Egg Puffs

This was one of my older recipes without detailed instructions, and I am re-doing this as one of my friends tried it out and was not sure of the assembling method. So I decided to help her out with step wise procedure that I have adapted.

If you have not tasted Egg puffs from the Indian bakeries, then you really have missed something... I tried to imitate it with the help of puff pastry (which is a blessing in disguise!). I cannot imagine making the pastry sheets from scratch, those layers of dough and butter! I would'nt even want to know how much butter they use to make these sheets, but they taste out of this world. Definitely not a very healthful recipe, but everything in moderation is "the" mantra right?

I made this for a cooking competition, and had to make like 50 of them, and hence the difference in shapes, normally I would just fold corners to make a neat little packet as shown in the procedure. One addition that we normally would not find in the Indian version would be fennel. I use a small fennel bulb and it lended a wonderful flavor to it.
The egg-wash step is mandatory if you want that golden sheen on the egg puffs.

If you have not tried to make it, this is one for life.

Egg Puffs

Ingredients:

Puff pastry sheet (Pepperidge farm) – 1 sheet
Hard boiled eggs (shelled and cut in half length-wise) – 3 nos
Red onions – 2 large
Fennel – 1 small bulb (Optional)
Garam masala – 1 tsp
Powdered cumin seeds –1/4 tsp
Curry leaves – 4-5 leaves
Oil – 2 tbsp
Red chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
Asafoetida – a pinch
Salt to taste

Thaw the pastry sheet in the refrigerator overnight, or at room temperature for 40 min.

Heat the oil in a pan, add cumin powder & curry leaves, immediately add the onions and cook them on medium low until they start turning transparent brown. Add fennel and sauté for a couple of minutes.
Add the garam masala, chilli powder, asafoetida and salt and sauté for another 2 min.

Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface, do not attempt to roll it too thin. Cut the pastry sheet into 6 rectangles.

Place a tablespoon of the onion mixture on a strip and then a half of the boiled egg, cut side down. Fold the pastry over the egg and seal the edges by pressing the edges together.



Place it on a baking tray/cookie sheet and brush with egg wash (one whole egg slightly beaten)
Bake in a 400F degree oven (or as mentioned in the pastry sheet package instructions) till the top is golden brown.



Server warm with sliced scallions.



I am sending this to Hima's Sunday Snacks event



On another note:

MeMe

Paru of "Brindavan Recipes" has tagged me for a Meme :)
I had almost forgotten in the grind of everyday routine. Sorry for the delay Paru :(
I will make up for it by sending it to 10 people instead of 5 :)

The rules of the MeMe are:

* Pick up the nearest book
* Open to page 123
* Find the 5th sentence
* Post the next three sentences
* Tag 5 people and acknowledge the person who tagged you.

Ok here I go:

The nearest book is "Secret" by Rhonda Byrne, and the "3 lines" that make sense are:

"When you feel bad about yourself, you block the love and instead you
attract more people and situations that will continue to make you feel
bad about you"

That makes you want to read the book, is'nt it? It is definitely a great book and a must read for all.

Now, I am tagging: (Dont roll your eyes people, I love your blogs) :)

Sameera
Purva
Uma
Kay
Pete
Srivalli
Vaishali
Dibs
Nidhi
Ramya
Laavanya

Oops that would be 11 people, Come on guys! I am just curious about what you all are reading! LOL
Have fun!

Green, Red, Orange & Yellow Chilly Chutney

Certainly not for the faint of heart!
I remember asking for a Spice level 5 at the local Indian restaurant, and that comes nowhere close to this hot, very hot chilly chutney. My mother used to make this chutney entirely with green chillies, and it tasted great with the idlis and dosais.
I tried it out with this beautiful multi-colored chillies (Orange, Light and Dark green, Orange Red and Yellow) which I got from Costco in a small little bag. They sure did taste different, but in a good way.

