Gnocchi

Gnocchi is an Italian dish which are small dumplings made of Potato, flour and flavorings..
I first had a taste of it from Melbourne and loved the texture of it…
I also managed to bring back 4 packs of Gnocchi ..Ya you heard it right...Four :-)
Once I ran out of my Aussi gnocchi stock, I started to hunt for Gnocchi in Singapore…
I did manage to find it in Carrefour …It was Spinach Ricotta Gnocchi and to be honest I didn’t like the taste…
Thatz when I came across pretty easy Gnocchi recipes in one of the food shows…
In fact it is so easy that you don’t have to run to grocery shop for ingredients..its right there in your kitchen

Here is what you need
2 Large Russet Potatoes
1 Cup All purpose Flour [plus extra for dusting]
Salt to Paste
1 tablespoon Parmesan Cheese [Optional]
Quarter Cup pasta Sauce.

Clean the potatoes.
Bring water to boil in a big pot and add in the potatoes. Cook on medium low heat until it is cooked but not too soft.
Remove the potatoes from hot water and let it cool.
Once cool enough to handle, peel the potatoes and grate it . You need the potatoes in fine grains so use a cheese grater for grating
Transfer the grated potatoes to a bowl and sprinkle little salt over it.
Add flour little by little and knead well till a soft dough is formed.

Now you need do lot of rolling and playing so chose a big chopping board and flour it generously.

Pull off a chunk of the dough and roll it to a tube shape.
Now using a knife cut in half inch length of dough from the tubes.
Do check out this video for more details

I will leave it to your creativity to shape the Gnocchi’s.
I used a fork , gently roll each Gnocchi on top of the Fork so that the groves are formed for the sauce to sink in.

Place the Gnocchi’s on a floured surface. Don’t let the gnocchi’s to get too friendly with each other coz they will stick and lose shapes when u try to separate.

Bring water to boil in a large pan , once water starts boiling add about 10-15 Gnocchi’s. Once Gnocchi’s are cooked it will start floating.

Now take it out of water and serve with your favorite pasta sauce

Sprinkle some Parmesan and dried basil on top just before serving.

Mushroom Jalfrezi

I had picked some Sliced Button Mushroom from NTUC few days back and it was totally hiding in my refrigerator..
When I was exploring the refrigerator for veggies..I came across the Hiding buddy and decided to make something using Mushroom for dinner.

I quickly browsed through my recipe books for Mushroom Dishes and chose this interesting Jalfrezi recipe from Nita Mehta’s book

Here is the recipe
Recipe adapted from Nita Mehta’s Low fat Indian cooking

200gms Mushroom cut in thin slices
1 Onions finely chopped
1 Small capsicum cut in thin strips
2 Tomatoes
2 Garlic Cloves chopped
1 small piece ginger chopped
1 green chili chopped
2 tspn oil
1/2 tspn Ajwain
1/4 tspn Chilli powder
1 Tablespoon Tomato sauce
Salt to taste

Heat oil in a Wok and add ajwain. Add Garlic/ garlic /Chilly and sauté for a minute.
Add Onions and cook till translucent
Puree the tomatoes in a Blender and add it to the Wok.
Cook on medium low heat till the gravy become slightly dry.
Add the mushrooms, salt and red Chilli powder and cook till the mushroom becomes cooked.
Add in the tomato Sauce and give it a Stir
Lastly add the capsicum and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Enjoy with Hot Roti's

Roasted Soy Beans

Did you know that Soy bean is the most widely grown and utilized legume in the world?

Roasted soybean is an excellent snack to munch on without feeling guilty:-)

It’s a healthy and tasty source of nutrition, protein, iron and dietary fiber

I followed the simple steps given in ehow to make roasted soy beans at home ..

Here is what you need
1 Cup Soy Beans
2 tea spoon Olive Oil
Salt/Pepper to taste

Pre heat the oven to 350 Degree Fahrenheit
Soak the Soy beans for about 10 hours in water.
Drain it in a colander and let it dry in a kitchen towel.
Once it is dry , toss the oil ,salt and pepper to the beans.
Feel fee to play around with the flavourings of your choice...

