One of my favorite things from a bakery shop at home was stuffed puff pastries - either with Kheema or Veggies. This is my version of it.
Ingredients -
1 Puff Pastry Sheet Box (makes 12)
4 potatoes boiled and mashed
1 large red onion finely chopped
1 cup of peas (I use frozen)
2 large tomatoes chopped
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 tsp crushed ginger
2-3 chillies (depends on taste)
Any additional veggie, according to taste
Garam masala, salt to taste and oil and tadka ingredients (mustard seeds - 1tsp, haldi 1/2 tsp)
Method -
1. Remove the pastry sheet to thaw.
2. Do the tadka - heat oil, add mustard seeds . When they begin to sputter, add the haldi (turmeric powder).
3. Add the chillies, garlic and ginger. Fry for a minute. Add onions. Fry till golden brown. And garam masala.
4. Add Potatoes and mix. Add the remaining veggies. Mix well. Season with salt to taste. Add chilli powder if you want to increase the heat (I prefer the filling to be a little spicy).
5. Let it cool.
6. Cut the thawed pastry sheets into 3 equal portions horizontally and divide each into two.
7. Take 1 piece, add filling at one end. Fold over in half. Press the edges to seal. Store under a moist paper till all the pastry strips are filled.
8. Bake at 400 F for 15 minutes, till golden brown. Serve warm with "Hot and Sweet" Ketchup and Cool Litchee juice.
Any stuffing will do. Use your imagination and bake away.
Tip - Bake all the pastry and store in the fridge in an airtight container. Heat through again in the oven at 400 F for 5 minutes. I have never stored them beyond 2 days.
Ingredients -
1 Puff Pastry Sheet Box (makes 12)
4 potatoes boiled and mashed
1 large red onion finely chopped
1 cup of peas (I use frozen)
2 large tomatoes chopped
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 tsp crushed ginger
2-3 chillies (depends on taste)
Any additional veggie, according to taste
Garam masala, salt to taste and oil and tadka ingredients (mustard seeds - 1tsp, haldi 1/2 tsp)
Method -
1. Remove the pastry sheet to thaw.
2. Do the tadka - heat oil, add mustard seeds . When they begin to sputter, add the haldi (turmeric powder).
3. Add the chillies, garlic and ginger. Fry for a minute. Add onions. Fry till golden brown. And garam masala.
4. Add Potatoes and mix. Add the remaining veggies. Mix well. Season with salt to taste. Add chilli powder if you want to increase the heat (I prefer the filling to be a little spicy).
5. Let it cool.
6. Cut the thawed pastry sheets into 3 equal portions horizontally and divide each into two.
7. Take 1 piece, add filling at one end. Fold over in half. Press the edges to seal. Store under a moist paper till all the pastry strips are filled.
8. Bake at 400 F for 15 minutes, till golden brown. Serve warm with "Hot and Sweet" Ketchup and Cool Litchee juice.
Any stuffing will do. Use your imagination and bake away.
Tip - Bake all the pastry and store in the fridge in an airtight container. Heat through again in the oven at 400 F for 5 minutes. I have never stored them beyond 2 days.
I decided to get off the usual chicken wings and beer menu to try something fancy. The menu was bruschetta, tomato and herb soup and taboulleh. The alcohol was beer :) Yeah watching the game without the beer is .. well .. just plain stupid but the beer was Smirnoff's Green Apple (I hear you snorting in disdain - it is actually a good beer :/)
Bruschetta
Ingredients -A loaf of freshly baked French bread
A ready made Pesto sauce (found where the Italian things are kept in the cold section)
A freshly cut tomato and cheese.
Cut the loaf into 3 parts (depending on size of loaf- each should be about 5-6 inches). Broil in a oven till it browns.
Then spread the pesto over it, arrange the slices of tomato, sprinkle cheese and return to oven for another 5 minutes till the cheese melts.
Serve warm.
