now add mamra and mix all well.

13. Stir it for couple more minutes.

14. Add 1/2 tsp of lemon juice

15.  Mix well and serve.

16. Garnish with half of the chopped mint leaves.

17. Your Pulav is ready.

18. Now in a bowl, beat yogurt until smooth.

19. Add cucumber and salt per taste.

20. Add some chopped green chillies if you want to add a little kick to it.

21. Garnish with rest of the mint leaves and serve with Pulav.

Tips:

-         Do not soak puffs for more than a minute. Also, drain it completely by pressing them. You can also add vegetables of your choice.

When it is the season of rain showers, corn recipes are the most desired. The normal trend is to make deep fried dumplings made out of corn kernels. We will make small tortillas with corn and plantain mixture and use it as a wrap. It’s just one more way to gets your hungry guests entertained.

Preparation time: 50 minutes

Servings: 2-3

Kitchen instrument: Blender/Food Processor

Difficulty level: 4/10

Ingredient:

-         2 cups of fresh corn kernels

-         2 large plantains

-         1 cup of chickpea flour

-         3 tsp sugar

-         1/2 cup cilantro

-         2 tsp green chilli paste

-         Salt per taste

-         4-5 green chillies

-         Half  green, red and yellow bell pepper

-         1 small carrots

-         1 small tomato

-         4-5 tsp oil

Preparation:

1.      Cook Plantain and Corn separately in Pressure cooker or boiler.

2.      Peel plantain and mash to make paste.

3.      Chop boiled corn in chopper.

4.      In a large mixing bowl, Add mashed plantain, chopped corn, salt, chilli paste , sugar and cilantro.

5.      Mix well and set aside for 5-7 minutes.

6.      Now add chickpea flour and mix well to form dough.

7.      If necessary add water with spoon. Use of spoon is necessary to make sure you don’t put access water.

8.      Now make balls of size of a large lemon.

9.      Using rolling pin a dry flour roll thin tortilla.

10. Heat griddle and grease with oil.

11. Now put the tortilla and grill until golden on both sides.

12. Your tortilla for wrap is ready.

13. Now cut all the vegetables into long strips.

14. Heat a small pan with 1 tsp oil and sauté all the cut vegetables.

15. Sprinkle some salt and sauté for 2-3 minutes.

16. Now place tortillas in a plate and spread some ketchup or chatni of your choice.

17. Place sauted vegetables in the centre, roll the wrap and chow them down.

Tips:

-         If you cud not roll tortilla , another option  is to put the dough balls on the griddle and using fingers tips press on the ball and make a thin layer on the griddle. Grease your fingers while doing this to avoid getting the dough stuck to your fingers.

Topioca Sago – Sabudana is mainly used to make various recipes during Fast. It has high content of starch and protein. Called by various names, “sabudana” is most common. The dish I will be making today will be edible during fast and various food restrictions. I will use plantain, and some nuts and fruits. It can be used for snack or starters.

Preparation time: 50 minutes

Servings: 3-4

Kitchen instrument: Oven

Difficulty level: 4/10

Ingredient:

-         2 large plantains

-         2 cups of raw sabudana

-         2 tsp green chillies

-         1/2 cup cilantro

-         1 tsp ginger paste

-         2 cups o of nuts (peanuts, cashew and almonds)

-         Salt per taste

-         3-4 tsp oil

-          1 tsp black pepper

-         1 cup pomegranate seeds

Preparation:

1.      Wash sabudana  3-4 times.

2.      Soak in water for 4-5 hours

3.      Boil plantains.

4.      Mash and make a paste.

5.      Add sabudana  , chillipaste, cilantro, ginger and salt in a large bowl.

6.      Add mashed plantains and mix all well.

7.      Now make small patties out of the mixture.

8.      Take cupcake ba king tray and turn it upside down.

9.      Grease the tray.

10. Now on each cup of the try, put patties and press down to form a cup.

11. Brush each cup with oil in outer side.

12. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and place the tray in the oven

13. Bake the cups for 8-10 minutes until golden in color.

14. Your cups are ready.

15. Now for filling, heat 2 tsp oil in a pan and add all the nuts to roast.

16. Sprinkle salt and pepper and roast for 5-7 minutes on low heat until crisp.

17. Add to the bowls and top with pomegranate seeds.

18. Your cups are ready to serve.

Tips:

-         Sabudana  are soaked properly when they are large and fluffy. All the water has been drained. You can use potatoes instead of plantains.

Oat and Soybean is one combination saturated with protein. Much has been said and written on both that no introduction is required. The recipe I will be making today is very simple and quick and doesn’t need lot of ingredients. It’s a great substitute of onion rings.

