Weekday Mediterranean Delight Dinner

Try this menu to welcome the week. It's extremely quick, low prep and elegant dinner menu for two. Enjoy this meal with glass of red wine with some nice guitar in the background or with a spicy conversation with friends after a hectic day at work!

Here I have clockwise:
Homemade Grilled Chapati(Save time by using grilled store-bought Pita bread)
Moroccan Chickpea Mash
Grilled Aubergine Salad with feta-cheese and yogurt dressing

Moroccan Chickpea Mash

You can serve this as a main course, as a side, as a topping on your bread or filling in your sandwich! This is an absolutely versatile dish to have up your sleeve when you want something quick that involves 'no cooking'!!

Ingredients:
A can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans
Salt
Pepper
Sumac
Coriander Powder
Roasted Cumin Powder
Red Chilly Powder
Roasted Sesame Oil
One lime juice
Chopped Parsley
Chopped Spring Onion

Method:
1. Drain and wash the chickpeas. Mash half the chickpeas in a bowl.
2. Mix the mashed chickpeas with some salt, pepper, sumac, red chilly powder, roasted cumin powder, coriander powder, lime juice, roasted sesame oil, chopped parsley and chopped spring onion.

No cook main course is ready to be served with warm pita or rice pilaf!

Grilled Aubergine Salad with Feta cheese and Yogurt dressing

This is a fantastic side or a small meal by itself for one. If you don't like aubergines, you will start liking it after you try this recipe!

Ingredients:
One large aubergine
Feta cheese
Yogurt
Salt
Pepper
Sumac
Parsley
Spring Onion
Vegetable Oil

Method:
1. Cut aubergine into about 1/2" thick slices.
Note: If you cut it too thin then it will not maintain it's shape on the grill.

2. Brush one side of aubergine slices and put them face down on a hot grill pan. Cook on one side for about 4 minutes.

3. Brush the other side with oil and turn the slices. Cook for another 3-4 minutes or until the aubergines are cooked through.

4. In a bowl, mix the feta cheese, yogurt, some water, pepper, sumac, chopped parsley and chopped spring onions. Add salt only if needed since feta itself is pretty salty.

5. In a platter, arrange the grilled aubergines in a layer and drizzle with some yogurt dressing.

This dish can be enjoyed at room temperature as well!

Salmon marinated in tamarind sauce with millet

This was a spontaneous dish that I pulled together when I was missing my home during the days of navratri. My parents and grandparents used to prepare special meals rather humble feasts for us, all these nine days. Millet was a special part of our diet that we had almost  everyday - either for lunch or for supper. Here I tried to recreate something similar to what I had, with some of my twists.
First, instead of making a traditional sauce, I used my speed power and used a ready-made tamarind sauce and secondly, I added a little fish to the mixture to just make the dish more date-likey! :)

Ingredients:
Clarified butter
2 Potatoes
~3/4 cup Millet
~5 cups of water
6oz Salmon fillet
1 cup Maggie Tamarind Sauce
Some roasted peanut powder
Cumin seeds
Red Chilly Powder
Salt

Method:
1. Marinate: Marinate the salmon in tamarind sauce and a little clarified butter and set aside for about 15-20 minutes.

2. Millet: While the salmon marinates, cut the potatoes in small cubes. Heat some butter and saute cumin seeds and red chilly powder for a few seconds. Then add the potatoes, millet, salt, some roasted peanut powder and about 2 cups water. Cover and cook on low for about 20 minutes on medium to low heat.

3. Tamarind broth: In another pan, heat clarified butter and saute cumin seeds for a few seconds. Add tamarind sauce and remaining 2-3 cups of water. Mix well and set it to bubble on medium to low heat for about 10 minutes. After that add, some roasted peanut power and let it bubble on low until ready to serve.

4. Salmon: Cover and cook the salmon fillet in some butter for 12-13 minutes. After that, double wrap the salmon in aluminium foil and let it rest for another 10 minutes.

5. Assembly: use a bowl as mound and put the millet in the middle of the dish. Top the millet with flaked salmon. Gently spoon the tamarind broth on the side to create a moat effect.

