Soni's Food

Indian Inspiration!

Quinoa Endive Boats

19 | 03 | 2012
By Soni Sinha

As promised some time back I’m promptly back with another Quinoa recipe!This is a salad served in Endive Boats.Absolutely delicious and perfect for today’s gorgeous spring weather.As the weather gets warmer shedding those extra pounds off our body is not a bad idea.After all, we’ve got to get into those summery outfits, don’t we?This recipe will not only help you shed those extra pounds but will also do your body A LOT of good!Quinoa as we all know is extremely healthy, low in carbs, full of vitamins and minerals, a light and nutritious meal that is good and good for you.

quinoa endive boats

This salad has a range of flavors and looks very elegant.Ideal served as your lunch or as a salad for a party.The contrasting textures from the crunchy Endive and Cucumber and the soft and creamy Avocados and Quinoa itself makes for a very interesting mix.The Balsamic dressing and the Raisins add the sweet and acidic hit to the salad.Overall a winner 🙂

Quinoa Endive Boat Salad

Print this Recipe

Salad Ingredients:
Quinoa-1 1/2 cup cooked 
Cucumber-1 cup cubed
Large Avocado-1 cubed
Raisins-1/2 cup
Endives-2 heads (makes about 20)

Balsamic Dressing:
Balsamic Vinegar-1 tbsp
Honey-1 tsp
Salt-1 tsp or to taste
Pepper-1 tsp
Olive Oil-2 tbsp

Process:
Cook the Quinoa according to the instructions.Keep aside.
Cut the bottoms of the Endive heads (about 1/4inch).Separate the leaves and arrange on a platter.
Whisk the dressing together.
Mix all the salad ingredients and drizzle the dressing all over.Toss the salad.Take a spoonful and fill the Endive Boats with the salad.Serve chilled!

March is #Greenslove month and I’m glad to be co-hosting this bloghop with these fabulous blogger friends.Please make sure to check out their blogs while you’re here!
Al Dente Gourmet ~ Aldy ~ @AlDenteGourmet
ASTIG Vegan ~ Richgail ~  @astigvegan
Badger Girl Learns to Cook ~ Kimberly ~ @BdgrGrl
Baking and Cooking, A Tale of Two Loves ~ Becky Higgins
BigFatBaker ~ Erin ~ @BigFatBaker
Bon a croquer ~ Valerie ~ @Valouth
CafeTerraBlog ~ Terra ~ @CafeTerraBlog
Cake Duchess ~ Lora ~ @cakeduchess
Cheap Ethnic Eatz ~ Evelyne ~ @cethniceatz
Easily Good Eats ~ Three Cookies
Georgiecakes ~ Georgie ~ @georgiecakes
Kitchen Belleicious ~ Jessica ~ @kbelleicious
Mis Pensamientos ~ Junia ~ @juniakk
My Twisted Recipe ~ Dudot ~ @mytwistedrecipe  
No One Likes Crumbley Cookies ~ TR ~ @TRCrumbley
Oh Cake ~ Jessica ~ @jesshose
Queen’s Notebook ~ Elizabeth ~ @Mango_Queen  
Rico sin Azucar ~ Helena ~ @ricosinazucar
Savoring Every Bite ~ Linda ~ @Spicegirlfla
Simply Reem ~ Reem ~ @simplyreem
Soni’s Food for Thought ~ Soni ~ @sonisfood 
Sprint 2 the Table ~ Laura ~ @Sprint2theTable
Teaspoon of Spice ~ Deanna ~ @tspbasil 
That Skinny Chick Can Bake ~ Liz ~ @Thatskinnychick
The Art of Cooking Real Food ~ Laura ~@TAofCRF
The Spicy RD ~ EA ~ @thespicyrd 
The Wimpy Vegetarian ~ Susan ~ @wimpyvegetarian
Vegan Yack Attack! ~ Jackie ~ @veganyackattack
Vegetarian Mamma  ~ Cindy ~ @VegetarianMamma

 

Paneer Jalfrezi (Indian style Paneer/Pepper Stir Fry)

13 | 03 | 2012
By Soni Sinha

Isn’t the weather absolutely gorgeous?Spring is finally in the air and I’m so looking forward to kids playing outside, my beautiful morning walks (that I’ve ignored for a long time), lots of outdoorsy activities with the family!Glorious days ahead,with the dazzling rays of the sun exposing itself through the windows into your rooms, aah the feeling of being warmed!

My recipe for today promises to do that too.That feeling of warming-up to an unmatched aroma of a medley of spices and flavors that sing a soft tune, a tune of deliciousness!

