Bell Pepper Dry

Bell Pepper Dry- a crunchy, flavorful, sweet-spicy side dish that can be served with roti or rice. This dish has very less spice which brings out the taste of the bell peppers. A very easy, perfect for bachelors and beginners dish, which can be cooked with very few ingredients. This dish is best for lunch box as it is a dry side dish.

I simply love bell peppers. Although they belong to the chili pepper family, bell peppers are mild and can jazz up a salad in an instant, lend a perky crunch to your pizza, and taste fantastic when roasted. But the appeal of bell peppers goes way beyond their stunning good looks.

Bell peppers are low in calories! So, even if you eat one full cup of them, you get just about 45 calories. Bonus: that one cup will give you more than your daily quota of Vitamin A and C! They contain plenty of vitamin C, which powers up your immune system and keeps skin youthful.  The highest amount of Vitamin C in a bell pepper is concentrated in the red variety. Red bell peppers contain several phytochemicals and carotenoids, particularly beta-carotene, which lavishes you with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits.

Bell peppers reduce ‘bad’ cholesterol, controls diabetes, bring relief from pain and eases inflammation. If cooked for a short period on low heat, bell peppers retain most of their sweet, almost fruity flavor and flavonoid content, which is a powerful nutrient.

The sulfur content in bell peppers makes them play a protective role in certain types of cancers. The bell pepper is a good source of Vitamin E, which is known to play a key role in keeping skin and hair looking youthful. Bell peppers also contain vitamin B6, which is essential for the health of the nervous system and helps renew cells. Certain enzymes in bell peppers, such as lutein, protect the eyes from cataracts and macular degeneration later in life.

So, pop some bell peppers into your shopping basket, and start reaping their rich health benefits!

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Serves: 3-4 people

Recipe Courtesy – Vijaya Pai (my mother-in-law)

Ingredients	Quantity
Bell Peppers	3-4 large
Onions	3 medium
Oil	1½ tbsp.
Chickpea(chana) Flour	2 tbsps.
Red Chili Powder	1 tsp or to taste
Sambhar Powder	¼ tsp
Sugar	¼ tsp (optional)
Lemon Juice	few drops (optional)
Salt	to taste

Method

Wash the bell peppers and wipe them dry. Chop them into ½ inch cubes. It should make one large bowl.

Sprinkle about ½ tsp salt on the bell peppers and mix well. Keep aside for 5 minutes. Later add the chickpea (chana) flour, ½tbsp oil and mix well. Keep aside for 5-8 minutes. Cook in microwave for about 1½ minutes on high power. This step is optional.

Meanwhile, finely chop 1 onion. Chop remaining 2 onions into 1 cm square pieces. Heat 1tbsp. oil in a pan, when the oil is really hot; add the onions and sauté for a minute. Add ¼tsp salt and keep frying till the onions become translucent. Now add the bell peppers and mix well. Increase the flame to high and keep stirring for about a minute. Then lower flame to sim and keep cooking for 10 minutes, stirring every 2-3 minutes. Now add the red chili powder, sugar and sambhar powder. Mix and cook for 2-3 minutes. At this point check for salt and adjust if needed. Turn off heat and lemon juice just before serving.

Serve hot with Roti or Rice.

Points to remember:

• It is best to use a flat nonstick pan to for this dish as it helps you cook this dish with less oil and it cooks faster.
• I have used one each of red, yellow and green bell peppers. You can use any combination of bell peppers or use any one type of bell pepper.
• Using sugar is totally optional if using red/yellow bell pepper as they have a sweet and fruity flavor.
• Cooking the bell peppers in the microwave will save you time.

Onion Pakoda

Scrumptious, crispy onion fritters, deep fried and a perfect tea time snack. Sliced onions are mixed with finely chopped green chilies, gram flour and coriander powder and deep fried till crispy. Pakodas are very popular in India as street food. Among all the pakodas, onion pakodas are everyone’s favorite. These are easy to prepare when you have a sudden guest or friend at home and you want to make them feel special.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Serves: 2-3 people

Ingredients	Quantity
Onions	2 large
Chana(chickpea) Flour	2-3 tbsps.(approximately)
Green chilies(finely chopped)	2 or 3
Coriander powder	1 tsp
Chili powder	1 tsp or to taste
Salt	1 tsp or to taste

Method

Cut the onion in half and slice them. Try and separate the layers a bit.