Millet that I used for this dish

Salmon with spinach in coconut milk and rice

A must try salmon recipe for every salmon fan! The salmon flakes are irresistibly succulent and coconut milk and sake sauce sauce just takes the dish to another level.

Ingredients:
~6oz filet of Salmon(with skin on)
Vodka/Sake
Soy sauce
Dijon Mustard
Toasted Sesame Seed oil
Salt
White Pepper
Butter (ghee)
Spinach
Coconut milk
Cooked white rice

Method:
1. Marinate the fish filet in some vodka/sake, sesame seed oil, soy sauce, dijon mustard, salt and white pepper for about 15-20 minutes.
2. In a non-stick pan, add some butter and put the filet skin side down. Cook in the pan, covered, for about 10-12 minutes over medium heat. Reserve the marinade.
3. Then take off the cooked salmon and wrap it in an aluminium foil(double wrap preferred) and set aside for 10 minutes.
4. While the fish is resting, add the reserved marinade to the pan and reduce the alcohol. Don't add any more salt or butter to the pan.
5. Add a few table spoons of  coconut milk and bring to boil.
6. Once the milk starts to boil, add spinach leaves and allow it to wilt.

For assembly of the dish, put the cooked rice at the bottom of the plate. Top that with flaked salmon and spinach with coconut milk sauce. Enjoy this dish while it's still hot!

Speedy-Seedy Chutney

Do you want to try a new way to eat your seeds?? Well, try this way - it might be new to you but in my family this recipe has been passed down since many generations... I love to eat this chutney with a tsp of raw groundnut oil and hot chapati. Another way I like it is with hot rice, 2 tsp of ghee and some chutney on top. You can come with more creative ways to eat it with grilled meat or sprinkle on top of your pasta and sandwich!

 Ingredients:
Sesame seeds(~1/2 cup)
Flax seeds(~1/2 cup)
Cumin seeds(~1/4 cup)
Coriander seeds(~1/4 cup)
Sugar(~ 1tbsp)
Salt(~ 2tbsp)
Red chilly powder(~ 3tbsp)

Method:
1. Take equal proportion of sesame seeds and flax seeds and toast them on a dry pan till the sesame seeds turn brown. Remove and set aside to cool.
2. In the same pan, dry roast the cumin seeds and coriander seeds. Remove and set aside to cool.
3. Grind the roasted seeds with salt, sugar and red chilly powder to a coarse consistency.

Note:
1. The measurements are given as a rough estimate. You can adjust the salt and chilly level based on how spicy you want the chutney. I usually like mine spicy.
2. Make sure to add sugar because that is to balance all the pungent flavors of flax seeds, cumin seeds and coriander seeds.

Herbed chicken with blue cheese sauce

This is a very simple and easy dish if you are looking for a quick lunch or workday entertaining dinner option! Try this out and fall in love with cheese...

Ingredients:
Some butter
Chicken breast tenders
Salt
Pepper
Herbes de Provence
Blue cheese wedge(not the crumbles)
Dijon mustard
Water
Salad mixture(lettuce, chicory, spinach etc)

Method:
1. Pound the chicken breast tenders in thin cutlets and season with salt, pepper and Herbes de Provence on one side.
Note: If you don't have Herbes de Provence at home, use some dried rosemary, thyme and oregano mixture.
If you get a full size chicken breast, then slice it in half and then pound the halves in thin cutlets,

2. In a non-stick pan, heat some butter and put the chicken tender with the seasoned side down. Cook the chicken on medium heat for about 4-5minutes.

3. Season the other side of the chicken, turn and cook for another 3-4 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked through,

4. Remove the chicken from the pan. Then add a little blue cheese, some Dijon mustard and some water to the pan. Let it bubble for a couple of minutes till the sauce starts to thicken.

5. In a plate, put salad as a base and top that with the seared chicken, Spoon over the sauce on the chicken. The sauce will also act as a warm salad dressing.
Serve and eat immediately!

For lunch option, you can store the dressing separately and warm it just a bit in microwave before assembling your gourmet salad.

