Baked Pita Chips

 Of all the things which can be served with hummus, pita chips are my favorite.. Truly, the match made in heaven!! Just imagine, super-crunchy pita chips smeared with ultra-creamy hummus.. Addictively yummy!!

Adjectives overload! Pardon me guys, I just HAD to! 

It makes a perfect healthy snack for movie night, super bowl party.. you name it. If you are anything like me, have it as your Friday night dinner ;) Such an irresistible treat, tastes best with classic hummus, roasted red pepper hummus or pineapple/mango salsa..

These are so easy to make, well I din't make it from scratch, but I can eat it guilt-free since they are baked, not fried and they are whole wheat! So, what are you waiting for? Go and pick some pita breads from the store and I'll tell you how to make chips out of it

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Hummus, a dip/spread made from cooked chickpeas/garbanzo beans, originally from Middle East.. 

Hummus, can be served with pita chips/raw veggies/as a spread on bread.. SO versatile!!

Hummus, the creamiest & delicious dip you'll ever come across.

Hummus, you're my favorite..

I can go on about it...

I know, I know... I keep claiming that every dish I make is one of my favorites but you guys, this is something which I wanna have all day..all night.. or until I I'm sick of it

This is something you should make at home because this is significantly tastier than the preservative-laden tub available at store.

This makes a wonderful finger-food for potluck, cocktail parties, girls night, super bowl party.
You can whip this up in a jiffy when you have some unexpected guests.. 

Vegan Banana Nut Cake

When life gives you over ripe bananas, seize the opportunity 

and make ..... banana cakes !

If not, you will be just another me hopelessly waiting for the bananas to over ripe.

 While there are people who look for recipes frantically as their bananas gets its black spots, it is completely different scene in my household. I look for recipes first and THEN badly wait for them to over ripe. As both the husband and the wife go bananas over banana, it is our 'breakie on the go' almost everyday and so it gets over in no time!

And when I came across a recipe as tempting as this ( check her website and am sure you will fall in love with it like I did) , it haunted me every minute of every day until I made them today and had a bite of it. The haunting did not end there. It continued till I finished every minuscule part of it.

It is by no means an exaggeration. Don't trust me? Okay, let me put it this way -

It is VEGAN, super moist and one bowl cake recipe... come on guys, I was totally bowled over by 'one bowl'. As much as I like to bake, I hate the after cleaning that comes with it.

I had to literally hide the bananas so it doesn't get eaten before I can make this.

 Yes, you heard me right , HIDE ! 

And oh boy, am I glad that I did? You bet!

It is that kinda recipe where you put in less effort but the output makes you give yourself a pat for the job well done.

Here it goes.

Veg Momos

                                       

Vegetable Momos are steamed dumplings made with all purpose flour or maida. It can be filled with either veggies or meat. These popular street dumplings are so versatile. Momos are very healthy and delicious when served with hot chilli sauce. Pardon me for the shape and size, as it's my first attempt ;-)  

These dumplings were so good that we skipped dinner. I made these dumplings a month back and for some reason I have not been able to post this recipe but better late than never. This will be perfect for your kids, as it's not every day that you see kids relishing with lots of vegetables. These dumpling can be tried with wheat flour or deep fried as well. 

Ingredients 

For the dough 

• All purpose flour - 1/2 cup ( you get 10-15 dumplings)
• Water - as needed
• Salt - as needed
• Oil - 2tbsp 

For the stuffing 

• Finely chopped cabbage - 1cup
• Finely chopped carrot - 1/2 cup 
• Finely chopped garlic - 1tbsp
• Spring Onion - 4-5 (finely chopped)
• Sugar - 1/4 tsp 
• Pepper powder - 1tsp
• Soya sauce - 1tsp
• Salt - as needed
• Oil - 1tbsp

Method 

• Mix flour with salt, oil & water into a smooth pliable dough (just like poori dough). Cover the dough and keep aside. 
• Heat a pan with a tbsp of oil. Add garlic, chopped white part of spring onion and stir fry in high flame. 
• Then add chopped veggies, sugar and fry in high flame for a minute. 
• Once the veggies are cooked then add salt, pepper powder, soya sauce and mix well. Finally add finely chopped green part of the spring onion and mix well. Switch off and keep aside.

                      

• Roll the dough into a big disc and use a lid to cut them into a smaller disc. After that I rolled the smaller discs into a thin circles then added stuffing in the middle. 

                             

• Fold it into momos shape. Now steam it in a steamer spaced properly for 5 minutes. 
• Veg momos is now ready to be served with hot chilli sauce or tomato ketchup. 

Tips 

• Adding oil will soften the dough.
• You can also add veggies like beans, sweet corn.    

                         

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Achari Channa Pulao

Achar in Hindi means pickle, achari = pickle-y
Channa - chickpeas
Pulao- pilaf

My dad and dad-in-law are friends with me on Instagram.(Why guys, whyyy?)
So they basically know what I eat for breakfast/lunch/midnight snack, what I drink, what I shop... *rolls eyes*

My mom was saying that my dad keeps drooling over my food pictures. He even asked her why she never cooks all those dishes. LOL

My mom always cooks full course meals which are pretty labor intensive!

