My favourite Quessadillas

This is one of my family and friend's favourite dish, its very , very, very tasty,, I guarantee it, and its purely, strictly vegetarian too!!!I will upload a picture, in the near future..............But this dish can be prepared without any photograph, trust me...Its a wholesome, filling , tasty dish.

Recipe :

1 pkt Flour or Whole Wheat Tortillas

1 tbsp Oil

Refried beans( 1 can)

Chopped mixture :

Cilantro,mushrooms, red onions, serrano peppers( add chicken shreds if you want meat)

Mexican shredded cheese packet or special quessadilla cheese( grated)

Take one tortilla in the palm of your hand, spread the refried beans on it, pile up the chopped mixture on top of it, add cheese and place the other tortilla on top. Gently press down, and place it on a hot griddle and drizzle oil around it. Flip on the other side and repeat the step. The tortillas turn crispy and the cheese all melty. This dish can be served with guacamole, salsa and sourcream.............

Look for pictures, in futurem very appetizing.

Dal Dosa with Chipotle chutney

This is not your traditional dosas, it is one of unique creations, from my Ganesh pooja decoration, seen below. I used 3 different kind of dals ( udid , moong and toovar) and brown rice in equal proportions . Soaked all the dals in water overnight and coarsely ground it with a 2 serrano pepper , a small handful of cilantro and a 1 inch piece of ginger. Let it sit for an hour or so, add salt and 1/2 cup of yoghurt or buttermilk.

Recipe : 1/2 cup of dals and brown rice + 1 cup basmati rice

Yoghurt 1/2 cup

salt to taste

Green paste ground by using

2 serrano peppers

1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 inch ginger

Make a dosa batter by grinding all the above ingredients, and prepare a dosa( crepe) on a cast iron griddle, by spreading a thin layer. Add a tsp of oil to make it crispy. serve it with my own yummy chipotle chutney.

Recipe for Chipotle chutney :

1 can of Chipotle peppers in adobe sauce.

1/2 tsp of ground coriander seeds

1/2 tsp of smokey chipotle rub.

salt.

Greek yoghurt(1/2 cup)

Grind all the above ingredients till smooth.

Podalya Upkari

This was my Dad( Anna)'s favourite upkari, he loved it. And every single time, Amma burnt it to a brown/black crisp mush. He wanted it to be green, al-dante , and steamingly fresh. This blog is specially for you Anna, I made it, just the way you liked it. the vegetable still has the green color, and some freshly grated coconut.It is a very simple stir fry dish called Upkari in Konkani language.

Recipe:

2 fresh poddale ( snake gourd)

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

2-3 red chillies broken into 2-3 pieces

Oil : 1 tbsp

freshly grated coconut ( 1 tbsp)

Jaggery or brown sugar : 1 tsp

Method: In a wok or fry pan, heat up the oil, and add mustard seeds and red chillies, after the seeds stop splattering, add thinly sliced snake gourd, with salt, jaggery . Stir fry and cook on low heat till the vegetables are done, , add a little water if necessary to soften the vegetable, and cook it dry, garnish with freshly grated coconut, and serve with white boiled rice and dal.

Variation: cook with ghee instead of oil , it adds a little richness to the taste. It is very tasty!!!

Garam Chai with Pakodis

An age old saying, nothing like a plate of Garam (Hot) pakoris ( vegetable fritters) and a hot cup of Chai. Since I lived in Az for the last 3 years, where rain showers are as rare as finding gold , so I forgot all about making pakoris, when we lived there. After last night's rain and thunder showers, all I could think of is Garam pakoris with Chai. Well, today, it was all overcast and showers , and I planned to make it for lunch. Mmmmmm!!! Its so Yummy, said Buju, the rains do make this meal even more yummy, somehow...................

Recipe :

Pakodis : 1/2 head of Cauliflower, cut into small flowerets

1/2 red Onion, sliced thin and long
1 large potato, thinly sliced into rounds

2-3 green chillies (serranos or jalapenos) slit and sliced

Handful of cilantro chopped

Batter:

1 Cup Besan (chick pea flour)

1 tbsp rice flour

Canola Oil for frying

Salt to taste

Spice mixture for the batter: 1/4 tsp of turmeric, pinch of hing, 1 tsp of chili pdr. 1/2 tsp of coriander powder, salt to taste.

Mix in the spice mixture into the besan and rice flour, add water to mix carefully , make sure no lumps. Dip the cut/sliced vegetables into the batter and deep fry till golden brown. I like to mix them all to get mixed flavors in the pakodis, but they could be individually fried too.

Serve hot with ketchup or coriander chutney.

Adrak vaali Chai :(Ginger tea)

Boil about 2 cups of water with sliced ginger and a pinch of chai masala ( readymade) or some crushed cardamom seeds along with 3 bags of PGTIPS tea. Let it brew for a couple of minutes add milk and sugar to taste. It is excellent accompanyment to the pakoris and also by itself or tea biscuits.

