One Day At A Time!

When you eat at an Indian restaurant, which appetizers do you order? Masala Papad , Samosa or Pakoras? Which is your favorite? Mine are these Potato Pakoras, but we generally skip the starter part and straight away order the entree. But, once in a while, eating something fried is okay, I guess. And, when it comes to home cooked meals, simple Dal Rice, Aam ka Achar and these fritters are my comfort food.

Mushrooms are an excellent source of protein for vegetarians and vegans. Today's appetizers are baked mushrooms stuffed with lots of multi-colored vegetables and cheese. Ingredients: Mushrooms - 12 Onion - 1 small Green/Spring Onions - 6 Mini Bell Peppers - 3 Celery - 2 sticks Jalapenos - 1 Garlic Powder - 1 tsp Italian Herb Seasoning - 1 tsp Black Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp Oregano - 1/2 tsp Dry Parsley - 1/2 tsp Pepper Jack Cheese - 2 slices Olive Oil - 3 tbsp Salt How to bake Mushrooms stuffed with veggies and cheese: Wipe the mushrooms clean with a kitchen towel or paper towels. Carefully remove the stem/stalk of the mushrooms, making a well for stuffing. Finely chop onions, green onions, bell peppers and celery. Discard the seeds of jalapeno pepper and finely chop it. If Jalapeno is not available, you can use any other peppers/chilies or red chili flakes as well. Stuffing: Heat about 2 tbsp oil in a pan. Add onions and sauté until onions soften. Now a...

Regular readers might have read my previous posts and its no secret that I like Italian food. Most Italian restaurants serve fresh baked bread as an appetizer. Our favorite are these garlic and parsley flavored Cheddar Cheese Biscuits popularly known as Cheddar Bay Biscuits . I find these easy as compared to the yeast breads. Ingredients: All Purpose Flour/Maida - 1 cup Cheddar Cheese (Sharp) - 3/4 cup Unsalted Butter - 5 tbsp Milk - about 1/2 cup Olive Oil - 1 tbsp Baking Powder - 1 tsp Baking Soda - 1/4 tsp Garlic Powder - 1 1/2 tsp Black Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp Dry Parsley - 1/2 tsp Sugar - 1/4 tsp Salt How to bake Cheddar Bay Biscuits: Preheat the oven at 400 degrees F.   Line a baking tray with aluminum foil and lightly grease it with butter. In a small mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients - all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, fresh ground black pepper, 1 tsp garlic powder, salt and sugar. Mix well. In a big microwave safe b...

Regular readers might have read my previous posts -  Chicken Quesadillas and Mushroom Quesadillas . Recently, we have found ourselves a new favorite. Prawn (Shrimp) quesadillas seasoned with desi Tandoori Masala. Quesadillas with nutrient rich Guacamole makes it a tasty meal. Ingredients: Whole Wheat Tortillas - 5 Jumbo Prawns/Shrimps - about 20 Onion - 1 medium Green Bell Pepper/Capsicum - about 1/2 cup Sweet Bell Peppers - about 1/2 cup Cilantro/Coriander Leaves - few sprigs Garlic - 2 big cloves Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tbsp Tandoori Masala - 1 tbsp Spanish Paprika - 1/2 tbsp Cayenne Pepper - 3/4 tsp Pepper Jack Cheese - about 1 cup Salt Oil How to prepare Tanduri Shrimp Quesadillas: In a mixing bowl, add ginger garlic paste, tandoori masala, Spanish paprika, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, salt and lemon juice. Add cleaned prawns and coat them well. Let the prawns marinate for about an hour. Preheat the oven at 350 degrees F. Grease a ...

Today's sandwich is a fusion recipe of Indian Fritters and the American Coleslaw. These onion fritters are well known as Kanda Bhajji or Onion Pakoda . If you are looking for a veggie sandwich, these crunchy fritters with a creamy Apple slaw is perfect. Ingredients: Red Onion - 1 big Spring/Green Onions - 6 Green Chilies - 4 Coriander/Cilantro Leaves - few sprigs Chickpea Flour/Gram Flour/Besan - about 1/2 cup Rice Flour - 1/4 cup Coriander/Dhania Powder - 1 tsp Turmeric/Haldi - 1/4 tsp Salt Oil for frying Granny Smith Apple - 1 Cabbage (thinly sliced) - about 1 cup Serrano Pepper - 1 Celery Salt - 1/2 tsp Yogurt/Curds/Dahi - about 1/2 cup Bread or Tortillas How to prepare Crunchy Fritters Sandwich with Apple Coleslaw: Preparing Apple Yogurt Coleslaw:  Discard the seeds of the Serrano pepper and finely chop it. Dice the apple and cabbage into thin long strands. In a mixing bowl, add apple, cabbage, celery salt and Serrano pepper. ...

