Steamed Eggs

Overview:

Extremely easy and quick to make given its a feast worth waiting for.. Well, I don't really want to brag about it but could not help saying all that because this delicacy is something I make for lunch/dinner when I really don't have anything left to cook at home and everyone wants to eat "something nice". 

My husband's friends stopped by the other day and I had no idea what to offer for dinner, that would look nice to serve and quick to make.. so with simple daal-chaval I thought of adding "Steamed eggs" on the serving tray so that nobody goes disappointed from the house of a "born-chef" !! :)

Now Eggs cook very easily in just a little steam, just like you can poach the eggs in boiling water. 

The process has to be gradual , and trust me.. the result looks beautiful.

Cooking Time : 20 mins, serves 4-5

Ingredients :

• 4 White eggs
• 2 chopped onions
• some finely chopped ginger
• 2 chopped tomatoes
• Spices: 2 tbsp Dhaniya (coriander) powder, 1 tsp red chilli powder, 0.5 tsp haldi(turmeric), 0.5 tsp garam masala
• salt to taste
• chopped coriander(cilantro) and green chillies for garnishing.
• 2 tbsp cooking oil

Recipe:

1. Heat oil in a skillet and add onions and ginger to it. Fry until golden pink.
2. Now add all the spices and mix well.
3. Now add the chopped tomatoes and sprinkle salt all over the mixture. Add a little tomato puree to increase acidity. otherwise, just add 3 tbsp water.
4. break open all the 4 eggs over the mixture. Yes, just break open the egg and empty it out in the skillet over the mixture.. that is exactly what you have to do !!
5. After adding all the eggs, put flame on medium heat and sprinkle salt and garam masala over the recently added eggs to even out the taste. Just make sure you do not add excessive salt.
6. Cook covered for 5 mins. Open the lid and with a spatula gently tap on the eggs to see if they are still mushy.
7. Cook (covered) for a longer time if eggs are mushy. Eventually they will become firm throughout. That is because, We added water and tomatoes drained enough water to generate steam which cooked the eggs. So, we are all done !!

Presentation :

Serve in bowl garnished with chopped coriander/cilantro leaves and chillies. Can be eaten with Chapaties/Rice.

** So, You can play with the ingredients and spices used. This is a recipe with Indian spices, but I am thinking of making it "Italian" !!! 

Shrimp Salad

Overview:

All I can say about this is "quick" , "easy", "healthy" and "tasty".

Shrimps take very less time to cook. They must not be overcooked because then they become a little harder to chew as they loose excessive water. The best cooking result for fresh shrimps is mild toss and turn. That is why they should be added at the end.

Cooking time : 10 mins

Ingredients :

You will need : 

• Fresh Shrimps (Peeled and washed)
• 4 grated garlic cloves
• Salad blend of your choice. I personally like Romaine lettuce and carrots. But a little flavorful veggies like onion, peppers, green peas etc. will be an added advantage.
• Italian bruschetta dressing
• 1000 Island dressing
• Extra virgin olive oil
• salt 
• fresh lemon juice

Recipe :

1. Heat some olive oil in a skillet and saute grated garlic in it till golden brown.
2. Now add shrimps, sprinkle salt over them and gently toss and turn for around 30 seconds on medium flame.
3. Add some lemon juice and Italian bruschetta dressing over shrimps and turn the heat off so that the water lost by shrimps stays as a sauce dressing for salad.
4. Let the thick gravy cool down a bit.

Presentation :

Set the salad blend in a bowl and evenly spread the shrimp gravy over it. Sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese  and dress with 1000 Island dressing or Catalina dressing for a sweeter taste. Bingo !! healthy and tasty meal is ready..!!