Spread the soy beans on a baking paper and bake for 30 min.

I gave a stir every 10 minutes .For better crispiness switch on the Oven fan for the last 5 minutes.

You can store it for a week ….Happy muching:-)

Kiwi Celery Punch

I am on Refrigerator Cleaning spree these days as I will be out of Singapore for 2 weeks and I am 200% sure that my dear hubby won’t enter the Kitchen during those 2 weeks
Ooo ya,he might enter.. to grab a beer or Juice from the refrigerator…Anyways I had to clear up a basket of Kiwi fruits

So I decided it’s time for a Punch…

So here is what you need

4 Small Kiwis peeled and cut to quarters
100 grams Celery cut roughly.
1 Lemon
Sweetener of your Choice
One and a half cup water

Blend the Celery in blender till smooth. Now add the Kiwis and squeeze little lemon Juice.
Add water and a table spoon of sweetener of your choice and blend till smooth

Enjoy the Citrous Punch:-)

Add celery to you juices coz its rich in Phytonutrients and is highly nutritious. The Celery stems are rich in Vitamin B , iron , folic acid and essential amino acids.

Kiwi fruits as you all know are an excellent source of Vitamic C.
Its is also said to be a good home remedy for handovers :-)

Check here for more Kiwi recipies
Kiwi Fruit

Vegetarian Nugget Sticks/Kebabs

As most of the vegetarian out there know Soy Chunks are an excellent protein substitute

This recipe caught my eye coz this is quite different from the usual Soy Chunks gravy we all make.

This is a finger food…. yummy yummy Finger food.

Recipe Adapted from Neta Mehta's Low fat Tasty Recipes

You Need
1/ 2 Cup Soy Chunks.
2 Table spoons Curd
1 Small Tomato Pureed
1 Tea Spoon Chilly power
1 Tea Spoon of each of Chopper Ginger and Garlic
½ tea Spoon Ajwain
Salt to taste
1 tea spoon Oil of your Choice

1 Small Onion Cut in Cubes
1 Small Capsicum Cut in Cubes

Soak the Soy chunks in boiling water for 30 minutes. After 30 min, rinse in water for few times. Drain and squeeze any excess water.
Add the salt to 1/2 tea spoon Chilly powder to the Curd and mix well.
Use this as a Marinate mixture and marinate the Soy nuggets for 15 minutes

Heat a tea spoon of oil. Once the oil is hot enough add in the Ajwain sauté for a minute.
Add in the Ginger and Garlic and continue to sauté.
Add the pureed tomato and remaining 1/ 2 teas spoon chilly powder and stir for a about a minute.
Add the nugget along with the curd mixture and Cook till completely dry

In another Pan, sauté Onions and Capsicum in little Oil . Sprinkle Salt and pepper and mix well. [I ran out of Capsicums so I used only onions]
Stir fry for 2-3 minutes and remove from fire.

Now insert the Capsicum, Onion n Nugget in a Stick and serve with Tomato Sauce

                                  

Linking this entry to the tofu food recipes in Foodista.

Tofu

Pink Grapefruit Punch

                 
Slice open a succulent grapefruit and squeeze one cup of fresh grapefruit juice and there you have a glass of
Super Juice with health benefits ranging from Anti-oxidants to anti-cancer nutrients.
The list continues… vitamin C, vitamin A, calcium, iron, manganese, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, folate and many B-vitamins.

Ok Ok...it tastes very bitter isnt it? Don’t worry, we will work on it..

Letz make a Punch

You need
2 Fresh Ripe grape fruit
50 g Strawberry flavored Jelly Crystals
1 table spoon Sugar
1 Cup water

Cut the Grapefruits to half and squeeze the Juice of 3 Half Slices
Cut the 4th one to small cubes and line the bottom of a bowl.
Now boil 1/2 Cup water . Dissolve the Jelly crystals and Sugar to the hot water and mix well till sugar and Jelly crystals dissolves completely
Add the rest of the water and Grapefruit juice to the above mix and mix well.

