Beans and Sprouts Salad

This is one of my own creation. The combination of bean sprouts with onions, lettuce, and kidney beans makes this salad very nutritious as well as tasty.

Preparation Time : 15 minutes + soaking time

Serves : 4

Ingredients :

1/2 cup of kidney beans

1/2 cup black chana

1/2 apple cut into small pieces

1/2 ice-berg lettuce

1 cup bean sprouts

1/2 onion cut into thin slices lengthwise (optional)

for the dressing:

salt

1/2 lime squeezed to get juice

1 tsp honey

1/2 tsp pepper

Method:

• Soak the chana and the kidney beans overnight in
• Boil the chana and kidney beans with some salt and allow it to cool down.
• Then in a salad bowl, combine all the ingredients including the chana and kidney beans.
• Combine the ingredients for the dressing and pour it over the salad.
• Refrigerate and serve chilled

Carrot Juice

This is one of my all time favorite drinks. My daughter doesn't like eating carrots a lot, but simply loves carrots in this form :) This is a very nutritious drink and perfect for any weather.

When you ask for carrot juice in a restaurant, you generally get a thick paste of carrots blended in water and sugar and believe me it tastes yucky. But, this recipe will simply change your opinion about this drink. You have to try it to believe, so here goes the recipe...

Preparation Time : 15 minutes

Makes : 3 glasses

Ingredients :

2 big carrots peeled and grated or chopped finely

1/2 cup water

3 tbsp sugar

1 tsp cardamom powder

2 cups milk

Method :

• In a blender, add the grated carrots and water and blend till it becomes a puree.
• Then strain this puree through a thin muslin cloth or a strainer till you get all the juice out.
• Put this juice in the blender again and add milk, sugar and cardamom powder and blend again till all the ingredients mix well.
• Refrigerate for an hour and serve chilled.

Chinese Stir fry noodles

This is one of my own creation. I always used to wonder how these stir fry noodles tasted so yummy in restaurants. I could never get the sauce right until I visited this Chinese market last weekend. Over there, I found this thai chilli sauce and sesame oil. The thai chilli sauce has a sweet and spicy taste to it and when it combines with sesame oil, it gives the noodles an amazing flavour. Now, with these Chinese ingredients, I can enjoy my restaurant style Chinese stir fry noodles at home :) This tastes simply delicious. Must give it a try !!!

Preparation Time : 30 minutes

Serves : 3

Ingredients :

1 pkt chinese style flat noodles

1 chicken breast

6 chinese black mushrooms cut into quarters

10 brocolli florets

250 gms chinese bok choy

1 red bell pepper cut lengthwise

1 celery stick cut into 1" pieces lengthwise

3 spring onions chopped

1 tbsp garlic chopped

4 tbsp thai chilli sauce

4 tbsp chinese soy sauce

1 tsp sugar

salt and pepper to taste

sesame oil

2 tbsp garlic butter

Method :

• First marinate the chicken breast with 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sugar, salt and pepper and keep it aside for 15 minutes
• Then take a frying pan and fry the chicken in sesame oil till it is fried nicely on both sides.
• Then cut the chicken in thin long strips and keep aside
• In a wok, add some sesame oil. Then throw in some chopped garlic and the bok choy and cover and cook for 4 minutes. Take it out and keep aside.
• Then in the same wok, add some garlic butter and then stir fry the mushrooms and brocolli together on high flame for about 5 minutes. Take it out and keep aside.
• Then add some sesame oil to the wok, and stir fry the red bell peppers, spring onions and celery on high flame for about 3 minutes.
• Now put all the stir fried vegetables and chicken together in the wok and add the remaining soy sauce to it and 4 tbsp of thai chilli sauce, pepper and salt and stir fry again for 2 minutes.
• In the meantime, boil the noodles as per the packet instructions and keep aside.
• Then combine the noodles with the stir fried chicken and vegetables and serve hot.

Note : You could also add chopped peanuts on top of the noodles. It enhances the flavor. My daughter is allergic to peanuts and hence I didn't add them to the noodles

Mangalorean Style Surmai (King fish) Curry

King fish or Surmai is one of my favorite Indian fish. While in India, I used to cook this quite often as this is one of my husband's favorite dishes.

Last week I went to a Chinese market in Canada and found this fish there. I couldn't wait to come home and cook it. Needless to say that everyone enjoyed and relished it !!!

I have learned this recipe from my mother. A bowl of hot steamed rice with surmai curry simply tastes amazing.

Preparation Time : 20 minutes

Serves : 4

Ingredients :

6-8 Surmai fish pieces

1 tbsp vinegar

salt to taste

a small bunch of coriander leaves finely chopped

3 tbsp oil

to grind to a paste:

1 meduim onion chopped

3 whole dry kashmiri chillies

2 whole dry madras chillies

2 whole dry bedki chillies

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

1 cup coconut milk or 1/2 coconut freshly grated

5 peppercorns

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp tamarind paste

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

salt

For tempering:

1/2 onion finely chopped

a few curry leaves

Method :

• Marinate the fish with salt and turmeric and keep aside for 10 minutes.
• In a mixer, grind all the ingredients as mentioned above to a fine paste with little water.
• Take some oil in a frying pan and fry the marinated fish on both sides and keep aside.
• Take another pan and heat some oil in it. Then add the curry leaves and the finely chopped onion and fry nicely.
• Then add the ground masala and fry it well for about 5 minutes
• Then add enough water to the masala to make it a gravy (not too thick or not too thin) like consistency
• Bring this to a boil. Then add the vinegar and again bring to a boil. Check seasoning.
• To this add the fried fish pieces and cover and cook for 3 minutes.
• Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves
• Serve hot with steamed rice.

