Healthy - Travels for Taste

Avocado,Spinach and fruity Green Smoothie

February 18, 2015 by manjirichitnis 23 Comments

It’s a relatively bright and sunny but chilly February morning and the bright sunlight streaming through my kitchen window is not letting me sit down work due to the blinding light getting into my eyes. I have now moved to a cozy spot on the couch but it’s making me drowsy…

While I was away in India and eating all the wonderful local food, I also started reading up on a lot of things related to food, what we eat and how it affects us and how our body reacts to it all.

Now let me share some facts about myself – I am lazy – very lazy and not the type who will ever go the gym even twice a week – I have ended up wasting money in 2 currencies and 3 cities so I should know that however fabulous the gym it simply does NOT work for me.

Nor does dieting – I feel deprived and end up stuffing my face even more.

So what’s the way out when I have finally made a decision to eat sensibly and loose as much weight as I can without going mad. Well, past 2 weeks I have broken down my meals to smaller portions, trying to eat 5 small meals instead of 3 every day and have drastically cut down on sugar consumption. By sugar I don’t mean granulated sugar but sugar hidden in various food.

I have procured a chart about which foods are high in carbs and thus break down into sugar while they are being digested. Am consciously trying to read up more and steer clear of obviously sugar laden foods and any sugary foods are out. Thankfully I quit sugar in my tea years ago so that is not a problem but yes saying no to alcohol and other foods is not going to be easy. But then nothing good come by too easy does it?

So here goes, my morning smoothie recipe – an attempt to start the day on a healthy note :

Avocado,Spinach and fruity Green Smoothie

5 from 4 votes

Print Recipe

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 5

Servings: 2

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: Fusion

Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients

1/2 Banana
1/2 Pear
1/2 Big Avocado
1 Apple
8 tbsp Baby Spinach Leaves
2 tsp Ginger

Equipment

1 Blender

Method

Chop the ginger into small bits after roughly removing the skin, if the ginger is super fresh you can use the back of a spoon to easily peel of the fine layer of skin
Roughly chop all the fruitsinto chunks. Break the banana half by hand
Simply chuck all the aboveingredients into a food processor and add very little water just to give the smoothie some movement and consistency

I prefer a thick consistency the type you can scoop out using a spoon as it is simply more satisfying and increases the feeling of being full.

This made 2 small glasses and I had both of them , simply double up the quantity for 2 people and so on and so forth.

Leafy, green, tasty, bursting with fruity goodness and taste, this smoothie is an immune system booster and full of all things good for your body. It will definitely boost sagging energy levels and induce a feel-good factor. The smooth creamy taste added by the avocado is a bonus!

I have linked up my recipe with Credit Crunch Munch which is a frugal food recipe sharing challenge developed by Helen over at Fuss Free Flavours and Camilla over at Fab Food 4 All and guest hosted by the lovely Elizabeth who blogs at Elizabeth’s Diary, linked up for Feb 2015 on her blog post too.

Beetroot and Chickpea salad

February 6, 2015 by manjirichitnis 19 Comments

Who doesn’t love a salad that you can put together in no time? This easy to make and super quick to put together Beetroot and Chickpea salad recipe is just the thing when you want to eat healthy and not compromise on taste at the same time. I have added in amchoor powder which is a tangy dried mango powder which will give this salad a fabulous twist when combined with balsamic vinegar.

If possible try and buy baby beetroot cooked in vinegar as these would be the perfect size and also have the right amount of vinegar. If you are not sure of how much balsamic vinegar you can handle, add 1?2 tbsp first and then if you feel brave add another half. I have a whole collection of flavoured vinegar and if you can get your hands on cranberry infused vinegar, I highly recommend adding that in as it will totally elevate the flavour of your salad.

Manjiri Chitnis

Beetroot and Chickpea salad

Print Recipe

Servings: 4 servings

Course: Salad

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

1/2 Can Boiled and Cooked Chickpeas
250 Grams small beetroot cooked and peeled
1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1 small Red Onion slicedl ength wise
2 tsp Amchoor Powder
2 tsp Heaped Pomegranate Seeds

Method

In a large mixing bowl add the chickpeas
Chop the cooked and peeled beetroot into bite-size chunks. Add them to the chickpeas. Add the chopped onion and pomegranate seeds
Add the vinegar and the amchoor powder and mix well
Serve and sprinkle with more pomegranate seeds if desired

I have found the perfect linky to add my virtuous yet superbly delicious salad to. It’s this month’s Spice Trail with the theme ‘ Temple Food‘ hosted by the lovely Vanesther on her blog called ‘Bangers and Mash’. The whole concept of respecting your body by treating it like a temple is really apt for the way I have recently begun to think about food. I have to re-think and re-align what I feed my system and actually begin to ‘listen’ to what my body is speaking to me. It’s important that after years of neglect I FINALLY pay attention to what is entirely my own – my body.