Kothimbir Wadi is well known to many to us as a Marathi recipe of savory steamed cilantro cakes. Shepu Wadi is a similar appetizer made of fresh Dill leaves or Sabasgi and protein rich gram flour. These have a nutty flavor of sesame seeds and peanuts. Ingredients: Chickpea Flour/Gram Flour/Besan - 1 cup Rice Flour - 1/4 cup Dill/Sabasgi/Shepu - about 3 cups Roasted Peanut/Groundnut Powder - 2 tsp White Sesame Seeds/Til - 1 1/2 tsp Coriander/Dhania/Dhane Powder - 1 tsp Cumin/Jeera Powder - 1 tsp Turmeric/Haldi - 1/4 tsp Black Pepper Powder - 1/4 tsp Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp Baking Soda - 1/8 tsp Green Chilli Paste - 1 tsp Ginger/Adrak Paste - 1 tsp Molasses or Jaggery or Sugar - 1 tsp Salt Oil How to make Shepu Wadi: Finely chop dill leaves with tender stems. In a mixing bowl, add all the ingredients except oil. Mix well and add water little at a time to form a thick batter. You will need around 1/2 cup - 3/4 cup water. Pour this batter in a...

Every fried appetizer can be baked in an oven, reducing the calories and without compromising its taste. These crisp Garlic and Herb Potato wedges are a healthy variation of the most loved French Fries or Potato Fries. Ingredients: Potatoes - 4 medium Oil preferably Olive Oil - 2 tbsp Vinegar - 1 tbsp Black Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper/Red Chili Flakes - 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder - 1 tsp Onion Powder - 1/2 tsp Italian Herb Seasoning - 1 tsp Orange Peel/Zest - 1/2 tsp (optional) Salt How to bake Crisp Potato Wedges: In a big mixing bowl, add olive oil, vinegar, fresh ground black pepper, chilli flakes, garlic powder, onion powder, orange zest and dry Italian herb (rosemary, thyme, oregano, marjoram, savory, basil) seasoning. Mix all the ingredients well.    Wash/scrub the potatoes well. Soaking potatoes in warm water for about 20 minutes will make cleaning the potatoes easier. Pat the potatoes dry. Dice each potato lengthwise into half. Cut e...

Few years ago, we came to US. It took a while to know the local varieties of vegetables and fruits. I learned that Cantaloupe is nothing but a variety of Muskmelon and Butternut Squash tastes quite similar to Pumpkin. I keep trying to cook local seasonal vegetables in a desi style.. making paratha, curry and today's Konkani style shallow fried Zucchini . Ingredients: Zucchini Squash - 2 Semolina/Rava/Sooji - 1/2 cup Black Pepper Powder - 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper/Red Chilli Powder - 1/4 tsp Chat Masala - 1/2 tsp Salt Oil How to shallow fry Zucchini Squash: Dice zucchini into slightly thick slices. Sprinkle black pepper powder, cayenne pepper, chat masala and little salt. Mix well.  Coat the zucchini slices in semolina and shallow fry in a pan drizzling little oil. Check with a spatula if zucchini is cooked. Roast until the semolina crust turns crisp. You can add the seasonings to semolina as well.  Serve Semolina Zucchini fritters as an appetizer or as a si...

Happy Friday Readers :)  Friday is kind of special at my place, especially in terms of food. I try not to think of calories for a day. Let me tell you about my menu for today - Green Bean Fries, Pumpkin Paratha with Dry Chutney , Yogurt.... and for dessert Shahi Tukda . Normally, when I make pakoras, its the desi style with besan/chickpea flour or rice flour. But, these fries are more like the American way, with bread crumbs and minus the egg wash. Ingredients: Green Beans/French Beans/Farasbi - about 200 gm All Purpose Flour/Maida - 1/2 cup Bread Crumbs - 1 cup Black Pepper Powder - 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper - 1/2 tsp Cumin/Jeera Powder - 1/2 tsp Salt Oil How to make Crispy Green Bean Fries: Homemade Bread Crumbs: Blend 3 bread slices in a dry blender to a fine powder. Bake the bread crumbs at 300 degree F for 10 - 15 minutes.  Discard the ends of the green beans. Heat about 5 cups water in a vessel. When water starts boiling, add the green beans and cook ...