Egg bhurji

A "bhurji" is a term used to describe a dryish masala dish which is just a mixture of stuff in small pieces. e.g: pieces of paneer, potato, etc. A very commonly eaten bhurji is the egg version - which is effectively a spicy scrambled egg dish or more accurately is probably best described as a scrambled omelette comprising a masala of eggs, potatoes and onions.

Although I have mentioned the ingredients below, you could always add your own spices and make it more creative.

Vegetarians can use grated paneer instead of eggs and make paneer bhurji in the same manner.

I have to say that this is a really fast and easy dish to make and can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or as a quick bite.

Preparation Time : 15 minutes

Serves : 3

Ingredients :

4 eggs beaten well

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

1 medium onion finely chopped

1 medium tomato finely chopped or 2 tbsp tomato puree

1 medium potato cut into small cubes and deep fried.

2 green chillies finely cut

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp garam masala powder

1 tsp ground coriander

2 tbsp milk

salt to taste

2 tbsp oil

a small bunch of fresh coriander finely chopped

Method :

• Heat oil in a large frying pan and add onions to it. Fry the onions nicely till they are golden brown in colour.
• To this add, ginger garlic paste and green chillies
• Then add the tomato puree and fry again for a minute or two
• Now add the spices (turmeric powder, red chilli powder, garam masala powder, coriander powder, salt) and fry it well for about 2 minutes.
• Then add the fried potatoes and allow it cook for about 3 minutes.
• Then add the beaten eggs and milk and keep stirring continously to ensure that the eggs do not stick to the pan.
• When you see the mixture coming together, check the seasoning and add the freshly chopped coriander leaves and remove from heat.
• Serve hot with chapatis or you could also eat it as a sandwich between 2 buttered slices of bread.

Note: The recipe above mentions potatoes but the picture shown has no potatoes in them because I didn't have any potatoes readily available at home.

Chicken Samosas

If you're an Indian food lover, then you can't miss one of India's most popular appetizer : the samosa. It generally consists of a deep fried triangular shaped pastry shell with a savoury vegetable or meat filling.

Today I decided to make chicken samosas as a snack during tea-time and it was a huge success in my house. Follow these simple steps to make a crispy samosa with a delicious and spicy chicken mince stuffing.

Preparation Time : 40 minutes

Makes : 15 Samosas

Ingredients :

for the dough:

2 cups all purpose flour

salt to taste

2 tbsp ghee

11/2 cups water

OR

15 ready pastry sheets (this is what I used for the recipe)

1 egg white beaten lightly

for the stuffing:

500 gms ground chicken

1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas

1 medium onion finely chopped

2 tbsp tomato puree or (1 tomato finely chopped)

2 green chillies finely chopped

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

5 tbsp fresh coriander leaves finely chopped

1 tbsp patak's curry paste 0r (1 tsp cumin powder & 1 tsp coriander powder)

1 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp garam masala powder

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

salt to taste

3 tbsp oil

for cooking the samosas:

Plenty of oil to deep fry the samosas

Method:

For making the stuffing:

• Heat oil in a pan. Add onions and salt and fry till they they are lightly brown.
• Then add ginger garlic paste, green chillies and cook for 2 minutes
• Now add the spices (turmeric powder, chilli powder, curry paste, garam masal powder) and stir nicely. Make sure the onions are well coated with the spice mixture.
• Now add the fresh coriander chopped and the tomato puree and mix well
• To this add peas and let it cook for a minute or so.
• If the mixture sticks to the bottom of the pan, then add a little more oil to it.
• Now add the ground chicken and mix it well with the peas and spice mixture.
• Leave it to cook on medium heat for about 20 minutes. But, give it a stir after every 5-10 minutes. Spread the meat in the pan, so that it cooks evenly.
• After 20 minutes, you will see the mince has become slightly brown. Take it away from the heat and let it cool for about 5 minutes.

For the samosa triangles:

• Look at the video above to make the samosa triangles using pastry sheets
• Brush 1 beaten egg white over the pastry to seal the edges.
• Repeat the same procedure with the remaining pastry sheets and stuffing
• Deep fry the samosa in plenty of oil till they are golden brown on both sides
• Serve hot with tomato ketchup

If using dough then:

• In a bowl, sieve the flour and salt together
• Add the ghee and mix with fingers
• Knead into a soft dough using water
• Divide the dough into 8 equal portions
• Roll in each round into 150 mm (6") diameter chapattis.
• Divide each chapatti into 2 halves
• Make a cone from each part and stuff with samosa filling
• Seal the edges carefully using a little water
• Repeat with the remaining chapattis and stuffing
• Deep fry in hot oil till golden brown in color
• Serve hot with tomato ketchup.

Aloo Palak (Spinach & Potatoes)

This is a very simple and easy dish which I like to make quite often. It is very less time consuming and can be cooked in a jiffy. We as a family enjoy this dish a lot. So here it goes...

Preparation Time : 15 minutes

Serves : 3

Ingredients :

1 bunch spinach chopped finely

1 small potato cut into cubes

1 small onion finely chopped

1 small tomato finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic finely chopped

2 green chillies slit into half

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp cumin seeds

salt to taste

1/4 tsp sugar

oil

Method :

• Heat about 1 tbsp oil in a vessel or a pan. Add cumin seeds and when they crackle, add the garlic, green chillies and fry for a minute
• Then add the onions and fry nicely till they are lightly pink in color
• Then add the tomatoes and fry for another minute
• To this add the spices (turmeric powder, chilli powder, salt & sugar) and stir well.
• Then add the potatoes and cook for about 5 minutes. Add little water if required.
• Then add the finely chopped spinach and cook again for another 5 minutes or till the potatoes are cooked well
• Serve hot with Indian chapatis.