I used Sesame oil & jaggery in the recipe, since that helps to bring down the heat of the chutney a little bit, so it is not overwhelmingly hot.
If you are not used to spicy/hot stuff, this maybe a little difficult to stomach, and I recommend trying with more onions and lesser chillies.

I served them with coconut sevai (Rice noodles) and was just too good.
You could serve it along with idlis, dosais, or even spread a little on the bread before you make your sandwiches.

So try it out, and let me know how it went, and I am sure at least a few of you might end up with "What was she thinking?" Maybe you can then come back and leave a couple of angry comments :)

Green, Red, Orange & Yellow Chilly Chutney

Ingredients:

Multi colored chillies - 10 to 15
Red baby onions - 3 to 4
Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp
Curry leaves - 10 to 12 leaves
Garlic - 2 to 3 cloves crushed
Ginger - 2 inch root skin removed
Jaggery (Brown sugar) - 1/2 tsp
Cilantro - 1/4 cup chopped
Sesame oil - 3 tbsp
Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
Salt - To taste

Seasoning:

Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
Urad dhal (Lentil) - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - A few
Sesame oil - 1 tsp

Method:

Heat oil in a pan, add curry leaves, ginger, garlic, cumin seeds, asafoetida, and the onions and saute.

Cut the chillies into smaller pieces and add to the pan.



Roast them till they are slightly tender (we will cook them again, after grinding, so there is no need to cook them entirely at this point.)



Allow the chillies to cool and then toss them in the blender along with the salt, cilantro & jaggery and grind till you get a smooth paste.

Reheat the pan with a little oil and pour the blended chillies back into the pan and cover and cook on medium heat for about 15-10 min.



This is very hot to taste since it is made just with chillies, so taste carefully and then add salt if too hot, and also try drizzling a little oil to reduce the heat of the chutney.

In another pan, heat the oil for the seasonings, add mustard seeds, urad dhal & curry leaves. Wait till the mustard seeds splutter and the dhal turns golden brown.
Add to the chutney and mix before serving. Garnish with cilantro if you like and serve with coconut rice noodles (Coconut sevai or Idiappam as we call it)

Fruit brownie crumble - And a trip to the farm

Following a enthusiastic trip which was long due to the local farm (basically something like a U-pick place) ended up in me heaving a basketful of fresh fruits and vegetables.
This was my first trip to any farm, and I ended up thoroughly enjoying it. It was like our backyard -back home, only bigger and better.

Fond memories came rushing back, our beautiful garden with fresh fruits, flowers and vegetables right in my own backyard, which sadly I never took time to stop and appreciate.
Now, getting it from the local store is as fresh as it gets. But the farm was a welcome change to the off-the-tree produce that we normally end up with, and I am one happy fruit picker, this week, and every week from now on.

While the vegetables are yet to be put into good use, the fruits as you can see has already met its fate :) Good for me, because they taste reallyyyy good right now.
I found this recipe from thepappilonpantry while I was fishing for some innovative ways to use the fruits up. Amazing as the recipe is by "Kiriel", I was dying for something chocolatey. She has a very nice version with oats and rhubarb with I am yet to use in my cooking.
As you can see, I ended up with a mixture of brownie and fruits, put them together, and here it is...

Fruit brownie crumble
(Oh! how I envy those bloggers with pictures of their own plants and produce! Sigh!)

Ingredients:

For the fruit compote:

Fresh fruits - 5 cups (I used applies, strawberries raspberries, & plums) Pineapple would have been a good addition, but did not have any :(
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Orange juice - 2 tbsp
Cornstarch - 2 tbsp
Nutmeg - 1/4 tsp
Vanilla essence - 1/4 tsp

For the Brownie crumble:

Brown sugar - 1/4 cup
White sugar - 1/4 cup (I used a little less of both)
Cocoa - 1/4 cup
All purpose flour - 1/2 cup (I used whole wheat pastry flour)
Butter - 4 tbsp
Baking soda - 1/4 tsp

Method:

Cut all the fruits into bite size 1-inch cubes and keep aside.



