Posts filed under '15-30 min appetizers'
Colorful Quinoa
Quinoa seeds have gained a lot of popularity in the recent years, for good reason. This light and fluffy grain has been used in South America for centuries. Quinoa is very easy to cook and it has an extremely high nutritional value. This quinoa salad recipe can be the perfect way to start including this wonderful grain into your regular diet.
Kind of food: Main course, side
How long: 20 min
Makes: About 1.5 cups of salad
Pots and pan: Small pot
Ingredients
1/4 cup Quinoa (found easily in most grocery stores)
1/4 cup carrot – grated
1/4 cup red bell pepper – choppped
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes (drained and squeezed from the oil)
1/4 cup Avacado – chopped in small cubes
1 tsp Olive oil (optional)
Salt to taste
How to make:
Place the dry quinoa is a pot. Add 1/2 cup water. Bring it to a boil and cover and simmer for 10 min, till the water is fully absorbed. Leave the quinoa covered and let it rest for 5 min. While the quinoa is simmering, chop the prepare the vegetables. Saute the red bell peppers and carrots for a couple of minutes till crisp. If would like to avoid oil, you can skip this saute step. Fluff up the quinoa with a fork. Combine all quinoa with the saute peppers & carrots, avocado, sun dried tomatoes, and add salt (if needed to taste).Chill the salad if you like it cold. Warm quinoa salad tastes great as well.
Keep it Smart, Short and Sazzy! – Anu
Serving ideas
Serve chilled on a hot summer day.
Can add any vegetable of your choice -Try it with cucumbers, celery, and fresh herbs.
Tips, tricks and ideas
Prepare and chill the salad ahead of time.
The salad travels well for day trips or lunch boxes.
Quinoa can also be cooked in a rice cooker or microwave. Look the package instructions for other ways to cook this grain.
Quinoa is a great substitute for white rice or couscous.
Add comment February 23, 2009
Tandoori vegetable Kabobs
Tandoori is probably one of the most popular word related to Indian cuisine. Tandoori generally applies to any food cooked in an Indian oven called the Tandoor. Originating from the norther western part of the country, tandoori food has become extremely popular through out the world. The recipe here uses a commonly used technique of marinating and cooking vegetables in the tandoori style. Instead of the tandoori oven, the recipe calls for a regular oven or can even be cooked on a indoor or outdoor grill. Tandoori cooking is surprisingly simple for the highly flavorful foods.
Kind of food: Main course, Side, appetizer
How long: 30 min
Makes: 8 – 10 kabobs
Pot & pans: Baking tray or grill
Ingredients
1 large Potato – 2 inch cubes
1 large Yam or sweet potato – 2 inch cubes
2 carrots – cubed
1 Bell pepper – cubed
2 red onions – cubed
2 small Zucchini – cubed
t tbsp butter
For the marinade
3 tbsp Sour cream ( or thick yogurt)
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
1 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp black salt ( a pink colored salt available in Indian grocery stores)
1 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tbsp Tandoori masala powder (available in Indian grocery stores)
1 tsp Ginger garlic paste (readily available in Asian food sections)
1/2 tsp Coriander powder
1 pinch of red food color (optional)
1 tbsp of cooking oil
How to make
Cut all the vegetables into cubes and keep them all about the same size. cook the potatoes, carrots and yams in a covered microwavable dish for 2 min on high or just enough to soften them so they can be skewered easily. In a bowl mix all the ingredients except the vegetables and butter. Give it a good mix and add a tsp of water if necessary to make it a smooth thick paste. Apply the mixture onto the vegetables and give it a good mix till all the vegetables are well coated. Skewer the vegetables and try to mix the order the the vegetables as much as possible. Alternatively, you can skewer the vegetables and then brush on the marinade. Set the oven the to 400F or heat the grill . Let the vegetables sit for a few minutes till the oven or the grill heats up. Place the skewers on a greased baking sheet and bake for 10 min. Turn the broiler on high and broil the skewers for another 5 min or till the vegetables are slightly browned. Apply some butter for some added flavor in the end. If you are using a grill, grill the skewers on a greased grill and keep turning till all the sides are grilled.
Keep it Smart, Short and Sazzy! – Anu
Serving ideas
Serve the tandoori grilled vegetable skewers with some quick basmati rice. Optionally, you can squeeze some lemon juice and sprinkle with chat masala powder on the vegetables.
Make smaller sized version using toothpicks and serve as mini appetizers
Remove from skewers and serve with toothpicks
Tip,tricks and alternatives
The kabobs are very flavorful and makes a good meal or appetizer for large groups
Can cook chicken also using the same method ( you may have to increase cooking and marinating time)
You can also grill thick slices of paneer using the same method (make sure you place the panner in the refrigerator after marinating for 10-15 mins before grilling).
1 comment February 16, 2009
Cilantro lime grilled fish (with vegeterian option)
Cilantro blended with ginger, garlic, lime juice and green chili pepper (jalapeno or similar) makes a healthy and flavorful marinade for fish fillets, mushrooms and more. A light white fish like tilapia, sole works wonderful for this recipe. This recipe can easily tailored to vegetarians with portobello mushroom. This pan fried fish recipe when cooked in a non-stick or cast iron pan comes out like it was deep fried in oil, when in reality 1 Tsp of oil goes a long way for this recipe.
