Yummy Garlic bread balls

Ingredients for garlic bread balls

1 lb Ball of Fresh Pizza Dough (you can buy ready dough or make some, see recipe below for the dough recipe)

 5 Cloves of Garlic

 2 Tbsp of Fresh Parsley

 ¼ Cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

 Salt and Pepper to taste 

Ingredients for the dough

 3 ½ cups of All Purpose Flour

 2 tsp Salt

 1 tsp Sugar

 2 Tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

 1 1/3 cups of Warm Water, 110 degrees

 1 Envelope of dry active yeast (2.5 tsp or 1/4 oz)

 

Process to make the dough

 1) Add the yeast to warm water and set it aside for about 3 minutes.

 2) In the bowl or food processor mix together the flour, salt, sugar and olive oil. Stir the yeast in the water to make sure it is all dissolved and add it to the flour mixture.

 3) Mix until everything is combine, make a soft dough. Knead the dough for 10 mins or till smooth.

 4) Place ball of dough into the oiled bowls and brush the tops of the dough with a little oil to stop them from drying out. Place a piece of plastic wrap on top of each bowl and place the dough into a warm place. Inside oven (oven turned off) works best.

 

Process to make the garlic ball

1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees; line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

 2) Place the ball of dough on a floured surface and cut it into small pieces. Form small balls from each piece and place them on the parchment lined baking sheet.

 3) Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly golden brown, meanwhile make the oil.

 4) In a small food processor, add the garlic, oil and parsley, blend until smooth.

 5) Immediately out of the oven add the bread balls to a large bowl and pour over the garlic oil, season with a little salt and pepper and toss together until they are well coated in the garlic oil. 

 Enjoy!

 

This is amazing as starters for parties !

Pasta in lemon garlic butter sauce

Ingredients

1-2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp of oil

2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic about 4 to 5 cloves

1/4cup grated Romano cheese or any cheese of your choice (optional)

1 tbsp of dried parsley

½  pound dry pasta or spaghetti - prepare according to package directions

1 ½ of chicken stock or vegetable stock

½ tsp of dried chili flakes or to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

Juice of 1 lemon

 

Process

1.     In a pan heat oil and fry the garlic till golden brown.

2.     Add chili flakes and cook for few seconds and add chicken / vegetable stock, add dried parsley and juice of 1 lemon.

3.     Let the above sauce boil and reduce to ¼ cup, add salt and pepper to taste.

4.     Now it is time to put the pasta in boiling salted water and cook as per package instructions.

5.     Once the pasta is cooked drain the pasta water.

6.     By now the sauce would have reduced to ¼ cup, turn off the gas and add butter and stir well.

7.     Pour the sauce over the pasta and sprinkle cheese and toss the pasta till the sauce is absorbed by the pasta.

8.     Garnish with extra cheese (optional) and serve hot

 

Note:

 

1. You can use any kind of pasta

 

2. Make sure the pasta is cooked once the sauce is almost done, since the sauce can be reheated but pasta once cooked has to be served immediately so timing is crucial, enjoy!!!!

 

 

Rich Mango Halwa

 

 

Ingredients

Mango pulp made of 3 ripe mangoes / or 2 cups of mango pulp

1 cup of whole milk

½  cup sugar or to taste depending on how sweet the mangoes are

½  cup suji or semolina

1tsp of cardamom powder

½ cup of mawa (optional)

-nuts or your choice

-2 table spoon of butter or ghee

 

 

Process

1.     In a pan heat ghee/ butter and add the mango pulp, let it heat up completely till its boiling add in the sugar and let it boil again.

2.     Add semolina and milk and stir continuously and let it cook on low flame.

3.     Add mawa and Cardamom powder  and let it cook for 5-10 mins

 

Garnish with nuts of your choice

If you are using cashew nuts then fry them till golden

 

Serve hot or chilled

 

 

Awesome green chutney

Ingredients:
1 Bunch or 3 cups of Cilantro
1/3 bunch or 1 cup of fresh mint leaves
Juice of ½ a lemon
Salt to taste
2 cloves of Garlic
Water
3 tbsp of fine sev
2 green chilies 

Process
Put all of the above ingredients in a blender and blend to a smooth paste to get the desired consistency.

Enjoy this chutney as dips and spread for sandwich, goes well with parathas, batata wadas etc

Crispy and light Batata Wada

Ingredients

For the Potato Filling you will need:

4 medium sized Potatoes

10-12 curry leaves

1 tsp mustard seeds

2-3 chopped green chilly

2-3 cloves of garlic finely chopped

1 tsp turmeric powder

¼ tsp asafoetida

oil for frying

Salt to taste

 

For the Besan (Gram Flour) batter you will need:

1.5 cups gram flour

1 cup water

2 tbsp rice flour or corn starch
Salt to taste
1tsp of baking powder 

Process

Preparing the filling:

1.     Firstly boil the potatoes till cooked thoroughly. Then mash them or grate them well. There should be no lumps.

2.     In a pan, take 1tbsp of oil.

3.     When the oil gets hot, add the mustard seeds.

4.     When the mustard seeds start crackling, add the curry leaves, chopped garlic, turmeric powder chopped chilly, asafoetida.

