Vegetarian Nachos

Nachos is one of my favorite appetizer. But we have stopped ordering whenever we go to a restaurant because they overload with cheese. So I started making it at home so that I can control the amount of cheese going into it. This way I enjoy it better and they are much healthier too. I used to make Nachos with refried beans and cheese. Then top it off with tomatoes and Onions. Recently I came across Hilah's recipe where she took time to slather each chip with the refried beans. I really liked the idea. Its little time consuming but each chip will have refried beans. I omitted the meat from her recipe and made spicy black bean mixture. It turned out very good and we enjoyed it with Guacamole. Do try making this version for a get together or just to treat yourself. I hope it turns out well for you!

Ingredients:

• Corn Chips
• Shredded Pepper Jack Cheese - 3/4 cup
• Jalapeno, finely chopped - 1 tsp
• Refried Beans - 1/3 cup

For Spicy Black Beans:

• Cooked (or canned) Black beans - 1/2 cup
• Olive Oil - 1 tsp
• Onion, small sized - 1/2
• Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
• Cayenne pepper powder - To taste
• Salt - To taste

For Garnish:

• Chopped Scallion (green onion)
• Chopped Tomato
• Chopped Cilantro
• Chopped Red Onion

Procedure:

For making black bean mixture:

Chop the onions and set it aside. Then heat oil in a pan. Once hot, add the chopped onion and fry it until it turns translucent.

Then add cumin powder, red chilli powder and salt. Mix and continue frying the mixture for half a minute. 

Then add in the cooked black beans.

Mix and let it fry for a minute and then turn off the heat. Set it aside until required.

Now, preheat the oven to 350F (180C).

For Assembling:

For assembling the corn chips you can use any oven safe dish like a pie dish, baking sheet, cast iron pan or a plate. I used a cookie sheet.

Slather each corn chip with desired amount of refried beans and start arranging them in the oven safe dish. Place them as close as possible.

Then sprinkle the spicy black bean mixture followed by chopped jalapeño .

Then finally sprinkle grated cheese (At this point you can again repeat the layers if you want to serve a larger group. I just made for two of us).

Pop it in the oven for 4-5 minutes or until the cheese is melted. 

Once the cheese melts, garnish it with chopped cilantro, scallions, tomato and red onions.

Vegetarian Nachos is ready!!

Serve it immediately along with Guacamole. Above measurement serves two.

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Vegetarian Fajita Quesadilla

Quesadilla is one my favorite Mexican dish. It is one such dish where you can make just plain cheese or any stuffing you desire like some grilled veggies, chicken, beans etc.Few months back, I ate this version of quesadilla at a friend's place. I liked it a lot and hence thought of posting the recipe. The original recipe called for taco seasoning. Since I didn't have it, I made my own spice blend with the available spices in my kitchen. It turned out yummy and I was quite happy with the recipe. Do try making this and let me know how it turned out for you :-)

Ingredients:

• Flour Tortillas, big sized - 2
• Red Bell pepper, medium sized - 1/2
• Green Bell Pepper, medium sized - 1/2
• Red Onion, medium sized - 1/2
• Jalapeno, seeded - 1/2
• Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded - 1 to 1 1/2 cups
• Olive Oil - 2 tsp and extra for brushing on tortillas
• Salt - To taste

Spice Blend*:

• Cayenne Pepper - 1/4 tsp
• Garlic powder - 1/4 tsp
• Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
• Dried Oregano - 1/4 tsp
• Pepper powder - 1/8 tsp
• Onion Powder - 1/4 tsp (I didn't add)

*Alternatively you can just use taco seasoning or fajita seasoning mix instead of the above mentioned spice powder.

Procedure:

Mix all the spice powder mentioned under 'Spice Blend' and set it aside for later use.

Slice the bell pepper, jalapeno and onion.

