NYC style Falafel over rice

"Falafel over Rice" tried this on a trip to Manhattan , New York. It was Friday and I don't eat nonveg on that day, so thought of having Falafel over rice.  It was superb. From that day I wanted to recreate this dish at home and It was on my to-do list! Finally tried this for dinner ans it was DELICIOUS! 

Raw chickpeas are used to Prepare Falafel . Combine the chickpeas, parsley leaves and coriander leaves in a food processor add some spices and deep fry it...Taddaaa.. Delicious falafels are ready to serve. You can have it with any dip, mayo or hot sauce.
Serve Falafel on top of the rice with a drizzle of white sauce and hot sauce with lettuce, tomato and onion on the side. Enjoy.

Must say Great meal for any night of the week!

Ingredients:

For the Falafel

1 cup dried chickpeas soaked overnight
2-3 cloves garlic chopped
5-6 spring onions finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
red chilli powder to taste or chilli flakes
½ cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves
salt to taste
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon baking soda
1tblsp flour/ maida
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice or as per the taste
1tblsp sesame seeds
 Oil for deep-frying

For the Rice: 
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 cups long grain Basmati rice, washed and drained
2 1/2 cups water/ veg stock/ chicken broth
1/2 tsp salt 
1/4 tsp black pepper 

For the White Sauce: 
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup Greek yogurt / plain yogurt
1tsp sugar
1 tablespoons white vinegar
1/2 tspn lemon juice
2tblsp chopped fresh Parsley
Kosher Salt as per the taste
ground black pepper as per taste

To serve : 

1 head iceberg lettuce, sliced into thin strips
1 large tomato cut into wedges
1 onion thinly sliced
Sriracha sauce to serve (u can use Harissa-style hot sauce if available)


To make the Falafel:

Drain the chickpeas and transfer to a food processor with all the remaining ingredients except the oil.
Pulse until minced but not pureed. Add water if necessary  but keep the mixture as dry as possible.

Taste and adjust seasoning, add  sesame seeds, flour ,lemon juice as needed.
Heat oil in a pan for deep frying the falafel. Fry the falafel on a medium heat until golden and crispy. Strain on a kitchen towel 
To make the rice:  
Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add the turmeric and cumin powder and immediately  throw the rice and stir to coat .Roast the rice  about 3- 4 minutes. Add the veg broth. Add salt and pepper. Now bring to a boil. Reduce the rice to a simmer, and cook on low until done, about 15 minutes. Set aside. 

To make the white sauce: 
Mix all white sauce ingredients in a small bowl, and whisk to combine well.  Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.  

To serve:  
Take a serving bowl. Serve Falafel on top of the rice with a drizzle of white sauce and hot sauce and lettuce, tomato and onion on the side. Enjoy.

Chicken sandwich

Chicken sandwich a healthy & Totally rocking dish for a dinner..

It’s gr8 to be back & blogging again. Due to my little one now a days full busy.. full day I have to engage with her. Its hard to get time for blogging. Last week I started craving for a sandwich having chicken filled with cheese & the fresh green flavors. So thought of making it in my home. Believe me it was awesome. The husband loved it too. You can use crab or any fish such as tuna, salmon for the filling.. So friend here is the recipe..



Ingredients

1 packet potato hoagie rolls
1/2 cup cream cheese ( or you can use mayo, ranch)
2 tablespoons finely chopped celery
1 cup cut lettuce leaves
½ cup chopped onion
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breasts (cut in cubes)
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
Red chilli flakes/ Paprika 1tsp
Butter- 2tblsp for pan fry the rolls
Garlic salt – 1tsp
Salt as per the taste

Preparation


 Heat oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with pepper & salt. Add chicken to pan. Cook 5 minutes on each side or until chicken is done. Remove from heat; let stand 5 minutes. 
Whisk together cheese, celery, onion, pan fried chicken, chilli flakes, pepper, garlic salt in a medium bowl. 

 Cut the rolls in half lengthwise. Spread butter on both sides of rolls. Warm large skillet over medium heat . Place the rolls in preheated skillet and toast until golden.
 Spread lettuce & cheese & chicken mixture over cut sides of rolls & serve hot. The taste will be doubled when you serve it with any hot soup.

