Wheat Flour Dosa

I make these instant dosas anytime, day or night, when nothing but dosas will do for a meal. While I love the traditional dosas, making them requires a little bit of planning and preparation. The batter for wheat dosas is ready in less then 5 minutes and does not require any soaking, grinding or fermenting.

Ingredients:

(For 12 -14 paper-thin dosas)

• 2 cups wheat flour
• ½ cup rice flour
• ½ cup buttermilk
• ½ -1 tsp cumin seeds
• A pinch of asafoetida
• 2-3 green chillies, finely chopped
• A sprig of curry leaves, chopped
• Salt to taste
• Water, to make a thin and watery batter

Method:

Mix together the ingredients listed above and add enough water to form a thin and smooth batter.

Heat a cast-iron skillet until hot and pour a ladleful of batter onto it. Lift the skillet off the heat and tilt it around so that the batter is distributed evenly over it. Since this is a very thin batter, spreading it using a ladle like you normally would for other dosas  will not work. Add a couple of drops of oil around the edges of the dosa and cook till done. Then flip over and cook the other side.

Serve hot with chutney.

Spinach and Mushroom Breakfast Casserole

This casserole is healthy and filling without being heavy. It can be assembled ahead of time, refrigerated, and baked just before you're ready to eat. This breakfast/brunch dish is very versatile and works well with a variety of vegetables. I usually use a combination of spinach and mushrooms but bell peppers, broccoli and asparagus would all be great additions.

Here's what needs to be done-

Ingredients:

For cooking in a skillet:

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2-3 garlic cloves, crushed and finely chopped
• 2 green chillies, finely chopped
• 1 small box mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
• 5 cups baby spinach, chopped
• Salt
• Pepper

For the custard:

• 5 eggs
• ¼  - ½  cup milk (I use 2%)
• ¼  cup low-fat mozarella cheese
• ½  cup 1% cottage cheese
• Salt and Pepper

Method:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a baking dish with some oil.

Heat the oil in a large skillet, over medium heat. Add the garlic and green chillies followed by the sliced mushrooms, salt and pepper. Cook until all the liquid released evaporates. Next, add spinach and cook, stirring, just until it wilts. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, mozzarella, cottage cheese, salt and pepper until smooth. Spread the vegetable mixture in an even layer in the baking dish. Pour the egg mixture over the vegetable mixture.

Bake at 375 F for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the eggs set and the top of the casserole starts to brown.

Pateta par Eeda (Eggs on Potatoes)

Pateta-par-Eeda, which translates to "eggs on potatoes" is a traditional Parsi dish served for breakfast. I first saw this on One Hot Stove many years ago and my version of the original recipe has undergone many changes with time. I like to  make this for brunch over the weekends especially when my grocery shopping for the following week has not yet been done, and all I have with me to make a decent meal are a couple of eggs and potatoes. Sometimes, when my vegetable bin is well-stocked, I like to jazz up the recipe a bit by using spinach, mushrooms and red peppers. Recently I've started adding  quinoa too.

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 3-4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tsp minced ginger
• 2-3 green chillies, finely chopped
• A pinch of turmeric
• 3 large potatoes, peeled and finely diced
• 4 eggs
• Salt
• Pepper

 Method:

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the ginger, garlic and green chillies followed by the onions, salt and turmeric powder. Cook till the onions soften. Add the potatoes and cook, mixing everything occasionally, until the potatoes are almost done. Flatten the top, press the potatoes down gently to form a single layer and cook till a crust forms at the bottom. Flip over to let the other side get nice and crispy.

Beat the eggs and season with salt and pepper. Pour all over the potato mixture. Cover and cook on low heat till the eggs are set.

Run a rubber spatula around the edges to loosen the potato cake from the skillet, and then slide it out onto a plate. Cut into wedges and serve.

Besan Chilla (Chickpea Flour Crepe)

Besan chilla, sometimes referred to as an eggless “omelet” is a savory pancake made using chickpea flour. The flour is mixed with water, spices and vegetables like tomatoes and onions to make a thick batter.

 This is a simple and healthy preparation, perfect for breakfast, and can be made in less than 15 minutes.

