FALAFEL

Posted on January 29, 2012 by nituchugani

These falafels are soo popular and i had to record a video tutorial due to everyones demand. Everyone has their own way of making falafel and each one seems so different from the other. Falafels are usually served with hummus(garbanzo dip ) or a yogurt tahini sauce. I serve them with my own yogurt sauce which i have also recorded a video of and will upload it shortly. This is the recipe of both the falafel and the sauce.
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup of garbanzos or chick peas soaked in 3 cups of water overnight
1-2 flakes of garlic or more if you like garlic a lot
1 teaspoon each of Nitu Didi cumin seeds, coriander seeds and sesame seeds
salt to taste
1 -2 tablespoons of chopped parsley
oil for deep frying
METHOD:
soak the garbanzo beans overnight and then drain off the water and blend in food processor without adding any water till it forms into a paste. Add the spices , herbs and garlic and blend altogether. Add salt and shape into rounds with a little pressure so that the balls are firm. Flatten a bit with your palm (see attached video) and deep fry in hot oil till golden brown.
Serve with yogurt sauce of your choice
TO MAKE MY YOGURT SAUCE
2 cups of plain yogurt (250 grams)
2 tablespoons of onion soup
a little chopped fresh coriander
a little red chilli powder if you like it spicy
a dash (1/4 teaspoon) of garlic powder
METHOD:
mix the yogurt with the above ingredients and leave it for 2-3 hours for all the flavors to infuse. This is excellent with all kinds of snacks and also as a dip.

Posted in Everything Vegetarian, Gluten Free, Lentils, Low Cost, Veg Starters, Vegan | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

PARATHA

Posted on January 27, 2012 by nituchugani

So many of you have asked me how to make indian parathas “soft ones” so i have uploaded a video for all of you… I hope you like the video and learn how to make parathas which are soo easy n delicious! Delicious on its own or with your favourite Indian dish.

INGREDIENTS:

500 grams of whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon each of salt, pepper and oregano

1/2 teaspoon each of garam masala, turmeric powder and coriander powder

Hot water and butter as needed

METHOD:

mix the flour with the spices and salt and make a dough with the warm water . Kead well and make small balls. Flatten the balls and roll out into a round. Spread some butter on the round and then roll it with your fingers and then shape into a spiral (watch video)  flatten it and then roll it out and cook on a hot frying pan. Spread a little more butter when cooked

VIDEO

 

 

Posted in Everything Vegetarian, Floury Matter, Indian Restaurant Dishes, Low Cost | Tagged , | Leave a comment

TOFU IN CHILLI SAUCE

Posted on January 26, 2012 by nituchugani

For all you tofu lovers here is a recipe which i am sure you wil enjoy making. This rich chilli-tomato sauce with an oriental touch is perfect to serve with white rice or noodles or if your on a diet and watching your calorie intake you can make less of the sauce and have it on its own with a salad. The spiciness of this dish depends on how much chilli sauce or which kind of chilli sauce you use. You can also add vegetables such as peppers, mushrooms and carrots to this dish.
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup of tofu, cubed
1 onion chopped fine
1/4 cup of tomato paste
a dash of chilli sauce
a dash of chinese chilli bean sauce
a dash of soya sauce
a dash of honey/sugar
1 teaspoon of ginger garlic paste
spring onions for garnish
a little chopped green coriander leaves
vegetables of your choice, if you chose to add them
2 tablespoons of cooking oil
METHOD:
Heat the oil in a frying pan and sautee the ginger garlic paste for half a minute taking care not to burn it and then add the onions. Saute till the onions are transparent and then add the tomato paste and all the sauces. Bring it to a boil. Add the tofu and cook till the sauce is thick and tofu is well heated through. Sprinkle with coriander leaves and chopped spring onion greens. Serve hot with white rice or noodles.
If you want to add vegetables you can sautee them together with the onion according to cooking time.