Garlic Pull-Apart Rolls

These rolls are superb…super soft, buttery & the garlic flavor is just heavenly. It was like one day in a tea party my friends were discussing about this. It sounded very interesting and as I never had them before so I made a note in my mind to find out about this recipe. After I came home, goggled about it and prepared in evening along with pizza. They were absolutely amazing combination. A must try side dish if you are bold to try something new. So friends here we go…

Ingredients: 
Plain Flour - 1.5 cups 
Luke Warm milk- 1/2 cup 
1tblsp water
Dry Yeast - 1/2 tbsp
Salt - 1tsp 
Sugar - 1 tbsp 
Olive Oil – 1/4th cup
For Garlic Spread:
Salted butter, at room temperature - 4 tbsp
Minced garlic - 2 tbsp
Dried basil & oregano - 2 tbsp (you can use chopped coriander leaves or other fresh herbs)

Method:
Preheat the oven at 450 degree Fahrenheit. Mix sugar with Luke warm milk. Mix flour, yeast, salt together. Slowly add warm milk (The milk should not be hot otherwise it will kill the yeast). Add oil and knead until you get a smooth, slightly stick dough.  


Cover it and allow the dough to rise by keeping in a warm place for about 45 mins. 

Now  make the garlic spread by mixing  butter, herbs & minced garlic .


Now  Grease a baking pan with oil or spray. Punch down the air in the dough and divide the dough into two equal portions. Now roll the dough using rolling pin & apply little flour to prevent sticking. Roll the dough in to a rectangle shape at least ½ inch thick.


 Spread about 2 tbsp of garlic spread on one side.  Roll from one end gently and firmly. Cut into half and then each half again into two halves to get 4 equal portions. Place the rolls with the cut side up in the greased pan. Repeat the same procedure for the remaining dough.  Spread a little milk on the rolls and add the remaining garlic spread & sesame seeds on top.
keep like this for another 20 min. to rise.
 

Now bake for 15-20 mins in the preheated oven. Serve hot nd njoy

Samosha/ singada Odisha Style

Oh my God… Samosha/ Singada(called in eastern part of india)  is my  & my hubby's favorite appetizer  and I am super excited about bringing this recipe in my blog!! Enjoy with a hot cup of tea while the rain entertains you with her beautiful tap dance. Sometimes I also make them for our dinner & we eat them with ghuguni (yellow peas curry). I live in the US and  its hard to get fresh Indian food sometimes. So I normally try to make all our favorites  at home. 
As my husband loves it very much so thought to surprise him in yesterday's dinner & really they turned out superb & the husband just loved it!!! 
So here we go…







To make the stuffing

Large boiled potatoes- 3-4
2 large onions chopped
Crushed ginger & garlic - 1tblsp
Dried kasturi methi powder- 1tblsp
Roasted peanuts- 1/4 cup
Green peas - 1/2 cup
cumin seeds- 1tsp
curry powder- 1tsp
Fennel seeds powder/ Saunf- 1/2 tsp
Roasted cumin seeds & red chilii powder (Jeera lanka gunda)- 1tsp
2-3 green chillies- chopped
turmeric powder- a pinch
oil 2tblsp
salt as per the taste


for cover
All purpose flour / Maida- 1& 1/2 cups
Nigella seeds/ kala jeera- 1tsp
Salt a pinch
Oil/ butter- 3-4 tblsp
Oil for frying

Method:

 To make the upper layer mix flour & oil. Mix them properly using your hands. Continue this rubbing action until the flour is evenly coated; it should have a fine texture with no lumps. Now add salt, nigella seeds & water to make tight dough (the dough should not be too soft other wise samosha will become soft). now cover it with a damp muslin cloth/ paper towel.

For filling:
Cut the potatoes in small small pieces
Heat oil. Crackle cumin seeds. Add onion & green chillies , saute till translucent. Add peanuts & fry for 15 sec. Now add crushed ginger garlic & turmeric powder. saute till raw smell dissapears. throw in some dried kasturi leaves. Now add green peas. saute till they bemoes soft. Add the boiled potatoes , salt fennel seeds powder , roasted cumin seeds powder & curry powder. Mix well. (you can also add a pinch of amchur powder if you want a tangy flavor in your samosha). Turn off the heat & allow the mixture to cool.

To make samosha

Knead the pastry dough again and divide it into lemon size balls. Keep the pieces you're not working with covered with the same muslin cloth. Roll this ball out into a 8 inch round. Cut it into half with a sharp, pointed knife. This will make 2 half moon shaped pastries.
Pick up one semicircular piece of dough and moisten half of the straight edge with a little water . Create a cone by bringing the dry half of the straight edge over the moistened half. Press the seam together to close. Be sure to pinch closed the point of the cone as well; a good seam will keep the stuffing in during frying..


