Black Bean & Portobello Quesadillas

Its simple to make & delicious to eat! It takes less than 30 mins to get ready and is healthy as well as nutritious! Give it a try!

• Servings: 6 pieces
• Time: 25 mins
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Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons Olive oil
• 1 small Onion, diced
• 2 cups Portobello Mushrooms, chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced Garlic
• 1 to 3 Jalapeno chilies, seeded and chopped, or to taste
• 1 14.5-oz. can Black beans, drained and rinsed
•  1 teaspoon Chipotle en Adobo, or to taste
• Ground Cumin to taste
• Salt and freshly ground Black pepper to taste
• 3 tablespoons chopped Cilantro
• 6 Whole Wheat Flour tortillas, one per quesadilla
• 1 cup grated low-fat or regular Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup Spring Onions, just the green part chopped

Method

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and sauté the onion and mushrooms until the onion begins to soften, for about 5 minutes.
2. Add garlic and jalapeños, and continue to sauté for 1 minute more. Add black beans, chipotle en adobo, cumin, salt and pepper, and reduce the heat to low. Cook, stirring, until heated through. Add cilantro, and adjust seasonings to taste.
3. Place 1 tortilla on a flat surface, and spoon about 1/3 cup mushroom-bean mixture onto one-half of the tortilla. Sprinkle on about 2 tablespoons of cheese. Fold the unfilled half over the filing, and set aside. Repeat until the filling mixture is used up.
4. Spray a nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray, and heat the skillet. Heat the quesadillas on the filed sides until browned, for about 3 minutes. Turn over, and brown the second sides. Spray the skillet as needed with nonstick cooking spray. Place quesadillas on individual plates, and top generously with the salsa.

TIP: Serve with sour cream or any type of salsa or guacamole or all of them!

VARIATION: Feel free to add or subtract any veggies of your choice!

Native: After relishing variety of quesadillas at restaurants – plain cheese, veggies or black beans ones, I came up with this recipe – which combines all of them into one — to give you a healthy and fulfilling meal!

Hope you enjoy it!

 

English Muffins with Fruits & Marshmallows

Sharing an old recipe – A quick and fruity breakfast for a summer weekend! 🙂 Click on the image below to see the recipe!

Grilled Tofu with Chipotle-Miso Sauce

A spicy, tangy grilled tofu for your bbq this summer!

Chipotle and miso come from two different cooking traditions, but they make great bedfellows in this recipe for grilled tofu—first as a marinade, then as a sauce. Combine that with our techniques for turning out perfectly grilled tofu!
Make these for your next bbq party and make the guests go ga-ga over them😉

• Servings: 4-6
• Time: 2 hours
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Ingredients

• 2 Chipotle Peppers in adobo (from a 7-ounce can), finely chopped, plus 2 teaspoons adobo sauce
• 1 tablespoon Miso, preferably red miso
• 2 teaspoons Vegetable or Canola oil
• 2 teaspoons light Brown sugar
• 1 pound firm Tofu, drained, rinsed, and sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 1 tablespoon toasted Sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon Soy sauce
• 1 Scallion, white and light green parts only, chopped

Method

1. In a measuring cup or small bowl, combine chipotle peppers and their sauce, miso, vegetable oil, and brown sugar, and mix well. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the marinade in another bowl and set aside.
2. Line a work surface with paper towels. Arrange tofu slices in a single layer on paper towels and cover with another layer of paper towels. Press gently to blot dry.
3. Place tofu in a large container, pour marinade over tofu, and gently turn to evenly coat. Refrigerate tofu at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
4. Stir sesame oil and soy sauce into reserved marinade and set aside.
5. When you’re ready to cook the tofu, prepare your grill. Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and arrange coals on one side of the charcoal grate. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill, and allow to preheat for 5 minutes.
6. When your grill is hot, clean and oil the grilling grate.
7. Place tofu slices over the cooler side of the grill, away from the coals. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes. Carefully flip tofu and grill until browned and crisp, about 10 minutes more. Transfer to a large plate.
8. Using a spoon or brush, coat each piece of tofu on both sides with the reserved marinade mixture. Sprinkle scallions on top and serve right away.

