Egg Salad

Ingredients:

 

Eggs-4
Mayonnaise-2 tbsp
Pickles-1 big
Salt-to taste
Pepper-to taste
Coriander to garnish

Method:

 

1. Boil eggs and mash them. Add Mayo, chopped pickles, salt, pepper, coriander and mix properly.
2. Spread on a toast and enjoy the sandwich.

Variations: You can add boiled potato, mustard, onion, celery etc. You can also add a lettuce leaf in between bread slices.

Banana Pancakes

Ingredients: 

 

All purpose flour or Bread Flour-1.5 cups
Salt-1.5 tsp
Sugar-3 tbsp 
Baking powder-1 tsp
Baking soda-1 tsp
Eggs-2
Milk-3/4-1 cup 
Sour cream-1/2 cup
Mashed bananas-2 large

Method:

 

1. Mix all the dry ingredients (flour, salt, sugar, baking soda and baking powder) and keep aside.
2. Mix eggs, milk, sour cream and mashed bananas together.
3. Add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients and mix just enough to combine everything together. Do not over mix.
4. Heat a pan at low flame. Take a ladle full of batter and pour on the pan. Let it cook till you see bubbles on the top. Turn the pancake to the other side and cook until both sides are lightly brown. Turn down the flame if you notice the pancakes are getting burnt.
5. Serve the pancakes with syrup, honey or simply butter! Add scrambled eggs on the side for protein.
6. With the addition of banana, the pancakes turn out to be very very soft. Sour cream helps in the aeration. So try out this recipe of pancakes today!!

Eggplant baked Ziti

Ingredients:

Servings:4-5

Pasta (Ziti or any other kind of your choice)-2 cups
Eggplant-1 large
Cheese grated-1 cup
(Use cheese of your choice. Parmesan is mostly used for this recipe but I used 4 cheese mexican blend)
Garlic-6 cloves
Onion-1 medium
Tomato-1 big
Tomato sauce-24 oz
Salt and Pepper-To taste
Oil-2 tbsp

Method:

1. Turn on the oven to Broil. Meanwhile cut eggplant into 1/2 in thick circles. Place them on a foil and spray oil on both sides of eggplant. Eggplant absorbs oil quickly. Don't bother to add a lot of it. Sprinkle little salt and pepper on eggplant circles.
2. Place the eggplant in the oven and let it cook for around 10 min. Keep an eye on it and cook until the eggplant becomes soft.
3. While the eggplant is cooking, prepare sauce and boil pasta. You can use marinara sauce instead. If you do not have Marinara sauce, proceed to the next step.
4. Add 1 tsp oil in the pan and saute garlic for 30 sec. Add finely chopped onion and saute till soft.
5. Then add tomato sauce and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add finely chopped tomato and let it cook until the tomato becomes soft. Add salt and pepper to your taste. Now the sauce is ready.
6. Set the oven to 350 F and assemble all the above ingredients.
7. First spread 1/4 of the sauce prepared to cover the baking pan. I used 11"X 9" pan. Then add first layer of eggplant using half of the cooked eggplant. Add boiled pasta on the top of eggplant and sprinkle cheese on top. Finally, place remaining eggplant circles and top off with the remaining sauce.
8. Let it bake for 15 min until the cheese melts.
9. Serve the baked Ziti with grated parmesan cheese if you desire. Enjoy!

Buttermilk Biscuits

Ingredients:

 

All-purpose flour-2 cups (more as needed)
Baking powder-2 tsp
Salt-1 tsp
Baking soda-1/2 tsp
Cold unsalted butter-1 stick (8 tbsp)
Cold buttermilk-1 cup 

Method:

 

