Recipe Index Archives - Page 3 of 11

Whole Sea Bass steamed with a Rainbow side salad

May 1, 2015 by manjirichitnis 16 Comments

A delicious and healthy steamed fish recipe perfect for stay in #FishFriday night dinner or a lovely brunch on a lazy afternoon. The accompanying salad is colourful and full of fresh veggies that’s why I choose to call it a Rainbow Salad.

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

1 large sea bass scaled and gutted
1 large lemon
2 sprigs of Rosemary
Thyme
Chives
Garlic sea salt
Red Chilli powder

For the steamed veggies on the side

2 small carrots per person
Handful of green peas person

For the Rainbow Side Salad

Ingredients:

1 fresh pepper (capsicum)
1 small red onion
1/2 a courgette
1 tomato
1 tbsp Red wine Vinegar
2 tbsp chopped parsley
Freshly cracked black pepper
Sea salt
Olive Oil

Method:

To steam the fish

Pre-heat the oven to 200 °C
Wash the fish and place on the foil.
Stuff the lemon wedges inside the fish along with the Chives, rosemary and thyme.
Sprinkle generously with sea salt, red chilli powder and a drizzle of olive oil
Wrap the fish in the foil parcel and cook in the oven until it has cooked through, should take about 20-25 minutes.
Steam the veggies in a steamer.

To make the Rainbow Salad:

Chop all the vegetables into tiny bite sized cubes.
Place chopped veggies in a large bowl and drizzle olive oil and add the red wine vinegar.
Season well with sea salt and add a generous sprinkle of freshly cracked black pepper.
Mix well

To Serve

Plate a portion of the fish and serve the steamed carrots and peas on the side.
Serve a generous helping of the crunchy veggies salad.

Here are some other fabulous recipes to try if you are cooking sea bass:

Baked Sea Bass on a bed of vegetables from Simply Krati
Fennel and Pancetta Baked Sea Bass from Anne’s Kitchen

Ragi and Blueberry Pancakes / Finger Millet Blueberry Pancakes/ Nachni chya god polya

April 11, 2015 by manjirichitnis 13 Comments

Another new obsession – Nachni (Marathi) / Ragi (Hindi) or Finger Millet as it is popularly known , in the past few days have made savoury pancakes several times so today I thought I would rustle up some sweet pancakes. But had to keep them healthy so opted for Soya Yoghurt instead of eggs which makes these vegan friendly and added in oats so that makes them gluten free too.

I really wanted to come up with some name for the Marathi alternative to this recipe and ‘Nachni chya god polya’ sounded like fun 😉

Light and puffy these are just perfect when you are craving pancakes but a healthier version is what you really want!

Ragi is known to have a whole host of health benefits:

Popular amongst diabetics due to it’s low GI
High is dietary fiber
Rich in calcium, iron and thiamine
It is an aid to healthy weight loss due to it’s very low fat content
It is a good source of GF protien
Popular as a baby food too

Nutritional value of finger millet per 100g

Protein 7.6g

Fat 1.5g

Carbohydrate 88g

Calcium 370mg

Vitamins – A: 0.48mg

Thiamine (B1): 0.33mg

Riboflavin (B2): 0.11mg

Niacin: (B3) 1.2mg

Fiber 3g

Image Credit: Mikael Häggström

Why you should make these pancakes! As if you need any excuses for blueberry pancakes!!!

Low GI due to the finger millet flour so ideal for diabetics as it keeps blood sugar levels steady avoiding any sudden spikes and crashes.
Gluten free
Ideal for vegans
Dairy Free
Egg Free
Refined sugar free as Natvia is great sugar substitute
The oats ensure that this pancake keeps you fuller longer

Serves: 1 – makes 6 mini pancakes – double up quantity for 2 people

Ingredients:

6 heaped tbsp oats
4 heaped tbsp finger millet flour
3 tbsp Soya yoghurt – I used Alpro – it’s approved by the Vegan society
Handful of blueberries
water
4 tsp of Natvia – adjust as per taste

Method:

In a large mixing bowl add the oats and finger millet and then the yoghurt
Mix well and a thick mixture will form
Heat about 2 cups of water in a kettle and let it cool down a bit
Slowly pour into the mixture and set aside for about 5-7 minutes
Then mix well to form a batter ensuring that it is not runny but has a good consistency, then add the Natvia and stir well till it all dissolves, adjust as per taste.
On a non-stick pan on medium heat melt 1 heaped tbsp unsalted butter or if your using the 1 cal sunflower oil spray then about 6 – 8 sprays are enough.
Ladle enough of the batter in the centre of the pan enough for a mini pancake, do not spread it like a dosa as the batter will disintegrate.
Allow to cook on each side for about 1 minute with a lid.
Use a wooden spatula to loosen the side done first and flip over carefully, the more the blueberries in each pancake that you ladle into the pan the more the water content as the heat will make the fruit pop and melt into gooey fruity goodness. Don’t fret if the first few pancakes break especially where the fruit is at the edge.

My pancake stack collapsed just as I was about to photograph it – humfph! But it was a very satisfying , delicious and healthy breakfast which even the hubster loved – win-win! Woohoo 🙂

A word of caution though excessive consumption may lead to kidney trouble so don’t over do the consumption.

Lastly a fun fact! Did you know that the grains are fermented to make a beer in some parts in Nepal? Cool or what?!

References:

Wiki
Supra Organics
Veg Weight Loss Diets

Whole Masoor dal and Tofu salad

April 8, 2015 by manjirichitnis 16 Comments

The long Easter weekend has sped past far too quick for me and am back to work. I just wanted to keep lunch really light today – guilty after ordering a Chinese takeaway yesterday *sad face*

So this recipe is basically me throwing together stuff found in my fridge, not necessarily planned but just what I thought would taste yummy and am very pleased with the result.

I am currently in love with a few things like red lentils, avocados, butternut nut squash, oranges, baby spinach, baby kale, walnuts and matcha green tea. I somehow can’t seem to get enough of this. Also my love affair with tofu is just getting more passionate.

Whole Masoor Dal and Tofu salad

Serves: 2 with extra helpings

Ready in: 45 minutes (If roasted squash is done then ready in 20 minutes)

Ingredients:

80gm baby spinach
150 gm whole red masoor dal i.e. whole red lentils with skin – You could use cooked ready to eat puy lentils if you are pressed for time but then accordingly need to adjust the time used to cook them with the stock pot.
50 gm Tofu
Approx 75gm Butternut Squash and sweet potato diced
1/2 an avocado
1/2 Knorr stock pots of onion gravy
1/2 Knorr stock pots of mixed chillies
Walnuts chopped roughly to garnish

Whole Masoor Dal and Tofu salad

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 (I have fan oven, adjust setting accordingly to suit your oven type)
Line a baking tray with a baking sheet, place the diced butternut squash and sweet potato , drizzle some olive oil, smoked sea salt and black pepper. I purchased a ready to roast pack of diced butternut squash and sweet potato from LIDL.
To save time, you could roast a larger batch of the diced butternut squash and sweet potato, so it’s ready to be used in soups, salads and curries.
Wash the whole masoor in sieve under running water.
Place the washed whole masoor with double the quantity of water in a small saucepan and add in the Knorr stock pots of onion gravy and mixed chillies. Cover with a lid and allow to boil until the dal is completely cooked. Top up with more water if you think it is running dry
If you like your tofu firm then cut out about 1/4th of the tofu from the pack and place it on a kitchen towel to remove excess water, then place another plate on top keep something on this plate to weigh it down. Leave aside for 10 minutes. This should drain the excess water from the tofu.
Alternatively just cut the tofu straight from the pack into large chunks – I like the texture of the tofu when it’s done like but hubby like its the other way around. If like me, you haven’t drained and pressed the tofu to become extra firm, then handle it very gently with a wooden spatula as it easily crumbles.
Now place the tofu on a non-stick pan and dry roast on a low-medium flame for about 4 minutes each side or until done.
Meanwhile half and avocado, scoop out the flesh and roughly cut into large chunks with a spoon.
Remove the butternut squash and sweet potato from the oven and set aside.
Remove the lid from the sauce pan containing the whole massor dal cooked and allow it to rest for a while as it should not be too hot when served, also allowing it to sit will help the dal to absorb any excess water, if there is too much excess water simply drain it.
To plate, divide the spinach leaves equally on the plate, then serve the cooked masoor dal on top, followed by the oven roasted butternut squash and sweet potato, dry roasted tofu and finally top with the walnuts.