Preparation time: 40 minutes

Servings: 3-4

Kitchen instrument: None

Difficulty level: 3/10

Ingredient:

-         1 cup soybean

-         1.5 cups oat

-         1/2 cup chopped bell pepper

-         1/2 cup chopped carrot

-         1/2 tsp crushed pepper

-         Salt per taste

-         1 tsp udad dal

-         1 tsp cumin seeds

-         Oil to fry.

-         1 tsp red chilli powder

-         2 tsp yogurt

Preparation:

1.       Soak soybean overnight.

2.       Now cook until they are soft.

3.       Mash them to make a paste and put them in a bowl.

4.       In a pan heat 2 tsp oil.

5.       Add cumin seeds, dal and all vegetables.

6.       Sauté for 2 minutes and add oat.

7.       Now roast all for 5 minutes.

8.       Add salt and chilli powder and 2 tsp yogurt

9.       Add half cup water.

10.   Stir and mix well for another 2-3 minutes.

11.   If the mixture is too dry add some water.

12.   Now add soybean paste and mix well.

13.   Saute for 2 minutes and turn off the heat.

14.   It should have dough like texture.

15.   Now let it cool.

16.   Rub some oil in hands and make balls out of the dough.

17.   Press and with a finger, make a hole.

18.   Now deep fry the rings until golden brown.

19.   Serve with ketchup or your favourite sauce.

Tips:

-         Oat has tendency to soak water. However be careful using water since you don’t want really runny paste.

Another super healthy snack and very seasonal too. Monsoon and corn kind of goes really well together. Oat has become my all-time favorite for snack recipes. We all know the nutrition content of oats by now. But let us explore corn a little bit. Corn kernels are the fruits of maize. Maize is a grain, and the kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable or a source of starch. Corn kernels can be used canned or fresh. However fresh needs to be cooked to soften. The combination of corn and oat gives a very filling snack. To make the recipe quick, I normally use canned corn kernels. To make it complete meal, I add side of roasted vegetables.

Preparation time: 40 minutes

Servings: 4

Kitchen instrument: oven

Difficulty level: 4/10

Ingredient:

-         2 cups oat

-         1 can Corn Kernels ( 420 gm)

-         2 tsp green chilli paste

-         1/2 tsp ginger paste

-         salt per taste

-         1 tsp corn starch

-         1/2 cup cilantro

-         1 large zucchini cut in desired shape

-         I large carrots

-         1 cup broccoli florets

-         3 tsp oil

-         1/2 cup cream cheese or your favourite cheese spread.

-         4 tsp milk

Preparation:

1.      In a blender blend oat make it fine and coarse flour like texture.

2.      Drain corn kernels and crush it in high speed food processor.

3.      In a mixing bowl, add oat flour, corn puree, chilli paste, ginger paste, cilantro and salt per taste.

4.      Mix it well and try to make a dough like texture.

5.      Let it stand for 15 minutes and check the texture one more time to make any changes. Oat has tendency to soak water.

6.      You can either add some milk if the mixture is too dry or add more oat if the mixture is too sticky.

7.      Now form small balls out of the mixture and press it a little to make it look like thick cookies. Kebabs are ready to be grilled.

8.      In a plate take some oat and roll the kebabs to give the coarse look.

9.      Now grease a griddle and turn on the heat.

10. Now gently place the kebabs on the griddle to bake it until golden on both sides.

11. Make sure you bake it on low heat for at least 10 minutes.

12. Now cut the vegetables in your desired shapes and put it in a large mixing bowl.

13. Add 2 -3 tsp olive oil and salt per taste.

14. Toss it so that all the vegetables are coated with oil and salt.

15. Preheat the oven to 400 degree F .

16. Now in a baking tray layer the vegetables to roast for 15 minutes turning time to time.

17. You will know once they are roasted dark golden.

18. Kebabs with roast vegetables are ready to serve.

19. Add cream cheese or cheese spread in a mixing bowl and mix it with 3-4 tsp of milk.

20. Add seasoning per your taste and your dressing is ready.

21. Drizzle it over the roast vegetables and your snack is ready to be gobbled.

Tips:

-         Alternatively, if you are not worried about frying it, you can fry the kebabs or you can bake it in oven.

I created a fusion version of pesto and red sauce pasta using rice batter. Just another way to eat everyone’s favorite dish pasta. It is a little lengthy dish and takes some time but all worth.