Posted in Everything Vegetarian, Fusion, Gluten Free, Healthy Options, Nitu´s Spicy Delights | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

LOW CALORIE VEGETABLE SOUP

Posted on January 25, 2012 by nituchugani

Everynight i promise myself to go on a diet the next day and by lunchtime i have forgotten all about my promise!! Well… thats me… with no selfcontrol! On one of such days where i told myself i should eat healthy i made a huge pot of this soup. Its pure vegetarian and without a drop of oil!! One can make soup in soo many ways with such a variety of vegetables ..i just threw together what i had in my refrigerator and the taste was quite “ok” considering i am not a soup or a vegetable person!! I am sharing this recipe with all of you because you all have asked for it and though its very simple i think some of you just might like it!! By the way my daughter has been eating and eating it for a starter and then polishing off all my cake!!
INGREDIENTS:
2 litres of water
1 onion chopped
1/2 bowl each of chopped radish, leeks, and the stalk of brocolli
2 red  tomatoes
1 bowl of cabbage, chopped
2 stock cubes of your choice…i used a vegetable one
salt to taste
a good sprinkle of cumin powder
a good sprinkle of black pepper powder
METHOD:
put the water to boil and add all the vegetables and cook till the vegetables are done. Thats it!! If you want you can cool this soup and puree it in the blender but i like to bite into my veggies.
Quite satisfying for a cold day…and quite delicious tooo!

Posted in Gluten Free, Healthy Options, Low Cost, NO OIL RECIPES, Soups-hot and cold | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

EGGLESS CREPES FILLED WITH CHEESE TOMATO N CORIANDER

Posted on January 24, 2012 by nituchugani

These crepes are soo light and delicous and imagine eggless! They can be made sweet or savoury and filled with whatever filling you like…right from left over cooked veggies, or fish or meat…to just some cheese… anything and everything goes with these lovely crepes. You can also make the batter with eggs but as you all know i  do have a soft corner for my vegetarian followers!! Soo here is the simple recipe and maybe in the future i shall make a video out of this if i have enough requests!!!
INGREDIENTS:
8 heaped tablespoons of white flour OR whole wheat flour or half and half..( i used white flour in this recipe and pic)
2 tablespoons of cooking oil
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
milk or water as you need
salt and pepper to taste
METHOD:
Mix the flour wqith the baking powder and seasoning and add the oil and  enough milk or water to make a smooth and thin batter. Add the baking powder and let the batter rest for 2 hours. The consistency of the batter may vary… it can be a little thick to thin..a thicker batter yields thick crepes and a thinner one thin crepes.
Heat an iron skillet or a non stick frying pan or a crepe pan with a little oil or butter. Add a big serving spoon of the batter and with the back of the spoon spread it into a perfect round. Cook it on one side and flip and cook it over the other. Fill with filling of your choice.
MY CHEESE FILLING:
i used grated cheese, finely chopped onion, tomato, fresh coriander leaves and green chillies . I mixed it all together and filled a crepe with a bit of this filling.. i folded it over while in the pan and then i cooked it a bit more till the cheese melted.
FOR SWEET PANCAKES:
Follow the above recipe and just substitute salt and pepper for sugar to taste and some vanilla essence. Can be had plain or filled with a sweet filling
IF YOU WANT TO ADD AN EGG:
just add the egg and omit the cooking oil 🙂
HAPPY CREPEING!!! ( yes yes i know there is noo such word!!!)

SWEET CREPES

Posted in Crepes, Floury Matter | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

SPINACH AND SAUSAGE FRITATA

Posted on January 23, 2012 by nituchugani

Fritata is an egg based dish which resembles a thick omlette combined with vegetables, cheese and all kinds of meat. Mostly its made in a frying pan and then finished off in the oven or in the pan itself depending on how you want to make it. This spìnach sausage fritata is a big favourite in my home and its a nice way of eating spinach if you dont like to!!! I used chicken sausage but you can use whichever sausage you prefer.
INGREDIENTS:
2 large fresh farm eggs ( if recently laid even better!!!- am just joking!!!!)
1 small cup of boiled and well drained spinach
2-3 chicken sausages cut into rounds
salt and pepper to taste
a small splash of cream(i did not add..but its delicious with cream)
olive oil
METHOD:
Beat the eggs well with salt and pepper. Add the spinach and the sliced sausage to the eggs and the cream. Heat a non stick frying pan or skillet with the olive oil and add the egg mixture to it and cover the pan. When the eggs are set on one side flip it over and let it cook on the other side.
Serve hot with some frech baguette or a toast!
Ideal for breakfast or tupperwares or packed lunches!!!
Also very good for a high protein diet.