Pour this to the prepared bowl and refrigerate for 4 hour.

Since we added only half of the Jelly crystals, the mixture wont set to jelly.However the Punch won’t be too watery either

The Punch is very flavorful with the Sweetness and a dash of sourness from Strawberry Jelly crystals...the kick of bitterness from Grapefruit...

Now lemme stop the photography and enjoy the Sweet..Sour...Bitter....Punch..:-)

Barley Water

If you never had Barley water before or not even heard of it…you have come to the right place:-)
Barley water is a good source of natural fiber and an excellent anti-oxidant.
It also helps reduce cholesterol, provide intestinal protection and aid with disease protection
I have heard from many of my Chinese friends that Barley help to cool your body

And all ladies out there…I heard that barley water also clear up the complexion and stop the formation of wrinkles. :-)

So don’t wait any more …letz make the Barley drink.

You need
1 Cup Pearled Barley
10 Cups Water
50 G Rock Sugar [Optional]

Bring the water to Boil.
Rinse the barley well with water and add t the water. Let it simmer for 30 minutes
I added rock Sugar along with Barley. You can totally omit the Rock sugar if you prefer.
Once the barley has been fluffed and turn soft you can switch off the flame and let it cool.

You can add little Lemon juice just before serving for flavoring.

Sticky Rice Balls in Ginger Syrup [Chè Trôi Nước]

Glutinous rice balls in Spicy Ginger Syrup is a very popular dessert in Vietnam.

The crunchiness of the peanuts n roasted sesame seeds filling along with the Chewy Glutinous rice flour skin immersed in sweet syrip with a Kick of Ginger...

It’s a perfect hot dessert for Cold winters

Here is what you need
For Syrup
1 1/ 2 Cup Water
50 g Rock Sugar
1 Small Piece of Ginger.
2 Pieces of Orange Peel

Bring to boil the water and add in rest of the ingredients and let it simmer for 20 minutes.


To make the filling
3 table spoons Roasted and Crushed Peanuts
2 table spoons roasted sesame seeds
About a tablespoon peanut butter

Mix together all the ingredients. If the mix is still crumbly add in a little more pea nut butter and mix well.

For making the Sticky Balls
1 Cup Glutinous Rice Flour
Pinch of salt.
1 Tea spoon Oil
Warm a cup of water with 1 table spoon sugar dissolved in it

Mix the salt and Glutinous rice flour and rub in the oil.
Add the warm water and make smooth dough. If the dough has desired consistency it shouldn’t stick to your hand



Now take a small portion of the dough, flatten gently. And fill it with a teaspoon of the filling and shape the dough to a ball.



Bring water to boil in a deep pan.
Drop the Glutinous rice balls to the boiling water gently.
The rice balls will sink to the bottom.

After 2-3 minutes, once the rice balls are cooked through it will start to float


Now remove the rice balls and place it on a greased pan.

Add in the balls to the Syrup.

You can add some roasted sesame seeds or coconut milk while serving.

Off it goes to the A.W.E.D. - Vietnam event hosted by Priya and DK

Chocolate Cake Pops

Its raining cake pops…:-)

Haven’t you heard of the famous cake pops …if not ,do watch this video from Bakerella
Doesn’t that looks yummyyyyyyyyyyyyy

I had some left over chocolate cake from making the trifle
So I decided to give Cake pops a try..
I did not have candy melts so I used melted Chocolate buttons for Glazing

Peek-a-boo......
                            

