A lovely evening snack on a cold and rainy evening, is the baked "Mushroom Frittata".
This is also a very healthy snack, since it mainly contains eggs & mushrooms which have amazing health benefits.
Eggs are known to be "Super health foods" as they contain high quality protein, right kind of fat and the one of the foods that contain naturally occuring vitamin D.
Mushrooms is the new "Super food" after Broccoli and Blueberries.
Mushrooms are nutritional powerhouses packed with vitamins, minerals and disease-fighting antioxidants.Frittatas are often served at room temperature, making them perfect for brunches or larger groups.
"Frittata" is actually an Italian style omelet.
In the strictest sense, the difference boils down to a matter of folding in a filling rather than mixing it in.
Omelets traditionally have the egg mixture cooked and folded around a filling, while a frittata just mixes it all up, cooked in a mishmash combination all at once.
Frittatas are either cooked in a cast iron skillet or baked in an oven.
Mushroom frittata is one of my favorite, and in addition to mushrooms I also add black olives, oregano, garlic and red chilly flakes.
I also serve them a bit differently, ie by cutting them into large cake like slices so that you can easily hold and bite into them.
Here is a simple, easy to make infact an Instant sort of Mango pickle that goes well with Rotis or any type of Indian bread.
Its a favorite among kids since its sweet.
This pickle can be consumed immediately after making it, or stored in the refrigerator and used for upto a week.
A very popular appetizer in most continental food joints are "Chicken wings".
However the portions served in the restaurants are so less that we are never satisfied.
Since we all love chicken wings, I make my own version of the chicken wings and call it "Hot n Sweet Grilled Chicken wings".
Really easy to make. You could alter the quantity of the honey or barbecue sauce according to your taste buds.
Rajasthani cuisine is known for comfort food, and khichdi is one among them.
Several types of khichdi are made in this region, the most popular of them being the Jodhpuri Khichdi which contains brinjal and Kathiyawadi Khichdi which has vegetables like peas, beans, tomato, onion and brinjal.
I will post the recipes of these variations shortly.
Here is the simplest of the Rajasthani khichdis, which is a simple comfort food that is not just easy to make but really yummy.
After several days of eating rich food at functions and parties and festivals or after a hectic weekend of binge eating, this is what I normally cook.
Served with green chilly pickle, it tastes really yum!!
"Surkh Kukkad" is a Punjabi chicken starter. "Surkh" means "red as a ruby" and "Kukkad" means "chicken". This starter is a hot and bright red colored, dry chicken dish.
Easy to make and lip smacking. Goes perfectly well as a side-dish too for chapatis, rotis or bread.
"Thaikile Ambado" is a very popular evening snack in the monsoons, especially in Mangalore and surrounding areas.
"Thaikilo" is an edible leafy weed, found in the garden in most homes in the coastal belt.
The leaves have a nice aroma and the dishes made from these are loved by all konkani people.
Here in Bangalore, they are sold in the so called "Mangalore stores".
They are available only in monsoons, and in Bangalore its sold only in June/July in these stores.
So my making these "Vadas" or "Ambado" as we call them in Konkani, is also quite rare, sometimes just once during the rainy season.
"Fish Tikka" is a lovely seafood starter which is easy to make, tasty and almost fat free (if you do not use any butter during grilling).
This starter is a big favorite among kids mainly because fish fillets are used, which are boneless, so easy to eat.
I know many people resist cooking fish at home as they either do not know to clean it or find it difficult to eat, but fish is something which is healthy enough to include in your daily diet.
You could use fillets of any fish, but the best fish fillet chunks can be got from fish like Salmon, Sea Bass and Basa since they are firm and can stand well on the grill/tandoor especially during baking/grilling.
You could even deep fry these fillets if you do not have an OTG/Grill, but "Fish Tikkas" are normally grilled on open fire/tandoor. I have used an electric oven (OTG) and grilled the fish.
This is my 350th recipe post, and I am celebrating this milestone with a very traditional konkani dessert delicacy called "Ponasa Muddo".
"Ponasa Muddo" is a very popular dessert made by the konkani coummunity. "Ponos" means ripe jackfruit in konkani. "Muddo" means steamed dumpling.
The batter of the dumplings is normally spread on the leaf of the teak wood tree, and the steamed, but its not very easy to find teak wood leaves these days, we steam them in banana leaves.
If you cannot find either of them, you could use regular idli moulds or even steel bowls to steam them.
When served with Ghee, this tastes really great..
A delicious and power packed Indian breakfast is the Paneer parata.
"Paneer" is also known as Cottage cheese and it contains all the essential amino acids needed for it to qualify as a complete protein. It also contains high amounts of Vitamin B12, Calcium an Phosphorous.
Cottage cheese paratas or Indian bread stuffed with spiced cottage cheese, makes a great high-protein breakfast.
Paneer Parata with lots of butter, aam ka achar (mango pickle) and curds, is the complete Punjabi breakfast.
One of my favorite breakfast and my daughter's favorite lunch box dish.
