Broccoli Cheddar twice baked potatoes

Sorry for being MIA the past week. It wasn't because I was busy, it was because I was lazy or to put it out decently I could say that I was hit by the writer's block. Well I can even say that I am blocked. I have not been cooking properly, I still have to do the laundry and then there are all the other household chores. Sometime you need a break, a break from daily routine and thats what I took. I am slowly coming out of my slumber. There's not much cooking up in the kitchen and that's why I am sharing a super simple recipe here which you can put together in a matter of mins and is delicious with all that ooey gooey cheese on top.

Prep time: 15 mins; Cook time: 1 hrs; Serves - 1 ~*What U Need*~ Russet potatoes - 1, washed & scrubbed Broccoli florets - 1/2 cup Italian seasoning - 1 tsp Granulated garlic - 1/4 tsp Sour cream - 2 tbsp Unsalted butter - 1 tbsp Whole milk - 2-3 tbsp Salt and pepper Shredded Sharp Cheddar - 1/2 cup How I Made it: Cut the potato in half. Pressure cook for 2 whistles or till cooked throught. A knife should pass through easily. Allow the potatoes to cool slightly, and scoop out most of the flesh and place in a bowl. In a small pot, warm together the milk and butter until the butter is melted and the mixture is hot but not boiling. Pour mixture over the scooped potatoes along with the sour cream, salt and pepper. Mash the potatoes until smooth and creamy, add the broccoli, granulated garlic, half of the grated cheese and give everything a good stir. Scoop the potato mixture inside each half of potatoes, top with the remaining cheese and bake them for about 15 minutes or until the cheese is fully melted.

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Spicy Chicken Kheema Potato Curry

A lazy Sunday morning.. hot dosas with piping hot sambar followed by a 3 hour nap and waking up to a lunch of hot rice with amma's chicken curry was my Sunday routine before marriage. Comfort food in every bite and I never asked for more. My heart has been yearning for that comfort for some time now. Sundays are meant to be whiled away while you get pampered with tasty food. But that seems just like mirage these days. The only thing that seems comforting is replicating amma's chicken curry for Sunday lunch. The huss has never been a big fan of the curry and so I make variations, like this. We had it with some white rice and chicken roast and I just traveled back in time, well atleast the eating part.

~*What U Need*~ Chicken kheema - 1/2 lb Potato - 1, cubed Onion - 1, large, finely chopped Tomato - 1, medium, chopped Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tbsp Oil, Salt Chopped coriander leaves - 2 tbsp Cinnamon - 1" Cloves - 2 Cardamom - 2, crushed To roast and grind: Onion - 1/4 cup, chopped Grated coconut - 1/4 cup Chilli powder - 1 tsp Coriander powder - 1 tsp Garam masala - 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder - 1/8 tsp Oil - 1 tsp How I Made it: Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan and saute the 1/4 cup onions. Once soft add the grated coconut and fry till brown. Add the spice powders and fry for another 2-3 mins. Set aside to cool and then blend to a smooth paste. Heat 1 tbsp oil in the same pan and add cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. Once tempered add the finely chopped onions and saute till golden brown Add ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell leaves. Add the chopped tomatoes and fry till mushy. Add potatoes followed by the minced meat. Cook till the chicken sheds water and is half cooked. Add the ground masala and 1/2 cup water and cook till the meat is done and oil separates. Add chopped coriander leaves and remove from flame.

Serve with rice or rotis...

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Chicken Kheema Cutlet

Cutlets are always a favorite in my house be it vegetable or chicken. I have made chicken cutlets previously but I usually use cooked shredded chicken. This time when I was planning to make chicken cutlets for our snack I saw a pack of minced meat hiding in the freezer and thus born these addictive chicken kheema cutlets. You could either deep fry the cutlets or shallow fry them like kebabs. Either way they are delicious when served warm but the deep fried ones scores full marks over the kebab style ones, always...calorie conscious ppl, pls keep away :)

