plate2palate

Pancakes and More

2009-05-31T15:48:00.000-07:00

How good is it to dream someone to make a wonderful breakfast and hot cup of coffee when you wake up in the morning,Well my dream came true and it was more than wonderful. My Husband made one of the best omlette's that I had ever tasted and most heavenly pancakes! They were just delicious. I wanted this to go as a post, a gesture of gratitude for him. It was indeed pleasant and wonderful.

The recipe for Omlette is from him for two people.

4 eggs-nicely beaten

1/2 Onion- thinly sliced

2 tomatoes- diced small

3 green chillies- chopped(according to your taste.We like it spicy)

Mushrooms-Handful, thinly sliced

Salt-To taste

2 tbsp-Oil to grill the vegetables

2 tbsp -Oil to make the omllette( this measurement of oil is for each omllette)

To make:

In a grilling pan heat the oil and grill the vegetables till they are lightly cooked.Sprinkle salt on the vegetables and keep it closed. In a flat frying pan, heat oil and pour the beaten eggs to spread. let it cook for about 5 mins. Take couple of spoonful of vegetables and place it in the middle of the omllette and fold it in half and plate it as you like with toast or pancake.

Ingredients for Pancake:

Pancake Mix- 2 cups( makes about 5 pancakes)

Banana- 1 mashed

Blue Berry- Handful

Butter- 2 tbsp

Water- 1 1/4 cup

Strawberry- 10-12 thinly sliced.

Dollop-Whipped cream.

In a mixing bowl mix pancake flour and mashed banana and blueberry with water.Mix it to a pouring consistency( a lil thick). Heat the flat pan and butter it. Pour the pancake mixture and cook for about 1 min and flip to cook for another minute or so. Plate it and top it with freshly sliced strawberry and fresh whipped cream. Experience Heaven !!!!!

Sweet Corn Egg Soup

2008-12-29T11:00:00.000-08:00

It was one of those days which called for ultra light dinner after an over dose of south indian breakfast and lunch. We were in no mood to indulge in masala dosa's or rice and its accompaniments. Therefore I thought why not treat ourselves with a soup and a store bought salad along with garlic bread ... All the preparation required was 20 mins and we were at the dinner table enjoying the soup and everything. This soup is a must try and the best part is it can vary to suit vegetarians ,non-veges and eggetarians.

Ingredients: Serves 2

1 can -Sweet corn kernels

1 can - Chicken broth ( can also use vegetable broth)

1-egg white beaten

1/2 tsp- Soy sauce

Salt and Pepper to taste.

Method:

Coarsely grind the sweet corn. Make sure you dont grind it to a paste. There should be some kernels to bite into.In a thick bottomed vessel heat the broth . Pour the coarsely ground sweet corn into the broth.Let it come to a boil. Add soy sauce,salt and pepper. Whisk the beaten egg white into the boiling soup.Whisk continuously so that the egg white do not form a lump.Serve hot with garlic bread. Tastes yummy!!

Wonton Samosa

2008-08-14T15:05:00.000-07:00

Lazy sunday afternoon's.......after a nap I always crave to eat something crunchy,fried and spicy. I don't mind going to the extent of putting some efforts to satiate my craving. This sunday it was a job which was easy and satisfying to the taste buds. I made samosa's using the wonton wraps. It took me close to half hour to prepare the samosa's ..but to wash it down it just took couple of minutes!!! yup! they were that tasty.

Ingredients: ( 8 samosa's)

Wonton Wraps-Six small wraps

Potatoes- 2 large

Peas-Handful(Frozen)

Garam masala-1/2 tsp

Cumin powder-1/2 tsp

Coriander powder-1/2 tsp

Chilli powder- 2 pinches

Oil

Salt to taste

Method:

Cook potatoes and mash them with green peas. Add garam masala,cumin,coriander and chilli powder.Add salt to taste. Take one wonton wrap and place it on your palm. Take a spoon and scoop the filling in the center of the wrap.Brush the opposite corner's with oil .Press it against each other so that it sticks together. Repeat the same with the rest of the wraps.