I like my chillas thin, so I add a lot of liquid while making the batter so that it spreads out while cooking. I’ve used a combination of buttermilk and water here. The chillas taste best when they are eaten as soon as they are made.

Ingredients:

(makes 7- 8 thin chillas)

• 1 cup besan (chickpea flour/ gram flour)
• ½ cup rice flour
• 2 Tbsp rava/sooji (cream of wheat)
• ½ cup cooked quinoa (optional- I only used it because I had leftovers)
• ½ medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 tomato, finely diced
• A handful of coriander leaves, finely chopped
• 3-4 green chillies, finely chopped
• 1 tsp roasted cumin powder
• 1 tsp roasted coriander powder
• 1 tsp ajwain (carom seeds)
• 1 cup reduced fat buttermilk
• ½ - ¾ cup water
• Salt
• Oil

Method:

Add the besan, rava, rice flour, cooked quinoa, chopped onions, tomatoes, coriander leaves, green chillies, cumin powder, coriander powder, ajwain and salt to a large bowl. Add a cup of buttermilk and enough water, mixing well to get a smooth and lump-free batter.

Heat a non-stick griddle or a cast-iron pan. Pour a ladleful of the batter in the center of the pan. Tilt the pan around to spread out the batter.

Add a few drops of oil around the edges of the chilla and also a little in the center. Cook till it turns golden brown on the bottom, then flip over and cook the other side till you see a few golden brown spots. Repeat with the rest of the batter.

Serve hot with chutney. 

 

Banana Bread

I made some banana bread over the weekend. This is the recipe I usually follow when I’m making banana bread, but this time I was looking for something different and wanted to try another recipe for a change. I came across this one that looked very good, but at the last moment I realized that I did not have sour cream, a key ingredient in the recipe. So I made a few substitutions and ended up with a recipe that is a combination of both the recipes with a few additional ingredients thrown in. 

Here's what needs to be done-

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour your pan.  (I had enough batter for my regular 8 x 4- inch loaf pan and a mini one too.)

Mix together the following ingredients in a bowl-

• 1 ½  cup flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½  tsp. salt
• A pinch of cardamom powder
• ¼  tsp powdered cloves
• ½  tsp cinnamon

In another bowl, beat together these wet ingredients-

• ¾  cup sugar
• ½  cup olive oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup mashed banana (from about 2   very ripe bananas)
• ½  cup yogurt (I used low-fat)
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine the dry and wet ingredients together and mix well. Fold in the following -

• ¼  cup butterscotch morsels
• ¼  cup toffee bits (I used Heath Bits ‘O Brickle Toffee Bits)
• ½  cup toasted and chopped hazelnuts

Pour the batter into the greased pans. Bake for  45-50 minutes  or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out relatively clean. My small loaf was done in 30-35 minutes. Cool, slice and serve.

The recipe was a success- the bread had the perfect amount of sweetness, and it was soft and moist. A slice or two of  this delicious loaf  makes a wonderful accompaniment to a cup of tea. 

Strawberry Oatmeal Squares

A few weeks back, I made a large batch of strawberry jam. Yesterday, I decided to turn the leftover jam into something else. After hunting for a suitable recipe, I came across a simple one  for raspberry oatmeal bars which made use of ingredients I already had. Judging from the reviews of the original recipe, it seemed to be a pretty good one.  Since I needed to use up my homemade strawberry jam, that's what I used but any kind of jam would work here.

Ingredients:

(For 16 squares)

• scant ½  cup brown sugar
• scant 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup instant oats
• ¼  teaspoon baking soda
• A pinch of  salt
• 6 Tbsp butter, melted
•  ¾   cup  jam

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line an 8x8-inch baking dish with foil and grease well.

Mix the flour, oats, brown sugar, salt and baking soda together in a bowl. Pour in the melted butter and mix it well into the other ingredients with your hand.

Dump about half of the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Spread to form an even layer and pat down firmly.  Spread the jam over this layer. (Make sure you don't spread it too close to the sides of the pan- I made the mistake of spreading my jam a little too close to the edges and had some burnt jam along the edges, stuck to the foil.) Top with the remaining mixture and press down lightly.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool and cut into squares.  

