Couscous Salad

Hellooooooooooooooooo Everyone!!!!! Thanks so much for all your comments. Sorry for being out of picture for a long time. I had been real busy with office and some other extra curricular activities :) Finally took some time off and updating my food blog.

Before starting with new recipe I want to thank Roopa of rvkitchentreats for giving me Rocking Girl blogger award!! Thank you so much Roopa, I am honored and you are sweetest (No doubt u keep on getting awards) :)


Few months back I tried couscous in a Greek restaurant and just loved it. I used to feel really tempted to eat Greek food all the time so I decided to try it on my own. I started with Hummus and Couscous and now it has become my staple lunch from a long time. I love it for its versatility. You can eat it cold or hot with loads of veges and flavor. It's really quick and easy to cook this dish and it goes really well with hummus and Pita bread or Naan. If you are new to couscous then do some 'MSN-Live' (of yes it's a hot search engine from Microsoft..some tough competition for google ;)) for greek food/couscous and you will get a good variety of recipes and look out in my blog for more Greek recipes :) I am giving two of my favorite Couscous recipes here (first one I saw on food network and did some changes), hope you all will enjoy it :)

Couscous Salad with Sweet Cranberries

Serves 3-4 people

Ingredients-

2 cups instant couscous
3/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries
1-teaspoon curry powder
1/2-teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1-cup finely cut iceberg/romaine lettuce
2 tablespoons chopped fresh green coriander leaves
2-3 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 cup roasted and chopped walnuts/cashews
½ cup mozzarella/cheddar cheese (optional)
Freshly ground pepper
Salt to taste

Method-

Stir the couscous, cranberries, curry powder, salt, and sugar together in a heatproof bowl. Bring water (amount will be listed on package directions) to a boil and pour it over the couscous. Add the orange juice. Give it a big stir, cover the bowl tightly and let it stand, giving it a big stir once or twice, until the water is absorbed and the couscous is tender, about 5-10 minutes.

Fluff up the couscous with a fork. Add the olive oil, lettuce, coriander, lemon juice and pepper. Stir around until everything is distributed evenly throughout the couscous. Keep it in fridge up to 1-2 hours. Check the seasonings just before you serve the salad. Add dry fruits for the crunch before serving. Serve with warm Pita break and Hummus.

Cold Couscous Salad with veges

Serves 3-4 people

Ingredients-

2 cups instant couscous
2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup finely cut deseeded tomatoes
1/4 cup finely cut cucumber
¼ cup carrots
2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh green coriander leaves
2-3 tablespoon lemon juice
1-2 deseeded green chilies (optional)
½ cup mozzarella/cheddar cheese (optional)
Freshly ground pepper
Salt to taste

Method-

Cook couscous according to the packaged instruction. I take equal portion of couscous and water. Boil the water, add 1 tsp olive oil and some salt. Then add finely chopped carrots and couscous, stir it, cover it and keep it on gas for ½ min. Now switch off the gas. After 2-3 min, fluff-up the couscous with a fork and allow couscous to stand for almost 15-20 min. Now add tomatoes, cucumber, cheese and green coriander in couscous. In a bowl take olive oil, lemon juice, green chilies and salt. Mix well and pour it over the couscous. Stir around until everything is distributed evenly throughout the couscous. Keep it in fridge up to 1-2 hours. Check the seasonings just before you serve the salad. Serve cold with warm pita bread/naan and hummus :)

Tagged For MeMe

Roopa of My kitchen treats tagged me for Mimi. So here I go :)

1) LAST MOVIE U SAW IN A THEATER?
American Gangster, awesome movie

2) WHAT BOOK ARE U READING??
Primal Desires

3) FAVORITE BOARD GAME?
Chess

4) FAVORITE MAGAZINE?
Glamor, Instyle and Health

5) FAVOURITE SMELLS?
Ginger Tea, Coffee, Floral and lemony smells, smell of chocolate. Smell of my mother and husband when I hug them :)

6) FAVOURITE SOUNDS?
Water Fountain, birds chirping, when my husband talks which makes me feel how intelligent he is :)

7) WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD?
Staying without my family

8) WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN U WAKE?
Depends..if something exciting is happening in the office, then how will I start my work, If giving interviews then how will I answer all the questions, if I am too sleepy (which always happens) then praying to the god that my husband shouldn’t get angry (since by that time he must have already tried waking me up for at least 10 times and I am getting late for office), when I have made something good for office lunch then thinking about eating it asap..list it long....