What are the ingredients, you ask?Well, Paneer with colored peppers stir-fried using curried spices.It can range from mild to hot and very hot depending on your taste.Its very tasty and a quick way of making dishes Indian style without having to spend a long time, which makes for a perfect weeknight meal!Also good for potlucks and gatherings;

  • as an appetizer alongside a crusty bread
  • as a filling inside a tortilla 
  • as a filling inside a puff pastry
  • can aslo be served as a main dish



Paneer Jalfrezi (Indian style Paneer/Pepper Stir Fry)
Print this Recipe


Ingredients:
Paneer-400 gms (easily available at your Indian Grocer’s)
Onions-1 large sliced
Green peppers-1 medium sliced
Red Peppers-1 medium sliced
Ginger-garlic paste-1 tbsp
Tomato puree-1 cup
Ground Cumin-2 tsp
Ground Coriander-2 tsp
Garam masala-1 tsp
Red chilli powder-1 tsp
Green Chillies-2 chopped
Oil- 3 tbsp
Salt- to taste


Process:


In a wok heat oil and add the onions.Add the green chillies.Fry for about 2 mins and add ginger-garlic paste.Fry for a minute.Add cumin, coriander , garam masala and red chilli powders.Cook for another minute and add the peppers and the paneer.Add salt and cook for about 5 minutes, until the peppers are shiny and paneer is soft enough.Add the tomato puree and cook for another 2 minutes.Check the seasonings and garnish with coriander.Serve hot with naans, rotis or parathas.

 

My friend Sonali from Only Fish Recipes has awarded me the Versatile Blogger Award!Thanks so much Sonali!She has an amazing collection of fish recipes that will make you drool!!Please visit her blog to check out her fish recipes!

I will nominate other bloggers in my next post!

Also linking this entry to #Indianfoodpalooza a wonderful celebration of Indian Food hosted by Indian Simmer,Creative Culinary and The Colors of Indian Cooking !!!Please join in the fun event if you have made and posted an Indian dish from 1st-31st of March.There are prizes to be won!!

Rice Flour Pua-Indian style pancakes with Banana and Fennel #Glutenfree

08 | 03 | 2012
By Soni Sinha

Today is the festival of Holi the festival of colors,celebrated all over India.Apart from the mythological story behind Holi of the triumph of good over evil, it is also celebrated to bid farewell to the winter and to welcome the beginning of the new season, spring.Its one of the most exhilarating holidays, that is full of fun, mischief and can get really really wild.If you’re in India during this time it will be hard to recognize anybody because all you’ll see is the colored faces of people everywhere 🙂

pua

And with all the fun, excitement of a holiday comes good food :)I remember gorging on multifarious varieties of food during Holi and they included many sweet and savory items like Pua,Mutton Curry,Puris,Dahi Wada, Kachoris etc etc..and its a long long list!

Of course, I cannot create the entire menu by myself here, but there is one thing I definitely look forward to making on Holi and that’s this Pua, a kind of Indian Pancake made with Bananas and Fennel.Pua can be of two types

  • Pua with All Purpose Flour,milk, sugar, bananas,fennel and cashews mixed into a batter and deep fried
  • Malpua that is made with the similar ingredients except the Banana and Fennel, but is then immersed in a sugar syrup after its deep fried~Best served with Rabri!

pua4

My mom always makes the first kind,the kind I try to make every Holi. But this time, I totally forgot to add All Purpose flour (originally required for this recipe) to my grocery list and had to look for options instead.I looked in my pantry and the only flour I could see was Rice Flour.What a Bummer!I could not go out to get it because I was expecting somebody to come fix something in my house, lets not even get into that (sigh!).I was determined to make my Pua, and due to the lack of options, I used Rice Flour instead.For some reason I could not deep fry since it was sticking to the bottom, so I tried pan-frying in a non-stick pan instead. They came out delicious!These are so good, that you could eat them for breakfast, snack or dessert.The flavors of banana with the fennel seed is pure magic and the cashews add that extra deliciousness.

Rice Flour Pua-Indian style pancakes with Banana and Fennel #Gluten free#Veg

Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • Rice Flour or All Purpose Flour-1 cup makes about 8-9 Pua's
  • Milk-2 cups for rice flour or 1 cup for AP Flour enough to make a semi-thick droppable consistency
  • Banana-1 mashed
  • Fennel seeds-1 tbsp
  • Sugar-1/2 cup
  • Cashew chopped-1/2 cup
  • Oil- to panfry

Instructions
 

If using Rice Flour

  • Mix all the ingredients to form a smooth batter.
  • You can add a little more milk if the batter is too thick.
  • Heat oil in a non-stick pan.Take a small ladle and spoon the batter onto the pan, in batches.
  • Flip the Pua's once you notice air bubbles on one side.Cook the other side until done.

If using AP Flour

  • Heat some oil in a deep pan.
  • Drop a ladle of the AP batter into it.
  • Once its fluffs up, flip it over until the other side is light golden in color.
  • Drain out excess oil and continue in batches.Enjoy!!

