Category Archives: Sides & Snacks

Appetizers, Sides, Snacks and Small Bites

Indian Spiced Potato Chip Sticks. Baked, not Fried!

Posted on by
38

I love how simple this oven/microwave baked potato chips recipe is. All you do is cut a russet potato into think sticks, toss it in oil, salt, cayenne or chilli powder, and turmeric. Add a fer curry leaves for aroma. Bake or microwave. Yes, I said microwave! So much easier and healthier than deep fried potato chips!

You could spice up the potato chip sticks in many ways; I love the turmeric, chilli powder or cayenne powder, curry leaf combination. The curry leaves get crispy and so fragrant. 

Serve Indian spiced potato chips as a side or a snack, in a newspaper cone. They go well with my brown rice and black bean  burgers.

Cut the potato sticks really thin, this way they bake very quickly in the oven. Use either a mandoline or a large sharp chef’s knife to cut the potatoes into 1/8th inch slices. Stack up the slices and cut them into thin sticks. The sticks should be thinner than a pen or french fry.

More oven baked or microwaved potato chip recipes
Martha Stewart’s baked potato chips recipe
Oven fried potato chips recipe  on Simply Recipes
Spicy baked potato chips recipe on Chow vegan
5-spice potato chips recipe on the Hungry Mouse
Uncle Bill’s microwave potato chip recipe  on Food.com
Microwave potato chips recipe  on Eating well
Homemade microwave potato chips recipe  on Sweet Savory Life

Indian Spiced Baked Potato Chip Sticks Recipe

serves about 2

1 large russet potato (about 10 oz)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil or ghee
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ teaspoon or to taste chili powder pr cayenne powder
10 curry leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt

Wash and dry the potato. Peel the potato if you like. I leave the skin on because I like the texture of potato skin in my chips.

Slice the potato into 1/8th inch thick slices lengthwise using a mandoline or a large, sharp knife. Stack up the slices, and cut them lengthwise to form thin sticks, about 1/4th the thickness of a French fry.

Place the potato sticks on a kitchen towel, and gently pat dry.

In a bowl, whisk together the ghee or melted butter or oil, turmeric, chili powder, curry leaves and salt. Add the potato sticks to the bowl and toss well. Now follow one of the below methods.

Oven method – pre-heat oven to 400f. Place the seasoned potato sticks on a non-stick baking sheet or a regular baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone non-stick mat. Spread the potato sticks so that they are in a single layer and don’t overlap. You may need to do this in batches. Make sure they are in a single layer, this is what makes them crisp! Bake for 10 minutes or till the chips are golden and crisp. Halfway through baking, check on the chips, and remove any pieces that are already crispy and golden. Rotate the baking sheet and continue baking.

Microwave method – take a microwaveable plate and coat with a few drops of oil. Place the potato chips that have been coated in the turmeric chili ghee/oil. Spead them out into a single layer. You may need to do this in batches. Microwave on high for 2-4 minutes or until the chips are golden and crisp. Cooking time will vary depending on the microwave, so check on the chips periodically.

******************

Are you a fan of Chef Sanjeev Kapoor?

Join me at his book signing event in Washington DC!

Tickets and details are here – http://sanjeevkapoor-indiqueheights.eventbrite.com/

*******************

PrintFriendly and PDF Print

Brown Sugar and Chipotle Baked Butternut Squash

Posted on by
12

brown-sugar-chipotle-roasted-butternut-squash

Butternut squash.
Brown sugar.
Chipotle powder.
Bake.
Eat.

Its that simple and easy. We really liked the sweet and spicy brown sugar-chipotle combination. The puddle of brown sugar in the squash cavity is the best part!

brown-sugar-chipotle-baked-butternut-squash

Brown Sugar and Chipotle Baked or Roasted Butternut Squash Recipe

serves about 2 as a side dish

1 small butternut squash, about 3/4 lb
1 teaspoon olive oil or butter
3 tablespoons light brown sugar, more or less depending on how sweet you like it
1/4 tea spoon chipotle powder, or according to taste
salt

Pre heat oven to 350 f

Cut the squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds. Place the squash, cut side up, in an oven proof dish or baking tray that has been lined with foil. Brush olive oil or butter over the cut surfaces and insides of the squash. Sprinkle brown sugar, chipotle, and salt on the squash. I like to sprinkle just a little on top and put most the brown sugar mixture in the cavity of the squash.