Preparation time: 60 minutes

Servings: 4-5

Kitchen instrument: oven or steamer

Difficulty level: 5/10

Ingredient:

-         Rice batter 500 gms

-         1 tsp baking soda

-         Salt per taste

-         400 gm pasta

-         1 litre milk

-         Italian seasoning

-         Chilli flakes 1 tsp

-         5 green chillies

-         200 gms spinach

-         400 gms tomatoes

-         2 tsp oil

-         4 tsp butter

-         1/2 cup whole purpose flour

Preparation:

1.       Boil pasta in water until completely cooked.

2.       Drain and let it cool down

3.       In a pan heat butter and roast flour and add milk.

4.       Stir it well and heat until thick (5-7 minutes) and add seasoning and chilli flakes.

5.       Mix well for 4 -5 minutes and your cream sauce is ready.

6.       Make puree from spinach and green chilli and separate puree for tomatoes and add into separate bowls.

7.       In a pan, heat 1 tsp oil and add green puree.

8.       Sauce for 2 minutes and add half of the pasta and half of the cheese sauce.

9.       Your pesto pasta is ready.

10.   Repeat the above steps with red puree and rest of the pasta and sauce.

11.   Now your red pasta is ready.

12.   Mix rice batter baking soda and salt and stir well.

13.   Grease a baking tray and add a layer of batter

14.   Bake into microwave for 7 minutes or until the batter is little cooked.

15.   Add layer of pesto pasta and another layer of batter.

16.   Bake for 7 more minutes.

17.   Add red pasta and final layer of batter.

18.   Bake for 7 minutes and do the knife test. If it comes out clean, your cake is ready.

19.   Let it cool and make square or triangle pieces.

20.   Serve it hot with ketchup.

Tips:

-         You can make single layer pasta instead of multiple. Also you can use steamer instead of oven or microwave.

Pulses are very rich in protein, high in dietary fiber and loaded with complex carbs. This is a really good source of protein for vegetarians. However, we will add rice as an additional ingredient along with pulses to make it a complete meal recipe.

Preparation time: 40 minutes

Servings: 4

Kitchen Gadget: None

Difficulty level: 4/10

Ingredient:

-          1.5 cup rice

-          1.5 cup pulses of your choice

-          2 tsp green chilies paste

-          1 tomato cut into small cubes.

-          3 dry red chilli

-          3 cloves

-          Salt  per taste

-          2.5 tsp lemon juice

-          4 tsp oil

-          1 tsp curry leaves

-          1/4  cup cilantro

Cucumber yogurt Dip (Raita)

-          1 cup small cubes of peeled cucumber.

-          1.5 cup plain fat-free yogurt

-          1/2 tsp green chili paste

-          salt per taste

-          1 tsp cumin seeds (roasted and powdered)

Preparation:

1.       Soak rice and pulses in separate bowls for 1 hour.

2.       In a pan, heat oil.

3.       Drain Rice and Pulses.

4.       Add Green and Red chillies, cloves and curry leaves in oil.

5.       Saute for 1 minute and add drained rice and pulses.

6.       Stir it for 2-3 minutes and add 6 cups of water.

7.       Add salt, and let it boil for 5 minutes.

8.       Add lemon juice and tomatoes.

9.       Cover and let it simmer for another 5 minutes or until rice and pulses are completely cooked and soft and the water has been completely evaporated.

10.   Add some water if rice and pulses is still not cooked.

11.   Turn off the stove, serve steaming garnished with cilantro.

12.   Add all the ingredients for cucumber dip in a bowl and mix well. You dip is ready.

13.   You can serve with Cucumber and Yogurt dip.

Tips:

-          You can use Brown rice instead of white. Also pulses can be of your choice. Instead of pulses you can add black or red beans.

Most of us are aware of health benefits of Oat and Soybean.  Oat and soybean both are excellent source of protein and Dietary fiber. I will try both the ingredients to make delicious tacos. This is the healthiest option to make tacos according to me. Now you can eat as many as tacos guilt free.

Preparation time: 60 minutes

Servings: 4

Kitchen instrument: Oven

Difficulty level: 5/10

Ingredient:

-          1.5 cup oat

-          Salt to taste

-          2 tsp Italian seasoning

-          1 cup soy bean

-          1 cup tomato puree

-          1 tsp sugar

-          1 tsp red chilli sauce

-          1/4 cup diced green bell pepper

-          4 tsp oil

-          1 cup cheese shred

Preparation:

