Ritz cracker shev puri

Ritz cracker shev puri

Here the traditional puri is replaced with ritz crackers, it tastes awesome.

Boil 1 potato, peel and mash. Add finely chopped onions, colored bell peppers, handful of corn and cilantro. Add little salt, chaat masala, green chutney, dates-tamarind chutney. Mix well.

Heap the potato mix onto the crackers. Top with shev generously.

Serve immediately.

Instant Bread Medu Vada with Tomato Coconut Chutney

Instant Bread Medu Vada w/Tomato Coconut Chutney

Instant Bread Medu Vada is a great quick snack option and a good way to use up bread. Any kind of bread works well, I've made it with white, multigrain, bread rolls etc. Its a winner always.

Here's how I make Instant Bread Medu Vada:

Crumble bread slices in the food processor (my preferred way) or by hand. For 4 cups of bread crumbs add 1/2 cup rice flour and 1/4 cup fine rava (sooji), 1/2 cup finely chopped onions, handful of finely chopped cilantro, 1 tsp ginger paste, 1/4 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp salt or to taste and 1 tsp pepper pwd (or few chopped green chillies). Add 1/2 cup yogurt and mix well. The batter should be pliable but able to stick together. If needed add little more yogurt. If you end up with a loose batter add little more rice flour or rava and adjust seasonings. Then take a small lemon sized ball of the batter and shape into medu vada (donut shape) on your palm. Deep dry in hot oil till brown on both sides.

Serve hot with chutney of choice.

 In the above picture I've made tomato coconut chutney, here's how I made it:

Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan. Add 1 tsp chana dal, 1 tsp udad dal, 2 dry red chillies and 1/4 cup chopped red onion. You can also add few curry leaves. Fry 5 mins. then add 2 chopped tomatoes. Fry till softened. Add 1/2 cup grated coconut and fry 5 more minutes. Add 1 tsp jaggery, 1/4 tsp tamarind paste and salt to taste. Take off heat, cool a bit and grind. Take the chutney in a bowl. Make tempering by heating 2 tsp oil, add 1/4 tsp mustard seeds, when they stop popping add 1/8 tsp asafetida pwd (hing). Pour hot tempering over chutney.

Roasted Phool Makhana

Roasted Phool Makhana

This is a healthy snack alternative, similar to pop corn, made from puffed lotus seeds. Very easy to make and you can't stop at one. Phool Makhana is available in Indian grocery stores.

Dry roast the phool makhana in a wide pan over low heat for 8-10 minutes stirring occasionally. Towards the end add 2 tbsp. ghee, salt and black pepper pwd to taste. Stir to coat evenly. Take off heat and sprinkle some chaat masala. Stir well. Cool and store in airtight box.

Enjoy with tea/coffee.

Dahi Vada

 

Dahi Vada

 

This is an ideal snack/mini meal for the summer months. Here's how I make dahi vada:

Wash and soak 1/2 cup udad dal and 2 tbsp. mung dal in water for atleast 4 hours. Then drain and grind with very little water to make a smooth paste. Take the paste in a big mixing bowl and add salt, little ginger paste and black pepper pwd. Whisk well for 5 minutes.

At this point if you drop a blob of the paste in a bowl of water, it should immediately float up. This means the batter is light and airy and well whisked.

Heat oil to deep fry the vadas. And keep a big bowl of thin buttermilk ready. Add a little salt and red chilli pwd to the buttermilk. Drop spoonful of batter in the oil and fry on medium heat till golden brown. Drain and immediately put the vadas in the buttermilk. Fry all the vadas similarly in small batches.

To serve - whisk cold yogurt (I like to use Fage) with salt and sugar till smooth. Put the vadas in the serving bowl. Top generously with the yogurt. Sprinkle some red chilli pwd and cumin pwd. Add a dash of green mint chutney and dates-tamarind chutney. Finally garnish with chopped cilantro. You can also add little shev on top. Serve immediately.

Beetroot tikkis

Beetroot tikkis

This is a fairly easy and quick snack to put together, especially when you use canned beet and potato flakes like I do.

Start with a can of sliced beets (not the pickled variety). Drain and put in mixing bowl. To this add a cup of potato flakes, salt to taste, 1 tsp of ginger paste, 1 tsp red chilli pwd, 1 tsp cumin pwd, handful of chopped cilantro, and 1 tsp chaat masala pwd. Mix well. Shape as desired. Pop in the freezer for about an hour. You can make and keep in freezer for use when you have unexpected company.

To fry - in a bowl take 1 tbsp. plain flour mixed with water to make thin paste. In another plate take bread crumbs. Dip each tikki first in the flour mix, then in the bread crumbs and shallow fry on pan with a tsp of oil till golden brown on each side.

Serve warm with chutney of choice - mint chutney, dates chutney or ketchup.

