Home made salsa

I love making salsa...and every time I make it I have to ask myself, why don't I make this often enough? It's so so easy and tasty! I go for a fresh, spicy and authentic taste!

Here's my typical "recipe":

Ingredients:

• 1 can of peeled whole tomatoes
• 1 serano pepper (or more if you want it super spicy)
• 1/4th of an onion (I like red onions because they're a bit sweeter)
• 1/4 of a green bell pepper
• 1/4 of a red bell pepper (or you can choose to put 1/2 a red bell pepper instead of red and green)
• 1 or 2 pieces of garlic
• cilantro to taste
• salt to taste
• lime to taste
• 3-4 tsp of cumin

*Note: you can omit the onions and garlic if you're not a fan and it still tastes great

Instructions:

1. Put everything into a blender or food processor, and mix! 

If you want something your salsa a bit chunkier, mince the onion and put it in at the end instead of blending it. You can also add half a tomato diced. 

I forgot to take an after picture...! But it was tasty!

Chocolate Chip Yummy-ness!

I can never find the perfect Chocolate Chip cookie recipe and as a result I always try new ones! I think my search for the perfect recipe is over. The following recipe got me the chewy chocolate-y goodness I've been looking for...and they're eggless!

I made a few slight modifications from the original recipe.

Here's my version below:

Ingredients:

• all purpose flour - 1 cup
• baking soda - 3/4 tsp
• salt - 1/2 tsp
• butter - 1/2 cup - unsalted (1 stick)
• sugar - 1/4 cup + 1.5 tbsp
• brown sugar - 1/4 cup + 1.5 tbsp
• vanilla extract 1/2 tsp
• soy flour - 1 tbsp mixed with 3 tbsp water (let it stand for a few minutes before using)
• chocolate chips - 3/4 cup to 1 cup (as needed)

Instructions:

1. Mix the dry ingredients (all purpose flour, baking soda, and salt) in a bowl
2. Take sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract and butter in a separate bowl. Beat until creamy.

3. Add the soy flour + water mixture and beat well 

4. Beat the dry ingredients in gradually
5. Add the chocolate chips and mix with a spatula

6. Drop by tablespoonful (about 2 inches apart) onto ungreased baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven 375F oven for about 9-11 minutes

7. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a couple of minutes before moving to the wire racks to cool completely

Dunk in a cup of milk...and enjoy!!!

The Best Biryani Ever Recipe!

First of all I'm SO SORRY it took me forever to get this recipe up. I know A LOT of you have sent me messages requesting this recipe. And it's been a long time since my last post ... so a'las here it is!

Again, I just want to give credit to Dhaval & Priyanka for this awesome recipe. I've added some measurements to their original recipe to help out with the cooking.

One thing is definitely true...follow the recipe on this one, don't take any short cuts and the order does matter!

Ingredients for Biryani:
Oil
Ghee
Jeeru
Ginger
Serrano Pepper
1 Onion chopped
1 Potato diced small
Peas (half cup)
Carrots (half cup)
French Beans (as much as you like or none)
Tumeric/Haldi powder
Red Chili Powder
Garam Masala
Badshah Biryani Masala (if you don't have this, it's okay but it does help with the flavor)
Salt
2-3 cups Rice
Coriander (optional)

**Note: when I made this I added all the spices to taste, w/o any measurements. I've tried adding approximate measurements below. As you cook and add spices, taste it each time to get an idea of the taste. Remember it's better to put less spices at the beginning and add more at the end as needed.

Soak the rice in water for 1/2 hour before cooking, add a pinch of salt to the soaked rice & mix it.
Add 1/2 tablespoon oil & 1/2 tablespoon of ghee to a large/somewhat flat pan
Put Shahjeeru or Jerru once oil is hot
Add one spoon of ginger & green chilli paste (you can chop/mix about 1/2 an inch of ginger and one serrano pepper to make this paste)
Add onion and saute
Once the onion turns a pinkish brown add the following vegetables:
- Potato, peas, carrot, french beans (you can get a frozen vegetable mix of this at any grocery store, except the potato)
Add a pinch or two of salt and close the lid and let it cook
Once it gets half cooked add the following spices to taste:
- 2 tsp tumeric/haldi, 2 tsp red chilli powder, 2 tsp garam masala, 2 tsp badshah biryani masala
Let it cook
Once the veggies are 75% cooked add the rice (with the water)
- Make sure you soaked the rice for half an hour before cooking w/salt in it
Add enough water so the rice not completely covered but enough so it doesn't burn at the bottom.
Close the lid and cook (keep an eye on the water level, add water if it starts sticking, mix occasionally to check on the bottom of the pot)
Taste all the masala/spices to check if you need to add anything. If it still seems bland add:
- 1 tsp tumeric/haldi, 1tsp red chili powder, 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp badshah biryani masala and salt to taste

Top it with fresh chopped coriander prior to serving if you want.

