Showing posts with label Easy. Show all posts

Vegetable Souvlaki Rolls

Vegetable Souvlaki Rolls - Greek flavored grilled vegetables and a zingy yogurt sauce, rolled in your favorite bread

How to make vegetable souvlaki recipe, souvlaki gyros, vegetarian souvlaki recipe, vegan souvlaki recipe at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com

I've been MIA for a while, I know. I've been super busy at work doing things I never did UNTIL last week. I was super excited and tired at the same time. I'm used to sitting uber low in my chair at office, getting up only to get a cup of tea or a drink of water (which is a lot of trips). But last week was nothing like that, I got to go to out in the field. So the trips for water and tea were much longer than in office and all that walking around and working from 8am to 7pm kinda got me tired and in no mood to blog.

The little free time I had, I was planning a vacation. It's been 6 months since our amazing last vacation to Cambodia and I'm now ready for more. I'm thinking July, but the weather is kind of deterring me right now. The monsoons will be full swing in India and surroundings, so it has been quite a challenge to pick a destination as of now. I am all open to suggestions, if you have any.

While I don't have a vacation planned, I definitely have a recipe planned for you. I have a wonderful super healthy recipe - Vegetable Souvlaki Rolls that will take you to Greece, at least temporarily. Souvlaki is generally grilled meat with a few vegetables, but I tell you, you are missing nothing when you go all veggies. It is healthy and so quick to make. And so colorful, don't you think so?

I thought about calling it Grilled Vegetable Rolls, but Souvlaki sounded so fancy and the marinade had oregano and Olive Oil, so Souvlaki it was!! The recipe isn't even really a recipe, all you need to do is dice vegetables, the more variety you have, the better. And I would say use all the colors you can get, a bright vibrant dish has more takers. Once you are done dicing, marinate the vegetables in good quality extra virgin olive oil, garlic paste, lime juice, oregano, salt and pepper. Leave it aside for 30 minutes, while you make the yogurt sauce to go with it.

Just whisk together yogurt, salt and pepper. I made the saucy zingy by adding the marinade leftover at the bottom of the bowl after the vegetables were grilled. It made the sauce taste all Greek... Grill the vegetables until they are slightly soft and they develop a char.

You can eat the Vegetable Souvlaki just like this, dip the vegetables in that zingy Yogurt sauce and you have a cool and refreshing meal right there. But I love rolls!! So does Raj. I went all Indian and used Naan bread for the rolls, you can be traditional and use Pita. I upped the healthiness by adding a simple salad of julienne cabbage and coriander leaves. Veggie Power!! Then put the Souvlaki and drizzle the yogurt sauce, roll the bread and your Vegetable Souvlaki Rolls are ready to eat.

If you made this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment here or on Facebook, tag your tweet with @oneteaspoonlife on Twitter and don't forget to tag your photo #oneteaspoonoflife on Instagram. You can also email me at onetspoflife@gmail.com. I'd love to see what you are upto.

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If you liked this, you may also like:

Grilled Cauliflower Summer Bowl - Spicy grilled cauliflower tossed with black rice and a mint coriander oil.
Grilled Eggplant and Coriander Hummus Rolls - Coriander hummus wrapped in grilled eggplant slices.
Instant Paneer Tikka - Paneer marinated in spices and grilled until charred.

Vegetable Souvlaki Rolls

Vegetable Souvlaki rolls are Greek flavored Pita/Naan bread rolls with grilled vegetables and a yogurt sauce.

Recipe Type: Main
Cuisine: Greek
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Yield: Makes 4 Rolls

Ingredients:

For the Vegetable Souvlaki:

1 Zucchini
0.5 Green Pepper / Capsicum
0.5 Yellow Pepper / Capsicum
0.5 Red Pepper / Capsicum
1 small Onion
2 Tbsp extra virgin Olive Oil
1.5 tsp dried Oregano
1 tsp Garlic paste
Juice of half a lime
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

For the Yogurt Sauce:

1 cup thick Yogurt
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
2 Tbsp Marinade

For Assembling the Vegetable Souvlaki Rolls:

Naan bread or Pita bread
1 cup julienne Cabbage
1 Tbsp chopped Coriander leaves
Salt to taste

Method:

To make the Vegetable Souvlaki:

Mix together the extra virgin olive oil, garlic paste, oregano, lime juice, salt and pepper to make the marinade.
Dice the vegetables into chunks and mix them in with the marinade. Keep aside for 15-30 minutes.
If using bamboo skewers, soak them in water until ready to grill to prevent the skewers from burning later.
Skewer the vegetables, mixing and matching as you please.
Heat a grill pan and when hot, place the skewers. You can grill these on charcoal or in the oven too.
Once one side is charred, flip the skewers until the other side is done too.
Remove from heat when done and keep aside.