Tomato soup - 1 can of fresh tomato soup (I prefer Campbell), some fresh herbs - Basil and thyme.
Heat soup as per instructions. Spruce up with some fresh herb, freshly ground pepper and croutons :)
Taboulleh - 
1 box of Taboulleh (or 1 cup cracked wheat or bulgur and 1 tsp all spice)
1/2 cucumber finely chopped.
1 tomato finely chopped.
1 scallion finely chopped.
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Basil or flat leaf parsley.
Lettuce leaves to serve
Add 1 cup boiling water to the cracked wheat. Cover and keep in the refrigerator for 1/2 hour. Then add the the remaining ingredients. Adjust salt to taste. Cover and keep in fridge till serving time.
Served scooped on lettuce leaves.
I love winters. Nothing removes the chill of a winter night as warm soup and homemade warm bread. Since winters have not been the norm this year (we had measly snow - all of 8 snow flakes :/), I had not tried out my collection of soup recipes. Also now a days, with none of my usual crowd dropping in for dinner - I loathe cooking elaborate dinners for one :( But last Sunday, I decided to get back into the game.. I am reopening the Food Club (actually forcefully dragging in my friends to eat ... they don't have to cook :/). With that thought I went and restocked my pantry and made the first winter soup of the year - Veg Chili.
Being a grad student with a completely eratic schedule, my meals are a version of Sandra Lee Meets Rachel Ray - they are simple enough to be made in half an hour or so, with a lot of store bought pre-made stuff, and though good to look at and eat, they are not as elaborate as Lee's meals. The Chili is no exception - canned beans, tomatoes and spice packets are spiffed up with fresh veggies to make a hearty meal in less than 30 minutes.
Ingredients -
1 18 oz. can of Red Beans
18 oz. can of Pinto Beans
24 oz can of Tomatoes (chili ready or not)
1 packet of Chili spice (or 1/2 tsp each of powdered oregano, coriander, cumin, cloves and all spice)
2 tsp (or more) of pepper flakes
Fresh Veggies - Chopped onions, Capsicum (I have both yellow and green in this version), garlic and anything else you might want to add :)
Oil and salt to taste
Recipe -
In about 1 Tbsp of oil saute the onions, the capsicum, garlic till the veggies get tender.
Then add the beans and tomatoes and little bit of water.
Either add the chili mix according to the directions or add the spice mix. Bring the mixture to boil and turn down the heat and let it simmer for 15- 20 min.
I actually like to eat the chili after it is a day old and all the spices have marinated. I have served it with garlic bread stick here (store bought and warmed in the oven) but I prefer eating it with Corn bread.
Being a grad student with a completely eratic schedule, my meals are a version of Sandra Lee Meets Rachel Ray - they are simple enough to be made in half an hour or so, with a lot of store bought pre-made stuff, and though good to look at and eat, they are not as elaborate as Lee's meals. The Chili is no exception - canned beans, tomatoes and spice packets are spiffed up with fresh veggies to make a hearty meal in less than 30 minutes.Ingredients -
1 18 oz. can of Red Beans
18 oz. can of Pinto Beans
24 oz can of Tomatoes (chili ready or not)
1 packet of Chili spice (or 1/2 tsp each of powdered oregano, coriander, cumin, cloves and all spice)
2 tsp (or more) of pepper flakes
Fresh Veggies - Chopped onions, Capsicum (I have both yellow and green in this version), garlic and anything else you might want to add :)
Oil and salt to taste
Recipe -
In about 1 Tbsp of oil saute the onions, the capsicum, garlic till the veggies get tender.Then add the beans and tomatoes and little bit of water.
Either add the chili mix according to the directions or add the spice mix. Bring the mixture to boil and turn down the heat and let it simmer for 15- 20 min.
I actually like to eat the chili after it is a day old and all the spices have marinated. I have served it with garlic bread stick here (store bought and warmed in the oven) but I prefer eating it with Corn bread.