For making Chocolate Cake pops you will need
1 Cup Chocolate Cake Crumbles. Check the recipe for super easy Chocolate cake here
1 /4 Cup Chocolate Ganache. Check the recipe here
1/ 2 Cup Chocolate Buttons
Lollipop sticks
Sugar Decoratives

Crumble the cake, add in the ganache and mix well till the mixture holds shape and is no longer crumbly.
Now take half table spoon of the mixture and shape it into a ball.
Melt the chocolate in a microwave or via double boiling
Now if you have Lollipop stick you can use that else use a tooth pick, Dip about 1 cm of the stick in melted chocolate and insert into the cake balls.
Repeat the same for rest of the mixture and let it set in refrigerator for 30 minutes

Now take the balls and dip it in chocolate Ganache and drop the excess chocolate off.
Do check Bakerella video for the trick for shaking off the excess coating
Now decorate according to your taste. You can roll it on a Nuts mixture or Sugar decorative
Insert the stick into a Styrofam block to harden.

This is my entry to Choco-delites event hosted by Smitha

Chocolate Cherry Trifle

Its Christmas time…its trifle time….
Trifle is a great dessert with many layers of Sponge Cake, Custards, Fruits and cream…

You will need..
1 Chocolate Sponge Cake - Recipe follows..
1 Can cherry
1 /2 Cup Chocolate Custard – Recipe follows..
Chocolate buttons, grated chocolate or whipping cream for decoration as per your taste

                              
For Chocolate Custard
1/2 Cup milk
1 table spoon Custard Powder
1 table spoon Sugar
Chocolate Buttons 1/ 4 Cup
Melt Chocolate by double boiling or in a microwave
Dissolve the Custard in little milk taken from the ½ Cup milk and boil reaming milk.
Once the milk is slightly hot, add in the Custard mix and stir.
Remove from heat once the mix start to thicken lightly and add the melted chocolate and stir well.
Now boil the mix in low heat for 3-5 minutes
Remove from heat and let it cool.

Assembling the Trifle..
Cut the sponge cake and line the first layer of the trifle dish.
Drain the cherries and take about ¼ Cup cherries and Puree it.
Add the Puree as second layer.
Now add another layer of Chocolate Sponge cake.
Drizzle a table spoon of Cherry syrup from the canned cherries on top of the sponge cake.
Add a layer of cherries on top of the Chocolate Sponge cake.
Now add the cooled custard on top of cherries and let it sit in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Decorate with grated chocolate or whipping cream as per your taste

Make a super easy Chocolate cake as follows

For Chocolate Cake
1 /2 Cup all purpose Flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 eggs
60 Ml Corn Oil or Butter
1 / 4 Cup Milk
1/2 tsp of Baking Soda
1/2 tsp of Baking powder

Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
Sieve all dry ingredients and set aside.
Mix in Sugar, Oil and egg in a bowl and beat well till the color lightens.
Add in vanilla essence and add in the milk and beat on low heat for few seconds.
Add in the dry ingredients in two turns and beat lightly.

Pour mixture into prepared cake pan and bake for 20-25 min until cooked.

Banana Sesame Balls

An easy snack for a lazy evening..

I first tried banana balls from a Malay stall in the Food court near our office..
The first thought that flashed my mind was ..O man this taste similar to our dearest..Nostalgic..Unniappam..
Banana balls are rather easy to make as compared to the traditional Unniappams..
I usually make it when I have over ripe bananas in the kitchen..
This is a perfect accompaniment to a cup of tea

Ingredients
2 Ripe Bananas
1 Cup Flour. I used Whole wheat Puff pastry flour.
1 /2 tspn 5 Spice powder. You can substitute with Cinnamon powder as well
1 /2 tspn Baking Soda
2 tspn Sugar
1 1/2 tbspn Sesame seeds
Oil for deep frying

Mix together Flour, Spice powder, Sugar, Baking Soda in a bowl.
Mash the bananas in a blender
Add the mashed banana to the flour mixture and mix well.
Add water if necessary and make a thick batter similar to Pancake batter
Add in the sesame seeds and mix well.

Using a spoon, gently scoop small spoonful of batter to the oil .
Make note to reduce the flame to Low or medium low so that the inside of Banana balls are cooked well.
Fry till both sides have turned brown.

