Paneer Momos

Ingredients:

• 1 cup  Maida
• 1 cup Paneer crumble
• 1 Onion
• 2 teaspoon Ginger garlic paste
• ¾ teaspoon Red chilli powder
• ½ teaspoon Garam masala powder
• ¼ teaspoon Turmeric
• Salt – As needed
• 3 tablespoon Coriander leaves
• 2 teaspoon Oil
• Water – as needed

Method:

• First prepare the outer dough with flour, salt and water. 
• The dough should be non sticky. 
• To prepare the filling. Take oil in a pan, fry the chopped onions and ginger and garlic paste.
• Followed by red chilli powder, garam masala powder, turmeric and salt. Give it a stir.
• Add the paneer and fry for a few minutes. 
• Add finely chopped coriander leaves and mix well. Switch off the flame. Let it cool down.
• Now take out the dough from cover and knead well for couple of mins or until smooth.
• Roll out the dough into small discs. Place the paneer mixture in the centre and shape into momos.
• Steam the prepared momos for 5-6 minutes.  Serve hot with chilli sauce.  

Broccoli Aloo Tikki

 Ingredients:

• Potato med size - 3
• Broccoli - 2 cup cut into florets
• Grated cheese - 6 tbsp
• Bread crumbs - from 2 slices of toasted bread
• Chaat masala - 3 teaspoon
• Garam masala - 1 teaspoon
• Chilli powder - 1 teaspoon
• Turmeric - 0.5 tsp
• Roasted cumin powder - 2 teaspoon
• Black pepper - 3 teaspoon crushed
• Salt - As needed
• Oil - As needed

Method:

• Cook and mash potatoes. Drain potatoes well.
• Steam broccoli until soft and coarsely grind it in a food processor with no water added.
• Mix the mashed potatoes and ground broccoli and the rest of the ingredients together in a bowl (except oil).
• Divide into equal portions and make equal sized balls out of it. Flatten to form tikkis.
• Heat a pan with few drops of oil and place the tikkies over it. Cook over medium flame both sides until golden layer forms.
• Serving option: Serve as mini burgers with burger buns, lettuce and ketchup.

Butterfly Pea Tea (Blue Tea)

Butterfly pea flower tea is an herbal drink made from dried butterfly pea flowers. Comes from a plant called clitoria ternatea that’s native to Southeast Asia.

Image courtesy: cookingwithnart

The flowers are deep blue in color with a tinge of purple that colors and flavors the water. This bright beverage has a mesmerizing color and has an extortionary ability to change color from blue to purple when the pH level changes. Adding something acidic like lemon juice changes the color.

Blue tea health benefits:

• Weight Loss
• Contain Antioxidants
• All Natural Paracetamol
• Combats effects of Diabetes
• Zero Caffeine
• Good for Heat Health
• Anti Aging Properties
• Combats Hair Loss
• Effective against Stress, Anxiety and Depression
• Overall Brain Health
• Anti Inflammatory Properties

Ingredients:
4/5 - Dried butterfly pea flowers
1 Cup - Hot water
Lemon juice from 1/2 lemon
Honey to taste
Ice cubes

Method:

1. Place 4 dried Butterfly Pea flowers in a coffee mug.
2. Add hot water to the mug. Let steep for 5 minutes. You will see a the water steeped to a beautiful blue color.
3. Then add a few drops of fresh lemon juice, you will notice the change in hue from blue to a deep purple color. 

For Cold Blue Tea: Add two spoons of honey and a hand full of ice cubes. 

Blueberry Jam - Just 3 ingredients!

Ingredients:
600 grams - Fresh Blueberries
400 grams - Sugar
1 tablespoon - Lemon juice

Method:

• Wash the blueberries well.
• Add the blueberries, sugar and lemon juice into a heavy bottom pan.
• Place the pan over a gentle heat to slowly dissolve the sugar crystals, stirring with a wooden spoon from time to time.
• As the sugar starts to melt and the fruit warms up, mash the blueberries in the pan.
• Once the sugar has completely dissolved turn up the heat and bring the pan to boil and time for 15 minutes, stirring all the while (to prevent the sugar burning on the base).
• Take the pan off the heat and test a few drops of the jam on a frozen saucer and place in the fridge for a minute. If when you push your finger through it the jam forms a crinkle and is gel like then it’s ready. Otherwise boil for another couple of minutes and repeat process until ready.
• Store the jam in a glass jar.

