Eggplant Pizza or Eggplant Parmesan

First new dish I tasted after coming to US was Olive Garden's Eggplant Parmesan. And it was delicious. I am sharing with you all a healthier and simpler version of Eggplant (Brinjal) Parmesan or Eggplant Pizza. Name as you like, eat as much as you wish.. :)

Prep Time:  50 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients 
1 Big Eggplant (Brinjal)
salt to taste
1 tsp Black pepper
1 tsp Olive Oil
1 tsp  Dried Herbs
1/2 cup Bread crumbs
1 cup Pasta Sauce or Marinara Sauce
Fresh Mozzarella Cheese
Parmesan Cheese

For Pasta Sauce
1 cup Tomato Paste
1/4th cup Tomato Sauce
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 medium onion chopped
2 garlic cloves minced
few springs of fresh Basil
1 tsp Butter
1 tsp Black Pepper powder
Salt to taste

Cut the Eggplant into 1/2 inch thick slices. Place the slices in a plate. In a small bowl mix oil, salt, crushed Black Pepper and Dried herbs like Parsley and basil. Lightly brush this mixture on both the sides of the eggplant slices. Allow the slices to marinate for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile you can prepare your pasta sauce. You can use the store bought pasta sauce also.

For Home made Pasta Sauce Saute Onion in butter until its tender. Add garlic and saute for another minute. Add Tomato Paste, sauce, tomatoes, pepper powder, salt and Basil. Allow it to cook uncovered, stirring occasionally for around 20 minutes or until desired consistency.

Crush the bread crumbs finely and set aside in a plate.

Now coat the eggplant slices from both sides with the bread crumbs and put them for grilling.

Option :  You can also bake them in oven, but i like the grill lines on the eggplant so i prefer to grill them.

After grilling place them on a greased baking tray. Spread sauce over the slices and top them with the cheeses. Bake at 350~ F for 4-5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.  

Tip : 

1. You can deep fry the eggplant slices by dipping them in a thick batter of All purpose flour (maida), salt, pepper powder, dried herbs, teaspoon of oil and water. Skip the marination and grilling part.

2. You can bake the eggplant slices by dipping them in the thick batter (recipe as in tip 1) and coat them with bread crumbs. Bake them at 350~F for 25 minutes or until golden brown, turning them once. Skip marination and grilling part.

Almond Pretzels

Soft Almond Pretzel

Aroma of hot soft pretzel is irresistible :)

I had tasted normal Pretzels and I didn't like them much. But once I tried these soft Pretzels, I could not resist having them every time I passed by Aunt Annie's shop in nearby mall. Thus me and my husband became huge fan of soft Pretzels, especially Almond Pretzels. And as usual, my cooking passion kicked in and I decided to make these at home.

I searched the recipe on internet but there were many methods of making them. I experimented a bit and result was not bad at all. In fact it turned out to be as good as the one from Aunt Annie's :).

Preparation Time - 1 hr 30 mins
Cooking Time - 30 mins

Ingredients

1 cup All Purpose Flour
1/4 the packet Rapid Rising Yeast
1 tsp Sugar + 2 tsp Sugar
Salt to taste
2 Tbsp melted Butter
1 Tbsp Baking Soda
2 Tbsp coarsely crushed Almonds

This will make 4 Pretzels.

Dissolve 1 tsp sugar and yeast in 2 tablespoon lukewarm water. Keep it aside for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile Mix Flour, salt and 1/2 Tbsp butter. Add the dissolved yeast and form a soft dough. Add extra water if needed. Transfer the dough into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover it and keep it in a warm place  approximately for an hour or until it's size doubles.

Mix sugar and almonds in a small bowl and keep aside. Punch down the risen dough and divide into four parts.Roll one part into a long rope.

Make a U shape with the rope, twist the ends of the rope and join them at the bottom of the U shape. Use some flour for dusting.
For nuggets cut the rope into 1-inch pieces. You can also create different shapes; it can be a fun activity for kids - with all the different shapes they can give to a regular pretzel :)

Place the pretzels on a dusted and lightly greased plate.

Boil almost 1 litre of water. Add baking soda to it. In parallel, lightly grease your baking sheet and preheat the oven to 425F.