Shallow fried Vegetarian or Vegan Cutlets made of potatoes and leafy green Spinach. Ingredients: Boiled Potatoes (Russet) - 2 big Baby Spinach/Palak - about 3 cups Coriander/Dhania Powder - 1/2 tsp Cumin/Jeera Powder - 1/2 tsp Fennel Seeds/Saunf/Badishep - 1/2 tsp Chat Masala or Aamchur - 1/2 tsp Garam Masala or any spice mix - 1/4 tsp Salt Oil Corn Starch - 1/4 cup Bread crumbs - 1/2 cup How to make Aloo Palak Cutlets: Microwave washed spinach leaves for 3 - 4 minutes so that the leaves wilt and lose moisture. Let it cool. You can rough chop the leaves if you like.  Any other greens like Fenugreek/Methi, Spring Mix can be used. Crush the fenel seeds in a mortar pestle to a coarse powder. In a mixing bowl, add mashed potatoes, spinach, coriander, cumin, fennel, chat masala, garam masala and salt. Make sure that the potatoes are cooled completely before mashing and not overcooked. I prefer Russet Potatoes for cutlets. Divide the cutlet mix into  8 - 10 parts. Fl...

Samosa, the most loved Indian appetizer with a crisp crust and savory potato stuffing. When you make such fried fast food at home, you get to make some changes to make it healthy.  Here are some Whole Wheat Aloo Matar Samosas for you to try at home and savor them as much as we did. Ingredients: Whole Wheat Flour/Atta - 1 cup Carom Seeds/Ajwain/Owa - 1 tsp Ghee/Clarified Butter - 1/2 tbsp (optional) Olive Oil or any other Oil - 1/2 tbsp Potatoes (Russet) - 2 medium Green Peas/Matar - 1/2 cup Coriander/Dhania Powder - 1/2 tsp Cumin/Jeera Powder - 1/2 tsp Black Pepper Powder - 1/4 tsp Ginger (grated) - 1/4 tsp Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp Turmeric/Haldi - 1/4 tsp Green Chilli - 1 Coriander/Cilantro Leaves - few sprigs Salt Oil for frying How to make Indian Samosa: Making Samosa Crust:  In a mixing bowl, add whole wheat flour, carom seeds and little salt. Heat ghee and olive oil in a small pan. Add this hot (not warm) ghee and oil to the wheat flour and mix...

Savory cilantro or coriander cakes made of chickpea flour.  A healthy Maharashtrian recipe, perfect as an appetizer or as a side dish.

Crispy crunchy Tortilla Chips served with tangy Tomato Salsa is a perfect Mexican appetizer to start a meal. Tortillas are Mexican flat bread made of wheat flour or corn flour. These crispy chips can be either deep fried or baked. These baked tortillas are similar in taste to Gujarati Khakras.  Ingredients: Wheat Flour Tortillas - 6 Black Pepper Powder - 1/4 tsp Tomatoes (Roma) - 4 medium Onion - 1 small Jalapenos Peppers/Chilies - 2 Garlic - 2 big cloves Cilantro/Coriander Leaves - few sprigs Lemon Juice - about 2 tbsp Salt Oil How to bake Tortilla Chips and make Tomato Salsa: Cut each round tortilla into 4 quarters and each quarter into 2 parts. You will get 8 triangles per tortilla.  Lay them on a baking dish. Drizzle about 1 tbsp of olive oil, little salt and black pepper powder. Mix well and spread them. Alternatively, you can brush each triangle with butter or oil. Preheat the oven at 400 deg. F and bake the chips for 4 - 5 minutes...

Vegetable Bonda is Aloo Bonda/Batata Wada with mixed veggies. A South Indian vegetarian burger recipe ideal for vegans too. Ingredients: Green Peas/Matar - about 1 cup Carrots/Gajar (chopped) - about 1 cup Green Beans/French Beans/Farasbi (chopped) - about 1 cup Potato - 1 medium Green Chili Paste - 1/2 tsp Ginger Paste - 1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds/Jeera - 1 tsp Fennel Seeds/Saunf/Badishep - 1/2 tsp Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp Chat Masala - 1/2 tsp Gram Flour/Chickpea Flour/Besan - 1/2 cup Carom Seeds/Ajwain - 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper/Red Chilli Powder - 1/4 tsp Turmeric/Haldi - 1/4 tsp + 1/4 tsp Baking Soda - a pinch Salt Oil How to prepare Veggie Bonda: Boil the potato in enough water till soft. Let it cool completely. Potatoes help in binding the veggies, add more potatoes if you like. I added less potatoes to reduce the carbs. Dice the green beans and carrots as small as green peas. Steam beans, carrots, peas with little salt in a pressure cooker. No need of ...

