Mushroom Risotto

This turned out to be a nice and easy Sunday lunch with some beer!

Ingredients:
1 large onion, sliced
2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 tbsps butter
3-4 tbsps white wine (since I didn't have any, I used whiskey - single malt)
1 cup arborio rice (or any other medium grain rice)
handful of mushrooms, washed and sliced
1/2 cup Parmesan (or any other hard cheese)
Seasoning
2 cups water (room temperature)

Heat the butter on a saucepan on medium heat. Add the garlic and onions and leave on low for 10-15 minutes for the onion to caramelize. Add the mushrooms. Once it starts to wilt, add the rice and saute. Pour in the wine and let it evaporate. Next, add the water and cover for 10 minutes on medium heat. When the water has almost been absorbed, add the seasoning. Don't dry out the risotto. Top it up with cheese. I prefer the rice not too soft, so 10-12 minutes is perfect cooking time. If you prefer it mushy, then leave it on for 5 more minutes. And done!

Chickpea Salad with Spinach and Coriander Dressing

This was a really easy and super YUM side dish, or in our case, our entire dinner.

1 cup chickpeas soaked overnight, and boiled till soft. Wait to cool. (or 1 can pre-cooked, drained)
1 sliced cucumber
1 sliced onion
1 boiled potato (optional)

The dressing:
1 small bunch of spinach leaves (about 15 leaves)
1 small bunch of coriander
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp ground cumin (roasted optional)
1 tbsp roasted sesame seeds (optional)
2 tbsp Olive oil
Salt/pepper to taste

Combine the dressing ingredients in a mixer and blitz till smooth. Pour over the salad and mix well. That's it.

Carrots and Beetroot Risotto

I usually like all types of vegetables and fruits. Bitter gourd and beets are the exception most of the times. Although I have found ways that I can eat beets, bitter gourd still remains a challenge!

Here's another healthy, and very edible, beet recipe, a slight modification from the earlier version.

You'll need:

3 small carrots

2 beets
2 tbsp Olive oil

1 cup (uncooked) Arborio rice (or any medium-grain rice)

1 large onion peeled and chopped

2-3 tbsps butter

3-4 cloves garlic

1/2 cup red/white wine

2 cups (approximately) water or chicken/veg stock

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese + some more for garnish (Parmesan is recommended because of its strong flavour, but I've used Gouda or even Cheddar and liked the result)

Seasoning to taste

Bake the carrots and beets with some olive oil at 200 deg C for about 30 minutes. Once cool, peel and puree them in a mixer. If you don't have an oven, just boil them in some water till semi-cooked. If you put a knife through it, there should be some resistance. Keep aside.

In a deep pan on medium heat, pour the butter. When hot, add the garlic and onions. Stir for a minute and put it on low heat for another 5 minutes. Once the onions start to caramelize a little, increase the heat to medium-high and add the rice and roast for about a minute. Add the beets and carrot. Then add the wine and stir a little till the liquid is absorbed. 

Now add 1 cup of the water or stock. Stir a little and let the water get absorbed by the rice. Once the rice has taken in most of the water, add another half a cup of water/stock and stir a little to release the starch from the rice. 

Depending on the consistency, add or subtract the amount of water/stock being used. Add some salt and pepper and the Parmesan cheese. Check the rice if it's done - it should be firm and not be too soggy. This takes about 15-20 minutes. Serve hot with some grated Parmesan.

Pasta with Pesto Sauce and Grilled Veggies

I finally found a place that gives a good bunch of sweet basil leaves for a reasonable price to make pesto at home. Once that was taken care of, rest was easy.

For the grilled veggies:
2 tomatoes sliced 
1/2 of a large aubergine, sliced
Olive oil
Sea Salt (or regular would do as well) to taste

Line them up in a baking tray (separately) and drizzle some olive oil on top. Sprinkle some salt. Don't over-season as your final dish will also have salt. Put this in an oven and bake for about 40 minutes at 200 deg C. They'll come out nice and toasted.

For the pesto sauce:
1 large cup of basil leaves
1/2 cup cashew nuts
2-3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (or any other hard cheese like Gouda or Cheddar)
4-5 tbsp Olive oil
Seasoning

Add all the ingredients in a blender and mix till it is a semi-smooth paste. Add/subtract oil as per consistency.

TIP: Add an ice cube when blending to retain a fresh green colour.