By linking to this challenge I take heart in knowing that I am not ALONE. There are other like-minded foodies who are re-thinking their ways of eating. I do hope my recipe is one of the many delicious, innovative, and beautiful ones that will help my readers on their journey to eating healthy and feeling more energetic.

Creamy Oat Cream Pasta with crunchy green Salad

August 17, 2014 by manjirichitnis 8 Comments

I remember tasting Oatly for the first time at FBC earlier this year, it was a very pleasant taste, the chocolate one even better. All of us at Food Blogger connect this year got a generous bag of Oatly products to take home. The ‘milk’ went used up pretty quickly so I went and got us some more but the Organic Creamy Oat, basically a single cream, I was waiting to experiment with. Since the product is bursting with the goodness of all things organic and is dairy-free I thought why not keep everything about this pasta gluten and dairy-free. So I got some Lactofree mature cheddar cheese and also some pasta which is made from Italian rice and corn, therefore, making it dairy and gluten-free. Oatly cream uses organic rapeseed oil so my cooking medium is …you guessed that right organic rapeseed oil! And since the cream also contains sea salt as one of the ingredients I have used my trusty smoked Maldon sea salt in here too 🙂

This pasta dish can’t get any better, can it? Ok, wait till you hear what OatLy Creamy Oat is all about…It’s made in Sweden using entirely organic ingredients. The fat content is absurdly low 3% over 9.6% in regular cream. Besides, it tastes like cream made from cow’s milk and is packed with fibres.

Ingredients – For the pasta

Dairy and Gluten-free fusilli Pasta 150 gm
Smoked Bacon 200gm
1/2 of a 250 ml tetra pack OatLy cream
a bunch of spring onions
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
2 cloves of garlic with their skins on
Fresh rosemary and thyme sprigs 1 each
a pinch red chilli flakes
Maldon sea salt to taste

Method – For the pasta

Boil the pasta in a saucepan with some rapeseed oil and allow it to cook completely. Sprinkle some sea salt into the water while it is boiling.
While the pasta is boiling get started with preparing the sauce. Chop the spring onion into bite-size pieces.
In another saucepan add 1 tbsp olive oil and place on a medium heat, when the oil is hot, crush the garlic with the skin on and add into the hot oil.
Allow the garlic to brown and then add the spring onion when the onion begins to change colour add the bacon pieces and reduce the flame.

Let the bacon cook for about 5 minutes until it turns crisp and yummy while stirring occasionally till ensuring it doesn’t get burnt.

Reduce the flame and then pour the Oatly oat cream into the bacon mixture and add a sprig each of thyme and rosemary.
Cover the saucepan and allow to cook for about 2 – 3 minutes.
Add freshly crushed black pepper and sea salt to taste and some chilli flakes.
In a plate add the cooked pasta after draining excess water and pour the bacon and cream mixture over the top.

The oat cream will give you a thick creamy sauce and the smoked bacon adds deep, rich flavours to this pasta dish. It is great for those who are lactose intolerant or those simply looking for a switch. Add some grated lacto-free cheese for a truly cheesy and deliciously satisfying pasta carbonara. I know this dish isn’t vegan because of the bacon so if you want to make a vegan version using smoked paprika breadcrumbs for the texture and smoky taste, also to replace eggs and go vegan use soft tofu puree. I have skipped using eggs and honestly, I didn’t miss them at all in the sauce. So it is not really a carbonara but yes it’s just as silky and creamy and smoky and yummalicious ! 🙂

Ingredients – For the salad

1 medium-sized white onion
8 juicy cherry tomatoes
8 chestnut mushrooms
1/2 a bag of crunchy mixed salad leaves
8 stems of tender purple asparagus
8 stems of tender purple broccoli
Cranberry flavoured vinegar
1 tsp rapeseed oil
Freshly cracked black pepper
Maldon smoked sea salt to taste

