Extra crispy chilly gobi / cauliflower

I apologize for not posting this recipe for a long time. Many requested for this recipe after I added the vegetable biriyani recipe, but somehow I missed to publish it. I had it all typed out but I guess got lost with other things.. So here it is after a long time.. It just takes minutes to get it ready and you cant stop eating it with just one!

Extra crispy Chilly gobi / cauliflower Serves 4

Tbsp - tablespoon
Tsp-tea spoon

Ingredients:
Cauliflower,washed and cut into bite size chunks - 2 cups
Cornflour - 1/2 cup
Ginger and garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Red chilly powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Pepper powder,coarsely ground - 2 tbsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Lemon juice - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Water - 4 tbs (optional)
Semolina / white sooji - 1 tbs (optional)
Oil for deep fry

Method:
Heat oil in a pan.
In a mixing bowl add the ginger garlic paste,chili, pepper,cumin powder,lemon juice, and salt and mix together, without adding water.
Add the cauliflower and rub the spice all over it.
Start adding the cornflour one spoon at a time and mix well, the mixture should not be watery.We are adding the cornflour,just to absorb the extra moisture.
So once the cornflour absorbs all the moisture,stop adding it.You can add little water to bring it to the right consistency.
Add the sooji / semolina and mix through.
Deep fry and serve immediately with fresh onion and lemon.

Tips:
We are not adding any artificial color to it, so the color might be pale.Do not worry it is supposed to look like that. If your red chili powder is really red in color then you mixture will be some what of a red color.
Since we are not making a batter and dipping the cauliflower , you have to take care to rub the spice mixture all over the cauliflower.
Add cornflour 1 spoon at a time.
If the mixture is too thick, you can add water 1 spoon at a time.

Eggplant fritters with roasted red pepper sauce

This recipe is a continuation from my last post Roasted red pepper sauce. This eggplant fritter was the appetizer II recipe on the valentines day surprise dinner. Theme Italian with absolutely no cheese.

Like I told before I tried to throw this surprise dinner with an Italian theme, since my husband is not a big fan of cheese I tried to venture to do a Italian dinner but with no cheese at all and I succeeded and to tell you the truth, I did not find any difference.

Today's recipe is an easy eggplant fritter with a roasted red pepper sauce.

For the sauce I used part store bought tomato sauce and roasted red pepper puree.

Sorry I do not have a great foto to post.

Salted eggplants

Egg plant fritter Serves 4

Ingredients
Eggplant / aubergine, cut into rounds- 8
Plain flour - 1/2 cup
Egg, beaten - 2
Panko bread crumbs - 1 cup or fresh homemade bread crumbs - 1 cup
Fresh / Dried oregano - 1/2 tbs
Fresh / Dried basil - 1/2 tbs
Pepper  to taste
salt to taste
Paper towels / towels - 6
Salt - 1/4 cup
Oil for deep frying

Preparing Eggplant:
Cut the eggplant into 1/2 inch rounds.
Sprinkle salt on both sides of the eggplant and place the eggplant on the paper towel and cover them with a paper towel. leave it for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes change both the paper towels and leave it for another 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes pat the pat the eggplant dry for any moisture and excess salt.
This process is to draw out all the water from the eggplant so when we deep fry it, it will crisp up.

Cooking method:
Heat the oil in a deep dish for deep frying

Prepare a breading station:
Add salt and pepper to the flour and put them into a wide bowl
Beat the eggs add salt and pepper to taste and put them in a wide bowl.
Spread out 1/2 cup of the bread crumbs on a wide flat plate and add half of the dried basil and oregano.
Once the oil is hot, dip the eggplant in the flour, then the egg and then the bread crumbs and deep fry it for 1 to 2 minutes or until the bread crumbs are golden brown.
take out and lave it on a paper towel for excess oil to be absorbed.

Enjoy with the Roasted red pepper sauce or any sauce / dip you like.

Yellow cherry tomato bruschetta

I have been gone for a long time now.. Was caught up with other things in life.. Visited California and explored food to the fullest.. I ate so much that my stomach was about to blow up and when I left LA my jeans wouldn't fit me! 

So back to normal life and back to blogging.. Today's recipe is one among the Valentines day special - No cheese Italian. I made this recipe on Valentines day for my husband. The theme was Italian with absolutely no cheese.

