California Pizza Kitchen!

The Labor day weekend went by so fast. We got quite a bit done. From reunions and day trips to some light shopping and eating out. There's a great place called the California Pizza Kitchen. We have been there a few times now. It is a very popular joint for kids and adults. Just as we got in, the waitress took care of the kids by giving them some crayons and some puzzles to solve. That was really great because it took my mind of them as they got busy. It was time to enjoy some great food. Hubby ordered a glass Budlight beer . The kids had the "Works" - which is a thin crust pizza made with vegetables,chicken,olives and mushrooms.Its always a hit with them. The pizza was nice and crisp. The salt was just right. Sometimes when you order a pizza at Zachary's (which is yet another well hyped pizza place)the extra cheesy ones are loaded with salt.Also I found that a pizza is a healthy choice if you eat a slice or two. And since I was trying to eat right, I chose Asparagus soup with some light croutons and a green salad. At the end of it there was no guilt! The soup was actually very tasty.It turned out to be a nice and quiet evening without much chaos.

Ahh ,it really feels nice to be back home. This past month has been a very challenging yet an exciting time for me. It was one exam after the other. Some were at a professional level and some were personal. Being a free spirit that I am, here is one place which is mine and I can do anything I like with it. I don't have people scrutinizing me . That is very liberating indeed. So, in my last post I had the Sandesh and Besan Ladoo going but while the Laddoos vanished in a jiffy ,so did my pictures . Will definitely post the pictures with the recipe some time.
We went to this all time favorite restaurant in Fremont, CA. Its called Shalimar. A hole in the wall place with not just great quality food but also at a very wallet friendly price. The place is always packed with customers no matter what. So one has to wait for the owner to come and find you a table. The owner reminds me of the 'soup nazi' from Seinfeld. He surely has some temper. He decides who gets what table. Once you are done eating he asks you to leave. The reason being the hungry customers waiting outside. So once we get a table,we order the usual time tested stuff. Lahori Chicken (seems more like Tandoori chicken), Raita, mixed vegetable masala,and Naan. We normally finish up by ordering a bowl of kheer. The kheer here is simply AMAZING!!
I don't have words to describe the taste. You've got to try it. So after a very delectable meal everyone's happy and we drive back home ! :-)

Sandesh and Besan Ladoo

Sandesh (made from milk,paneer)

Besan Ladoo( made with Chickpea flour)
Something I tried..cooking time is under 15 minutes for each recipe!Will post recipes soon.

Kheer Komola - Orange Pudding

This is a very simple summer dessert. It has very few ingredients.
Milk(non -fat) 2cups
Half and half -half cup
sugar - 3 tablespoons . 3 packets of splenda
bay leaf
cardamom powder (a pinch)
saffron strands( T Joe has it)
Rose water or rose petals soaked in water(optional)
Orange ( skinned and cut up)
Heat milk in a heavy bottom pan to avoid the milk from burning. Its important to watch the milk and stir the pot continuously.Once the milk reachs its boiling point, reduce heat and let the it simmer for some time. After about 10 minutes(yes, that's a long time to stir the milk but its worth it!)add sugar, bay leaf, cardamom powder and let the milk reduce to a thicker consistency.Cook for a couple of minutes longer and then set aside. Add some rose water.Let it chill in the refrigerator .






Right before serving, add some orange slices. A piece of heaven!

Light Curried Eggs with vegetables

This dish is inspired by the famous dish from Bengali cuisine, Dimer Dalna (Egg Curry). Eggs are such a universal food and can be used in so many ways. Eggs are a natural source of zinc so I try to include them atleast twice a week. This egg recipe is perfect on a summer day and has all the flavor and goodness you can imagine. Traditionally its made by frying boiled eggs in oil and then cooking them in a curry of onions,garlic,ginger and tomatoes. I tried to keep the flavor but reduced the amount of oil and played around with some of the ingredients a little bit. I used potatoes with skin on to preserve the nutrients and also parboiled them ahead of time to reduce the starch from them. I added green peppers to the curry to increase its goodness.
Ingredients~

Eggs hard-boiled

Green peppers

Spices-Bay leaf, whole cardamom, turmeric, red chillie powder
Tomatoes (chopped), garlic paste and ginger paste (a tablespoon each),cilantro for garnishing, one whole chipotle or green chilli, red or any favorite potato(s) with or without skin, half onion finely chopped

Method-
Boil the eggs ahead of time. Par boil some potatoes as well .This takes about 10 minutes.
Heat oil (1 tablespoon). Add onions, garlic, ginger and green chilli. About a half a minute into the process and add all the dry spices. Stir for a while and when oil starts to separate, add tomatoes and let it cook for some time. Oh! add the peppers too! :) Cook for about 4 minutes stirring intermittently so that the veggies don't burn. Add the par boiled potatoes ...Add some water (about 2 cups depending on the gravy needed) Cover and cook for 4 minutes.
Garnish with cilantro ...Done!