Also, it tastes awesome when served with some Papad and Kadhi. Let me know if you need a quick Kadhi recipe!

The best biryani ever!

Thanks to our dear friends Dhaval & Priyanka, we got this amazing recipe for Biryani!

We had it at their place last weekend and I just could not get enough of it so I had to try it out myself. It definitely didn't turn out as good as theirs but it was so so so yummy! Pair it with some kadhi and papad you've got yourself a delicious dinner.

Recipe to be posted soon!

Left over baguette or loaf of bread?

How many times have you thrown away almost half a baguette/loaf of bread because it was leftover (probably dried up or moldy) from that dinner party a few nights ago?

Don't let it go bad! Turn it into a quick meal for the next day.

Cut the loaf into halves, top it with your favorite pizza sauce and toppings! Instant lunch or dinner!

Here are the details:
- Halve the loaf
- Spread some butter and/or garlic spread
- Top with italian seasoning
- Lightly toast for a few minutes
- Remove, top with sauce, your favorite toppings and cheese
- Pop it back into the oven and wait for the cheese to melt

Bread - $2.00

Produce - < $2.00

Cheese - < $1.00

That's a filling meal for two for less than $5.00! 

Bon appetite! 

Papdi No Lot (aka Khichu)

Took a break from blogging last week but I'm back!

Saturday was a rather cold, gloomy day so of course it called for some yummy Papdi no Lot. Some people also call it Khichu.

It's super easy to make, 10 minutes tops!

What you need:
Rice flour - 2 cups
Water  - 3 3/4ths to 4 cups
Green chili  - 1.5
Ajmo (Ajwain) - a couple teaspoons
Jeeru (Cumin) - a couple teaspoons
Baking Soda - a pinch
Salt - to taste

This was enough for about 2-3 people.

Simplest way to remember the measurements. If you want to make 1 cup of flour, use 2 cups of water. 2 cups of flour, use 3.75 to 4 cups of water. Generally, double the water from the flour. Everything else is really an estimate depending on how tasty & spicy you want it.

Boil the water in a pot. Add in the finely chopped green chili, ajmo, jeeru, and salt (you can grind it all together into paste too). Once you get some good bubbles. Add in the baking soda. You'll get a nice little whoosh happen.

Get ready to add in the flour and mix it quickly. I use a forked spatula because it's easier to break down the clumps. The goal is to pour in the majority of the flour into the boiling water and mix it right away. Keep a little of the flour out just in case you boiled to much of the water (you don't want it to be dry). As you pour in the flour it should have a soft sticky consistency to it. If it's to watery continue to add the remainder of the flour.

Once you've mixed it all and the clumps are gone, drizzle oil to it and some red marchu (if you want) and you're ready to eat it!

If you want to take an additional step you can let the above cool for a few minutes and then roll the dough into single serving balls. Or just scoop in individual portions with a spoon. Drizzle a bit of oil over them. Put these into a pressure cooker or in the microwave with a wet paper towel cover it and warm for about 5-7 minutes. This will make them even more moist and gooey. Enjoy!

I devoured my warm gooey, papdi no lot and didn't grab a picture but here's a picture I found and it is very similar to what it ends up looking like...

Spinach Thepla/Bhakri (flatbread)

While making some yummy palak paneer I thought why not add some of this healthy green stuff to my thepla? It turned out great and you can't even taste the spinach but they do turn out green :).

Here's a simple recipe for the dough:

Makes 10 medium thepla's plus left over dough for about 5 more
1/4 to 1/2 cup of Spinach (chopped)
2 cups of wheat flour
1/2 cup of water (adjust depending on softness)
1 spoon oil
pinch of salt

Enjoy!

It's green!

Thepla/Bhakri & Palak Paneer