9) FAVOURITE FASTFOOD PLACE?
Only one place CHIPOTLE, I can eat it 7 days a week J

10) FUTURE CHILDS NAME?
Something short, simple and sweet so that people don’t struggle using it and he/she shouldn’t be embarrassed while explaining people about how to pronounce it J

11) FINISH THIS STATEMENT—’IF I HAD A LOT OF MONEY I’D’
Help all my near and dear once, sponsor kids for education, buy a sports car for my husband and loads of clothes and MAC cosmetics for me :)

12) DO U DRIVE FAST?
Yes, I love speed

13) DO U SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL?
Yes, sometimes

14) STORMS–COOL OR SCARY?
HOT ;)

15) WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR?
None but would love to have Mercedes, Toyota Solara or Hummer

16) FAVORITE DRINK?
Water and Ginger Tea

17) FINISH THIS STATEMENT-IF I HAD THE TIME I WOULD…
Unfortunately/fortunately I am not that busy but if I have more time I would have learned all the sports in the world, spent more time with my family.

18) DO YOU EAT THE STEMS ON BROCCOLI?
No

19) IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY OTHER COLOUR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE?
blond

20) NAME ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES/TOWNS U HAVE LIVED IN?
Mumbai, Georgia, Florida, Texas, Washington

21) FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Tennis, Base Ball, Soccer, Golf, Pool, Volley Ball

22) ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
Most of the time, first one to comment on my blog’s posts :)

23) WHATS UNDER YOUR BED?
nothing

24) WOULD U LIKE TO BE BORN AS YOURSELF AGAIN??
Depends what other options I have ;)

25) MORNING PERSON OR NIGHT OWL?
Night Owl

26) OVER EASY OR SUNNY SIDE UP?
I am a vegetarian, don’t eat eggs

27) FAVORITE PLACE TO RELAX?
Wherever the family is

28) FAVORITE PIE?
None

29) FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR?
Belgium Chocolate

30) OF ALL THE PEOPLE U HAVE TAGGED, WHO IS THE MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST?
Asha of Aroma, as I am tagging only her :)

As Asha has done many Memes in the past and she wanted me to pass it to someone else, I am tagging Sagari of Indian Cooking:)

And yes thats me in Tulip field :)

Aloo Tamatar

Ingredients-

Serves- 2-3 people

Potato – 1 medium chopped in ½ inch cubes
Tomato- 1 medium finally chopped
Garlic – 1 tbsp crushed
Cumin seeds- ½ tsp
Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
Turmaric powder – ¼ tsp
Garam masala powder –1/2 tsp
Red chili powder – ¼ tsp
Curry Leaves – 4-5 (optional)
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking
Green Coriander for garnishing

Method-
In a bowl mix Turmaric, Garam masala, Red chili powder and around 2 tbsp of water. Now in a pan take oil, once its hot put mustard and cumin seeds and Curry Leaves. When seeds start spluttering; put the mixture of spices. Lower the heat and roast it for 20-30 secs. Now add chopped potatoes and salt, mix it well. Cover it and cook for 1min. Now add around 1- 1/2 cups of water. Increase the flame to medium high and cook it for 8-10 min till the potatoes get cooked. Now, add tomatoes, lower the heat and cook for another 5-7 min. Mash the potatoes in the gravy a bit so that gravy becomes thick. Switch off the flame; add 1/4 tsp of garam masala and green coriander. Allow it to cool down for aprox. 5 min and serve with parathas :)

"Yummy Blog" Award

"Yummy blog award is the award given to the blog with most yummy recipes/photos"

Hi Friends,

I am not very good in writing so keeping this short and simple. First of all I want to thank Roopa for honoring me with such a beautiful award and second all the people who appreciated my recipes by commenting on my blog. In my blog I have always try to put simple yet yummy recipes and this award means that my effort is well appreciated :)

Now as per the rules I am writing my favorite deserts. I am not a sweet lover, I like deserts which are less sweet. So here goes the list-

- Dark Chocolate with roasted almonds
- Belgium chocolate ice cream
- Dutch chocolate cake
- All Bangali sweets


According to me following blogs deserve this award-

Cynthia of Tastes Like Home
Sugnaya Tasty Palletes
Saumya Creative Saga
Lavi Home Cook Recipes

Congrats gals for winning :)

Rules for the ‘Yummy Blog’ award Receiver:

· The person who receives the award should display the "Yummy Blog !" logo on their blog and also the meaning of the award which is "Yummy blog award is the award given to the blog with most yummy recipes/photos".

· The receiver should also quote their favorite yummy-licious :) dessert(s) that they have ever prepared/eaten. Don’t restrict yourself to any dessert, chocolate bars also welcome.

· Also the receiver should pass on the award to four other bloggers whose blog they find "yummy" and let them know about the rules.

Eggplant Parmesan with Angel Hair Pasta

I just love Italian food and Eggplant Parmesan is one of my favorite dishes. Lately I was browsing through some of the food blogs and I came across rbcuisines blog and I found and very easy and delicious recipe of Eggplant Parmesan. I made this recipe with little variation in order to avoid use of oven. I hope you all will enjoy it.