Type of Food: Main dish/snack
Makes: 2 servings
Pots and pans: Blender, cast iron or non-stick griddle
Ingredients
1 lime juiced or 2 Tbsp lime juice
2 cups fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper (or 1/2 if you prefer it mild)
3 pods of garlic
2″ inch piece of ginger
Substitute: 2 Tbsp of ginger and garlic paste
Salt as per taste
2 fillets of fish (Tilapia or any light white fish)
Substitute 2 portobello mushroom caps
2 Tbsp corn starch
1 tsp cooking oil (olive or vegetable)
2-4 lemon wedges for garnish
How to make
Marinate the fish with 1 tsp of lemon juice and salt for 10 minutes. Grind to a smooth paste in a blender cilantro, jalapeno pepper, garlic, ginger and lime juice. The key to smooth grinding is to make sure there is some liquid around the belnder blades. So begin with lime juice in the blender. Drain the 1st marindae (salt+ lemon juice) off the fish and apply the ground paste evenly all over the fish. Let it marinate for 15 minutes to 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Add corn starch to the marinated fish to absorb the watery content oozed out of the fish. This procedure will make the marinade thick and provide a nice crust on the fish. Heat a nonstick pan or a cast iron pan with 1 tsp oil. Place the fish gently on the pan. DO NOT MOVE it for at least one minute. After 2 minutes turn the fish to cook on the other side. Because of a bright green marinade this fish recipe does not have to turn brown in color, rather a slight tint of brown will suffice. Serve with a simple yet fun couscous recipe.
Make it Fast, Fun, and Facile! – Sri
Tips, tricks and alternatives
You could always tweak the proportion of marinade ingredients to make it less sour, more garlicy or more spicy.
Serving ideas
This recipe can be serve on a bed of rice, with couscous, or with tortilla to make fish tacos with shredded lettuce and diced tomatoes.
Add comment February 9, 2009
Curried lima beans (butter beans)
Lima beans (or sometimes called butter beans) are very nutritious and have a nice buttery taste to it. Its not too popular among kids, but Lima beans can be very tasty and liked by kids. The beans also adds a lot of nutrition to a meal. The curried lima bean recipe is a great way to start including this wonderful bean in your regular shopping list.
Kind of food: Side
How long: 20 min
Makes: 3 cups
Pots and Pans: Pot or a deep pan
Ingredients
2 cups Lima beans (frozen or canned)
1 tsp Black mustard seeds
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp Curry leaves chopped ( or curry 1/2 tsp powder or 1 tsp chopped fresh cilantro)
1 small green chili chopped finely (or less – adjust to spice level needed)
1/4 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup chopped tomatoes
salt to taste
How to make
If using frozen Lima beans – Cook the beans in a pot covered with enough water to submerge the beans for about 7-10 min or till the beans are tender. If using canned beans, just wash and drain. Alternatively, you can also pressure cook the beans.
In a pan heat the cooking oil. Add mustard seeds to the oil and wait till the seeds crackle. Add the chili, turmeric, curry leaves, and onions. Saute for a couple of minutes till the onions are tender. Add the tomatoes and cook for another minute or two. Add the cooked Lima beans and salt. Give it all the good toss and cook for another minute or two. Serve warm.
Keep it Smart, Short and Sazzy! – Anu
Serving Ideas
The beans are very flavorful and can be serve with plain rice or any flat bread
Make a great toddler food – the beans are large in size and very soft, easily handled by the little fingers.
Tip, tricks and alternatives
Lima beans are very buttery tasting, hence appealing to kids. The curry can be slightly mashed and cooked with less spice for smaller kids. The mashed up beans can be used as a spread to make a quick sandwich for snack or lunch box.
Add comment January 28, 2009
Super bowl oven potatoes – the light way
This is a twist to the classic french fry by making it light and avoiding the deep fried calories.
Ingredients:
1 32 Oz (2 lb) bag of pre-cut french fires (available in the frozen food sections)
Substitute: Potato wedges or other fries
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
3 Tbsp Italian seasoning (available in the condiment/ spice section)
1/2 Tbsp red chili flakes
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 cup grated Parmesan (dry cheese available in a box near pasta)
Substitute: freshly grated Parmesan or grated Parmesan available in the cheese section)
How to make:
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and grease it with oil or oil spray. Arrange the fries in a single layer. Place in the oven for 5 minutes. In the mean time measure and mix garlic powder, chili flakes, dried oregano and garlic powder to make the spice mixture. Add salt if needed. Italian seasoning, garlic powder and Parmesan are capable of imparting salt. So check for salt in the spice blend before adding additional salt. Remove the fries from the oven, drizzle the oil and sprinkle the spice mixture. Toss the fries gently and place it back in the oven for 10 – 12 minutes until desire crispiness in achieved. For added color place it under broil for 1 minute. Remove the fries sprinkle Parmesan cheese and serve hot.
Make it Fast, Fun, and Facile! – Sri
Serving ideas:
Can be served with ketchup or make the ketchup interesting by adding some balsamic vinegar and Italian seasoning and microwave this mixture for 10 – 20 seconds.
Tips, tricks and alternatives:
The same method can be used to make various flavors of fries. Some choices are mentioned below.
1. Southwestern fries – Taco seasoning + dried cilantro +cumin powder + coriander powder + chili powder + salt + dried cilantro
2. Curried fries – curry powder (garam masala) + salt + chili powder + dried cilantro
3. Tandoori fries – Tandoori powder* + salt + chili powder + dried cilantro + dried mint
4. Mediterranean fries - cumin powder + black pepper powder + cinnamon powder (just a pinch) + salt + dried mint + dried oregano
Add comment January 12, 2009
