November, 2017 - Vinaya's Culinary Delights

Quesadilla Recipe

Posted on November 12, 2017November 12, 2017 by vinaya

Quesadilla is a popular Mexican dish using chicken, vegetables or even beans as stuffing, as per individual taste. I have adapted it to cater to the family’s taste by stuffing it with grated cottage cheese, vegetables and Indian seasoning. The tortillas have been made using a half and half mix of wheat flour and maize flour to keep them healthy.

Ingredients :

250 gms wheat flour
250 gms maize flour
Salt

Method :
Mix the wheat flour salt and the maize flour. Add a little water at a time to make a dough which is medium soft, so that it can be rolled easily. Pinch balls of this dough and roll out tortillas six inches in diameter. Gently roast them on a hot skillet on one side. Keep aside.

For the stuffing:

200 gms Paneer / cottage cheese crumbled fine
Half of each of the following finely chopped
Red bell pepper
Green bell pepper
Yellow bell pepper
1 large onion finely chopped
1 tsp mixed herbs
1 tbsp ginger, garlic and green chilly paste
100 gms peas boiled and coarsely crushed
Salt
1/2 tsp pepper powder
2 tbsps oil

Method :
Heat the oil and add the onions and green chilly and ginger garlic paste. Roast till translucent. Add the bell peppers and salt and sauté on high flame for a couple of minutes. Add the herb mix, paneer, crushed peas and pepper powder. Heat well. Keep aside.

For the Salsa:

5 large tomatoes blanched, peeled and chopped roughly
1 tbsp chilly powder
7 garlic cloves
2 tbsps tomato ketchup
1 tbsp oil
Salt

Method :
Grind the chilly powder and garlic with a little water to a thick paste. Heat oil. Add the paste and toss for a couple of minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes and salt. Heat for a couple of minutes. Transfer to the blender and puree. Add the tomato ketchup and salt. Mix well and keep, aside.

To serve:
Place the tortilla on a hot skillet with the roasted side up. Apply the salsa and pile the prepared stuffing on it. Place another tortilla, roasted side downwards on the stuffing. Gently press down so that the ends of both the tortillas touch each. Roast using butter on both sides till crisp. Remove. Serve cut into triangles with either a salad or with raw onion rings.

Carrot Kismuri /Salad Recipe

Posted on November 12, 2017November 12, 2017 by vinaya

This is a very popular salad which is part of the traditional lunch or part of the buffet during weddings in South India. A no onion garlic recipe, one can add boiled corn or pomegranate seeds as per one’s preference. Here I have posted the traditional one which is delicious and healthy too.

Ingredients :

3 medium sized carrots
1/4 of a medium sized coconut grated
Coriander leaves
3 green chillies
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Salt
2 sprigs Curry leaves
1 tsp mustard
1 tsp oil

Method:

Wash and deskin the carrots. Grate them. Add the grated coconut, finely chopped coriander leaves and lemon juice and mix well. Mince the green chillies and crush them with salt. Tip it into the salad. Heat oil. Add a tsp of mustard and after it splutters add the curry leaves. Toss and drop it into the salad. Mix and serve.

Cucumber Bites Recipe

Posted on November 11, 2017November 14, 2017 by vinaya

These cucumber bites are an instant hit at parties and get togethers. I have used a Cheese spread here. You may grate any cheese of your choice.

Ingredients :

1 Cucumber
1 tomato
Herb and Garlic Cheese spread
Coriander leaves
Pepper
Salt

Method : Deskin the Cucumber and slice them. Top them with the Cheese spread. Sprinkle pepper powder and garnish with small wedges of tomato and a sprig of coriander leaf.

Boiled Chana Salad Recipe

Posted on November 11, 2017November 11, 2017 by vinaya

A highly nutritious and delicious salad, the Boiled Chana Salad is an Indian delight. Each region of India has it’s own version of it. Serve it as an appetizer or as a snack.