Preheat oven to 375F.

Sprinkle the fruits with the sugar, toss and set aside for 20 min. It should leave out some liquid, if not add the orange juice and toss.



Add the cornstarch, nutmeg and vanilla to the fruit mixture and mix well. The fruits will kind of gel together at this point.

Transfer into a 8" greased baking dish, and set aside till you prepare the brownie crumble.



For making the crumble, mix all the dry ingredients listed above first. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients. You will get a crumbly textured mixture. Make sure it is not too wet or too dry.

Top this crumble entirely over the fruit mixture which is already in the baking pan.



Bake for about 30-40 min or till the fruit starts to leave out juices from the corner of the pan through the crumble. The topping should be firm to touch. Rest outside the oven for 15-20 min before digging in.

Scoop with a ladle and serve warm with cold ice cream or just eat it the way it is.



I am sending this away to Aparna for the MBP-Fruit Fare event
This cute little drawing was apparently done by Aparna's daughter Akshaya when she was eight. How thoughtful of her to have incorporated it into the event! Nice work.



Also sending it to Meeta's Chocolate and Fruit event

A free hand at the Gita - Final update

In follow-up to my post from Aug 23. I have almost... almost completed the drawing project that I had undertaken last week.
Knowing me, there would always be some tweaks even at the last minute, but this is how it looks at the moment. The picture quality might not be that great.



This is from Day 1 (See drawing below)
I am thinking... maybe two more sittings and I will be done.
It has been years since I took a pencil to my hand to sketch something.
Free hand drawing or should I say "an attempt" at the Gita Upadesham which I am working on right now.

Sorry folks, no cooking for today :)


Tools used:

Plain poster paper
Sketching pencil
Color pencils
Eraser
Fixative

Day 1 Verdict: The color pencils are kind of difficult to work with, maybe because I have not used them before. It kind of turns out scratchy, and I am having a tough time blending it in.
Animals are very tough to draw free-hand for me. Yes... those are horses in the drawing!
Keep laughing!

Purva was kind enough to let me send my art to her Krishna and Ganesh Chaturthi event

Mint chutney roti - Gotta love those green specks

Mint or Pudina as we call it is my all time favorite herb. I am not about to write an essay about the benefits of Mint, but those of you interested to read up a little more about it can check out Mentha-Wikipedia
It has a lot of medicinal properties that I never cared to know until now. Good stuff.

Gotta love those green specks in the roti, they have very clean and simple flavors. Sometimes the mint can be overwhelming if you add too much of it. Otherwise they turn out soft, green, and very tasty.
The roti is not greasy by itself as shown in my pic, that is the low-fat spread that I dabbed on, and it started melting as I was taking the pictures, so it only "appears" oily. I would'nt dare use that much in my cooking.

Mint chutney roti

Ingredients:

Whole wheat Atta (Chapathi flour) - 4 cups
Olive oil - 2 tsp
Mint chutney - 1 cup (Mint leaves, ginger, & garlic ground to a paste)
Salt - To taste
Water - Just enough to knead after mixing the mint chutney
Olive oil /butter spread - To spread on rotis

Method:

Combine the atta, salt & oil together. Add mint chutney and knead it into a dough, you might have to add water little by little to form into a ball.



Leave covered for at least 30 min, and then roll into round thin rotis, and cook on a griddle without any oil. It would normally puff up.

After cooking the rotis on both sides, stack them in a plate and just add a dab of low-fat butter spread (that is normally available as bread spreads) and keep stacking the rotis one on top of the other. This way they remain soft for at least a day or two.
Keep covered in a box with a tight lid to maintain softness.