Recipe inspired by fabfood4all.

Rose Gulkand Modagam

Happy Vinayaka Chaturthi! - May Lord Ganesha bestow you power, destroy your sorrow and enhance happiness in your life.

This year I made the ever so trending turmeric pillayar. Below is my version of the eco-friendly pillayar. As for the modagams, I used to love this gulkand milkshake that we used to have back in India. I was missing it so much during these covid times, so I incorporated the gulkand flavour to our modagams this year. Scroll down for the recipe.

Yields: 25 small modagams

Ingredients:

1 cup – Fresh Grated Coconut
½ cup – Rose Gulkand
1 cup - Rice Flour
Few drops of Rose Syrup (depends on the brand of syrup used)
1 teaspoon – Rose water
Poppy Seeds – 2 teaspoons (Optional, I used White sesame seeds instead)
1 teaspoon - Salt
1 cup or more – Water
1 tsp + 2 tsp - Ghee

Method:

1. Heat 2 teaspoons of ghee in a pan. Add the sesame seeds and roast it briefly.
2. Add the fresh grated coconut to the pan and fry for a few minutes on medium flame. Now add the gulkand, mix and sauté for 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat. Gulkand stuffing is ready.
3. For the outer layer: In a pan, heat about 1 cup water along with 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon ghee.
4. As the water begins to boil add the rice flour and keep stirring. Make sure there are no big lumps.
5. Switch off the flame and cover the pan and let it rest for 5 minutes.
6. Now transfer the rice flour to a bowl and add the rose water and rose syrup.
7. While the mixture is hot, crumble and knead well to form a soft dough. Sprinkle some water if the dough is too hard.
8. Divide the dough into small portions and make the outer layer, add in the stuffing and crimp the edges together to form the modagam shape. If using a modagam mould: Grease your mould with ghee. Close the mould and place a dough ball inside, press down the sides of the mould to make space in the center. Fill in the coconut stuffing and with a small portion of the dough, cover the base of the modagam. Gently unmould the modagam and repeat with the rest of the dough.
9. Steam the prepared modagams for 10 minutes. Rose gulkand modagam is ready.

 

Recipe adapted from sakhisolutions.com.

Ragi ladoo

Ingredients:

1 cup -  Ragi flour

1/2 cup - Sugar (I used unrefined cane sugar)

1/4 cup - Ghee

1 and 1/2 tbsp - Cashews

1/4 tsp - Cardamom powder

Yeilds: About 10 ladoos

Directions:

• In a pan, heat half of the ghee (1/8 cup) and roast the cashews till golden brown. Remove and set aside.
• Add ragi flour to the same pan and roast it until it gives out a nice aroma. It will become sandy in texture.
• Roast in low flame for 5-7 mins, keep stirring so as not to burn the flour. 
• After the roasted flour has cooled down, add in the sugar, cashews, cardamon powder and the remaining 1/8 cup of ghee.
• Mix well so that it is evenly mixed, and then shape the mixture into ladoos. 
• Store in a dry container. Keeps well for more than a week.

 Notes:

Let the mixture cool down before adding in the sugar. If you add sugar to hot mixture it might turn gooey. You can add any sweetener of your choice, white sugar, jaggery or cane sugar. 

Recipe adapted from: sharmispassions.com 

Falafel Pita Pocket

Falafel is a deep-fried ball or patty made from ground chickpeas. It is a traditional Middle Eastern food, commonly served in a pita, which acts as a pocket, or wrapped in a flatbread. I made two versions of the falafel, fried and baked.  these tender falafels are perfect for tucking inside fluffy pita pockets or piled high on a salad.

Yeilds: 25 small falafel

Ingredients to make the falafel:

1 cup - dry chickpea 

1 onion - chopped

1 cup - loosely packed coriander leaves

3 cloves - garlic

1 tsp - coriander powder

1 tsp -  cumin powder

½ tsp -  chili powder

½ tsp - pepper, crushed

1 tbsp - lemon juice

2 tbsp -  plain flour / maida

¼ tsp baking soda

oil for deep frying

salt to taste

Directions: 

• Soak the chickpea overnight with enough water.
• Drain the chickpeas and add them to a food processor along with the coriander, onion, garlic, salt, coriander powder, cumin powder, chili powder, pepper, lemon juice and baking powder. 
• Process the mixture without adding any water, just until the ingredients are minced but not pureed, scraping down the sides as needed. 
• Roll the ground mixture into small balls. If the dough is watery in consistency add a tbsp of maida and mix well.
• Deep fry the balls in hot oil over medium heat.
• Once the falafel turns golden brown, drain off on to the kitchen paper.
• Serve falafel hot with hummus or stuffed in pita pockets.
• Do not over-process the mixture or the falafel will be too loose. 