5.     Now add this tempered hot spices with the oil to the mashed potatoes.

6.     Add salt.

7.     Mix the potatoes with the spice mixture with a spoon.

8.     Make equal sized medium balls of the potato mixture and keep aside.

 

Preparing the vadas:

1.     Now take the gram-flour, add salt to it, baking powder, add added rice flour or 2 tbsp of corn starch to this batter as it  makes the coating crisp while frying. With water make a slightly thick batter.

2.     Dip each potato patty or ball in the besan batter.

3.   Coat the ball evenly with the gram flour batter.

4.     In a hot oil in a deep fry pan, add the potato balls coated with gram flour paste.

5.     Fry them till golden brown.

 

Serve hot

Healthy Black bean veggie burger

 

 

 

Ingredients:
1 14oz Can Black Beans
1 Egg (Optional)
½ cup Cooked brown rice or white rice
½ cup of Bread Crumbs
1tsp of chilly powder
1tsp of paprika
1tsp of garlic powder
1tsp of onion powder
1tsp of cumin powder
1tsp of oregano
¼ cup of Fresh Cilantro
¼ Red or green Bell Pepper roughly chopped
1 small Red Onion roughly chpped
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1 carrot, grated
4 cloves of garlic roughly chopped
1 slice of bread
few slices of pickled jalapeno
1 to 2 tsp of oil
 ½ cup of fresh or frozen corn squeezed dry of any liquid
Oil for frying
Lettuce, Tomatoes and Onions for topping (any topping of your choice)
Burger Buns or Kaiser rolls

Process
1. Preheat a small saucepan with a couple tsp of oil, add onion, bell pepper, garlic and carrot for 2-3 minutes, add in red chilly powder, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder and oregano.
2.  Drain off the liquid from the black bean can and rinse of the black bean, then in food processor, add the beans and pulse them until they are mostly a paste but still have some texture, place them in a large bowl.
3. In the food processor put the slice of bread and pulse it add the onion, bell pepper mixture, add the corn, cilantro, rice and pickled jalapeno in that same bowl and pulse until the entire mixture is well blended but not a paste, add them to the same bowl as the beans.
4. To the bowl with the bean mixture, add egg and bread crumbs mix together well (if you feel like you need more bread crumbs, add more) , cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour or longer.
5. Add about 3 Tbsp of oil in a skillet and bring it up to temperature on medium high heat.
6.  Using a ½ cup measuring cup, scoop out your mixture and form them into patties using wet hands, place them in the skillet and cook them for about 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until deeply golden brown,( you can also coat each with bread crumbs before frying too) let them cool a bit before serving.

Note: You will need to cook these in batches and you will need to add more oil with every batch.

 

Simple Cauliflower masala

Ingredients:

1  tablespoon of oil

1 medium onion finely chopped

500 grams of cauliflower florets finely chopped 

½ tsp of mustard seeds

5-6 curry leaves  

2  tsp of ginger garlic paste

1 tsp of tomato paste or 1 medium tomato chopped

1/2 teaspoon turmeric  

1  tsp ground red chili pepper

1tsp of coriander powder

1tsp of cumin powder

½ tsp of garam masala powder

1 potato peeled and chopped into 1inch cubes

Salt to taste

Process:

1.     In a Large pan heat oil and add mustard seeds, let the mustard seeds crackle and then add curry leaves add the onion and fry till golden brown.

2.     Stir in the garlic and ginger paste and cook for a minute or two till the raw smell of garlic is gone.

3.     Add tomatoes/tomato paste. Mix Thoroughly, cover and simmer for 2 mins.

4.     Add turmeric, red chilli powder, coriander powder and cumin powder and add little water to avoid the masala from burning.

5.     Add the cauliflower florets and chopped potatoes and cover the pan and let it cook on simmer till the potatoes and cauliflower are cooked through.

6.     Add salt to taste.

 

 Serve with Rotis.

Paneer Makhanwala

Ingredients:

1  tablespoon of oil or butter

1  large onion, roughly chopped 

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon  

2  tsp of ginger garlic paste

1  teaspoon  ground red chili pepper

250g  paneer cut into bit size cubes

1/4 cup  cashew  

2 tbsp of tomato paste or 2 fresh tomatoes

1  tablespoon tomato paste 

1/2 cup  natural yoghurt 

½ cup cilantro

4 kashmiri chilies

1tsp paprika

1 tbsp of any tandoori masala

1 tbsp of crushed kasturi methi

Process:

1.     Marinate the paneer cubes with tandoori masala and set aside.

2.     In a Large pan heat oil or butter and add the onion and the cinnamon to the pan and fry lightly.

3.    When the onions are soft, stir in the garlic and ginger, then add chilli and fresh cilantro, and saute over a medium heat.