Heat 2 tsp of oil in a pan and add in the chopped veggies. Fry until they turn slight brown. Once done, sprinkle little salt. Then add in the spice powder mixture and mix well. Fry for few seconds and turn off the heat.

When you are ready to make the quesadillas, preheat a skillet (I used grill pan) over medium high heat and brush one side of the tortilla with some oil and place it oiled side down onto a plate ( Tortillas were freshly made by me). 

Sprinkle some cheese on one half of the tortilla.

 Then top that with some of the veggie fajita mixture. 

Sprinkle a bit more cheese.

Fold it in half and place it on the plate. 

Continue with another tortilla. Once done, fry them on a preheated skillet until they turn crispy and golden brown on both sides.

Once done, transfer it on a plate. Cut each of the tortilla into 2-3 pieces using a knife or pizza cutter. Vegetarian Fajita Quesadilla is ready!!

Serve it immediately along with Guacamole or Pico de gallo or sour cream. Above measurement serves two people.

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Ghugni ~ Easy Snack Recipe

Ghugni is a popular evening snack of Eastern India. The dried peas or chickpeas are cooked and then it is made more flavorful and tasty by adding many spice powders. The spiciness is well balanced by the addition of tamarind and sugar. It is finally garnished with chopped onions, cilantro and many other spice powders to make it more tasty.

I was introduced to this snack few months back. I had soaked peas waiting to be used and hence started looking for chaat recipes. I stumbled upon this recipe . I made few additions to the original recipe and gave it a try. I really liked it a lot and from then on I have made it so many times. It has become our new favorite snack and sometimes make it for our dinner too. Do give it a try, if you are looking for a yummy snack for a cold winter evening. I hope you all will enjoy as much as we do :-) 

Ingredients:

• Dried Peas - 3/4 cup
• Potato, small sized - 1 (optional)
• Onion, medium sized - 1
• Ginger - garlic paste - 1 tsp
• Cinnamon - 1-2 inch
• Bay leaf - 1
• Tamarind pulp - 1 Tbsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
• Red Chilli powder - To taste
• Garam masala - 1/4 tsp
• Sugar - 1/2 tsp
• Oil - 1-2 tbsp
• Salt - To taste

For Garnish:

• Roasted Cumin powder
• Black salt
• Chaat Masala
• Cilantro (coriander leaves)
• Chopped Onion
• Sev
• Papdi

Procedure:

Wash the dried peas and soak them in fresh water for 6-8 hours. 

Then discard the water and wash them 1-2 times. Now transfer the peas to a cooker along with the washed potato. Add water and salt. Cook it for a whistle and turn off the heat. The peas should be cooked but not mushy (mine cooked a little more than I expected).

While the peas were cooking, chop the onions and set it aside. Then heat oil in a big pot. Once hot, add cinnamon and bay leaf. After few seconds, add in the chopped onions and fry until they slightly change color to golden brown. 

Then add ginger garlic paste and continue to fry until the raw smell goes away.

Now lower the heat and add red chilli powder, cumin powder and turmeric powder. Fry for few seconds and add cooked peas along with water in which it was cooked. Mix well and add chopped boiled potato, tamarind pulp, salt and sugar. Let this cook on medium- low heat for 5-6 minutes. Finally add in garam masala and taste the mixture. Add more spice powder or tamarind pulp, if desired. The final consistency of the pea mixture should be medium thick (not too thick or not too watery). When everything comes together, turn off the heat.

Ghugni is ready!!

For Serving: Take the desired amount of pea mixture in a serving bowl. Then sprinkle little bit of chaat masala, black salt, roasted cumin powder. Then finally top it off with chopped onion, cilantro, sev and papdi (you can add or omit any of the above. This is how I like it). Serve it immediately.

Above measurement serves two people generously. If serving as an appetizer then it can stretch to about four people.

