Mango Shrikhand - Creamy Sweet Mango Yogurt with crunchy nuts :-)

The Mango season is about to be over and now I rush to the Indian store to grab a few and make some Mango specialties :-)  I have been thinking of making Shrikhand at home ever since I shortlisted it as a fat-free recipe (basically if u make yogurt with fat-free milk, that is :P)  Finally, got around to make this delicacy for my hubby who said it's equivalent to Meiji/Marigold Mango yogurt :-) That's a compliment, I suppose! :-)

Mango Shrikhand

Yield - 4 ramekins (as in the picture)

What You Need-

Ripe Mango - 1 (medium size)
Fresh Yogurt/ Curd - 1 litre
Sugar - 3 to 4 tbsp (adjust according to the sweetness you prefer)
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
Nuts of your choice - I used Almonds and Cashews

Mango Shrikhand

Procedure -

1. Make Greek Yogurt following the procedure here. This takes 6-8 hours in the fridge. But you don't have to do much actively!
2. Blend mango in a mixer and get the puree.
3. Powder sugar.
4. Mix in powdered sugar, cardamom powder and the mango puree into Greek Yogurt and whisk them all together until you get a smooth texture. This is reallly important.
5. Chop some nuts and mix them too. Almonds would need to be blanched. Pistachios would be awesome, but I didn't have any yesterday. Reserve some nuts to garnish on top later.
6. Pour into ramekins or ice-cream cups and decorate with nuts. Refrigerate for another 3 hours to let it set well.
7. Serve chilled.

Simply awesome! Don't go by my words, try for yourself :-)

Umm...Slurp!

Quinoa Salad - Quick, healthy and fulfilling breakfast/supper

What's Quinoa ?

Quinoa (pronounced "keen-wah") is a grain-like crop grown for its edible seeds. It's a highly nutritious carbohydrate, that helps you to stay lean as well as maximize your energy levels at the same time. Its nutritional profile is similar to that of brown rice, but quinoa is higher in protein. Quinoa is great for cardio-vascular health, boosts your anti-oxidant levels, reduces the risk of gallstones, full of fiber and could help lower migraine. It's gluten-free and cholesterol-free! Most importantly, it's delicious!

How to cook Quinoa ?

First, it is essential to rinse quinoa atleast 3 times by changing water, in order to get rid of the bitter taste from the saponin coating. It's cooked much like rice, with twice the volume of water (or slightly less). It can be cooked in a closed pan or a rice cooker or a microwave. When cooked, quinoa is fluffy, crunchy and a little creamy!


Here's a simple salad with veggies, fruits and nuts added to cooked quinoa. This is one of the quick ones I make whenever I want to stay away from Indian masalas, yet eat something tasty. Feel free to add or deduct veggies, fruits and nuts to suit your family's taste buds! :-)

Nutritious & delicious Quinoa salad - So easy to make!

Yield - 2 people

Prep time + cooking time - 25 mins

What I Used for the Salad-

Quinoa - 1 cup (rinsed)
Water - 1 and 3/4 cup
Olive Oil - 1 tsp


Onions - 2 (chopped)
Garlic -  4 pods, finely chopped
Carrot - 2 medium (cubed)
Cucumber - 1 (chopped)
Tomatoes - 3 (chopped)
Fresh Coriander leaves - a small bunch, finely chopped


Apple - 2, cubed
Raisins - about 50 grams
Cashewnuts - a handful
Hazelnuts - 2 handfuls

Salt - to taste
Pepper - 1 tsp
Asafoetida - 2 drizzles

Add ons :

Pine nuts - toasted
Peanuts - roasted
Strawberries - fresh!
Feta cheese! 

How To -

• Boil water with a drop of oil in a pan. Meanwhile, rinse quinoa about 3 times to get rid of the foamy saponins. This step is important, else you'll end up with bitter-tasting quinoa. Add rinsed quinoa to boiled water and close the pan. In 12 to 15 minutes, it's fully cooked (all the water is absorbed) and looks fluffy with thin white rings around. Let the cooked quinoa cool for atleast 10 minutes.

 

Quinoa, rinsed with water

Cooked quinoa

• Heat about 1 tsp of olive oil and fry garlic and onions slightly. Don't brown them. 

• Toast the nuts on an oven or a tava without any oil.

• Peel the veggies and chop them ready. Cube apples.
  

• Take a big salad bowl, add the slightly fried onions, garlic and all the chopped veggies, apples, nuts, raisins and sprinkle required salt, pepper and a little asafoetida. Toss everything gently. Squeeze some lemon juice if desired.

Healthy n tasty Quinoa salad

Enjoy this sumptuous salad for breakfast or dinner!