To make the Yogurt Sauce:

Whisk together the yogurt, salt and pepper.
Spoon in the marinade leftover at the bottom of the bowl after grilling the vegetables, and mix well.

To assemble the Vegetable Souvlaki Rolls:

Heat the naan or pita bread.
Mix together the cabbage and coriander leaves with salt and add some over the bread.
Remove the vegetables from the skewer and place over the cabbage.
Drizzle some yogurt sauce and roll the bread.

Jamun Ice Candy | Jambul Ice Candy | Black Plum Popsicle

SUMMER has arrived!! Cool down with this Summer with this Jamun Ice Candy / Black Plum Popsicle!

Summer isn't SUMMER, until you've had a brain freeze from all those ice candies. I had a few ones with this Jamun Ice Candy already, not enough though. But hey, summer has just begun. I'm looking at my calendar as I write this and I realise Summer has not "just begun", we are already mid way through it. One more week to go and we are officially mid way in Mango Season. Now that I think, I've barely had mangoes this season. Need to rectify that immediately!!

Anyway back to ice candies. I'm sure all of us have fond memories of buying Rs.1 ice candies from the street vendors who came about pushing their little carts when we were kids, waaaay back in the 80s and 90s (I feel old now :( ). Fun days!! For me summer as a kid meant all play and no work, pigging out on Mangoes, climbing trees to pluck out Guavas, eating loads of ice candies and dreading that report card that was sent home somewhere around this time in April. And of course Rasna!! That concentrated sweet drink that pretty much every house hold made together at the start of summer. I know lots of kids who made ice candies by freezing Rasna in bowls. Each of us had our very own favorite Rasna flavor, I personally loved the Mango. I think I can eat anything that is mango flavored.

Hey, I've been talking of a complete different fruit here. This post is not about Mangoes, not even close to Mangoes. If mangoes is what you are looking for today, you may want to check out these recipes.

Today is all about that purple king of fruits - Jamun or Jambul. While the Mango was termed the king, this extremely healthy wild fruit was very much ignored. Nobody ever spent money to buy them, they were plucked from trees when we all went to our native places and ancestral houses for the summer. The fun part of eating Jamun has always been the purple stain it leaves on your tongue when you eat them. We always had a competition to see whose was the darkest (gross, right?, eh, what can I say, we were kids). It took a long time for people to realise the health benefits of Jamun -the most popular one being the role it plays in controlling diabetes. This increased popularity in recent times has brought the fruit to markets, albeit at an expensive price.

Apart from the health benefits and the purple tongues, there is another reason why I decided to start my ice candy season with a Jamun Ice Candy - it is not commercially available!! There is no popular ice cream brand that actually sells a Jamun Ice Candy, the only place I've ever eaten one is at a small home ice cream parlor in Karkala. I loved it so much, that this season I decided to make them.

Making Ice Candies is a child's play. Literally!! All you need to do is mix sugar, water and the fruit. I blended a part of the fruit into a puree - this is what gives that nice purple color, and I chopped the remaining into small pieces roughly. If you have moulds to make ice candies, then pour the liquid into them and place the wooden stick in the center. But if you (like me) do not have a mould, then just use any small steel glass or paper cups or even ice cube trays to make the ice candies. To get the stick to stand vertically right in the center, just cover the glass with aluminium foil or with plastic cling wrap and in the center of that make a small slit. Insert the stick in the small slit all the way through.

Freeze until completely solid and enjoy your brain freeze.

If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family!

If you liked this, you may also like:

Tender Coconut Ice Cream - 4 ingredient eggless Ice Cream made with Tender Coconuts.
Maavina Hannu Seekarne - Aamras or flavored Mango pulp is a popular Summer dessert.
No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake - This no bake Strawberry Cheesecake is egg and gelatin free.

Jamun Ice Candy | Jambul Ice Candy | Black Plum Popsicle

Jamun Ice Candy | Jambul Ice Candy | Black Plum Popsicle is a 3 ingredient frozen fruit dessert made with jamun (jambul) or black plums.

Recipe Type: Dessert
Cuisine: Indian
Total Time: 3-4 Hours
Yield: Makes 7-8 ice candies

Ingredients:

250 gms Jamun / Jambul / Black Plum
6 cups Water
5-6 Tbsp Sugar

Method:

Deseed all the jamuns.
Keep aside a quarter of the jamuns, and blend the rest with a little water until smooth.
Roughly chop the jamuns that were kept aside and add it to the puree.
Add water to the puree.
Add sugar by the spoonful. Stir until sugar dissolves.
Depending on the sweetness or sourness of the jamuns, the quantity of sugar required may vary.
Pour the ice candy mix into the moulds. Place the ice candy stick in the center. Freeze for 3-4 hours or until frozen completely.
If you do not have a popsicle or ice candy or a kulfi mould, you can freeze the ice candy in steel glasses or paper cups. Cover the glass with aluminium foil or plastic wrap. Make a small slit in the center and push the ice candy stick through it.
To remove the ice candy or popsicle, just run the mould or the glass under water.

