Thai Basil Tofu

Don’t you love Thai cuisine?

The fragrance and the flavors..I absolutely love it..

I have to admit many a times Thai cuisine have made me cry ..coz of its red hot chilies..

But I never get enough of those spicy, tongue burning delights!!

By the time I finish a Thai main course I would have already gulped at least 2-3 glasses of water…

And still I totally adore itJ

Here in Singapore, we have a “Little Thailand” in Golden Mile Tower

You get almost all Thai ingredients and snacks there and they have some amazing Thai restaurants as well.

The freshest basil, lemon grass, galangal ,thai brinjals ..you name the Thai ingredients …its there!!

Last week we went down there for the dinner and I had hell lot of thai delights till I criedJ

I also managed to pick a lot of Thai ingredients.

So stay tuned to some spicy Thai cuisine!!

 Thai Basil Tofu

Ingredients

100 gms Firm Tofu cubed

1/2 Cup Basil Leaves

2-3 Thai Red Chilies

4 Shallots

A small piece of Galangal [Blue ginger]

1 tbspn Oil

1 1/2 tspn Soy Sauce

Directions

Combine together Red chilies, Shallots, Galangal in a mortar and pound well.

Heat Oil in a wok. Add the pound paste and stir fry for a minute.

Add the soy sauce and tofu and toss well

Reduce the flame to medium and cook the tofu for 5-8 minutes tossing in between.

Add the basils , cover and cook for a 2 minutes

Oat Flour and Banana Pancake

I woke up rather early for a weekend:-( Yap, 9 AM is still too early for me for a weekend..

I happily settled on my couch with my morning tea watching back to back episodes of “How I met your mother”..

Aaaa…Isn’t that a good kick start for a lazy weekend.

And what better way to please your hunger pangs than this light, fluffy n healthy pancakes.

We absolutely loved it and I am sure gone make this again ..its just soo simple and swiftJ

Oat Flour and Banana Pancake

[Makes 8 pancakes]

Recipe adapted from : Bob's Red Mill

Ingredients

1 Cup Oats Flour

¼ tspn Baking powder

¼ tspn cream of tartar

Pinch of salt

1 tablespoon Sugar

1 tablespoon Oil

1 egg- Separated

1 Banana Mashed

Directions

Beat the egg white until soft peaks are formed

Stir together the dry ingredients

Mix the wet ingredients- egg yolk, mashed banana and oil and add into the dry ingredients

Add about 1/3 Cup water or Milk to make thick batter. Batter should not be runny, rather a cake batter consistency

Gently fold in the egg whites

Heat the griddle and spoon the batter and spread it lightly.

Fry it until bubbles are formed around the pancakes, flip and cook other side.
Enjoy with generous serving of sweet maple syrup..

Tom Yam Tempeh

Originated from Indonesia, tempeh is another protein rich soy food. It is basically fermented soy beans with a nutty taste.

This low fat and high protein patties absorb the flavors /sauces soo well and makes an excellent meat substitute.

So here is a simple three ingredient tempeh recipe.

  

Tom Yam Tempeh

Ingredients

150 gms tempeh cut in cubes

1 ½ tspn Tom Yam paste -I used Vegetarian Tom Yam paste

1 tspn Oil

Directions

Heat Oil in a wok .

Add the tom yam paste and sauté for few seconds

Add 1/3 cup water and bring to boil.

Now add in the tempeh,cover and cook untill all water has been absorbed for 8-10 min.

Increase the flame and sauté the tempeh until it start to lightly brown and crispy.

Garnish with some Chinese Celery leaves.

And there you have the tangy n spicy Tom Yam Tempeh.

·        *Tom yam paste already has salt and chilli. So adjust and add salt according to your taste.

Granola

Granola with fruit yogurt is one among my favorite breakfast. Who can resist this soothing, cooling and totally refreshing delight..

Here is my one of my fav granola recipe packed with nutty and dried fruit goodness.