Posted in Crack an egg???, Gluten Free, Healthy Options, Low Cost | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

NITU´S SPECIAL FRIED RICE

Posted on January 22, 2012 by nituchugani

This recipe and video shows you how to make a nice restaurant style fried rice. I boiled the white rice with a bit of salt and then left it in a pot to cool. I just cooked the rice upto 80% leaving a bit raw.
You can always omit some ingredients and mix and match your own. I did not use any egg because nowadays many are allergic to eggs…and i wanted to show that yes fried rice can be made with or without eggg!
INGREDIENTS:
White rice. boiled with salt and left to cool
a handful of prawns
a handful of chicken, cut up into tiny pieces
some cut vegetables such as leeks (you can use spring onions), assorted mushrooms, and cabbage
oil to stir fry
sauces: soya sauce, ginger juice, sesame oil,white pepper,brandy or chinese wine(totally optional)
METHOD:
Marinate the prawns and chicken separately with a little salt, white pepper, soya sauce, ginger juice and brandy for a few minutes.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan and sautee the marinated prawns first till just about done (not more than a minute on high heat) and remove aside. In the same pan without adding more oil sautee the tiny cut up chicken till about just done and remove. Then add a bit of oil and add the vegetables and stir fry for a minute and then add the chicken and prawns back to the pan. Mix it all very well and then add it to the boiled rice, season with salt and soya sauce and cook till everything is heated well. Serve hot!!
HOW TO MAKE GINGER JUICE: grate some ginger and then squeeze out the juice with your fingers.

Posted in Chicken, Gluten Free, Made in China, Rice is Nice, Something's Fishy | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

GRILLED MUSTARD CHICKEN

Posted on January 20, 2012 by nituchugani

This is a nice and easy recipe  and a good way to use up mustard sauce! If you dont have any mustard at home and dont want to buy any i will also give you the alternative.
I served it with a kind of a “raita” which is basically yogurt with chopped onions etc. You can have it with a salad or even some tossed pasta but i served it with this yogurt and some home made rotis!!
INGREDIENTS:
500 grams chicken breast in fillets
for the marinade:
3 tablespoons of cream ( i will give the diet option later!!! please dont panic!!)
1-2 tablespoons of ginger garlic paste (depends on how strong you like it)
1/2-1 tablespoon of mustard paste
a splash of lemon juice
1 teaspoon of garam masala powder
salt to taste
red chilli powder to taste
a little olive oil
a little chopped green coriander
Marinate the chicken in the above for a few hours and then grill on a very hot grill or frying pan till done.
FOR THE YOGURT
natural yogurt mixed with finely chopped onions, tomatoes, cucumber, coriander leaves and green chillies
FOR THE LOW CAL VERSION:
substitue cream for hung yogurt…to hang the yogurt put the yogurt in a cloth and hang it over your kitchen tap for a few hours… what you will get is a thick creamy cheese consistency.
FOR VEGETARIAN:
you can use tofu cut in slices or blanched vegetables and then grill it.
HAPPY EATING!!!

Posted in Chicken, Gluten Free, Healthy Options | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

CHINESE LEMON CHICKEN

Posted on January 19, 2012 by nituchugani

INGREDIENTS:
chicken fillet
lemon juice
salt and white pepper
sugar
brandy (optional)
cornstarch
white flour
soya sauce
cooking oil
sparkling water
spring onions or leeks

Posted in Chicken, Made in China | Tagged , | Leave a comment

NAMUL(KOREAN STYLE SPINACH)

Posted on January 16, 2012 by nituchugani

A lovely way to eat spinach retaining all the vitamins of this vegetable. For most people who dont like spinach this recipe seems to work!!
Its easy and can be refrigerated for a few days .This vegetable is eaten cold and is a good snack to pick on if on a calorie controlled diet.
Theres a video tutorial on how to make this but i am writing the recipe for you all as well.
INGREDIENTS:
300 grams of spinach, steamed and squeezed
1 tablespoon of light soya sauce
a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar
1-2 tablespoons of sesame oil
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
a pinch of white pepper
METHOD:
Steam the spìnach till softened and let it cool. How to steam spinach? Well i just put the leaves in a pot and cover it with a lid and put it to cook on medium heat till the leaves are cooked..that takes about 5 minutes. I then put it in a colander to drain to remove all its liquid.
Once cooled i season it with all the sauces and leave it for an hour for the flavours to infuse.
I usually serve it with boiled white ride and a meat or fish dish!!!
FOR THE VIDEO:

Posted in Everything Vegetarian, Gluten Free, Healthy Options, Low Cost, Made in China, Veg Starters, Vegan | Leave a comment