Grilled Cauliflower Summer Bowl

Summer in a bowl - Spicy grilled Cauliflower, chewy Black Rice, fresh vibrant summer salad all tossed with a mint coriander oil. What are you waiting for? Dig in!!

How to make grilled cauliflower recipe, spicy grilled cauliflower recipe, roasted cauliflower recipe, how to make black rice recipe, summer recipes, one bowl recipes at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com

I love one bowl meals, so convenient. You spoon all that you want in one large bowl and then you mix together all the bits and pieces as you eat. Bowl meals are popular in so many cultures - Asians have bibimbaps and a variety of other bowl meals (I'm not sure what they are really called), there are Mexican Rice Bowls - I really really love this, I can never have enough of it. And I'm sure there are thousands more that I've never even heard of. What's your favorite bowl meal?

So while Summer hit its high notes, the weather had mercy and a few drops of rain in patches brought down the temperature a few degrees. Yay! Now I at least don't drag my feet to the kitchen. It was beginning to get so hot that I had almost wanted to give up cooking. Standing in front of a hot stove when the air around you is so hot, was definitely more unappetizing than take away food.

Being a food blogger, I cannot "not" cook food. What will I write about? Life of a food blogger, especially a part time one like me is not at all rosy. Full time office job that pays me a salary takes up all of my day and a good part of my evenings and nights. I'm either travelling or in meetings or on a call. It's not that I hate it, in fact I enjoy a lot of it, but all that leaves me with very little time for cooking. So most of my kitchen experiments or as I call it "Delicious Exotic Cooking" happens only on the weekends. Weekdays are for simple non spicy dinners like this Tendle Bibbe Upkari with chapati.

Today was a relaxing Saturday. I had planned to not cook anything. Breakfast was at Gee's place where she made this awesome Sabudana Khichdi. And when Sabudana Khichdi is there, I always over-eat. So we were in no mood for a regular heavy lunch. Binged watched movies on TV all day. All that lazing is doing wonders for me!! I finally feel like cooking.

But today we were in no mood for regular heavy spicy weekend lunch. We both wanted something fresh yet filling. Not so sure if he wanted filling, but I definitely am not cooking any snacks with evening tea, so lunch had to keep us full till dinner. So presenting, my Saturday kitchen experiment, *drum rolls* - Grilled Cauliflower Summer Bowl!!

This Grilled Cauliflower Summer Bowl has 4 main components - the spicy grilled cauliflower ( of course), black rice (I told you I cook exotic food), mint coriander oil (ah! so easy) and a fresh summer salad (so refreshing).

Start by making the mint coriander oil. It is the simplest part of the entire bowl, but also the thing that ties it all together. The mint and coriander need time to infuse into the oil. So I'd start with this.

Then comes the black rice. Why black rice, you ask? Because I had it!! You can use brown rice or even regular white rice. I loved the play of black and the other colors, plus I had to use the rice, so I used the sexy black rice. Black rice is very similar to traditional brown rice, it needs quite a bit of soaking and it takes time to cook. It also has that bite to it that's generally missing in white rice. Cook the rice you have just the way you want it and it should be good.

The Cauliflower - marinate it with olive oil, red chilli powder, cumin powder, garlic, lime juice, turmeric powder and salt. I love this marinade, and I use it for all sorts of things - Paneer, Tofu, Chickpeas etc. Let the marinade soak in, then grill the cauliflower until it is done. I did mine in the oven.

The salad is just a basic salad of raw vegetables with a light dressing of lime juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. I just mixed together colorful peppers / capsicum to brighten up the whole dish. Use whatever you feel like adding to the salad.

Finally just spoon everything in a bowl and enjoy!! I preferred eating it at room temperature as it was a warm day. You can serve it at any temperature you like.

If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family!

If you liked this, you may also like:

Grilled Cauliflower Summer Bowl

Grilled Cauliflower Summer Bowl is a fresh summer bowl made with spicy grilled cauliflower, a fresh salad, black rice tossed with a refreshing mint coriander oil.