Baking Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Squeeze the falafel mixture into 1.5-inch balls then flatten them slightly so they are the shape of patties. Arrange the falafel on the lined baking sheet and brush the tops of them with the some olive oil. Bake the falafel for 15 minutes, flip them once then bake them an additional 10 minutes until they are golden brown. 

Serving suggestions:
Serve the falafel in pita bread with tahini sauce and veggies, or add them to a salad as a healthy, protein-packed topping. I used store bought wholemeal pita bread and toasted them. For the stuffing I used tahini sauce, some chipotle Tabasco, yogurt, feta cheese, mixed veggies and fresh coriander. Served with hummus on the side. 

Recipe adapted from hebbarskitchen and justataste.

Eggless Mango Semolina Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup - Mango Puree 
1 cup - Semolina (Suji) 
1/2 cup - Sugar 
1/4 cup - Oil (I used coconut oil) 
1 tbsp - Curd  
1 tsp - Baking Powder 
1/2 tsp - Baking Soda  
1 tbsp - Milk
Slivered almonds and pistachios (for garnishing - optional) 

Directions:

• In a bowl, add in all the ingredients except baking powder and soda. Mix well and let the batter rest for 20 min.
• Add the baking powder and soda to the resting batter and mix well. If the batter is too thick, then add 1 tbsp milk.
• Transfer the prepared batter to baking dish, lined with parchment paper.
• Sprinkle sliced almonds nuts on top.
• Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees for 30-35 mins.
• Once ready check with tooth prick stick. If it comes out clean, then cake is ready to serve. 

Recipe adapted from healthykadai.com.

Eggless Ragi Banana Bread

Ingredients:

• ½ cup - Ragi flour / finger millet
• ½ cup - Wheat flour
• ¾ cup - Mashed bananas 
• 1 and ½ tsp - Baking powder
  
• ¼ tsp - Baking soda
• ¼ tsp - Salt
• 1 tsp - Vanilla 
• 1 tsp - Nutmeg powder (optional)
• ¼ cup - Honey
• ½ cup - Yogurt
• ¼ cup - Olive oil

Directions:

• Sieve ragi and wheat flour. Add salt, baking soda, baking powder and nutmeg powder. Keep it aside.
• Blend together curd, honey, olive oil and mashed banana.
• Add this wet mixture to dry mixture and combine everything well. Grease loaf pan with little oil. Pour batter into the pan and tap it.
• In a preheated oven, Bake at 180 degree C for 30-40 mins. Once the upper crust turns light brown, insert a toothpick at the center and it should come out clean.

Recipe based on jopreetskitchen.com

3 Ingredient Aval Kozhukattai

This 3 ingredient kozhukattai is perfect for a healthy hot breakfast or evening snack.

You can follow the recipe here https://youtu.be/2ZvVVkDpBPA. 

I powdered 1.5 cups of aval and used ¾ cup of Nattu Sakkarai instead of vellam. 

This yielded 18 kozhukattais. 

I then steamed the kozhukattais in the rice cooker steam setting for 10 mins.

Cilantro Pesto Pasta

Ingredients

Cilantro pesto
300 g - Pasta (uncooked)
½ cup - Chopped tomato
½ cup - Capsicum
½ cup - Sliced mushrooms
1 tsp - Olive Oil 

Directions

• Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain the cooked pasta and set aside.
• Saute the vegetables in olive oil over medium heat and cook for 5-6 minutes till vegetables are cooked.
• Add the cooked pasta to the pan in along with the vegetables and toss them well.
• Add the pesto to the pan and toss it nicely.
• Sprinkle some crushed pepper corns and parmesan cheese on top and serve it hot.