Ingredients :

100 gms Chana/ Bengal Gram
1 large onion
1 medium tomato
2 green chillies
Coriander leaves
1/4 tsp Everest Chaat Masala
Lemon juice
Salt

Method :

Wash and, soak the Chana for eight hours. Pressure cook with salt. Allow it to cool thoroughly. Chop the onion, tomato and the green chillies fine. Crush the green chillies with salt. Mix everything together and drizzle with lemon juice. Sprinkle the chaat masala, mix thoroughly and serve garnished with coriander leaves.

Vellappam and Vegetable Curry Recipe

Posted on November 8, 2017 by vinaya

A very popular breakfast in Southern India, Vellappam is accompanied either by a Stew, Vegetable Curry or Chicken curry. The soft and lacy appams are dipped into the gravy or one can even pour the gravy into the Appam which resembles a miniature basket.

Ingredients:

2 glasses raw rice ( I used the normal kolam rice)
1 glass poha/ flattened rice
Salt
1/4 tsp soda bicarb

Method :
Wash and soak the rice for five hours. Grind to a smooth batter with Poha. Add salt and the soda bi carb and thin down to a batter which is runny but not watery. Allow to ferment for 10-12 hours. Heat the Appam pan. Pour a ladleful of batter in, the center and swirl the pan so that the batter coats the edges of the pan thinly. Drizzle oil, cover and cook. Gently tease the Appam from the pan and place it on a plate. .

Mix vegetable curry

2 potatoes chopped into bite sized pieces
2 onions sliced
15 beans cut into one inch pieces
One bowl of peas
1 large carrot chopped lengthwise
3 large tomatoes
1/2 of a small coconut grated
2 inch piece of ginger
7 green chillies
Salt
Sugar
Coriander leaves

Method :
Boil all the vegetables except the tomatoes with a little salt. Grind the coconut, tomatoes, ginger and green chillies to a smooth paste. Drop it into the boiled vegetables. Adjust salt. Add a pinch of sugar and boil well for a couple of minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Vegetable Bullets Recipe

Posted on November 8, 2017 by vinaya

Vegetable Bullets can be served as an appetizer or as a snack by itself. Teamed with a tomato ketchup or a green chutney, it is delicious and filling too.

Ingredients :

6 potatoes
A small bowl each of the following vegetables :
Peas
Carrots chopped
French Beans chopped
5 slices of bread
2 inch piece of ginger
9 flakes of garlic
7 green chillies
1/2 tsp Garam Masala
Coriander leaves
Juice of half a lemon
Salt
Vermicelli
Oil for frying

Method:

Deskin the potatoes. Chop them along with the other vegetables. Boil all the vegetables together . Mash them coarsely. Grind the green chillies, ginger and garlic to a coarse paste. Tip it into the mashed vegetables. Dip the slices of bread in water, squeeze them well and drop them into the vegetable mash. Add the lemon juice, salt and finely chopped coriander leaves. Mix thoroughly. Pinch pieces of the dough and shape into bullets. Coat them with vermicelli. Heat oil. Drop the Vegetable Bullets three at a time in the hot oil and fry till they are a golden brown. Serve hot with tomato ketchup or green chutney.

This measurement yields 24 Vegetable Bullets.

Vegetable Stew Recipe

Posted on November 8, 2017November 8, 2017 by vinaya

The Vegetable Stew here is flavoured with ginger and green chillies and it is a fragrant and rich coconut based dish. I have adapted it to cater to the family’s taste.

Ingredients :

3 large potatoes deskinned and sliced thinly
1 bowl of peas boiled
4 tomatoes blanched peeled and chopped
3 onions sliced
7 green chillies slit
2 inch piece of ginger
Milk extracted from one coconut
Coriander leaves
Salt
3 tsps sugar

Method :
Boil the potatoes and onions with salt chopped ginger and chillies till done. Add the boiled peas, chopped tomatoes and sugar. Boil well. Extract coconut milk by grinding the grated coconut to a smooth paste and squeezing out the milk. Strain it. Grind the residue again with a little water and strain the coconut milk. Add the first and the second extract to the stew. Boil and garnish with coriander leaves.

