Spicy Indian onion puff

At last I found puff pastry in Grand Rapids! I have been looking for puff pastry all over the town and I began to wonder whether they sell puff pastry in Gd Rapids.I started asking all my friends and they too had the same doubt, but at last we found it. I have been craving for this spicy onion puff for a long time now.This is one of my absolute favorite.This is a recipe I have replicated from Ragam bakery in India. This puff is so good that I can never stop with one. When ever My dad buys this puff, he gets one extra for me, its soooo yummy.
 This recipe brings back lots of memories, chit chatting with my mom with this hot and spicy snack along with tea and my dad would constantly ask us to be quiet cos he would be watching tv. When I was young I was under the impression that puffs can't be made at home, cos we always used to get it from the bakery but I was amazed when my sister once did fresh puff pastry at home when I din even know what puff pastry was and that was one puff which I will not forget. It took a long time to make the pastry and all I could remember is going by and standing at the kitchen counter seeing her roll her pastry over and over and refrigerate it. I was so impatient din know what she was doing at that time.But at last it was all worth it. She had made vegetable puff and it was so good and that moment has stayed with me till now. The other puff memory is from this bakery. Even though I am familiar with puff pastry I have never attempted it, cos, I don want to go through that when I get ready made pastry which is just yummy.

This is also one of my friend's absolute favorite,I know she craves for it.When ever she goes to India this is the first thing she eats, yes this puff is so good.So this recipe is for my friend, hope u enjoy this Sowmi, like I enjoyed it.

Sorry I was in such a hurry that I couldn't get a decent picture of it.It was after I took a bite I remembered that I need a picture for this post !

Spicy Onion Puff  Makes 6 medium puffs

Ingredients:
Readymade puff pastry,thawed - 1 sheet
Red onion, sliced - 2 medium
Green peas pre cooked (or) frozen - 3 tbs
Potato,cut into small chunks and boiled - 3 tbs
Garam masala - 1 1/2 tspn
Ground cumin - 1/2 tspn
Red chilly powder - 1/4 tspn
Oil - 2 tbsp
Water - 1 tbsp (optional)
Milk - 2 tbsp for glazing (or) beaten egg - 2 tbsp (optional)
Salt to taste

Method:
Thaw the puff pastry according to the instructions.
Heat oil in pan and add the onion, put the flame in low, add a pinch of salt so that the onions does not burn. Cover and cook it for 10 mins in low heat.
Add the Garam masala,red chili powder and cumin powder mix well and close and cook for another 10 minutes.(The color of the mixture will turn deep dark brown, don worry that's how it is supposed to look).
Cook the onions until the spices are cooked and the onions have caramelized and very very soft.(At this stage,you can add a tablespoon of water, if the mixture is too dry or if the onion starts to burn).
Add the cooked peas,potato and salt and  stir around, do not mash the potato.
Cover and cook for another 5 minutes.The mixture should not have any water content.Cook until the mixture does not have any excess moisture content (i.e.) if you have  added 1 tbsp of water.
Put flour on a work space or on a dry plate,divide the pastry into 2 equal halves.
Roll out both sheets lightly.
Place the one half of the pastry with the length of the pastry facing you, and place the mixture on one end of the pastry and close the other end over and pinch the ends lightly,so it does not open up when cooking.
Glace with milk or beaten egg .Repeat the same with the other half of the pastry.
Place both the filled pastry on a sheet pan / place and place in the freezer for 10 minutes so that it will firm and will be easy for us to cut.
Pre heat the oven to 400 f
Take out the pastry and with a dry knife cut into equal squares or how ever you want it to be, any length and shape.
Put it on the baking tray and bake for 15-17 minutes or golden brown on top.

Enjoy it as much as we did!

