Frittata

Filling and super easy to make!!

 

Grated carots

Peas

Potatoes (small slices)

onions

red bell pepper

green chillies

Eggs

salt and pepper

cheddar cheese

Veg additions: Spinach, mushroom, herbs

Non-veg additions: chicken, ham, sausage

Pour everything into a oven safe pan Beat the eggs thoroughly, milk can be added for the fluffiness. Top with cheddar cheese. Bake at 350C until done. 

You can also do this on low heat on gas if you dont want to use an oven. 

Enjoy!

 

Besan Puda

This is like a uttapam dosa but made with chickpea flour.
I generally add grated carrots, very finely chopped green chillies, very finely chopped onions, salt and pepper to taste in besan. Add water to make a flowy batter. Heat a pan and spread it the same way you would spread an uttapam. However,  you need to spread this into very thin layer. A thick layer would not cook properly.

Couscous Salad/Appetizer

This is a very quick and healthy recipe, serves as a great appetizer!

Couscous

Lemon

guacamole/avocado

cranberries

cucumber

onions

green pepper

chips - preference

shrimp - preference

Squeeze some lemon juice and add it to lukewarm water. You can also use lemon zest or orange juice/orange zest. Now add salt to water and then couscous. Let it soak until it soaks up all the water and fluffs up. 

Once couscous is ready, add finely chopped cucumbers, onions, green peppers and also cranberries. You can also add avocado slices or use guacamole. 

You can use cooked shrimp in it. Cranberries and shrimps go pretty well with couscous. Enjoy!!

Chilli Chicken

Garlic

 Jalapenos

  Onions

Green and Red bell peppers

Chicken chunks

Soy sauce

salt and pepper

Vinegar and red chilli - preference

Heat some oil in a pan, add some garlic and jalapenos. Once the garlic is golden brown, add chicken and cook it to half way before including the rest of the veggies. Now add some black pepper, salt to task and soy sauce. You can also add vinegar and red chili if preferred. Cook until the chicken is nicely done.

The reason veggies are added half way is to allow extra time for chicken to cook beforehand. This would leave the veggies a little crispy than fully cooked. But you can choose however you prefer.

peas curry

My husband made this one.
He says it was easy to make.
All I did was eat it :). Feels good to not do anything and eat once in a while :)
It was very delicious.

You can find the recipe at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qyYskRfvDw

I realize that the video is in tamil. One of these days, I will translate it and put the recipe in words here.
But, I think the steps are pretty obvious from the video.

Until then, here's a picture of the outcome :)

Lazy Cook's Pita Pocket Recipes

When (and if) I get bored of eating out for lunch, I start looking for healthy alternatives that will not take too much preparation. Lately, my laziness has been on its peak when it comes to cooking so I have been looking around for food items that can be put together into a quick meal. I am just jotting down ingredients and procedure for some lunchables that I attempted. Pita bread serves as a versatile replacement for Roti, Naan, Rice etc. One can get a full pita or pita pockets (halves) from any grocery store. These are available in daily/bakery section, in white or wheat.

Ingredients:
1. Pita bread or pockets
2. Main stuffing (smoked turkey/chicken slices, veggie patty, falafal, leftover vegetables, Thanksgiving stuffing, etc.)
3. Spreads (Mint/Coriander chutney, pesto, cheese, hummus, etc.)
4. Salad items (Lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, etc.)

Procedure:
It is as simple as it gets.
1. Warm up the pita on a pan or in a toaster.
     I prefer not to microwave pita since it does not get heated up evenly and becomes soggy if it was refrigerated before. If the pita is intact (whole pita without any holes or tears), the two layers separate out well on heating.
2. Apply spread inside the pita between two layers. For a whole pita, you can make a small cut in the middle. Although, it is hard to apply spread evenly inside the whole pita.
3. Stuff the pita with main stuffing and salad items.

Some of the stuffing combinations that I have tried so far are:
Mint chutney and smoked turkey slices (This is a surprisingly tasty combination)
Pimento cheese with Jalapenos and turkey slices
Pesto, chicken, tomatoes and cucumbers

I think thanksgiving stuffing, turkey slices and cranberry sauce will be yet another classic combination. Veggie patty, falafal or potato stuffing that goes into vada or samosa will also make a good stuffing here. Well, I will let your imagination run wild. Enjoy!!

-Manish