Cilantro Pesto

           Yields: 1.5 cups of pesto

Ingredients

½ cup - Mint leaves
2 Cups - Fresh cilantro
1 oz - Parmesan cheese
3 Tbsp - Extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup - Walnuts
1/4 Tsp  - Salt
2 - Red Chilies 
2 Tsp - Ginger Garlic paste

Directions

• In a food processor drop all ingredients except olive oil and process it.
• Scrape the sides down and drizzle olive oil, pulse the machine till all the oil is well     
  incorporated.
• Spoon it out and use as required. 

Note: This stays good for a week in the refrigerator and freezes well in case you decide to make it in large quantities.

Fluffy Lemon Ricotta Waffles

Yields: 10 small waffles

Ingredients:

1½ cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
3 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp fresh lemon zest
⅓ cup unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
½ cup ricotta cheese
¾ cup milk

Directions:

• Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside.
• In a bowl whisk together butter, lemon, sugar, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice, ricotta, and milk. 
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Do not over mix the batter.  A few lumps remaining is fine.
• Heat you waffle iron according to the manufacturer’s instructions spraying with cooking spray if needed.
• Dollop ¼ cup of batter into the waffle iron and cook until golden brown.  
• Serve immediately with what whatever topping you would like. I served mine with a dollop of whipped cream, maple syrup, almond slivers for some crunch and topped it  off with blueberry preserve.
• These waffles can also be individually wrapped and frozen. They are great heated up in the toaster or in the oven

Recipe from oliveandmango.com

Whole Wheat Pancakes

Yeilds: 8 med size pancakes

Recipe adapted from sallysbakingaddiction

Ingredients:

1 cup - whole wheat flour (I used Aashiravad atta)

1/2 cup - quick cook oats

1/4 teaspoon - salt

2 teaspoons - baking powder

1 teaspoon - ground cinnamon

1 egg

1 cup - milk

2 Tablespoons - unrefined sugar

1/4 cup - yogurt

1 teaspoon - vanilla extract

2 Tablespoons - chocolate chips or fruit, optional

Directions:

• Mix together flour, oats, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Set aside.
• In a separate bowl, whisk the egg and milk together. Whisk in the sugar, yogurt and vanilla until combined.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Stir gently until just combined. Do not over mix the batter or your pancakes will be tough and very dense. Add the chocolate chips or diced fruits.
• Heat a pan over medium heat. Add a few drops of oil or butter.  Once hot, drop about 1/4 cup of batter on the pan. Cook until the edges look dry and bubbles begin to form on the center or sides. Flip and cook on the other side until cooked through.
• Serve with maple syrup.

Eggless Sugar Cookies

I am always on the quest to find a good cookie recipe, and these nut-hugging bears cookies are by far my favorite!

Recipe adapted from Sharmis Passions.

Eggless Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

All purpose flour  – 1/2 cup

Wheat flour – 1/2 cup

Icing Sugar – 1/2 cup heapead

Unsalted Butter – 1/3 cup heaped (at room temperature)

Milk – 2 tbsp

Vanilla Essence -1 tsp

Baking Powder – 1/2 tsp

Salt – 1/4 tsp

Almonds or cashews – for decorations (optional)

Method:

• Sieve together flour, salt, baking powder.  Mix it well and set aside.
• In a mixing bowl, add butter, icing sugar, milk and vanilla essence and whisk it together.
• Then add the flour mixture and mix well to form a smooth dough.
• Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for ½ hour.
• Now roll out the dough with a roller just about 1/4 inch thickness. Use plain flour for dusting.
• Use a cookie cutter to cut out the shapes.  Decorate with almonds or cashews.
• Using a flat spatula place the cut out cookie dough on a baking tray lined with butter paper. Refrigerated it for 15mins before baking, this will ensure that the cookies doesn’t spread.
• Preheat oven at 180 deg C for 10mins then bake the cookies for 12 - 15 mins or until the edges turn golden brown.
• Allow them to cool in tray for few mins, and then cool them on wire rack. Once cooled store them in airtight container.

 Note:

• Be sure to keep the dough chilled until you are ready to cut your bears. This helps the cookies hold their shape when baked.
• Do not roll the dough too thin.
• You can use a simple bear cookie cutter, then use a toothpick to mark the eyes and nose.
• To make the bears hug the nut, press half an almond on the bear’s chest. And then to make the arms, use leftover dough to make tiny ovals and press it firmly to the sides of the bear and to the almond.   

Chilled dough, ready to go into the oven.