4.     Add, tomatoes/tomato paste. Mix Thoroughly, cover and simmer for 10 mins.

5.     Add yogurt and Cashew, paprika and Kashmiri chilies  simmer for another 10 mins.

6.     Put the mixture from the above step in a blender and blend into a smooth paste.

7.     In pan heat 1tsp of oil and put in the marinated paneer cubes and fry for less than a minute.

8.     Add the paste to the paneer and cook for 5 mins.

9.     Add crushed kasturi methi and salt to taste.

 

Serve with Rotis or nan

Spicy Shrimp

Ingredients:

20 piece of medium shrimps cleaned and deveined

1 tsp of mustard seeds

5 curry leaves

1 medium onion finely chopped

1tsp of ginger garlic paste

1tsp of tomato paste

½ cup water

1tsp of curry powder

1tsp of red chilly powder

1tbsp of oil

1tbsp of cilantro finely chopped for garnish

Process:

1.     In a small nonstick pan pour oil and add mustard seeds and let if crackle. Add curry leaves.

2.     Add finely chopped onion and fry till golden brown. Add ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute.

3.     Add tomato paste and add ½ cup of water and mix to combine, simmer for 2 minutes and then add chilly powder and curry powder and cook for a minute.

4.     Add in the shrimps and cook for 4 minutes or till the shrimps are cooked through, add salt to taste, add water to get the desired consistency.

5.     Garnish with chopped cilantro. 

 

Serve with hot rotis or serve into warps with lettuce.

Juhu beach style Pav Bhaji

Ingredients:

3-4 tsp of butter

Pinch of Asafoetida

2 tsp ginger garlic paste 

1 Large onion made into a paste

2 tbsp of tomato paste

3 medium boiled potato, grated

1/4 cup of frozen green peas thawed and mashed

2 medium green bell pepper blended

2 tbsp of Everest pav bhaji masala

salt to taste

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder

1 tsp Red chilly powder 

1tbsp Kasturi methi powder

 

8 (2 inch square) dinner rolls

Butter as needed

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Process:

1.     In a small nonstick pan pour in the onion paste and add 1 tsp of butter, let the onions water dry out and start frying till they are golden brown (this step is crucial since this gives the color to the pav bhaji)

2.     Once the onion paste is golden brown add 1tsp of ginger garlic paste, 1tsp of red chilly powder, pinch of Asafoetida, turmeric, kasturi methi powder and 1tbsp of Pav bhaji masala, mix everything to combine and add little water to prevent the masala from burning and set aside.

3.     In a large cast iron pan or a large pan pour in the bell pepper paste with 1tsp of butter, let the water dry out and the pepper start frying, add in 1tsp of ginger garlic paste and fry for 1 min to get rid of raw ginger garlic flavor

4.     Add in tomato paste along with ½ cup water to combine everything, add in the grated potatoes , add water as and when necessary

5.     Add mashed peas, 1tsp of pav bhaji masala, chopped cilantro, salt to taste and lemon juice, mix everything to combine adding water to get the desired consistency.

 

Garnish with fresh cilantro 

Toast the dinner rolls, and spread lightly with butter. Serve garnished with chopped onion and cilantro. My personal favorite is to serve with some shredded cheese

Straight from the wok chicken lollipop

Ingredients for chicken lollipop

7 chicken wings with skin

1 egg

2tsp of ginger garlic paste

1 ½ tsp of curry powder

½ tsp of red food color

Salt to taste

4 tsp of all-purpose flour

2 tsp of corn starch

Oil for deep frying

Ingredients for sauce

1 tbsp of finely chopped garlic

½ tbsp of finely grated ginger

1 finely chopped chilly

1 cup chicken stock

1tbsp of soy sauce

1 tbsp of corn starch dissolved in ½ cup of water

1 tbsp of oil

Salt to taste

Chopped spring onion for garnish 

Process of shaping the chicken lollipop

1.     Divide the chicken wing into 3 parts by slicing through the joints. Wingtip can be discarded or reserved to make stock. 

2.     Shape the wing to look like a lollipop. You should have two parts of the chicken wing by now: the one with a single bone and the one with two bones. Start by selecting the part with one bone. 

3.     Separate the meat from the bone by sliding a sharp knife around the tip of the bone where meat is still connected (do not cut through the bone). 

4.     Place the wing vertically on top of a flat surface while holding the part where the knife passed. 

5.     Gently push downward while gripping the bone with your thumb and index finger until the meat slides down. 

6.     Arrange the meat by inverting the inner part until a lollipop shape is formed. Note: Do the same procedure for the part with two bones. However, you need to first detach the smaller bone before commencing. 

Process of making the chicken lollipop

1.     Marinate the chicken shaped from the above process with egg, ginger garlic paste, curry powder, all-purpose flour, corn starch, red food color and salt.

 

2.     Fry the chicken for 12 mins or till the chicken is cooked through. 

Process of making the sauce

1.     Heat up wok with 1tbsp of oil and cook the finely chopped garlic, ginger and chilies till golden brown.

 

2.     Add 1 cup of chicken stock and soy sauce  to the above  and let it come to a boil.

3.     Thicken the sauce with corn starch paste to get the desired consistency.

4.     Add the chicken lollipop and toss them in the sauce

5.     Garnish it with chopped spring onion