Ingredients-
Serves- 2-3 people

Angel Hair pasta- cooked according to the package instruction
Eggplant-1 medium sliced into 1/4" lengthwise pieces
All purpose flour (Maida)-3 tbsp
Breadcrumbs-for coating
Any type of cheese- ½ cup
Ready made pasta sauce-1-2 cups
Freshly crushed pepper
Salt to taste
Oil for frying

Method-
Apply salt on the eggplant pieces and leave it aside for an hour. The salt will ooze out some water from the vegetable and remove its bitterness. Now in a frying pan put 1tsp oil and lay the eggplant pieces (2-3) and cook on slow heat. Turn it other side once the first side is done (poke the eggplant slightly with spatula/spoon, if its soft its done). Cook all the pieces like this. Now, make a thin paste of the flour and water. Seasoned it with salt and crushed pepper. In another plate spread breadcrumbs. Now take each slice dip it in the flour paste properly and after that lay it on breadcrumbs. Coat both the sides with breadcrumbs properly. Now in the frying pan put around 1tbsp oil and lay the coated eggplant pieces (2-3) and cook it both the sides on very low flame(this is to avoid breadcrumbs from burning and cooking the eggplant pieces from inside).
On a plate first pour around 2tbsp of pasta sauce, spread it making a circle in the middle of the plate. Put a layer of pasta. Pour around 2tbso of pasta sauce on that. Now put the cooked eggplant pieces. Put around 1-2tbsp of pasta sauce on the eggplant pieces. Sprinkle around 1tbp of cheese, crushed pepper and some olive oil(optional) and microwave it for 2 min till the cheese melts. If you do not have microwave then in that case make layers of pasta sauce (dilute pasta sauce a bit with water in order to avoid burning and sticking it to the pan), pasta, eggplant and cheese as described earlier in a pan, cover it and cook it on very low flame so that cheese melts. Enjoy with bowl of salad :)

For breadcrumbs- Break 2-3 breads in small pieces and roast it on medium heat till it becomes crisp and hard. Now add pepper, salt and red chili, herbs (optional) (basically any seasoning you like). Seasoning can be completely avoided if you want. This makes around 2 cups breadcrumb,s sufficient for coating eggplant pieces from 1 medium eggplant.

Eggplant Fry

This is my entry for Pooja's Vegetable Of the Week - Brinjal event. I love brinjal/eggplant. Whether it's baingan masala, baingan bharta or baingan pakoda I love all of them. Eggplant Fry is one of my favorite dishes and it goes really well with hot crisp parathas, pickle and chilled curd but I love it with rice yummmyyyy....I hope you all will like it

Ingredients -
Serves - 3-4 people

Eggplant – 1 mediumFinally chopped Tomato- 2 Large
Finally chopped Onion – 2 cups
Chopped Green Chilies - 1 tsp
Grated Ginger - 1 tsp
Garam Masala Powder – 1 1/2tsp
Red Chili Powder - 1tsp (optional)
Coriander Powder – 1tbsp
Saunf Powder – 1 tsp(optional)
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Chopped Green Coriander – 2 tbsp
Oil– 4 tbsp
Salt To taste

Note- Instead of shallow frying the eggplant, one can deep-fry them as well.

Method-
Cut the eggplant in ½ cm thick round slices. Take 1 tsp oil in the frying pan and when it becomes hot lay the eggplant pieces such that none of the pieces are covered by each other. Now sprinkle some salt and red chili on each (this gives taste to each piece). Once the piece become golden brown on the backside turn it and cook on the other side in the similar way such that each piece has become a bit soft. Do the same with all the pieces. Now, in pan take 3 tbsp oil or as per the requirement and add the onions, cook till it becomes translucent. Now add grated ginger (optional) and finally chopped green chilies. Cook till onions become golden brown in color. Now add chopped tomatoes. Add salt (remember we have already sprinkled some salt on the eggplant while shallow frying), garam masala(1tsp), saunf powder (optional), turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, ¼ cup water, mix it, cover it and cook on the medium till tomatoes become soft (stir it in between to avoid sticking to the bottom of the pan). Now add the eggplant pieces. Mix them well, cover it and cook on low heat for almost 7-8 min so that eggplant pieces becomes soft and mix with the spices. Switch off the stove. Sprinkle 1/2 tsp of garam masala and green coriander on top and keep it covered so that it absorbs the aroma of coriander and garam masala. Enjoy with rice and roti :)

Dal Palak (Split Red Gram and Spinach Soup)

Like any other vegetarian I rely heavily upon dals since is one of the few sources of Protein available to us. Dal Palak is a unique combination of spinach (which is a rich source of iron) and Dal and it has the best of both the worlds!! I don't like eating spinach and by cooking this dish, my husband makes sure that I eat it and truly speaking I just love it. Here is my husband's easy and tasty recipe :)