Mushroom And Spinach Strata

This strata is a great one-dish meal that can be made ahead of time. It can be assembled the previous night itself and just popped into the oven the next morning in time for breakfast or brunch. I’ve made this a couple of times now since I first heard of it a few years back.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cubed bread
• 1 cup cheese ((I used a mixture of Parmesan and Cheddar this time)
• 1-2 Tbsp oil
• 1 cup scallions
• 2-3 garlic cloves, crushed
• Red pepper flakes
• Salt
• Pepper
• 8 oz mushrooms, chopped
• 3 cups spinach, chopped

For the custard:

• 4 eggs
• 1 ½ cups milk
• Salt
• Pepper

Method:

Grease your baking dish of choice. I used 2 small baking dishes here, but an 8 x 8-inch baking dish would also work just fine. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Cube some leftover bread. Italian bread would be perfect for this but use whatever you have. I used 4 slices of leftover sandwich bread that I toasted first.

In a skillet, add the oil and sauté the scallions. Add the crushed garlic, a pinch of red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.

To this add the chopped mushrooms and cook till the water evaporates.

Next, add the chopped spinach. Cook till the spinach wilts down and the mixture is almost dry.

In a bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, salt and pepper.

Layer the bread cubes at the bottom of the baking dish. Pour half the custard over it. Press down the bread with the back of a spoon if required so that it soaks up the custard well. Sprinkle half the cheese over this.

Stir the cooked vegetable mixture into the rest of the custard and then add to the layers in the baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until the top forms a nice golden brown crust. Serve hot.

Poha

This is a breakfast dish that comes together very quickly using simple pantry and kitchen staples.

Ingredients:

(For 3-4 servings)

• 2 Tbsp oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• A pinch of asafoetida
• 4 green chillies, minced
• 4-5 curry leaves
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• A pinch of turmeric
• 2 potatoes, cubed
• 2 ½ cups thick poha (beaten rice)
• ½ cup coriander leaves
• 3 tsp sugar
• Juice of a lemon
• Salt to taste

Method:

Rinse the flattened rice flakes and drain off the excess water. Place in a bowl and pour over just enough boiling water to cover. Let it stand for 5-10 minutes. The rice flakes will absorb the water and swell. Make sure you're using the thick variety of poha here- the thin kind will just fall apart. Fluff with a fork and set aside

Heat oil in a large pan and add the mustard seeds, asafoetida, chillies, curry leaves and turmeric followed by the onions. When the onions turn soft, add the potatoes and cover and cook till they're done.

Stir in the rice flakes and mix. Cook for a couple of minutes and then add the chopped coriander leaves and sugar. Take the pan off the heat and add the lemon juice. Serve hot.

Crustless Quiche With Spinach And Mushrooms

This is my second time making a quiche. My very first quiche was one with a potato crust. This time around I decided to go crust-free by following this recipe on Joy The Baker's blog.

Ingredients:

For cooking in a pan:

2 Tbsp oil
1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 cups chopped mushrooms
3 cups chopped spinach
Red pepper flakes
Salt
Pepper

For the custard:
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk (I used 2 %)
2 wedges of The Laughing Cow cheese(I used this one)

Salt and pepper

Method:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch pie dish with some oil.

Heat oil in a large skillet, over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, followed by the red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Next, add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, until all the liquid released evaporates. Add spinach and cook, stirring, just until spinach wilts. Let the mixture cool slightly.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, salt and pepper until smooth. Stir in the cheese. Spread the vegetable mixture in an even layer in the pie dish. Pour the egg mixture over the vegetable mixture.

Bake at 375 F for 35 to 40 minutes, until the quiche is slightly puffed and golden brown on top.

Cut into wedges and serve.

From Your Kitchen To Mine #6

I decided to use bread in two different ways for The Iron Chef edition of Nupur's Blog Bites.

The first recipe, one for Malai Toast, is now a family favorite. It's something I've been making regularly since I first came across it on Richa's blog some 3 years back.

The only change I made here was to use yogurt with a splash of buttermilk instead of the malai mentioned in the original recipe. I also smear the batter on both sides of the bread slices and cook till it gets a nice crispy crust.