Puff pastry rounds

Puff pastry sheets come in handy for quick snacks/appetizers and are so versatile. I recently found a cute way to use these. The sheet is thawed, cut into about 8-10 circles, filled and folded to resemble petals or feathers.

 

In the picture below, I used some leftover pasta sauce, added oregano, garlic salt, seasoning mix and shredded mozzarella cheese. Smeared this mix on the puff pastry rounds and arranged them to resemble bird's feathers. I topped each with an olive. With a little more fine-tuning, this would make a cute thanksgiving vegetarian turkey I think.

 

For the body of the bird, I used larger squares of puff pastry and stuffed them with jalapeno (ends cut, deseeded and deveined) filled with cream cheese (I used garden veggie and added garlic salt and seasoning mix). Make sure the cheese is room temperature.

 

Bake the puff pastry per package directions.

 

 

Puff pastry bird

Puff pastry vegetarian turkey

jalapeno peppers with cream cheese

For New Years eve party, I used similar pasta sauce as above and arranged the petals in flower shape.

 

 

Cherry Tomato Snackers

Cherry Tomato Snackers

These are bite size cherry tomatoes filled with seasoned cream cheese and topped with toasted almonds. They need a bit of work but are totally worth it!

Here's how I make Cherry Tomato Snackers:

Wash the cherry tomatoes, dry and slice each in half. Using a small melon baller, scoop out the seeds and pulp (you can use this in other recipes).

Take about 3 tbsp. plain cream cheese (thawed to room temperature) in a bowl and season with salt, pepper, paprika, dried mint and Costco no salt seasoning mix. Or use flavored cream cheese of choice and vary seasonings per your taste. Fill a small ziplock bag with this cream cheese mix and press into a cone.

Cut off a small end of the bag. Pipe the cream cheese mix into each cherry tomato half. Top with a piece of almond (I have used almonds toasted with little salt & pepper). Serve immediately
 either as is or on a bed of greens.

Yogurt-stuffed Mini Peppers

Yogurt-stuffed mini peppers

This recipe is adapted from Yogurt Culture recipe book that I browsed at the library. I loved it the moment I read the recipe and wasted no time in trying it out. I was so happy with the results, this one goes in my "favorites" list now!

Here's how I made the Yogurt-stuffed Mini Peppers -

3 tbsp. yogurt - hung in cheesecloth overnight in the fridge
1 tbsp. fresh mozzarella cheese - crumbled
Seasonings - salt, pepper, paprika and dried mint
1 tbsp. chopped walnuts
7 mini peppers
Olive oil for roasting peppers

To make filling combine the hung yogurt, mozzarella, walnuts and seasonings.

Wash the peppers and cut of the tops. With the sharp end of a peeler, scope out the seeds and lining.

Using a small spoon fill the peppers with the yogurt stuffing.

Heat oil in a pan and saute the peppers on medium heat, uncovered till browned on all sides, about 5 to 10 mins.

Serve warm as an appetizer or part of a meal.

Cucumber snacks

Cucumber cups

 These are super easy, no cook snacks, perfect for hot summer days and elegant enough to serve guests as well. They are well loved by adults and kids alike.

Here's how to make these Cucumber snacks:

Take a chilled English cucumber, if desired peel the skin completely or at intervals for a design or keep unpeeled. Cut into 1 inch rounds. Use a small melon baller to create a hollow in each cucumber slice. Take care not to poke a hole thru the other end of the slice.

Fill each with guacamole by spoon or piped in. You can substitute with hummus, pesto or other filling of your choice.

Serve immediately.

Superbowl Snacks

Today is Superbowl Sunday and since Seattle Seahawks are in the finals this time also, there is great excitement all around. We will be watching the game at our friend's place. Not being a big sports enthusiast, I am gonna show my spirit more in the food department.

Here's my prep for this afternoon:

Superbowl Stuffed Bread Buns

 I haven't made bread in ages, so was aching to make some. This gave me the perfect chance to make football shaped stuffed bread buns.

For the stuffing I used a mix of potatoes, onions and green bell peppers. I spiced it up with pav bhaji masala, salt, sugar and lemon juice.

The bread is made using my trusted recipe:

Heat 1 cup water to 100-110F, add 1 packet yeast and 1 tbsp sugar. Mix well and leave aside for 10 mins. It should froth by then.

Take 4 tbsp melted butter, 1.5 tsp salt and 1/2 cup milk pwd in a big bowl. Add the frothy yeast mix to it. Now add 3 cup flour, 1 cup at a mix. Mix well. Knead for 5 mins. Add few drops of oil and keep kneading another 5 mins. Cover the bowl and keep in a warm place for 2 hrs. The dough will double in size by this time. Punch down the dough, divide into about 15 balls. Stuff each ball with the potato mixture. Bring ends together and seal shut. Shape into oblongs and press ends slightly to give them football shape. Place on a baking sheet which is covered with foil. Cover the buns with a moist paper towel or kitchen towel. Keep in a warm place for 1 hour. Then brush tops with milk and bake in a pre heated 350F oven for 1/2 hour or until light brown on top.