Fill the cone with two heaping tablespoons of the spicy potato mixture. Use your fingers to moisten edges of dough with water, and fold dough diagonally in half to make a triangle. Press edges firmly together to seal in the filling. Use the remaining dough and filling to make more samosas.


Heat sufficient oil in a heavy bottom pan in a medium-low flame. The oil should little hot but not smoking,
Add the samosas in batches of four or five, Cook the samosas in the low-medium flame turning often, until they're golden brown & crisp. Transfer samosas to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Serve immediately or let them cool to room temperature.

Veg Lasagna

Lasagna (Pronounced as la-za-nia) are a wide, flat shaped types of pasta. The word also refers to a dish made with several layers of lasagne sheets alternated with sauces and various other ingredients. Lasagne is originated in Italy. 
Lasagna is also a very easy dish to prepare. Tomato sauce, lots of cheese and vegetables are the main constituents of it. I never had this before. Once I went to a tea party where all my friends were discussing about lasagna. I was silent listener there as I didn’t know what that was…. 
When I came home & goggled about it I found it is also a variation of pasta. As a pasta lover  I went quickly to a grocery store, picked one lasagne noodle packet (I live in US and its easy to find these noodles here so not sure about India or any other place) & all the ingredients  required to make it & tried… trust me it was a hit . Really flavorful. Will definitely make it again & again. 
I made 4 layers. First layer was eggplant , 2nd layer stir fried mix veggies, 3rd broccoli & mushroom & top most was spinach…. U can skip any layer if you want to. You can also add any vegetable according to your taste. 

Ingredients 

10-12 lasagne noodles 
2 Tbsp.  Butter 
2 cups milk
2 Tbsp.  Maida/ flour
1/4 tsp.  Salt
1/4 tsp.  Ground black pepper 
1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
2-3 Tbsp.  Olive oil
2 cups fresh spinach
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup chopped broccoli florets
1 cup shredded carrots
1 medium bell pepper, chopped
¼ cup sweet corn
1 large eggplant ½ inch thick sliced
1 cup chopped onion
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup spaghetti sauce
2 cups Ricotta Cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup of shredded whole-milk mozzarella cheese
½ cup bread crumbs

How to Prepare:

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. 
Take a large vessel. Add water to it & salt. Boil the lasagne noodles according to instructions on the packet. After cooking drain the noodles.



Heat olive oil in a large frying pan and add onion.  Cook the onion till it turns translucent.  Add garlic , sweet corn, grated carrots, bell pepper and a pinch of salt & black pepper then cook for 5 to 8 minutes till they turn to golden brown & crunchy. 



Mix ricotta cheese and basil. Turn off the heat & keep them in a bowl.

Again heat olive oil in the same frying pan. Add broccoli florets & mushroom. Stir fry for 3-4 min until crisp-tender. Adjust salt & pepper. Turn off the heat keep aside.

In the same pan add 1tblsp oil. Fry eggplant slices, only adding as many that will fit in the skillet without overlapping, until golden and soft, about 3-4 minutes per side. When all eggplant slices are done, set aside.

Melt butter in medium saucepan on low heat. Stir in flour, salt and ground pepper. Cook until bubbly, stirring frequently. Gradually add milk, stirring until well blended. Cook on medium heat until mixture boils and thickens, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low, simmer 2-3 min. Stir in Parmesan cheese. Set aside.

Apply olive oil/butter to the baking dish. Pour some spaghetti sauce & apply it in the baking dish.

SPOON 1/4 cup of the Parmesan sauce. Place four noodles lengthwise and side by side to cover the bottom. Place the stir fried eggplants .sprinkle some mozzarella cheese. 

Again place the noodles on the top of the eggplant. Now add he stir fried veggie mix. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese & some pasta sauce. 

Again cover with noodles. Now add stir fried broccoli & mushrooms. Add cheese & pasta sauce.

Now On the top add fresh spinach & to that add spaghetti sauce & remaining parmesan sauce. 

Final step cover with remaining noodles. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese & bread crumbs.

BAKE 40-45 min. till the cheese gets crusty around the edges. 

Now let the lasagne rest for 15 minutes and serve it and Enjoy.