We love having this for breakfast over the weekends. It's something that's really simple and tasty and can be made at a moment's notice if you have the ingredients on hand. The recipe calls for ingredients that I always have in my kitchen. I cannot think of a better way to make use of a loaf of bread, leftover or otherwise.

The second recipe is from Kanchan's blog. Kanchan, very creatively transforms stale bread into this tasty snack in her recipe.

Here's how I made this-

I ran 5 slices of bread through the food chopper to get coarse crumbs. Next, I threw in a chopped onion, a few green chillies, a small bunch of coriander leaves, some salt and pepper, and pulsed the ingredients a couple of times. Then I added one beaten egg to the whole thing and mixed well. I added a little bit of flour too since the “dough” had become a little sticky at this point. This mixture of ingredients gave me 6 balls. I flattened these balls of the mixture as much as possible and cooked them till done.

Thanks for sharing your recipes, Richa and Kanchan!

Some more ways to enjoy bread:

Baked Eggs And Vegetables In Bread Cups

Pappa al Pomodoro (Tomato And Bread Soup)

Roti John

Bombay Toast (French Toast, Indian style)

Baked Eggs And Vegetables In Bread Cups

Like one of my previous recipes, this one too is inspired by something that caught my eye on the Pepperidge Farm website. I used the basic idea from there but made my own changes to the recipe.

Ingredients:
(For 9 bread cups)
9 bread slices, crusts trimmed
5 eggs, beaten
¼ cup milk
Salt
Pepper
5 Tbsp shredded cheddar cheese

Other ingredients:
2 Tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
½ tsp red pepper flakes
Salt
2 cups of mixed vegetables, finely chopped (I used what I had- onions, asparagus, potatoes, radishes)


Method:

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Grease a muffin tin.

Take a slice of bread and brush one side of it with a little bit of the beaten egg-milk mixture. Place the slice (brushed side down) in the muffin cup and press down gently. Repeat with the other slices.

Meanwhile, melt some butter in a skillet on medium heat. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes and onions followed by the asparagus, potatoes and radishes. Cook for 3-5 minutes. Mix well and set aside.

Once the vegetables have cooled a bit, add to the eggs. Add salt, pepper, cheddar cheese and mix well. Distribute the vegetable-egg mixture between the cups of the muffin tin (I had enough mixture for 9 cups). Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the eggs are done.

I like how the bread, eggs, vegetables and cheese come together to make this a very simple and elegant meal. This is a nice variation on the traditional eggs-on–toast routine and would be great for breakfast, lunch, or even dinner.

Corn And Scallion Pancakes With A Spiced Strawberry Syrup

This pancake recipe is something I’d hastily jotted down from some cookbook while I was in the long check-out line at the library.



Ingredients:
(For approximately 10 pancakes)
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup cornmeal (I used white)
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp sugar
Salt
2¼ cups buttermilk
2 eggs
2 Tbsp butter, melted
¾ cup corn (I used some frozen corn that I’d thawed)
3-4 scallions, sliced (I used both white and green parts)
Oil/Butter to grease the skillet

Method:
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt.

In another bowl, mix together the buttermilk, eggs, and butter. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well. Set the batter aside for 10-15 minutes.

Stir in the chopped scallions and corn just before making the pancakes.

Grease a hot skillet with oil/butter; pour a ladleful of the pancake batter. Tilt the skillet around a bit so that the batter spreads out a little.

Cook on medium heat until the bottom is golden brown. Flip the pancake and cook the other side similarly. Repeat with the remainder of the batter.

Serve with your favorite syrup. I did not have any at home. So I looked around for something else I could use instead and saw a jar of strawberry jam in the refrigerator. So that is what I ended up using to make the syrup. I could have thinned it out a bit more, though.

Spiced Strawberry Syrup



Here's how I made the syrup:

I heated 1 tsp of oil and added 1- 2 finely chopped jalapenos (deseed and devein to reduce heat) to it. Then, I added ¾ cup of strawberry jam/jelly (I used Smucker's strawberry jelly) and a pinch of salt. I cooked this for 3-5 minutes. I added the juice of 2 small limes at the end to round off the flavors.