Recipe Type: Main
Cuisine: International
Prep Time: 60 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Yield: Serves 2

Ingredients:

For the Grilled Cauliflower:

2 cups Cauliflower Florets
1.5 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
0.5 tsp Turmeric Powder
1.5 tsp Cumin Powder
1 tsp Garlic paste
1 tsp Lime Juice
Salt to taste

For the Summer Salad:

1 Cucumber
1 small Onion
1 large Tomato
1/2 cup diced Capsicum (mixed colors)
1.5 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Lime Juice
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

For the Mint Coriander Oil:

2 tbsp finely chopped Coriander leaves
2 tbsp finely chopped Mint leaves
3-4 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 tsp Sugar
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

For the Black Rice:

1 cup Black Rice
2 cups Water
1/2 tsp Salt

Method:

To make the Mint Coriander Oil:

Mix together all the ingredients and keep aside until assembling.

To make the Black Rice:

Wash and drain the black rice.
Add water until covered and soak for 1 hour.
Drain the water.
Pressure cook the rice with 2 cups of water and salt until done but not mushy. You can cook it in a deep pot as well. Black rice takes longer to cook just like brown rice.
Fluff the rice with a fork and keep aside.

To make the Grilled Cauliflower:

Mix together all the ingredients except the cauliflower to make a marinade.
Add in the cauliflower and rub the marinade. Keep aside for half hour.
Lay out on a baking sheet and grill in the oven for 12-15 minutes until the cauliflower is done.

To make the Summer Salad:

Roughly dice the cucumber, onion and tomato.
Add the lime juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix well.

To Assemble the Summer Bowl:

Spoon the rice equally into bowls. Pour the mint coriander oil over the rice.
Place the roasted cauliflower and the salad over the rice.
Serve at room temperature or warm.

Tendle Bibbe Upkari

Fresh tender Cashew Nuts!!! This Konkani new year dish lets you enjoy the creamy tender nuts in a mild fry with ivy gourds and potatoes.

Konkani Recipes, how to make bibbe upkari recipe, how to cook tender cashew nuts, how to make tondekayee palya with cashew nuts recipe at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com

Fresh Cashew Nuts!! I cannot believe I was oblivious to their existence. Being Goan, my love for cashew nuts is obvious. But until today, all I had was dried cashew nuts, sometimes salted, mostly plain, sometimes flavored and once or twice, I have mustered courage to eat the fruit that causes throats to itch. Somehow, I totally missed getting on the fresh tender cashew nuts wagon, until now, of course. My friend Vindhya of A Million Morsels, introduced me to this tender creamy crunchy delicacy.

So when Raj went to Karkala for an extended vacation for Ugadi (Hindu New Year), he got me these tender cashew nuts or bibbo/ bibbe. They are sold in packets of 50 or 100 and are very seasonal. They are usually sold around Ugadi as this Tendle Bibbe Upkari is a specialty for Ugadi in a Konkani household. If you cannot find tender cashew nuts, you can replace them with dried cashew nuts that have been soaked in water overnight or for 4-5 hours until they are nice and soft.

Upkari is a simple palya or a dry vegetable curry. It is also super healthy, low on oil, high on seasonal ingredients, barely any spices. It is a refreshing fresh dish fit for Summer.

Tendle or Tendli / Tondekayee or Ivy gourds is the fruit of a creeper. Tastes best when harvested when they are raw and tender and green. As they ripen, they become red and soft. Ripe tendle can be used to make Tondekayee Chutney. My luck shined when Raj got me home grown fresh tendle from Karkala. I am a big fan of anything home grown and organic. The tendle he got me were so tender and cooked so quickly. They were delicate and crisp, just the way I love them.

Potatoes, you can add them or you can leave them. Sometimes, if one cannot find tender cashews or not enough of them, the quantity of the upkari is increased by adding more potato. I put them in as everyone loves potatoes.

Coconut, another homegrown ingredient in my cooking. I feel so lucky to get homegrown coconut. I don't grow them in Bangalore, but every time someone comes from Karkala, my mother in law makes it a point to send me coconuts grown at home. They are huge, sweet and juicy.. YUM!! The coconut here is much more than just a garnish, it is almost the heart of the dish that brings everything together.

This Tendle Bibbe Upkari has very little in the way of spices, just mustard seeds, urad dal and red chillies with a sprig of curry leaves. It uses very little oil, it is mostly cooked in water. As I said, it is very healthy. Tendle Bibbe Upkari is eaten as a side along with rice and dal or with chapati.

If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family!

If you liked this, you may also like:

Tondekayee Chutney - Chutney made from ripe ivy gourds or tendle and coconut.
Saasav - Ripe mango curry from the Konkan coast.
Banana Blossom and White Peas Curry - Dry curry made with banana flower and dried white peas.