Heat oil in a frying pan and deep fry the samosa's untill golden brown. Serve it with kethchup and savour it with a hot cuppa coffee or tea!

Red Bell Pepper Soup

2008-02-20T20:00:00.000-08:00

Peppers to me meant that they either had to land in Chutney's,Side dishes ,Curries or fritter's. Never did I think that they can be used to make soups too !! I tried this red bell pepper soup and it turned out simply delicious. The color of the soup was apetizing and the consistency of the soup just fulfilling.

Hubby dear was first a little apprehensive to try the soup but then he liked it so much that he said that I post this recipe in my blog so that I don't forget the ingredients to prepare it next time. That was quiet encouraging from a man who does not like his soups to be thick.

I must say that "A bowl of soup a day keeps the fat at bay" ;) .... How'z that??

Ingredients:

1 - Red Bell pepper(Cut into four pieces and deseeded)

2 -Tomatoes (Cut into halves)

1 small -Onion(Cut into small cubes)

6 cloves-Garlic

1 cup-Chicken Stock

1/3 cup cream or milk(Optional)

1 tsp pepper

1 pinch-Rosemary

2 sprigs -Thyme

1tbsp-Olive oil

Salt to taste

Preheat the oven at 350 degrees.In a pan place the red bell pepper, tomatoes,garlic and onions and drizzle olive oil. Sprinkle pepper and salt and roast the vegetable untill soft and a little charred.It takes approximately 20 mins for the vegetable to roast.Allow this to cool.

Pour in these vegetables with the chicken stock in the blender to make a fine puree. Pour the puree in a thick bottom vessel and bring to a boil on low. Slowly stir in milk or cream so that it completely blends with the puree. Throw in the thyme and rosemary and stir well. Add salt according to your taste.Serve Hot and enjoy with Tortilla chips or croutons.

Shrimp Portofino

2008-02-03T15:37:00.000-08:00

Well, Well... new year with loads of new and exciting things for me! I am now a mother !!! With this new role in life my cooking was put on the back burner.Things are slowly getting settled and I din't want to let my passion for cooking die just like that! I am here again to with a whole new purpose now and that is for my daughter to have a set of recipes when she would start cooking! How cool is that going to be for her to tell her friends that she has the vintage recipes !!!! :)

My friend S visited us this Christmas to see our lil one. We all went out to enjoy a good dinner at the Macroni Grill that chilly night.I am not a great fan of pasta's but that night I tried the Shrimp portofino and it was just great.I thought to myself that this would be the best recipe to get myself back on track in the cooking front.... tried this recipe with my variations and it has now become our favorite!!!

Ingredients

1 bunch-Whole baby Spinach leaves
1/2 cup -Mushrooms sliced
1/2 cup-Whipping cream
5 cloves-Garlic chopped
Handful -Pinenuts
3 tbsp-Butter
2 tbsp -Olive Oil
10-15-Shrimp
1 packet -Any pasta(preferably angel hair or sphagetti)
Salt
1 tsp-lemon juice
Red & Black pepper crushed

Cook the pasta al dente and keep it aside. Take a wok and heat the butter and Olive oil.Add chopped garlic and pine nuts. Take care not to fry them too much. Add the mushroom and saute.Pour in the whipping cream and boil the shrimp and spinach leaves and let the sauce simmer for a while(approx 5 mins) Add the pasta ,lime juice ,salt and mix well.Season with crushed red and black pepper.Garnish with parsley.

Serve with garlic bread and White wine.

Portobello Mushroom Burger

2007-01-25T12:35:00.000-08:00

One of my brazilian friend always mentioned about portobello mushroom burgers an I thought to myself how on earth would mushroom burger taste without meat or veggies in it! However, I decided to give it a try from one of Betty Crockers cook book fearing the results of EAT(eater acceptance test).Keeping in mind my eater(Hubby the great) I tweaked the recipe a little and it turned out to be absolutely lip smacking!!

Ingredients: Makes two burgers.