Quinoa and Mushroom cutlets

Everybody is so obsessed with eating healthy food now a days, even me. I am a food junkie, I will eat everything, I lay my hands on.But now a days, I eat in moderation and on the road to weight loss.So here is one very very healthy recipe for you and your family.I was asking my sister the other day is they get quinoa in India,cos I have never had quinoa in India. But once I discovered quinoa there was no going back. It is loaded with protein, it fills you up and you will not be hungry for a long time.It does not have any specific taste so it yields well to any flavor you put into it.We all see all the chefs talking all the time about quinoa on TV, its nothing just an edible grain. When its cooked it has a little bite to it and kinda pops in the mouth.I do a variety of dishes with quinoa.Today I decided to do Quinoa and mushroom cutlets / cakes for evening snack time.

                        

                         

                         

                         

I always blend the vegetables I put in, as they act as a binding agent and plus you can taste the onion and the mushroom in every bite. You can also add cooked and pureed carrot.

You do not have to stick to the recipe, you can be creative.

Quinoa and Mushroom cutlets  Makes 6-7 small cutlets

Quinoa - 1/2 cup

Onion chopped - 1/2

Mushroom chopped - 1 cup

Garlic chopped - 4

Green chili - 2 or according to taste

Pepper powder - 1/2 tspn

Egg yolk - 1 (separate white and yolk)

Bread - 1 slice

Coriander chopped - 3 tspn

Bread crumbs / panko - 1 cup for coating (optional)

Water - 1 cup

Oil for frying

Salt to taste

Preparations:
Cooking quinoa:

Bring the 1 cup of water to boil and put the quinoa and close the lid and let it cook.It will take around 20 - 25 minutes to absorb all the water.Once cooked keep aside.

Separate the egg white and yolk.We will be using only the yolk.

Preparing fresh bread crumbs

Place the bread and the coriander in the mixer and blend just for one round.Just one buzz is enough to crumble the bread. These are the fresh bread crumbs we will be using in the mixture.The purpose of using these bread crumbs are that it will absorb the excess moisture from mushroom and onions.

Cooking Method:

Heat a pan with little oil and fry the onions and garlic, along with green chili, until caramelized.

Add mushroom and pepper,cook for another 5 minutes.

Blend the mixture in the mixer.

Add the mushroom mixture,the fresh bread crumbs and the egg yolk to the cooked quinoa.(Do not add water)

Add salt according to taste.

Form patties / cakes / cutlets as you call it.

Dip in the bread crumbs and pan fry it with some oil.DO NOT deep fry.

Enjoy with ketch up and some fresh onions for some crunchiness.

Substitutions:

If you do not eat egg, you can substitute the egg yolk by increasing the bread slices to 3 when making the fresh bread crumbs.

Note:

Quinoa usually uses 1:2 ratio, the same as rice and water for cooking. So when you increase your serving size  by 1 cup of quinoa use 2 cups of water for cooking it.

You can use the fresh bread crumbs we make, for the final crumb coating. Just make the fresh bread crumbs with 5 slices of bread and you will have extra for coating.

The final dipping in the bread crumbs are just to give extra crunch, so you can skip this and cook without the bread crumb coating. 

Do not deep fry bcos there is a lot of moisture in the patty it will tend to fall apart when you put in oil.So pan fry with some oil.

The uncooked mixture will stay up to 2 days in the fridge.

Enjoy the healthy snack.

Stir fried Soya chunks with Indian spices

This dish is my version of my mom's fried soya. My father insisted on having this every other day cos he wanted more protein in his diet. To be honest, I was not a huge fan when I was young, but when I came up with my own recipe I liked it and I realized that, I wanted it to be more spicy than what my mom did. And after marriage when I did this for my husband, being a fitness junkie he was hooked.So this recipe is a regular one in our diet.

Soya are filled with protein and a little goes a long way.They fill u up and you will not be hungry for a long time.You can find this dried soya chunks in all the Indian stores,but I don't know about other groceries cos I have never purchased them any where else. The ones I use in the recipe is a dried soya chunk. It has to be soaked in water for 30 - 45 minutes orin hot water until they are soft. Squeeze the excess water and it is ready for use.You can find these soya chunks commonly in biriyani's and they are also referred to as meal maker in India.

