Wednesday, November 10, 2010

kele koddel

This koddel/ curry can also be made with a legume/pulse and raw plantains. Pulses can be Avro, alsande or any dried peas.







Ingredients
Raw plantains- 1 no
Coconut 1/2 cup
red chillies 6-8
tamarind paste 1/2 tsp
salt

for the seasoning
oil 2 tbsp
garlic about 4 cloves, crushed
red chillies, 2 broken in bits.

Peel the plantains, quarter them and cut it in cubes.
Cook it with just enough water to immerse the plantains. Cook till almost done.

Roast red chillies in a little oil and grind it along with coconut, tamarind and salt to a smooth paste. Add this paste to cooked plantains and boil.

Season with garlic and crushed red chillies. The garlic is usually fried till it is crispy and dark brown in color. Yum!

Mozzarella Sticks

Ingredients
1 package of low moisture mozzarella sticks (9oz)
1 cup bread crumbs
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic salt
2 eggs

Directions
Mix dry ingredients in a wide bowl.
In a separate bowl, beat eggs with a pinch of salt.
Dip each stick into the egg then the bread crumbs then into the egg and then the crumbs again. Doing so twice will give a thick coating ( just the way we normally get at the restaurants), Arrange the double coated mozzarella sticks in a single layer on a tray or plate. Chill for 30 minutes.

Heat oil in a skillet. Shallow fry to deep brown.

Broccoli Rabe stir-fry

A power house of nutrients + super easy 'pressed for time' dish. This is definitely not for ppl who make a face at new food & for strongly opinionated. It takes a couple tries for you to actually like it. The stalks/stems aren't as crunchy and delicious as you would expect ( compared to broccoli) and the leaves are slightly on the bitter side. People either love it or they don't. V wasn't too happy but I absolutely loved it!









2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
3 bunches broccoli rabe, chopped
Salt

Directions:
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper and cook until the garlic begins to soften. Wash the broccoli rabe, chop to an inch length with the flower, stem & all (nothing goes to waste, YAY!). Add it to the saucepan with the water still clinging to it.

Stir fry for about 5 minutes until the broccoli rabe is tender. Add salt to taste.

G's note: The green can be easily substituted with broccoli, spinach or beet greens.

Palak paratha with paneer stuffing


Paratha tastes best with garlic pickle

Inspiration source: Deepa Pai

Ingredients:
For the paratha:
A paste made of palak, garlic, ginger, salt. Added to atta, oil, salt, water. Made into a pliable dough. In my case, pre-made by Deeps. See, how lucky I am! All ingredients are vaguely measured

For the stuffing:
Chopped paneer, cilantro, onion, green chillies ( finely chopped), dhaniya powder, turmeric, chilli powder & 1 mozzarella stick (M's addition) roughly chopped.

The rest is pretty predictive. Roll out the paratha, fill the stuffing like a hot pocket, roll out to flatten, cook on a griddle. Serve with garlic pickle . Savour.



7 layer dip

An A+ graded dip needs no intro. Wish I had pic to show the layers of color that is everybody's favourite. Everybody who ate this absolutely loved it so much that I didn't have the heart to ask them to freeze for a minute so I could have a pic taken. I guess I just have to make one someday for the pic sake. I added a few extra things to spice it up! My additionis highlighted in red.

Ingredients:
1 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 (16 ounce) can re-fried beans
8 ounces sour cream
1 cup salsa
1 tomato, diced
1 avocado, diced
1 small head iceberg lettuce, finely shredded
1 (6 ounce) can sliced black olives, drained
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions
In a medium bowl, blend the taco seasoning mix and re-fried beans. Spread the mixture onto a large serving platter.
Layer in the order : sour cream , salsa,  avocado, tomato, lettuce ( finely chopped cilantro & jalapenos) , olives . Garnish  with Cheddar cheese.