Savoury Semolina Loaf with Carrot and Sunflower Seeds | Healthy Snacks

Semolina | Sooji | Rava is great for preparing all kinds of snacks in the Indian Kitchen. I use it for Upma, Rava Idlis, Cheelas (North Indian Style Pancakes), and Dosas (South India Style Pancakes). I also add it to savoury muffins, scones, and biscuits, which I make for breakfast on weekends. This semolina loaf is just a leap away from a savoury muffin. Its a great alternative entree at breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack. In fact, its quite like a quick bread only a lot tastier as it incorporates tonnes of flavour with spices and vegetables. Its wonderfully grainy texture which comes from the semolina allows it to take on a lot more flavour than any flour!!

Sambar Oats Bhaat | Savoury Oats and Sambar Porridge

While oats always means milky sweet porridge to me, it was never quite as tasty as when made savoury!! I have been using oats to make savoury treats for quite some time now. Initially I saw skeptical looks around me when I announced something like Oats Poha, Oats Upma, Oats Pongal for brunch!! But one bite and I had converts all around me:) Now I get requests for Oats Kichiri and Pongal all the time!!

Moth Usal | Sprouted Dew Bean Curry

Moth Usal is a classic Maharashtrian dish. There are many ways of preparing usal and every family has its own unique twist to the recipe. Sometimes the usal and its curry are prepared separately and mixed only at the time the dish is served. Some like peanuts in the sprouts, and the amount of chilies in the recipe vary from negligible to fiery!! Some like only green chilies in this recipe and others swear by red chili powder. The common factor is the goda masala (though the version with kolhapuri masala is popular too), onions, and the sprouts!!

Chole Panjim | Chickpeas in Coconut Gravy | Goan Style Curried Garbanzo Beans

Here is another of my favourite recipes. I love to make it in the winter when we feel like eating a heavier meal as well as something really spicy. I came to know of this recipe many years ago when holidaying in Goa I visited a family who laid out a real Goan style feast for us. Though I have always been partial to Chole, this version left me speechless. The flavour, the texture, and the heat level were all so different from the North Indian versions I had been accustomed to!! I just loved it. And when I made this recipe over the weekend I could not help but wonder why I had not shared this yummy recipe with you until now!!

Caramelized Fennel and Onion Tart with Feta Cheese

I have been wanting to make something with fennel and bread for so long I can't even remember. Every time I bring some fennel home from the supermarket, it lands up in a bake or a soup!! Last friday I saw some super fresh and crunchy fennel at the local market I picked it up immediately. I also got some fresh yellow onions and a nice batch of feta cheese to go with it - the result was this yummy tart!!

Mushroom Pepper Pulao | Mushroom Pepper Pilaf

There is nothing a like a wholesome one pot meal on cold winter evenings. These days we are right in the middle of a cold spell, cold days and even colder nights. There are inches and inches of snow on the ground and pretty much everything is frozen. Luckily we have lots of sunshine and bright days that make the early sunset more tolerable. Thanks to the sunlight we see an endless stream of birds on the trees and the occasional squirrel and wild rabbit too!! 

Rustic Mushroom and Corn Empanadas

The Daring Cooks September 2012 Challenge was Empanada Gallega! Yet another delightful recipe from the ever creative Daring Bakers!!! I made a vegetarian version, though not in pie form. I made individual Mushroom Corn Empanadas with caramelized onions. Oh, they were really good, kept well in the refrigerator for a few days and also warmed beautifully in the microwave later.

Chana Masala | Spicy Chickpea Curry | Garbanzo Bean Curry

Kabuli Chana is a very popular and loved food in my family. Its made almost on every festival or celebration with Puri, Paratha, or Luchi. However we never really seem to stick to a particular recipe. As I was getting this post together, I realised I already have two recipes of Chole on my blog: Tari Wale Chole | Curried Chickpeas and Rice Plate Chole | Chickpeas with Rice. The first is a recipe that TH likes to make every so often, and the latter is a reminiscence of my days at DU!

Chili Tofu | Indo Chinese Kitchen

Chili Tofu is a take on the very popular Chili Paneer served in Indo Chinese establishments! I tasted Chili Paneer many years at Sakoni's - a Gujarati restaurant in Wembley, London. It was such a popular dish that Desis (colloquial for South Asians) living in London would plan special trips to Sakoni's just for a stab at the dish. I was dragged across town by just such an eager friend. Unfortunately at the time the dish I was least impressed with was, you guessed it, Chili Paneer. I am guessing that it was overshadowed by other delicacies like Chaat, Lassi, Samosa, that I focused on during the meal!!

Oven Baked Potato Chips with Sage and Cracked Pepper

I last made Herby Oven-Baked Chips over three years ago!! This afternoon I was going through my refrigerator and I found I still had a few sprigs of sage left over from last weeks groceries. They were in great shape thanks to the chiller setting on my fridge and I wondered how I could best enjoy them!! Its too hot to really cook, so I settled on baked chips. Potatoes and sage go together beautifully. A little salt and pepper, a few wedges of onion, loads of garlic, and a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, and you have the perfect combination.

Daring Cooks October 2011: Moo Shu Tofu with Hoisin Sauce

Looks like chappati - bhaji right!! I too was surprised to discover that October 2011 Daring Cooks Challenge was a Chinese recipe that closely resembled and Indian dinner platter or a snack popularly called a frankie roll!! Though I was aware of varying types of Chinese, breads, including pancakes, these Mandarin Pancakes came as a big surprise to me. When I got the dough together for them, I found myself looking at chappati dough and not traditional pancake batter. The rolling and cooking process was similar too!! And they did taste wonderful.

Masaledaar Appe | Spicy Mini Appams

Sometimes, when there is extra time on the hand, or we are expecting visitors, I like to make a snack for our evening tea!! Usually, it is something light and salty. At times, its a matter of using the leftovers!!!! Today, it was the latter - I had idli batter left over from the weekend. I decided to make spicy mini-appams using my aebleskiver or appe pan.

Spinach & Mushroom Rotini

Spinach and mushroom make for a wonderful combination. And with whole grain rotini, the taste is almost heavenly. This is one of my favourite recipes, one I created on one of those long winter evenings when I had a craving for a hearty yet healthy meal!! I am sharing this with all pasta lovers via Presto Pasta Night, hosted by the lovely Ruth.