I found that this salad didn’t require any dressing or drizzling as the cooked dal works well with the succulent and sweet squash and the tofu adds texture and tastes great with the spinach. Walnuts add crunch, taste fab and are great for those who try this salad for the first time expecting it to be boring. Avocado I like with everything so I simply like having it in there.

I am up for experimenting and may try various permutations of this salad with the following toppings, not only will they make your salad more interesting but also help you reduce food wastage by finding new ways to recycle any of the following leftovers :

steamed fish – salmon and topped with pine nuts
Pan grilled Tofu and walnuts
slices of pork salami with nuts

I shall be reporting back with happy experiments with salads and smoothies soon for now am just very satisfied with the end result and the fact that I am back to eating healthy.

Whole Masoor Dal and Tofu salad

Kale, Spinach and fruity superfood smoothie

March 15, 2015 by manjirichitnis 1 Comment

Am back with another smoothie post, this one was even better than my previous green one in that , that hubster really enjoyed it and was blissfully unaware about how much Kale he had unknowingly added into his system 🙂

Also Chia seeds are now a permanent feature of our smoothies and I add them into our porridge too, they are quite bland on their own and go with almost anything. They are a superfood and antioxidant boosting . Besides starting your day with a green smoothie keeps you going for longer, with a healthier fuller feeling which does not spike your blood sugar levels as some other sugar laden juices can do , which then suddenly lead to a crash and thus result in hunger pangs.

What’s fab about this smoothie?

Chia seeds are 100% natural whole grains that are rich in omega-3, antioxidants, fibre, vitamins and minerals. Great for those who have Type 2 diabetes as chia seeds can significantly lower blood pressure and a marker for inflammation.
Kale is rich in Vitamins K and C and is calcium, also it contains a chemical called sulforaphane which has anti cancer properties.
Spinach helps boost iron levels and is a rich source of various Vitamins like B2,K , C & A.

Kale, Spinach and fruity superfood smoothie

Serves: 2 – makes 4 small glass fulls

Ingredients:

Large handful of baby spinach leaves per person
Large handful of Kale leaves per person
Large handful of fresh raspberries per person
1 Big avocado per person
1/2 a pear per person
1/2 of a small tetra pack of coconut water per person
a small knob of ginger

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 the pear.
Half the avocados, remove the seed and roughly make large chunks.
Wash the spinach and kale under running water in a colander.
Simply chuck all the above ingredients into a food processor with the coconut water and add very little water just to give the smoothie some more movement while it mixes in the food processor.

How to make a delicious Green smoothie in minutes!

Adjust the quantities according to how many servings you want to make.
Sprinkle with some chia seeds and a raspberry or two and drink up for a delicious and filling smoothie that will do wonders for your body and mind!

* With information gleaned off Wiki and some other useful sites and articles like here and here. Having said that am not a nutrition expert and am trying hard to get onto a balanced diet and exercise regime and educating myself to understand super foods, how to eat cleaner, healthier and incorporate more raw foods, how to eat the right food at the right time to reduce blood sugar and how to fight off diabetes and other obesity led disorders .

Kale, Spinach and fruity superfood smoothie

Butternut Squash and Lentil Soup

March 14, 2015 by manjirichitnis 12 Comments

As spring begins to unfold and the weather changes to beautiful sunny days and chilly evenings, I like that we can still enjoy warming and wholesome soups. Butternut squash is so versatile and there are various ways to use it in soups, curries, salads etc.

This recipe is created by Chef Annie James at Sunrise of Tettenhall for Sunrise Senior Living who make sure that all of their recipes are nutritious and tasty, making them great for everyone, not just the elderly. Of the many recipe options they sent me I choose to make this one because I simply adored red lentils as those who read my blog will know. The buttery aroma of onions sauteing which filled my kitchen was simply amazing and very satisfying. Needless to say the soup went down and treat and even normally fussy hubster greedily licked his bowl clean – no better compliment than that folks ins’t it? I must admit I couldn’t resist adding a bit of my own personal finishing touches as my palate is so used to all the spicy and tangy little ad-on’s that I normally use 😉

Butternut Squash and Red Lentil Soup

Serves:4 Preparation Time: 10 minutes Cooking time: approx 25 minutes Ingredients:

400 ml vegetable stock
150 gms butternut squash – peeled and diced into bite sized bits
12 gm unsalted butter
2 red onion – peeled and chopped fine
3 carrots -peeled and diced into small bits
60gm dried red lentil ie. masoor dal – split without skin
Sea salt with a hint of garlic
Freshly cracked black pepper
small quantity of fresh coriander to garnish

Butternut Squash and Red Lentil Soup

Method:

In a large saucepan or stockpot melt the butter on a medium flame
Saute’ the finely chopped onions in the butter for just under 4- 5 minutes till they turn a beautiful golden brown colour and reduce
Then add in the chopped carrots, squash and saute’ for a further 2- 3 minutes
Bite sized Carrots and Butternut Squash sauteed in butter and onion
Now stir in the vegetable stock and the red lentils.
Reduce to a low flame and let the soup simmer gently.
Cook until the vegetables and lentils are tender.
Allow the soup to cool down to room temperature, then using a hand blender puree’ until smooth or like I did give it a whizz in your food processor.
Season with sea salt with a garlic or plain sea salt and add a generous sprinkling of freshly cracked black pepper.
Garnish with a just a small amount of finely chopped fresh coriander.
Serve hot ideally with a warm crusty bread with a dollop of butter. If your conscience allows it stir in a small amount of fresh cream into the soup or smother your crusty bread with some freshly made garlic butter 😉

Butternut Squash and Red Lentil Soup

*With thanks to Sunrise Senior Living and the PR team for reimbursing the expense for ingredients . No monetary compensation was offered for a positive review. As always all opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Easy Moroccan Chicken one pot meal

February 20, 2015 by manjirichitnis 22 Comments

The chill in the air is just right for warming one pot meals. Make them healthy, quick and easy to put together and you have a winner on your hands.Last year at the Cake and Bake show which I attended with a dear friend and fellow blogger , I ended up spending a bomb (£££!!!!) on four different sized pots – non – stick being one of their biggest virtues.One of them is a huge wok which I intend to use to make a stir fry over the weekend. The coating is said to last for years and each vessel comes with a glass lid. I can apparently also shove them directly into the oven but haven’t tried that yet. The big and rather saucepan is what I use as my crock pot for making one pot meals in. In fact there is something very comforting watching a warming curry or gorgeously tasty and nutritious one pot meals!

Ok so coming back to my one pot recipe. I had a bag of baby spinach leaves in my fridge and was craving a wholesome soupy stew with lots of vegetables. So managed to gather a few things that I think would taste great together and then added in Knorr onion gravy pots and Knorr mixed chilli pot for flavour and the result was so very satisfying. But the best part was adding in Ras El Hanout a delicious and fiery moroccan and North African fragrant spice mix. The delicate dried rose petals look so pretty , that’s why I decided to name my dish Moroccan Chicken one pot.I also devoured it for lunch today – umm.

Make this in a large quantity and it will freeze well. Batch cooking is highly recommended as it saves you time and ensures that you do not eat things that you will end up regretting when you are hard pressed for time and simply cannot cook.The freezer is a wonderful boon, use it!

I purchased a beautiful Red Leicester and Pumpkin seed batard to go with my meal – it is soul-satisfying to mop up the thick gravy with the bread while sitting on the couch watching my fav crime show on the telly, feeling all warm and happy.

The best part of this recipe is I haven’t added in potatoes or extra sugar to taste and yet the flavours are so well balanced. (Though both gravy pots do contain sugar) I love stocking up on these tiny Knorr flavour pots they are life-savers!

A recipe with enough spinach to make Popeye jump with joy! Spinach has several health benefits and is known to be a great source of folic acid and several essential vitamins and great levels of iron too. Best part is a big bag of spinach can be consumed in no time as the leaves are high in water content and it reduces in size when cooked.