Quick&Easy Chicken curry with Greens and Roasted vegetables

Looking for a quick meal that is easy to make, delicious and healthy at the same time??
Try this plate package - you'll be in and out of the kitchen in 30 minutes with amazing food and guilt free dinner :)

Ingredients:
2 chicken breast tenders
2 potatoes medium sized
2 tomatoes medium sized
1 cup chopped greens(kale and spinach mixture)
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tbsp Greek Yogurt
1/4 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 tbsp garam masala
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Cut the potatoes lengthwise in four parts. Preheat the oven to 450F/230C and start roasting the potatoes.
2. Chop the chicken breast tenders in small cubes.
3. In a non stick pan, heat the oil with minced garlic.
4. Put the chicken in the pan, cover and cook for 10 minutes stirring once or twice in between.
5. After about 10 minutes, add garam masala, salt and a little water to the chicken. Cover again and cook for another 10 minutes.
6. At this point, start roasting the tomatoes in the oven for these last 10 minutes and check on your potatoes.
7. When 10 minutes have passed, adjust water in the curry and add the greens. Stir the mixture until the greens wilt(about a minute).
8. Add the yogurt to the chicken curry and mix well. Turn off the gas, cover and set aside.
9. Remove the  vegetables from the oven.
10. Serve the curry with the roasted vegetables.

You can also serve the curry with rice or chapati.

Lime pickle without oil - my Aji's recipe

This is one of my favourite pickles that I had growing up as a child. I have very sweet memories of my grandmother making this every summer and keeping the pickle jar on the terrace that soaked the sun and cooked slowly into a spicy-tangy preserve.
Try it, maintain it and you'll love the fruits of your patience, not efforts - since it requires none!
This doesn't have any oil like many other fresh pickles require.

Ingredients:
6 limes - quartered
8 lime juice
4 tsp salt
3 tsp red chilly powder(adjust based on how spicy you want)
1 tsp turmeric powder
1.5 tbsp sugar
1 tsp roasted cumin powder
2 tsp asafoetida powder

Method:
1. In a clear glass jar, mix the lime juices with salt, sugar, red chilly powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder and asafoetida powder. Shake well.
2. Add the quartered lime wedges to the juice and shake well.

Maintenance:
1. For first 15-20 days try to keep the jar in sun for two-three hours. Shake the jar every day.
2. After 20 days, leave the jar on the kitchen counter and shake every few days.

Fresh pickle should be ready to eat in a month.

Pickle after two years of preservation

If you want it to be well preserved, you can even leave the pickle in a cool place in your pantry for up to two-three years. These old pickles taste the best and have the most wonderful textures. And kids love it!! Try it - it'll hardly take 10 minutes of your time today ;)

Haaq - Palak ka shorba

This is a classic Kashmiri dish that my father used to make for me on cold days - for a quick and light meal. This recipe is one of my favourite but you can tweak it to increase or decrease the spice you like. Another important thing to note here is the use of whole spices. That gives this dish a whole new level of flavour and aroma.
The recipe below serves one with hot saffron rice or as a side to good grilled meat!

Ingredients:
Bunch of spinach
Some cinnamon
Some whole black pepper corns
Half dry red chilly
One cardamom pod
Some cumin seeds
Two cloves
Salt to taste
Pinch of sugar
1 tsp clarified butter(ghee)
1-1/2 cup water



Method:
1. In a pan, heat some ghee, then add all the whole spices and roast for some time.
2. Then add water and boil that for 1 minute.

3. Add salt and sugar.
4. Then add spinach and blanch for 4-5 minutes.

5. Serve haaq with steaming rice or grilled meat.

Asian salad with grilled cottage cheese

This is another party pleaser salad that can be converted to a grilled chicken salad anytime based on the people it is serving! Marinade for the cottage cheese and chicken remains the same.