Let them cool before decorating with the lace. For this I used room temperature Nuefchatel cheese with a pinch of salt and chaat masala. I also added few drops of milk to make it easier to pipe it. I filled this mix in a plastic bag, made a small cut in a corner and piped the lace onto the football buns.

Superbowl Gulab Jamuns

The host had requested for gulab jamuns, so I decided to give them a slight twist by making them oblong (football shaped). I used Chitale Gulab Jamun mix and followed the package directions to make the jamuns. I prepped only 1/3rd the stated quantity of syrup as I did not want the jamuns floating around in the syrup. I dunked the jamuns in the hot syrup only for about 5 mins each, then drained and plated them. For the football lace, I used melted white candy and almonds slivers (for the small lace across the center).

Tortilla Rolls Christmas Tree

Tortilla Rolls Christmas Tree

I made this as an appetizer for a get-together we had couple days after Christmas. I used store-bought spinach tortillas and made the rolls with cream cheese per my earlier post.

Then I stacked up the rolls to form my Christmas tree. For the the stars, I cut a tomato basil tortilla into few star shapes and microwaved them for 2 mins to crisp them up.

This Tortilla Rolls Christmas Tree goes to the Savory Christmas Snacks event at Simply Food.

Pav Bhaji - Fondue Style

Pav Bhaji - Fondue Style

 I heard about Fondue Pav bhaji recently from a friend in Mumbai. She had it at a restaurant called Zomato, along with other innovative fusion dishes. The idea really interested me. Not having ever eaten it, not even owning a fondue pot did not deter me :-) I immediately set about making it. I had some leftover mashed potatoes, which proved ideal to use up in this recipe since I wanted a smooth texture for the bhaji.

Here's how I made Fondue Style Pav Bhaji:

Heat 1 tsp oil + 1 tsp Amul butter in a pan. Fry 1/4 cup finely chopped onions for 5 mins on medium heat. Add 1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper, 1 tsp garlic paste and 1 tsp ginger paste. Fry another 5 mins. Add 1/4 cup tomato puree and 1 cup leftover mashed potatoes. Season with salt, pav bhaji masala (about 2 tsp each) and pinch of sugar. Stir well to mix. Add little water to prevent burning. Lastly add shredded cheddar cheese and mix well till it melts and blends with the bhaji. Garnish with finely chopped onions, cilantro. Squeeze some lemon juice onto the bhaji.

For the bread - I used pav (recently Indian stores in my area have started to carry pav). Cut each pav into 8 bite size pieces. Brush with melted Amul butter. Toast in a 350F oven for 5 to 10 mins till desired level of crispiness is achieved.

To serve - put the bhaji is the fondue pot. I do not have this, its on my list of post-Christmas sales hunting. So I just used a regular bowl. Put the toasted bread and fondue forks/skewers on the side.

My daughter and the friends who had come over for a sleepover loved it. I too loved the innovativeness of this dish. Hubby said he prefers the old-fashioned pav bhaji though. But I think this dish has a real wow factor (if you have a fondue pot) and will impress your guests at your next party.

Visiting Zomata and tasting it there is also on my to-do list next time I am in Mumbai.

This Fondue Style Pav Bhaji, using my leftover Mashed Potatoes, goes to the Dish It Out - Leftovers event at Full Scoops. This event was started by Vardhini.

TriColor Mini Idlis

I had some leftover mini idlis the other day and decided to make this tricolor idli fry. Usually I use up leftover idlis by breaking them up into bite size pieces and tempering them to make phodnichi idli (idli fry). This tricolor idli recipe just takes them one step ahead and makes them party worthy - these make great appetizers for gatherings.

Here's how I made these TriColor Mini Idlis:

For the yellow color idlis - Heat 1 tsp oil in a non stick pan. Add pinch of mustard seeds. When they stop spluttering add pinch of hing (asafoetida) and turmeric pwd. Drop in 4 to 5 mini idlis. Add little salt (abt 1/4 tsp or to taste) and pinch of sugar. If the idlis are bit hard (from refrigerating overnight like mine were), add 1 tsp water. Stir gently to coast the idli, cover and steam on low heat for 3 to 5 mins. This will soften the idlis again as they are being seasoned. Take off heat and if desired sprinkle little black pepper pwd and squeeze little lemon juice on them. That way they can be served as is, no need for chutney on the side.