Add the pretzel into the boiling water and allow it to cook for not more than 1 minute. Remove it from water and place it on the greased baking sheet.  For nuggets, place them in water for 30 seconds.

Brush the pretzels with butter and sprinkle the almond mixture on top. Bake the pretzels for 12-15 minutes. Baking time varies, so keep an eye. My pretzel got baked in 12 minutes.

Take them out and lightly brush them with butter or dip them in liquid butter as done by pretzel shops. The hot soft pretzels are ready :).

Try it and do share your experience.

Hasselback Potatoes

This is a new kind of fancy baked potatoes.

Hasselback Potatoes

Potatoes are awesome. You can make numerous dishes from potatoes - few of them involves baking. This recipe can be enjoyed any day and its also a tempting fasting dish. 

If you are french fries lover or not, you will surely enjoy this dish. And most important thing is that it is very easy to prepare with nothing much to be done. 

Since its not deep fried, you can enjoy it without much guilt. 

Preparation Time - 5 minutes

Cooking Time - 30 minutes 

Ingredients: 
2 large baking potatoes  
2 Tbsp melted Butter 
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp dried basil
2 tsp olive oil

Salt  to taste

Preheat oven to 425F.

Take butter, olive oil, black pepper, basil, salt in a small bowl and mix them well. Cut potatoes from one end to other creating thin slices as shown. 

Take a baking pan and put the sliced potatoes. Now apply the butter mixture between each slices of the potato with the help of a brush or spoon. Drizzle rest of the butter on top and the potatoes are ready for baking. Put them into oven & bake for 30 mins or until golden brown as shown. The potatoes should be fork tender. 

Put some cheese between each slice and on top to get that cheesy flavor :). Cook it to impress your near and dear ones :) 

In case you are making as a fasting recipe, you can substitute ghee for butter. 

You can prepare a similar dish using sweet potatoes. 

Sabudana Kheer or Tapioca Pudding

Sabudana Kheer or Tapioca Pudding

Sabudana is also known as Tapioca or Sago. Its  a kind of processed starch eaten mostly on fasts. Sabudana kheer or call it Tapioca Pudding, is a simple, easy and quick recipe.

Prep Time - 30 mins

Cooking Time - 15 mins

Ingredients

Milk - 2 cups

Sabudana - 1/4th cup soaked

Sugar - 1/4th cup or to taste

Cardamom powder - 1 tsp

Finely sliced Almonds - 8-10

Soak sabudana for atleast 30 minutes. Meanwhile you can dream of having a tasty kheer in next 45 minutes. :) 

Take milk in a fat bottom pan. Bring milk to boil on medium heat. Then add soaked sabudana and stir well. Add sugar and cardamom powder. Reduce the heat to medium low. Stir occasionally not allowing the milk to stick at the bottom and sides of the pan. Add half of the sliced almonds. Stir the milk occasionally until the sabudana are transparent and the kheer has thickened as shown.

Take the kheer in a bowl, garnish with the remaining almonds and enjoy it hot. :) You can allow this to cool down and enjoy it as a pudding :).

Pudla (Chickpea Dosa) or Chilla

Besan Pudla or Chilla

If you thought the last few recipes were a bit time consuming, then here is an instant & quick recipe. These savory pancakes can be made anytime and are great for a quick breakfast or even for fast dinner after a long day at work. This is a traditional Indian recipe that I have modified slightly so that everyone can enjoy eating something new. :)

Preparation Time : 5 mins
Cooking time : 15 mins

Ingredients 
For the pancakes
Chickpea flour - 1 cup
Sooji or Semolina - 2 Tbsp
Chopped Green Chilies -  to taste
Minced Ginger - 1 tsp
Cilantro or Coriander leaves - few
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Red chili powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
Oil  - 1tsp & for pan frying

For Stuffing
Grated panner or tofu - 1/4th cup
Crushed black pepper - 1 tsp
salt - to taste
Oil - 1 tsp
Parsley & basil leaves - 1 tsp (optional)
you can also use chopped cilantro or coriander leaves

Add the Chickpea flour, Sooji, Turmeric powder, Red Chili powder and Garam Masala in a bowl. Mix them well. Add water, little at a time, to make a batter with pouring consistency. Whisk well so no lumps remain. Add green chilies, ginger, cilantro, oil and salt to the batter, mix well and set aside. 