Bake in the oven for about 30-40 minutes or till the squash is soft and sugar is bubbly but not burnt. Check on it periodically while baking, because sugar will burn easily.

PrintFriendly and PDF Print

Yogurt Cornbread with Chipotle and Sweet Corn Niblets

Posted on by
22

 

This is a spicy version of regular corn bread. I used less sugar because I don’t like my corn bread sweet. Use up to 4 tablespoons sugar in this recipe for a sweet corn bread.

The yogurt here adds a mild tang and makes the corn bread fluffy and gorgeous. Buttermilk will work too. And I love the little pieces of sweet corn all through this bread.

For a different twist on this, use semolina instead of cornmeal. For a vegan corn bread try this vegan cornbread recipe on the post punk kitchen.

This yogurt corn bread with chipotle and sweet corn will be perfect served with my Brazilian style black bean and smoked tofu stew. Simply recipes has an amazing green chile cornbread recipe with sweet corn. 101 cookbooks has a firecracker cornbread recipe using buttermilk and red pepper flakes.

Yogurt Cornbread with Chipotle and Sweet Corn Niblets

serves 4-6

Dry ingredients
1 cup stone ground yellow cornmeal
¾ cup all purpose flour
2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, chopped (use less if you don’t want it too spicy)
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 cup canned, drained, sweet corn
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon sugar (this is less sweet than traditional corn bread, use up to 4 tablespoons sugar for a sweeter dish)
½ teaspoon salt

Wet ingredients
1 cup non-fat yogurt
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons softened butter

Pre heat oven to 400f

Place all dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well. In another bowl, whisk together all the wet ingredients. Add the whisked mixture to the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold the batter gently just until combined. Don’t over mix.

Pour into a square 8×8 cake pan. Sprinkle a tablespoon of corn on top (optional). Bake 20-30 minutes or till a tooth pick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let the corn bread cool a little before cutting into squares. Serve with Brazilian style black bean and smoked tofu stew.

PrintFriendly and PDF Print

Cauliflower and Broccoli Poriyal with Lentils and Coconut

Posted on by
12

A poriyal is a beautiful, simple way to enjoy fresh vegetables. This south Indian stir fry (kinda!) usually involves tempering mustard seeds, cumin seeds, chillies and or curry leaves and then adding chopped vegetables - quick, easy and healthy.

I like to add some split mung beans or moong dal to my poriyals for extra body and protein. I also leave the broccoli and cauliflower slightly undercooked so that they are a tad crunchy; over cooking fresh vegetables just doesnt let their flavor shine through. Serve this with rice and pineapple rasam or collard greens dal.

Cauliflower and Broccoli Poriyal with Lentils and Coconut Recipe

serves 6-8 as a side dish

for the lentils
1/4 cup split mung beans (moong dal)
a pinch of turmeric

other ingredients
2 cups of broccoli florets
2 cups of cauliflower florets
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds
2-3 dried red chillies, or according to taste
a few curry leaves
1/8 teaspoon asafoetida
4 tablespoon fresh grated coconut (I use fresh-frozen, grated coconut available at the Asian store. The ones from Thailand are good.)
salt

Bring 3 cups water to a boil in a pot. Add moong dal, turmeric and salt and let it boil till the lentils are cooked through but still holding their shape. Drain well.

Cut the broccoli and cauliflower into tiny florets as seen in the photos. Heat oil in a wok and add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the dried red chillies, curry leaves, and asafoetida. Cook for about 30 seconds. Then add cauliflower, broccoli and salt. Cook on medium heat till the vegetables are cooked but still slightly crunchy. If needed, sprinkle some water while cooking the vegetables.

Add the cooked lentils and coconut, stir well, and turn off heat.