Marinade:
2 tbsp- Olive Oil
1/2 tsp- Thyme *
1 pinch- Rosemary
1 tbsp - Dijon Mustard
1 tbsp - Honey Mustard*

1/2 tsp- Freshly Ground Pepper
1/2 tsp- Hot Sauce1 tbsp - Grated lemon peel
1 tbsp - Grated Grapefruit peel (Optional) *
Salt to taste.
2 Portobello mushrooms- Clean wiped
1 number - Sliced Onion.

Assemling:
MayonnaiseLettuce leaves
Sliced Tomatoes
2 slices of provolone cheese *
Burger Buns.

In a wide container add all the marinade ingredients and mix well. Rub the marinade on the mushrooms so that it coats both the sides evenly.Mix in the onions in the marinade.Heat the grill pan. Place the mushrooms and onions on the grill pan till the mushroom is cooked on both the sides and the onions are caramalized.Rub the remanining marinade(if any)when you flip the mushrooms and onions everytime.Spread mayo on the burger buns,place the lettuce leaves,mushroom patty,caramalized onions,cheese,Sliced tomatoes.
Serve it with ketchup,Chips and pickle!!!

*These ingredients are my addtions to the original recipe

Chicken Tikka Masala

2006-11-16T13:47:00.000-08:00

Come to think of chicken the only dishes that always came to my mind were the chicken biryani, chilli chicken and chicken fry which are very easy to prepare until I tried this chicken tikka masala which turned out to be absolutely tasty and a very easy dish to whip up when in hurry.

Chicken Tikka with Naan took me straight to the Dhaba on the Mysore-Bangalore road which we used to frequently visit as students. As I savored each bit of the naan and chicken tikka masala … I felt nostalgic, gathered all my memories of my student life, sharing 1 dish with six people, the 1 by 2 tea, desperately collecting each single rupee from everyone to make up the amount for what we ate and so on. The taste was pretty much the same as the dhaba tikka taste except that we dint have to share it with six people…..Those were the days.

Ingredients

½ pound Chicken
2 tbsp-Tomatos Paste
2 Tomatoes- Pureed
1tsp-Ginger Garlic paste
2 Tbsp- Chilli powder
2-3 pods – Cardamom powder (remove the pods)
1-2 –Cloves
1tsp- Cumin powder
5-8 tbsp – Heavy whipping cream
2 Tbsp-Fenugreek leaves (Dried/ Fresh)
2 Tbsp- Vegetable Oil
½ stick –Butter
Salt to taste
Fresh cilantro to garnish.

Marinade Ingredients:
1 cup- Thick yogurt
½ tsp-Chilli Powder
½ tsp-Ginger Garlic paste
2 drop-Red food color
1 tsp-Salt
2tbsp-Butter(liquid)
Salt to taste

Method:
Marinade the chicken with marinade ingredients for about 5-8 hours in the refrigerator. Skew the marinated chicken and grill it in the oven till the chicken is cooked. When cooled shred the chicken pieces and keep it aside.
In a pan add the oil and pour the Tomato puree. Add the tomato paste. Stir in the ginger garlic paste and fry for 2 mins.Add the chilli powder, salt, powdered cardamom, Cumin and cloves. Bring the mixture to a boil. Stir in the whipping cream and the butter. Finally add the shredded chicken pieces and bring it to a nice boil. Mix in the fenugreek leaves and garnish the dish with cilantro.
Relish this with naan or Roti and take a free trip to any dhaba you wish!.

Nucchi aka Coconut Rice

2006-10-12T15:25:00.000-07:00

I think everyone of us has one or the other recipe in our vaults saved for the rainy day right ??? Atleast I have a few of them which I prepare when I am really exhausted or in no mood to cook an elaborate lunch or dinner.
Yesterday was one of those days …though I got back early from work I was in no mood to cook at all but then dragged myself to the kitchen and opened my virtual vault of recipes and the one that came into my mind was Nucchi or Coconut rice.
Well, the dish may look plain but please do not judge this dish by its looks rather prepare it and taste it.
The efforts required for this is just five mins.