Mexican Dinner - Vegetarian Bean Burritos - Step-By-Step

I was introduced to Mexican cuisine by my hubby when we were in the US. He loves TacoBell and used to order dinners "to-go" once every fortnight, atleast.  In fact, Bean Chalupas and Burritos were the first meal we had together when I arrived in the US soon after we were married. We dropped our baggage at home and off we went to the nearest Tacobell drive-in. Ummm...Beautiful memories :) and yummy food :)

Here, in Singapore, Boat Quay area has a good Mexican place that we love to go to. But it's not so often that we get to eat Mexican. I have been wanting to try it at home and here's my first attempt. Not bad! My hubby liked it and even agreed to pack it for lunch the next day :)

It's not really exotic per se and does not require any special Mexican ingredient as such. Sour Cream or Cream Cheese or some Cheese is all you need, apart from what's commonly found in an Indian kitchen. Tortillas or Burritos would be available in the grocery stores and you just have to warm them up in a tawa or microwave (However, I don't like microwaving method as it tends to become crisp very soon). Do give this recipe a try and let me know how you like it :)

Vegetarian Burritos

A native Mexican should tell if this is the real burrito they make. As for now, this is my way of making Burrito. I shall edit the post as I improvise, when I try it a few more times :)

What I Used -

Onion -1
Green capsicum/bell pepper - 1/2
Yellow capsicum/bell pepper - 1/2
Red capsicum/Bell pepper - 1/2 (I didn't have this)
Garlic - 4 pods
Red beans (Rajma) - 1 cup (soaked, cooked and rinsed)

Spice powders -

Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder / Paprika - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Pepper - to taste

Cream Cheese - 3 tbsp (Sour Cream would taste even better)
Fresh coriander/ cilantro - a small bunch

Oil - 1 tbsp

Burritos / Tortillas - 4

How To -

Discard the stem and seeds from the capsicum/bell pepper and chop them fine.

Chop onions finely. Mince garlic.
Take a nonstick pan, heat oil and fry onions until soft.

Add garlic and then fry for 2 mins.
Add chopped bell peppers.

Add salt required for the veggies and close the pan for 3 mins.
Add the spice powders.

Now, mash the pressure-cooked red beans (rajma) coarsely. It's ok to leave a few beans as such, here and there.

Add the mashed beans. Mix well and cook for 3 mins.
Finally add cream-cheese and mix.

Garnish with fresh coriander leaves/cilantro.

Take your dosa kal/ tawa and warm the tortillas/ burritos on both sides for 10 - 20 seconds each. No oil please.

Spoon the filling mixture on the warm tortilla and roll it up. Repeat for each one.

Vegetarian Bean Burrito

Burritos, rolled up and ready

I served these burritos with Thai Sweet Chilli sauce (bcoz that's what I had, at the moment). Some fiery tomato-chilli sauce or Salsa would also go well together, attesting that this is spicy Mexican indeed :)  You may add some Salsa to the filling itself, if you like.  How about the Indian version of Salsa (Tomato thokku) ? This might appeal to the Indian palates, I guess :)

Absolutely filling and delicious Burritos

Sending this to Global Food Festival at Sizzling Tastebuds

Healthy Minestrone Soup - Vegetarian

If you love Italian food, if you're a fan of Olive Garden, you're sure to love Minestrone Soup. It's very flexible in that you can add whatever veggies you have in hand, just add macaroni cooked al dente and don't forget the red beans and/or white beans. Very healthy and delicious. Bon Appetit!

Vegetarian Minestrone Soup

What I Used -

Elbow Macaroni - 2 handfuls
Red Kidney beans / Rajma - 2 handfuls (Soak overnight with triple the volume of water)
Olive Oil - 2 tsp
Red Onion - 1
Garlic - 2 cloves
Carrot - 1
Frozen Mixed vegetables (Beans, Peas, Corn and it had carrots of course!) - 2 handfuls
Celery - 4 stalks (chopped)
Ripe Tomatoes - 4
Mixed Italian herbs (dried) - 1 tbsp
Ground Black Pepper - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste (~ 3/4 tsp + 3/4 tsp)
Water - as required


Feel free to add -

Navy beans/White beans - a handful or 2
Potato -1 (small cubes)
Zucchini -1 (half lengthwise and slice)
Bell pepper/capsicum - 1 (diced)
Baby spinach (finely chopped)

How I Made Minestrone Soup -

• In a large pot (Small pressure cooker pan works for me! ), sauté chopped onions and garlic in olive oil for 3 minutes on medium flame. 
• When the onions are a little softer, add celery, carrots, beans, peas and corn  (all chopped vegegies) and sauté for 2 minutes. 
• Finely chop 1 tomato and add to the pan.
• Extract the juice of 3 tomatoes in a blender and add to the pan.
• Add the soaked Red kidney beans, salt, pepper, Italian herbs and pour about 1 1/2 to2 cups of water.
• Pressure cook for 3 whistles and switch off. 
• If you do not have a pressure-cooker, use a slow cooker, so that the flavors evolve and mix well.

