Cilantro Jalapeño Hummus

Panera Bread has a fantastic Mediterranean Veggie sandwich on their menu. I like this sandwich so much that I tried recreating it at home recently. I purchased most of the ingredients required for the sandwich at an adjacent Trader Joe's, but decided to make the cilantro-jalapeno hummus, an important component of the sandwich, myself. I tweaked my roasted red pepper hummus recipe from a few years back to come up with this one. While this did not taste like the original Panera spread, it was really good and came pretty close to the real thing.

Ingredients:

• 1 can (15 oz) chickpeas/garbanzo beans, drained
• 2-4 Tbsp lime juice or lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 jalapeño
• 1 small bunch cilantro (I used the stalks as well)
• 1/4 cup kefir (optional- I only used it because I had difficulty bringing the hummus together in my food processor, but in the end, it did result in a smooth and creamy spread)
• 3-4 Tbsp olive oil
• ½ tsp roasted cumin powder
• Salt to taste
• Pepper

Method:

Place all the ingredients (except the oil) in a food processor and blend well. Add the olive oil in a thin stream, with the processor still running, till the hummus comes together. Season with salt and pepper.

Baked Zucchini Fries With A Yogurt-Buttermilk Ranch Dip

These baked zucchini fries are an easy and healthy alternative to French fries. I made this a few nights ago when I was looking for a simple side that would go well with the grilled cheese sandwiches I was making for dinner. I also made a quick dip for the fries while they were baking in the oven.
The recipes for both the fries and the dip can be found on Faith’s blog.

For the Zucchini Fries:

Ingredients:
2 zucchini, cut into long, thick pieces
1 egg, beaten with a splash of milk
¼ cup unseasoned, dry bread crumbs
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
Salt
Pepper
Red chilli powder
Garlic powder
Dried herbs (I used a combination of basil, parsley, rosemary, thyme)

Method:
Preheat the oven to 425 F. Line a baking sheet with foil and grease well.

In a wide, shallow bowl, beat the eggs with a little bit of milk. In another bowl, combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, chilli powder, and dried herbs.

Dip the zucchini pieces in the egg-milk mixture first and then roll in the bread crumb- cheese mixture to get an even coating all over.

Place in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake at 425 F for 20- 25 minutes.

My fries were a little soft on the inside and had a crunchy exterior but they were still very tasty. I’ve also tried Ellie Krieger’s recipe for Zucchini Parmesan Crisps using the dry ingredients in this recipe. We liked it so much that I’ve made it twice in the last few days.




For the Yogurt-Buttermilk Ranch Dip:

Ingredients:
Yogurt
Buttermilk
Lemon juice
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
Sugar
Dried parsley
Dried dill

Combine all the ingredients together in a bowl and whisk well. Serve with fries.

Puli Pottichhathu- a tamarind chutney

I came across a recipe a few weeks back on a relatively new (to me) blog, that instantly took me down memory lane. Memories of the countless summer vacations spent in Kerala came flooding back. Summer was the season when mangoes were aplenty everywhere and it was no different at our ancestral home.
The best part of the Kerala trip for me was undoubtedly the food, especially at my father’s illam. Among other things, I remember eating mangoes, lots of it. A common preparation that was a hit with all the kids there at the time was chopped mangoes slathered with a coarse paste made of crushed shallots, roasted red chillies, coconut oil and salt. It was absolutely heavenly! That has got to be the fondest food memory from my childhood, and this recipe took me there.

The original recipe can be found here.

Ingredients:
Tamarind (lemon sized ball) - boiled in ¾ - 1 cup water, cooled, strained and juice extracted
4 -5 red chillies, dry roasted
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 pappadums, roasted on an open flame, ideally
1 tsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp coconut oil
Salt

Method:
With clean hands crush the chopped onions, salt, red chillies and pappadams thereby mixing everything very well. Dissolve the brown sugar in the tamarind extract and add to the crushed mixture. Stir in the coconut oil.

Serve with some hot rice, or do what I did and have it with some chopped mangoes.

Thank you so much for sharing your recipe, Rajani!

This goes to Sig for JFI: Tamarind.

Here's how I like to have to have puli pottichhathu- with chopped mango pieces.

Caramelized Onion Dip

This is a recipe that I had jotted down a long time back from one of the magazines that I had borrowed from my local library. In the hustle and bustle of life, the scrap of paper on which the recipe was noted disappeared, and was completely forgotten about. It resurfaced recently when I was looking for something else and I decided to make it and post it ASAP.

I have modified the original recipe to such an extent that my recipe now looks nothing like the original!

So here it is- my onion dip...