~*What U Need*~ Chicken kheema/minced meat - 1/2 lb Onion - 1, finely chopped Potato - 1, boiled and mashed Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tbsp Red chilli powder - 1 tsp Garam masala powder - 1 tsp Turmeric powder - a pinch Salt Egg - 1, whisked Breadcrumbs - to coat Oil - to shallow or deep fry How I Made it: Thaw kheema as per directions. Take it in a pressure cooker and cook for 2 whistles by adding some water. Remove and seat aside. Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. When brown, add the onions and saute till soft. Add the ginger garlic paste and saute well. Add the spice powders and mix well. Fry for 2 mins and then add the cooked kheema. Cook for 2 mins. Add the mashed potato and mix well. Remove and set aside. When warm to touch mix well with hands. You can cool and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for future use. It stays good upto 2 days. When ready to cook, heat oil in a tawa as needed for shallow or deep frying. Whisk the egg with a pinch of salt. Dip the patties in the egg first and then coat with breadcrumbs. Cook on both sides till done.

Serve warm!!!

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Vegetable Kuruma | Vegetable Korma | Side dish for Dosa/chapathis

I have been getting requests for some easy side dishes for dosas or chapathis. I know that my blog is lacking some basic Indian dishes and I am trying my best to fill them up here. The problem is these dishes have been etched in me that it comes as a flow and to pick up the camera to click step by step pictorials is just not happening. I chop, I fry and then I season, thats it job done. And to break that flow is something that never comes to me.

But I am coming out of my shell, slowly and that is how I clicked this vegetable kuruma. Its simple and tastes great with dosas/chapathis/parottas and is my go-to-dish when I am out of ideas for that night's dinner. I always have dosa batter in my fridge and so this kuruma makes for a simple and lip-smacking dinner. And if you are a bachelor, stack some frozen parottas or chapathis and make this kuruma whenever you need a comforting home-cooked meal, atleast the side-dish part ;)

You could use a mix of veggies like carrots, beans, peas and cauliflower or keep it simple with carrot, beans and potato. But keep in mind that if you are using cauliflower, donot pressure cook it. Add them raw when you are adding the steam-cooked veggies to the masala and boil till tender. That way the cauliflower will not disintegrate.

Serves - 4; Prepping time - 15 mins; Cooking time - 20 mins ~*What U Need*~ To grind: Onion - 1/2, cubed Grated coconut - 1/4 cup Cashews - 4to5 Green chilli - 1 Roasted channa dhal - 2 tsp To pressure cook: Mixed vegetables - 1 1/2 cups, diced For the gravy: Onion - 1/2, finely chopped Tomato - 1, finely chopped Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp Coriander powder - 1 tsp Garam masala - 1/2 tsp Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp, chopped Bay leaf - 1 Cloves - 2 Cardamom - 2 Cinnamon - 1" Salt, Oil How I Made it: In a kadai, add 1/2 tsp oil, add the cubed onions and fry till pale. Add the coconut and saute for 2 mins. Once cooled, add this to the blender along with the rest of the ingredients to be ground and grind to a smooth paste. Set aside. Meanwhile steam cook the vegetables for 1 whistle or par-boil the vegetables. In a kadai, add 1 tsp oil, add the bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom and saute till brown. Add the chopped onions and saute till golden. Next add the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell leaves. Add the chopped tomatoes and when soft, add the spices and saute till oil separates. Next add the par-boiled veggies and mix well. Add the ground masala with some water and allow to boil till you see oil separating. Season with salt. Add the chopped coriander leaves and remove from flame.

Serve with parathas or chapathis!!!

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Oats Aloo Tikki | Oats Recipes

Life is never fair and I am not here to complain about it. Life has its own share of reasons on why it is like that. Some recent happenings has changed me, right at the core. My belief on what or who god is has never been the same. And I blame noone but me. At times I think that everything that happens around or to me is influenced by "me" and I won't or can't blame someone who is there just hypothetically. And then there is another part of me which crops up some times and firmly believes that "God exists". That power by which this galaxy was created or which brought about "The Big Bang" is there and that is "God". And when that ME comes out, I am regular to the temple. Fridays and Saturdays whatever be it, I go and get my peace of mind.

As I said, some recent "very bad" happenings has brought about the god-believer me and I made quite a few vows with HIM. And one among that is I will give up eating potatoes through out my existence. And that brings me to stop eating anything from outside. Tell me one good restaurant dish which has no aloo in it. I am still browsing for one. But, again, thanks be to God I have been by my vow till date. I don't eat aloo with my knowledge. And the family is following steps with me. We don't by burgers, shawarmas and we don't even shop potatoes these days.

