The Variety Burrito

Overview:

hola amigos !!

In US, there is absolutely no need for making efforts to find authentic and delicious Mexican food, almost everyone will have the names of the restaurants and joints on the tip of their tongues ! So, what is a burrito entree doing here? Nothing much, I just focused on vegetarianism and kept a watch on calories while still keeping the Mexican spice alive ! The fondness for Mexican food shouldn't drive anyone to dine outside more than once a week. Lets be creative because it is super easy  !

Cooking time : 50 mins, serves 2-3

Ingredients:

You will need, 

• Large size burrito bases. Prefer wheat rather than flour.
• 500g Red Kidney Beans, or Black Kidney Beans soaked overnight in lukewarm water
• Red and green Peppers(cut in half and diced along length)
• boiled corn kernels, approx 100 g
• 2 big onions cut in half and diced along length
• 2 big tomatoes finely chopped.
• 1 cup fresh cilantro/coriander leaves finely chopped
• Low fat Sour cream
• Pepper Jack Cheese
• Some shredded Mozzarella cheese (Low fat)
• blend of shredded Low fat Mexican cheese(Pack is readily available in stores, comprises of : Mozzarella  Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Colby)
• Red Taco Sauce, I use Ortega's. ( medium spicy)
• Green Enchilada Sauce 
• Diced green chillies soaked in vinegar for 3-5 hours
• Boiled Mexican Rice( I prefer Brown)
• 2 tbsp Olive oil

Recipe:

1. Boil the soaked beans in a little extra water along with salt per taste, till tender and soft. Keep the water intact and mix the beans gently to turn the mixture smooth. Add 2 slices of pepper jack cheese and mix well. Now the mixture will be smooth and creamy.
2. Heat the olive oil in an old skillet, that has been used over 2 years.. I suggest this because I personally like the smoky flavor in sauteed vegetables which can only come if your skillet has cooked around 1000 meals !!
3. Add peppers and onions and saute till golden brown and look smoking :-) You can even distinctly smell the aromas of smoked pepper and onions.
4. Sprinkle a little salt and add the boiled corn and diced green chillies soaked in vinegar. Toss gently and set aside.
5. Add the cilantro to chopped tomatoes.
6. Take a separate flat pan and heat it. Cook the burrito base on the pan for 30 seconds approximately on both sides, till the sides look well cooked. This process doesn't need any oil.
7. Lay the cooked burrito in a Platter and place 2-3 tbsp of boiled brown rice and run generous amount of the bean mixture along length of the burrito.
8. Now place the sauteed vegetables along length followed by tomatoes and cilantro.
9. Toss small lumps of sour cream at two or three places along the length.
10. Pour 2 tbsp of red and green sauces generously along the length over the existing filling.
11. Sprinkle some fresh Mozzarella and Mexican cheese blend over it aesthetically. Its done! 

Presentation:

After filling, just close the burrito as shown in image and if needed use a tooth pick to hold it together. You could also place one end of the burrito in a foil to make it easy to hold. Serve with fresh cut lettuce, chips and salsa.

Mantener cocinar!!

Keep Cooking :-)

Mushroom-Peas gravy (North Indian style)

Overview:

Mushrooms, although very rich source of proteins(being in the secondary mycelium state when consumed) are not very likable among most of us. It might be because of their bland and raw taste which is more acquired than loved. I like mushrooms, and my experimental advents into finding out the best way to cook them made me draw the following conclusions. Mushrooms taste awesome in black pepper,yogurt and cream and also if cooked along with cashew and raisins, they give a peculiar nice aroma and taste. So, this one is a gravy where I cooked mushrooms in raisins and cashews. I will also discuss, how to make the same in black pepper in the same recipe, but I do not have a picture for it :-(

Ingredients:

You will need,

• Regular box of mushrooms, about 1.1 pound(500 grams).
• 1 cup washed green peas
• Half cup golden raisins
• 1/4th cup cashew-nuts
• Bay leaves, 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 regular onion, 2X2 inch piece ginger, 5 garlic cloves and 2-3 green chillies blended together
• 2 tbsp cooking oil( olive oil is healthier)
• salt 
• hunts tomato puree or diced tomato can
• 2tbsp dhaniya powder, 1tsp turmeric, 1 tsp red chilli powder, 1 tsp shan garam masala mixed together in 4-5 tbsp water.