Ingredients:
Salad
1 head of Romaine lettuce(or salad leaves of your choice)
Fat bunch of cilantro - used as a major salad leaf for flavour
Couple of Radishes - sliced
Couple of Cucumbers - diced
Some spring onions - sliced
One carrot - cut into julians
One red bell pepper - cut into julians
Handful of mint - cut into julians
Quarter red cabbage - thinly sliced

Dressing
Some toasted sesame oil
Some peanut oil(or vegetable oil of your choice)
1-2 lime juices(this is the main ingredient of the dressing)
Some dark soya sauce
Some smooth peanut butter
Some Chinese hot sauce(optional)
Grated ginger
Salt
Black pepper
Little honey for balance

Marinade
Some grated ginger
Generous dollop of honey(for caramelization)
Some peanut oil
Some soya sauce
Salt
Black pepper
Some red chilly powder
Generous amount of lime juice

Method:
1. First thing is to get all the marinade ingredients in a zip lock bag and soak cottage cheese or chicken pieces in it. Leave it aside for at least 30 minutes(up to overnight).
2. After 30 minutes, grill the cottage cheese for a couple of minutes on each side on a hot griddle(or cook the chicken until done).
Note: If you are using the cottage cheese - I'd recommend putting the cheese back in the marinade so it can keep absorbing the marinade and stay moist till you use it.
3. In a bowl whisk together the ingredients for dressing. Mix with the vegetables and salad leaves in it.
4. Cut the grilled cheese or chicken diagonally and garnish the salad.

Serving suggestion - right before serving add some lime on top of the salad to enhance the flavour.

Fiddlehead fern and beans salad with cherries

Enjoy this refreshing and novel salad on a nice summer day!

Ingredients:

Fiddlehead fern

Crisp beans

Handful of Spinach

Some micro greens of your choice

Sweet cherries

Olive oil

Lemon juice

Salt

Pepper

Some sugar(optional)

Parmesan cheese

Method:

1. In a pan, roast fiddlehead ferns and beans with some oil until they are a bit tender and browned from outside.

2. To make the dressing, whisk olive oil, lemon juice, salt, sugar and pepper.

4. Coat the salad leaves and roasted veggies with the dressing and serve with cherries.

5. Add some grated Parmesan for extra flavour.

Barley and Feta salad

This is a crowd pleaser - specially when the party involves people who want to eat healthy yet pretty looking food!! :)
It's very easy, low prep. It can be made one day ahead and assembled right before you eat.

             This is a salad interpretation from a friend of mine - you can jazz up 

the salad by adding beans, peas, peppers,

 corns and any other vegetables of your choice.

Ingredients:
1 cup pearl barley
Chopped cucumber
Chopped tomatoes
Chopped spring onions
Chopped cilantro(big bunch)
Chopped mint
Chopped almonds
Small chopped green chilly(optional)
Handful of small black currents
Pomegranate seeds
Crumbled Feta cheese

Olive oil
Lime juice
Salt
Pepper
Sumac(optional)
Pomegranate juice/water(optional)

Method:
1. Soak the barley in water for 15-20 minutes. Put the water boil on side.
Tip: You can cook the barley one day ahead and store in the fridge. You can use the cooked barley for the entire week's lunch as well!

2. After 20 minutes, put the soaked barley in boiling water and cook for 20-30 minutes(until done). Note: Do not add salt or oil as I have heard it makes the grains tough.

3. To make the dressing, whisk olive oil, salt, pepper, lime juice, sumac and pomegranate water/juice.
Note: I used the water that was collected after thawing the frozen pomegranate seeds. If you are using fresh ones, you may use the juice as well.

4. In a salad bowl, mix chopped onions, tomatoes, cilantro, mint, almonds, chilly, feta cheese, black currents and cooked barley. Add the dressing and mix again.

5. To serve, garnish with pomegranate seeds.

Enjoy!

Spinach and radicchio salad with ginger dressing

This is a light and refreshing salad that goes well with any meat.

Ingredients:
Handfull of chopped spinach leaves
Handfull of chopped radicchio(or any other chicory leaves of your choice)
Some cilantro(not a garnish, but as salad leaves)
Olive oil
Finely chopped red chillies
Some grated ginger
Salt
Pinch of sugar - this balances the spicy and sour flavour of the dressing
Lime juice
Radishes - thinly sliced
Green beans - diagonally sliced
Spring onions - diagonally sliced

Method:
1. For the dressing - mix lime juice, olive oil, salt, sugar, grated ginger(along with its juices) and red chillies.

2. Reserve quarter of the dressing to coat the radish, beans and onions. Add the remaining dressing to the salad leaves and mix well.