My entry to Srivalli's Weekend Herb Blogging event
I remember the last time I sent an entry to her, and it was at the last minute and very rushed I must say, and as soon as it reached her, she was asking me when I was going to send her the next one! She is full of energy and oh boy! am I struggling to keep up with her or what!? :)

Lentil Salad

Sadly, my knowledge of Lentils dont extend beyond the dhals/sambars/idlis/gravies, and seasonings that I normally use them in.
I have only heard about Lentil salad before but it never striked as something that I need to try out. Until when I was at the "Ekal Incredelicious" cooking competition and one of the entries was a Lentil salad. I have no idea how the original recipe was made, but how wrong can one go with salads as long as you keep the flavors in sync? And it turned out wonderful.
I have used a combination of vegetables that I know will taste well together. But if you care to be different, I would definitely like to hear from you.

The lentil I have used in this salad is a French green lentil, which holds its shape well when cooked and is perfect for salads adding a unique bite. As hard it maybe to overcook, do pay attention to package instructions.

Lentil Salad:

Ingredients:



French Green lentils - 1.5 cups (cooked according to package instructions)

Finely chop the below:
Red onion - 1 medium
Tomato - 1 small
Green pepper (Capsicum) - 1 small
Carrots - 2 small
Green olives - About 10 halved

Mix all the above gently. It is best served at room temperature.



I am sending this recipe to the WYF:Colour in Food event
What better way to bring out colors than with raw food!
The colors my salad represent are: Dark green (from the lentils), Red (from the tomatoes), Orange(from the carrots), Purple(from the red onions), Green (from the bell peppers), and Olive&Red (from the olives and capers)

Mushroom & Chick peas in spicy cumin-coconut gravy

First things first, Usha of Veg Inspirations bestowed upon me two awards, which is sitting pretty smugly on my sidebar (like she says) :) Thanks Usha for thinking about me and my blog.

Now getting back to the post. This dish was born purely out of desperation. I had a huge mound of baby-bella mushrooms sitting in my fridge for a few days - thanks to Costco for the not so small portions of veggies they sell.
Baby-bella or cremini as they are popularly called are baby portobellas, and have a satisfying chunky bite to it, and is my favorite kind of mushroom, and works well with Indian curries and gravies.
And for the spice, I just cant seem to get enough of the smoky cumin flavor these days. They find their way into all of my dishes. For this dish, it is the dominant spice. So if you haven't tried cumin, this is a good place to start.

Mushroom & Chick peas in spicy cumin-coconut gravy (That is a mouthful)

Ingredients:

Baby-bellas/Creminis - 5-6 cups sliced
Chick peas/Garbanzo/Channa - 2-3 cups
Red onion - 1 cup chopped
Tomato paste - 2 tbsp
Coconut milk - 1 cup (I used the "Lite" coconut milk that comes in a can)
Cumin powder - 3 tbsp
Chilly powder - 2 tsp
Black pepper - 1/4 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Garlic - 3 cloves chopped
Ginger - An inch grated
Cloves - 2
Bay leaf - 2
Salt - To taste
Extra virgin olive oil - 3 tbsp
Chopped green onions - To garnish
Cilantro - To garnish



Method:

In a pan over medium-high heat, add the oil and throw in the bay leaf, garlic, ginger, & cloves. Let it fry for a minute or so.

Add the onions and saute till translucent, and add the mushrooms. When the mushrooms are half cooked, add the tomato paste and cook for another two minutes.

Now add the cumin powder, pepper, coriander, salt & chilly powder and saute for another two minutes.

Add the chick peas/channa. Cover and cook for 3-5 minutes. Do not add water. The mushrooms will take care of that eventually.

When the gravy comes together, add the coconut milk and simmer for a minute or so.
Turn off heat immediately, garnish with green onions/cilanto, and serve hot.
It is a good side-dish for rice, dosai, rotis & naan. Remember, it is not a very thin gravy dish, so pair accordingly.



I am sending this recipe to Srivalli's Curry mela event, she has been a dear to accommodate my entry a wee bit late.
Also sending this to Sunita's Think Spice event and since it is my original recipe, I though why not send it to the Original recipe event by Lore. I just knew about Lore's event, and amazingly this is a month-round event, so anyone could submit recipes anytime. This is right up my alley.