Recipe:

1. Wash mushrooms and dice them into quarters. Do not dice very small pieces because they loose a lot of water and become almost minced otherwise. That reduces the aesthetic factor of the delicacy. 
2. Wash green peas and set aside. Heat the oil in a pressure cooker on high flame and add the bay leaves and cinnamon stick.
3. Now add the blend of onion-ginger-garlic-green chillies and saute till golden brown. This should not take more than 2 mins.
4. Add the mixture of Dhaniya powder,turmeric,red-chilli powder,garam masala to the cooker and stir well.
5. Now add salt as per taste. Stir the mixture well and now add the diced mushrooms and green peas together. Saute for a while so that the spice blend is evenly mixed in the vegetables.
6. Now add the raisins and the cashews. Mix well for a minute.
7. Now add 2/3rd can of the tomato puree/diced tomatoes. Cook for 2 minutes and then close the lid of the cooker.
8. Let go off just one whistle and turn off the heat. The mushrooms are done !!

Recipe with black pepper:

Just don't add raisins and Instead of adding turmeric and red-chilli powder just add 1 tsp of black pepper powder and add half cup of yogurt before adding tomatoes. After the whistle goes off, garnish generously with cream and mix well before serving !! (which means .. everything is same as above.. except in step 4, instead of turmeric and red-chilli powder, add 1 tsp crushed( or powdered) black pepper and after stirring it for a minute, add half cup of yogurt. and in step 6, do not add raisins .. )

Presentation:

Garnish with green chillies and cilantro! Serve Hot !

Cucumber Sandwich

Overview:

It is just your regular cucumber sandwich , made out of whole wheat bread, stuffed with cucumber, tomatoes  onion or lettuce/romaine in a little unconventional way. A breakfast or lunch ,easy to prepare, much better on health count and a tasty and healthy getaway from oats once in a while :-)

Ingredients:

You will need,

• wheat bread
• cucumber slices
• finely chopped tomatoes
• finely chopped onion
• finely chopped lettuce/romaine as you prefer
• black pepper
• salt
• any pasta sauce, or even regular ketchup will do
• fresh mozzarella cheese
• For a meat sandwich, one can use baked chicken or even turkey left after thanksgiving ;-)

Recipe:

1. Toast two bread slices. I prefer toasting the bread first because later with all the filling the sandwich becomes all soggy inside.
2. On the bread slice, spread ketchup or your favorite pasta sauce.( can have flavors of Parmesan garlic etc.) Top up with tomatoes, onions, cucumber slices and lettuce/romaine generously.
3. Sprinkle some salt and black pepper powder on it evenly.
4. Garnish with fresh mozzarella cheese and cover the sandwich with the other slice of bread.
5. Microwave the sandwich at high power for 15 seconds, cut in halves.

Presentation:

Cut in even halves and serve with fresh fruit or salad. I once made an additional filling of baked rosemary chicken to be put into it. All you have to do is , flavor chicken with rosemary herb, salt-pepper for 15-20 mins and bake it at 400 degree F(205 degree C) and splash some lemon juice on it after baking. Fill it in along with veggies :-)

You can use the left-over thanksgiving Turkey too !!

Remi's Ratatouille ..

Overview : 

So, my project of this year was this gorgeous dish, rather presentation. I am sure many cooking enthusiasts who have watched this movie  "Ratatouille" must have fallen in love with the rat "Remy" and must have definitely fantasized preparing Ratatouille and savoring it just like "Anton Ego". I fantasized too and read about it. It didn't seem to be a tough job after all, considering also the fact that I go gaga over French/Italian food. But the presentation they showed in the movie was so elegant that I could not help giving it a try..

So, I made a fully vegetarian presentation, with vegetables like yellow squash, Italian eggplant, zucchini and red bell pepper. Here it goes..