Easy Moroccan Chicken one pot

Serves:4 Preparation Time: 10 minutes Cooking time: approx 25 minutes

Ingredients:

Olive oil 2 tbsp
1 large red onion
2 cloves of garlic
Mixed bag of broccoli, carrot and cauliflower – 270 gm
Chicken thighs – 500 gm – appox 3 big pieces
Trimmed green beans – 75 gm
Chestnut Mushrooms – 4 – 5
1.5 Knorr onion gravy flavour pot
1 Knorr mixed chillies flavour pot
4 handfulls of spinach leaves
Red lentils – without skin and halved 3/4th cup
1/2 tsp of Ras El Hanout
1/2 tsp of roasted cumin powder
Water

Method:

Remove the skin from the chicken thighs after washing thoroughly under running water.
Chop the chicken thighs to make strips of the flesh leaving just enough on the bone.
Wash and cut the broccoli, carrots,cauliflower, green beans and chestnut mushrooms bits into bite sized pieces.
Slice an onion lengthwise into fine strips.
Remove the skin from the garlic cloves and chop into tiny bits.
In a large saucepan or stock pot heat olive oil on a medium flame, when the oil becomes to heat up add the finely chopped garlic and saute’ until they turn a golden brown then add in the sliced onion.
Stirring occasionally allow the onion to sweat and just when it begins to brown add in the chopped vegetables and saute for half a minute.
Then add in the chicken thighs and saute for another minute.
Then wash and add the red lentils , add enough water to create a thick gravy – enough to allow the lentils to cook and not soak up all the water. Then add in the Knorr flavour pots and mix well.

Then add the washed spinach leaves, cumin powder and cover and cook on a medium flame for 15 minutes.

By now the lentils will have cooked and the chicken will almost be done too.
Then taste the soupy water and if it is too spicy add just a very tiny pinch the Ras El Hanout , I added 1/2 a tsp as the taste reminded me of garam masala. Ras El Hanout is a moroccan mixture of fragrant spices with rose petals and gives the stock pot a gorgeous full bodied flavour.
Cook for a further 10-15 minutes on a gentle low flame.
Serve in large bowls with a big portion of the pumpkin batard bread.

Have linked up my recipe with the #NoWasteFoodChallenge hosted by the lovely Elizabeth who blogs at Elizabeth’s Diary. Find out all about this challenge in her blog post here.

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 to my eyes. I have now moved to a cosy 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?

Avocado, Spinach and Fruity Green Smoothie – Bursting with the goodness your body NEEDS every day!

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

Serves: 1 – makes 2 small glass fulls

Ingredients:

1/2 a Banana
1/2 of a big pear
1/2 of a big avocado
1 Royal Gala Apple
2 handfuls of baby spinach leaves
a small knob of ginger

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 fruits into chunks.Break the banana half by hand.
Simply chuck all the above ingredients 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.

Avocado, Spinach and Fruity Green Smoothie – Bursting with the goodness your body NEEDS every day!

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, have a look at all the other fabulous recipes linked up for Feb 2015 on her blog post too.

Jus-Rol Turkey, Ham and cheese tart

February 17, 2015 by manjirichitnis 12 Comments

Hello Everyone!

I have been away on a long holiday in Indian for almost four weeks. I got back last week and it has taken my system a few days to throw off the jet-lag completely and my internal thermostat to acclimatise to the massive difference in the weather.But am back now all refreshed and raring to go! So expect a lot of new and fun recipes, LOTS of travel posts and many photographs from my foodie and travel adventures – oh yes not to mention more exciting competitions, fabulous restaurant reviews and events that I will be going to soon – woohoo!

While I was in India I did a fair bit of travelling to Chennai, Pondicherry and shuttling between Mumbai and Pune. So all the resulting fatigue has taken it’s toll too.

Besides have discovered that I do have a fair amount of catching up to do with my blogging as well. hummm

So dinner the day after I landed had had to be a simple affair, because my body clock was still following IST. We decided to make a quick and super easy yet delicious Turkey, Ham and cheese tart using my own recipe. Hubster and me are both big fans of Jus-Rol as it really can save the day when things are crazy busy or plain lazy 😉

I have made a few minor tweaks to the original recipe but other than that it was smooth sailing. Here is my version:

Prep. Time: Less than 10 minutes

Makes: 2 servings

Total Time: 35 mins

Ingredients:

320 gm Jus-Rol™ puff pastry ready rolled sheet
2 medium onion peeled & chopped fine
100 gm cooked ham diced
1-2 tbsp oil
3 heaped tbsp Gran Luchito smoked chilli honey
250 gm cooked turkey diced
Salt & black pepper
75 gm grated Parmesan Cheese

Method:

Heat oil in a large pan, gently sauté the onion until it is translucent, then add the diced ham and cook on a low flame for about 2 minutes. Meanwhile remove the Jus-Rol™ puff pastry ready rolled sheet and allow it to rest while the filling is being prepared.
Add the turkey,season to taste and then add the smoked chilli honey. Stir continuously to ensure the chilli honey does not burn and cook on a gentle, low flame for a further 2 minutes.
Prepare a baking tray by lining with a baking sheet and carefully place the Jus-Rol™ puff pastry ready rolled sheet onto the baking sheet.
Preheat oven to 220°C/(200°C for fan assisted ovens)/Gas 7.
Spoon out the turkey and ham mixture onto the baking sheet and sprinkle the grated Parmesan cheese over the mixture.
Bake in the preheated for 20 minutes and serve hot.