And, all the dishes I cook are super-easy and quick to make.

Also, I tend to have meal-time déjà vu problems, I can't eat the same thing 2 or 3 times a month. I know its too much! I'm easily bored to eat the same dish again.. which is good b'cos it  motivates me to cook/experiment new dishes. I'm really lucky that my husband falls in the same category too, he is always ready to cook/eat new dishes.

So few days back, while watching TV in the evening I dozed off and by the time I woke up, dinner was ready!! Not just any other dish, it was my favorite achari channa pulao. 

Nutella Chocolate Truffles

Hey Chocoholics out there! I have something special for you! Guess what?

Nutella, Chocolate, Cream and Butter

Can a truffle get any better?

I don't think so ! Can you?

This is by far my favorite truffles ever and am sure you will love them too ! 

With no further ado, let me get to the recipe!

This recipe is adapted from the famous and charming  YouTuber - Laura Vitale! 

Egg-less Plum Cake

Egg-less Plum Cake In India, we call the Christmas cake as plum cake which doesn't have any form of plum in it. I wonder why they call it as plum cake!! So this cake is not the Christmas plum cake, this cake has actual plum in it.. 

H came home grinning with a box of plums saying he finally found the fruit that he likes.. I'm not really a big fan of plum, but managed to eat 3 and H ate 2 or 3. I'm sure he ate just 2 but he says 3..

We were easily bored of eating it raw, thought of cooking it into something which doesn't taste like raw plum.. 

While lying on couch with iPad, quickly googled for 'plum recipes'. 

Plum jelly, plum butter, plum preserve/jam? Nahh.. I certainly din't want it to last for whole year!!

so, Cake?? yessss.. b'cos at home, cake gets decimated in no time!!

Oh how I love the wafting smell of cardamom around the house..

I chose cardamom because I love it, you can use the spice of your choice..

This cake is tea/coffee cake kinda cake.. perfect for evening snack..

 bursts with the flavor of cardamom, gooey plum pieces in between the tender tender crumbs..

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup all purpose flour/maida
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
• 2 plums(chopped finely)
• 1/4 tsp cardamom powder
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 1/2 tbsp white vinegar
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup sugar
• 2/3rd cup oil/melted butter

METHOD
Preheat the oven to 350F/170C
Grease the cake pan with baking spray/oil/butter

• combine both the flour, cardamom powder and baking powder in a large bowl
• add oil/melted butter and mix gently. Add the sugar and mix.
• add the chopped plum and mix gently
• take 1/2 cup of milk in a bowl, add vinegar and don't stir it yet. add baking soda and stir gently
• add this mixture to the cake batter and fold quickly.
• pour the batter in the greased pan
• bake at 350F for 35-40 mins or insert a toothpick and check if it comes out clean/crumbly.
• let the cake cool down. Okay now take it out of the pan and dig in with some tea/coffee

Hearth n Soul Blog Hop

Buttermilk Stew / Mor Kuzhambu

Necessity is the mother of invention and whoever said this definitely knew a thing or two about cooking. Necessity is the mother of my cooking skills too.

Don’t you dare ask my college pals of my cooking. They will have million stories to say about it (trust me, none of them are good.You may need a day off to laugh about it.) and some even have videos to support what they say. But now after marriage, to everyone’s surprise; to my surprise –

“I cook. I cook every day… well almost! People who have eaten in my kitchen have survived to this date. And some kind souls have even complimented it."

Passionate chefs may go for authentic recipes, complex procedures and on-the-chart ingredients.

But too many ingredients scares me!
Intricate steps in a procedure intimidates me!

I go for cheat recipes, simpler procedure with ingredients that are readily available with me but making sure it by no means reduces the flavor or quality of the dish. I hope such recipes help people like me with their Indian cooking experiments.

One such cheat recipe is - Quick Mor Kuzhambu/Buttermilk Stew

Ingredients:

Buttermilk - 2 cups

Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp

Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp

Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Salt - as needed

Ladies-finger - 5 to 6

To Grind:

Toor Dhal - 2 tsp

Urad Dhal - 2 tsp

Coriander seeds/ Dhanya - 1 tsp

Cumin Seeds- 2 tsp

Green Chilli - 6 -7

Coconut - 5 tsp

Preparation:

1. Grind the ingredients mentioned in 'To Grind' to a smooth paste using little water.
2. Add little water to buttermilk and whisk to make it 'not-too-thick/not-too-thin' consistency.

3. Add the ground paste to buttermilk along with salt,turmeric powder and mix well forming no lumps.

Method:

1. Heat a teaspoon of oil in a pan and once hot, add mustard seeds.

2. When the mustard seeds splutter, add asafoetida and the cut ladiesfinger.

3. Saute the ladiesfinger until cooked.

4. Add the buttermilk paste and heat it for no longer than 2 minutes.

5. Serve with steamed white rice and enjoy the flavorful mor kuzhambu.

Tips:

1.You can substitute ladies-fingers with vegetables like white pumpkin or chowchow/chayote squash.But make sure you pressure cook the pumpkin and chayote before adding in step 2.