TIP: In case you don’t have a charcoal grill, you can grill them in a pan over the stove, they taste pretty good 🙂

Hope you enjoy it!

Adapted: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2015/07/grilled-tofu-chipotle-miso-recipe.html

 

 

Beetroot & Mint Tikkis

An easy, delicious, healthy and colorful snack that can be served as finger food at parties and get togethers!

The beetroot taste is described as sweet, earthy and tender to eat. It is grown in the ground and is related to turnips, swedes and sugar beet. It improves stamina, blood flow and lowers blood pressure. So you should always look for ways to incorporate them in your everyday meals. As an add on, the color drama that the beetroots provide, makes them fun to work with.

The versatility and health benefits of beetroots combined with the refreshing flavor of mint, makes these bites worth a try!

I remember my dad making these for us once when we were kids. That week was suppose to be the beetroot week at our place. Anything and everything had beetroot in it, including Pav Bhaji! The recipe for that some other time, for now enjoy these healthy bites!

• Servings: 6 pieces
• Time: 50 mins
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Ingredients

• 2 Beetroots, small sized, grated
• 1 Boiled Potato , small sized, mashed
• 1/4 cup Mint leaves, finely chopped
• 1 slice bread
• 2 tablespoons Semolina, roasted
• 1 teaspoon Turmeric
• 1 teaspoon Red chilly powder
• 1 teaspoon Coriander powder
• 1 Green Chili
• 1 teaspoon Raw Mango powder
• 1/2 tsp — Ginger garlic paste
• Salt to taste
• 1/4 cup Oil, for frying

Method

1. Squeeze the juice out of the beetroots and soak the bread in that juice.
2. Except semolina mix all the ingredients including the soaked bread, kneading them well. Make big lemon size balls and flatten it to form tikkis. Roll the Tikkis in roasted semolina and coat them well. Repeat this with the remaining mixture. Freeze the Tikkis for 1/2 an hour.
3. Heat oil in a fry pan. When the oil is hot add the tikkis to it. Let it brown for a couple of minutes. Turn it carefully using a spatula. Let the other side crisp up as well. Add oil if required.
4. Remove the tikkis onto kitchen towels and let it soak the excess oil.
5. Serve warm.

TIPS:
– You can deep fry the tikkis as well.
– Top with nylon sev and serve.
– Serve with a yogurt dip: Mix yogurt, salt, chaat masala and red chili together to make the dip. Serve with warm tikkis.
– Serve with mint chutney.

Banana & Chocolate Bread

A moist, sweet, cake-like quick bread combining the sweetness of bananas with the bitterness of chocolate!‪

Banana bread is a sweet bread made with a batter that is full of mashed bananas, ground cinnamon, and toasted nuts. Some may also have chocolate in them, like the one here. It was first baked in the United States and became very popular because it was so easy to make. It is different from most breads because it is a quick bread. If you look at the pictures below, you will see that it’s almost like thin slices of cake. So what’s the difference between a “quick bread” and a “cake”? As always google comes to my rescue 😉

“Quick breads are made with leavening such as baking powder rather than yeast. They are mixed together like muffins (dry ingredients together, wet ingredients together, combine the two and stir as little as possible). They don’t need time to rise; you can bake them immediately. They can be sweet (like banana bread) or savory (like cheddar and onion bread).Cake is similarly made but is lighter in texture and may use pastry (cake) flour, which has less gluten in it. This means the batter will be more tender and light.”

Hmmm, so the two mostly differ in the technique used to create the batter and a few ingredients! I guess, that should be good for now .. let’s get down to baking some quick bread!