Blueberry Bread with Streusel Topping

I woke up feeling bery wonderful this morning. I made blueberry pancakes for breakfast for Buju and me and decided to bake this wonderful, moist, bouncy blueberry bread with streusel topping, thanks to the recipe shared by my dear friend Shilpa. ( Thanks Meenakshi Matai) I have never baked this bread before, but I swear , its the best thing you ever tasted. Its so easy to make, even for new inexperienced baker. I even modified the recipe by adding 2 ripe bananas and pecan bits.

Here is the link if anybody wants to try making it.

Sweet Corn Chicken Soup ( IndoChinese)

This soup is indeed our all time favourite of my family . When we lived in India, I used to boil the corn on the cob, de seed them, and grind them to make cream of corn. De-boning the chicken and shredding was another time consuming chore. But here in USA, this is a very easy soup to make, and quick too, especially if you use canned ingredients. The taste is very authentic and my kids love it. This used to be our favourite soup in Indian Chinese cuisine. It soothes and comforts the soul.
Ingredients:
1 can creamed corn
1 can whole corn
2 tbsp corn flour
32 oz box organic chicken stock
salt to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper powder
1 can chicken breast meat
2 eggs

Garnish :
1. chopped thai chilli pepper in vineger
2. Schiraccha sauce
3. Light Soya sauce

Dissolve the corn flour in chicken stock and bring to boil, add 1 can creamed corn and 1 can whole corn kernels and mix and cook to boil. add salt and pepper to season. Wash, drain and shred the canned chicken and add 1/2 of it to the soup, save the rest for rest for garnish (optional) I just add all of it in the soup.
In a separate bowl, beat 2 eggs and add it in a thin stream to the soup in its final stages just before serving, and stir lightly.
Ladle the soup into a bowl and drizzle with peppered vinegar, and soya sauce. Customize each bowl with desired topping as needed.

The Daalli Thali

Nothing pleases a "True Konkani" other than a simple Daali Toya Thali meal., with Sheeta( rice), Daaali toya ( Dal) Upkari ( stir fry vegetable) and a randhai ( curry) . Its comfort food for all of us. My kids have always enjoyed this simple thali meal , and can be served as lunch or dinner. This was the first meal I made for Buju after she returned home from her brief hospital stay. Looks yummy , doesn't it?? It was................ In this particular plate you see Daali, rice, bhendi upkari ( stir fry okra)and vaingana sagle( eggplant/Potato coconut curry), plain yogurt to blend . I will seperate the recipe of each dish to simplify the process. This entire meal can be cooked in less than an hour.

Listed below are all the ingredients you will need for this preparation. You can always interchange the vegetables in this meal for a different variety

Ingredients :(main)

1 cup basmati rice

1 cup Toor Dal( yellow split peas)

1/2 lb okra ( 20 )

4-5 chinese eggplants

1 potato

1/2 red onion

1 cup yogurt

1 cup grated coconut

tamarind paste

2 green chillies

1-2 tsp mustard seeds, 1-2 sprig curry leaves, 10 dry red chillies, 1 tsp coriander seeds

hing( asafoetida), 1/4 tsp turmeric , and 2 tbsp salt to taste

1 tsp Ghee and/or oil for seasoning

Its always easy to start with rice.

1. Rice :

Wash the rice and place it in the rice cooker with 2 cups of water, a little salt , and let it cook while you prepare the rest of the meal.

2. Daali Toya :

Wash the dal and add 2-3 cups water and cook in the pressure cooker or open sauce pan until soft and blended. Add salt( to taste),a pinch of hing and green chillies and bring it to a boil. In a small fry pan, heat 1 tsp ghee and add mustard seeds, pinch of hing, 2 broken red chillies and curry leaves, and add this to the boiling dal mixture. This dish is ready to serve........

3.Bhindi Upkari

Chop the Bhindis or OKRA in small round wheels. In an open non stick pan, add 1-2 tsp oil , mustard seeds, and 1-2 broken red chillies. Add the sliced okra when the seeds start sputtering carefully, add salt and stir fry leaving the pan open, on low heat. Do not add water , otherwise the okra will get slimy. You can add a 1 tblsp of chopped red onion if you like for added flavor and stir fry till browned, before adding okra. This dish should be done in less than 10 minutes and can be prepared last.
4. Eggplant sagle.

a) Coconut masol ( curry)

1 cup grated (frozen)

4-5 red roasted chillies

1 tsp roasted corriander seeds

1/2 tsp tamarind paste

Grind all of the above with warm water to a coarse paste.

Slit the eggplants or cut into long segments. The red potatoes can also be cut in the same shape. Slice the red onions into julliene strips.

Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a large fry pan, add mustard seeds, curry leaves and onions and salt and stir-fry till transucent. add the vegetables and stir fry for 5 more mins. Now add the masol( coconut curry paste)and cook for 15 minutes. Add water if paste is too dry and cook till the vegetables are fork tender.