1. Heat the oven to 425°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
2. Whisk the measured flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda together in a large bowl to aerate and combine. Add the butter pieces cut into 1/2 inch and toss to just coat them in the flour mixture. Place the bowl in the freezer for 10 minutes.
3. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, and working quickly so as not to soften the butter, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it’s in pea-size pieces. Drizzle in the buttermilk and stir just until a moist shaggy dough comes together.
4. Generously dust a work surface with flour. Scrape the dough out onto the surface and dust the top with more flour. Using floured hands, gently pat the dough into a 1-inch-thick circle.
5. Using a 2-1/2-inch round cutter dipped in flour, cut out as many biscuits as possible (press straight down through the dough—do not twist the cutter, or the biscuits will not rise properly). Transfer the biscuits to the prepared baking sheet, spacing them at least 1 inch apart. Gather the scraps into a ball, pat it into a 1-inch-thick circle, and cut out more biscuits. Repeat as needed until you have 8 total. Discard any remaining dough.
6. Bake until the biscuits have risen and are golden brown on top, about 15 to 16 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly before serving. 

Veg Quesadilla

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

Black Beans (dry)-1 cup
Green pepper-1/2 large
Red pepper-1/2 large
Onion-1 medium
Salt and Pepper-To taste
Oil-2 tsp
Cheese-1 cup
Tortillas-4

Method:

1. Soak black beans overnight. Pressure cook for 4 whistles until the beans are soft and can be mashed easily.
2. Slice onions and peppers into very small pieces and keep them aside.
3. Add oil into a pan and saute onions for a minute. Add peppers and cook until soft. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste.
4. Now heat a flat pan and cook tortilla on one side. Flip the tortilla and switch off the stove.
5. Spread 1/8th cup of cheese evenly on one half of the tortilla.
6. Spread onion/pepper mixture evenly on the top of the cheese.
7. Spread another 1/8th cup of cheese on the top of onion and pepper mixture.
8. Now flip over the other half of tortilla over the cheese.
9. Turn the flame back on and cook both halves until brown and crispy.
10. Cut into three triangle pieces and then serve yummy Quesadilla with salsa, sour cream and gaucamole!!

Peanut butter with Tofu

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

Tofu firm-14 oz
Spinach-1 bunch
Mushrooms-4 oz
Broccoli-1 big head
Green onions-1 bunch
Garlic-4 cloves
Ginger-1 tbsp
Natural Peanut butter (smooth without added sugars)-6 tbsp
Soya sauce-4 tsp
Vinegar-2 tbsp
Honey-3 tsp
Water-according to consistency
Oil-1 tbsp
Salt-to taste
Chilli flakes-to taste

Method:

1. Remove water from tofu by keeping it in between two plates and pressing against each other.
2. Cut into desired shape and keep aside.
3. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a flat, wide pan and keep the tofu pieces in a single layer.
4. Cook the tofu on a small flame till the layer becomes crispy. Flip over tofu and let it cook until the other layer turns crispy.
5. In a small bowl add peanut butter, soya sauce, vinegar, honey, water, ginger and garlic. Mix everything into a nice smooth sauce.
6. In an another pan, add all the vegetables and close the lid to allow the vegetables cook under steam for 5 min.
7. Add the sauce made above to the vegetables, salt, chilli flakes and water to get to a desired consistency and taste. Cook for couple of minutes and serve this yummy and healthy curry with rice!

Peanut Chutney

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

Dry roasted, peeled off peanuts-1 cup
Green chillies-4
Garlic cloves-2
Salt-to taste
Cumin seeds-1 tsp
Corriander-1/4 cup
Water-1 cup

For Tadka:

Cumin seeds-1 tsp
Mustard seeds-1 tsp
Urad dal-1 tsp
Chana dal-1 tbsp
Curry leaves-10
Oil-1 tsp

Method:

1. Dry roast peanuts and then peel off the skin. Alternatively, buy peeled off peanuts and dry roast them.
2. Grind all the ingredients together except for those for tadka. Adjust water according to the required consistency.
3. Heat 1 tsp oil and add all the ingredients under tadka. Roast for 30-60 sec and add to the chutney.
4. Enjoy this healthy and tasty peanut chutney with idli, dosa, upma etc.