Roasted Vegetable Quesadilla

Quesadilla is a very popular Mexican dish. It is cheesy, crispy and tastes amazing right from the griddle. Long time back when I first tasted it in a restaurant, I really loved them. But I never order it nowadays as they overload with cheese and oil. So I decided to try it myself. This way I can control the cheese and can play around with the veggies. 

I decided to use poblano and onions, as we love them. The quesadillas turned out amazing and I was really happy the way they turned out. Do try them and I am sure you will love them as much as we did!

Ingredients:

• Flour tortillas, large sized - 4
• Poblano pepper- 1
• Onion, medium sized- 1/2
• Monterey Jack Cheese, grated* - 1 1/2 - 2 cups
• Salt - To taste
• Oil - 2-3 tsp

Note: *Use any cheese of your choice.

About Filling - You can use any veggies of your choice like mushroom, green (or other colored) bell pepper, corn, black beans etc . 
You can as well add some spices to the veggie mixture like cumin powder or taco seasoning.

Procedure:

Chop the onion and poblano pepper.

Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan and add the chopped veggies. Fry until they turn slight brown. Sprinkle little salt when done.

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 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 roasted veggie mixture. 

Sprinkle a bit more cheese.

 Fold it in half and place it on the plate. 

Continue with the rest of the tortillas. 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. Roasted Vegetable Quesadilla is ready!!

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

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Cucumber Salad

Cucumber Salad is a favorite of ours. I always look for different salad recipes as cucumber is one of the veggies we buy regularly. I always pack some cucumber slices for my husband's lunch box. 

Recently I bumped into this recipe and it was instantly liked by us. I follow Bhavana from a long time and I really like her recipes and ideas. Do try this recipe. It requires only few ingredients and very easy to put together.

Ingredients:

• Cucumber, medium sized- 1
• Green Chilli - 1
• Garlic clove - 1
• Cilantro (Coriander leaves) - 4-5 sprigs
• Roasted Cumin powder- 1/2 tsp
• Lemon Juice- To taste
• Salt- To taste

Procedure:

Wash the cucumber and cut it into thin 1 inch strips (or desired size and shape). Then chop the cilantro, green chili, garlic as fine as possible.

Put all of it in a mixing bowl. Then sprinkle roasted cumin powder, salt and lemon juice. Mix well. Taste it and add more of any ingredient, if required. 
Cucumber Salad is ready!!

Serve it immediately as a side dish. Above measurement serves two people.

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Methi Roti ( Fenugreek Leaves Flat bread)

Methi Roti is a healthy Indian flat bread. Fenugreek leaves are very commonly used all across India. I am not a great fan of these leaves as they are bitter. My recent trip to India gave me this idea. My father had bought a bunch of these leaves. Then I thought of adding it to the roti dough. Generally the leaves are chopped and added to the dough. I didn't want to waste the stems. Hence cooked for few minutes and then made a paste out of it. This way I could use every bit of it and it also gave a good color and flavor to the dough. Do try this way and get the goodness of it :-)

Ingredients:

• Whole Wheat Flour/Multi Grain Flour - 1 cup+ extra for dusting
• Methi (Fenugreek) leaves - Half a bunch
• Roasted Cumin Powder- 1/2 tsp
• Oil- 1 tsp and more for frying
• Salt- To taste

Procedure:

Clean the fenugreek leaves. Discard only the roots.

Then wash it thoroughly and give a rough chop (including the stems).

Now transfer them in a hot pan.

Wait until they wilt down (1-2 minutes). Then turn off the heat. Allow it to cool.

Once it cools down grind it to get a smooth paste (I added a small amount of water).

Now take a bowl add flour, salt, roasted cumin powder, oil and fenugreek leaves paste. 

Now make a soft non-sticky dough (add water, if required). Apply few drops of oil on the surface of the dough and let the dough rest for 15-20 minutes, covered.

Divide the dough into 5-6 equal parts and make smooth balls.

Now dip one of the dough ball in flour and start rolling it into a circle, not too thick/ thin.

Now fry this on a pan or griddle on both sides, until golden brown spots are got. Spread few drops of oil on chapathi, while frying. Transfer it on a plate.

Methi roti is ready!!

Serve it hot with any curry of your choice. Above measurement makes 5-6 rotis. 

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Keerla Polo (Spicy Bamboo Shoot Dosa) ~Quick Version

Keerla Polo is a popular dosa in Konkani Cuisine. In Konkani, keerlu means bamboo shoot. In Coastal Karnataka, as soon as the monsoon season sets in, fresh bamboo shoots are available in the market. It is then cleaned by discarding the outer tough leaves and the tender inner part are stored in salt, in big glass or porcelain jars. They stay good for 1-2 yrs. 