It’s a bit on the sweeter side, to satisfy my sweet tooth J

Here is the recipe

Ingredients

200 grams rolled oats

1 ½ tablespoon light brown sugar

3 tablespoons maple syrup

60 grams shelled Whole Almonds

50 grams Walnuts chopped

40 grams raisins

30 grams Sunflower seeds

30 grams dried Apricots chopped

Pinch of salt

Flavoring of your choice- Vanilla essence or Cinnamon powder ½ tspn

Directions

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees.

Place all dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Sir in the brown sugar , flavoring to the bowl and mix well.

Add a tablespoon of maple syrup at a time and stir well

Line a baking tray with parchment paper

Spread the granola mixture evenly onto the tray

Place the baking tray in the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until a golden brown in color.

Give it a stir every 5 minutes. You can switch on the oven fan for the last five minutes to make the granola crunchier

Let the granola cool and enjoy it with a cup of yogurt.

Whole Wheat Bagels

I am back to blogosphere after a fabulous OnamJ

Hope all my friends from Kerala had a wonderful Onam.

Belated Onashamsakal to all..I know I am a bit late in Wishing

I was a bit too busy with planning the sadhya [the feast], shopping and of course- cookingJ

And after a fun filled Onam sadhya with friends and family, I was on hibernation for 2 days…rather handover from having toooo much food/payasams

Anyways here goes the recipe of  healthy Bagels I made few weeks back.

And you know what is a better combo than Bagel and Cream Cheese..Try Bagels and Strawberry Cream cheese, it’s just wonderful!!

 Whole Wheat Bagels

Ingredients [Makes 6 Bagles]

2 cups Whole Wheat flour

1 Cup Bread Flour

1 cup +2 Tablespoon warm water
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon Instant yeast

4 Cups water

1 tablespoon Molasses or Caramelized Sugar

Toppings of your choice-Roasted Sesame seeds, Poppy seeds, Oats

 

Directions

Add all dry ingredients in the mixer, slowly add the warm water and knead on slow speed.

Once all water has been added increase the speed and continues to knead for 8-10 minutes until smooth and no longer sticky.

Cover and let it rise for 40 minutes.

After 40 minutes, punch down the dough and roll it into a long tube.

Divide it into 6 equal portions.

Now you can shape the bagels either by rolling into balls and poking a hole in center or by rolling the dough to a long tube and stick together the two ends.

Let it rest and rise for 60 minutes.

Meanwhile pre-heat the oven to 375 F

In a pan add 4 cups of water plus  a tablespoon of molasses and bring to boil.

Add the bagels one by one and cook on each side for 1 minute

Coat the Bagels with toppings of your choice, Poppy seeds ,Oats or roasted sesame seeds.

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until nicely browned.

Garlic and Rosemary Whole-wheat Crackers

The lovely fragrance of rosemary and garlic, these crunchy crispy wheat crackers will be your family favorite ..I assureJ

Make a simple dip with yogurt /sour cream or crème cheese and there you have the perfect snack to munch on for your weekend movie nights

The best part is the lovely scent which fill your kitchen while the crackers are in the oven..Aaahhh..

Here goes the recipe

Garlic and Rosemary Whole-wheat Crackers

Ingredients

½ Cup whole wheat flour

½ Cup All purpose flour

¼ Cup Olive Oil

4 Cloves Garlic

1 Tablespoon Dried Rosemary

Salt to Taste

Ground Pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 170 Degress.

Warm olive oil and add the crushed garlic and rosemary leaves.

Let it rest for 10 minutes. This is to let the flavors infuse well into the oil.

Sift the flour to a bowl, add the salt and pepper and stir well.

Blend the oil/garlic/rosemary leaves in a blender.

Add this to the flour mix. Add few tablespoon of warm water and mix well to form soft dough.

Roll out the dough as thinly as possible and cut into desires shape.

Bake it in oven for 5-10 minutes until it is lightly browned.

To make the Sour cream Dip

 Take 3 tablespoons cream cheese softened; add some parsley , roasted sesame seeds and ground pepper to taste and mix well.

And dig right in!!