• Servings: 1 loaf
• Time: 60 mins
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Ingredients

• 170 grams Unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 170 grams Powdered sugar
• 135 grams Cocoa Powder
• 280 grams All purpose flour
• 3 1/2 teaspoon Baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking soda
• 3 Eggs
• 2 Bananas, small over ripened
• Handful of walnuts to sprinkle

Method

1. Grease and line a loaf tin with parchment paper.
2. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
3. Place the butter in a saucepan and set over a low flame till the butter has melted. Add the sugar, giving it a stir. Let the sugar dissolve. Turn off the heat.
4. Beat the eggs and mash the bananas with a fork in a jug.
5. In a mixing bowl, mix the flour, cocoa powder, salt and soda together, sieving the soda to avoid lumps. Add egg and banana mixture.
6. Add the sugar mixture and fold well.
7. Fold in 3/4 of the  walnuts and pour this batter into the loaf tin. Sprinkle some more walnuts on top and bake it for 45mins or till the skewer comes out clean.

TIPS:
– Instead of cocoa powder, you can use equal grams of dark or milk chocolate.
– You can mix in choco chips instead of nuts or a combination of both.

Garam Masala Deviled Eggs

An Indian twist to the traditional deviled eggs recipe by using mango chutney and garam masala!

It all started with organizing a potluck at work. One of my colleague Nitya Malhotra made these Indian flavored deviled eggs and we all couldn’t stop relishing it!! Next, asked her for the recipe and tried it on my own. Ever since, I haven’t looked back 😉  This is always a hit as an appetizer or side dish at any party, potluck or even as a quick breakfast on busy mornings!

So where did the term deviled eggs come from?
The cooking term devil means ‘to chop food finely and mix with hot seasoning or sauce, usually after cooking’, which describes the process of making these eggs. Hence the name!

The terms “stuffed eggs”, “salad eggs” or “dressed eggs”, or “angel eggs” are also used, particularly when served in connection with church functions, avoiding the name “Devil.” The term “angel eggs” is also used in association with deviled eggs stuffed with “healthier” alternatives[Source: wikipedia]

Try out the recipe here and become an instant hit at your next party!

• Servings: 12
• Time: 10 mins
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Ingredients

• 6 hard-boiled eggs
• 3 1/2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons minced green onion
• 1 tablespoon minced seeded jalapeño chile
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced mango chutney
• 1/2 teaspoon (scant) garam masala
• Finely chopped radishes

Method

1. Shell eggs, then cut in half lengthwise. Transfer yolks to small bowl and mash with fork. Mix in mayonnaise. Stir in onion, jalapeño, chutney, and garam masala. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Spoon yolk mixture into whites. Top generously with chopped radishes.

TIPS:
– Boil eggs with a pinch of salt, to avoid cracking
– This recipe can be made up to 4 hours in advance
– Refrigerate for 15 mins before serving for enhanced taste.

Coconut Khoya & Gulkand Ladoo

Easy and delicious coconut & khoya ladoos with a sweet gulkand surprise in the center!

Adapted: http://www.indiankhana.net/2013/10/coconut-khoya-gulkand-ladoo-laddu-diwali.html

• Servings: 10 pieces
• Time: 15 mins
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Ingredients

• 2 cups Desiccated Coconut
• 3/4 cup Unsweetened Khoya/Mawa
• 3/4 cup Sugar
• 4 Green Cardamom
• 2 tablespoon Gulkand
• 2 tablespoon Warm Milk
• A pinch of Saffron (optional)

Method

1. Soak saffron in warm milk for 5 to 10 minutes and keep aside.
2. Grind sugar and cardamom in to powder.
3.  In a wok add khoya/mawa and cook in slow flame for 2-3 minutes or until it’s melts, loosen up, off flame. Add saffron milk, sugar powder to khoya and mix well, allow to cool. (Keep flame only in slow/low or khoya will get burnt).
4. Add desiccated coconut with khoya mixture and combine well to form smooth dough. Divide into equal 10 to 12 portions, take one piece and roll in to ball/laddu, flatten it like cutlet or tikki.
5. Fill 1 to 2 tsp of gulkand in center and carefully bring edges together and form in to ball again. Do this carefully so gulkand doesn’t leaks from sides.
6. Garnish with saffron and serve.

Hope you enjoy it!

TIPS:
– If using sweet khoya then reduce sugar or don’t use sugar atall.
– If you don’t have gulkand, fill ladoo with finely chopped nuts of choice or chocolate rice etc.
– If you can’t bind ladoo add little more desiccated coconut and mix well.