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups –Basmati Rice
2 Tbsp- Fenugreek seeds (This is a must)
4-5 Tbsp –Oil
1 tsp- Mustard seeds
Few curry leaves.
4-5- Green chillies (or according to taste)
Handful of grated coconut.(This is a must)
2 Cups-Water

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. Wait till they sputter, add the curry leaves, green chillies and the fenugreek seeds and fry for a minute or so. Add the rice and fry it for a minute, add the and grated coconut and pressure cook.

* We normally eat it with lime pickle. I think korma would also taste good with this.

Exploring Thai Flavors

2006-10-09T09:24:00.000-07:00

I am crazy about cook books and I bring all kinds of cook books from the library, Well, you may think that my hubby is the luckiest for he can have different types of dishes everyday…then you are wrong, majority of the time is just getting to know the ingredients or simply drool & look at the pictures in the book. LOL

Anyways, hubby dear had enough of my drooling and challenged me if I could just make one of the recipes from the four books that I borrowed !! I said to him “Well,your wish is granted !” and I set to make this Thai Curry.I had all the ingredients ready for this recipe except for basil leaves & and the green curry paste, So it turned out to be a 15 minute meal!!

But in the scale of 1-10, I would rate this curry on number 7, maybe because I used the whole tin of curry paste the flavor was strong and to top it I eyeballed the entire recipe.
Those of you who would like to tweak the recipe are welcome to try it and let me know the results!!! :)

Ingredients

1 Can- Coconut milk
1 small Tin- Thai green curry paste
2 tbsp- Cream or Coconut milk
2 tbsp- Vegetable oil
6-7- Basil Leaves
3-4- Canned cubed Bamboo Shoots
6-7-Sliced Mushrooms
3-4- Small cubes Baby Corn
1- Cubed Japanese eggplant
1-Red chilli for garnishing

In a wok fry the veggies( Do not let the veggies cook).In a pot simmer coconut milk for 2-3mins, then add the green curry paste and stir for 2-3 mins.Add the fried vegetables in the curry and let it cook till tender.Add the basil leaves when the curry is about to be removed from heat.
Garnish it with coconut milk/cream and a red chilli.

* I left out the lime leaves.
* If you like the curry to be mild then use less of the curry paste.The curry paste has the lemon grass and the galangal.
* Shrimp/chicken can be used along with vegetables.

Haloween Pumpkin Dosa

2006-09-19T22:19:00.000-07:00

Procastinating things is one thing I would like to change in me sometime, I am known for it and I know surviving with this trait in my DNA will not help me in this fast and competetive world!! But , I can't help it !!!! Here I am late again partipating in the FMR event!! Someday, I am hopeful of catching up with things :(

I am a person who believes in "Better late than Never" !! So here I am with the event that lead me to this FMR Event. Believe me this dish was prepared somewhere in the month of September!

I saw this recipe using Butternut Squash on the food network show and decided I would prepare it this weekend, Well, things never happen as planned and the desert turned out to be a disaster( I tried tweaking it a little... nopes actually tweaked a lot!! ;) ].
Anyways, din't know what to do next with the half cut squash , so in it went into refrigerator ....... until I saw Mita's Blog FMR event. Since I have never prepared anything out of pumpkin/Squash , I decided I will try my hand making Squash Dosa and my recipe will soon follow ..but not before I type down what I learnt abt pumpkins and their cousins.

The word Pumpkin originated from the greek word Pepon meaning large melon.
Pumpkins I read are an extended family of cucumber's
I wonder why despite their hard exterior pumpkins are not grown in Antartica!!
Morton ,Illinois is the pumpkin capital of the world.
For all us ladies(and men too!) consuming pumpkin will reduce freckles.

Source:About Pumpkins

About Pumpkin

Ingredients:

1/2 Butternut Squash

1 cup Rice(Soak for 2-3 hours)

6 tbsp grated coconut

Water to blend

Salt to taste.

Oil

Peel the skin of the squash,cut into small cubes and grind with all the ingredients to a smooth dosa/pancake consistency. Heat the griddle and pour the batter to make dosa.

