Cheesy Sweet Peppers

Stuffed peppers have always been my favorite. Mummy used to stuff peppers with boiled potatoes and spices, and then grill or pan fry them. It was such a delicious appetizer or a side dish with simple dal and rice. While in the US these colorful peppers are so appealing and delicious. Mummy would always buy a bag from Sprouts market an create a stuffing of potatoes and then pan fry them. You might have seen some pictures on my Facebook page.

Check out all the sweet pepper recipes:

So while my mom enjoys it stuffed with boiled potatoes and spices, Snehanshu likes it with paneer or cheese. Almost 2 years back, if you remember, I had created finger food for a campaign party for our friend who was running for Santa Clara elections. It was cream cheese over crackers: Cream cheese whipped with garlic powder, salt, pepper, and finely chopped onion greens. It was topped with a slice of olive and few chopped onion green. Everyone loved it!!

So while it was made in bulk, I had some of this cream cheese mixture remaining. So yes, I did use it to stuff the peppers. This time it was cream cheese with Indian Amul cheese.

Here are the pictures of cream cheese over crackers.

Ingredients to make Cheesy Peppers.

10-12 sweet peppers
1/2 cup grated amul cheese
1/4 cup grated amul cheese for garnish
1/2 cup softened cream cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 cup chopped onion greens.

• Mix amul cheese with cream cheese. Add salt., pepper, chopped green onions, and garlic power. Mix well.
• Wash peppers with water. wipe and slit them. Remove veins or seeds from inside if any.
• Stuff creamcheese stuffing inside each of the peppers.
• Garnish with some grated amul cheese.
• Bake in a 400 F preheated oven till it grated cheese gets crisp.
• Serve immediately.

Here is step-by-step pictorial recipe:

Mix amul cheese with cream cheese. Add salt., pepper, chopped green onions, and garlic power. Mix well.

Wash peppers with water. wipe and slit them. Remove veins or seeds from inside if any.

Stuff creamcheese stuffing inside each of the peppers.

Garnish with some grated amul cheese.

Bake in a 400 F preheated oven till it grated cheese gets crisp.

Enjoy these fun appetizers!!

Sesame Triangles

It is fun to serve simple food in style, and this recipe is a perfect example of that. 

Few weeks back, we had our friends over and I presented a platter of this easy appetizer. It was a hit... everyone loved it and with some bean sprouts served on the side, gave some healthy crunch to it.My homemade schezwan sauce spiced it up to suit our palate.

This is not a new recipe; if you are grown up in India, specially in Mumbai, this is a very common Indo-Chinese appetizer by the name of 'Gold Coin'. Bread as a base in normally cut in a circular shape using a cookie cutter, veggies dough is spread on it, dipped in sesame seeds, and then deep fried. My recipe is almost the same, except that I cut the bread into triangles to avoid any wastage. You can make these in shapes of your choice!

Ingredients (Serves 4-5)

4 slices of bread of your choice

2 cups of minced veggies of your choice (onions, bell pepper, cabbage, carrots, green beans)

2 cloves garlic 

1/2 inch ginger

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper powder

1 tbsp. corn starch

2-3 tbsp all-purpose flour

1/4- 1/2 cup sesame seeds 

Oil fry frying

• Mince all veggies of your choice with garlic cloves and ginger. Remove in a bowl. Add salt and pepper. Mix and let the veggies rest for 15 minutes.
• Gently remove the sides of the bread and cut into fourths. Leave it aside.
• Add corn starch and all purpose flour to veggies and mix well. It should form a soft and sticky dough.
• Spread around 1+1/2 tbsp. mixture on each piece of bread. Spread it evenly so that it sticks well to the bread piece. 
• Dip veggie side into sesame seeds and gently press for sesame seeds to stick on it.
• Deep fry each triangle in medium hot oil OR spray some oil and bake in 400F oven for 15-20 minutes.
• Remove on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.
• Serve with spicy schezwan sauce.

Here is step-by-step pictorial recipe:

Mince all veggies of your choice with garlic cloves and ginger. Remove in a bowl. Add salt and pepper. Mix and let the veggies rest for 15 minutes.

Gently remove the sides of the bread and cut into fourths. Leave it aside.

Add corn starch and all purpose flour to veggies and mix well. It should form a soft and sticky dough.

Spread around 1+1/2 tbsp. mixture on each piece of bread. Spread it evenly so that it sticks well to the bread piece.

Dip veggie side into sesame seeds and gently press for sesame seeds to stick on it.

Deep fry each traingle in medium hot oil OR spray some oil and bake in 400F oven for 15-20 minutes.

Remove on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.

Serve with homemade spicy chili!

Click on the photo for the recipe.

Crispy Sesame Triangles!!

Crispy Noodles

When I invite my friends over for dinner, I love to host them with Indo-chinese food. There is so much delicious and creative variety to make, and is not very easily available at the restaurant. One of our favorites is tossing fresh crisp noodles with veggies and sweet and sour sauce. These crispy noodles are perfect as an appetizer as well as main coarse with fried rice.

Although fried noodles are readily available in the market, I like to make them fresh at home. They are thin and crispier compared to the one in the restaurant. You should give this recipe a try for your next event. It is easy to prepare the veggies in sauce before guests arrive and toss the crisp noodles just before serving. Potstickers, or steamed dumpling, or wonton soup pairs really well with crispy noodles for the soup and appetizer coarse. 