Serve with hot rice and enjoy!This is so light that you can go back for another serving without any guilt. Healthy food doesn't have to be boring. :)

Tandoori Chicken (Fat free)

Tandoori Chicken in one of my favorite foods. I have very strong memories about this food. Shere Punjab was one of my favorite dhabas in South Delhi,near Kalkaji- a neighborhood where I spent some time growing up. Eating out in Dhabas which represents typically Punjabi foods available on road sides in and around Delhi, is very common. These dhabas have the best Lassis, Chole Bhatures and Dal Frys in the world. Back in the day when I was living in India, & when my digestive system was wayyyy better, I loved to eat out whenever I got a chance! :) The opportunities were very limited because my mom always wanted us to eat home cooked meals . Anyway this Shere Punjab had the most delectable Naans and Tandoori chicken served on a bed of onions, pickles and lemon. Aaah!
Now,I try to make tandoori chicken quite a lot and serve it along with rice , daal or soup and some salad.Its really simple to do. I make it without any oil or butter or ghee.The ovens that we have here are a blessing.. I use it all the time for baking and broiling other than storing my pots and pans!
You'll need-

Yogurt and Tandoori masala
Chicken( I use boneless skinless chicken breast ...a bit expensive coz it takes the bad stuff out)
cilantro, green chillies (for that extra kick :))
ginger paste, garlic paste

Mix all the ingredients in a ziploc bag or a plastic bag or a glass bowl..I used my baking pan. Let the mix sit for half to one hour. I was out of time as always so I let the mix party for 15 minutes..

In the oven...set it to broil ( till cooked...broil on both sides. you may have to turn the pieces after about 10 minutes..and cook for another 10 minutes) Keep an eye on the broiler... By the way, my house was smelling like Shere Punjab!

Thora namak mirch lagake aur nimboo nichore ke.......
Oye balle balle!! :)

Eggplant Tofu- Not the Panda Express style!

Panda express ! the very thought gets my mouth drooling! The taste of Orange Chicken or Eggplant tofu is hard to forget. Ordering chinese takeout everyday may not be a good idea since the food is loaded with oil.Finding alternatives is in my opinion the best way to enjoy some favorites.So I tried another variation of the Eggplant tofu. It is best when served over fried rice .
Ingredients~

Eggplant,Onions,Garlic,Tomatoes

Tofu,cut up and dried (on a paper towel)

Soy sauce( low sodium), red chilli powder, non stick spray, sesame oil, olive oil,red chili and sugar

Coat the pan with some non stick spray and lighty fry the tofu. Coat a bit of red chilli on tofu to give it a nice color.

In another skillet add a table spoon of olive oil and fry the onions ,garlic, eggplant, some red chilli powder in that order. Keep this on high heat to cook the eggplant and then once coated with the oil, add some soy sauce and tomatoes...Cook for a couple of minutes and keep stirring ...the next ingredient to go in is some sugar( 1 or 2 tsps) The soy sauce takes care of the salt so be careful if using more salt.

After a few minutes its time to add the tofu and remember stir carefully or else the tofu might break .
If at this point you see that the eggplant looks dull, add some non stick spray to the skillet.

In the end drizzle some sesame oil (optional) .It helps to bring out the flavor !
Must admit though that my kids are not a big fan of eggplant...so I added a lot of cayenne to the tofu and it was very good! :)

Vegan Sandwich

This sandwich is super easy because it is made by assembling some ready to eat ingredients.
A brief note about the ingredients-
Ciabatta bread - Freshly baked available at Trader Joe's .This is a simple bread which can be baked at home as well. If you are out of time, its a good idea to get one!
Meatless Meatballs- Available in the frozen aisle of T. Joe's .Its a good staple to have in the freezer and can be used in a lot of ways
Veggie Cheese Slices- Available at any local grocery store..very mild
Ketchup
Olive oil to toast the Ciabatta
Tomatoes
Cucumber
Or any other veggie you like!


Heat the oil in a pan or grill and toast the bread on both sides to brown the sides. Ciabatta bread is a sour bread and reminds me of the taste you get after biting into Dosa ..
Microwave the meatless meatballs for 3 minutes.Sprinkle them with a little water before microwaving to keep the MMB moist.Keep piling the layers with whatever you got.And.....