1.       Soak soybean overnight or at least for 3 to 4 hours.

2.       Mix oat, 1 tsp seasoning, salt, 1 tsp oil and knead dough using water.

3.       Set aside the dough for 30 minutes.

4.       Cook soybean until soft.

5.       In a pan heat 2 tsp oil.

6.       Add bell pepper and tomato puree and salt per taste.

7.       Let it simmer for 3 – 4 minutes.

8.       Add soybean, sugar and chilli sauce and mix well.

9.       Cover and let is simmer for another 7 – 9 minutes.

10.   Your taco topping is ready.

11.   Now make several small pieces from dough and roll small tacos.

12.   Grease Cookie tray with cooking spray.

13.   Preheat oven at 370 Degree F.

14.   Arrange tacos in the tray to bake for 5 to 8 minutes turning over.

15.   Once crisp and golden take out the baking try and add layer of your taco topping.

16.   Garnish with cheese shred.

17.   Bake it for another 4 – 5 minutes and serve hot.

Tips:

-          Oat has tendency to soak water so while kneading dough use enough water. Also, soybean takes time to cook. Soak them enough and boil them enough so that they become tender and soft.

Pretzels originated in Europe is a type of baked bread product made from dough most commonly shaped into a twisted knot. Once in a while it is ok to indulge and Pretzel is one of my favorite comfort food.  Pretzels can be hard or soft. The recipe I will share here is for soft Pretzels.

Preparation time: 90 minutes

Servings: 6

Kitchen instrument: Oven

Difficulty level: 5/10

Ingredient:

-          2 tsp Yeast

-          1 tsp sugar

-          1 tsp salt

-          3 tsp coarse sea salt

-          1 cup warm milk

-          3 cups all-purpose flour/Maida

-          3 tsp melted butter (you can substitute with oil)

-          3 cups hot water

-          1/2 cup baking soda

Preparation:

1.       Dissolve yeast in bowl of warm milk and let it stand for 10 minutes.

2.       Now in a bowl add flour salt and sugar.

3.       Slowly add yeast mixture and mix well to form sticky dough.

4.       You can add more flour if the dough is too liquidly or add couple spoons of milk if dough is dry.

5.       Knead dough until it is smooth.

6.       Grease a large bowl and place the dough in it.

7.       Cover and let it stand for an hour in a warm place. This will allow the dough to rise.

8.       Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

9.       Grease baking tray.

10.   Now add baking soda to 3 cups of hot water in a large bowl.

11.   Now make 6 equal pieces from the dough. Roll each one to form a rope. Pick up the edges and twist into the shape of pretzel. Now dip the pretzel in to the baking soda water mixture and place into baking sheets.

12.   Now sprinkle sea salt or the toppings per your choice.

13.   I love jalapeno and cheese. You can also make cinnamon and sugar pretzels.

14.   Now bake them until they turn golden in color. Approximately 8 to 10 minutes.

15.   Serve them with cheese dip or salsa or mustard.

Tips:

-        To make them a healthy breakfast, you can use multigrain flour instead of all purpose. You can also use oat. You can make it as per your taste and add the toppings per your choice. You can just shape as cubes and make pretzels bites. Add cheese and salsa to pretzel bite to make cool Pretzel salad.

Any time there is a mixture of various fried snacks with some sauce it can be named Bhel. I am going to create a Thai version of Bhel using tofu, peanut sauce and noodles.

Preparation time: 60 minutes

Servings: 6

Kitchen instrument: Shredder

Difficulty level: 4/10

Ingredient:

-          200 gm Tofu

-          250 gm noodles

-          1 cup cabbage shred

-          1 cup carrot shred

-          3/4 cup Peanut Butter

-          1 tsp soy sauce

-          3 tsp chilli sauce

-          1 tsp vinegar

-          oil to fry

-          3 tsp honey

-          2 cup corn flour

Preparation:

1.       Heat water in a Pan and Boil noodles for approximately 3 minutes or until cooked but not mushy.

2.       Drain them in a drainer and then add them to a big mixing bowl.

3.       Sprinkle 2 to 3 tbs of corn flour and toss thoroughly.

4.       Now let it dry and for 30 minutes

5.       Now heat oil and fry the noodles on medium heat until golden crisp.

6.       Now make small chunks of soy and toss some corn flour on them to coat them thoroughly.

7.       Deep fry them until golden and crisp.

8.       In a small bowl, add peanut butter, chilli sauce, soy sauce, vinegar and honey.

9.       Beat vigorously to make the peanut sauce. The texture should feel like dressing. Make it spicy or sweet per your choice. You can add little water to make the consistency such that mixes into Bhel.

10.   No in a big bowl add fried noodles, tofu, carrot and cabbage shreds. Now add dressing.

11.   Toss and mix well and serve immediately.

12.   You can add green onions and cilantro to garnish.

Tips:

-          You do not have to fry tofu. Instead you can bake the tofu. To bring the taste closer to Indian taste you can use tamarind chutney too.