The sweet, sour and spicy syrup was the perfect accompaniment to the pancakes.

Savory Semolina Cake

Since I rarely plan meals ahead of time, I am usually at a loss for what to make when it’s time to get started on my cooking for the day. It was one of those weekend mornings when I was stumped, as usual, on what to make for breakfast. I turned to my bookmarks folder for help and inspiration came in the form of this recipe that I’d bookmarked ages ago, from Arundathi’s blog. The original recipe is Anjum Anand’s, and here she demonstrates how the cake (I like to call it a baked rava upma ) is made.

Ingredients:

1 cup semolina/rava/sooji/cream of wheat

1 cup plain yogurt

1/3 cup water (somewhere between ¼ to ½ cup of water - use just enough to make a thick batter)

½ tsp red chilli powder

½ tsp roasted cumin powder

1 tsp baking soda

Salt

Also required are:

2 Tbsp oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

2-3 finely chopped green chillies

5-6 curry leaves, finely chopped (kasuri methi would work too, for a different flavor)

½ tsp ginger paste

½ onion, finely chopped

¼ red bell pepper, chopped

¼ cup frozen peas

Method:

Preheat the oven to 375 F and grease a loaf pan.

Heat the oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, green chillies, chopped curry leaves and ginger, followed by the vegetables in quick succession. Cook for a minute or two, stirring frequently.

In a large bowl, mix together the semolina, yogurt, water, the contents of the pan, and salt to make a fairly thick batter. Add more water if required, to bring the batter together.

Stir in the baking soda and immediately pour the batter into the loaf pan.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the top is golden-brown. Mine was almost done in 30 minutes; so I turned off the oven and just let it sit inside for another 5 minutes or so.

Remove from the oven and cool for a bit. Slice and serve.

Mushroom And Spinach Quiche With Potato Crust

I recently watched an episode of Cook Yourself Thin where a quiche was made using a potato crust. It seemed like a great idea and one that I couldn’t wait to try out.

A crust made up of shredded potatoes is definitely a healthy alternative to the usual fat-laden pastry crusts I’ve seen used in most quiche recipes. I followed the recipe very closely and did not make too many changes. I had a crisper full of vegetables in the refrigerator, and so I used a little bit of everything for this quiche.
Here’s what I did…

Ingredients:
For the crust:
3 potatoes peeled and grated (I used Russet)
2 tsp oil
Salt
Pepper

For cooking in a pan:
2 Tbsp oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
½ onion, diced
1 tsp red pepper flakes
¼- ½ tsp dried thyme (optional)
4 cups sliced mushrooms,
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
½ cup chopped asparagus
2 cups baby spinach

For the custard:
3 eggs, beaten
¼ cup milk
Salt
Pepper
3 Tbsp freshly grated Gouda cheese

Method:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch pie dish/plate (I used glass) with some oil. Squeeze all the excess water out of the grated potatoes. Toss grated potatoes with oil, salt, and pepper. Press into an even layer in pie dish, up the sides like a crust. Bake until golden brown at the edges and dry, about 20-22 minutes. Then broil for 2 minutes or so. Watch the crust carefully here so that it does not burn. Let cool.

Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Heat oil in a large skillet, over medium heat. Add onion and cook until soft. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, until mushrooms release their liquid and most of the liquid evaporates. Stir in the chopped asparagus and red bell pepper pieces. Cook till the vegetables soften. Add spinach and cook, stirring, just until spinach wilts, let cool slightly.

Whisk together eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. Spread the vegetable mixture in an even layer in the pie dish. I used all but one cup of the cooked vegetable mixture here since I thought it would be a little too much for the quiche. Sprinkle the grated cheese evenly over the vegetable mixture. Carefully pour in egg mixture.

Bake until golden brown and set in the center, about 30-35 minutes. Let cool, and serve warm or at room temperature.

Cucumber Pancakes

I tend to gravitate towards simple recipes with minimal ingredients and minimal steps. So, when I saw these soft and melt-in-your-mouth pancakes on Nupur’s blog, I knew I would be making them soon.
I understand this is a common preparation in many Konkani homes but using cucumber in a dosa was a first for me.