In another small bowl mix all the ingredients for the stuffing and set aside.

Heat a skillet or tawa and sprinkle some oil or oil spray. When the tawa is hot, pour some batter on the skillet and spread it to form a big circle approximately 6-7 inches. Sprinkle some more oil or spray on the top and sides of the Pudla. Allow it to cook.

Pudla

Check the bottom of the Pudla, if it has changed to golden brown color, flip it and allow the other side to cook. You can also make some indents with a fork to know whether it has cooked or not. If batter sticks on the fork, it is uncooked.

Remove from the skillet and continue making Pudlas from the remaining batter. 

Pudla Paneer Pancake

Once the Pudlas are made, take one Pudla and apply ketchup on one side. Applying ketchup is optional. Spread 1 tsp of the Paneer filing on the Pudla.  Put two slices of fresh tomatoes. Put another Pudla on the top of them.

Pudla Sandwich

Cut the sandwich into two or four pieces, as you wish and enjoy with Ketchup or pickle. You can also spread some pickle on the Pudla instead of or even in addition to ketchup. 

If you want to make this heavier, Toast two bread slices and put the stuffed or plain Pudlas in between. Enjoy with ketchup or green chutney. :)

This one works even for those of you who are health freaks. So go on, try it and let me know how you like it.

Fafda with Papaya Chutney & Spicy Yogurt Dip

Fafda, Papaya chutney & Spicy Yogurt Dip

Fafda is a popular Chickpea snack. It is a typical Gujarati Street Food served with savory papaya chutney and a spicy yogurt dip.  Follow this easy recipe and enjoy home made Fafdas.

Ingredients

Chickpea Flour or Besan - 1 cup
Cooking Soda - 1/4th tsp
Water -1/4th cup
Asofetedia - 1/2 tsp
Coarsely Crushed Black pepper - 1/2 tsp
Ajwain - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil - 1 Tbsp
Oil for frying
Turmeric powder - 1/8tsp

For seasoning

1/2 tsp of black salt,
1/4th tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder,
1/2 tsp coriander powder
salt to taste.
Mix all the seasoning ingredients and keep it aside.

Take cooking soda in a small cup. Add 1/4th cup water into it and allow the soda to dissolve in the water.  In another bowl mix flour, asofetedia, crushed pepper, ajwain, salt, turmeric powder and oil. Add the soda water and make a tight dough. 

Add 1/2 teaspoon of oil and knead the dough well. Make equal size small balls from the dough. Heat the oil at medium heat.

Take a wooden surface. Grease it with oil or an oil spray. Take one small ball and place on the greased surface. With the help of the base of your palm, press and flatten the dough ball into a long strip.

Tip : Making strips from the dough with hand comes with practice. Dont panic if you are not able to do so. You can use a rolling pin to make strips. Roll the pin in only one direction, from bottom to up.

Fry the strips over medium heat until golden brown. Take them out and put them on Tissue paper. Sprinkle the seasoning mix. Repeat the process for all other dough balls.

For Papaya Chutney recipe check my post on Chutneys.

For Spicy Yogurt Dip visit my post on Yogurt Dips.

Yogurt Dip

Spicy Yogurt Dip

Ingredients

Yogurt - 1/4th cup

Water 1 1/2 cup

Chickpea flour - 1Tbsp

Sugar - 4 tsp

Crushed Green chillis - 1 tsp

Minced ginger- 1 tsp

Asofetidia - 1/8th tsp

Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves 

Whole red chili broken into 2 pieces

Coriander seeds - 1/2 tsp

Oil - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Turmeric Powder-  1/4 tsp 

In a bowl mix yogurt with water and whisk well. Add chickpea flour and whisk again so that no lumps remain and everything is mixed well.

Heat oil in a pan. Add Mustard seeds and coriander seeds. When the seeds begin to sputter add asofetideia, red chilis and curry leaves. Saute for around 30 seconds. Add green chilies and minced ginger. Saute for a minute. Add the yogurt mixture and stir well. Add salt and turmuric powder.  Allow the mixture to cook, stirring occasionally. Cook until the mixture gets thickened.  Serve Hot with pakoras or fafdas.