Pasta shells in Parmesan-Romano-tomato sauce

Overview:

Just my love for Italian food compelled me to do yet another experiment with beautiful pasta shells. I prefer using shells rather than spaghetti or noodles etc. because I love the way they look. They give a classy appearance to the simplest sauce, which is what we are going to see here.On the calorie count, this is more of a kids meal or athlete meal because it is high on carb and protein. Some fat too, but wait till you look at it! I bet you would want to dig in a couple of scoops at least :D

Ingredients : 

• Pasta shells
• 2-3 garlic cloves (grated)
• Italian Bruschetta dressing
• Italian seasoning with dried oregano, thyme, rosemary and basil.
• Ranch
• salt as per taste
• Parmesan Romano sauce(available at grocery stores)
• two big tomatoes (finely diced)
• Shredded Parmesan cheese
• Shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 2tbsp extra-virgin olive oil.

Recipe:

1. Boil pasta shells in saline water, drain them and set them aside.
2. In a large skillet, heat olive oil and saute the grated garlic in it till golden-light brown.
3. Now add the diced tomatoes and sprinkle little salt over them so that they can loose water and become mushy.
4. Cook covered for 3 minutes on medium-high and now add around 3 tbsp of Italian Bruschetta dressing.
5. Cook covered for another couple of mins medium-high and then add 3 tbsp of Parmesan-Romano sauce.
6. Cook covered on simmer for another 2 mins and add 1 tbsp ranch to thicken the gravy.
7. Sprinkle some Italian seasoning over the gravy while cooking it on simmer flame.
8. Finally sprinkle some shredded Parmesan cheese and three times the same amount of shredded Mozzarella cheese and stir gravy.

Presentation/Serving:

In a platter, serve pasta shells and pour gravy evenly over them. Sprinkle some more Mozzarella cheese and serve hot.

Indian Pav - Bhaji

Overview:

Whenever Pav-bhaji comes to my mind, I am reminded of my Hostel/College days. Since I studied in Nagpur (Maharashtra, India), I got a chance to taste few authentic marathi delicacies and my good luck that the people who gave me that chance were generous enough to share their secret recipes too !

So this one comes from my very favorite "Kanta" tai, one of the cooks at my hostel. Although there was this particular stall in the nearby market who made the best bhaji ever in the whole town. I remember it was Rs 15 a plate, with 2 pavs and a bowl of bhaji.. sufficient for our "petite appetite" :D

Cooking time : 30 mins excluding the roasting of Pavs, serves 5-6

Ingredients: 

You will need :

• Florets from one large cauliflower(washed thoroughly)
• 1 bowl of fresh green peas (approx 200 gm)
• 2 small carrots (diced in smaller pieces)
• 3 -4 Potatoes (medium size skin peeled)
• MDH Pav bhaji masala
• 3-4 cloves of garlic (grated)
• 2 onions (chopped)
• 3 tomatoes (chopped)
• salt to taste
• butter
• chopped coriander leaves and chopped green chillies
• 2 tbsp oil

Recipe:

1. In a steam-cooker, put cauliflower florets, green peas, carrots and potatoes with some water. Cook at high pressure for 15-20 mins. so, let go approximately 4-5 whistles.
2. In a separate large skillet heat oil and add the grated garlic to it. saute until golden brown and then add the diced onions. 
3. saute the mixture until onions are golden pink and then add diced tomatoes. Cook covered until the tomatoes become soft and mushy. Add salt to taste and then add 2-3 tbsp Pav bhaji masala.
4. mix well and add chopped green chillies.
5. Now mix all the boiled vegetables with a large spatula. Mix well till the point they appear to be blended well. This will take around 15 mins of hard labor and the outcome should be more like a vegetable paste.
6. Now add the mix we made in the skillet to the blended vegetable paste and add a full glass of water. Heat the mixture on high flame and add more salt and pav bhaji masala as per the taste requirement. The bhaji is done.!!

Serving/Presentation Instruction:

Serve in a bowl garnished with chopped coriander topped with a tsp butter, alongside freshly roasted pav.

Pavs are available in Indian grocery stores and can be roasted in oven without oil too.

** Sorry about the hardly presentable picture. Actually I cooked for 2 cricket teams so made in bulk :)