Method – For the salad

Chop the tender stem purple asparagus roughly into bite-size pieces keeping the spearhead intact, do the same with tender stem purple broccoli. I loved the colour so I picked purple, its absolutely fine to go with the regular green stuff but the colours in this finished salad are so vibrant! Set aside and move onto the mushrooms and onion now.
Chop the mushrooms into bite-sized pieces, then chop the onion in half and then slice it fine lengthwise
In a saucepan heat the olive oil.
Saute the garlic with skin on in the hot oil and when it turns brown add the mushrooms in. Let them cook for about 1/2 a minute.
Add the onion, asparagus and broccoli into the saucepan and stir for about 1 minute on a low flame we don’t want the greens and the onion to cook and loose the crunch and bite, just give them a bit of flavour so they sit well with the leaves.
Take the saucepan off the bowl and allow to cool.

In a salad bowl was and add the salad leaves, give them a good slosh of cranberry vinegar, sea salt and cracked black pepper and give them a good old’ shake so that the vinegar coats the leaves well.
Place the green and onion over the salad leaves and throw in some juicy red cherry tomatoes on a vine or salad tomatoes into the salad. Give another sprinkling of Maldon sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
If you want to bulk up this salad add 2 boiled eggs halved on top and serve with a cheesy bread or focaccia as a side with a creamy mushroom or chicken soup for a wholesome but light and healthy meal option! Keep the bulked-up version of this salad vegan, again by replacing boiled eggs with fresh large chunks of tofu.
This salad is bursting with goodness and packs in a great punch of flavour with the cranberry flavoured vinegar and the meaty mushrooms and crunchy tender stem asparagus and broccoli feel so lush together when you bite into them ummmmm

I am quite happy with the end result of this pasta and have another 250 ml tetra pack of Oatly Creamy Oat to experiment …wonder what will come out of that lovely little pack, now where is my thinking cap ?!

Tomato and Lentil Soup

March 8, 2014 by manjirichitnis 61 Comments

Sometimes the guilt of eating too many wrong things just gets to me and I need to balance the scales internally. This calls for a comforting and filling soupy treat with a pinch of something yum thrown in. Also, all those gorgeous cherry tomatoes and vine tomatoes sitting in my fridge were begging to used -asap or risk being dumped into my green food recycle bag. Thrifty that I am, I will not allow that to happen in my kitchen! And I always turn to my stored lentils for something comforting and homely.

This recipe is perfect for making ahead in a larger batch and freeze some for later.

Manjiri Chitnis

Tomato and Lentil Soup

5 from 7 votes

Wholesome and delicious, this vegetarian and vegan friendly recipe is as easy on the tummy as it is on the pocket

Print Recipe

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 25

Servings: 2 people

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Fusion Indian

Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients

3/4 cup Red Lentils/Masoor split without skin
1/4 cup Yellow Lentil/Moong – split without skin
4 – 5 medium-sized Tomatoes
1 pinch Asafoetida
2 Red Onions
5 – 6 Garlic cloves
2 tsp Coriander Powder
2 tsp Cumin Powder
½ Thum-sized Fresh Ginger – peeled
2-3 Cloves
1 tsp Pepper powder
Red chilli flakes – optional
3 large tbsp Oil for frying
1 tbsp oil for the tadka
Salt to taste

Equipment

Pressure Cooker / Heavy-bottomed pan
Knife and chopping board
Kadhai or any pan
Potato masher or a large ladle
Blender / Mixer

Method

Wash the lentil through a sieve and pressure cook – 3 whistles
Let the steam escape and then loosen cooker lid
Remove cooked lentils and allow to cool completely
If you are not a pressure cooker lover then cook the lentils in a big saucepan with exactly two times the water than the quantity of the lentils
Lentils cook quickly in a pan, cover and cook and keep an eye as water may boil over
Finely chop red onions chopped into long slivers
Chop the tomatoes into 4 pieces – just for ease of blending
In a kadhai or wok heat the 3 tbsp oil and deep fry the garlic chopped into fine strips
Add the red onions and sauté are absolutely crisp, the aroma is delicious
Puree the washed tomatoes with the deep-fried red onion and garlic (leave some for garnishing)
Use a potato masher ( or the back of a large ladle) and roughly squash the cooked and cooled lentils and mix them with the tomatoes puree
In the same kadhai/wok or pan used to fry the onions and garlic – heat about 1 to 1.5 tsp oil
Add asafoetida, whole cumin, coriander powder, cumin powder, red chilli powder, cloves
Sauté the spices in the oil for under a minute
Add the cooked lentils and tomato puree
Add water if the mixture is too thick
Cover and cook on a low flame for 5 -8 minutes
Season with salt as per taste
Garnished with the remaining crispy fried onion and garlic bits
Sprinkle some freshly cracked pepper
Serve hot
Best accompanied by hot buttered toast