Enjoy with a cup of hot tea

Orange Blueberry Muffins

When it comes to muffins or cupcakes I have a hard time to decide which flavor to bake.
There are a lot of options…chocolate, vanilla, orange…u name a flavor and there is a muffin or cupcake for it…
I have bananas in my table…..I have apples, oranges and blueberries in my refrigerator……ooph…
Why not a mixed fruits muffin… banana +apple +orange….hmmm shud I take that step??
Oo noo..I hate Mixed fruit Jam, Mixed fruit Yogurt…so no more mixed fruit…thatz too much flavors for me..

So I let banana and apple rest in peace and struck a note …Orange and Blueberry Muffin

May the muffins be with you …here is the recipe

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup Butter or Corn Oil
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup Milk
1/3 cup freshly squeezed Orange Juice
1 tea spoon Orange Zest
1 /2 tea spoon Vanilla essence

1/ 2 Cup Blueberries
Almond Flakes for decoration

In a large bowl, beat in the butter and Sugar till the color of the mixture lightens. Add in the Vanilla essence.
Beat in egg and beat in low speed for 2 minutes.
Combine the wet ingredients- juice, zest, and milk in a small bowl.
Add half the wet ingredients to the bowl of butter- sugar mixture and beat on low speed. Add half the flour mixture and beat just until combined.
Repeat with remaining wet and dry ingredients and flour mixture.

Sprinkle a spoon full of flour to the blueberries and gently toss it to that the blueberries get a coat of the flour. This is so that the Blueberries don’t sink into the bottom of the muffins

Add in the blueberries to the batter and gently fold in.

Divide batter evenly into the muffin tray. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the cupcakes spring back when the top is pressed or until a toothpick tester comes out clean. Remove the cupcakes from the muffin pan and cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy the muffins with a cup of Coffee :-)

Eggplant Parmesan

I first came across this recipe during the show Throw down with Boby Flay in Food Network Asia
The way he made the Eggplant parmesan looked pretty easy until I actually went to web site and checked the recipe
That was a pretty long one…:-( Check the original recipe here… Isn’t it looooong?

Eggplant being one of my favorite vege..I decided to give it a shot with my own version ,by skipping several steps from the above recipe…
I skipped the deep frying portion and chose to bake it in oven for few minutes
I chose the easier option of getting the store bought Pasta sauce instead of making my own pasta sauce
I guess I followed rest of the few steps:-)

Here goes my version

1 Large egg plant peeled and cut to circles.
2 tbspn Corn Flour
Bread crump’s ¼ Cup
1 Cup Pasta Sauce
Mozzarella cheese
Parmesan Cheese
Dried Basil Leave

Cup the egg plant and let it dry in a Kitchen towel till the moisture has been absorbed.
Now add water to corn flour and make it to a smooth batter.
Dip the egg plant in batter and then in breadcrumbs. Coat both sides evenly with bread crump’s
Drizzle some Olive oil in a baking tray and arrange the egg plants in the tray.
Bake in 180 Degree for 10 -15 min on both sides. If you are cutting your egg plant very thinly, you can reduce the baking time accordingly

Spread some pasta sauce on a baking pan, arrange the first layer of egg plant on top of the sauce.
Spread some Mozzarella cheese, followed by adding 2-3 table spoons Pasta sauce.
Repeat the layering.
Grate some Parmesan cheese on the top, and some dried basil.

Bake in the oven for 30 min until the cheese on the top lightly browns.

Verdict…The crunchiness of bread crump’s ..the tanginess of tomato..the soft eggplants with the melted cheese..I would say it tasted good.

I am yet to try the real version in a restaurant…so I can’t say how much close my version is to the real Egg plant parmesan:-)

Stuffed Poori with Coriander Chutney and Mango Lassi

These days we are having Shutdown…aka every xmas out office closes for 2 -2.5 weeks...he he

Isnt it great???
Ya thatz one of the best thing I like about my job:-)

Anyways….so most of the days I wake up arnd 9 --10…always after breakfast time..
So these days I just have to cook two meals a day…brunch and dinner..