* I added 2 tbsp of grated coconut and dosa turned out to be a little hard. I also did not let the batter ferment.

Maggificent Dinner

2006-09-11T14:49:00.000-07:00

“Maggi Noodle” .............Well, this is the name that I think all of us are familiar with. I am assuming that maggi noodles were the first of its kind in India other than Vermicelli. Those days getting my mother to let us buy Maggi noodles was one big task,15 years back it used to cost about Rs 8 a pack if I remember it right and convincing Mom to buy and prepare Maggi was one hell of a job, but it was worth the effort, that 2 mins thing taste is still etched in my mind. However, though its available at very minimal price I feel the taste of the Maggi Masala is not as flavorful as it used to be.
So, this time when my sister visited us here she taught me a healthy, simple and super easy recipe with Maggi noodles without using the masala . This was a simple yet fulfilling dinner for us this weekend. Must say kids would love it!!!

2 packets- Maggi Noodles (Discard the maggi masala)
1 cup – Fresh/Frozen Peas
4 tbsp- Olive/vegetable oil
5-6 Tbsp-Fresh pepper
Ketchup
Chilli Sauce
Salt to taste.
Egg-Optional
Water to boil the noodles.

Boil the Maggi noodles, Drain the water, In a skillet heat the oil , add the noodles, peas and pepper and salt. Mix all together well. If adding egg, scramble egg in a separate dish and mix it with the noodles. Add Ketchup and chilli sauce.

Serve with Egg Burji, Manchurian or sautéed Mushrooms…. Tastes Great!!

Eggplant Talasani

2006-09-01T08:46:00.000-07:00

Well, before I put this recipe down , I must say that I have a special place for the vegetable ‘Brinjal’ in my heart though it was not the vegetable that I would long to eat until when I played the role of Brinjal in the vegetable drama that the school had organized to tell the story of vegetables to all the children. I remember those dialogues where other vegetable’s like Onion considered to be having a beautiful color and Okra for having a slender body making fun of me for my dark color and a green cap(Stem) on my head!!! From then on I have just been a huge fan of Brinjals,it is one amongst my favorite vegetables!!! I think the drama had a profound effect on me maybe because I played the role!! ;)

Here is the recipe:

1 brinjal (small cubes)
10-12 garlic cloves (maybe less, if you don’t like garlic much)
6-7 Red Chillies
4 tbsp Vegetable Oil
Salt to taste

In a pan heat the oil , when hot add the garlic and sauté till golden brown, add the red chillies and sauté for another minute add the cut brinjal and salt to taste, sprinkle some water so that the brinjal does not get stuck to the pan. Cover the pan with a lid and cook on medium heat. The brinjal gets cooked in the steam when covered with the lid, Once the brinjal is soft , remove from heat and serve hot with rice or porridge.

Maddur Vada's

2006-08-19T18:43:00.000-07:00

Shwe , Poo and me have been best of friend’s ever since we were kid’s. Though our friendship has matured over the period of time,there is not a topic under the sun that we have not spoken about, right from whining about our school homework’s to boys to our married lives to our tried and tested recipes. But of all the things I guess that we enjoy talking now is the recipes. Though Poo is not here in US I try to get in touch with her every once in a while and all she does is remind me of her signature dish called Taleepeth. She is famous in our group for that… and believe me she gave me the recipe and I have prepared it probably "n" number of times.
Whereas Shwe has her hands on the snack part and most of all her snacks that I like is her maddur vadas. Maddur is a small town in Karnataka district and this place is just famous for its vadas. My mouth salivates when I am writing this. It is just an awesome comfort food which Shwe has managed to create it with the right quantity of ingredients to match the maddur vadas of Maddur. Thank you Shwe for sharing your recipe .This will always remind me of our travel from Mysore to Bangalore with a in between stop at Maddur to grab a bite for the rest of our journey! Those were the maddur vada days :(