Tendle Bibbe Upkari

Tendle Bibbe Upkari is a Konkani vegatable dish made with fresh tender cashew nuts, tendle or ivy gourd and potatoes. It is usually made during Ugadi.

Recipe Type: Side
Cuisine: Mangalore
Prep Time: 1 Hour
Cook time: 40 minutes
Yield: Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

20-25 Tendle (Tondekayee or Ivy Gourd)
1 cup Bibbe or tender Cashew Nuts
1-2 Potatoes
3 tsp Oil
1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds
1/2 tsp Urad Dal
3-4 dry Red Chillies
2 Tbsp grated fresh Coconut
8-10 Curry leaves
Water as required
Salt to taste

Method:

Boil 2 cups of water. Remove from heat once it comes to a rolling boil.
Soak the cashew nuts (bibbe) in the hot water for 1 hour. This will help loosen the skin.
Peel the thin brown skin of the tender cashew nuts.
Wash the cashew nuts thoroughly and split them into halves.
Cut the tips of the tendle and slice it into thin slices.
Peel the potato and slice them to the same size as the tendle
Heat oil in a kadhai and add the mustard seeds.
Once the mustard seeds splutter, add the urad dal, curry leaves and the dry red chillies.
Fry until the urad dal changes colour.
Add the sliced tendle and 0.5 cup of water.
Cover and cook until the tendle are half done.
Add the sliced potato and the tender cashew nuts.
Cover and cook until the potato and tendle are done.
Add salt and mix well.
Garnish with grated coconut.
Serve hot with chapati.

Bircher Muesli | Overnight Oats

When temperature soars, a cold breakfast is welcome. This Bircher Muesli or Overnight Oats made with rolled oats, apple juice and yogurt is exactly what a cold breakfast should taste like...

How to make overnight oats, overnight oats recipe, bircher muesli with apple juice recipe, how to make bircher muesli with apple juice, rolled oats recipe, how to make rolled oats, cold breakfast recipe at www.oneateaspoonoflife.com

I'll be completely honest, I was never one for a cold breakfast. Hot hot breakfast is what I am used to, and sometimes, I'll satisfy myself with food that is at room temperature. But chilled, just out of the fridge was something that never tempted me. Those rare times I eat cereal, I eat it with warm milk. But a couple of years ago when I went for a training to Hyderabad and was served cold Muesli in the buffet breakfast, I may have just converted a little bit. I still cannot eat cold breakfast every single day but when temperatures soar the way they have begun soaring, a cold breakfast is a relief!!

The first weekend I was back from the training, all I wanted to try was this Bircher Muesli... I couldn't wait to go out and buy rolled oats. I did go out, only to realize that the market is flooded with quick cooking oatmeal but there was no rolled oats anywhere. Gourmet super markets carried imported brands but they were super expensive. Finally, I tried making the muesli with oatmeal. While the taste was spot on, the texture really wasn't. Soaking oatmeal overnight gives it this pasty soft texture that is a total turn off. So if you really do make it with oatmeal, I highly recommend a shorted soaking time, maybe 2-3 hours.

Then I found this super affordable brand of Rolled Oats here. And luckily for me, just last week I found it stocked in an Organic store in Bangalore. Bircher Muesli it had to be.

This Bircher Muesli is till date the ONLY cold breakfast I eat. This muesli is all apple-y and yogurt-y, a flavor combination that tastes fresh and warm while being cold, um huh, you understand? If you are not a yogurt person, just replace it with milk and if you are looking for a vegan option, Almond milk goes great, but for me, it has to be fresh slightly sour yogurt.

This is a simple, no-cook recipe. But then, simple food always tastes the best, doesn't it?

To make this Bircher Muesli, soak the oats overnight in apple juice. In the morning add yogurt, lots of chopped nuts and lots and lots of chopped fruits. Sugar or honey for sweetness. Now this is something you can add or skip and it won't change the taste one bit - Basil Seeds. Basil seeds are the same family as Chia but are much more economical to purchase. They swell up when soaked in water just like chia seeds. You may know them as Falooda Seeds or Sabze ka beej. I soaked a few tablespoons of it in a cup of water and allowed it to swell while I cut fruits and chopped nuts. Once they had swelled up, I added them to the muesli.

Use this recipe as a guide to make your perfect Bircher Muesli or Overnight Oats. I added fruits that my family loves and what are in season here - Apples, Pears, Bananas and Pomegranate (of course, pomegranate). You can use whatever you have. I'm a total "nut" case too, so I always have a variety of nuts and dry fruit stocked up to snack on. Use what is locally available to you.

If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family!

Bircher Muesli | Overnight Oats

Bircher Muesli or Overnight Oats is a cold breakfast made by soaking rolled oats in apple juice overnight and adding yogurt, nuts and fruits in the morning.

