In a mood for something cheesy :-D >>> veggie bake in white sauce

I attempted a veggie bake, the other day, and must admit, I liked it more than I like a bake with meat in it.  of course, anything with cheese is nothing but soul food. So I lapped it all up- with or without meat.

I used Broccoli, asparagus, baby corn, fresh sweet corn shavings, potato (par boiled), peas, French beans, carrots, bell pepper- yellow and red- for the color.

Sauté diced chopped garlic (2-3 garlic pods) along with the diced vegetables in 2 tbsps olive oil for about 4-5 minutes. Sprinkle Thyme and Basil over it.

Lay it out as a bed on an oven proof dish.

Pour white sauce over it (method given below).

Grate cheese evenly over the bed of vegetables. I used Cheddar cheese.

Bake in a pre heated oven at 180 F for about 1/2 hour or till the cheese browns evenly.

Serve with Garlic bread.

Method for making white sauce:

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons  all purpose flour/maida

1-2 cups Milk

Salt

Pepper

Sugar- 2 to three pinches.

Optional: 1/2 cheese cube grated.

 

Ooooooohhh la la!!

Spinach with ricotta, sweet corn and baby corn

(sorry, not the best possible picture!)

Palak Paneer can get very repetitive, while cooking special vegetarian stuff. So I tried making the same recipe with a twist.

In one of my first posts I had posted the Palak paneer recipe. Click here to follow the exact same instructions and instead of Paneer/cottage cheese, add Ricotta (1/2 cup), sweet corn (1 corn on cob shavings) and baby corn (6-8 chopped).

Ricotta has a smooth texture and it literally crumbles and blends into the spinach giving it a distinct taste. The only addition is- nutmeg powder. Sprinkle some while you sauté onions.

Serve with Rotis or Rice.

Veggie Starter > Raw Banana Patties!

 

Last Saturday when R told me our invited guests were vegetarians, I had a real challenge to encounter! I cook veg  food but I wasn’t sure how an all veg meal will turn out to be! At the end it turned out just right, despite all the nightmares!Will post all  the stuff I made in separate posts. For now, I wanted to share the entre which they totally loved! Tiny raw banana patties.

You’ll need :

2  big raw bananas

2-3 medium sized potatoes

2 onions chopped

Coriander leaves

1 spoon grated ginger/ginger paste

1 spoon red chilly powder

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 teaspoon Garam Masala

Oil or ghee – 2 teaspoons

Salt to taste

Method: Boil the bananas and potatoes together (u can pressure cook – if you do pressure cook, then only wait for one whistle or a max of two).  The idea is not to make the mash too soggy- so they need to boil just right :). Peel them and mash it together.

In a pan add oil/ghee and sauté  chopped onions until translucent. Add ginger and sauté some more. Add turmeric and chilly powder and mix well. Now add the mashed banana and potatoes to this mixture and mix well until the masala blends with the mash. The mixture shouldn’t be watery/soggy as I mentioned earlier. The patties won’t be firm, then. If you feel it is, then add bread crumbs to this. It soaks up the excess moisture. Add garam masala and coriander powder and mix again and let it cool. Once cold, make tiny patties of them and pan roast them with little oil/ghee. Serve with tomato ketchup.

You can add boiled veggies like peas and carrot and also raisins/sultanas to make this more nutritious and tastier! Its a sure shot winner – its tasty, nutritious, and not deeeeep fried!  Try it :)

Roasted!

Are you one of those who can eat just about anything that is baked? I am, and love my oven. Here is a quick veggie roast, if u are in the mood for some diet meals that taste great. The simplest thing I have ever made, this is a must make if you like veggies.

All you need to do is put together your favorite veggies- cut into big chunks. In an oven proof dish, lined with aluminum foil, add the veggies, whole green chillies, whole garlic, sprinkle salt, sprinkle oregano, two teaspoons of tomato based pasta sauce (optional), and spray some olive oil. Bake at 180-200 degrees C for about 30 minutes or till the veggies turn brown.

Eat it like an entree or main with bread.

Variations – use mustard sauce, or just red chilli powder, dhania (coriander powder) and salt.

I used egg plant, tomatoes, beans, onions, capsicum, carrot pumpkin, and potatoes for the roast. Whatever you use, do use pumpkin and tomatoes! You can add bits of chicken, if you can’t bear te thought of just vegetables! Just coat the chicken with pasta sauce and add.

It might not look the most appetizing, but take my word, it tastes out of the world. I should have spent some time in presenting the dish! Next time perhaps. :)

Till then, eat well and cook up some great meals.

Chinese: Sweet Chilli Chicken with Veggies

Happiness in 15 minutes. I promise. Here’s how.

In a wok, pour oil. Add boneless chicken (breast fillets). Once it browns, add diced ginger, garlic and green chilly – lots of it. Sprinkle some cornflour. Mix well till chicken coats well with the cornstarch. Add soya sauce- about 1-2 teaspoon and 2 spoons of fountain sweet chilli sauce. Stir fry. Add salt to taste. when almost done, add mushrooms, capsicum, broccoli, shallots, baby corn and all the veggies you’d care to consume. Pour cornflour dissolved in water – 1 tsp. Bring it to a boil.  If you don’t want gravy, then, don’t add the cornstarch in the end.

Serve with rice and watch the grin on yours and his face widen.