Don't forget to enjoy every bite!!!
Weightwatcher points are 6

Lauki/bottlegourd

Lauki or bottlegourd is very popular in Indian cooking. It is used in a variety of ways and one of the simplest ways is in this recipe. Lauki juice is one of the best raw foods available and can give the much hyped wheatgrass juice a run for its money. I have made the vegan version of this veggie.
You'll need

Bottle gourd-skinned and chopped

Bori or Vadi - made from lentils available at any Indian store. However this is optional and you can use shrimp intead. Skip it altogether if you don't have it.

Another very staple spice in the bengali kitchen available at any indian store..called the Panch phoron translates as five spices. The red chilly ofcourse needs no introduction!

Heat oil and add the spices..1 tablesoon for 1 medium lauki. I used two of these.When the seeds start to crackle, dump the chopped lauki. Stir quickly,cover the pan and reduce the heat.

Add the vadi or shrimp and let it cook further for 4 or 5 mintutes. You can tell they are done when they look all mushy. Don't forget to salt it! I made this really simple because I was targeting the kids. You can glam it up with green chillies or coconut milk in the end! Very tasty when served with hot steaming basmati rice...Picture that !!:)

Microwave Karela Chips

Here's my next quick recipe for cooling foods. This is a recipe originally done by mom-in-law. She happens to be an excellent cook. As a kid I hated karela or ucche as we call it in bengali and remember my little brother sneak the ucche under his plate so that mom couldn't see. However as strict as my mom was I do realize that it was for our good.Karela or bittergourd is excellent food for the liver. Its easily available at any Indian or chinese grocery store.My mom would usually fry the ucche or make many other variations.But this recipe is very easy to do. First you need to chop the karela as finely as possible. Here's what you need...



I used 4 whole karela(s)
A non stick spray or olive oil (2 tablespoons)
turmeric
salt to taste

In the microwave . 15 mintutes till crisp...DONE!!! Yummy!

Ghol/Buttermilk/Lassi

Ghol is a bit different from Lassi. The latter is made with lots of yogurt. For Ghol the proportion of yogurt is much less.
you'll need~

2 tablespoonfuls of yogurt (store bought or home-made)
1 tsp of fresh lemon juice
2 tsp of sugar
a pinch of salt
2cups of water
Use a blender to mix...
You may use ice
This is a very light drink and can be enjoyed by anyone who is prone to stomach related problems.
Its a 0 point drink for people watching calories if made with splenda. Served in a fancy glass may enhance the taste :)

Cooling foods on Summer Solstice

"Mommy my stomach hurts!" were the words I heard yesterday from my 4 year old . He looked in pain and was very sad. I knew something was not quite right and rushed him to the physician. After a few rounds of throwing up , the doctor's diagnosis was stomach flu. In India usually its the jaundice that we feared as kids where we got bland food for days to recover. I tried to recollect what my mom would make for me to feel better when I was little. Ghol(buttermilk),lau (bottle gourd) and Karela(bitter gourd) on rice, super light and very soothing!
So I thought I will share these recipes with you.....

Father's Day....

Father's day is on June 21st...Such celebrations are a phenomenon of the recent times and is not only popular in the US but has caught up back home. As I surf the internet there are so many pop up websites for sending flowers or gifts to India. As tempting it may look, I know my father couldn't be happier if he saw that I take care of the "father" in my household on that day. I thought why not start a day before and fix something yummy . So I made a very weight watcher friendly Palak Paneer which is loaded with butter and cream if you eat out and can be 9 points per serving but if make at home can cost you less in terms of calories. This preparation is 5 points per serving and to top it all, really quick and easy.

Ingredients~



Paneer -store bought or home-made (whole bag)



Spinach -frozen or fresh (Whole bag )



Peas- frozen or fresh (1 cup)

Onion(1/2 cup finely chopped)
tomatoes(2 chopped)
ginger paster( 1 tsp)
garlic paste(1 tsp)
Olive oil( 1 tbsp)
salt to taste
and some very simple spices


turmeric, bay leaf, red chillies
You could spice it up by adding cayenne pepper



Heat wok, add oil, bay leaf and red chillies, chopped onions, ginger ,garlic, paneer and fry till golden brown. Should take about a minute. Add some tomatoes and keep stirring ...reduce heat (another minute)



Add spinach and peas and cook for about 2 minutes. It helps to thaw the spinach in the microwave for 2 minutes and its ready to go.


Done! Serve with warm low carb tortillas or hot chapatis .
Take out time - 20 minutes..
At home- 10 minutes