Wholemeal bread, a crusty baguette, or a soft cheesy loaf – all make for great accompaniments with this soup. Indulge yourself by adding a blob of butter on top of the soup before serving.

Healthy Baked White Fish with a mint and spice dressing

January 13, 2014 by manjirichitnis 26 Comments

Ladies this one is to be bookmarked and is perfect for any day when you want to treat your taste buds and yet not load on the calories.

Serves:2 Prep Time:5 Minutes Marination time :20 minutes In the Oven: 15 – 20 Minutes

Ingredients:

Fry Lite or olive oil 4 tsp
2 thick white fish fillets – I use Haddock
2 tbsp mint and coriander dressing
2 heaped tbsp ginger garlic paste
2 tsp red chilli powder
2 tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste
2 tsp coriander powder
2 tsp cumin powder
Handful of finely chopped spring onion
Handful of chives finely chopped
Freshly cracked black pepper to garnish
sea salt for garnish
1/2 lemon juice for garnish

Method:

Wash the fillets and place on a large dish to apply the marinade.
Sprinkle the red chilli powder, turmeric,coriander,cumin,salt and along with the ginger garlic paste and mint and coriander dressing mix well and totally coat the fish.
Marinate the fish for 20 minutes to allow the flavours to seep in and develop.
In a baking tray use just 4 sprays of fry lite and spread evenly across the tray, add the chopped spring onion and sprinkle with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
Place the marinated fish on this and sprinkle the finely chopped chives on the top.

Pre heat the oven to 200°C and bake for 15- 20 minutes.
Garnish with a generous squeeze of lemon juice.
Serve with a side of salad leaves and cherry tomatoes and a soft crusty baguette.

I know the photographs here look terrible but honestly by the time I got the fish ready on Sunday it was almost 3pm, had a lazy start to the day and by then the light was gone so even after cleaning up the image it is quite sorry looking and is no way doing justice to this awesome dish! I do hope that I can get better pictures next time!

I do hope you enjoy this recipe and share your thoughts if you make it! Cheers!

Just in the nick of time, I have entered this original recipe creation in the #Cookingwithherbs challenge by Karen Burns-Booth on her blog Lavender and Lovage. The theme for January 2014 is citrusy and herbs, this fish definitely has it all and a citrusy bang! I wonder why I haven’t entered this challenge in the past, most of the dishes use so many herbs especially lime, oh well, here’s to a fresh start!

Red Lentil Soup

December 11, 2013 by manjirichitnis 6 Comments

I tried to write this blog post sometime after ma came home from the hospital but things were a bit topsy turvy but here it is now!

Sometime in November in India…..

”My ma’s bff’s have been pampering her a lot and have been a bunch of real sweethearts. One of her friends who we shall call Aunty A, came over last week and got her some heartwarming veg soup among some other goodies.

All the medications have killed ma’s taste buds and her appetite to an extent so this soup was a wonderful new bouquet of mild but delicious flavours for her. AM has agreed to share some of her other recipes as well including one which helped her the first prize in a cooking contest! Whoops! How I love all of ma’s buddies – all such passionate foodies 😉

Ok so here’s how you can create this Masoor dal or Red Lentil Soup

Ingredients:

1 cup red lentil dal
1/2 a red onion
1 tomato
1/2 a potato boil
Salt as per taste
Pepper to garnish
1/2 tbsp ghee/clarified butter
Few whole cloves/lavang
1 cinnamon stick/dalchini
Water as required
some unsalted butter to slather an accompanying slice of toasted brown bread

Method:

In a vessel add the lentils and roughly chopped onion, tomato, and potato(peeled and roughly chopped) and add enough water to soak them.
Boil the red lentil ,onion ,tomato, and potato in a cooker. Give it 3 whistles
After the steam releases from the cooker and the lid comes off easily, allow the mixture to cool down completely.
Puree in mixer/food processor , add some more water to adjust to a soup lile consistency and garnish with salt n pepper.
In a saucepan add 1/2 a tsp of ghee /clarified butter ,on a medium heat ,add dalchini/ cinnamon stick and a few whole cloves/lavang.
Reduce the heat to a minimum and now the tadka is ready, carefully pour the puree from the food processor/mixer into the clarified butter and spice tadka as it may sputter.
Serve the soup hot with a lightly buttered slice of brown bread ideally with unsalted butter.”

