The World of my Food

Spinach Tofu Panini

2012-01-12T19:31:00.000-08:00

This sandwich is inspired by a recipe suggested by my aunt Vidya. She said it was a great way to make little kids enjoy the iron filled awesome leafy vegetable called spinach :-)

Ingredients

Chopped Spinach (Fresh or Frozen) - 1 bunch (1 lb)
Firm Tofu (1 lb) - Cut in 1/2 inch slices
Italian seasoning***
Extra virgin Olive oil- 1tsp
Pepper
Brown bread (Sliced)
Salt

Procedure:

Bake or grill the tofu slices so the edges are slightly brown
Cook the spinach in boiling water with some salt
Add the Italian Seasoning and Pepper to the chopped spinach
Add a dash of Olive Oil as a binder
Butter the slices and layer the 2 slices of tofu with spinach mixture in the middle to make a sandwich
Place the sandwich in a Panini maker and Enjoy!!!!

Egg Plant Parmesan

2011-09-04T14:58:00.000-07:00

Again i have been MIA for a long time. But i have been trying new recipes. Just don't get time to write a blog post. But i do post them on my twitter account. Follow me there. I update that more often!

My labour day weekend is pretty low key. So, i decided to try a new recipe from Nicole's cookbook - Eggplant Parmesan (eggplant = brinjal) And the result......

Mmmm...Tasty!!!!

Potato Shepard's Pie

2011-03-29T09:15:00.000-07:00

Inspired by my friend David and this recipe, I tried making a Potato Shepard's Pie. It is basically a meat based pie topped with mashed potatoes. It originated from Britain or Ireland.

I added a twist to the original recipe, to replace meat with tofu, used idaho potaoes instead of sweet added some indian masala since the original was too bland for my liking (like most food from England).

Ingredients:

2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
splash of milk
cooking spray or olive oil
16 oz lean ground turkey or chicken or tofu
1 can of mixed vegetables - carrots, celery, sweet peas etc
1 large onion, diced
2 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce
1 can of cut green beans
salt & pepper
asiago or parmesan cheese, for sprinkling
Grated or sliced cheddar cheese.
1 tsp ginger paste
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tbsp of kheema masala (or similar indian spice mix)
1 tsp of turmeric
Salt and Peppe

Directions:

Put potatoes in a large pot. cover with water and bring to a boil. boil until potatoes are fork-tender.
Sauté onion in a well oiled pan over medium-high heat. add the ginger and garlic.
Add the mixed veggies and saute for a while till they are cooked. Add the ground tofu or soy then.
Cook till all the above ingredients have become tender. Add the masala, turmeric and salt.
Add the tomato sauce and simmer so that the spices are absorbed by the veggies and the sauce.
Mash your potatoes! add the splash of milk, salt and pepper so they taste perfect. the amount of the milk, salt and pepper is up to your taste buds.
Now it is time to assemble. First, layer the tofu/meat mixture (prepared above) in an oven safe dish.
Layer your green beans over that. Next, add the mashed potatoes
Finally top it with cheese and parmesan
Bake for about 30-40 minutes at 375 degrees.. or until the cheese is nice and bubbly and the pie is warmed throughout. Enjoy!

Blocks for Zone Diet (more about this later!): This recipe will make you four 4-block meals

Baked Bell Peppers

2011-03-10T10:54:00.000-08:00

My cooking has been pretty boring lately. I did try spaghetti squash once. Loved it and will never eat spaghetti again :-)

I found this recipe on the azcentral. Seemed super easy and i like all the ingredients except rice (currently trying a low carb zone diet)

Its tastes great. My colleague told me this is a very common dish that his grandma used to make. Any case, this is how you make it.

2 bell peppers
1/2 can dark red kidney beans
1/2 cup salsa
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cut peppers in half through the stem; remove and discard seeds and membrane. Boil peppers 6 minutes. Meanwhile, rinse and drain beans. Combine beans in a bowl with salsa and 1/4 cup cheese; mix well. Drain peppers and place in a greased baking dish. Spoon rice mixture into peppers and cover pan with foil. Bake 10 minutes. Top with remaining cheese and bake 5 more minutes.

Baked Broccoli

2010-11-17T20:08:00.000-08:00

I am always looking for ways to enjoy my broccoli. Did not find a good way to enjoy this awesome vegetable till now. I was suggested a variation of this recipe by Big Sri. Just replaced the brussel sprouts with broccoli and the result.....

Just delicious. Very simple and nutritious.

Spinach and Cheese Enchilada

2010-11-06T13:56:00.001-07:00

Mexican food is one of favourites. So decided to try one today. Easy, Kinda healthy (cheese not so good if you trying to lose some flab) and very tasty :-)

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Egg Kurma

2010-09-20T21:39:00.001-07:00

A lot has happened in my life since my last post. Made an emergency trip to India. Moved to a new house in Tempe.

I have not been cooking as often i would like. But i made this egg kurma. Thanks to Ashwin for the recipe.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.9

Vegetable and Polenta Bake

2010-07-17T13:08:00.000-07:00

I guess it has been a while since i posted something on here. Lots been going on since then, hence have not tried new recipes. But here i am.