Cooking time: 50 minutes, excluding dicing vegetables. Serves 2-3 

Ingredients :

• 1/2 onion finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves (Grated)
• 1 cup tomato puree
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small Italian Eggplant
• 1 small zucchini
• 1 small yellow squash
• 1 long red bell pepper
• Fresh or dried Thyme leaves
• Salt and pepper
• Mozzarella cheese and little  tomme de chevre cheese

Recipe : 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degree F or 190 degree Celsius.
2. In a large/longish baking tray(approx) 10 inches in length (regular corelle dish) , spread the tomato puree evenly. Add salt and pepper generously over the puree and add the grated garlic and chopped onion. Mix 1 tbsp olive oil and stir the sauce. Sprinkle chopped parsley if you have, but its not necessary.
3. Sprinkle some Mozzarella and  tomme de chevre cheese over it.
4. Now slice all the vegetables in the cross-section across width, into thin slices.. The slice should be half a centimeter thin.
5. Arrange slices of prepared vegetables concentrically from outer edge to the inside of the baking dish, overlapping so just a little edge of each flat surface is visible. Do that by alternating vegetables.
6. Spread the remaining olive oil over vegetables and season them evenly with salt,pepper and dried thyme leaves.
7. Sprinkle some fresh mozzarella finally and cover the dish with a parchment paper that is cut in exact size as that of top of the baking dish. Paper should be put and cut in such a way that, it covers the vegetables exactly and doesn't sag inside them.
8. Now put the dish in preheated oven and bake for 50 minutes. Do not over-bake, otherwise the vegetables can burn and flavor may be spoiled. La Ratatouille is ready for presentation !!

Presentation:

Serve in a platter with any way you like. Its a presentation dish, so you can be very creative with it. I like the movie presentation. But it can be served with Rice/Pasta as well. I personally feel it tastes awesome with rice..!!

Chicken Do-Pyaaza

Overview :

A very aromatic, North - Indian style chicken curry. Its famously called as Chicken "Do-Pyaaza" because of the technique of marination of chicken. Its kept in onion-ginger-garlic paste twice(one time in marination and other while cooking) and hence called "Do-Pyaaza". "Do" is Hindi for "twice". It is actually a Mughal legacy.

Cooking Time : 30 mins including pre-cooking preparation.

Marination :  6-7 hours. Plan your cooking accordingly. The chicken needs to be marinated for this much time atleast.

Ingredients :

• 4 lbs ( roughly 2 kilogram) of  your choice of  boneless chicken 

• 2 big onion, one big piece of ginger and 7-8 cloves of garlic, few green chillies blended together.

• flavor spices : 3 big black cardamom(badi elaichi), 2 Bay leaves(tej-patra), 2 small Cinnamon sticks(Dalchini), salt to taste

• dry spices : 4 tbsp coriander powder, 2 tsp red chilli powder

• 2 tbsp cooking oil.
• MDH Chicken curry masala for additional fragrance.
• salt as per taste
• 3 tbsp tomato puree

Recipe : 

1. Wash chicken properly and cut into smaller chunks, say 3X3 inches.
2. In a bowl, take half of the blended onion-ginger-garlic mixture and add 2 tbsp coriander powder, 1 tsp red chilli powder and 2 tsp chicken curry masala. Add 2 tsp salt and mix well. Now add all the chicken pieces and mix gently. Set aside for 7 hours. So you have to plan the cooking accordingly.
3. Heat oil in a large vessel with cover or a pressure cooker on high flame and add all the flavor spices like black cardamom, bay leaves, cinnamon sticks etc.  Now add the rest of the onion-ginger-garlic paste and saute until dark brown.
4. Lower the flame to medium and add the rest of the spices like 2 tbsp coriander powder, 1 tsp red chilli powder, salt to taste and 1 tsp chicken curry masala to the sauteed mixture. Stir evenly and add the tomato puree.
5. Now add all the marinated chicken and keep the flame on medium low. Add 3-4 tbsp water and cook covered for around 15 minutes, till the chicken has completely cooked. It may take additional 10 minutes to cook it completely.
6. If using a pressure cooker, let go just 1 or 2 whistles and then turn the heat off. By this time you will definitely come to know how aromatic this particular recipe is.

Presentation:

Serve hot garnished with cilantro leaves and green chillies. Enjoy with rice or chapatis.