Recipe Type: Breakfast
Cuisine: International
Total Time: 20 minutes (excludes soaking time)
Yield: Serves 5-6

Ingredients:

2 cups Rolled Oats
2 Tbsp Basil Seeds
400 ml Apple Juice
3-4 Tbsp chopped Nuts (Almonds, Pistachios, Walnuts)
4 cups whisked Yogurt
3 Apples
2 Bananas
1 Pear
1/2 cup Pomegranate seeds
1 cup Water
Powdered sugar to taste

Method:

Soak the rolled oats in apple juice overnight.
In the morning, peel and grate 2 apples and add to the oats.
Add whisked yogurt and powdered sugar to taste.
Soak the basil seeds in 1 cup of water and allow them to swell up and then add to the muesli.
Top with chopped fruits and nuts and serve.

Coriander Chutney Sandwich

Picnics, Trips, Breakfast, Lunch - Eat this Coriander Chutney Sandwich anytime you want! Making it is child's play and it makes a great travel companion...

How to make chutney sandwich recipe, coriander chutney recipe, vegan sandwich, easy sandwich recipe

I was almost embarrassed to blog about this Coriander Chutney Sandwich. This is one of the simplest, basic recipe I have ever blogged about. I have been arguing with myself - should I or shouldn't I, for weeks now. Finally, the "should I" won. Winning arguments - I love simple recipes, and I'm sure so do you folks. No dish is too basic when it has all the right flavors. Flavor triumphs everything else

And there was also the fact, that this has been a favorite family Picnic meal forever. Literally, forever, as long as I can remember!! We don't go on picnics anymore, although I think we totally should. But in my head, you can only go for picnic to the beach. You can remove the girl from Goa, but not the Goa from the girl !! I miss that deep blue sea, the white sand and the shade of coconut trees under which we spread our bedsheets and picniced. While all my cousins and Gee swam without fear of the big bad ocean, I safely sat on the shore and built sand castles. They may think they enjoyed more, but I was closer to the food. Ha!!

I like Bangalore, but my only complain is it is only flanked by land on all sides, no beaches in site anywhere, the closest one is at least 400kms away. I can go to the gardens, but let's face it a garden is no beach and once you have tasted the sea, there is just no satisfying the soul with anything else!! So no picnics in sight anywhere, but we do take a lot of road trips. Not as many as I would like off late, but hey, something is better than nothing. And our little triangular Chutney Sandwich still accompanies us on these road trips along with bags of chips and bottles of soft drinks and chocolates. Of course chocolates!!!

Sometimes this Coriander Chutney Sandwich becomes my Saturday breakfast. I make the Coriander Chutney at night and store it in the fridge, so Saturday breakfast is a breeze. No one has to wait for me to wake up and make breakfast - slapping on some butter and chutney onto 2 slices of bread is definitely child's play. So I get to sleep in. And I myself don't need to worry about "what to cook for breakfast", the most tiresome question I ask myself most days.

This Coriander Chutney is made by blending / grinding together fresh grated coconut, fresh coriander leaves, green chillies for the heat, tamarind for sourness and salt with a little bit of water. A regular coconut chutney that is eaten with Dosa or Idli usually has a lot more of coconut than coriander, but here the quantity of coriander is far more than the coconut. The coconut is there just to add body to the chutney and perhaps, a little sweetness, but otherwise the Coriander steals the show. Add a little mint and sugar to make this chutney extra special.

This is one of "those" recipes which does not follow a recipe. Just take the quantity of the ingredients below as a guideline and change it to suit your palate. There is no right or wrong in making a chutney. The only thing I'd be cautious about is the quantity of water, start small and increase as you go. A watery chutney will lead to a soggy sandwich and no one likes a soggy sandwich, am I right? Except Gee, of course, how can sibling ever agree on anything, I wonder!!!

If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family!

If you liked this, you may also like:

Beetroot and Cauliflower Burger - Burger made from beetroots and cauliflower served with an eggless mayo.
Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich - Sandwich inspired by the Panera Bread sandwich of the same name.
Breakfast Bruschetta Duo - Two bruschettas, one topped with avocado and olives and other with tomato and onions.
Grilled Paneer Sandwich - Sandwich made with rye bread and grilled marinated paneer along with a home-made tartar sauce and lettuce.

Coriander Chutney Sandwich

Coriander Chutney Sandwich is made using a simple coconut and coriander chutney, bread and butter.

