lemon juice

Quinoa Tabbouleh

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031Today’s recipe is another entry to my healthy eats category. We have been having Quinoa for quite some time now, probably for a year or so, and I am on the lookout for any new recipe that has Quinoa as an ingredient.

023Recently, we went to a mediterranean restaurant and I came across a new type of salad made with Quinoa. I got hooked to it and was eager to try it out myself. The name of the salad is Quinoa Tabbouleh salad and that is the recipe I have posted here.

024Quinoa Tabbouleh salad is very easy to make and very healthy as well. On days when you don’t feel like cooking or doing a take out, Quinoa Tabbouleh salad is the one to go for. Very few ingredients are needed to make this salad. Also, there is an accompaniment to the Tabbouleh salad called the Zough. It is a condiment relish made from green chili. The mild taste of Quinoa Tabbouleh and the spiciness of Zough make the perfect pair.

030Quinoa Tabbouleh salad can be had as a light dinner or for lunch. Quinoa in general is rich in calories and having it as a salad will not get you full or bloated. Try this wonderful mediterranean salad in your home and let me know your comments πŸ™‚

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Tabbouleh
Recipe type: Salad
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 2
 
Ingredients
Tabbouleh:
  • Red quinoa – 1 cup
  • Chick pea or garbonza beans or sundal – ½ cup
  • Olive oil – 3 tbsp
  • Lemon juice – 3 tbsp
  • Cucumber, finely chopped – 1 no (I used Persian Cucumber)
  • Tomato, medium, finely chopped – Β½ no (2 tbsp)
  • Green onions, finely chopped – 2 tbsp
  • Carrot, finely grated – 2 tbsp (optional)
  • Cilantro, finely chopped – 2 to 3 tbsp
  • Salt as required
Zough – green chilli sauce
  • Cilantro – small bunch
  • Garlic cloves, small to medium – 3 nos
  • Lemon juice – 1 Β½ tbsp
  • Olive oil – 1 Β½ tbsp
  • Cayenne pepper – Β½ tbsp
  • Pepper – ΒΌ tsp
  • Cumin powder –a generous pinch
  • Green chilli – 4 nos
  • Salt as required
Instructions
  1. Soak chick pea overnight and pressure cook for 6 whistles adding enough water and salt. Drain the excess water and set aside.
  2. Wash the quinoa thoroughly and drain them using strainer, pressure cook adding enough salt and 1Β½ cup water (not more than that) for 3 whistles. Or you could parboil them adding the same amount of water in a sauce pan, covered for 15 minutes. Drain the excess water if any.
  4. Finely chop all the above given ingredients and keep them ready.
  6. In a large mixing bowl, add olive oil, lemon juice and salt. Mix well.
  8. Add cucumber, tomato, carrot, green onion and cilantro. Mix well.
  10. Finally add quinoa and chick pea. Mix them well until well combined.
  12. Have it right away or Cover and leave it at least for Β½ an hour in the refrigerator and serve chill for better taste.
For making zough
  1. Blend all the above given ingredients to a fine sauce without adding any water.
  2. Have zough sauce as a side for yummy quinoa tabbouleh. Enjoy! :)

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Fish Fry

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Fish fry

Fish fry is the most popular dish among seafood in every Indian cuisine (as long as non vegetarian items are permissible). It is a very simple dish that stays true to its name i.e., fish that has been fried in oil. As I had mentioned in my fish gravy post, fish is one of my most favorite foods and anything made with it is a no brainer for me. I have been trying to make the perfect fish fry for quite some time and the problem for me was that I could not get the right fish variety. Most recently, I got to buy king fish (the one used back home for fish fry) and to my delight the fry I made from it turned out to be almost perfect ( πŸ™‚ I will never say any of my dishes to be perfect since I always feel that there is still room for improvement) .

Fish fryFish fryFish fry is very popular back home and you can see vendors selling them along with other delicacies in beaches and as cart foods on streets. There are so many recipes to make fish fry but the one I have posted here is really simple. All you need are chilli powder, salt and lemon juice. For health conscious people out there, you can shallow fry instead of deep frying the fish. Fish fry with fish gravy is an awesome combination. You can also have it as an appetizer or as an evening snack Β πŸ™‚

Fish fryTry this simple and tasty fish fry in your kitchen and do let me know which method you prefer, deep fried or shallow fried?

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Fish Fry
Recipe type: Appetizer
Cuisine: Indian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 2 fish pieces
 
Ingredients
  • Red chilli powder – 1 Β½ tsp
  • Salt as required
  • Lemon juice – 1 tsp
  • Fish – 2 pieces ( I used seer/king/vanjiram fish)
  • Oil – 2 tbsp
Instructions
  1. Wash the fish thoroughly with little turmeric powder to get rid of the raw smell.
  2. Make a thick paste of red chilli powder, salt and lemon juice. Check for salt and spiciness.
  3. Apply the paste on both the sides of the fish and leave it for at least half an hour.
  4. Heat oil in a flat pan, place the marinated fish on it and fry for a minute until one side is well fried.
  6. Flip over and cook the other side until crispy.
  8. Place it on a plate lined with tissue paper. Serve hot with spicy fish gravy and white rice or just have it as is! Enjoy! 