Pooris are my favorite Brunch dish…its easy, quick and yummy

So when I saw the Stuffed peas pooris in Srivalli’s Blog, I sooo wanted to try it…

I made few modifications to her recipe...Here is recipe I followed

For Poori
All purpose Flour 1 Cup
Ghee -1 tspn
Salt to taste

For filling
½ cup cooked Green pea and Chick pea mashed well
[You can use Green peas alone, I had left over Chick pea so I just popped that in as well]
Ginger-I small piece chopped
Garlic- 1 clove chopped
Chillies 1 no
Garam Masala ½ tspn
Ghee ½ tspn

Add ghee to the flour and mix well.
Add in salt and water ,knead well and make a firm douch and set aside

Add ghee to a wok, once hot enough add in Ginger, Garlic and chilies and sauté for a minute
Now add the mashed Peas/Chick Pea mixture. Add in garam masala and salt and mix well.

Take a small portion of dough, flatten lightly.
Add in a spoon full of filling , cover all sides and roll to a 3 inch rounds on a lightly floured surface

Deep fry the pooris in oil till both sides are browned well
Drain on paper towel and server with a Coriander Chutney

Coriander Chutney
Blend 2 table spoon of curd together with a bunch of fresh coriander leaves and a little salt.

Mango Lassi
2 cups fresh Yogurt
¼ cup Mongo Puree
1 Ripe mango cut in pieces
1 spoon Sugar

Blend all ingredients well in a blender and njoy the lassi.

Tofu in Hot Garlic Sauce

Indian Chinese is loved by all of us who has frequented the Chinese Restaurants in India.
The irony is that it is rather difficult to relate an Indian Chinese food to actual Chinese food…
It picks the best of Indian flavor and Chinese flavor and the end result is fabulous.



The process of most Indian Chinese dishes may sound a bit lengthy, but once u have made one dish…u will know that it’s quite easy…and super tasty..

I adapted this recipe from Nita Mehta’s book on Indian Chinese cooking.

Ingredients
Firm Tofu- 100 gms
Oil for deep frying

For Batter
Corn flour 2 tbspn
All purpose Flour 1 tbspn
Soy sauce 1tspn
Ginger garlic Paste ½ tspn
Freshly ground pepper/Salt to taste
Water

Garlic Sauce
Capsicum 1 small Cut in square pieces
Ginger garlic Paste 1 tspn
Chilly 1 Chopped finely
Sesame Oil 1 tbspn
Tomato sauce 1 tbspn
Chilli sause ½ tbspn
Soy Sauce 1 tspn
Freshly ground pepper/Salt to taste
Vinegar 1tspn

To prepare Ginger Garlic paste, take 2 cloves of Garlic and a small piece of Ginger in a blender and blend it for a few seconds. You can use the paste for the batter and the sauce.

Cut tofu in square cubes and dry it on a kitchen towel.
Mix together all ingredients for the batter , add in enough water and make a batter of thick coating consistency
Dip the tofu in batter and deep fry the tofu till both sides are lightly browned.
Let it dry on a tissue paper and set aside.

For the sauce, heat oil in a wok. Add in the Ginger garlic paste and the green chilies. Once the garlic paste starts to brown slightly, Switch off the flame.
Now add in the tomato, chili and Soy sauce, vinegar, freshly ground pepper and salt to taste.
Stir well and turn on the flame.
Add in the capsicum pieces and stir fry for a minute or two.
Add in ¼ cup water and a tablespoon on the batter left from the batter used for deep frying the tofu.
Stir for a minute, once the sauce start to thicken and switch off the flame.

Place the fried tofu in a serving bowl and just before serving add in the sauce.

Enjoy with a Fried Rice..