Ingredients (Serves 4)

1 packet Ching's hakka noodles (or any noddles of your choice)

Oil for frying noodles

2 tbsp oil

1 cup sliced onions

1/2 cup sliced onion greens

1 tbsp. minced ginger

1 tsp. minced garlic

1/2 cup sliced bell pepper

1/2 cup julienne carrots

1/2 cup sliced green beans

1 cup shredded cabbage

1/2 cup bean sprouts

1/2 tsp. salt (if needed)

1 tbsp soy sauce 

1 tbsp chili garlic salt

1/4 cup tomato ketchup

• Using instructions on noodle packet, boil noodles. Drain water and pour cold water over cooked noodles to stop the cooking process.Let water drain out well.
• Heat oil and fry noodles in hot oil (be careful)in 3-4 batches. Do not put all the noodles in together as oil might overflow. Fry noodles till golden brown. Remove on a paper towel. Cool and store in an airtight container. Use whenever needed.

• Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a wok.
• Add ginger, garlic and onions and saute for 2 minutes.
• Add bell pepper, carrots and beans. Saute for 3-4 minutes till slightly cooked. 
• Add all sauces to sauteing veggies and mix well.
• Turn of the heat. Add shredded cabbage and mix well.
• Toss in crisp noodles. Mix well.
• Serve immediately garnished with onion greens and bean sprouts.

Here is step-by-step pictorial recipe:

Using instructions on noodle packet, boil noodles. Drain water and pour cold water over cooked noodles to stop the cooking process.Let water drain out well.

Heat oil and fry noodles in hot oil in 3-4 batches. Do not put all the noodles in together as oil might overflow. Fry noodles till golden brown. Remove on a paper towel. Cool and store in an airtight container. Use whenever needed.

Heat oil in a wok.

Add ginger, garlic and onions and saute for 2 minutes.

Add bell pepper, carrots and beans. Saute for 3-4 minutes till slightly cooked. 

Add all sauces to sauteing veggies and mix well.

Turn of the heat. Add shredded cabbage and mix well.

Toss in crisp noodles. Mix well.

Serve immediately garnished with onion greens and bean sprouts.

 Enjoy Deliciously Crisp Noodles!!!

Rajma Tikki

Oh it was so much fun to create something new for dinner! A meal that is nutritious, delicious, and protein rich, with traditional flavors, but still presented differently. While I had soaked some rajma to make north Indian style rajma masala to go with rice, I ended up turning the same rajma and rice dish into these little cutlets or tikkis.

I know people do make rajma kababs...never made those but would love to some day. Maybe I did the same in this recipe...made rajma kababs while adding some cooked rice as a binder. Grains and lentils compliment each other well to make a complete protein meal. I have explained about complete proteins in one of my earlier recipes. Keeping this concept in mind rajma & rice tikkis were made. Of course, you could add bread, or breadcrumbs, or sooji/rawa/semolina as a binder too. These are so easy to make, and I would say that it makes a great picnic, travel, or school lunch meal. For vegetarians who wish to increase the protein intake for breakfasts, this recipe is perfect for a tasty, healthy, and quick breakfast with everything prepped ahead of time or a day before.

Ingredients (makes8-10 tikkis)
1/2 cup rajma
1 cup cooked rice
1/2 cup chopped onion
2-3 clove garlic
1/4 inch ginger
1-2 green chilies
1-2 tbsp. rajma masala (I like MDH rajma masala)
1 tsp. salt
1tbsp. red chili powder
Ghee or oil for shallow frying.

• Soak 1/2 cup rajma in 2 cups of water for 6 hours or overnight. 
• Pressure cook till you hear 4-5 whistles of for 45 minutes. Turn of the heat and let the pressure cooker cool. 
• Remove water from rajma.
• In a food processor of chopper add onions, garlic, ginger, and green chilies and mince them finely. 
• Add boiled rajma and grind it well to form a rough paste. (do not over grind and make it smooth).
• Add cooked rice, rajma masala, salt, red chili powder and grind them again till it is mixed.
• Try to form tikkis or cutlets. You should not need any binder. If it seems dry, add 2-3 tbsp. water and grind it again and make tikkis. 
• Shallow fry using oil or ghee. I used ghee to fry tikkis as rajma and rice goes really well with the flavor and aroma of ghee.
• Serve tikkis with sliced onions and chutney.

Here is step-by-step pictorial recipe:

Soak 1/2 cup rajma in 2 cups of water for 6 hours or overnight.

In a food processor of chopper add onions, garlic, ginger, and green chilies and mince them finely. 

Pressure cook till you hear 4-5 whistles of for 45 minutes. Turn of the heat and let the pressure cooker cool.

Add boiled rajma and grind it well to form a rough paste. (do not over grind and make it smooth).

Add cooked rice, rajma masala, salt, red chili powder and grind them again till it is mixed.

Try to form tikkis or cutlets. You should not need any binder. If it seems dry, add 2-3 tbsp. water and grind it again and make tikkis. 

Shallow fry using oil or ghee. I used ghee to fry tikkis as rajma and rice goes really well with the flavor and aroma of ghee.

My spriralizer to make spiral onions to serve these tikkis.

Serve tikkis with onions and chutney.

Yummylicious!!!