Recipe Type: Sandwich
Cuisine: Indian
Total Time: 15 minutes
Yield: Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

For the Coriander Chutney:

1/2 cup freshly grated Coconut
1.5 cups loosely packed Coriander leaves
1/2 tsp Tamarind pulp
1-2 Green Chillies
2-3 Tbsp Water
1/4 tsp Sugar
Salt to taste

To assemble the Sandwich:

Bread
Butter

Method:

Grind/ blend together all the ingredients to get a smooth chutney.
Add the water by the spoonful to get a thick chutney. Do not add all the water in the beginning, the coriander and coconut will leave their own juices and the chutney may end up being runny.
Spread one slice of bread with butter and the other with the coriander chutney.
Stick the 2 slices together and cut into triangles to make Coriander Chutney Sandwich.

Roasted Masala Makhana (Phool Makhana / Foxnuts)

Mid Week Munchies!! Looking for a healthy vegan crispy spicy snack to get through the day? You have GOT TO try these Roasted Masala Makhana!!

Masala roasted phool makhana recipe, how to roast makhana recipe, how to make makhana, roasted foxnuts recipe, how to cook lotus seeds recipe at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com One Teaspoon Of Life

I almost thought summer was here and I'd started taking suggestions for summer recipes, you know those iced drinks that give you a brain freeze or those fresh salads etc. You get the idea. And then it started to rain. Not that I don't like it when it rains. I cannot say it enough - I love rains. Absolutely love love love (except when I am stuck outside in traffic). I'm a July baby, the month when monsoons are at their peak, so I guess my connection with rain is from birth. The sound of rain on a tin roof can still lull me off to sleep.

There I go rambling, again!! But getting back to the point, rain makes me hungry. Well, at least it makes me want to eat. And I want those tiny bite sized snacks (usually pakoras) or sweets. Basically nothing healthy, get me anything deep fried or loaded on sugar and you are my new best friend.

This time, I did not have ingredients to make pakoras and I was just too lazy to go downstairs with an umbrella to buy pakoras. So ditch-the-deep-fried-snacks time it was.

So I made the next best thing - Roasted Masala Makhana, and it was SOOOOO good!!

I think I must have walked around super markets like 8 million times wondering what those puffy white balls kept on the shelf next to puffed rice was. I'd pick it up planning to find recipes online only to junk it at the billing counter, thinking I'll buy it next time after researching the recipes. But I'm glad my older and wiser sis Gee made me buy it like 2 months ago when we were both shopping. She told me how she had eaten it somewhere and it tasted so good, so crispy etc etc. She used all the right words and there I was finally billing it.

This recipe is adapted from Veg Recipes of India. I love that site and most of all I trust Dassana, the author. I'm yet to find a recipe on her site that has failed me. I love her simple style of writing, all in all she is just awesome.

Makhana or Fox nuts are usually very chewy when packaged. To get them to crisp up, just roast them on really low heat in some oil until they are nice and crisp. Then immediately remove from heat and toss in the salt and spices. That's it. Nothing more! Allow it to cool before storing it in an air tight container.

I would have loved to tell you the shelf life, but in my house, it is very very short. Raj is a snacks magnet and is drawn to any snacks I hide in the kitchen. And since I'm trying really hard to stop buying snacks and biscuits and just make my own munchies, they barely last 2-3 days. I don't mind though as these are very healthy too.

In case you have never had it before, they taste very similar to pop corn but waaay crispier. And you can flavor them as you like. I had thought of chaat masala before I even looked at Dassana's recipe, so I stuck to it. But I've seen mint flavored and caramel flavored makhana in Food Hall and I may be trying to make them next.

If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family!

If you liked this, you may also like:

Savory Puffed Rice / Murmura Chiwda - Crispy snack made by mixing plain puffed rice with peanuts and spices.
Crispy Flat Rice / Poha Chiwda - Poha/Flattened rice deep fried and flavoured with spices and peanuts.

Roasted Masala Makhana (Phool Makhana / Foxnuts )

Roasted Masala Makhana is a vegan snack made by roasting foxnuts and tossing it with spices.

Recipe Type: Snacks
Cuisine: Indian
Prep Time: 0 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Yield: Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

100gms Makhana (Phool Makhana / Foxnuts )
4-5 tsp Oil
1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
1/2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1 tsp Chaat Masala
Salt to taste

Method:

Heat oil in a pan or kadhai.
Add the makhana and roast on low flame for 12-15 minutes until crispy.
Remove from heat and immediately add the turmeric powder, red chilli powder and chaat masala. Mix well.
Add salt to taste. Chaat masala contains salt, so adjust the salt accordingly.
Store in an air tight container when completely cooled.

MIL's Spicy Tomato Curry with fried Bhindi (Okra) [Video]

Spicy Tomato Curry with fried Bhindi / Okra recipe with video instructions. Spicy Tomato Curry is a quick vegan tomato soup that is served with pan fried okra. Spicy Tomato Curry is vegan, gluten free and fits a Jain diet.