When I went grocery shopping sometime back, I found few burger buns that were pillowy soft and wholewheat too. I grabbed one immediately with a pretext to make some healthy burgers for amma and appa (okay get it, this is one among the many that I made for appa when I was back in India) and I just couldn't come up with a tikki recipe that has no aloo in it. Finally gave up, made some 2-min noodles for me and made these healthy oats aloo tikkis to slide between their burger buns. You can serve these on burger buns or bread or have it for tea.

Serves - 2 Makes - 6-8 medium sized tikkis Prep time - 20 mins Cooking time - 5 mins ~*What U Need*~ Potato - 1 medium Oats - 1 cup Wheat or white bread slice - 2 Onion - 1, finely chopped Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp Carrot - 1, grated Peas - 1/4 cup Green chilli - 1, finely chopped Garam masala - 1/2 tsp Water - to sprinkle Oil, Salt How I Made it: Boil and mash the potato. Dip the bread slice in water and squeeze excess water. Put this in a mixing bowl. Dry roast the oats till you get a nutty aroma. Heat oil in a kadai, add green chilli followed by onion and saute till golden brown. Add ginger garlic paste and saute till the raw smell goes off. Add the grated carrot and peas and cook. Add the garam masala and fry. Now add the oats and sprinkle enough water to cook it. It will form a mass. Once cooked and cooled, add this to the potato and bread and mix well. Form tikkis and shallow fry till crisp on both sides.

Serve between burger buns or with bread or as such for tea!!!

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Oven Baked Vegetables

Cutting off oil as much as I can from our foods has become a routine ever since I got my OTG. I still remember the days when we were in search of an OTG that would suit our kitchen, that would be best for us. 'A' was fed up with my regular routine to all electronics shops on weekends and that too during the final days of pregnancy. He used to give me queer looks when I got dressed up to go to the shops. "Why don't you catch some rest and lets get the OTG after the baby arrives?". Bet he knew the return answer he would get cos he would walk away away silently to get dressed up.

As I said, I have tried to bake things whenever I can, so that oil can take a backseat in our daily food. So I baked some veggies not for our evening snack but for our dinner. Wraps, sandwiches and many more ideas were there and without a second thought I baked them. They were good~ in fact too good that just as the second batch was slid in, I started popping the cooled first batch one by one... I saved some though for our dinner and turned them into a light yet filling dinner. Do check out my coming posts to know what was cooked.

~*What U Need*~ Potatoes - 1(medium) Carrots - 1 Baby Corn - 2 Capsicum - 1 Olive Oil - 1 tsp Salt - to taste Pepper powder - 1/4 tsp Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning - 1/2 tsp

How I Made it:
Cut all the vegetables as desired. I cut them into 1/4 inch pieces. Preheat oven to 220 C. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, keep aside. Mix all ingredients till the vegetables are evenly coated. Arrange in a single layer on the baking pan. Bake for about 10 minutes. Remove, turn the pieces over and bake for another 10 mins.

Do wait for my next post to see what I did with my baked veggies.

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Aloo Matar/Mutter Fry | Potato Green Peas Fry | Sandwich Ideas

Sandwiches were a staple when I was at my parent's place. Be it a simple vegetable sandwich or a boiled egg sandwich, we preferred having sandwiches for our breakfast... In fact I can even live on bread and milk for the rest of my life. I love dunking my bread slices in a cup of hot mango flavored Complan and that is how I prefer having my bread even today. Even appa and amma loves having their bread soaked up in coffee. But at times when the sandwich fever hits on, appa makes sandwiches for us. Yes, when it is sandwiches, appa takes over the kitchen.

We mostly prepare the boiled egg sandwich, boil, slice, season, add on some veggies and you are good to go. After marriage, I tried it once but it did not interest the huss that much and then it was never revisited. He prefers a simple PB&Cheese sandwich or my Nutella~Caramelized Banana Sandwich or just plain butter toast smeared with Nutella/PB/Mango Jam... But seldom, very rare, I like preparing stuffings for our sandwiches, a simple Potato masala or something all the more spicy like this aloo matar...