This recipe is so easy to prepare, colorful to look at and yummy to taste. I used yellow cherry tomato for this recipe. The recipe has very few ingredients to use and I consider it a Semi-homemade recipe bcos all we have to do is prep the ingredients and ready to munch on it.

I am using fresh  bread and drying it out in the oven to make it crispy or you can buy dried out bread / rusk from the store. I am using wheat bread in this recipe since I ran out of white bread, I recommend using white bread for this recipe. You can do this recipe with all the ingredients you have at home.I threw this surprise valentine dinner with only all the things I had at home, no special shopping of any kind.

Yellow cherry tomato bruschetta Serves 2- 3

White bread / rusk / dried out bread slices - 4

Yellow cherry tomato,chopped - 1 cup

Red onion  chopped finely - little less than 1/4 cup 

Coriander, chopped with stems - 3 tbs

Dried oregano - 1/2 tbs

Dried basil - 1/2 tbs

Garlic powder - 1/4 tbs

Pepper powder - 1/4 tbs

Chilly flakes - 1/4 tbs

Olive oil - 1 to 1/5  tbs

Salt to taste

Preparing the bread:

Preheat the oven to 350 F

If you are using fresh bread cut it into equal rectangles, you might get 3 slices if your bread is large or just cut it into equal halves.

You can either take of the crust or choose to keep it. It depends entirely on you.

Place the bread slices on a sheet tray, 1 inch apart.

Put it in the oven for 4 minutes, take out turn the slices and put it in the oven for again  3-4 minutes.

Check the slices after 3 minutes, if they start to change color remove them, if not leave it in the oven for 1 more minute.

Note: We want to dry the bread out, so it becomes crispy but don't want the bread to change color

You can skip this step by buying dried bread slices from store.

Method:

Cut the cherry tomatoes in to halves or into quarters, add them to a bowl.

Add the other ingredients to the bowl  excluding oil and mix them together until combined.

Add the olive oil and toss them together.

Let it sit for half an hour.

Place 2 tbs of the marinated tomatoes on top of the crispy bread and serve.

Cucumber stir-fry with kimchi

I don't eat much cucumber, I wanted to find a way to eat more cucumber so I kinda put all the ingredients I like and I created this stir fry. and Since I  was doing Korean pancakes, I wanted some Korean dish to go with it. What is more Korean than kimchi??? so I decided to so the stir fry with kimchi.

For those who do not know about kimchi, it is basically a fermented / picked cabbage. This kimchi is a Korean favorite and now a days you can even find kimchi pizza's in some specialty pizzeria's.It is tangy and sour and the cabbage still will be crunchy, if you have never had kimchi before the first few bites will be very tangy but once you get used to it you will love it. My friend visited me and I gave her the kimchi and she was not a big fan when she first tasted it but after a few bites she asked for a second serving. so if you like sour food then you will love kimchi. You will find kimchi in all grocery stores or in any Asian store. You can eat this as a side or just as a snack.Its good when it is hot and even cold. I have garnished with coriander stems which give this dish robust fresh burst of coriander flavor.

If you dont have kimchi, you can do the same recipe without kimchi.

Name: Sun yum kimchee
Availability: Any grocery or Asian grocery store
Price: 3$
Recommendation: Yes

Cucumber stir-fry with kimchi Serves 2

Ingredients:
Kimchi,store bought, chopped - 1/4 cup
Cucumber -1
Onion , chopped small - 1/4 cup

Ginger, diced finely - 1/2 tbs

Garlic, diced finely - 2

Green chili chopped finely - 1
Soy sauce - 1 tbs
Vinegar - 1/4 tbs
Coriander stem, chopped - 1 tbs for garnishing
Salt to taste if needed
Oil - 1 tbs
Spoon to clean out the cucumber seeds.

Method:
Slit cucumber lengthwise and using a spoon scoop out the seeds and chop them into the semi circle rounds or in any shape and size you want.
In a pan heat 1 tbs oil and add the onion and green chili and fry it for 1 minute until the onion is translucent.
Add the ginger and garlic and cook in medium heat for 2 more minutes.
Add the kimchi, soy sauce, vinegar and cook for 1 minute.
Add cucumber and salt if needed, toss around and cook for 2 more minutes, so the cucumber still has some crunch.
Serve hot or cold with Korean pancakes.

Tips:

You can cook cucumber what ever way you like. If you want the cucumber to be soft cook for 5 minutes.

If you do not have kimchi you can do the same recipe without kimchi.