PrintFriendly and PDF Print

Masala Stuffed Okra

Posted on by
35

Documenting recipes was a big deal in my family. (That’s probably where I get my interest in food blogging from). Every family recipe was carefully tested and documented on paper. It was a huge, and ongoing project in my parents’ house. As kids, my siblings, any visiting cousins and I were constantly put to work, writing and re-writing recipes in notebooks.

There is a mountain of old notebooks at my parents’ house in India, their yellowing pages full of hand written recipes. When I moved out, I photocopied every single page of every single notebook. I take my photocopied family recipes everywhere I go. No matter what country, state, city or house I am moving to, the first thing I pack is my huge stack of photocopies.

About 10 years ago, my mother decided to go hi-tech. She hired a starving college kid to type out, catalogue and save the thousands of family recipes on CDs. I was given a copy of all these CDs.

The CDs are better organized and much easier to use. But somehow, I keep going back to my Xerox copies of the notebooks. I like shuffling through my stacks of paper. The fading ink, the dog eared edges, all remind me of a sweltering childhood kitchen filled with the aromas of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
This is one recipe that will take me right back there. Served with rice and dal, it is my sister’s favorite.

A very small portion of my family recipes collection

We call this dish ‘nool katti vendakkai masala’ or string tied okra. The stuffed okra was tied with string and then deep fried. Tying the okra kept the stuffing inside it. My version of this recipe is a little easier. I don’t string tie the okra.

Notes

- Make sure you dry the okras very well before stuffing them
- Searing the stuffed okras on high heat initially will make sure they dont get slimy
-For a quicker version of this recipe, skip the roasting and grinding of spices; instead use chili powder, coriander powder and cumin powder

Stuffed okra is a common dish in India, but recipes vary from region to region. Aayi’s Recipes has a Konkan stuffed okra recipe using coconut. Hungry Desi’s stuffed okra boats recipe uses tomatoes. Sindhi Rasoi’s stuffed okra or dhaas bhindi or bharwan bhindi recipe uses spice powders.

 

Masala Stuffed Okra Recipe

serves about 4 as a side dish

For masala
½ teaspoon oil
3 red chilies
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seed
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
½ small onion, minced
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
¼ teaspoon turmeric
A pinch of asafetida
Salt

For the okra
½ lb fresh, tender Okra (about 30)
1-2 tablespoons oil

In a small skillet, heat the oil for masala and add red chilies, coriander seeds, cumin and fennel seeds. Fry on low heat just till the spices turn color and get fragrant. Remove the spices to a spice grinder and grind finely.

Wipe the skillet clean. Add a few drops of oil and fry the onions and garlic till onion is soft. Turn off heat. Add ground spices, turmeric, asafetida and salt to the onion mixture. Mix well. This is your stuffing masala.

Wash and dry the okra. Cut the tops off. Using a sharp knife, make an incision in the okra, starting from the top and stopping just before the tail. Do not cut all the way through the orka, it has to be one whole piece.

Place okra on a work surface. Using one hand, gently pry open the okra at the slit. (Careful not to tear it). Using your other hand, gently stuff a little masala into the slit and pack it down. Repeat for all okra pieces.

In a large, shallow non stick skillet, heat the oil. Add the stuffed okra, one at a time, stuffed side facing up, in a single layer. Cook on medium-high heat till the bottom sides of the okra are brown. Reduce heat to low, place a lid on the skillet, venting it a little, and cook for about 7 minutes or till the okra is tender. Then remove lid, carefully flip the okras over and cook 2 more minutes. Sprinkle salt all over. Serve hot with rice and dal.

PrintFriendly and PDF Print

Vietnamese Summer Rolls with Mango and Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce

Posted on by
38

Another no-cook recipe – these Vietnamese summer rolls or Goi Cuan are bursting with fresh herbs and vegetables. And they will be perfect to take along for a vegetarian picnic.

I used mangoes here for some summery, fruity, sweetness. But you can use pretty much any combination of vegetables in this summer roll. I’m not a fan of mangoes, so I made this recipe for our guests (they loved it) and I made myself a roll with carrots and purple cabbage.