Ingredients -
Serves - 3-4 people
Split Red Gram (Tuvar Dal) - 1 cup
Finally Chopped Spinach - 2-3cups
Chopped Green Chilies - 1 tbsp
Chopped Ginger - 1 tsp
Finally Chopped Onions - 1 cup
Green Curry leaves - 3-4 nos
Cumin Seeds- 1tsp
Asafetida (Hing)- 1/4 tsp
Garam Masala Powder - 1tsp
Red Chili Powder - 1tsp (optional)
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tbsp
Chopped Green Coriander – 2 tbsp
Oil/Ghee for frying – 3 tbsp
Salt To taste

Note- Here I have used Split Red Gram but one can use masoor dal (split orange lentils) , moong dal (split yellow lentils) or chana dal (bengal gram / yellow gram). Vegans avoid ghee/butter as it is made of milk.

Method-
Put split Red Gram (Tuvar Dal), chopped spinach and 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker with salt and turmeric powder and cook it for almost 3-4 whistles. Allow it to cool naturally.

In a pan take oil. Once it’s hot add the Asafetida (Hing) and cumin seeds. WhenCumin seeds start spluttering add Green Curry Leaves, Green chilies and Ginger. Once the ginger and chilies become slightly golden brown in color add chopped onions (Make sure you keep the flame on medium) . Cook onions till they become slightly golden brown. Now add the Garam Masala and Red Chili powder. Cook it for almost half a min on low flame (make sure you don’t burn the masala). Switch off the flame and add the boiled Dal mixture in the that. Stir it well and garnish it with green coriander and 1tsp ghee/butter. Taddaaaaaaaaaaa its ready to slurp :) Serve it hot with rice or parathas!!!

Aloo paratha

This is my husband’s favorite paratha in fact I think loads of people like it. There are different ways of making aloo paratha, in some recipes the potato filling is cooked and in some its not. Here I have used the later version. I hope you all will like it.

Ingredients-
4-5 Parathas

Boiled potatos- 2 medium sized
Finely chopped Onions - 1/2 cup
Chopped green chillies - 2 tbs(as per taste)
Chopped ginger - 1 tsp
Chopped Coriander - 2 tbsp
Chili flakes- 1 tsp (as per taste)
Salt as per taste

Note- For parathas the dough should be soft and potato for stuffing should be boiled one night/4-5 hours before preparation (preferably kept in refrigerator) which makes it hard and it doesn’t spill out while rolling the parathas. Vegans avoid ghee/butter as it is made of milk.

For Dough-
Mix the flour, salt and water. Make the dough and keep it covered for 15-20 min (It will make the dough soft). Now knead the dough well (approx 5 min) and it’s ready for stuffing.

Stuffing-
If possible grate the boiled potatoes instead of mashing it (this will avoid any lumps and won’t break the parathas while rolling). Add all the ingredients in grated potato and mix well. Make small balls (size of golf ball) by using approx 2 tbsp of the potato mixture.

Now take a small portion of dough. Roll it in small disk (puri). Take it in the Middle of your palm. Keep the potato ball at the center of the in the disk/ puri. Cover it from all the side with disk/puri and roll it smoothly. Roast it well on both the sides by applying oil. Before serving apply a teaspoon of butter and serve it with chilled curd, salad and pickle. Yum yum :)

Gobi Tamatar/Cauliflower with Tomatoes

Ingredients-
Serves 4

Cauliflower florets – 15 (broken in medium sizes)
Tomato - 1 medium
Sliced Onion – 1 cup
Finely Chopped Garlic – 2 Tbsp (optional)
Chopped Green chili – 1 Tbsp
Garam masala powder– 1Tbsp
Coriander Powder – 1 ½ Tbsp
Turmeric powder - ½ tsp
Chili Powder – 1tsp (to taste/optional)
Salt – as per taste

Note – Instead of cutting the cauliflower try to break it’s florets in equal sizes. It gives the dish good looks and some how a better taste (May be its sounding a bit crazy ;))

Method-
In a pan take oil. Once hot add Onions. Cook til translucent say around 2-3min. Now add the finely chopped garlic, green chili and cook till onions become golden brown. Now add cauliflower florets. Mix it well, add turmeric, cover it and cook on low till it becomes a bit soft but at the same time crunchy (to see whether its done or not, take a small floret in a plate and try to break it. It should break but with a little pressure not easily.Another tip is the florets become bit translucent in color) . Now add salt and all other spices. Mix it well, cover it and cook for 30 sec. Now add chopped Tomatoes and coriander, cover itand cook for another 2-3min till tomatoes become bit soggy and cauliflower gets cooked. Now sprinkle ¼ tsp of garam masala (optional) in that and allow it to set for 2-3min before serving and tada…its ready!!!!!! Eat it with rotis or rice.