 

Spinach, Artichoke and Mozzarella Koftas -Greens Bloghop

03 | 03 | 2012
By Soni Sinha

For our Greens Bloghop, I thought of taking something very traditional and giving it a little makeover by using some unique ingredients not that commonly used in Indian cooking.Koftas (meaning meatballs)came to mind, a dish that has so many variations in so many different countries.Originated in Persia, Koftas were originally made of minced lamb or beef, but gradually starting gaining popularity in other countries all across the Middle East,Africa, Asia and Europe.In India Koftas made way into both vegetarian and non-vegetarian households with many versions that have became equally popular.The vegetarian koftas are usually made of Paneer,Potato,Lauki(Bottle gourd-from the squash family),Cabbage,Jackfruit etc..but I’ve come up with a fusion dish that will transport you into the exotic culinary world of rich, saporous food from the East!

Smooth and luscious, these koftas are a pure delight and will have you craving for more and more!I made my Koftas using Spinach, Mozzarella and Artichoke.We all know that spinach,artichoke and cheese complement each other very well, so when I thought of spinach for the koftas the other two almost naturally followed.These are served in a mildly spiced, slightly sweet and creamy tomato gravy!Best part is, they’re easy to make and great for entertaining since you can make them ahead of time and just heat them up when its time to serve.


You prepare the balls and gravy separately and plate them together at the last minute.Traditionally Indian koftas are made using ghee, butter and cream.I’ve made them skinny by using Greek Yoghurt and a tbsp of butter at the end to finish off the dish.Good and good for you~

Indian Spinach,Artichoke & Mozzarella Koftas

Print this Recipe

Ingredients:

For the koftas:
1 standard size pack of frozen spinach or 2 packs of fresh spinach(I’ve used frozen spinach here)-makes about 10-11 koftas
1 medium sized ball of fresh mozzarella cheese-grated
Small jar of Artichokes(6oz)-crushed by hand
Ginger-1/2 inch crushed
Besan or chickpea flour-1 tbsp (you could also substitute cornstarch)
Ground Cumin-1 tsp
Ground Coriander-1 tsp
Salt-1/2 tsp
Cornstarch for rolling
Oil- for frying

For the tomato gravy:
Fresh tomato puree or Canned crushed tomato -2 cups
Cardamom (whole)-2
Cloves-2
Ginger Garlic paste-1 tbsp
Ground Cumin-1 tsp
Ground Coriander-1 tsp
Garam Masala-1 tsp
Red Chilli powder-1 tsp or to your taste
Kasoori methi-1 tsp crushed by hand (easily available at Indian grocer’s)
Honey or sugar-1 tbsp
Water-1 cup
Salt-to taste
Oil-2 tbsp
Butter-1 tbsp
Greek Yoghurt-1 tbsp

Process:
Koftas

  • Boil the fresh spinach for about 2 mins and drain.Squeeze out all the liquid once its cool.If using frozen, microwave the spinach for about 2 mins and squeeze out any liquid.
  • Grate the mozzarella. 
  • Squeeze the liquid out from the artichoke and crush them roughly with your hands.
In a deep vessel mix all the kofta ingredients except oil and cornstarch.Take a small amount into your hands and roll them into balls.Roll these into the cornstarch and either deep fry or shallow fry on medium high till they are golden.

Tomato Gravy
In a separate skillet, heat oil and add the Cardamom and Cloves.Add the ginger garlic paste and stir for a minute.Add the tomato puree and the spices.Add some salt and cook on medium high until you see oil around the edges (About 5-6 minutes).Discard the cardamom and cloves now.Add the honey or sugar.Add some water and bring to a boil.Reduce and cook until it reaches a nice consistency and add the butter.Mix and turn off the heat.Add the kasoori methi.Move the pan away from the burner and add the greek yoghurt.Mix gently.Your gravy is ready.
Keep them separately until ready to serve.If you mix them the koftas might break apart.When ready to serve, arrange the koftas on top of the gravy or mix it gently into the gravy and serve hot with Naans,Pitas, Rotis or even rice!Enjoy!

 


Please join in the Greenslove fun by linking any leafy green recipe from the month of March.I’m co-hosting this bloghop with these amazing blogger friends.Please visit their gorgeous creations while you’re here!