This recipe is quick and easy with a few Indian spices. The soft soya absorbs all the wonderful spices and they are delicious and full of protein, plus they are a great diet food and a great healthy snack with your tea or when he have our afternoon cravings these are a great snack to nibble on.

You can make this recipe your own by adding what ever you like in this, like bell pepper, may be brocolli, and even scrambled eggs be creative and have fun....

Stir fried Soya chunks with Indian spices  Serves 4

Ingredients
Soya chunks - 2 cups (soaked and squeezed)
Onion  medium chopped - 1 and also for garnish
Tomato medium chopped - 1
Tomato paste - 11/2 tspn (recommended) or tomato ketchup - 3 - 4 tspn
Cumin powder - 1/2 tspn
Chilly powder - 1/4 tspn
Coriander powder - 1/2tspn
Garam Masala - 1/2 tspn
Pepper powder - 1/4 tspn
Salt to taste
Water 2 tspn optional
Bell pepper chopped for garnish

Tip:

• Once the soya absorbs water it might double in size, so you can cut the soya in to halves so that it coated with the spices and you are not left with a mushy flavor less center.
• If you are a spice person you can increase or decrease the amount of spices according to ur liking.
• You can use tomato ketchup if you do not have tomato paste, if using ketchup use 3 or 4 tspn of ketchup.Use ketchup accordingly cos they are not concentrated as tomato paste, so might have to use more of ketchup.

Method:
In a hot pan add oil and onion and cook until translucent.
Add tomato, tomato paste, pepper and all the spices fry for 2 mins and cover the pan with a lid for 5 mins or until the tomatoes are tender.
Smash the tomatoes and let it combine with all the spices.
Add the soya chunks add salt and combine well, until all the soya is covered well with the spice mixture.
Fry the mixture for 2 minutes. If the soya appears to be dry add the 2 tspn of water and cover with a lid for 1 minute and toss it around for a few minutes so that spices are all toasty forma a coating.
Garnish with chopped onions and bell pepper and you have a healthy snack.

Mushroom pizzalets

I was going through my photo bank for some of my old recipes for sharing and i came across this one.This is one of my favorite snack,it is such a fun dish, a kid friendly dish and it is such a great party food. I remember having some left over porcini mushrooms, so i decided to do this dish for my husband.

I love mushrooms in any shape,size and in any dish.Most of you might have come across this recipe and everyone has their own version and this my version. This dish has very less ingredient and you don t have to do any hard work!! all you do is assemble and voila! you have an amazing fancy snack.

I used store bought pasta sauce as my tomato sauce, some olives, bell peppers, onions and cheese. I used 2 kinds of cheese cheddar cheese for sharpness and some mozzarella for that molten gooeyness which we all expect out of pizza.You can use any cheese you like or any cheese you have in your fridge. I also used some pizza seasoning, but you can skip it if you don't have at home or just add some red chili flakes and dried oregano you have. As we use only the top part of the mushroom as our base I cut out the stem, and wait I don discard the,but chop it up and add it to our filling.

Make it your game day dish this year :) and have fun with kids on this one.

Mushroom Pizzalets Serves 10

Ingredients

Porcini / Portabella / Baby bella mushrooms  top part for the base - 10
Onion, chopped into small pieces - 1/2 cup
Bell pepper chopped into small pieces - 1/2 cup
Olives sliced into circles- 1/3 cup
Store bought pasta sauce - 1/2 cup
Cheddar cheese shredded - 1/2 cup
Mozzarella cheese shredded - 1/2 cup
Pizza seasoning
Salt & pepper to taste
Baking tray
Parchment paper / foil

Method

Preheat the oven to 300 F
Clean the mushroom and pat it dry.
Place the mushrooms upside down on the parchment paper or foil over the baking tray.
Add one spoonful of pasta sauce on it, add chopped onion, bell pepper, the mushroom stems, olives and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Place cheese on top and sprinkle with pizza seasoning on top.
Repeat the same for the remaining mushrooms.
Put it in the oven for 4-5 mins or until the cheese melts.

Enjoy hot mushroom pizzalets.