2. DO NOT let the buttermilk boil or heat for a long time. The buttermilk may begin to curdle.Heat it just enough to make it warm.

Thayir Vadai/ Curd Vadai

                           

Thayir Vadai/Curd Vadai is a very yummy and delicious south Indian snack. Whenever we go to an Indian restaurant my first order would be thayir vadai, as it's one of my favorite snack. My mother's preparation of thayir vadai is a super duper hit in our family. In most homes, thayir vadai would be prepared using left over vadais but I make them with fresh vadais like my mother. 

Ingredients

• Thick curd (Yogurt) - 2cups
• Coriander leaves (finely chopped) - 3 tbsp
• Carrot (grated) - 2 tbsp 
• Chat masala - a pinch 

For the Vadai

• Urad dhal - 1/2 cup
• Salt - as per taste 
• Water - as needed
• Oil - for deep frying 

To Grind

• Coconut - 2tbsp 
• Cumin seeds - 1tsp
• Green Chilly - 2
• Ginger (finely chopped) - 1tsp

To Temper 

• Oil - 2tbsp 
• Mustard - 1tsp 
• Dry red chillies - 2
• Hing - a pinch
• Curry leaves  - a spring 

Method

• Soak urad dhal for atleast 2-3 hours. Drain water completely and then sprinkle water little by little while grinding.  
• Don't sprinkle more water to the batter because it will become runny. Grind the batter thick and fluffy in texture. Once the vadai batter is ready add salt and mix well. 

                        

• Meanwhile heat oil. Wet your palm with water, then take a small ball out of the batter and pat it on. Now make a hole in the middle and carefully drop it into the oil.
• Fry the vadai in medium flame, turn over to other side once it becomes light golden brown color. Same way cook the other side also.
• Make all vadais and drain them to remove excess oil with paper towel. 
• Then whisk curd with salt. Add the paste to the whisked curd and mix well. Heat oil and temper the items listed under " to temper ", transfer to the curd mixture. Give a quick mix. 

                          

• Then drop the vadais to hot water, remove it immediately ( this is to make the vadais soft and make it absorb curd well).
• Add the vadais to the curd and arrange them to a plate, then pour little curd mixture over the vadais. 

                           

• Then garnish with grated carrot, boondi, chat masala and cilantro. Now vadais are ready to be served in room temperature or you can serve it cold also. It's your call !!

                            

Tips

• Always make sure that you make the vadai batter fluffy.
• While tempering the curd, you can also add red chillies for flavor.
• Soak the urad dhal for atleast 4-5 hours max.     

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Indian Clarified Butter - Ghee

Those of you who know me good enough will know that I am a person who always puts convenience and comfort to the front seat, especially when it comes to cooking. I guess I am little spoiled by the husband who would argue that there is no point slogging over something that are easily available in the stores. Though he accepts that we cannot afford our health to eating out every day, he believes and forces me to believe that cooking up even the basic things (sauce, bread, sweets etc) is not worth the time and efforts.No amount of health lectures can convince him.

But there are certain things that I cannot compromise...

Certain things for which I am ready to put back my comfort and convenience… (Trust me, it is a huge thing coming from me.)

Certain things that store bought products can never compete with homemade ones…

For instance, few of my favorite evening snacks like this murukku, or the Indian yogurt or GHEE…..

Rusk/Bread Laddu

This is one of the sweets I prepared for Diwali this year and turned out to be a hit. 

So, I told you guys about my brainstorming session with the members of my pantry. I found this huge box of rusk and I was just one step away from trashing it since we are not a big fan of rusk.. If you're wondering why did I even get it , No I didn't buy it.. I got it as a freebie for spending 50$ at the Indian grocery store(Yup, they're sweet like that).

So, I thought why not pulse/shred it in blender and use it as bread crumbs? After pulsing (is that even a  word? who cares..u know what I meant), it looked(texture wise) like dry roasted semolina/rava. How about a yummlicious  laddu out of it? 

Yes Please!

I'm thinking of making some truffles out of the remaining rusk crumbs, you'll be the 1st one to know, hope it turns out good.

You can make the same laddu with bread too since that is more likely a staple at everyone's pantry than rusk. I'll give you the recipe for that too.

The appearance & taste was more like rava laddu to the ones who din't know its made out of rusk. For me, it tasted like a yummy mass of bread+ghee+sugar+cardamom studded with cashews & raisins which is totes awesome..

INGREDIENTS

rusk - 5-7 slices 

sugar - 3/4th cup

grated coconut(I used frozen) - 1/4th cup

ghee - 3 tsp

cardamom powder - a pinch

cashew nuts & raisins  - 10

milk(optional) - 2 tsp