My mother makes this dosa and you can check her method here. But then one day I got lazy and thought why not try it using rice flour instead of grinding the rice. My husband really liked this version. He liked it so much that he keeps demanding for this every now and then.
Do try this version and serve it with rice and any side dish of your choice.

Ingredients:

• Bamboo Shoots*-  2 cans (or 2 1/2 cups crushed)
• Rice flour- 1/2 cup
• Red chilli powder - To taste
• Salt- To taste
• Oil - For shallow frying

*If using the ones stored in salt water then soak the bamboo shoots in fresh water and change the water 2-3 times, in order to remove excess salt.

Procedure:

Wash the bamboo shoots thoroughly. 

Then crush them using a mortar and pestle or a kitchen stone and transfer into a large bowl.

Now add salt, red chili powder and rice flour. Mix well. Mixture is ready.

Now heat a skillet (I used cast-iron). When hot, add few drops of oil on the skillet. Then take a portion of the mixture and pat it to spread (spread it as thin as possible).

Cook the dosa on a high heat until both the sides turn crispy and golden-brown.

Once done transfer it to a plate. Continue with the rest of the mixture. 

Keerla Polo is ready!!

Serve it hot as a side dish to rice and curry of your choice. Above measurement makes four big sized dosas.

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How To Sprout Beans?

Beans are a good source of protein for Vegetarians. Sprouting the beans increases their nutritional value. Learn about it here. Making sprouts at home is so easy. It is always better than buying the store bought sprouts. I hope this post will inspire you to make sprouts at home. If you are already making them then pat your back :-)

Ingredients:

• Dry Beans (any variety) - 3/4 cup
• Cheese Cloth - Optional
• Bowl/ Jar

Procedure:

Wash the beans and soak them in enough water for 8- 10 hours.

After soaking, they plump up and look like this-

Now discard the water and rinse the soaked beans 1-2 times (drain the water completely).

The main requirements for germination to happen is little bit of moisture and air.

Method 1: This is the method I follow. I have a microwave rice cooker which has holes at the top (steam vent). I put the soaked beans in it.

Then invert the colander (it is a part of the cooker) on the beans loosely. 

Then just place the lid over it. Finally I keep it in oven (of course turned off) for 12- 24 hours depending on the weather (sprinkle little water if the beans are dry, after few hours). The sprouts are ready.

Method 2: In case if you don't have a rice cooker, then simply place the soaked, drained beans in a bowl and close it with a cheese cloth and place it in a warm place (sprinkle little water if the beans are dry, after few hours).

Method 3: In this method you just put the soaked beans in a cotton cloth (or cheese cloth) and tie it tightly. Then just place it in a warm place (sprinkle little water if the beans are dry, after few hours). I don't prefer this method as some of the sprouts get stuck to the cloth and they tend to break while removing. 

Above measurement of beans makes 3 cups of sprouted beans.

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Homemade Frozen Rotis

Frozen Roti is a recent try in my kitchen. I really liked the way it turned out. I am kind of person who believes in home made fresh food. But then there are times where you don't have sufficient time to cook for yourself. For those days these stuff come handy. I don't like to buy the frozen rotis available at the stores. So thought of making it. I saw this video and couple of other blogs related to freezing rotis and Indian food. I was amazed reading them.

This process is little time consuming but all the effort will surely help your loved one :-)

Ingredients:

For the Rotis:

• Whole Wheat flour (or Multi grain Flour)- 3 cups
• Oil - 1 tsp
• Salt - To taste (I didn't add)
• Water - As required

For Storing:

• Parchment Paper
• Baking Sheet/Cutting Board
• Zip Loc

Procedure:

Take the flour in a big bowl. Add oil and salt. Mix well. Now add water little at a time to form a soft non-sticky dough. Apply little oil on its surface and close it. Let it rest for 15 minutes.

Then divide the dough into smaller portions (I made 18 of them).

Dip the ball in flour and then start rolling each dough into a 6-7 inch circle.

Continue with the rest of them (don't pile the rolled rotis. They will stick to each other.I usually roll them in batches)

Now cook the roti partially on a pre heated skillet on both sides (no need to brown it).

Then allow them to cool completely. Once cooled, spread them on a baking sheet or cutting board and put them in the freezer for 30 minutes (this step will make sure your rotis don't stick later. This is called flash freezing. I did them in batches).

While they are flash freezing, cut the parchment paper.

After flash freezing it will look like this.

Then pile them up with parchment paper in between. Transfer them in a Zip loc and seal them by removing all the air. Place it in the freezer.

Frozen Rotis are ready!!

When you want rotis, take out desired amount and cook them on a hot skillet until you get brown spots on both sides. Don't thaw the frozen rotis before cooking.

These rotis can be stored 2-3 months.

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