BAKED EGGPLANT OR AUBERGINES

Ingredients:

1 medium eggplant or aubergine (halved lengthwise)
2tbsp olive oil
2 large onions sliced thinly
2 cloves of garlic (crushed)
1 bell pepper sliced thinly
4 t0 5 chopped tomatoes (juicy ones) or 1 canned tomatoes
1tbsp sugar
1tsp coriander powder
½ tsp ground black pepper
½ tsp salt
3 tbsp chopped cilantro or parsley

Method:

1.Using a sharp knife slash the eggplant in to half lengthwise.
2.Slightly slash the inner edges of the eggplant diagonally, not too deep.


3.Gently fry the aubergines on a pan with very little oil. Place it in a baked dish.
4.In the same pan fry the onions, garlic and green pepper adding extra oil if needed.
5.Cook for about 10 mins or until the veggies have softened.
6.Add the tomatoes, sugar, coriander powder, salt, black pepper and fry for another 5 to 7 mins until the tomatoes are cooked well.

7.Stir in the cilantro or parsley.
8.Spoon the mixture on top of the aubergines or eggplant and cover with foil paper.

9.Preheat the oven to 350degrees and bake for about 20 mins.
10.When cooked cool them down and then chill.
Serve this cold with crusty bread.

VEGETABLE AND PANEER JALFREIZE

Ingredients
Olive oil 3 Tbsp
Red Onions ½ thinly sliced lengthwise
Bell pepper 1 thinly sliced
String beans 1 Cup diagonally cut
Peas 1 cup (frozen optional)
Tomatoes 2 pureed
Baby corn cut in cubes
Paneer / Cottage cheese ½ pound cut in cubes
Chopped Fresh Cilantro for garnish
1/4 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
1 /8 tsp asafoetida (hing)
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
spring onions greens chopped ½ cup
Tawa Masala powder 2tsp
Turmeric powder ½ tsp
Amchur powder 1tsp
Anardana powder 1tsp
Garam masala ½ tsp
Salt to taste

Method
1. Heat the olive oil in a pan and fry the cubed Paneer pieces until they slightly golden brown on all sides. Keep it aside.
2. Add the cumin seeds and asafetida to the rest of the oil. When they crackle, add the ginger-garlic paste, onions, capsicums and saute for 3 minutes.
3. Add the baby corn, string beans, peas and fry for 5 mins until they are soft. Keep aside
4. In a separate pan add 1tsp of oil and add the tomato puree and the tawa masala powder and turmeric powder, salt and saute on a slow flame for 4 to 5 minutes till the raw smell goes away.
5. Add garam masala, amchur powder and Anardana powder to this gravy and sauté for a while. Add this gravy to the fried veggies.
6. Later add the cubed paneer and spring onions to the above mix and toss lightly.
7. Garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot.

Bell Pepper Bruschetta

INGREDIENTS
• 1 red bell pepper, 1 green bell pepper (sliced thinly)
• garlic paste for spreading
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• Few sprigs basil leaves, chopped. (optional)
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 French bread diagonally sliced
• Grated Mozzarella cheese/ Goat cheese


METHOD
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add peppers, vinegar and cook until peppers are medium soft. Don’t overcook it. Remove from heat. Stir in basil and let mixture cool at room temperature. Preheat oven to 450°F. Place the diagonally cut bread in baking tray and bake the bread until it turns slight brown and crispy on one side of the bread. Remove from the oven once it’s brown in color.
Let it cool for some time and then rub the garlic paste on the other side of the bread which is not brown in color. Place the bell pepper on top of the bread and spread some cheese, salt and pepper and bake in the oven again for about 10 minutes or until it is golden brown in color or until the cheese starts to melt. Serve hot with chilli sauce.
Note: You can use tomato, onions, zucchini, mushrooms etc also as a topping instead of bell pepper.
Makes 30 small bites

FOIL BAKED RICE WITH CURRY

Ingredients: FOR RICE
1 ½ cups uncooked rice
150 gms Paneer or Cottage cheese
1cup boiled peas or frozen peas
¾ tsp ShahJira
2 finely chopped green chilies’
2tbsp Ghee or clarified butter
Salt to Taste
PASTE 1:
4 cloves of Garlic
2tsp khus khus
6 dry red chillies
2tsp Coriander Seeds
½ tsp cumin seeds
3tbsp grated coconut
4 Cardomoms
Little Ginger
Paste 2:
1 Onion
½ Coconut
½ tsp Sugar
2tbsp ghee or clarified butter
Salt to taste

Rice: Each Grain of Rice should be separate after boiling. Cool the rice well. Cut the Paneer pieces in cubes and fry in ghee with shahjira, Green chilies’ and green peas and add salt at the end. Keep it aside.

Paste 2: Chop Onion Finely and grated coconut and add 1 ½ teacups of water and leave it for a while. Blend it a mixie well and strain the coconut water separate.
Heat Ghee in another pan and fry the onions well and add the Paste 1 and fry for a while. Later add the Paste 2 and little coconut water and fry well till the onion smell goes away. Later add the sugar, salt and cook for 10 mins
How to Proceed :
Spread a piece of foil paper in a square baking dish. Put alternate layers of rice and curry, starting with rice first.3 layers of rice and 2 layers of curry.


Cover with another foil sheet and Bake in the oven for 20 mins at 350. Garnish with Fried Cashews and Serve Hot.

Mysore pak

Ingredients:
1 cup gram flour(besan)
1 cup sugar
½ cup water 1 cup ghee
1/2 tsp cardamom powder(optional)
Method:
1. Heat one tsp ghee and add it to the gram flour and mix well. Make sure there are no lumps.

2. Grease a flat plate with ghee or oil before you start making the recipe.
3. In a separate pan fry the flour mixture on medium heat. Keep stirring the flour continuously B’coz the flour might get burnt easily.
4. In another bowl mix the water and sugar and bring it to a boil to make water syrup.
5. Once the flour mixture is slightly brownish in color, add this mixture to the water syrup. And keep stirring it.

6. Now add ghee slowly to the above mixture and keep whisking it continuously. If you stop mixing for a min, you will see the mixture has lots of air in it and when you start mixing again, the air goes off.

7. When the mixture starts leaving the edges of the pan and looks a bit dry, and the ghee starts to separate add cardamom.
8. NOTE: YOU WILL SEE A SLIGHT KIND OF NETTED EFFECT TO THE MYSORE PAK .That means it has come out really well.
9. Once you see the netted effect pour it into the greased plate and flatten immediately.

10. Cut the Mysore Pak in to square shapes once they are ¾ set.
11. Keep it in an air tight container.
My son trying to grab the Mysore pak not for eating....