Ingredients:

1 big Vidalia onion, thinly sliced
1/8 tsp dried mint
1/8 tsp dried thyme
3-4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp yogurt (I used low fat)
1 ½ Tbsp light mayonnaise (I used Hellmann's)
1 tsp lemon juice
Salt
Pepper

Method:
Heat the oil in a pan, add the onions and dried herbs followed by garlic and mix well.

Cook the onions on medium heat stirring from time to time till they lose moisture, the sugar in them starts to caramelize, and they turn brown (takes about 15-20 minutes or so)

Allow the onion mixture to cool and grind to a paste.

In a bowl mix together the mayo and the yogurt.

Add the onion paste to the yogurt-mayo mixture followed by lemon juice, salt and pepper and mix well.

Chill and serve as a dip with your choice of raw veggies, chips or crackers or just slather on bread.

Off this goes to Radhika at Radhi’s Kitchen for JFI: Onion.


For an Indian version, do check out this Onion Chutney.

Onion Chutney

Here’s a recipe for a chutney that couldn’t be easier to prepare. It needs just two ingredients-onions and red chillies. This is something I learnt from my mother.
It serves as the perfect accompaniment to idlis and dosas.

Ingredients:
5 medium onions, chopped
7-10 red chillies
2 Tbsp oil
Salt

Method:
Heat oil in a large pan and add the chopped onions followed by salt. Sauté for 2-3 minutes and then add the red chillies. Continue to sauté on medium heat till the onions cook down and turn soft and brown. This takes almost 20 minutes.

Cool the mixture and grind to a smooth paste.

Serve with dosas.
This is my entry for Zorra’s Onion Day celebrations.

Tomatillo Chutney

Tomatillo (pronounced toh-MAH-tee-YO) is a relative of the tomato family. Tomatillos are of Mexican origin but are now grown in many other places in the Western hemisphere. The fruit is surrounded by a thin paper-like brownish husk and is ideal for use when it is still green.

Tomatillos are often confused with green, unripe tomatoes but unlike tomatoes, they have a distinctly tart, almost lemony flavor. This gives it an authentic flavor in a variety of Mexican green sauces and salsa. They also taste good fried in olive oil or grilled and seasoned with salt and pepper.
I made a chutney using tomatillos for the first time, over the weekend and just loved it.

Ingredients:
2 tomatillos, chopped
½ medium onion, chopped
5-6 green chillies, chopped finely
½ tsp ginger paste
½ tsp garlic paste
¼ cup roasted peanuts
1 small piece of jaggery
1 Tbsp oil
Salt to taste

Method:
Heat the oil in a pan. Sauté the onions, add the ginger-garlic pastes and green chillies followed by the chopped tomatillos and jaggery.

Cook till the tomatillos are done and turn to mush.

Allow the mixture to cool & then blend well along with roasted peanuts to get a thick chutney.

This chutney would be the perfect accompaniment to these instant dosas or even these not-so-instant dosas. It would also make a great tangy dip for baked tortillas or could even serve as a spread on any kind of toasted bread.

I had it with some hot dosas and it was really good. This is one chutney I will definitely be making again.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Hummus is a Middle Eastern spread made from chickpeas or garbanzo beans, and tahini, a paste of sesame seeds. It is typically eaten with pita or other flat bread.
When I first tasted hummus a couple of years back, I disliked it instantly. Being new to the country and never having experimented with non-Indian food, I obviously needed time to get accustomed to eating pureed chickpeas. I believe that it is an acquired taste. But now, with time, I have grown to like hummus and even make my own these days.

You can buy hummus in most grocery stores, but it's so easy to make and so much more fun to make your own by experimenting with the ingredients and adjusting the flavors just the way you want it . Tahini too can be easily found in your local grocery store, but it can be made at home too. Here’s an easy way to make your own tahini. I used store-bought tahini for making this. Adding too much adds a slightly bitter taste to the hummus.

Through trial and error, I have arrived at the proportions indicated below and this has been working well for me.

Ingredients:
A can (15 oz) of chickpeas/garbanzo beans, drained
2 big pieces of roasted red pepper (I used the jarred ones)
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
A big pinch or two of ground cumin
2 Tbsp tahini (sesame paste)
1Tbsp olive oil
Salt to taste.

Method:
Place all the ingredients (except the oil) in a food processor and blend well. Add the olive oil in a thin stream, with the processor running, till everything comes together to form a smooth paste. Season with salt.

Serve with toasted pita triangles.

This is my entry for the Middle Eastern edition of A.W.E.D. being hosted by Siri @ Siri's Corner.

Spicy and minty hummus

Mint and Walnut Chutney

I saw Anita's Doon Pudna Chatin recipe at http://madteaparty.wordpress.com/ and knew that I just had to make it! I stuck to her recipe for the most part but made a few modifications.

Thanks, Anita!