I am entering this delicious and healthy Red Lentil Soup recipe into one of my favourite foodie link up’s hosted by Jacqueline Meldrum of Tinned Toms and Lisa of Lisa’s Kitchen aka Food and Spice alternatively. It’s easy peasy just go to Lisa’s blog as she is the host for May 2015 and add in your recipe post to the linky, then link to both Lisa and Jaq’s blogs as I have done and add the No Croutons logo to your post, all done! Any Salad or soup will do but only one post per blogger, also watch out for the round-up done after the 28th of each month.

Caramelised Red Onion Chutney with Feta and Chickpeas Salad

October 20, 2013 by manjirichitnis 3 Comments

On a trip to one of my favourite supermarkets I purchased my first jar of caramelised red onion chutney. Coming from India my palate is well -acclimatised to red onions and their sharp sweet taste. The tangy taste and deep rich colour and versatility of this chutney got me hooked on this dish and I was using it ever so often.

Since then I had been planning to make this chutney at home and after scouring for recipes online, I found this interesting recipe by Fraser Doherty – The Super Jam Cookbook. It’s a basic and simple recipe yet perfect in proportion and that’s exactly what a great recipe should be.

It’s a perfect accompaniment for a good roast or in toasted sandwiches with a light soup during a cold wintry day. This chutney goes well with feta cheese and chickpea salad as it does with cheese and crackers. This is also my way of using all those empty glass jars that have been stacked behind various shelves in my tiny kitchen.

Averse to consuming chickpeas in popular Indian fare like ‘’Chole Bhature’’( a chickpea masala gravy with ‘’Bhature’’ which is huge, puffed fried fermented wheat bread). I find this a much healthier alternative to get my husband to eat chickpeas and get a nod of approval from my biggest critic 😉

Caramelised Red Onion Chutney

Ingredients:

8 red onions
1 red chilli
2 bay leaves
25ml olive oil
200g brown sugar
150ml balsamic vinegar
150ml red wine vinegar

Method:

Chop the red onions into fine long slices. Slice the chilli into long thin slits. Heat the olive oil in the saucepan and add the bay leaf and chilli followed by the red onions. On a low flame stir continuously and cook for about 20 minutes.

The onions will change colour now and turn dark and the mixture will have reduced in volume. Now stir in the sugar first followed by the vinegar, I used dark muscovado sugar as I love the rich dark smoky flavour. Simmer this mixture for 30 minutes and the chutney now turns sticky and thick.

While this is simmering, sterilise all those glass bottles and store the chutney in them. It takes a month for the flavour to mature fully.

Chutney close up in tiny bonne mamon jar

Feta Cheese and Chickpea Salad

Serves 4 as a side with a main meal

Ingredients:

120g chickpeas (That’s half a can of tinned chickpeas ready to eat)
120g packet of crunchy salad leaves
100g feta cheese
A pinch of Maldon sea salt
Half a red onion sliced thin and lengthwise
Few cherry tomatoes
Few small boiled potatoes
Some slices of colourful peppers

Method:

Create a bed of leaves and throw in the chickpeas and other ingredients. A generous dollop of the caramelised red onion chutney in this salad will offset the feta cheese beautifully. It’s great for a meatless Monday lunch or a perfect accompaniment for a big family Sunday lunch.

The best part of making this chutney is that I get to give some to my friends, sharing is fun isn’t it?

Upma/Uppit (उप्पीट)- a classic Indian breakfast recipe

October 9, 2013 by manjirichitnis 4 Comments

In Marathi, my mother tongue we call this dish ”Uppit” and in the south of India its called Upma.