Set up all the ingredients on a clean surface. Dip a rice paper wrapper into a large bowl of water. Make sure all sides get wet. Then remove the rice paper and gently shake it dry. The rice paper will now be pliable. If it isnt, let it stil on the table (not in the water) for a few more seconds.

Place the softened rice paper wrapper on a clean surface. Place filling ingredients on the front (closest to you) 1/3rd of the rice paper wrapper in this order – cilantro, mint, lettuce, noodles, carrot, mango.

Now fold the front part over the filling and roll. Then fold both the sides in. Roll gently but firmly.

Its that simple! With practice, you will get better and better at rolling. Serve these Vietnamese summer rolls with sweet chili dipping sauce. Regular Vietnamese dipping sauce or Nuoc Cham has fish sauce. See below for my vegetarian Nuoc Cham recipe.

Vietnamese Summer Rolls or Goi Cuan with Mango Recipe

makes 6 rolls

2 oz dried rice sticks or rice vermicelli (available in Asian section of most grocery stores)
6 rice paper wrapper sheets (called ‘bahn trang’ - available in Asian section of grocery store)
a large bowl of water to dip rice paper sheets
6 sprigs cilantro
6 sprigs mint
6 leaves lettuce, rib/stem removed (I like boston lettuce)
1 small ripe mango, peeled and cut into strips (substitute with shredded purple cabbage, cucumbers, savoy cabbage, bean sprouts)
1 carrot, peeled and cut into match sticks

Soak rice sticks in boiling water for about 3 minutes or till soft. Drain well.

Dip the rice paper sheets in water, making sure all sides are wet. Shake off excess water. Place on a clean work surface. Place a sprig each of cilantro and mint in the front 1/3rds of the rice paper sheet. Then place lettuce leaf, a little rice noodles, carrot, and mango slices. Fold and roll the summer roll – see photos above for details on how to roll vietnamese summer roll.

Serve immediately with vegetarian vietnamese dipping sauce (recipe below). To store, put rolls on a plate, cover with a damp paper towel. Then cover plate completely with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce or Vegetarian Nuoc Cham (Vietnamese dipping sauce) Recipe 

makes little less than 1 cup

4 tablespoons light soy sauce
4 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons warm water
1 garlic clove peeled and crushed
Red pepper flakes or chopped fresh chili to taste

Whisk everything together till the sugar dissolves.

PrintFriendly and PDF Print

Ethiopian Mushroom Sauté or Ingudai Tibs

Posted on by
33

Ingudai tibs or Inguday tibs is an Ethiopian mushroom sauté that is simple to make but tastes wonderfully complex. Ingudai means mushroom and tibs means to saute.

 

Traditional tibs recipes use an Ethiopian spice blend called berbere. My berbere recipe is here.

 

If you can’t find Ethiopian berbere spice for this recipe you can make your own berbere. Or you could get away with substituting Berbere with Indian garam Masala and a little cayenne or paprika. Take a look at the spices in Ethiopian berbere powder and Indian garam Masala powder.

Ethiopian Berbere    Indian Garam Masala
Coriander                           Coriander
Cumin                                  Cumin
Cinnamon                          Cinnamon
Cloves                                 Cloves
Cardamom                        Cardamom
Pepper                                Peppercorns
Nutmeg                              Nutmeg
Fenugreek
Cayenne pepper or paprika
Ginger
Garlic

The spices are almost the same, expect for the added fenugreek, cayenne or paprika, ginger and garlic in berbere. If you used equal amounts of garam masala and cayenne or paprika, you will get pretty close to Berbere flavor ( not traditional, but still tasty).

This mushroom ingudai tibs recipe on mushroom info by Ethiopian restaurant chefs uses portobello mushrooms and sounds delicious.

