Bruschetta

Bruschetta is an Italian dish which is normally consumed as an appetizer, I turned it into dinner.I have made it a couple of times as a starter but i was feeling a bit lazy to cook dinner last night.
I like spicy food so i made a few changes of my own. If you like you can also add chopped olives in it.






Ingredients:

Loaf of french bread
Grape tomatoes 1 small box
Jalapenos - 2 nos chopped
Red cooking wine - few drops
Worcestershire sauce - few drops
Garlic - 3 cloves finely chopped
Parsley - 2 tbsp chopped
Shallot - 1 finely chopped
Spinach
EVOO
Salt to taste
Pepper
Mozzarella cheese

Method:-
1. Heat a non-stick pan pour in a tbsp of olive oil
2. Once hot add the chopped garlic






3. Add the chopped shallot








4. Add the jalapenos or if you like you can add red pepper flakes








5.When completely cooked add the wine and sauce and let it simmer for a couple of minutes






6.Put the cut grape tomatoes and stir well







7. Add salt and pepper







8. Add chopped spinach (optional) and let it cook for a couple of minutes








9. Mix in the parsley just before preparing the bruschetta







10 Set the oven in broiler mode and set temperature at 400 degrees
11. Cut the bread side ways and and drizzle the bread with EVOO and place it in the preheated oven for a couple of mintues




12.Take the bread out and spread the tomato spread and








13. A few spinach leaves








14.A little mozzerella cheese on top and then place it again in the oven until the cheese melts.







Serve hot.


Please note :The image that I took has whole spinach leaves on top and it got stuck to the cheese and it was a bit difficult to eat it without making too much mess. So the second batch i made with chopped spinach which I mixed in the tomato mix along with the parsley and then placed it in the oven.
So when you try it make sure you chop the spinach.

FIsh Cutlet

Mom used to make this in Chennai and when I had my friend Nisha over here, I made it. My mom would try out new dishes and she is really good too, I do miss her food. I am waiting for her to come next month and ask her to make some of her best dishes which I wanna learn and ofcourse share it with you guys. For a first attempt it was really yumm and dad said its perfect just like mom's, oohh what a relief. Its very easy to make and you can prepare and keep it 2 to 4 days earlier and only thing you will have to do is fry it before serving it.. So here it goes.

You will need :-
Tilapia - 1 lb (or any fish make sure there is no skin or bones in it)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Pepper powder - as per spice required
Onion - 1 big - chopped very fine
Green chilies - 4 chopped very fine
Ginger - chopped fine
Bread crumbs - as required
Eggs - 2 (only whites)
Method:-
1. Cut the fish into small pieces and place them in a non-stick kadai and add turmeric powder, salt and a little pepper powder with a little water. And let it cook completely. Make sure it is cooked fully and the water has to dry completely.
2. Let it cool a little and then smash it with a fork or hand and make sure there are no lumps.
3. Now mix it with the onions, green chilies, pepper powder, ginger and mix it really well.
4. Let is set for 10 -15 mins
5. In the meantime break the eggs and remove the whites and keep it separately in a wide bowl so that you can put your hand in easily and put some bread crumbs in another plate and keep it next to it.
6. Make small balls of size and shape of choice.Dip first it in the egg white and then roll it in the bread crumbs and keep it aside.Make sure the crumbs cover it fully.
7. Fry it just before serving and serve it hot with ketchup or sauce.

P.S.:-
1.) If you are gonna take it from the refrigirator , remember to bring it room temperature before
frying.
2.) If you dont like to bite ginger, peel it, put it in the freezer for 30mins then grate it and mix it, that way you wont even know its there.
3.)If you make it and keep it in the freezer it will stay for 2-3 weeks.

Egg Puff

I love making snacks for weekends as thats when Vivek is also at home to have hot tea and of course even Arya loves puff.
Its an easy to make tiffin and the only thing that one has to buy is the pastry sheets. I also make peas puffs and vegetable puffs and the method for them is also the same as the egg puff, which I have added along with this recipe.
Kids will love it too..

You will need:-
Pastry sheets - 1 no (1 sheet makes 9 puffs)
Red onion - 1 big (chopped fine)
Green chilies - 2 crushed
Fennel seeds - 1/4 tsp
Garam masala - 1/4 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Chili powder - 1/2 tsp (or as spice required)
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Pepper powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Egg - hard boiled 4 nos cut in two
Raw egg - 1 (just beaten and set aside for egg wash)
Cooking oil - 1 tbsp

Method:-
1. In a kadai pour the oil and when hot add the fennel seeds and once it stops spluttering add the green chilies.