Linking this entry to the tofu food recipes in Foodista.
Tofu

For the love of Dumplings…Vegetarian Dumplings

I always hear my colleagues babble about how they love dim sums…
Dim sums are a traditional Chinese cuisine which includes portions of a variety of foods like steamed dumplings, Siew Mai ,Sesame balls etc
But being a vegetarian I hardly get vegetarian Dim sums in Food courts..
Thatz when I heard about Lin Zhi …The authentic Chinese vegetarian restaurant in Singapore..
So I planned the next team lunch there….:-)
Yumilicious……the whole table was filled with different types of Dim sums…
I lost count of how many I had…..:-)
And now ..Me too joined the league of Dum sum lovers…


Recently I got the recipe of Dumpling from one of my friend..
But the steps sounded a bit too tedious for me…Makin the dough…rolling out …oooghhh…
I chose the easier option…get the readymade dumpling skins and followed rest of the recipe.

Ingredients
Cabbage shredded 1/2 Cup
1 Carrot grated
Shitake mushroom- 5 chopped
I prefer to use dried Shitake mushroom as it is more flavor full. Soak the dried mushroom in boiling water for 30 min
Sprint Onion 2 stems
Garlic 2 Cloves
Chilies 1
Soy sauce 1 teaspoon
Sesame oil- 2 tea spoon


Heat a wok , add in the oil. Once the oil is hot enough, add Chilies, Garlic and Sprint Onion and saute
Add in cabbage, Carrot, Mushroom ,soy sauce and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
Take a Dumpling sheet, Put a ring of water around the edges
Add a spoonful of mixture in each dumpling skin and seal the edges.
Remember to cover the sealed dumpling using a moist towel else it might become dry
You can choose any of the 3 options for cooking the dumpling -steam for 10 minutes, deep fry it or cook in boiling water

I chose to cook the dumpling by letting it cook in boiling water for 3 minutes.

I heard from my friends that if we are using readymade dumpling sheets the later method gives softer dumplings.

For the Dip
Soy sauce 1 tspn
Roasted sesame seeds 1 tspn
Chili paste
Rice Vinegar 1 tspn
Sesame Oil – ½ tspn

Mix all the ingredients well and serve.

Vegetarian Phad Thai

We got a chance to visit Phuket, Thailand few months back ..
And the local street food there is legend ….wait for it…dary….
Needless to say Phuket is a very beautiful place with lot of things to do..
Snorkeling is a must do when u r there…The underwater world is amazing with colorful tropical fish in all sizes and beautiful coral gardens

Ever since we came back from there I have been desperately trying to make Thai dishes..
My version of Green curry didn’t even come close to the version I had there..
In fact it didn’t even come anywhere near the Green curry we get it here in SingaporeL

However Phad Thai and Tom yam soup came closer to the version I had there…at least that is the verdict I got from my Hubby:-)

Pad Thai is a stir-fry dish of rice noodles, tofu, bean sprouts, egg and fish sauce. It is one of Thailand's best-known dishes.
Since I am a vegetarian, I conveniently omitted egg, fish sauce, Shrimp paste etc.

So here is the recipe

Ingredients
150 g Flat rice noodles
1 small red capsicum
I Onion
40 gms Bean Sprouts
4 Small Tofu puffs
2 Spring Onions
1 Garlic clove crushed
1 Chilli Padi/Small Red Chilli
1 table spoon sesame oil

For the sauce
1.5 tea spoon Sambal Chili paste
1 table spoon Lime Juice
2 tea spoon Soy sauce
A pinch of brown sugar.

For seasoning
Coriander Leave Chopped
Roasted peanut Crushed
Little bean sprouts

Mix all the ingredients for the sauce and keep aside.

Cook the noodles in boiling of water for 4 minutes and drain in a Colander. Pour some cold water on it so that it doesn’t become soggy

Heat the oil in a Wok. Once hot enough add in the chopped Garlic and Chilies. Sauté for a minute
Add in Onion and Capsicum and cook for a minute or two.
Once the onion becomes soft,Add in the Sprint Onion, Bean sprouts and Tofu puffs .
Add in the sauce and stir well
Add in the cooked noodles; stir well to coat the noodles with the sauce.