Ingredients:
1 large cucumber, peeled and grated
1 cup rice flour
½ cup rava/semolina/sooji (cream of wheat)
1/2 - 3/4 cup buttermilk
4-5 green chillies, chopped finely
A handful of coriander (cilantro) leaves, chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
Salt to taste
2-3 tsp sesame seeds
Oil

Method:
Peel and grate the cucumber into a large bowl. Throw in the rest of the ingredients (except the sesame seeds) listed above, and mix well to prepare a relatively thick batter. A little bit of water may be used to bring the batter together.

Grease a hot skillet with oil; pour a ladleful or two of the batter. Tilt and move the skillet around a bit so that the batter spreads out a little and then use the back of the ladle to do the rest. Sprinkle some sesame seeds on the pancake.

Cook on medium heat until the bottom is cooked and turns brown. Flip over and cook the other side similarly. Repeat with the remainder of the batter.

Serve hot with your favorite chutney. I think this batter gave me around 7-8 pancakes.

Potato And Onion Frittata

Flipping through the pages of Everyday Food: Great Food Fast on a weekend morning trying to decide what to make, I came across this recipe. I only had potatoes and onions; so this was perfect for me. But this is one recipe where you can be really creative and use whatever ingredients you want depending on what's in season or what you have on hand. I tweaked the original recipe a bit to suit my taste.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped up
½ tsp red pepper flakes
1 large onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1 potato, peeled, thinly sliced and chopped
½ cup of scallions (I only had the green parts so that’s what I used)
A small sprig of rosemary, finely chopped
4 eggs, beaten
¼ cup milk
2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
Salt
Pepper

Method:
In a medium nonstick broiler-proof skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes and rosemary followed by the onions, salt and pepper. Cook till the onions soften. Add the potato pieces and cook, mixing everything occasionally, until the potatoes are done.

Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper.

Pour the egg mixture into the cooked vegetables (spread it as evenly as possible first) in the skillet. Cook on low heat until the frittata is almost set but the top is still slightly runny. Then place the skillet under the broiler; broil until the frittata is set and the top is lightly golden.

Run a rubber spatula around the edges to loosen the frittata from the skillet, and then slide it out onto a plate. Cut into wedges and serve.

Orange-Oat Bars

I made these bars a while back when I was going through a phase- one that I usually go through at the beginning of every year, where I try to watch what I eat and be good. Unfortunately for me, this is a phase that does not last very long! I was looking for some healthy eats then and I came across these bars on Sunita’s blog. Her orange and date bars seemed to be just what I was looking for. I had a huge canister of oats and some prunes that had to be used up and her recipe looked perfect.

I did not make too many changes to the original recipe except that I substituted the dates in the original recipe with prunes and also added a handful of walnuts.

Ingredients:
(For about 8 bars)
2 cups + 2 Tbsp uncooked oats (I used old-fashioned oats)
1 orange (mine was the seedless kind), peeled and pureed in the blender
Zest of an orange
8-10 prunes, chopped
5 Tbsp honey
¼ c oil
7 Tbsp yogurt
½ tsp cinnamon powder
½ cup chopped walnuts
A pinch of salt
Powdered sugar for dusting the tops of the bars

Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8x8-inch baking pan/dish with foil and grease with oil/butter.

Mix all the ingredients (listed above) together and place in the baking dish. Spread it around as evenly as possible.

Bake for 35-40 minutes. Cool for a bit and then cut into bars. Dust the bars with powdered sugar. I had to do this since the bars were not sweet at all in spite of the honey and the naturally sweet orange juice, and it was too late to incorporate sugar! If I make these again, I would definitely add some sugar and maybe toast the oats and nuts in the oven for a few minutes for a better flavor.

These bars do make for a great breakfast/snack on the go and are healthy and filling.

Lemon-Butter Crepes

Recently, on our way back from a wonderful trip to Montreal, we stopped in the Schroon Lake region of the Adirondacks of Upstate New York for a while. We love the Adirondacks. H has been there a couple of times now and the last time we were there (which happened to be my very first time), was two years back, and we’d spent almost four days then exploring the region. This time around though, we were just passing through and did not have a lot of time, but we just had to make a quick stop to take in the jaw-dropping scenery and the stunning landscapes. Nature’s breathtaking beauty had me speechless!
Here are a couple of pictures of the ice-covered Schroon lake.


