Oven Roasted nutty Broccoli florets and tender stems with bread crumbs. Ingredients: Broccoli - about 400 gms Walnuts/Akrot - 1 tbsp Pistachios/Pista - 1 tbsp Bread Crumbs - about 3 tbsp Garlic - 2 big cloves Olive Oil - 1 1/2 tbsp Black Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper/Red Chilli Flakes - 1/4 tsp Salt How to oven roast Broccoli: 1. Dice the broccoli florets into bite size pieces.  Peel the skin of the tender broccoli stems and cut it into bite size pieces.  Soak both florets and stems in hot water with little salt for about 5 minutes.  Discard the water and wash them once again.  Drain the water completely. 2. Roughly dice walnuts and pistachios.  You can use any other nuts like almonds/badam, cashews/kaju, pecans etc.  Finely chop garlic. 3. Blend 1 slice of whole wheat bread in a blender till crumbs are formed.  You can use store brought bread crumbs or panko (Japanese bread crumbs). 4. In a mixing ...

Vegetable Manchurian is an Indo Chinese recipe of deep fried veggie balls/koftas in a spicy sauce.  It is served as a side dish with fried rice and/or noodles or as an appetizer.

Khandvi is a tasty Gujarati appetizer made of chickpea flour.  In Marathi these soft besan rolls are well known as Suralichya Wadya .  Vegans can substitute curd with lemon juice.  Calorie conscious foodies can use buttermilk/taak/chaas instead of curds.

Spicy, sweet oven roasted butternut squash fries. Ingredients: Butternut Squash - about 2 cups Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp Chat Masala - 1/4 tsp Green Chillies (minced) - 1/4 tsp Olive Oil - 2 tsp Salt Method: 1. Peel the butternut squash skin and dice it into julienne slices. 2. Mix about 2 tsp oil, garam masala, chat masala, salt and green chillies in a bowl.  Add diced squash and mix well to coat squash slices well. 3. Preheat the oven at 375 deg. F.  Spread the squash slices on a baking tray lined with aluminium foil.  Bake squash for 7 - 8 minutes.  Flip them once and bake for another 8 minutes or till squash is cooked. 4. Healthy, tasty squash fries are ready to binge. 

Deep fried raw Banana or plantain Wadas with chana dal. Ingredients: Plantain/Raw Banana - 1 big Chana Dal/Split Bengal Gram/Split Chickpeas - 1/2 cup Ginger - 1/2 inch piece Green Chillies - 5 Cumin/Jeera Seeds - 1/2 tsp Coriander/Cilantro Leaves - few sprigs Salt Oil Method: 1. Soak chana dal overnight or for about 4 hours.   2. Cut the plantain into 3 or 4 big pieces and make few cuts on the skin with a knife.  Cook plantain in enough water till they turn soft.  Drain the water and let it cool.  The skin will come off easily, discard the skin.  Grate or mash the cooked plantains.  Finely chop cilantro leaves. 3. Wash soaked dal well.  Grind soaked dal, green chillies, ginger, cumin seeds and salt to a slightly coarse paste. 4. In a mixing bowl, add grated plantains, ground dal and chopped cilantro.  Make round balls of the mix or slightly flatten them to form a pa...

Shallow fried Sweet Potato with a semolina crust.  Easy, tasty, crispy Konkani style fritters. Ingredients: Sweet Potato/Kanang/Ratali - 1 big Semolina/Rava/Suji - 1/2 cup Red Chilli Powder/Cayenne Pepper - 1 tbsp Turmeric/Haldi - 1/4 tsp Tamarind/Imli/Chinch - small piece (1/4 tsp) Salt Oil Method: 1. Peel the sweet potato skin and dice it into thick round slices. 2. In a mixing bowl, add sweet potato slices, red chilli powder, turmeric, tamarind and salt.  Mix/Toss well and keep it covered for about 30 minutes. 3. Coat the sweet potato slices in semolina.  Heat a pan and add 1 tbsp oil.  Fry the semolina coated sweet potatoes till they turn crisp.  Check with a spatula to see if sweet potatoes are cooked.  Pan fried, crisp Kananga Kaap or Phodi is ready. 4. You can also deep fry these fritters if you like.  Instead of semolina you can use corn meal (not corn flour) which has similar texture as semolina.  If you like more...