2. Fry it for a few seconds and then add the chopped onions







3. When fully cooked add the garam masala, chili powder, turmeric powder, pepper powder and the ginger garlic paste and mix well.
4. If you wish you can add a less than quarter cup of water to cook the masala.



5. Once the raw smell is gone add salt and let it simmer for a minute or two and then add the boiled eggs.
6. Make sure the egg gets covered in masala fully and then reduce the heat to a little less than medium and let is set for 10 minutes.
7. Thaw the pastry sheets according to package instructions and then spread it on to a flat dry surface that has some flour on it. Roll it with a rolling pin just a little bit and then cut it into desired sizes. Pre-heat the over to 350degrees. I use Pepperridge farms pastry sheets and I cut one sheet into 9 pieces.
8. Now place one piece of egg with a little masala on one side of the cut pastry sheet.






9. Take the egg wash and rub it on the sides and then fold the sheet and make sure the sides stick together, use a fork to press it down.





10. Rub a few drops of egg wash on the top of the sheet, as that will give the puff a nice glaze color.
11. Follow the same procedure for all the other pastry sheets and then place then one by one leaving a little place between them.




12. Place them in the oven for 12-14 minutes, depending on the oven or until golden brown on the top.
13. Serve hot with ketchup or any sauce.





For peas puff :- It is the same ingredients as teh above instead of egg add 1/2 a cup of peas and you can also add more onions if you like.

For veg puff :- Add 1/4 cup of peas, 1/4 cup of finely cut french peans, 1/4 cup of grated/finely chopped carrot.

P.S. - If you do not eat egg then just use water to stick the sides of the pastry sheets and you can use a fork to press down the sides.

Stuffed steak grilled to perfection

Being a fan of Rachael Ray has taught me one thing and that is with a little imagination and love there is no dish that cannot be made. This is a recipe i watched on her show last week but i made a little change to it, i marinated it before grilling it.

Requirements :-
Flank steak - 1
baby spinah leaves - big bunch
Steak seasoning
Salt to taste
Pepper
Two types of cheese - i used gorgonzola and feta - half a cup each crumbled
Bamboo skewers - soaked in water

Method:-
It is very simple and yummy to eat too.
1. Take a carving knife and slit the steak carefully in the middle making it a big piece make sure you don't cut it in half. It has to be slit so that we can stuff it, roll it and grill it.
2. Rub salt, pepper and the steak seasoning on both sides and let it marinate for an hour atleast in the refrigerator.
3. Now make sure the steak is in room temperature, put the spinach followed by the crumble cheese spread all over.
4. Carefully roll it into a big roll, make sure it is rolled tight.
5. Now stick in the bamboo skewers leaving a little space in between them.
6. Use a sharp knife to cut it up into 4 or 6 servings as you think is required.
7. Do not remove the skewers.
8. Heat the grilling pan and spray some olive oil. When hot add the steak pieces oe by one.
9. Don't disturb it. Let it cook well one side before you turn it over otherwise it will tear and stick to the pan too.
10. Serve hot with coleslaw or salad of choice.

You can either make it as a meal or as a starter too..

Dry Gobi Masala

I just tried it today and it came out good. I wanted to try something different with cauliflower and it was easy too.

Ingredients:-
1.Medium Cauliflower - cut into small florets
2.Medium Onion - sliced thin
3.Chilli powder - 1tspn
4.Cumin powder - 1tspn
5.Garam Masala - half tspn
6.vinegar - 1 tbspn
7.GingerGarlic paste - 1 tbspn
8.Any chicken 65 masala - 1 tbspn
9.Lemon juice - 1 tbspn
10.Salt and oil
11.Spring onion - a small bunch chopped
12.Cilantro - chopped for garnish

Method :-

Bring a big vessel of water to a boil, add a little salt to it and add the cut florets to it. Let it boil for 5 minutes, in the mean time take another vessel fill it with water and ice cubes.Remove the florets and put them in the vessel with ice cubes and leave it for a minute or two, it is called shocking, this is basically done to stop the cooking process. Drain the florets and keep it aside. In a bowl mix all the ingredients from 3 - 8 with some water and salt, mix in the sliced onions and the florets and let it stand for 15 minutes.
In a deep kadai pour oil and when hot add the marinated florets and onions stir in very rarely, as we don't want the florets to break. The longer the gobi cooks on medium heat the better the flavor gets, vinegar helps to do that.Let it cook on medium heat and do not cover otherwise it will become wet. After 10 minutes add the chopped spring onions and stir it in followed by the lemon juice.Let it cook until the aroma arises and the florets are well done. Just before removing from the stove top add the chopped cilantro and let it stay for a while before getting it on to the serving plate.