I remember going to buy Jus- Rol at a supermarket two years ago post Christmas and it simply wasn’t available anywhere. Clearly people had been smart and stocked up on this lifesaving fridge fav for all those leftover meals after the big day. And have since then made a mental note to stock up well in advance for future occasions. There have been numerous dinners and surprise tea time treats for unannounced but welcome visitors who have been fed piping hot treats with several hot cuppas thanks to that pastry roll lying in my fridge! So like many of my store cupboard essentials this is one of my life savers and will almost always be found living in my refrigerator.

I loved this recipe and now am looking forward to more experiments with Jus-Rol .

If you need more inspiration to get creative with Jus-Rol why not check out these gorgeous recipes on the Jus-Rol website ?

*With thanks to Jus-Rol and the PR team for sending vouchers to buy some samples of Jus-Rol for review . No monetary compensation was offered for a positive review. As always all opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

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.

Serves: 4 as a side and 2 as a main

Ingredients:

1?2 a can of boiled and cooked chickpeas
4 small beetroot cooked and peeled – roughly 250 gm
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 small red onion sliced length wise
2 tsp amchoor powder
2 heaped tsp pomegranate seeds

Method:

In a large mixing bowl add the chickpeas
Chop the cooked and peeled beetroot into bite size chunks. Add them into 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.

Easy three peppercorn Baked fish recipe, Knorr Giveaway – Closed

December 7, 2014 by manjirichitnis 48 Comments

After the masterclass with Master Chef Marco Pierre White, where he cooked us steak in Knorr Beef stock cube and served it with a creamy three peppercorn sauce – I was hooked onto the taste of the Knorr three peppercorn flavour pot. This mix of 3 peppercorns will add a depth of flavour to your dishes. Whether used in a straightforward steak sauce, or a luxury pork stroganoff, this little pot will instantly add a touch of indulgence to your meal.

Unilever has agreed to Giveaway TWO lucky winners a chance to WIN one of TWO goody bags PACKED to the brim with Knorr flavour pots and stock cubes .These stock pots have been created by Chef Cameron Healy who is part of a dedicated professional chefs based at Knorr, who work together to develop KNorr’s culinary creations , with good food, convenience and innovation as the main thought process behind these products.

As you know by know I love seafood and I simply cannot resist buying fresh fish. Last week on my way home from work I saw fresh herring at supermarket and just had to bring home some for dinner. I wanted a very light quick and easy fish dish which I could have with a heavy creamy soup so I rustled up this easy baked fish. Since we were already going to consume a creamy soup I wanted to avoid using single cream to make any gravy sauce.

This baked fish recipe is a super quick and easy meal idea with very few ingredients and makes for a delicious meal. Served with a fresh leafy baby kale and cherry tomato salad it makes a refreshingly light choice. No oil is used in this dish and though the butter is 2 tbsp it is the only thing that you will add other than the flavour pot. Besides Herring are very high in the long-chain Omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, they are also a source of vitamin D.

A low – calorie meal for two ready in under 25 minutes – can it get any better? Think not!

I have used the Knorr three peppercorn flavour pot that was in my goody bag which all loggers received at the end of a day packed with masterclasses spent at the Unilever headquarter in the U.K at Leatherhead.

If you love cooking with the flavour of fresh herbs and spices, but prefer the convenience of dried , Knorr flavour pots allow you to create delicious meals infused with aromatic and fresh flavours in no time at all AND with the very same convenience that dried products offer.