Cheer’s to Maddur Vada

Makes about 15 vadas

1 cup of Rice Flour
1 cup of Maida (All purpose flour)
1 ½ cups of Sooji Rava (Semolina flour, not very coarse)
¼ cup of Vegetable Oil
4 green chillies
1 onion
10 stalks of Cilantro
10-12 Cashews (cut into small pieces)
Oil for Deep Frying.
Curry leaves (few)
Sugar to taste
Salt to taste

In a pan fry the Flours separately (until the flour warms up), add all the ingredients and mix it with water to form the consistency of the chappati dough. Make small sized balls and keep it aside.
On your palm rub some oil, place the mixture ball in the centre and start pressing it with your right hand to form into a not so thick round shape. Deep fry it in oil until both sides become brown and crispy. Drain the excess oil on a paper towel.

Serve it either hot or after cooled with chutney or have it just like that with coffee.

*This can be stored for close to 15 days in an air tight container.

Onion & Spinach Pakora

2006-08-18T19:10:00.000-07:00

Potluck at a friend’s place…

I remember those hustle bustle parties that we used to have when we were young, all my aunts used to get together and prepare varieties of dishes flaunting their expertise in the dishes they made, boy that used to be a feast. Those were the times….
Dinner get together with friends now has been an integral parts of our lives since we moved here on work. Since most of our friends are bachelors and bacheloretts they always have lots of things to talk about their culinary experiences and my eyes and ears are always open when it come to the matter of food.
I almost spent half a day of my time thinking what I would be whipping to take to the pot luck party , I breezed form no fat healthy food to all fried items. As you all know, its always the tongue that rules over your head when it comes to food!!! (At least mine!!)…So here goes the recipe.

Ingredients

5 big size red or yellow onions (Thinly Sliced)
1 bunch spinach (Finely chopped)
2 green chillies (Chopped)
½ bunch cilantro (Chopped)
½ cup besan flour
2 tbsp Rice flour
1tsp chilli powder
Salt to taste.

In a broad pan put all the ingredients and sprinkle very little water and start mixing it with your fingers. (* Note that the onions are watery and using too much water will make the batter watery).
In a shallow frying pan heat oil at medium, when the oil is hot take a small spoon and scoop the mixture to the size you want and fry it in oil. Keep turning it upside down every 2 mins and let them fry until golden brown. Place the fried pakoras on a kitchen towel to drain excess oil.

Serve it with ketchup or with hot coffee.

** The batter should be prepared just 5 mins before making the pakoras because Onions large water content .

Here I am!!!

2006-07-26T15:42:00.000-07:00

Like most of you bloggers I have been thinking of having a blog of my own but things never happened, I am a huge fan of food blogs and believe me my day at work starts with opening up a food blog just reading all the enthusiastic cooks have to offer. what a way to start the day!! I simply love it. Well, then I thought to myself one day why don’t I try jumping in the wagon of food blogging and here I am!!!

Me: Basically a South Indian Konkani brought up in Karnataka. All throughout my childhood and growing up days I have been having varieties of food, not forgetting to mention like all mothers my mother too is an excellent cook. She is known amongst our family and friends for her fastness and creativity to churn out delicacies with whatever she has in her pantry. She can make best out of waste. I have never seen her wasting any of the food at home and I think at times I have acquired most of her traits though I wont claim that I am as famous as her amongst our circles.

I personally feel that the art and interest of cooking develops within the surroundings that one tries their hand, for instance irrespective of the taste of dishes ,my dad always appreciated my mom for her efforts to trying out new dishes and made a point that we (myself & sister) and him ate what she made…..but I also remember his funny comment, he used to say “This was an excellent dish but please don’t make it next time” That’ mom and dad!!
Well, I am lucky in that way too, since hubby dear has always been my experimental scapegoat, of course with occasional “Oh!! No not again typa thing!!!I love him when he does that!!! ;)

I would not want to limit my blog to Konkani food alone, Please be ready to see recipes from all over sliced and diced to my whims and fancies. Before I get into putting down my recipes I must confess that I am not a creative thinker… Hence please bear with me if my thoughts are not in order. I like to write(type) as I think…
I would like to share all good and bad experiences of my culinary journey with you fellow bloggers .