For the green idlis - I have used my dry Curry Leaf Chutney for this. I heated 1/2 tsp ghee on low heat, added 1 tsp of this chutney and 1 tsp water. Then added about 4 to 5 mini idlis, tossed gently to coat the idlis with the chutney, covered and cooked on low heat for 3 to 5 mins.

For the red idlis - I have used my Lasun Tikhat (Dry Garlic Chutney) for this. Procedure is similar to above green idlis.

To serve as a party appetizer skewer them onto mini toothpicks and serve.

Baked Bread Rolls

Made this for after-school snack yesterday. Really easy to make and you can sneak in as many veggies as you like :-)

Here's how I make Baked Bread Rolls:

For the filling -

1/2 cup mashed potatoes (I used 1/2 cup boxed potato flakes and added 1/2 cup water, mixed and microwaved for 1 min.); tomato, green onion and green bell pepper - all chopped fine; carrot and cabbage - shredded. All veggies also came to about 1/2 cup. You can vary per taste or availability.

Seasoning the filing - Add about 2 tsp soy sauce, 1/2 tsp salt, pinch of sugar, 1/2 tsp black pepper pwd, pinch of paprika. Yesterday I also added 1/4 tsp Thai seasoning paste, this is optional. Sometimes instead of soysauce, I give it an Indian flavor with some coriander-cumin pwd, garam masala pwd or pav bhaji masala pwd. Mix well.

For the bread roll - I used 4 slices of whole wheat bread. Sprinkle few drops of water evenly on each slice. Lay it on a damp paper towel.

Cover with another damp paper towel and roll slightly with a rolling pin using gentle pressure.

Put 2 tbsp of the filling on the bread. 

Using the damp paper towel, roll the bread to form a roll. Seal edges with water. Lay seam side down on a baking tray.

Bake in a pre heated 400F oven for about 15 mins, turning them over once. Serve warm with tomato ketchup.

These Baked Bread Rolls are off to the 37th Bake Fest at Cooks Joy.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all celebrating today. I love the sentiment behind it, wish I could celebrate with my whole family here today. Last year I made this adorable veggie turkey shaped roll to take to a friends place. This year its just the 3 of us, so made few "fall leaves" for snacking and a mini apple pie for dessert to commemorate the occasion.

Here's how I made the fall leaves snack:

1 pack Pilsbury cresent roll

The pack contained 8 pre cut dough pieces.

Ball up each piece and roll into a circle of 1/4 cm thickness. Use a leaf shape cookie cutter or cut into leaf shape with a sharp knife.

Arrange on a cookie sheet lined with aluminium foil.

Bake in a preheated 375F oven for 10 mins, turning leaves over once in between.

Cool slightly for 5 mins. Then I have topped some with pesto (store bought); others with pizza sauce and rest with softened cream cheese (chives and onion flavored). I sprinkled some finely chopped orange and yellow bell peppers on the cream cheese. Finish off with shredded mozzarella cheese. Broil for 5 mins until mozzarella melts. Serve warm.

Mini Apple Pies:

For this also I went semi home made. Used store bought pie crust. For the filling, I used a recipe my daughter had used at school when in 3rd grade - 2 chopped apples (we did not peel them), 2 heaped tbsp sugar, pinch of salt, dash of all spice mix and 1 tsp lemon juice. Mix it all together.

Cut the pie crust per size needed.

Arrange in the mini pan thats lightly buttered. Prick 3 to 4 times with a fork. Fill the apple mix, piling up slightly in the center to make dome shape. Cover with pie crust cut in strips, arranged in a lattice shape. 

Bake in a pre heated 425F oven for 15 min. Then cover edges with aluminium foil to avoid excess browning and continue baking another 15 mins. Remove and let stand for 1/2 hour before serving. I like to have it a la mode, a slightly warm apple pie with slightly melting vanilla ice cream.

Quick after-school tortilla snacks

My kid always comes home from school claiming to be famished and demands to eat right away. If I don't have a snack ready, she'll raid the pantry and ofcourse reach for her saved Halloween candy. In order to avoid too much junking, I usually try to keep a relatively healthy snack ready for her.

These quick tortilla snacks come in handy at such times. Yesterday I made a savory version and a sweet one.

I started with whole grain tortillas. I cut them into wedges and microwaved for 3 mins, turning once after 1.5 mins. This crisps them up like tortilla chips. Then cool on a wire rack.

To make the savory version (Nachos), top with a mix of veggies, beans and cheese of your choice. In the pic below, I topped half with shredded Mexican cheese mix. The other half has black beans (canned), green and orange bell peppers (finely diced), tomatoes (diced), seasoned with little salt, cumin pwd and paprika and then topped with the same cheese. Microwave for 30 to 45 secs till cheese melts. Serve immediately.

Quick Nachos (Savory)

To make the sweet version, top with whipped cream. Sprinkle little all spice mix (or just cinnamon pwd) and garnish with strawberries. 

Sweet Nachos