The recipe I will be sharing with you breakfast or bread rolls with cabbage filling. Using Indian spices, I will give it Indian taste. The recipe will use the filling that we normally use to make stuffed eggplant curry and any other vegetable stuffing. It can be served as snack or starters.

Preparation time: 60 minutes

Servings: 3

Kitchen instrument: shredder

Difficulty level: 4/10

Ingredient:

-          2 cups flour

-          1 small cabbage

-          1/2 cup chick pea flour

-          Salt per taste.

-          1 tsp Red chilli powder

-          1 tsp garam masala

-          1 tsp sugar

-          1 tsp mango powder (aam chur)

-          1 tsp coconut shred or powder

-          1/2 cup butter

-          3 tsp oil

Preparation:

1.       Take flour, butter and salt per taste in a bowl and knead dough.

2.       Keep aside for 30 minutes.

3.       Separate leaves of cabbage and make rolls to then cut it with sharp knife to make fine shreds.

4.       Sprinkle salt on the cabbage and toss well. let it stand for 15 minutes.

5.       Now press cabbage hard to remove all the excess water.

6.       In a pan heat 1tsp oil and roast chick pea flour.

7.       Turn off the heat and add rest of the ingredients except oil.

8.       Mix it well.

9.       Now in pan heat 2 tsp oil, add cabbage and stir fry for 2 minutes.

10.   Mix the seasoning mixture prepared above and mix well.

11.   Turn off the heat and let it cool down.

12.   Out of the dough make 3 to 4 parts.

13.   Roll them with a roller and spread the cabbage mixture evenly on the surface.

14.   Now roll the edges to make a long roll.

15.   Cut the roll into 2 inches pieces

16.   Heat oven to 350 degree f

17.   place the rolls into flour dusted cookie try and bake it until golden brown

18.   Serve with ketchup.

Tips:

-          Again, filling of rolls can be of your choice. But do keep it dry and not runny. So that it is easier to form rolls and bake.

Rice cookies are a classic Persian cookies. Its unique texture stays slightly crumbly. We will add some cumin seeds, black pepper and chili flakes to get some savory and spicy taste to the cookies. This snack goes very well with morning breakfast or evening tea.

Preparation time: 40 minutes

Servings: 3-4

Kitchen instrument: Oven

Difficulty level: 4/10

Ingredient:

-          2 cups rice flour

-          1 cup butter

-          1/2 cup sugar

-          1/2 cup cheese

-          Salt per taste

-          1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

-          1/2 tsp black pepper

-          1/2 tsp crushed pepper

Preparation:

1.       Mix sugar, spice and butter and beat until fluffy.

2.       Add flour and mix well.

3.       Mix well to knead dough.

4.       If the mixture is dry, add milk until you can form smooth dough.

5.       Cover and store for an hour.

6.       Preheat the oven for 325 degree F.

7.       Roll the dough and cut pieces and shapes of your choice.

8.       Bake for 15 – 20 minutes until the cookies are golden rotating the tray. Turn around the cookies to be baked golden on both sides.

9.       Let it cool on cooling rack.

10.   Store in airtight container and serve when you like.

Tips:

-          Remember that the addition of the spice is not required. You can just make sweet cookies simply by avoiding pepper and chili flakes and adding more sugar to it. Also, when you take out cookies from oven let it be cool down completely before using. Also make sure to roll out cookies thin so that it can bake thoroughly.

With its high fiber and nutrient content, Green Gram and split gram offers a number of health benefits. It helps in weight loss recipes. Today I will use this to make recipe to make Indian style quesadillas with Mung dal tortillas. It can be used as healthy snack recipe if you just avoid cheese.

Preparation time: 40 minutes

Servings: 4

Kitchen instrument: Blender

Difficulty level: 4/10

Ingredient:

-          2 cups Mung Dal

-          4 tsp green chilli paste

-          1 cup boiled corn

-          1 cup small chopped green bell pepper

-          1 large plantain- boiled

-          Salt for taste

-          4-5 tsp oil

Ingredient for coconut chutney

-          1 cup coconut shred

-          1 cup yogurt

-          4-5 red dry chilli

-          Salt per taste

-          1/2 tsp mustard seeds

-          1 tsp curry leaves

-          1 /2 tsp fenugreek seeds

Preparation:

1.       Soak dal for 3-4 hours.

2.       Grind soaked dal in blender and make paste like batter.

3.       Boil plantain and corn in pressure cooker.

4.       Mash plantain and make paste.

5.       In a pan heat 2 tsp oil and stir fry chilli paste, corn and bell pepper.

6.       Add plantain paste salt and mix well.

7.       Cover and let it sauté for 5 minutes.

8.       Your filling is ready.

9.       Now blend coconut, curd red chilli and salt to make paste.

10.   Head 1 tsp oil in small pan and ass mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and curry leaves.

11.   Wait for them to crack and add it to the coconut paste. Coconut chutney is ready.

12.   Now heat griddle and spread thin layer of dal batter.

13.   Bake the tortilla by turning both sides with brushing lightly with oil.

14.   You can bake all the tortillas before dinner.

15.   While ready to serve dinner, put one tortilla on griddle. Grease it with little oil.

16.   Spread the filling evenly on the tortilla.

17.   Spread layer of cheese. This is optional.

18.   Cover it with another tortilla.

19.   Now bake it turning both sides carefully.

20.   Make pieces and serve with chutney.

Tips:

-          It is important to soak gram for 4- 5 minutes to make smooth paste. Tortillas can be used even without filling for breakfast with pickles or chutney.

Heavy dinner or lunch is not favorites among summer parties. Instead, I choose to have multiple appetizers or starters and sides. Even though they fill your tummy they don’t necessarily give the stuffed feeling. One of my all-time favorites for summer is minty pineapple paneer. Extremely healthy, it is very quick and easy with only 3- 4 simple and easily available ingredients like pineapple, paneer and mint leaves.

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 4

Difficulty: 2/10

Kitchen equipment:  Griddle or Grill and Blender

Ingredients:

-          Half pineapple

-          350 gm paneer

-          150 gm mint leaves

-          5 chillies

-          1/2 cup cilantro leaves

-          Salt to taste

-          2 tsp daliya (split Pea)

-          2 -3 tsp oil

Preparation:

1.       Make square pieces of paneer and pineapple separately.

2.       The size can be of your choice.

3.       Sprinkle salt and toss both in separate bowl.

4.       Heat griddle and add 1 tsp oil to grease the griddle

5.       Place paneer pieces evenly on griddle to grill on one side.

6.       Once golden brown, turn around and grill both sides.

7.       Repeat same process with pineapple pieces.

8.       Now in a blender add mint and cilantro leaves.

9.       Add chillies and salt per your taste and little water.

10.   Add sugar and daliya and blend to make thick paste.

11.   Now you can either mix the sauce with grilled pineapple and paneer to serve garnished with mint leaves.

12.   Or you can also serve paneer and pineapple with mint sauce on the side.

Tips:

-       You can use grill to smoke paneer and pineapple instead of griddle. Sometimes, I use readymade sev to make mint sauce instead of daliya (split pea). Do not add too many ingredients to the recipe so that the distinct taste of pineapple and smoked paneer blossoms with mint.

There are lots of recipes to make Poha traditional way but this recipe is inspired by south Indian style of making upma. Instead of using Raw soji/semolina, the main ingredient will be Poha. It is the best way to get quick and healthy breakfast yet interesting.

Preparation time: 40 minutes

Servings: 4

Kitchen instrument: Food Processor

Difficulty level: 3/10

Ingredient:

-          3 cups Poha

-          1 tsp chana dal (split pea)

-          1 tsp mustard seeds

-          2 tsp curry leaves

-          3 tsp green chilli paste

-          Salt per taste

-          Pomegranate

-          1 cup peanuts

-          1 cup sev (just for garnish)

-          3 tsp oil

-          1/2 tsp chilli powder

Preparation:

1.       Soak split pea for 10-15 mts

2.       Grind Poha in food processor to make coarse powder.

3.       Heat 2 tsp oil in pan and add curry leaves, chilli paste, mustard seeds and split pea.

4.       Add 3 cups of water and bring it to boil.

5.       Add salt per taste and add poha powder.

6.       Stir and mix well until water has evaporated.

7.       Now let it cool for few minutes until its warm enough for you to touch.

8.       Now make small balls from the mixture and put it on steamer to steam it for 5 to  8 minutes.

9.       You can serve it with ketchup or chatni.

10.   Alternatively, you can give it a shape of little cups by pressing the round bolls in the middle before putting on steamer.

11.   In a small pan, heat 1 tsp oil and roast peanuts until crisp. App. 10 mts on low heat.

12.   Now let it cool and then grind it to make coarse powder.

13.   Add salt and chilli powder and mix well.

14.   Now place steamed cups in a plate and garnish with Peanut mixture, Sevand pomegranate.

Tips:

-          While putting on steamer, make sure you grease the balls as it can become so dry. Also, you can add more water while cooking poha to keep the texture like loose dough.

Khichu is a very traditional Gujarati dish which is traditionally a rice flour dough for making papad. However it is popularly consumed as snack due to its taste. Even though rice is the most common flour used to prepare khichu, there are several other flours that are used as well. It is really quick and easy. Today I will use a combination of Rice and Mug flour to make some khichu cups. I will also add some vegetable to bring a twist.