Egg Pasta Frittata

I am sending this recipe to the WBB-Combi Breakfasts event by Latha of Masala Magic
I am very new to contributing to any event on a food blog and I am clueless!
Anyway, I assume this is how it works, I submit a recipe to the event, post a recipe and link back to the event. How hard can that be? See, I am getting better already!
And I call this combination breakfast because I have incorporated all the ingredients into the dish instead of dishing out separately.

Here we go...
I have made this dish... I cannot remember how many times now!. I am an avid fan of the Food Network, and pretty much like most of their shows. And most of their Italian shows come up with something with cheese and baked. So I took the idea and put together a breakfast one day with leftover whole-wheat pasta and vegetables.
This way you dont have to be slogging in the kitchen whipping up breakfast from scratch. Just throw in what you have, and voila!
It is quick to make (excluding the baking time) and very easy as well. How can one ever go wrong with cheese and pasta?!
You could add Parmesan cheese if you like it... I dont, so I chose skim-milk mozzarella for the entire dish.

Egg Pasta Frittata

Ingredients:

Leftover pasta (I used Rigatoni, whole-wheat) - 3 cups
Part-skim Mozzarella cheese - 1 cup shredded
Fat-free/Low-fat Ricotta cheese - 1 cup
Eggs - 2 whole eggs and 1 white only
Mushrooms - 1 cup (sliced & sauteed), or any left-over roasted veggies will do
Nutmeg - 1/4 tsp
Melted butter - 1 tbsp
Milk - Only a splash to loosen up if mixture is too thick
Chopped parsley - 1/4 cup
Ground black pepper - 1/2 tsp
Shredded Mozarella - a handful for the top crust
Salt - To taste

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 425F.

In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs well, and add the butter, ricotta and mozzarella cheese. Beat the mixture with a fork till fluffy.

Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
Transfer into a greased 8" baking pan. Sprinkle the shredded mozarella on top and bake for about 30-35 min or till top is golden and bubbly and a toothpick/knife comes out clean when inserted in the middle.
Let rest for about 30 min (However tempting it may be, this step is very important, or you will end up with a ooey-gooey frittata.)
Slice into wedges and serve.

Soba noodles with baked tofu crisps

I am posting this dish for the JFI-Soya event by Sia of Monsoon Spice.

Buckwheat/Soba noodles are a good source of protein, iron and fiber and very commonly used in Japanese cuisine.
They are much darker than the regular noodles, and yes, I am taking the advice about- brown vs. white food (brown eggs, brown bread, brown rice, oh yeah... and we have buckwheat noodles). The browner the better!

I dont have a great knowledge of Japanese food but I have come to love vegetarian sushi, miso soup (tradional Japanese soup), and those little desserts that my friend used to make from rice flour and beans. She is a great cook and she was the one who introduced me to Japanese cooking. There has been a great many tastings liberally shared by her during our best times together. Her presentations are just impeccable. I just wish I had spent more time learning about Japanese food and food in general from her.

My recipe, Buckwheat noodles with baked tofu crisps leans more towards the Indian version of noodles which I have tasted in Chinese restaurants in India. They taste great, but would'nt vouch for the nutritional/healthy aspect of it. I had to throw in the Tofu crisps, just because I am vegetarian, they are nutritious & taste good together with the noodles.
You could of course substitute chicken or any other protein that deem fit.
And the best thing about making noodles... the wok! Those wide open large pans, make that non-stick, because I ain't making an oil pool to drench my noodles.