Yesterday, one of my colleagues brought this Vegetable and Polenta Bake for lunch. It tasted awesome. So decided to try it. Below is the result:

I did not know what Polenta was but i was told it is made from cornmeal and eaten commonly in Europe as a Carb in the diet.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium eggplant, diced
1 small zucchini, finely diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup water
10 ounces baby spinach
1 1/2 cups prepared marinara sauce, preferably lower-sodium
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
14 ounces prepared polenta, sliced lengthwise into 6 thin slices
1 1/2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella, divided

Preparation

Preheat oven to 450 degree F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add eggplant, zucchini, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and just beginning to brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Add water and spinach; cover and cook until wilted, stirring once, about 3 minutes. Stir marinara sauce into the vegetables and heat through, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in basil.
Place polenta slices in a single layer in the prepared baking dish, trimming to fit if necessary. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup cheese, top with the eggplant mixture and sprinkle with the remaining 3/4 cup cheese. Bake until bubbling and the cheese has just melted, 12 to 15 minutes. Let stand for about 5 minutes before serving.

This is not my original recipe and i found it at eatingwell.com

Baked Cauliflower

2010-01-08T18:30:00.000-08:00

Last week, I had a medium cauliflower in my fridge which needed to be used ASAP :-)I was not too keen on making my traditional cauliflower dishes, since they need a lot of preparation.

Then, i remembered a dish from one of my new favourite chefs - Sri . He made this dish - Baked Cabbage. I replicated it but used parmesan cheese instead of percorino romano cheese. I added red chili flakes as well. Just awesome! No wonder Sri's daughter loved it.

Back...with Egg Biryani

2009-12-16T09:16:00.000-08:00

I have not updated his blog for a while. The reason being i did not try to cook anything new and interesting for sometime now. Yesterday, i felt like eating biryani. I searched for a recipe and found this. It came out just awesome.

Nirvanika Recipe 1

2009-07-12T10:56:00.000-07:00

Last week my fellow blogger and friend Nirvanika suggested me 2 unique recipes. Here is one of them. It is simple, easy and super tasty. I called it Nirvanika's Sandwich :-) Here it is -

Cut or slice 1 onion and capsicum (green peppers)
Sautee them lightly with some salt till the onion till they are tender.
Take 2 slices of bread
Place the sauteed onion and capsicum on one slice and top it with a slice of cheese. Place the other slice of bread on top to complete the sandwich
Microwave this sandwich for 15 sec so the cheese just melts. Enjoy!

To add some salt to taste, some crushed pepper can also be added to the sauteed veggies.

I am backkkk......

2009-05-19T14:15:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since i posted some new pictures and recipes. But, it does not mean i stopped cooking. It just means i have become more lazy :-) Anyways, in past few weeks I tried some old favourites of mine aka Aloo Mutter and Bread Upma.

Bread Upma

Aloo Mutter

Aloo Cabbage

2009-04-02T12:04:00.000-07:00

After many times of destroying my cabbage dish, i at last, perfected a dish made from cabbage and I LOVE IT!!!!!

It looks great, doesn't it? It tastes amazing too. My roomie can vouch for me :-)

You need:

2 cups of finely chopped cabbage
1 large potato
1/2 cup peas
4-6 green chillies
1/4 cup of grated fresh coconut
6-8 curry leaves
cilantro
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin seeds( jeera )
1 tsp mustard seeds( Rai )
3-4 tbsp oil
Salt to taste

How to:

Chop cabbage finely, potatoes 1 inch cubes and green chillies length wise
In kadai or pan heat oil and add cumin and mustard seeds
When they start to pop add curry leaves, green chillies
Add potatoes and green peas
Saute for a min and then add cabbage
Add salt and turmeric and mix together and cover with a lid
Cook on medium flame stirring occassionaly. Make sure you dont burn cabbage
When the potato is cooked add coconut and fry till all the water evaporates
Adjust salt to taste
Switch off the heat and add chopped coriander

Idli....My Favourite

2009-04-02T11:54:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, I made my favourite south indian dish - Idli. I made the batter from scratch.

The recipe -
3 cups of boiled rice
1 1/2 cups of Urad dal
Salt to Taste

1. Soak the rice and urad dal in water for atleast 4 hours.
2. Grind them separately into a smooth paste and mix.
3. Add the salt and mix the entire batter with clean hands.
4. Allow to ferment overnight (clean hands provide the bacteria for fermentation)
5. After fermentation, steam the idlis in a cooker or microwave in available idli molds/plates.

Tip: Fermentation in cold weathers is hard. To acclerate the process, pre heat a conventional oven for 5 mins at 350 F. Turn the oven off and store the batter in the oven overnight. Remember to TURN OFF THE OVEN!!!!

Grilled Double Decker Sanwich

2009-03-24T11:50:00.000-07:00

Going Italian and French

2009-03-09T10:51:00.001-07:00

I decided to make some Italian and French food. So here are my creations - Spaghetti with tomato-cheese sauce and french toast. As with all my creations, everything i make has an Indian touch to it :-)

Pav Bhaji....

2009-03-04T08:56:00.000-08:00

Veg Grilled Sandwich - 28th Feb

2009-03-01T14:04:00.000-08:00

Welcome......

2009-03-01T12:43:00.000-08:00

The first of my latestcreations....

Bread Okra

A Chinese Dinner

Fried Rice

Gobi Manchurian