Sprinkle the bean sprouts, crushed peanuts and coriander leaves

This is my entry to  Celebrating Regional Cuisine event hosted by Sujana

Sweet Potato Rosti

Sweet Potatoes are beta-carotene gift packets from Mother Nature
Sweet potatoes also filled with proteins and fibers, unlike its namesake Potato it is very low in sugar and calories.
Infact it is advised for Diabetics patients as it is an excellent Blood sugar regulator
Here in Singapore we commonly find Japanese Purple sweet potatoes
Purple sweet potatoes are equally well known for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
It highly advised to have some fat in your sweet potato meals if you want to enjoy the full beta-carotene benefits of this root vegetable.

Now coming to Rosti .. Rösti is a traditional Swiss dish of pan fried grated potatoes
If u wana try the authentic Rosti in Singapore do drop a visit to Marche
Their hot crispy Rosti with fresh sour cream and Spring onions …yummy yummy..


Ingredients
2 Sweet Potatoes
2 tablespoon Corn meal
Oil /Butter for Roasting
Freshly Grated Parmesan
Salt to taste

1. Steam the sweet potatoes until soft but still firm
2. Peel it and let is cook for a while. Once cool enough roughly grate it.
3. Add in salt, Corn flour, Grated Parmesan and gently mix it.
Method1 :
4. Shape the mix into 4 rough cakes with your hand about ½ inch thickness.
5. Bake in a 220C preheated oven for 20 min.
Method 2:
6. Melt butter/oil in a pan and scoop a tablespoon of the mix to pan and slight press it using back of a spatula.
7. Cook on both sides for 3-4 minutes on each side.

Namkeen Poori n Bhajji

We are having downpours here since weekend…and I am loving it:-)
Perfect climate to laze around with a book and a cup of hot tea..

I love to eat something spicy for brunch on a rainy day…
And Pooris are the best option.. Quick..easy and tasty..
I added a little bit of ajwain and kalonji to spice up the pooris…

For Pooris
Wheat Flour/Atta 1 cup
1 tea spoon Ajwain
1 tea spoon Kalonji
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

Add enough water and make the dough to a slightly stiff consistency. Let it rest for some time.
Now roll out small portions of the dough.
Deep fry in enough oil till both sides are lightly browned

For Bhajji
2 Medium sized Potatoes
1 Onion
2 Chilies
Ginger once small piece
1 tsp oil
1 tsp Mustard seeds/urad dal for seasoning
2 stems Coriander leaf chopped finely\Salt to taste

In a pan add the oil and add the mustard seeds. Once it starts sputtering add in the urad dal .
Sauté till it is golden brown.
Add in the Cut vegetables, Chilies, Ginger and salt and add in little water.
Cover and cook till the vegetables are soft and cooked well
Now gently mash the potatoes using a ladle. Garnish with Coriander leave.

I am sending this recipe for Cooking With Seeds event hosted by Kavita and Priya

Banana Jelly

Banana is the most versatile fruit packed with lot of energy, tissue building elements, protein, vitamins and minerals.
It is one of the most popular snacks, especially after a workout..
Occasionally I make smoothies using Milk, banana and Oats for breakfast…

Today’s Banana item is a desert..a simple n fast Banana jelly..


Ingredients
Water 1 cup
Gelatin 3 tea spoon [Or Agar Agar about 5-7 gms]
Castor Sugar 2 tablespoon
Orange Juice 1/3 Cup
Lemon Juice 1 tablespoon
Banana 1 -Cut into slices

Take quarter cup water and sprinkle gelatin over it. Leave it for 5 minutes
Being the remaining water to boil. Pour it over the gelatin mixture and stir to completely dissolve the gelatin
Add sugar and mix well. Add in Lime ad Orange Juice
Slice the bananas and arrange in a dessert mould.
Pour 1/3 rd of gelatin on top of the bananas and refrigerate for 10 minutes until set.
Now arrange second layer of bananas and add in 1/3 of the gelatin mixture and let it set in refrigerator.
Repeat one more time and set in refrigerator for 20 minute.

To take the jelly out of the mould, you can place the mould over hot water for a minute or two and invert.

Off this entry goes to Fruit a Month - Banana event hosted by Aipi and Priya