Β Fish fry

KOTHU CHILLI DOSA

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Kothu chilli dosa
Tired of having the same old idli and dosa? Worried about what chutney to make for dosa or idli? Worry not, kothu chilli dosa will save the day. Kothu chilli dosa is a variety of dosa made with regular dosa and masala.
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I came across kothu chilli dosa recipe on the internet and was intrigued by it. Naturally, I tried it right away and it turned out to be awesome. Kothu chilli dosa is easy to make and most importantly does not require any sort of accompaniment, like chutney or sambar to it. Also, for health conscious folks out there, you can customize your masala with vegetables like broccoli or zucchini instead of potato.
Kothu chilli dosa
Kothu chilli dosa can be made using regular dosa batter or a substitute that consists of gram flour. I personally prefer dosa batter and the recipe below uses the same. Having shredded kothu chilli dosa with onions sprinkled over is a taste that you should try at least once πŸ™‚
And without further delay, here is the recipe for the wonderful kothu chilli dosa.

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KOTHU CHILLI DOSA
Recipe type: Dinner
Cuisine: Indian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 2
 
Ingredients
  • Dosas (preferably uthapam) – 5
  • Oil – 3 tbsp
  • Onion, chopped – 1 no , divided
  • Ginger- Garlic paste – 1 tbsp
  • Tomato, medium size, chopped – 1 no
  • Green chilli, chopped – 2 nos
  • Coriander powder – 1 tbsp
  • Red chilli powder – 1 tbsp
  • Cumin powder – ½ tsp
  • Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
  • Lemon juice – 1 tbsp
  • Salt as required
  • Cilantro , chopped – 5 tbsp
Instructions
  1. Shred the dosas to desired size pieces and keep it aside.
  2. Heat a pan with oil and add onions. SautΓ© until they turn translucent - Add enough oil so that you don’t have to add water later on.
  3. Add in ginger – garlic paste and sautΓ© until the raw aroma disappears. Now add the chopped green chillies and cilantro. Give it a stir and add tomatoes.
  4. Reduce the flame and cook the tomatoes well (without any chunks). Add all the powders and give a quick stir. Cook until the oil ooze out – Do not add water.
  5. Finally add in the shredded dosa pieces to the tomato sauce and give it a stir. Switch off the flame when the dosas are well blended with the tomato sauce. Garnish with chopped cilantro.
  6. Sprinkle few drops of lemon juice and onions on top and serve it hot. Enjoy!
Notes
1.Add enough oil in the beginning so that you don’t have to add water later on.
2.Having the kothu chilli dosa with onions adds more taste to this dish.

Kothu chilli dosa

DRUMSTICK TANDOORI CHICKEN

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There are certain events that happen very rarely in your life and my HB cooking is certainly one of those. And boy does he cook! The other day he tried his hand in the kitchen and the end product was a delicious tandoori chicken!
DRUMSTICK TANDOORI CHICKENTandoori chicken is a very famous chicken dish from north India. All restaurants in the US have tandoori chicken in their menu and is well known among Americans.
DRUMSTICK TANDOORI CHICKENIn fact, there are so many tandoori chicken recipes out there posted by Americans in the internet. Tandoori chicken is one of the healthiest chicken recipes since it does not involve too much oil (oil is added only at the end of preparation).
DRUMSTICK TANDOORI CHICKENMy HB’s recipe is an adaption of VareVah chef’s recipe. It is very simple and easy to make. One main advantage of this recipe is that you don’t have to marinate the chicken for hours like in other chicken recipes. Do try it in your home and let me know your experiences πŸ™‚

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DRUMSTICK TANDOORI CHICKEN
Recipe type: Lunch
Cuisine: Indian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 3
 
Ingredients
  • Drumstick chicken – 2
  • Red chilli powder – 1 to 2 tbsp
  • Salt as required
  • Lemon juice – 4 tbsp
  • Curd - 2 tbsp
  • Ginger garlic paste - tbsp
  • Pepper powder – ½ tsp
  • Garam masala powder – ½ tsp
  • Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
  • Cumin powder – ½ tsp
  • Coriander powder – 1 tbsp
  • Dry fenugreek leaves (kasthoori methi) – 1 tbsp
  • Cooking oil/ spray
Instructions
  1. Wash the drumstick chicken thoroughly in running water and dab it with tissue/towel. Make few gashes in the chicken
  2. Mix a tbsp of red chilli powder, a tsp of salt and lemon juice and make it in to a paste. Rub this paste on chicken and make sure it is well applied on the cuts that had made on the chicken.
  3. Preheat the oven to 420 Β°F.
  4. Mix yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, chilli powder, half a tsp each of salt, pepper powder , kasthoori methi leaves(crushed with your palms), garam masala, turmeric powder, cumin powder, a tbsp of coriander powder and 2 tbsp of lime juice and make a thick paste without any lumps. Add red color to the marination (always mix food color with little water and add to your dish).
  5. Place the marinated chicken on the tandoori pan, spray cooking oil on top of the chicken and cook for 20 minutes. Remove the pan, turn over the chicken and brush them with little oil on top. Cook for another 10 minutes.
Notes
Try to use thick yogurt for marination in order to get thick marinade.

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