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Tomato Soup

My search for vegetarian soups has started as it is getting cold in my part of the world. I book marked few recipes and then it strikes me that I have not posted the recipe of good old tomato soup! This is a recipe which I had noted down from a book long time back. I used to prepare this for my father who would always encourage me to try new recipes. It had been a long time since I made this soup. So thought of making it as I had many ripe tomatoes. Do try making this simple soup and enjoy!

Ingredients:

• Ripe Tomatoes, medium sized - 4
• Onion, medium sized - 1
• Butter - 1 Tbsp
• Clove - 1
• Pepper powder - To taste
• Sugar - To taste
• Red Chilli powder - To taste
• Tomato Ketchup - 1 tsp
• Heavy Cream - 1-2 Tbsp
• Salt- To taste

Procedure:

Chop the onion and tomato (discard the seeds of the tomato).

Now in a pan, heat butter. Then add clove and chopped onion. Fry it on a medium flame until the onion turns slight brown.

Then add in chopped tomato and fry until it turns mushy.

Then add little water and bring it to a boil. Let it cook for 2-3 minutes and then turn off the heat.

Now allow this mixture to cool slightly and then puree it (you can remove the clove if you don't like it). Once done transfer it to the same pot. Add water to get desired consistency. Then add red chilli powder, salt, sugar, pepper powder and tomato ketchup. Mix and bring it to a boil.

Once done, turn off the heat and add cream. Mix well. 

Tomato Soup is ready!

Serve it hot or warm garnished with croutons. Above measurement serves two people.

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Sweet Potato & Black Bean Quesadilla

Sweet Potatoes and Black beans are match made in heaven. I came to know about this when I tried making a sweet potato taco few months ago. After that I tried making soup and then wanted to try it in a quesadilla. The inspiration for this dish comes from here. Since the recipe calls for Chorizo, I substituted black beans to make it vegetarian. It turned out quite amazing and we enjoyed it with  Pico de gallo. Hence I made it again so that I can share the recipe with you all. 

You can serve this as an evening snack to your kids or it also makes a good appetizer for get together. Do try making it and I hope you all will enjoy it. 

Ingredients:

• Flour tortillas, large sized - 4
• Sweet Potato, medium sized - 1
• Onion, medium sized- 1/2
• Black beans, cooked / canned - 1/2 cup
• Monterey Jack Cheese, grated* - 1 1/2 - 2 cups
• Chilli powder - To taste
• Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
• Cilantro (coriander leaves) - 3-4 sprigs
• Oil - 2-3 tsp and extra for pan frying

 *Use any cheese of your choice.

Procedure:

Making the Filling:

Wash and peel the sweet potato. Then cut it into 1/2 inch cubes.

Cook the sweet potato cubes in hot salted water (cook until there is no resistance when a fork is inserted in the sweet potato. It should still hold its shape very well).

Then drain the water completely and set it aside.

Now in a wide pan heat oil. Once hot add chopped onion and fry until it just starts to change color.

Then add in the cooked sweet potato cubes and fry further until little color appears on sweet potato.

Then add in  Black beans, salt, chilli powder and cumin powder.

Mix well and cook for a minute or two. Then finally add chopped cilantro and turn off the heat. Mix well and allow it to cool. Filling is ready.

Assembling and Pan Frying:

When you are ready to make the quesadillas, preheat a skillet over medium high heat and brush one side of the tortilla with some oil and place it oiled side down ( Tortillas were freshly made by me). 

Sprinkle some cheese on one half of the tortilla.

 Then top that with some of the prepared sweet potato - black bean mixture. 

Sprinkle a bit more cheese.

Fold it in half. 

Continue with the rest of the tortillas. Once done fry them on a preheated skillet (I used a grill pan) until they turn crispy and golden brown on both sides.

Once done, transfer it on a plate. Cut each of the tortilla into 2-3 pieces using a knife or pizza cutter. Sweet Potato & Black Bean Quesadilla is ready!!

Serve it immediately along with Guacamole or Pico de gallo. Above measurement serves 3-4 people.

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