Asian Shrimp Fried Rice

Overview :

Another quick, easy and tasty Asian recipe using shrimps, red and green bell peppers,onions and scallions.

The best things about Asian cuisine is that a regular flavor is obtained with a little spices. Its a game of sauces actually. 

Cooking Time : 30-40 mins including pre-cooking preparations, Serves 3-4

Ingredients :

• 3 cups plain boiled rice ( preferably brown rice).  Authentic Asian recipes use more brown rice than white.
• 3 grated garlic cloves
• 1 cup finely chopped red pepper.
• 1 cup finely chopped green pepper
• 1 bundle finely chopped scallions
• 15-20 washed medium sized shrimps
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp white vinegar
• 2 tsp red-chilli garlic sauce
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 tbsp lemon juice for final acidity.
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• Salt as per taste
• 1 tbsp sugar

Recipe : 

1. Heat the cooking oil in a medium/large skillet over high flame and add the grated garlic. Saute until golden brown.
2. Add all the chopped vegetables and stir-fry gently. Add salt and 1 tbsp sugar generously all over the vegetables.
3. Reduce the heat to medium and keep covered for a minute.
4. Now add the mentioned amount of soy sauce, vinegar, garlic sauce to veggies. Stir gently. You will notice that the color of the gravy has changed to a darker brown.
5. Now add the lemon juice and the washed shrimps. Stir gently. The shrimps will loose some water. That is a normal thing to happen. Reduce the flame to medium low and cook opened.
6. Now stir well one last time. There will be a little gravy left in the vegetables.

Presentation :

Mix the vegetable-shrimp gravy with brown rice and serve hot. You can even make a presentation with rice by any contrasting way you like :-) . For spicier gravy, add more red-chilli garlic sauce or add some chopped green chillies as well. 

Spanish Frittata

Overview:

My apologies for the delayed advent into writing about another eggitarian delicacy I prepared last month itself. The Spanish Frittata or most conveniently described as the baked Spanish Omelette. Making use of limited vegetables like potatoes, onions,mushrooms, tomatoes, red and yellow bell peppers, French Goat cheese, mozzarella cheese, Some fresh parsley and basil and a little spices like salt and black pepper.

Cooking Time : 40 mins including pre-cooking preparations and baking.

Ingredients :

• 8X1/4 inch aluminium pie pan.
• 4 large white eggs
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin Olive oil
• salt and crushed/powdered Black pepper
• 1 thinly sliced red pepper and yellow pepper
• one thinly sliced Potato
• one big onion thinly sliced
• half cup thinly sliced mushrooms
• one thinly sliced small tomato
• fresh Parsley and basil leaves (chopped)
• Fresh French Goat cheese and shredded Mozzarella cheese

Recipe :

1. Beat all the eggs in a large bowl and add salt and crushed black pepper to them.
2. In a separate skillet, heat olive oil on high flame and stir fry all the sliced vegetables, namely potatoes, red and yellow peppers, mushrooms and onions. Saute till they are medium glazed with a grilled appearance. Using an old skillet does the trick of giving that charcoals glazed look and flavor to the veggies. Turn off the flame, Sprinkle some salt and pepper over the veggies and mix finely diced tomatoes at the end. Keep covered.
3. Preheat the oven at 380 degrees F or 194 degree Celsius approximately. In the pie pan, pour the egg batter and add all the vegetable mixture to it. Cut 0.5X0.5 inch cubes of the goat cheese(around 10 cubes) and place at various places in the batter inside the pie pan.
4. Now sprinkle chopped parsley and basil all over the batter and garnish it with good amount of fresh Mozzarella cheese.
5. Very carefully , place the pie pan inside the oven and bake for around 20 mins. Keep on checking in between to make sure that the texture looks okay and not burnt. That has to be done because eggs cook very fast, and you would not want the awesome flavors of cheese and eggs to just be covered by a burnt stench ;)
6. Result will look something like this ;) . You will be able to smell the aromas of the eggs baked in those herbs and cheese by now. Its all done !!

Serving and Presentation :

Carefully cut a piece and serve with salad and bread sticks  I made a sauce by mixing mayonnaise and parmesan-romano sauce with lemon juice and garlic, and made a little presentation of my own !!