Al Dente Gourmet ~ Aldy ~ @AlDenteGourmet
ASTIG Vegan ~ Richgail ~  @astigvegan
Badger Girl Learns to Cook ~ Kimberly ~ @BdgrGrl
Baking and Cooking, A Tale of Two Loves ~ Becky Higgins
BigFatBaker ~ Erin ~ @BigFatBaker
Bon a croquer ~ Valerie ~ @Valouth
CafeTerraBlog ~ Terra ~ @CafeTerraBlog
Cake Duchess ~ Lora ~ @cakeduchess
Cheap Ethnic Eatz ~ Evelyne ~ @cethniceatz
Easily Good Eats ~ Three Cookies
Georgiecakes ~ Georgie ~ @georgiecakes
Kitchen Belleicious ~ Jessica ~ @kbelleicious
Mis Pensamientos ~ Junia ~ @juniakk
My Twisted Recipe ~ Dudot ~ @mytwistedrecipe  
No One Likes Crumbley Cookies ~ TR ~ @TRCrumbley
Oh Cake ~ Jessica ~ @jesshose
Queen’s Notebook ~ Elizabeth ~ @Mango_Queen  
Rico sin Azucar ~ Helena ~ @ricosinazucar
Savoring Every Bite ~ Linda ~ @Spicegirlfla
Simply Reem ~ Reem ~ @simplyreem
Soni’s Food for Thought ~ Soni ~ @sonisfood 
Sprint 2 the Table ~ Laura ~ @Sprint2theTable
Teaspoon of Spice ~ Deanna ~ @tspbasil 
That Skinny Chick Can Bake ~ Liz ~ @Thatskinnychick
The Art of Cooking Real Food ~ Laura ~@TAofCRF
The Spicy RD ~ EA ~ @thespicyrd 
The Wimpy Vegetarian ~ Susan ~ @wimpyvegetarian
Vegan Yack Attack! ~ Jackie ~ @veganyackattack
Vegetarian Mamma  ~ Cindy ~ @VegetarianMamma

Also linking this entry to #Indianfoodpalooza a wonderful celebration of Indian Food hosted by Indian Simmer,Creative Culinary and The Colors of Indian Cooking !!!Please join in the fun event if you have made and posted an Indian dish from 1st-31st of March.There are prizes to be won!!


Indian Spiced Quinoa Patties/Cutlets

23 | 02 | 2012
By Soni Sinha

Of late, every other recipe you come across is made using Quinoa the “super grain”, but did you know, its actually a relative of green leafy vegetables like spinach and Swiss Chard?I had never made Quinoa, until the inspiration came at a recent gathering, when a good friend brought the most delicious Quinoa salad with cucumber, onions, avocadoes etc and it just tasted wonderful.I came home and my imagination started running wild with all the things I could do with Quinoa.That’s the beauty of this grain.Its versatile enough to be incorporated in many ways from salads, to pilafs to cutlets and the options are endless.

I wanted to make it with an Indian twist and my first experiment with Quinoa began (I know, it really took this long ;))!The addition of peas was a great idea, since it perfectly balances the nutty flavor of the Quinoa with its sweetness and gives a perfect texture to the cutlets.The spices add that earthy taste and flavor the whole dish.The ginger and garlic is crucial for that smoky deliciousness that is so important for an Indian recipe and finally coriander gives it the much required freshness.

Talking about its health benefits, I could fill pages worth of goodness, but I’ll keep it short!Its not only high in protein, but the protein it supplies is complete protein which means that it has a well balanced amino acid profile that is essential for tissue growth and repair.Rich in magnesium it also helps people with migraine by reducing the frequency of headache episodes.Its good for the heart, rich in anti-oxidants,full of fiber and the list goes on!Its definitely one of the healthiest foods around.
The cutlets were a success and even my picky eight year old loved it.That tells me I need to come up with even more exciting variations of Quinoa.Watch this space!(Source-WHfoods)

Indian spiced Quinoa Patties/Cutlets

Print this Recipe

Ingredients:

Quinoa-1 cup 

Frozen Green peas-1/2 cup

Ginger-1/4 inch crushed

Garlic-2 cloves crushed

Ground cumin-1 tsp

Ground Coriander-1 tsp

Green Chillies (optional)-2 chopped 

Coriander leaves-1/2 cup chopped

Oil- for shallow frying

Salt- to taste

Breadcrumbs-2 cups

 

Batter:

All purpose flour/maida-1/2 cup

Water-1 1/4 cup

 

Process:

Cook the quinoa according to instructions.Microwave the peas in a bowl for about 2 mins.

Mix the flour and water and keep the batter ready in a bowl.Keep the breadcrumbs ready in a plate.

Take a deep dish.Mix Quinoa, peas and all the ingredients except oil.

 

Flatten between your palms to make round patties,

Dip these patties into the flour batter and roll into the breadcrumbs.

  • You can either bake them in a 400 degree oven.Spray with cooking spray and bake until they’re golden brown.
  • You can deep fry these in a deep skillet until golden.
  • You can shallow fry like I’ve done here.

Serve hot or at room temperature with some ketchup or chutney!Enjoy!