It’s a fluffy cooked breakfast made of roasted semolina and spices and can be customized by adding green peas and small carrot bits. I love eating this steaming hot garnished with a generous sprinkling of freshly chopped coriander and some finely grated fresh coconut – umm perfection, can almost feel a strong waft of the aroma swirl around my nose as I sit here and type the recipe 😉

After Kande Pohe this has to be my number one favourite Indian breakfast option. Agreed there’s a lot of ingredients but there’s a lot of flavour too!

In the Matunga area, there are many good Udipi restaurants who do upma on their breakfast menu and it’s so good gobbling fresh hot upma and dowing a cuppa or tow of hot filter coffee before getting to work on a busy weekday morning in Mumbai city. It’s very filling and budget-friendly too:) All you need is some time before rushing for the daily commute to ensure you can squeeze yourself into the restaurant and sit on one of the long wooden benches with complete strangers and hope to God you don’t have coriander stuck in between your front teeth if they smile at you 😉

Manjiri Chitnis

Upma/Uppit (उप्पीट)- a classic Indian breakfast recipe

5 from 2 votes

Aclassic Indian savoury breakfast or tea time dish. There are many versionsnamely the one made in South India and the one made in Maharashtra

Print Recipe

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 5

Total Time 20

Servings: 2 people

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

1 cup rava approx 100 grams
1/2 tsp urid dal
2 tbsp sunflower oil
A pinch of asafoetida
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 heaped tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chilli powder actually 1/2 a tsp for the ones who do not like their Indian food too spicy
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
2 green chillies chopped fine
5-6 fresh curry leaves
2 pods of garlic chopped fine or simply smash them and drop in the saucepan with skin on!
1/2 red onion finely chopped
1/4 th of a juicy red tomato
Salt as per taste
Juice of a quarter lime
A pinch of sugar
Fresh coriander to garnish
Fine grated fresh coconut

Method

I usually roast the whole packet of 1 kilo of semolina I buy on a flat pan on a very low flame stirring constantly and then allow it to cool down completely.
Then store the roasted semolina in tins ready to use when I need to make this dish or the sweet version called Gooda Sheera/ Sooji Halwa which is a popular Maharashtrian sweet dish and especially important during festivals as we serve it as Prasad to Lord Ganesh or during Satyanarayan Pooja
In a saucepan add the oil and as it starts to heat, add the asafoetida, mustard cumin seeds and urid dal. The urid dal brown very quickly so stir this around a bit
When the mustard seeds begin to pop add the curry leaves, green chillies and garlic and chopped red onion.
When the garlic begins to turn a toasty brown and the onion reduces add the tomato and give this mixture a proper stir
Now add the turmeric, red chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and salt and mix well
Then add double the amount of water as compared to the quantity of rava/semolina, cover the saucepan with a lid and let the water come to a boil
If you wish to add green peas and carrots finely chopped for an extra burst of taste do it just when the water begins to boil and let it cook in the hot water
Now slowly stir in the semolina ensuring that it does not form lumps
Add the juice of a quarter of a lime, sprinkle a pinch of sugar
Cover the saucepan with a lid and cook on a low flame for 2-3 minutes stirring occasionally to prevent lumps forming or the mixture becoming too dry, if it is very lumpy sprinkle water and mix well

Serve hot garnished with chopped coriander and freshly grated coconut.

I am just beginning to experiment with photos taken using my new 50mm f1.8 Canon lens – A’s gift to me for my birthday this year, I quite like the steady pattern of gifts coming in, starting with my first DSLR for my birthday last year. Just need to figure ways to wiggle out other gifts *evil laugh follows* 😉

Caribbean Sweet Mini Pepper Salad

July 19, 2013 by manjirichitnis 3 Comments

When I first purchased sweet mini peppers I made a pie with them, well honestly it looked anything but perfect and just about made it to ”ok” on the taste parameters, but I shall leave that discussion for a later date. This recipe is adapted from the one given on the cute resealable bag in which the vibrantly colourfull and tempting sweet peppers were packaged in by the supermarket.