In a hurry? Jump to Video or Jump to Recipe

How to make spicy tomato soup recipe at One Teaspoon Of Life www.oneteaspoonoflife.com

They say winter is over. While I love the promise of sunshine all through the day, I miss the chill in the air. Luckily, it is still chilly in the morning, so I'm enjoying the last few days with my jacket until it is stacked in the cupboard for the next 6-7 months until the monsoons bring on some more chill.

Winter may be over, and warm nights back on the calendar, but hey, that really does not stop me from enjoying hot meals. And speaking of hot meals, especially my Mother-in-law's Spicy Tomato Curry. This curry is perfect for winter nights or rainy nights when all you want is a bowl of spicy sour soul warming goodness. But don't let the weather stop you from enjoying something this delicious. Unless you live on the coast in a tropical country in the Northern Hemisphere, you still have a few days of cold nights left, use it to enjoy this Tomato Curry.

While the name suggests curry, this is really a spicy Tomato Soup flavored with cumin, thickened with chickpea flour (gram flour/ besan) and garnished with fried okra (bhindi). Isn't fried okra the BEST? Crispy crunchy salty and we can always pretend it is healthy, after all it is a vegetable. If I haven't convinced you to fry that okra, you can just as well be a health freak and grill it up until it is nice and charred. My mother in law sometimes adds boiled potato cubes to the curry as well, but okra is the family favorite.

This is probably the quickest and absolutely no fuss soup I know to prepare. So no fine chopping, no 100 ingredients, no exotic spices (unless you consider cumin exotic), no hours and hours of simmering. NADA!!! Just 3 main ingredients and barely 40 minutes to prepare. No chopping, just blending.

Making this curry is super simple. I pressure cook the tomatoes whole for 8-10 minutes or 1-2 whistles. Then allow them to cool a little, before peeling them and blending. Meanwhile, fry up your chopped okra or boil the potatoes. Heat oil in a kadhai or pot and add cumin seeds. When they brown, add in the gram flour and saute it well for 1 minute. Then add in the blended tomatoes. Add water if required. Season with salt and red chilli powder and allow it to simmer for 5-8 minutes. If it is too thin, add more gram flour. If it is too thick add water. Too sweet, then add a little tamarind juice or lime juice. Too sour, then you can sweeten it with sugar or jaggery. Just TRUST your taste buds more than anything. I like my curry hot, sour with full flavor of cumin. Add the fried okra or potato just before serving.

Serve it with some crusty bread and dinner is done! You can also serve it with rice, though then I'd recommend you keep it thick.

If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family!

Video Recipe

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Spicy Tomato Curry

Spicy and easy Tomato Curry or Soup made with fresh tomatoes, thickened with gram flour and garnished with crispy fried okra.

Recipe Type: Soup
Cuisine: Indian
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Yield: Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

5-6 large Tomatoes
6 tsp Oil
1 Tbsp Gram Flour (Chickpea Flour / Besan)
1 tsp Cumin seeds (Jeera)
15-20 small Okra (Bhindi)
0.5 tsp Turmeric Powder (Optional)
A handful of Curry leaves
Red Chilli Powder to taste
Salt to taste
Water as required

Method:

1. Pressure cook the tomatoes with 1 cup of water for 1-2 whistles or 8-10 minutes. If cooking in a pan, cook the tomatoes until they are soft. Reserve the water.
2. Peel the tomatoes and leave aside to cool.
3. Chop the end of the okra.
4. Heat 3 tsp oil in a small pan and fry the okra until they are slightly browned and crispy. Keep flipping the okra so that they cook evenly.
5. Once the tomatoes have cooled, blend into a puree with 1 cup of reserved water.
6. Once the tomatoes have cooled, blend into a puree.
7. Heat 3 tsp Oil in a large pan or pot and add the cumin seeds and curry leaves.
8. Once they brown slightly, add the gram flour and saute for 1 minute until the raw smell disappears.
9. Add turmeric powder and red chilli powder.
10. Pour in the blended tomatoes and 1 cup of water. Add salt to taste.
11. Let it come to a boil and then simmer for 5-8 minutes.
12. If the consistency is too thick, add more water. If it is too thin, add a 1 Tbsp gram flour mixed in water.
13. If the curry is too sour, add a little sugar. If the curry is not sour enough add a little tamarind juice or lime juice.
14. Add the crispy okra just before serving.
15. Serve hot with crusty bread or rice.

If you liked this, you may also like:

Corn Tomato Bharta

Tomato Saar

Tomato Gazpacho