Knorr three peppercorn Baked fish recipe

Serves : 2

Ingredients:

2 whole herrings fresh – with the head and tail removed.
Smoked sea salt
1 and half Knorr three peppercorn flavour pots
1 large red onion finely chopped
2 heaped tbsp butter
1 bay leaf
3- 4 cloves of garlic finely chopped

Method:

Pre-Heat the oven to 180 °C. Keep the butter out so that it is not straight from the fridge
Wash the herring fish under running tap water. I asked the fishmonger to slit it through the middle and clean it from inside for me after removing the head and the tail.
Place the fish on a baking parchment in a baking tray and sprinkle liberally with Maldon smoked sea salt.

Wrap the parchment to make a neat parcel.

Bake the fish in the oven for 20 minutes at 180 °C.
Meanwhile heat a heavy based pan on a medium heat.
When the pan is at add 2 heaped tbsp of butter.
Add in the bay leaf and then finely chopped onion and finely chopped garlic with skins. Then add in the Knorr three peppercorn flavour pots and cook until the onion has gone soft.

Once the fish has been baked , remove from the oven and allow for the steam to escape.

When you can hold the fish in your hand without scalding remove the skin which should come of pretty easily and remove the bone , it comes straight off which is great, one clean sweep. Don’t worry if the fish falls apart , it will still taste amazing!
Plate each fish onto 2 plates.

Place the onion onto the fish and serve with baby kale and chopped cherry tomatoes. If you wish sprinkle some sea salt on the salad leaves.

WIN one of TWO goody bags PACKED to the brim with Knorr flavour pots and stock cubes

Each GOODY BAG from KNORR contains :

2 x Mexican Flavour Pot
2x Garden Herbs Flavour Pot
2 x Paprika Flavour Pot
2x Ginger and Lemongrass Flavour Pot
2x Curry Flavour Pot
2x Garlic Flavour Pot
2x Mixed Chillies Flavour Pot
2x Fish Stock Cube
2x Pork Stock Cube
2x Ham Stock Cube
2 x Chicken Stock Pot
2 x Beef Stock Pot
2 x Veg Stock Pot

How to enter the giveaway:

You too could WIN ONE of TWO of these GOODY BAGS from KNORR PACKED with exciting products from the flavour pots and stock sauces range, all you have to do is :

Follow me on twitter – @manjirichitnis
Like my Facebook page and leave your facebook name as part of you comment.
Follow me on Instagram
Tweet out the following – #KNORRGIVEAWAY #WIN with @manjirichitnis 1 of 2 GOODY BAGS with @knorr Flavour Pots & Stock Cubes,Baked fish recipe bit.ly/1s9fRYW
Leave a comment below telling me which is your favourite herb, your facebook name used to like my FB page, your instagram handle. I will find you on twitter via the hashtag so it’s not required for you to mention your twitter handle in the comments. Do not share your email id in the comments please.

Please have a read through the Terms and Conditions below:

Winners will be picked using Random Number.
Deadline for entering this contest is 15th January’ 2015 midnight GMT.
Entry is open only to residents of the U.K except Scotland and Ireland.
All entrants must be 18 years old and above.
Two lucky winners will be chosen using random number generator.
The giveaway prize is as mentioned in the post. Neither Knorr or I am liable for any damage of hamper and / or contents in transit.
Please allow a minimum of 15 days for delivery of the prize, which may reach earlier or later. The goody bags will be sent directly by Knorr.
The prize is as stated: no cash alternatives are available.
I retain the right to DISQUALIFY any entrant who do not complete all the 3 steps mentioned above.
The winner will be notified on 16th January’ 2015 on Twitter by me and here on my blog post. I shall tag the 2 winners on Twitter via their twitter id’s . If you are declared as the winner you agree to allow me and Knorr to contact you via email id to arrange for the goody bag to be sent out to you.
If the TWO winners fail to respond by 18th January’ 2015 then other winners will be chosen.

*With thanks to Unilever and the Knorr PR team for arranging the fabulous gifts for the two goody bags . No monetary compensation was offered for a positive review. As always all opinions expressed here are entirely my own. References Wiki.

While you are here why not have a look at the other giveaways on my blog and increase your chances of winnings cool freebies!?!

Win one beautiful Hotel Chocolat gift bag with fabulous cocoa cuisine products, to participate click here.
CLOSED Win a box of Chef Inspirations Saveurs Du Monde Box of 16 chocolates from Godiva, to participate click here– CLOSED.
CLOSED Win 5 delicious sauces from the WORLDFOODS Asian Fusion Flavour Sauces, to participate click here – CLOSED.