One Day At A Time!

Potatoes and eggs are two of my favorite ingredients which can be cooked in numerous ways. Both blend well with a variety of seasonings, be it with Indian spices, Chinese style or some dry herbs. Ingredients: Eggs - 5 Onion - 1 medium Mini Bell Peppers/Capsicum - 2 Garlic - 2 big cloves Ginger (grated) - 1/2 tsp Coriander/Cilantro Leaves - few sprigs Cumin/Jeera Powder - 1/2 tsp Black Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper/Red Chilli Powder - 1/4 tsp Soy Sauce - 1 tbsp Vinegar - 1 tbsp Salt Oil How to cook Stir fried Boiled eggs: Boil the eggs in about 6 cups water for about 20 minutes. After cooling, peel the shells and dice each egg into two parts. Finely chop onions, bell peppers (I used yellow and red), garlic and cilantro. Heat about 1 tbsp oil in a pan. Add onions, garlic and little salt. Sauté until onions soften. Add bell peppers and sauté for about 2 minutes. Now add soy sauce, vinegar, black pepper powder, cumin and cayenne pepper. For an additiona...

A hearty vegetarian soup with lots of vegetables, beans and pasta. An authentic Italian Minestrone soup is cooked with wine, but we loved the soup even though I didn't use wine. Ingredients: Dry Red Kidney Beans - 1/3 cup Pasta Shells - 1/3 cup Onion - 1 medium Tomatoes - 2 medium Zucchini - 1 medium Green Beans - about 1/2 cup Yard Long Beans - about 1/2 cup Carrots - about 1/2 cup Celery - 2 sticks Spinach - about 1/2 cup Garlic - 2 big cloves Tomato Ketchup - 1 tbsp Italian Seasoning - 1 tsp Dry Parsley - 1 tsp Oregano - 1/2 tsp Black Pepper Powder - 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper - 1/4 tsp Olive Oil - 2 tbsp Salt How to cook Italian Vegetable Minestrone Soup: Soak kidney beans overnight. You can use any other beans like black beans, chickpeas/kabuli chana. Canned beans would also be great for this soup. Wash the soaked beans and cook until beans turn soft. Do not overcook them. Medium chop onion, carrots, celery, zucchini and tomatoes. Cut beans int...

Ghee or Toop or Clarified Butter is an integral part of Indian food - mithai (sweets), parathe, rice and many other delicacies. Even dosas taste great when roasted with ghee. Indian festivities and religious ceremonies are incomplete without shudh desi ghee. Ingredients: Unsalted Butter/Loni/Makkhan - 1 pound (4 sticks) Cloves/Lavang/Long - 2 How to prepare Ghee or Clarified Butter or Tup: Heat a heavy bottom pan. Make sure there is no water or moisture in the pan. Add butter. Once the butter melts, add cloves and lower the heat. Let the butter cook at low heat until the foam reduces. You will also hear some crackling sound, which will reduce once the foam starts to disappear.  Use a spoon to check if the foam has reduced and a clear liquid is visible.  Also, the milk solids will settle at the bottom. Turn off the heat. Do not let the milk solids turn brown.  Cloves add a nice aroma to the clarified butter which can be used for both swee...

An all time favorite snack - Potato Chips, but cooked in a microwave.  Less oily and not deep fried. Ingredients: Potato (Russet) - 1 big Salt Oil How to cook Crisp Potato Chips in a Microwave: In a big bowl, add about 1/2 tsp salt and mix well. Wash the potato well. No need to peel the skin. Thinly slice the potato using a knife or a mandolin slicer.  Add the slices to the salty water.  Set it aside for 15 - 20 minutes. Drain the water and rinse the slices in water 2 - 3 times, so that the water turns clear. Place the slices on a clean kitchen towel and pat them dry. Grease a microwave safe plate with cooking spray or oil. Arrange the slices on the plate. Grease the slices with cooking spray or brush each slice with oil. Sprinkle little salt and microwave for 2 minutes. Along with salt, you can sprinkle any other seasoning of your choice. Flip the slices and microwave for another 2 minutes or until potato slices turn slightly brown and crisp. Some slices ...

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 ...

A desi Mithai  Badam Burfi with an Italian Cheese. This nutrient rich Almond Barfi tastes great and cooking it in a microwave will save you some time.  Traditionally, Khoya or Mava is used to prepare this sweet. But nowadays, I use Ricotta Cheese which works as the best alternative for our desi Khoya. Ingredients: Almonds/Badam - 1/4 cup Ricotta Cheese - 1 cup Ghee/Clarified Butter - 1 tsp Sugar - 2 tbsp Green Cardamom/Elaichi - 2 pods Saffron/Kesar - few strands Almonds for garnish - 2 How to prepare Almond Barfi in a microwave: Soak almonds in water overnight or for two hours. Soaking will enable the almond skin to come off easily. Drain the water and peel the almond skin. Grind almonds to a fine powder in a blender. Crush cardamom seeds and saffron in a mortar pestle to a fine powder. Chop 2 almonds for garnish. Grease a tray with few drops of ghee. In a microwave safe bowl, add ghee. Grease the bowl well with ghee. Now add ricotta cheese and mi...

During my last visit to our nearby Indian store, I picked up this Chana Jor Garam packet. Most Mumbaikars might know this as a chatpata snack. For some, Chana Jor Garam might sound new. These are flattened black chickpeas or chana flavored with a tangy blend of spices. You can enjoy these chanas like popcorn or savor it like Bhel  with raw mango, onions. Ingredients: Chana Jor Garam - 2 cups Onion - 1 small Tomato - 1 medium Lemon Juice - 1 1/2 tbsp Aamchur (Dry Mango Powder) - 1/2 tsp Cilantro/Coriander Leaves - few sprigs Shev/Sev - about 1/2 cup How to prepare Chana Jor Garam Chaat: Discard the seeds and the soft pulp of the tomato. Finely chop tomato and onion.  Finely chop coriander leaves. In a mixing bowl, add onions, tomatoes, lemon juice, aamchur, coriander leaves and little salt. Mix well. Add chanar jor garam and shev. Toss all the ingredients.  Add more lemon juice and/or salt if required. You can add roasted or fried peanuts, cashe...