Walking along Schroon Lake's Main Street, we came across this quaint and charming eatery called The Morningstar Bistro. This is what this delightful little place looked like...

We decided to stop in for a quick meal before heading back home. After studying the menu for what seemed like an eternity, I finally settled for a lemon-butter crepe. H decided to go for a sandwich and the soup of the day- a gingered carrot soup. The meal ended with an espresso for H and a hot cocoa for myself.

Here's a picture of what I had...
This is what H had...


This weekend, I tried to recreate the fabulous crepes of the Morningstar Bistro. With the help of Food Blog Search, I came pretty close to doing just that. I followed Marc’s recipe (he also has some great tips for making the perfect crepe) and was very happy with the way my crepes (my first ever, BTW) turned out.
Here' s the recipe.
Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 ½ cups milk
2 eggs
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
A pinch of salt
Butter
Freshly squeezed lemon juice
Powdered sugar

Method:
Put all the ingredients (except the butter, lemon juice and powdered sugar) in a blender and process to get a smooth batter.

Melt a teaspoon (or more) of butter over medium heat in a stainless steel pan and using a ladle, pour the batter onto the pan. Take the pan off the heat and tilt in a circular motion so that the batter thinly coats the bottom of the pan.
When the edges start to brown, carefully flip the crepe and cook the other side for another 30 seconds or until you see a couple of brown spots when you peek under the crepe.

Transfer to a plate, apply a smidgen of butter all over the crepe while it is still hot, squeeze some lemon juice (be very generous here), and serve with a dusting of powdered sugar.Repeat the process with the rest of the batter. This recipe makes about 7 crepes.


These crepes make its way to AWED: France.

Tomato Dosa

I first saw these dosas on Laavanya's blog over a year ago, and what I liked most about the recipe was the fact that the batter was really easy to prepare and did not involve fermentation. I have since been making it very frequently.
These dosas make for a perfect breakfast/brunch over the weekend when you don't feel like doing much, or for that matter, on a busy weeknight when you just can’t!

For Laavanya's recipe, head over to Cookery Corner.

Here's what I did.
Ingredients:
1 cup raw rice, soaked for at least an hour
3 large tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
3-4 red chillies
A few curry leaves
2 Tbsp grated coconut
1 Tbsp tomato paste
Salt to taste

Method:
Grind everything together, adding water as you go along, to get the right consistency for the batter.
Go ahead and make those dosas now! Everyone knows how to make dosas, right? I have a thing for thin and crispy dosas, so that's how I made mine.

Here are some other dosas I make very often-
Adai
Cornmeal dosa
Jaggery dosa
Plain dosa (instant)

Kale And Potato Pancakes

These pancakes were made by H a couple of weekends back. They tasted so good that I just had to jot it down here. Now, H never measures anything while cooking, so I only have approximate amounts of the ingredients that went into this recipe.

Ingredients:
2 cups kale, chopped as finely as possible
2 medium potatoes, peeled and grated (squeeze out the excess mositure)

To grind to a very coarse mixture:
1 medium onion
4-5 green chillies
3-4 curry leaves
3 Tbsp corn
A tiny piece of ginger
1-2 garlic cloves

Mix together-
2 eggs
½ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup rice flour
1-2 Tbsp yogurt
2 Tbsp shredded Mozzarella cheese.
1 tsp cumin seeds, pounded coarsely (I used a mortar and pestle)
1 tsp baking powder
Salt
Oil/butter to grease the griddle/skillet

Method:
Mix all the ingredients listed above to form a relatively thick batter. A little bit of water may be used to bring the batter together.

Grease a hot skillet with oil/butter; pour a ladleful of the batter. Tilt and move the skillet around a bit so that the batter spreads out a little. Try and spread it out as evenly as possible with the back of the ladle (not very easy since the batter's really thick).

Cover and cook on medium heat until one side is done. Then, flip and cook the other side similarly. Repeat with the remainder of the batter.

Serve with sour cream. I had mine with ketchup.