Ingredients:

-          1 cup rice flour

-          1 cup Mug flour

-          Salt to taste

-          6 tsp oil

-          6 cups water

-          1/4 cup bell pepper

-          1/4 cup cilantro

-          1 tsp green chillies

-          1 tsp Methi masala

-          1 tsp cumin seeds

Preparation:

-          In a shallow pan, heat 1/2 tsp oil add chillies and bell pepper.

-          Sauté it for 2 minutes adding salt.

-          Turn off the heat and add cilantro and mix well.

-          In a pan boil 3 cups of water with salt and 2 tsp oil and cumin seeds.

-          Turn off the stove and add rice flour and mix well to make loose dough.

-          In another pan boil 3 cups of water with 2 tsp oil and salt.

-          Turn off stove and add Mug flour and mix well to make loose dough.

-          While making both dough if you see lumps forming, you can easily blend it with hand mixer.

-          Now in cupcakes try place linings

-          Add one layer of mug khichu.

-          Add half tsp of vegetables mix prepared above.

-          Top it with final layer of rice khichu.

-          Smoothen the top with a spoon and polish little oil

-          Bake it at 300 degree to 7-10 minutes.

-          Garnish with oil and methi Masala.

-          Yummy vegetable khichu is ready to serve.

I believe the presence of starters in a meal makes the diner feel so special. Especially on special occasions, when you would like to impress the guests. Just add couple of starters and a single main course with a simple dessert. I sure intend to impress loved ones with this ripe tomatoes filled with planner and served in bread plates.

Ingredients:

-          9-10 ripe round tomatoes

-          150 grams paneer thick shreds

-          1/2 cup of chopped black olives

-          2 tsp of olive oil

-          Salt to taste

-          1 tsp Italian seasoning

-          1 tsp red crushed peppers

-          1 tsp fresh basil leaves finely shred

-          Pickled jalapeno slices

-          9-10 bread slices (of your choice)

-          9-10 cheese slices (of your choice)

Preparation:

-          Preheat oven to 375 degree F.

-          Cut the sides of bread and place them in greased cupcake tray pressing them down to the bottom of cups.

-          Bake for 5-7 minutes until golden and crisp. Remove from tray and store.

-          Slice the top off from each tomatoes and keep the top aside.

-          Scoop out the seeds and pulp from the tomatoes to make them ready for fillings.

-          In a mixing bowl, add paneer and basil shreds, drizzle olive oil and add chopped black olives, Italian seasoning and chilli flakes. Sprinkle salt to taste.

-          Mix everything gently with a spatula and your filling is ready.

-          Now in the greased cupcakes tray, place tomatoes in each cups and fill them with the paneer filling.

-           Put the lid (sliced off top part of tomatoes) back on the tomatoes

-          Bake them for 10-15 minutes until you see the skin softer and creased.

-          Now remove tray from the oven and gently lift one tomatoes with spatula.

-          Place the bread cup back in the tray, and press a cheese slice in the bread cup.

-          Layer couple jalapeno slices and gently put the tomato back in the cup.

-          Repeat the step for each tomatoes and bake for 5 more minutes.

-          Your Red little cups are ready to be served in their bread saucers.

Tips:

-          The step to add bread and cheese is optional. Instead, you can bake the stuffed tomatoes in a casserole and just serve without bread slices.

-          Also, instead of paneer, you can always use cottage cheese crumbles.

Tapas are a wide variety of appetizers, or snacks, in Spanish cuisine. The portions are normally small and can be hot or cold. It’s traditional in Spain to combine several tapas to make a full meal. Today I am going to share rice and beans tapas recipe which can be one of your tapas or can be a side dish for your meal.

Ingredients:

-          1 canned black beans (you can use 1.5 cup raw black beans boiled and drained)

-          1 cup uncooked rice

-          2 tomatoes finely chopped

-          1 tsp chilli sauce

-          salt to taste

-          1/4 cup cilantro

-          tostada deep shells (optional)

-          1 tsp olive oil

Ingredients for Cilantro dip

-          1 cup cilantro

-          1 cup plain yogurt

-          pinch of salt

-          3 green chilli

Preparation:

-          Soak rice for an hour

-          In a pan heat oil

-          Add drained rice and sizzle for 2-3 minutes

-          Add tomatoes, salt and 2/5 cups of water

-          Boil for 5-7 minutes

-          Add drained black beans and cilantro

-          Stir rice carefully and let the water completely be soaked

-          Turn of the heat once rice and beans are ready and no water is left.