We had a light lunch and so I had to make something filling for our evening tea. All that hungry tummies rumbling out loud wanted something tasty and heavy and so I made this and served it with some butter toasted sandwiches and cardamom tea. Ur tea break can't get any better, trust me... You can serve this for rice too, it makes a great side for curd rice...

~*What U Need*~ Potato - 1 Green Peas - 1/4 cup Tomato sauce - 1 tbsp Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp Coriander powder - 1 tsp Garam masala - 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder - a pinch Hing powder - a sprinkle Garlic cloves, with skin - 10 Curry leaves - 1 sprig Oil - 1 tbsp Salt Water - 1 tbsp Wheat/White Bread slices - 4 Butter - to toast Tomato ketchup/Mayo - to spread

How I Made it:
Boil the peas with water till half done. Clean and pressure cook the potato for 2 whistles. Cool and remove the skin. Cut into largish cubes. Mix the spice powders and salt with 1 tbsp water. Crush the garlic with your mortar and pestle.
Heat oil in a non stick pan, add the curry leaves and when they are fried add the garlic and fry till raw smell leaves. Add the spice-water and fry till for 2-3 mins. Add the hing powder and fry for 1 min followed by the tomato sauce. Now add the potato and mix till evenly coated with masala.

Close and allow to cook for 10 mins flipping in between. Add the green peas and fry till roasted well. When the potatoes are roasted well, mash with ur spoon and roast again. The final step is optional, u can serve as large pieces also. If using as a filling for bread, toast ur bread, spread the masala, some tomato ketchup, close with another slice and serve hot.

Serve hot with curd rice or any rice varieties or as a filling for sandwiches.

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(Amma Cooks) Cauliflower Potato Green Curry

Am not a tv-cookery-show-copy-cater, in fact I never follow cookery shows. An occasional Fabulous cakes/Nigella's Kitchen/Donna Hay ~it's an yes for me, but switching on the TV every day at the right time is never me. Might be because I am never good at memorising the list of ingredients that they blurt out in a fraction of second, let alone remember the method on how to go about making the dish. Am that bad...

In fact I still turn the pages of the cookbook that amma gave me, the 32-page handwritten notebook which is filled with amma's recipes, whenever I make sambar. Am that bad in remembering stuff. Amma is just the opposite, she follows Tamil cookery shows and tries them in her kitchen and it turns out just perfect. One such dish was the Chicken Nilgris chops, a now-family-favorite. She's been making it for years now and we usually have it with Neichoru a.k.a ghee flavored rice ~ a winning combo in terms of flavor and taste. About the recipe, it uses lots of coriander leaves and mint leaves ground to a paste and so imagine the aroma of the dish.

It was a Saturday a no,non-veg day for us. We had cauliflower, potato but the aloo-gobi masala seemed to be made more often and so we thought of making something new. Amma suggested incorporating the flavors of the meat dish in cauliflower and I was so into it. We had it with a simple curd rice and the simplicity of the flavors made for a hearty lunch.

~*What U Need*~ Cauliflower - 1,medium Potato - 1, medium Onion - 2 Tomato - 1 Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp Red chilli powder - 1/4 tsp Coriander powder - 1 tsp Garam masala - 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder - a pinch Salt, Oil Cardamom - 1 Cloves - 2 Cinnamon - 1" stick To Grind Mint leaves - 1/2 cup Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup Green chilli - 1 Grated Coconut - 1/4 cup Thick Curd - 1 tbsp

How I Made it:
Grind all ingredients under "to grind" to a semi-coarse paste. Clean and soak the cauliflower in hot salted, turmeric powder water for 10-15 mins. Heat 1 tsp oil in a kadai, add the cardamom, cloves and cinnamon and when brown, add the sliced onions. Once soft, add ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes. Add the tomatoes and saute till soft and mushy. Add the masala powders and fry for 2 mins. Now add the cauliflower florets and potato, add half cup of water and allow to cook. When the vegetables are soft, add the ground paste and cook for 10 mins in slow flame. Season with salt, add water to bring to desired consistency and cook for 2-3 mins. Remove from flame.

Serve with rotis/pulaos/naans.

** My Notes:
** You could add more water and make it like a gravy or semi-gravy too.
** Add milk instead of water or even cream to make it more richer.
** Add 5 cashews soaked in warm water when grinding the paste for a richer taste.

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