 

Ethiopian Sautéed Mushrooms with Onions and Peppers or Ingudai Tibs Recipe

serves about 6 as a side dish

2 tablespoons clarified butter or olive oil
1 large green pepper, cut into strips
1 large red onion, cut into strips
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1 lb button mushrooms, cleaned and quartered

for the spice mix  (Awaze sauce)
2 teaspoons Ethiopian berbere (substitute with 1 teaspoon garam masala + 1 teaspoon paprika)
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon white wine (substitute with lemon juice)

Heat butter or oil in your largest skillet. Add onions, peppers and tomato. Cook on medium high heat till the vegetables have softened a little, about 4 minutes. Then add mushrooms. Crank up heat to high. Mix all ingredients for spice mix and add to the mushrooms.  Sauté on high for about 3 minutes or till mushrooms are done. Add salt at the end. Garnish with cilantro or parsley. Serve with rice, bread or Ethiopian Injera.

PrintFriendly and PDF Print

Pineapple Rasam and Tender Coconut Rasam (South Indian Soup)

Posted on by
22

When I called my grandmother to get a pineapple rasam recipe, the culinary genius she is, suggested that the same recipe will also work with tender coconut. So here you have it – a pineapple rasam recipe and a tender coconut rasam recipe.

Roast and grind these ingredients for rasam spice powder & cook with sweet juicy pineapple

Rasam, also called charu or saaru, is a spiced, thin soup from South India. You can buy rasam powder at any Indian store; but I like home made rasam podi or powder better. Once you’ve made it, it will keep for months in an airtight container.

Serve rasam with rice or in cups like soup. There are several rasam recipes on the internet, the basic spices are the same, proportions and other additions vary according to family and region. This pineapple rasam recipe on Jugalbandi looks great, as does this pineapple rasam recipe on Veg Inspirations, Samayal Arai blog also has a pineapple rasam recipe.

  

If I want a sweet and savory rasam, I always turn to pineapple. I havent tried my grandmother’s idea of adding tender coconut pulp and coconut water to rasam; but I love the idea and if any of you try the tender coconut variation (see below) I’d love to hear how it turned out.

 

Pineapple Rasam Recipe

Serves about 4

for tempering
½ teaspoon ghee or clarified butter or oil
¼ teaspoon black mustard seeds
1 dried red chili
A pinch of asafoetida
A few curry leaves

for rasam
a small lime sized ball of tamarind pulp (about a tablespoon)
5 cups water
1 ½ tablespoons rasam powder (recipe below)
1 cup pineapple chunks (I used canned; make sure you buy pineapple chunks in 100% pineapple juice)
½ cup pineapple juice (from pineapple chunks can)
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Salt

Heat ghee or oil in a deep pot. Add mustard seeds. When they start to pop, add all other tempering ingredients. Cook for about 30 seconds.

Soak tamarind in 1 cup hot water for 5 minutes. Squeeze the tamarind with your hands, extracting the juices.

Add tamarind juice, 5 cups water and rasam powder to the pot. Boil for about 7 minutes. Add pineapple chunks, pineapple juice, cilantro and salt and boil another 5 minutes.

Serve hot with rice or drink like soup.

Rasam Powder or Rasam Podi Recipe

makes about ¼ cup

for dry roasting
2 tablespoons whole coriander
½ tablespoon cumin seeds
½ tablespoon peppercorns
¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1 tablespoon toor dal or yellow lentils

for oil roasting
Few drops of oil
1 dried red chili, torn into small pieces (this will yield a mild rasam powder, use more chillies if you want it hot)

other ingredients
1/8 teaspoon asafoetida
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

In a small skillet on low heat, roast all the dry roasting ingredients one by one for about 1 minute each or till the spices are fragrant and turned color slightly. Place each ingredient in a coffee grinder as you finish roasting.

In the same pan, heat a few drops of oil, and roast the red chili for about 30 seconds. Add to the coffee grinder.

Add asafoetida and turmeric to the coffee grinder. Grind everything to a fine powder. Store in an airtight container. Rasam powder will keep for several months.

Tender Coconut Rasam Recipe

Use the pineapple rasam recipe above. But instead of pineapple chunks, use tender coconut pulp. Instead of pineapple juice, use tender coconut water. Add these right at the end of cooking.

Related Posts with Thumbnails
PrintFriendly and PDF Print