Buckwheat noodles with baked tofu crisps

Ingredients:

Buckwheat noodles - 1 pack (just enough so you can wrap your hands around the bundle)
Julienne cut Cabbage - 2 cups
Julienne cut Carrots - 1 cup
Julienne cut green pepper - 1 cup
Julienne cut green onions - 1 cup
Finely sliced green chillies - 1 tbsp
Cilantro - 1/4 cup
Dill - 1 tbsp
Extra firm tofu - 1 pack
Freshly ground pepper - 1 tbsp
Chilly powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - To taste
Olive Oil - 3 tbsp

Method:

Baked tofu: Cut tofu cubes of 1/2 inch thickness, toss with a tablespoon of oil, 1/2 tsp of salt, and 1/2 tsp of chilly powder. Lay it out on a flat baking tray in one layer and bake at 400F for 30 min. Keep checking after 20 min till it turns golden brown and crispy.

Noodles:
Cook noodles according to package instructions. Drain and rinse in cold water (if mentioned in the package), add a tablespoon of oil, mix to prevent noodles from sticking to each other and set aside.
Heat oil in a wok/ wide pan on a little higher than medium-high heat.
Add the chilly powder to the oil and then immediately toss in the carrots, saute till partially cooked, then add the cabbage and chillies.
Add salt and black pepper.
Saute with baked tofu, green bell pepper, cilantro, and dill.
Add the cooked noodles and follow with green onions just after turning off the heat.
Transfer to a plate and serve hot.

Basic Plain Dosai - Easy Method

Dedicated to all those dosai fledglings, or those who would like an easier method!
Some of you might be wondering why such a basic post about plain ol' dosai... When I was learning to make them, I was longing for a simple way to make it with fewer resources. This method does not involve grinding the rice, or those big bulky wet-grinders, and with just a normal blender, you will be flipping out dosais by the minute!

Dosai is the South-Indian answer to all the fancy crepes and pancakes out there. It is not a delicacy, but a everyday breakfast in South India, the most scrumptious way one can start off the day with. It is the most easiest to make for anyone who is used to it, but it can be daunting for somebody who is just starting off, and is not that familiar with the workings of this wonderful man-made creation.

The avatars of a dosai are innumerable. They are what you want them to be. I have given the recipe for "plain dosai" here, but you can transform them into any of these very easily.

Pacha maavu dosai- When you make them on the very day the batter is made. It has a distinct virgin taste to it
Plain dosai - Dosai made with fermented batter
Onion dosai - Onions either mixed into the batter (or) scattered on one side of the dosai
Podi dosai - Dosai sprinkled with chilly powder (which is specially prepared, definitely not the raw one)
Masala dosai - Masala potato mixture stuffed in between the dosai and folded over
Paper roast - Very thin (paper like) dosai
Uthappam - Atleast 2 days old batter, which is slightly sour and made into pancake-like thickness and has onions, tomatoes, & cilantro on one side.
"XYZ" Dosai - The "XYZ" standing for whatever you choose to stuff into the dosai, like curried cauliflower, grated paneer, tomatoes, spinach, baby corn, lentils and so many others, I am not going to go in detail about the varieties (apparently there are 104 different types in an Indian restaurant in Hyderabad! Wonder what they came up with!)

I use the same batter for idlis, and they come out pretty nicely. Give it a try.
I have tried to explain it to my best, giving step-by-step method. Hope it helps :)

Plain Dosai

Ingredients:

Idli Rava - 2 cups
Split Urad Dhal - 1 cup
Methi (Fenugreek) seeds - 2 pinches (approx. 8-10 seeds, adding more will give bitterness to the batter)
Salt - To taste
Sugar - 1/4 tsp (for fermentation, not to add sweetness)
Hardware - Blender (Any 400-450 watts one will do)

Method:

For Batter:

Soak Urad dhal & methi seeds in water overnight, atleast 8 hrs.
Next day, mix the idli rava with water just enough so it reaches wet-sand like consistency.
Grind the soaked urad dhal with water (from soaking) along with the sugar and salt till smooth. Consistency should be like a cake batter, not too loose.
Mix the urad dhal batter with the wet idli rava mixture and mix well.
Keep in a warm, dry place overnight. It will ferment and double in size.
Next day, you can make idlis or dosais out of them.