In a bowl add the onions, green chilies and about 1tsp of salt and mix well. Keep for 5 minutes. Then add the chana flour, coriander powder, chili powder and mix well. You need not add water as the onions let out enough water to make the batter, but if it’s too dry then sprinkle very little water. The batter should look something like this:

The batter should not be runny or it will absorb lot of oil. Check for salt and adjust the batter if needed.

Heat oil in a frying pan on high heat for 3-5 minutes, reduce flame to medium. Drop little bit of mixture in the oil and it should sink at first and float to top immediately (in less than 1or 2 seconds). If not wait for some more time till the oil is hot. Refer my tip how to check if oil is hot enough for deep frying.

Then loosely make pakodas and drop them in oil and fry on medium to low heat till they become crispy and golden. Serve hot.

Points to remember:

If the oil temperature is not right the pakodas will not fry properly and absorb lot of oil. So here's a tip for that!

How to check if oil is hot enough for deep frying?

Carrot Kheer

Carrot Kheer is a unique sweet dish which my mom used to make. It is made by boiling carrots with milk and sugar; it is flavored with saffron, cashews, pistachios or almonds. Kheer is basically a pudding from the cuisine of the Indian Subcontinent. It is typically served during a meal or as a dessert. It is also known in some regions as payasam, payasa and fereni. This kheer is perfect for parties as you can make it in advance and chill in the refrigerator.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Serves: 4-5 people

Recipe Courtesy – Smitha Pai (My Mom)

Ingredients Quantity Carrots 2 or 3 Milk 2 cups Sugar ½ cup Saffron (optional) 2 pinches Pistachios (peeled, unsalted) 1 tbsp Almonds 12 whole Cashew nuts 2 tbsps Vanilla Essence 1 tsp

Measurements tip:

The cup that I use here is the standard measuring cup and if you use the same measurements it yields the serving size mentioned. But you can substitute this cup with any cup of your choice where the measure of carrots is 1½ cups, milk 2 cups and sugar ½ of that same cup. The serving size will vary depending on the cup you use.

Method

In a bowl, add all the dry nuts and pour hot water till they are completely submerged in water. Close with a lid and keep for about an hour or two.

Wash the carrots nicely. Make sure there is no soil or grit on the surface. Peel them; chop the tip and the head about half an inch and discard. Dice roughly into 1 inch cubes. Pressure cook with ½ cup of water for one whistle. Cool down completely.

While the carrots are cooling peel the almonds and pistachios. Take out about 1 tbsp. of cashew nuts and 5 almonds. Chop remaining the nuts into small pieces.

In a blender jar add the reserved nuts (almonds and cashew nuts), sugar and grind. Drain the carrots, (reserve the water), add the carrots to the blender and grind to a smooth paste. Transfer the paste to a pan. Add the reserved water to the blender jar and pulse, to wash off the blender, add this water to the carrot paste. Add milk and mix well bring to a boil and turn off heat. Add the chopped nuts, vanilla essence and saffron. Cool down completely. Then chill. Served chilled.

Eggs Kejriwal

Eggs Kejriwal is fried egg (sunny side up) served with some mushroom sauce and cheese on top of a garlic toast. This is my version of Eggs Kejriwal. I found this on the menu of Soda Bottle Opener Wala in Bangalore. I tweaked the recipe to suit our family. This dish is filling, healthy, simple to make and has wholesome nutrition. It is packed with nutrients in the form of mushrooms cheese and eggs. Like most classic dishes that have a cult following, the Eggs Kejriwal is as brilliant as its simple. How more simple can it get than eggs, cheese and bread?