-          For cilantro dip, add all the ingredients in the blender and blend it to make dip.

-          You can serve it in tostada deep shells or in small pates and garnish with cilantro dip.

Tips:

Rice and beans can be excellent side dis for a Mexican meal. You can make shells at home using moulds and deep frying them or baking them. I will make them by frying corn tortillas.

Molasses is a by-product of the refining of sugarcane into sugar. It’s syrup that can have various usages in recipes. Instead of sugarcane, we are going to prepare Pomegranate Molasses. Since it has sweet and tangy fruit taste we can use as salad dressing, ketchup or chutney or any other condiment. It can be refrigerated and stores for 6 months for later use. We are going to prepare very quick chaat recipe with its use.

Ingredients:

-          6 Big pomegranates

-          1/2 cup sugar

-          100 gm chana dal (store bought)

-          100 gm bundi (store bought)

-          1/4 cup bell pepper, finely chopped

-          1/4 cup tomatoes, finely chopped

-          1 tsp green chilies finely chopped

-          1/2 cup cilantro

-          Salt to taste

Preparation:

-          Pit 6 pomegranates an take the seeds into bowl (How to pit Pomegranate??)

-          Now blend them in a blender and make juice out of it leaving half a cup of seeds aside for garnish.

-          Pour the juice through the drainer so that unwanted coarse paste remains behind.

-          Add the juice in the pan and turn on the heat.

-          Add sugar and pinch of salt.

-          Let it simmer for atleast 30 to 40 minutes.

-          It should reduce to 1/4th in portion.

-          When you see the texture like ketchup, the molasses is ready.

-          Let it cool and store it in airtight container in refrigerator.

-          In a mixing bowl mix, mix channa dal, boondi, chillies, chopped bellpepper and tomatoes, pomegranate seeds and cilantro and mix well.

-          Add pinch of salt and 5 tsp of molasses and mix well.

-          Your yummy chaat is ready to be served.

Tips:

-          Do not add any water when making juice out of pomegranate seeds. Boil it enough so that there is no natural water content of fruit left. Molasses can be used as salad dressings. It can also be used as a glaze for desserts. When it  is added to any dish, it doesn’t make it soggy and remains crisp for longer period of time.

Tofu also called Bean curd is almost sister like to Paneer. Except for Tofu is made up of soya milk compared to Paneer made from cow milk. The texture and the look more or less remains the same. It is really high in iron and protein and exceptionally low calorie wise. The recipe will include sesame seeds which goes really well with Tofu. To add some greens we will use broccoli and Water chestnuts for the crunch. Let us get started with this Asian dish.

Ingredients:

-          500 gm tofu

-          500 gm broccoli

-          1/2 cup sesame seeds

-          1 cup water chest nuts cut into squares (canned or fresh)

-          2 spoon soy sauce

-          2 tsp chilli sauce

-          2 tsp brown sugar

-          4 tsp olive oil

-          Salt to taste

Preparation:

-          Place tofu slab on cutting board, cover it with a plastic wrap and put some weight on it for 15 minutes.

-          This will drain all the excess water out of it and it will be ready to use.

-          Now cut into little squares and add to a bowl.

-          Sprinkle pinch of salt and toss it gently.

-          In a separate bowl take sesame seeds.

-          Heat the griddle with a spoon of olive oil in it.

-          Dip each tofu squares in sesame seed and press it so that it is covered with sesame from both sides.

-          Place tofu squares on hot griddle and grill them on both sides until golden and crisp. Sprinkle another spoon of oil when you turn the sides.

-          In a Pan boil 5 cups of water with sold in it.

-          Add nicely cut broccoli florets into the pan and let it boil for another 7-8 minutes until broccoli is little tender. Make sure it does not lose the colour.

-          Drain broccoli so that no water is left.

-          In a shallow pan, heat 2 tsp oil and add sugar, chilli sauce and mix well.

-          When you see sugar melting, add soy sauce and mix well.

-          Now add broccoli and chest nut and about 1/4 cup of water mix it all well and let it saute for another couple minutes. If the texture is too runny, add a spoon of corn flour and mix well to have thick gravy.

-          In a serving plate make a little pile of tofu and slowly flow in broccoli mixture and allow some of the juice to get down while some to be coated on tofu.

-          It’s ready to serve.

Tips:

-          If tofu is not available, you can substitute it with paneer. However it will taste different.

-          Instead of grilling tofu on griddle, you can also bake in oven for 5-7 minutes with preheating of 375 degree F.

-          Also, if you are allergic to sesame seeds, you can choose to completely avoid using it and recipe will turn out to be just fine.

-          To add a little kick to it, add more of chilli sauce or chilli flakes.