To make the pasta:
2 cups cooked pasta of your choice
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil to cook
2 tbsp olive oil to serve
1 onion, chopped

Heat oil in a pan on medium-high heat. Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds, then add the onion. Stir till onions are golden brown. Then add the pasta and pesto sauce. Coat the pasta in the sauce evenly. Add the the grilled tomatoes and aubergines. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil.

For the cheese-crazy, serve with some grated cheese.

Chickpea Curry with Fries

This was a very easy and very quick dinner option for a day when I just didn't have the time or patience to cook. I used canned chickpeas, but if you've had the foresight to soak the some overnight, it doesn't take long to boil in the pressure cooker either.

For the potatoes:
2-3 small potatoes, sliced length ways (no need to peel the skin off)
1 tsp whole cumin 
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp dry mango powder 
1 tsp chilli powder (adjust to taste)
2-3 tsp salt (adjust to taste)
3-4 tbsp oil

Heat oil in a pan. When hot, add the cumin and let it cook till it sizzles. Add the potatoes and coat with the oil. Add the rest of the spices and cook on medium to high heat till potatoes are cooked. It takes about 10 minutes. Make sure they don't burn. Turn the heat down if it starts to stick to the bottom of the pan.

For the chickpeas:
1 can chickpeas, drained (or a handful of chickpeas soaked overnight, then boiled till soft)
1 red onion
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste (or use 1tsp each of chopped fresh ginger and garlic)
2 tomatoes
2 green chilies, chopped
1 tsp whole cumin
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
Salt to taste
2 tbsp oil
Coriander to garnish

In a hand-held chopper, blitz the onion and tomatoes separately. Keep aside.
Heat oil in a pan on medium to high heat. Add the cumin. Once it starts to sizzle, add the chilies and the ginger-garlic paste. Stir for about 30 seconds then add the onions. Once they start to turn golden, add the tomatoes and cook till the water evaporates. Add the dry spices and salt, and cook for another 2 minutes. Finally, add the chickpeas and mix till they're coated well in the curry.

To serve, place the chickpea curry in a bowl, top with the fries, and garnish with coriander. You can even add a splash of lemon juice. Serve with flat bread or rice.

Vegetarian Vietnamese Rice Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce

This is just so fresh and healthy and easy to make that I wonder why I never did this before.

Rice sheets are now available in most grocery stores in India (well, in Bombay at least).

For the filling, I used:
1 small radish
1 small carrot
Half each of red and yellow peppers
Moong bean sprouts
Sweet basil 
Cilantro
Mint
Vermicelli*

*I used Brown Rice Vermicelli. Just soak them in boiling water for 5 minutes.
To give it some extra flavour, I stir-fried it with some garlic-chilli paste and added some salt. Allow to cool.

To prepare:
Keep a flat dish with some warm water, and 2 plates - one to prepare it in and 1 to keep the finished rolls in.
Dip the rice sheet in the water for about 10-20 seconds - make sure it doesn't fold in the water else it'll stick to itself. Once it is soft, place on the plate and start placing the filling. Start with the vermicelli in the center and add a piece of each vegetable. Don't overfill else it will get difficult to roll. Once everything is in place, roll the sides in first, then the rest of it. It takes a bit of practice but after 2-3 rolls, it should get better.

Peanut Dipping Sauce:
1 cup roasted peanuts 
1/2 tsp salt                  
1 tbsp honey               
2-3 tbsps olive oil  
Put these ingredients in a food processor and make into a paste - doesn't need to be very smooth. OR just use some Peanut Butter.

Add:
1 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
1 tsp cornflour
1 tsp chilli-garlic paste
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Mix well and serve.

Cherry Clafoutis

I got this recipe from the tried and trusted Joy of Baking. Not only did this make a good dessert, but it was also good as a quick breakfast option.


1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
2 tbsp granulated white sugar
3/4 cup (180 ml) milk 
1 tbsp melted butter
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Mix all these ingredients well until the batter is smooth.

For the cherries

1 tin of Cherry filling OR 

If you can find good fresh cherries and have the patience to de-seed them, then get about 

         300 to 400 grams fresh cherries, pitted

         1 tbsp butter

         1 tbsp sugar

In a saucepan, heat the butter on medium heat. Add the cherries and cook for about 2 minutes till they're nicely coated with the butter. Then add the sugar and cook till the cherries start to get syrupy.

Transfer the cherries into a baking dish. Pour the batter over it and bake for about 20 minutes at 220 deg C. The filling will rise so do not open the oven door till the edges/top have browned a little towards the end - or else it will collapse.

Let it cool. Dust the top with some icing sugar. Serve warm or cold.