Yet, here’s the real story behind the name Eggs Kejriwal…

Arvind Kejriwal might be Delhi’s most famous Kejriwal and he might’ve had a few eggs thrown at him early on in his political career. But that’s not the Eggs Kejriwal we’re talking about here. India, rather Bombay’s most famous Kejriwal was the Eggs Kejriwal. This dish was invented and most likely perfected at the Willingdon Sports Club at Tardeo in Mumbai. The story of the Eggs Kejriwal is as peculiar as the name. A certain Mr. Devi Prasad Kejriwal was a very regular visitor to the Willingdon Sports Club. Aggarwals-Kejriwals are a strictly vegetarian community and non-vegetarian dishes of all kinds including eggs are frowned upon. But Mr. DP Kejriwal was a bit of a rebel and went against norms of his community. His favorite dish at Willingdon Club was Eggs on toast with cheese thrown in between and a healthy sprinkling of chopped green chilies on top. But how well its wonderfully put together and the healthy dose of green chilies makes this both, very Indian and brilliant.

Mr. Kejriwal is rumored to have this dish on a daily basis. And soon enough, its popularity grew first among his friends and then later to the other club members. And at some point, got added to the Club’s menu as Eggs Kejriwal. A fitting tribute to the rebel and his favorite snack. I believe this is also on the menu at the Cricket Club of India (CCI) and The Bombay Yacht Club, and now also on the menu of Soda Bottle Opener Wala.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Serves: 2 people

Ingredients	Quantity
Bread	4 slices
Eggs	4 large
Butter	2-3 tbsps.
Garlic Bread Seasoning	to taste
Salt	to taste
Cheese	4 slices
Pepper Powder	to taste
For the Sauce
Button Mushrooms	8 medium
Milk	1 tbsp.
Corn Flour	1 tsp
Salt	to taste
Pepper Powder	to taste

Method

Mushroom Sauce:

Wash the mushrooms well and pat dry with a towel. Chop them into thin slices. In a pan heat some butter, add the mushrooms fry till they start cooking add a pinch of salt. Add corn flour to milk, mix well, add it to the mushrooms. Keep stirring till the sauce thickens and mushrooms are cooked. Season with pepper powder and garlic bread seasoning. The sauce should be slightly less on saltiness or the whole dish will be more salty as we add cheese to the dish.

Apply butter on the bread and toast them to your liking. I like my toast to be crispy on the edges and soft in the center.

When the toast is hot, add a slice of cheese on it. Add the mushroom sauce. Add fried egg (sunny side up) on top and garnish with garlic bread seasoning. If you don’t like fried egg (sunny side up) you can add fully cooked fried egg, poached egg or even egg omlette.

Points to remember:

• It is better to use a non-stick pan to cook fried eggs (sunny side up). It will be easier to transfer the egg on top of the toast without breaking the yolk.
• I use Multigrain Bread for this dish as it gives some nuttiness to the toast.
• I use Britannia Cheese slices in this dish. I like the flavour better than other cheese slices. 
  
• Instead of plain butter, I use Amul Garlic butter. It gives more flavour to my toast and mushroom sauce. But you need to watch out on the salt as the garlic butter is pretty salty.

Tomato Rasam

Rasam is an integral part of South Indian meals. Tomato Rasam is one of those comfort foods that doubles up as a hot soup on a cold day. There are hundreds of recipes to make rasam but this one is my family’s favorite. It is not only tasty but also soothing when suffering from cold or fever. If you intend to use this as a hot soup for a cold day you could add a pinch of pepper powder. Its light on the stomach, aids in digestion and hydrates the tummy as well.

Tomatoes are an excellent source vitamin C and vitamin K. They are also a very good source of copper, potassium, manganese, dietary fiber, vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene), vitamin B6, folate, niacin, vitamin E, and phosphorus.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Serves: 3-4 people

Ingredients	Quantity
Tomatoes	2-3 medium
Cooked Toovar Dal	2 tbsps
Red Chili Powder	1 tsp or to taste
MTR Rasam Powder	2 tsps
Coriander leaves	few sprigs to garnish
Tamarind paste	1 tsp or to taste
Salt	to taste
Jaggery	1 tsp (optional)
For Seasoning
Ghee/Oil	1 tsp
Mustard seeds	½ tsp
Dry Red Chilies	1 or 2
Curry Leaves	5-8 leaves
Asafoetida	a pinch
Water	to adjust consistency

Method

Wash and wipe the tomatoes. Roughly chop them and drop in a pot with one cup water. Boil for 5-8 minutes; add the cooked dal, red chili powder, rasam powder, jaggery and tamarind paste. Bring to a boil. Close lid and keep for 5 minutes or till it’s cool to touch.