For making dosais:

1. Mix fermented batter well. Pour a ladle of batter onto a griddle (medium-heat), and spread in a round circular motion till completely spread out (If you are not used to it, it may take a few trys before you perfect it)

2. Drizzle oil on the sides, and wait till other side appears golden brown, lift the sides and flip over.

3. Cook the other side for a few minutes, again till crispy or soft as you may like it. Less cooking time yields soft dosais, and longer yields crispier ones.



4. Serve with chilly powder (Molagai Podi), or chutney of your choice.

How easy was that? Er... maybe not if it is your first time, but it will become easier the more you try it. I can post a video on how to make it on demand.

Potato nuggets

Happy Indian Independence Day!



Peel, grate, and fry = hash browns.
Peel, grate, and bake = my potato nuggets!
It is a no-fry recipe that I came up with after eating a greasy hash brown. The kind where you taste the oil first before tasting the potato itself.
This is one of the easier recipes I have tried, and does'nt take up too much labor.
A little note, I know I have used red potatoes, but that was for the lack for russet (baking) potatoes when I made it. If you have russet potatoes, I would recommend using them, or else if you could buy some, it is totally worth it. They tend to bake much much better than the red ones.
It is a very simple dish, and I dont have much to say... so let us get on with the recipe.

Potato nuggets

Ingredients:

Russet potatoes - 3 medium
Salt - To taste
Pepper - 1/2 tbsp
Chilly powder - 1 tsp
Cilantro - A handful chopped
Hardware: Muffin tray

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 F

Peel the potatoes, grate, and mix salt, pepper, and chilly powder just before baking them. (Note, mix salt only before you stuff them into the muffin trays, otherwise the potato will get soggy)



Stuff them into a greased muffin tray and brush with oil on top. Use only small muffin trays, the bigger ones result in softer nuggets since there is more surface area.



Bake for about 15 min or till golden brown, turn over the nuggets and bake for another 10-15 min. Scoop and serve hot with tomato ketchup.
I used it in a veggie wrap and it was delicious.

Polenta with oven-roasted vegetables

Polenta is made from boiled cornmeal, and is a staple food of Northern Italy.
I was a little apprehensive about making my own polenta and did'nt like the gooey texture that it takes on. You could either buy the polenta from the store and cook it, or buy the already cooked polenta like I did(I personally like the firmness of it.)
Trader Joe's has some good organic polenta which comes in a cylindrically shaped tube. Just cut them into one inch discs and you could either roast them on a pan with some oil, grill them, or oven-roast on a greased sheet.

Polenta with oven-roasted vegetables

Ingredients:

Cooked polenta - 1 log
Parsley - to sprinkle
Red onions - 1 large sliced
Baby corn - 1 cup
Edamame - 1 cup shelled
Snap peas - 1 cup
Carrots - 1 cup cut into long strips
Broccoli - 2 cups
Mushrooms - 2 cups
Ginger - 2 tbsp thinly sliced
Garlic - 2 cloved thinly sliced
Olive oil - 3 tbsp
Salt - To taste
Freshly ground black pepper - 1/2 tsp
Chilly powder - 1 tsp

Method:

Slice cooked polenta into one-inch discs, brush with olive oil on both sides and bake them in a pre-heated oven at 400F for about 20-30 min. Or just follow package instructions if that is simple.
Take it out and sprinkle salt, and dried parsley(Fresh herbs work better)

Mix olive oil, ginger and garlic along with salt, pepper and chilly powder and set aside.
Mix all the vegetables in a mixing bowl and toss in the seasoning mixture and mix well.
Spread onto a baking sheet in one layer and bake for about 20-30 min at 400F or till completely roasted. You may toss the veggies midway during roasting to allow even cooking.

Arrange the polenta& veggies in a plate; which I have served with store-bought falafel, as seen in picture. Serve hot.