3. Serve the salad leaves as base and top it with the coated radishes. Enjoy!

Herbed Chicken with spinach-micro celery salad

This is a very light and healthy dish that pairs nicely with red wine and beautiful sunset. You can bake or grill the chicken in home or do it my way - BBQ the marinated chicken while enjoying a quite evening in the spa ;)

Ingredients:
Chicken breast
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Garlic clove
Some rosemary
Some thyme
Some marjoram
Some Lemon juice

Chopped spinach
Micro celery
Diagonally sliced beans
Diagonally sliced spring onion
Capers
Some finely chopped red chillies


Method:
1. Marinate the chicken breast with olive oil, minced garlic, salt, pepper, lemon juice and chopped fresh herbs(rosemary, thyme and marjoram) and set aside for 30 minutes.

2. Then cook the chicken on low heat in a pan or BBQ grill. Alternately you can cook chicken in oven at 370F for 40 minutes/until done.

2. To make the dressing - mix olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, red chillies and drained capers.

3. In a bowl, add spinach, micro celery, diagonally chopped beans and spring onions and lightly coat with the dressing.

Squeeze some lemon juice on chicken and serve hot with the salad!

Homemade pasta with lemon-coriander sauce(dhaba style)

Indiaized pasta version for all the spice seekers... This pasta dish seems like it came it came straight out of a Indo-italian 'dhaba'(Indian version of a diner) - but no, it's a concoction out of my kitchen :)

Ingredients:
Homemade pasta - see the video below on how to shape it OR just regular pasta would work too!
Generous bunch of fresh Coriander
One dried red chilly
One clove of garlic
Juice of half a lemon or one lime
Salt
Pepper
Some Olive oil

Shaping the pasta

For homemade egg less pasta recipe click here.

Method:
1. Prepare the pasta sauce by mixing coriander, chilly, garlic, salt, pepper,lemon juice and very little water in a blender.
Note: At this point you can start cooking your pasta in boiling water is if it's store bought.

2. Start warming olive oil in a pan.

3. Once the oil is warm, put the sauce in and heat it for a minute.
Note: At this point you can start cooking your pasta in boiling water is if it's homemade(since it hardly takes a minute to cook it). Over boiling fresh pasta will make it chewy.

4. At this time add your cooked pasta to the sauce.

5. Serve the hot pasta with some more lemon juice and garnish with fresh coriander.

Enjoy dhaba style pasta with some chilled beer! :)

Spinach-ricotta Ravioli with Brown butter sauce

On a weekend when the day is too hot to step out and I want to do something to get me out of that lazy mood on to my feet, I can't think of anything else but to cook something that I have never ventured before.

And today was the day of this super easy pasta recipe. The base of my pasta is egg less(because guess what, I was out of eggs and I was too lazy to go out to get it! :) ). The pasta recipe is derivation of a Marathi staple food called 'varan mutkule' - that is flour dumplings boiled with lentils - which my father loves to cook.

This dish serves two people easily and half the dough that remains can be used to make fresh pasta later. Store in the fridge and bring to room temperature before using again.

Here is the recipe that took me 1hr 10min on clock to make from scratch.

Ingredients:
Pasta:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup semolina flour
1/4 cup lukewarm water
Some salt
Some olive oil

Filling:
100 gm Ricotta cheese
1 tsp cornstarch
1/4 cup chopped spinach(boiled/thawed and squeezed)
Some salt
Some Pepper powder
Some nutmeg powder

Sauce and garnish:
3 tsp butter
Some olive oil
Some lemon juice
Grated Parmesan cheese
Chopped parsley

Method:
1. Start mixing the pasta ingredients in a bowl together. Once a dough like lump is formed, transfer it on the kneading surface and knead the dough for 10 minutes.
Note:You can add a splash of water while kneading if the dough becomes dry, but keep the dough tight.

2. Cover the dough and let it rest for 20 minutes.
Note: You can let it rest longer. This is just the minimum amount of time I think is good for rolling it out as thin as possible.

3. While the dough is resting, boil and chop the fresh spinach or thaw the frozen spinach from the freezer. Now squeeze out all the water from the spinach.