Grind tomatoes and dal in a mixer. Strain and boil in the same pot for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and add finely chopped coriander leaves.

In a small skillet, heat ghee, add the mustard seeds when they begin to splutter break the red chilies into 2-3 pieces and tear curry leaves into half. Add them to the hot ghee. Once the popping of mustard seeds stop, add a pinch of asafoetida and turn off heat let stand for 30 seconds. Add it to the rasam and close the lid to trap the flavour inside the pot.

Serve hot with Rice or as a hot soup in a glass on a cold day.

 Points to remember:

• Adding tamarind paste is totally optional and depends on the tanginess of the tomatoes.
• Adding toovar dal not only gives some thickness to the rasam, but also adds taste and nutritional value to the rasam.
• Since it is difficult to cook little dal for the rasam, I usually cook half a cup of dal with enough water. Pour in ice cube tray, freeze them, demold and transfer it to a zip lock bag and store them in the freezer. Add cubes to the rasam, sambhar and other dishes that need very little dal.

Cheesy Spinach and Corn Sandwich

Cheesy Spinach and Corn Sandwich is flavorous, healthy and most importantly very easy to make. This sandwich is inspired by the classic combination of spinach and corn, topped with the goodness of cheese.

Kids will love this sandwich and this is a good way to get them to eat spinach. It’s perfect dish for snack/lunch box. The filling can be made in advance and stored in the fridge overnight, which will help reduce early morning stress for mommies. You can try using different types of bread for this sandwich, like here I have shown a white bread version and a multi-grain version.

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Makes: 4 sandwiches

Ingredients	Quantity
Spinach	1 bunch or roughly 1½ cups when chopped
Corn kernels	½ cup
Processed cheese	3 cubes
Pepper powder	½ tsp or to taste
Bread	8 slices
Onion	1 large
Garlic	3-4 cloves
Oil	1 tsp
Butter	1 tbsp. approximate
Sugar	1 pinch (optional)
Salt	to taste

Method

Wash Spinach leaves in water thoroughly, drain and dry them on a kitchen towel. When the water is almost drained chop them into ½ inch pieces. The chopped pieces should be about 1½ cups roughly.

Finely chop the onions. Peel and chop the garlic into thin slices.

Heat oil in a pan, add garlic, and let it sizzle for about 30 seconds. Add the onion, add a pinch of salt. Let it cook till onions are translucent. Add the spinach, mix well, close lid and cook till spinach is almost cooked. Add some salt and pepper powder, mix well. Add a pinch of sugar to reduce the pungent flavor from spinach. Add the corn, cook for about a minute. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. The mixture must be slightly bland as the cheese has some salt in it and spinach also tends to get salty soon when the water dries up. Divide the mixture into 4 equal parts.

Spinach filling

Grate cheese and divide into 4 equal parts.

Apply butter on the bread slices on the outer side, add the filling and grated cheese in between two slices and grill them till crispy in a sandwich maker.

If you don’t have a sandwich maker, apply butter to both the sides of the two bread slices, slightly toast one side of the bread on a tawa and flip it add the filling to the toasted side, add cheese and cover with another toasted side of bread on the cheese. When the bread slice is toasted on the bottom, carefully flip the whole sandwich and toast the bread slice on top. This way the cheese inside will melt.

Points to remember:

• You can use any bread for this sandwich and it will taste equally good.
• Try and use tender spinach leaves for this dish. If the spinach stems are too hard, discard them and use only leaves. The fiber in the stems will make the filling more pungent and stringy to bite.
• The cheese will make the sandwich better, but you can make it without cheese too.

Here’s another version of this sandwich made using white bread.