• In the mean time, cook pasta (Elbow macaroni or other) in salted water until al dente. Don't overcook the pasta. This is precisely why we did not add the pasta to the pressure-cooker!

• Add the cooked pasta to the veggies sauce and heat on medium flame for 3-5 minutes (Need not boil). 

Minestrone Soup

Serve your minestrone soup with some fresh Garlic bread :)

Variation : You could use alphabet-shaped pasta and your kids can have some fun while they eat nutritious food!

This is my entry to Soups and Salads Mela hosted by Srivalli and Global Food Festival at Sizzling Tastebuds

Roasted Red Pepper/Capsicum Soup - Italian style - Step-By-Step Recipe

My hands have been itching to try this soup ever-since we relished it at a restaurant in Trastevere in Rome.  This is a hearty soup that fills you up so much that half-a-sandwich is good enough to complete your meal. There is no cream or milk added, so this is absolutely vegan and really really healthy and low in fat!

Roasted Red Pepper Soup - Hearty Italian Soup

I tried to re-create the taste with whatever tools and ingredients I had in hand and it was delicious and fulfilling! The quantities I have given below are good for 2 adults.

Ingredients -

Red peppers - 2 medium/big
Garlic - 8 pods
Onion - 1 medium
Tomato - 1 medium
Italian spices - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Pepper pods - 8, to be crushed
Red Chilli flakes - 1 tsp (from 3 dry chillies)
Sugar - 1/2 tsp (optional)
Olive oil - 3 tsp
Water / Vegetable stock- 1 cup

Procedure -

• Wash and clean red peppers with water. 

• Roast one-by-one by placing them directly on the flame. (Folks who have an oven might find it easier to grill/broil them). 

• Turn them around so that the whole surface turns black and you can spot blisters. 

• Carefully transfer the blackened pepper/capsicum into a bowl and close it with a lid. In 5 minutes, the condensed water will soften the skin and you can easily peel off the black skin by showing it under running water. Trust me, it worked perfectly for me, even the very first time!

• Take a pan, heat olive oil and fry chopped onions and garlic till onions turn pink.

• Tear the soft capsicum/red pepper into big pieces and fry them together with onions and garlic. Remember to de-seed the core.

• Add salt, crushed pepper, Italian spices and chilli flakes. Add 1/2 tsp sugar if you want to.

• Cube tomato and add to this. Fry for 2 minutes.

• Add 1 cup of water or vegetable stock and keep covered with a lid for 10 minutes.

• Use a hand blender or an electric mixer to blend them all together into a puree. I used the versatile Indian mixer that my mom gave me.

• If too thick, add 1/2 cup water and boil again for 3 minutes et Voila!

• Add toasted bread to the soup, if you like!

Bon Appetit! :)

This is my entry to Soups and Salads Mela hosted by Srivalli

Creamy Cheesy Pasta

I spent a good amount of time thinking about my first recipe and thought it should be something special that's not eaten everyday, but yummy yet simple! I was quite generous with the quantity of cheese and cream and my hubby just loved it :)

Creamy Cheesy Pasta

Here's what you need for the sauce:

Olive Oil - 3 tbsp
Butter - 1 tbsp
Onion - 1 (chopped)
Garlic - 3 pods, chopped
Sun-dried tomatoes (can substitute with honey sweet tomatoes) - 10
Gouda cheese - 300 g
Heavy cream - 200 ml
Salt - as required
Parsley

Method:

Let's start with cooking the pasta (I made it with Farfalle and used 350 g for 2 people) with water and salt by following the packet instructions.
One tip is to drain the water after the pasta is cooked al-dente and immediately dunk it in cold water and then rinse. This is to prevent pasta from getting over-cooked.


Now, for the creamy-cheesy sauce...

• Take a non-stick frying pan and heat olive oil and melt the butter
• Sauté chopped onions and garlic for a minute or two
• Add about half of sun-dried or honey-sweet tomatoes
• Pour the cream and add a pinch of nutmeg, if you like it
• Add salt (adjust salt as we have cooked our pasta with salt)
• Give it a boil and then add the cheese (if you don't get Gouda, just add any sweeter variety of cheese, avoid cheddar, if you can).
• Keep stirring till the sauce is smooth. Take care to see that the cheese doesn't stick to the pan.
• Add the cooked pasta and coat it gently with all the cream and cheese....ummm, that sounds delicious, doesn't it?
• Garnish with some more tomatoes and parsley
• Serve immediately!

Tip: If you think the cost of cheese and heavy cream is gonna pinch your pocket everytime, you can go easy on cheese and cream, save some of them for the next time and add Alfredo sauce bought from the stores.