Sabudana Vada recipe

Posted on November 7, 2017October 23, 2020 by vinaya

Another favourite snack is the Sabudana/ Sago pearl vada. It is popular as an evening snack and is accompanied by a yoghurt dip.

Ingredients:

250 gms Sabudana/ sago pearls
4 potatoes pressure cooked
2 tsps jeera/cumin seeds
12 green chillies
100 gms roasted peanuts crushed coarsely
Salt sugar and lemon juice as per taste.
Coriander leaves chopped fine.
Oil for frying

Method :
Wash and soak the sabudana in just enough water to cover it for 5 hours. Mash the boiled potatoes and grind the green chillies and sugar. Add salt, whole jeera, lemon juice the peanut crush and the chopped coriander leaves and mix well. Refrigerate for two hours. Pinch portions of the dough and roll into balls. Flatten them as shown in the picture. Heat oil. Fry them in batches of four till they are crisp and golden.

For the dip.

One cup curds beaten till smooth and creamy
3 tsps Sugar
Salt
1/4 tsp jeera/cumin powder
1/4 tsp pepper powder
1/4 tsp chaat masala
1/4 tsp chilly powder
Coriander leaves chopped finely
A few pomegranate seeds

Method :

Add all the above mentioned ingredients to the curd and mix well. Serve with the vada.

Note:The vada dough is refrigerated for a couple of hours so that the vadas do not soak up oil.

Sabudana khichdi recipe

Posted on November 7, 2017October 13, 2020 by vinaya

Sabudana or Sago pearls are used to make khichdi, vadas and even kheer. A porridge made of sabudana settles a gippy tummy fast. It is also powdered, turned into a thin porridge and fed to infants when they start on solid food.

Ingredients :

250 gms sabudana
2 medium sized potatoes chopped
8 green chillies minced
100 gms roasted and deskinned peanuts powdered coarsely
1 lemon
3 tsps sugar
Salt
3 sprigs curry leaves
Coriander leaves chopped fine
Grated coconut
3 tbsps ghee/ clarified butter
3 tbsps oil
1 tsp jeera/cumin seeds

Method : Wash the sabudana four or five times. Soak in just enough water to keep it moist for about four hours, tossing it hourly. After four hours you will find that the sabudana puffed up and soft at the centre. Add the sugar, salt, crushed peanut powder, lemon juice, half of the coriander leaves and grated coconut. Heat the mixture of ghee and oil. Add a tsp of jeera and after it splutters add the green chillies and curry leaves. Toss and add the chopped potatoes and salt. Cook till done. . Add the sabudana. Mix well and transfer to the microwave. Cook for two n half minutes. Remove and toss again. Cook further for another two minutes. Remove and garnish with the remaining coriander leaves and grated coconut. Serves four adults.

For more vegetarian recipes please join Vegetarian Culinary Delights by Vinaya on Fb.

Vegetarian Fajita recipe

Posted on November 7, 2017November 8, 2020 by vinaya

Each country has it’s own version of our Indian Roti subzi. Tried my hand at a vegetarian version of Fajita which is basically a Tex-Mex cuisine and it turned out simply delicious.

Ingredients :

1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
6 baby corns boiled al dente
100 gms boiled sweet corn
2 onions
2 tbsps Garlic flavoured butter
1 tbsp mixed herbs
1/2 tsp pepper powder
Salt
Salsa sauce
6 corn tortillas or even chapatis work equally well.

Method :

Thinly slice the Bell peppers, baby corn and onions. Boil the sweet corn and the baby corn al dente. Saute all the vegetables in the garlic flavoured butter for about five minutes on a high flame taking care to see that that they are done but retain their crunch. If you do not have garlic flavoured butter, finely crush around seven to eight cloves of garlic, drop in 3 tbsps of salted butter and a sprinkling of chilly flakes. Mix and use. Add the herbs, salt, pepper and the salsa sauce. Mix well. Heat the corn tortilla or the chapati. Spread a couple of heaped tablespoons of the mixture on it. Either tightly fold it like a wrap or enjoy it as you would a pizza.

For more vegetarian recipes please join Vegetarian Culinary Delights by Vinaya on Fb.