Serves:6 as a side dish Prep Time:15 Minutes, allow for at least half an hour of marination to allow flavours to really develop and pack a punch

Ingredients for the salad dressing:Juice of 1 lime

Juice of 1 lime
1 garlic clove – remove skin and crush
2 X 15 ml cooking oil, I used sunflower
3 X 15 ml red wine vinegar
1 X 5 ml hot pepper sauce
1/4 X 5 ml Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 a teaspoon castor sugar
Salt to sprinkle
Freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Ingredients for the salad

6-8 sweet mini peppers, de-seeded and chopped into tiny cubes
1 can of 400 gm (14 oz) ready to eat red kidney beans drained and rinsed
1/2 a cucumber, peeled and chopped into tiny cubes
250 gm cherry tomatoes
1 large red onion sliced lenght wise
195 gm (7oz) sweet corn drained

I also added the remaining portion of the organic mangoes,roughly chopped into bite sized pieces, this is an optional add I just needed to use up the mango and it added a sweet-tangy taste which I love.You could also chop fine a small bunch of fresh coriander or skip it totally.

Method:

In a large salad bowl mix all the dressing ingredients and add all the salad ingredients into the bowl
Mix well and leave to marinate for at least half an hour.
Since it’s super hot right now I kept it in the fridge for a bit before serving.

This salad is a super side dish with Jerk Chicken and for those summer evening when you feel you cannot eat heavy meals, just combine it with a portion of roasted meat replacement done lightly spiced.I love my new salad bowl gifted by my aunt on her visit to ours.Love you maushi.

Baked Courgette Chips

June 16, 2013 by manjirichitnis 4 Comments

I often crave to munch on something like most of us do and just munching on something so different and bursting with flavour is satiating.

Plus there’s a lot less guilt munching on something that’s baked rather than deep-fried right?? Well, ahem! This recipe was adapted from one I found on All Recipes.

What I love most about this is that it’s done quickly, give it a prep time of 5 min, a cook time of 15 mins, and is ready in 20 minutes! What more can one ask for, just get that oven fired up people!

So here’s what you will need :

Manjiri Chitnis

Baked courgette chips

Easy, delicious and fun to make

Print Recipe

Course: Snack

Cuisine: Fusion

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

2 medium courgettes
2 tbsp Grated parmesan cheese
100 gm Golden Breadcrumbs
2 Egg whites
SmokedSea Salt as per taste
Groundblack pepper
1/2 tsp Mixed Italian herbs
Olive Oil

Method

Add the breadcrumbs, cheese, herbs, smoked sea-salt ( I use Oak-smoked Anglesey sea salt, it really packs a punch) ,ground black pepper, Italian herb-mix into a bowl and mix well
Pour the egg whites into another small bowl
Slice the courgettes fine, I use a mandolin to get wafer-thin round slices
Dip the courgette slices into the egg whites and then quickly into the bread crumb mix
Pre heat the oven
Line a baking tray with foil and using a brush apply some olive oil to the foil or use a low-calorie oil spray
Place the courgette slices onto the baking tray
Bake each side for 5 minutes at at 240°C / Gas Mark 9
Once completely cool, transfer to an air-tight container and consume within 1-2 days

I gobbled them up in one sitting! All washed down with a big cuppa of my steaming hot and sweer masala Chai, perfect for a summer afternoon when all you want to do is read that ”unputdownable” book! I am currently reading Dan Brown’s Inferno, what’s on your reading list?

I am guest hosting the blog linky ‘In My Veg Box’ again this year in March 2015 on my blog, an event run by Vegetarian food blogger Nayna Kanabar of Citrus Spice UK and the theme this month is Courgettes. Just added in my favourite Baked Courgette ‘chips’ recipe to the linky.

Would love to see all your lovely creations with Courgettes, do link up, all details on how to link up are available on my post here.

Avocado,Spinach and fruity Green Smoothie

Avocado,Spinach and fruity Green Smoothie

Ingredients

Equipment

Method

Beetroot and Chickpea salad

Beetroot and Chickpea salad

Ingredients

Method

Tomato and Lentil Soup

Tomato and Lentil Soup

Ingredients

Equipment

Method

Healthy Baked White Fish with a mint and spice dressing

Red Lentil Soup

Caramelised Red Onion Chutney with Feta and Chickpeas Salad

Caramelised Red Onion Chutney

Feta Cheese and Chickpea Salad

Upma/Uppit (उप्पीट)- a classic Indian breakfast recipe

Upma/Uppit (उप्पीट)- a classic Indian breakfast recipe

Ingredients

Method

Caribbean Sweet Mini Pepper Salad

Baked Courgette Chips

Baked courgette chips

Ingredients

Method

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