4. Add the ravioli, cornstarch, salt, pepper and nutmeg to the spinach and set aside.
Note: Make sure that you squeeze the spinach nicely, the filling shouldn't be runny.

5. After 20 minutes, cut a small portion of the dough(about 1/5th of it) and start rolling it as thinly as possible.
Note: At this point you can start boiling the pasta water with some salt and oil in it.

6. Cut the rolled sheet in two halves.

7. Put filling in the middle and fold the edges on top of each other.

8. Seal the dough around the filling and cut using a knife or cutter wheel.

9. Add these raviolis to boiling water. On another burner, start heating butter and olive oil.
Note: You can add some herbs like oregano, sage, rosemary or thyme. You can also add some marinara sauce to top the raviolis with.

10. Once the raviolis float on top of water, remove them and put in the brown butter sauce.

11. Turn off the heat. To serve squeeze some lemon juice on top along with some grated Parmesan cheese and parsley.

Enjoy fresh homemade, egg less Spinach-ricotta ravioli!! :)

Spiced-up Chicken sandwich

This sandwich is one of my favourite lunch items. Once you have prepared the spiced up chicken mixture, it can serve as a sandwich filling for up to three lunches!!

The spiced-up chicken mixture is also very versatile - it can be served as an appetizer over a salty biscuit, filled in pastry shells, eaten in lettuce wrap or filled in rolls with other veggies.

Here's the super simple recipe for making it.

Ingredients:

5-6 pieces chicken tenders

Vegetable oil

Salt

Pepper powder

Mayonnaise(optional)

Greek Yogurt

Raisins

Roasted cumin powder

Red chilly powder

Garam masala

Dijon mustard

Method:

1. Season the cleaned chicken tenders with some salt and pepper. Put some oil on them so they do not dry out while baking. Bake these in preheated oven at 350F/177C for 30 minutes(or until cooked).

2. In a bowl add yogurt, mayonnaise, dijon mustard, raisins, cumin powder, chilly powder, pepper powder, garam masala and salt. Mix well. You can add very little milk or water to ease mixing and make it thick running mixture.

3. Shred the cooled cooked chicken tenders and add them to the yogurt mixture.

4. Take a rustic baguette and warm it a bit in the oven. Add some lettuce and chicken mixture and pack to-go for office or picnics!

Tip: I chopped the lettuce finely and dressed it up with some homemade blue cheese dressing. The sandwich tastes even better with it! You can substitute lettuce with arugula or spinach. Enjoy...

Spinach-n-Mushroom pasta bake

Looking for a quick and easy way to entertain... Or just want to pamper yourself for a classy Italian meal on a weeknight... Either way, this recipe is definitely worth a try! :)

Ingredients:
Handful of spinach
Button mushrooms - quartered or chopped in thick slices
Pasta
Parmesan cheese - grated
Mozzarella cheese - grated
Salt
Pepper
Red pepper flakes
Minced garlic
Some dried Oregano
Some dried Thyme
~1/2 tbsp Butter
Olive oil
Some flour
Some Vegetable/mushroom stock

Method:
1. While the pasta water is kept to boil on one stove burner; heat olive oil with salt, pepper, red chilly flakes, oregano, thyme and  minced garlic in a deep saucepan on another burner.
2. Once everything starts to sizzle, add the mushrooms. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Let the mushrooms ooze their juices in to make the sauce.
3. After about another 2-3 minutes, remove the cooked mushrooms along with their juices in a bowl.
Note: At this point, put the pasta in the boiling water to start cooking.
4. In the same saucepan, add some butter and olive oil. Once butter is melted, add some flour and cook well to make a roux.
5. Add some stock to this and let it thicken. Add mushroom and it's juices to the sauce.
6. Add some roughly chopped spinach leaves to the mixture along with the drained pasta.
7. Empty this pasta mixture in a baking dish.
8. You can sprinkle some Parmesan cheese and Mozzarella cheese on top OR you can skip the cheeses as well.
9. Bake this for 7-10 minutes at 400F/205C oven.

Serve hot!!

Spinach will cook in the heat of the sauce and later in the oven. That way it retains it's green color and has a bite to it.

You can substitute spinach leaves with any other sturdy greens such as arugula, water cress or chard leaves.