Gobi Manchurian

Who can resist the golden fried cauliflowers in a mouthwatering tangy spicy sauce?  I am sure no one can avoid this when you go to an Indo chinese place. However hard I try, I cannot skip this as an appetizer when I go to an Indo-chinese place.There are many street food vendors who are experts in this as well. During my college days, my hungry tummy will more often drag me to one of the street food vendors who makes this delicious manchurian.

Ingredients for the fry:

1. Cauliflower - 1 large head broken into small florets

2. All purpose flour / Maida - 1 cup

3. Corn flour - 1/2 cup

4. Soy sauce - 1 tablespoon

5. Salt - as needed

6. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tablespoon

7. Pepper powder - 1 teaspoon

8. Oil - to deep fry

Ingredients for the sauce:


1. Onion - 1 medium finely chopped
2. Garlic - 1/4 cup minced
3. Ginger - 1/3 cup grated
4. Pure sesame oil - 3 tablespoons
5. Soy sauce - 3 tablespoons
6. Sweet chilli sauce - 3 teaspoons
7. Tomato paste - 1/3 cup
8. Green chilli - 4 slitted
9. Salt - as needed
10. Corn starch - 2 teaspoons


Method:


For the fry:


In a a wide vessel of hot salted water, add the cauliflower florets. Let it come to a boil . The florets should still be crunchy and should not turn soft.Remove from heat, drain the water and pat dry all the florets with a paper towel and keep it aside. Mix all the ingredients under the ingredients for the fry section except the cauliflower. Make a thick paste adding little water at a time. Dip the florets into this paste to coat it entirely and deep fry the florets till they turn golden brown. Do not over crowd the frying pan as the florets will stick to each other.


For the sauce:


In a hot wide wok/ pan , add the sesame oil. Add onions, ginger, garlic and green chillies. Saute till the raw smell goes away. Stir in the soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce, tomato paste and salt if needed. Soy sauce will already contain salt. So make sure you taste the sauce before adding salt. Let it come to a boil. Mix corn starch with 1/3 cup of water and add it to the sauce. Wait till the sauce gets thick.


Combine the fried cauliflower to this sauce and give it a gentle stir so that the sauce covers all the fried pieces. Let it stand in the wok for a couple of minutes. Remove from the wok and garnish it with spring onions. I didn't have spring onions. So used cilantro.


Serve with your favorite fried rice.

Baked French Toast Casserole

When it comes to French Toast, I am ready to try any version that I come across. Am not sure if it is because it is sweet or if it is because it is one of those dishes that reminds me of my childhood cooking. Whatever it might be, I just love French Toast :-) .

When I came across this recipe in SmittenKitchen, I knew I am going to make this for our weekend breakfast.I made it for a Sunday breakfast and it was absolutely delicious.

Ingredients:

1. Bread  - 1 loaf (I used a loaf of challah but any fresh loaf of bread should work)

2. Milk - 3 cups
3. Eggs - 3
4. Sugar - 3 tablespoons
5. Salt - a pinch
6. Cinnamon - 2 teaspoons

Method:

1. Mix Milk, eggs, sugar and salt and keep it aside.

2. Slice the bread into thick slices.
3. Foil a baking dish or casserole. Butter the baking dish generously. Line the bread slices. You can tear apart a bread slice and fill any gaps.
4. I couldn't make a second layer because my baking dish was not so deep. If you decide to have layers in your toast, pour the milk egg mixture over the first layer. You can add any dry fruits or nuts and then proceed with arranging the second layer.
5. Pour the remaining milk egg mixture over the second layer. Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon on top. Cover with a cling wrap and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight.
6. The bread will absorb all the goodness while you are sleeping.
7. Bake it at 425F for 30 minutes. The bread will puff up nicely.

Serve it with maple syrup or any topping of your choice.

I am sending this entry to Srivalli's "Breakfast Mela"  

Quesadillas

A specific origin for the quesadilla is unknown. There are many ideas about where the quesadilla originated. The quesadilla is a food that changed and evolved over many years as people experimented with different variations of it. It is believed that it started in Mexico. The reasoning behind this is because of the ingredients. The tortilla is a mesoamerican food. Queso, which means cheese, has been apart of the Mexican language ever since the Spaniards introduced it to them.[Source: Wikipedia]

Sometimes, I feel like not cooking much. This usually happens on a Friday night. So I try to do some quick fix semi home made stuff. One such dish is the Quesadilla. It is very easy to assemble if you have the right ingredients. It involves very little cooking. You can adjust the filling with any vegetable/ meat you want.

I had left ovet mutton masala. So I added it to the filling and it tasted great. Quesadilla with an Indian twist :-) . I also made it with just the vegetable filling and that was great too. So people who are lazy like me or people who want to taste this homemade quesadillas, just grab some tortillas from the store and you can make a delicious dinner in no time.

Ingredients:

1. Store bought tortilla - 2

2. Oil - 1 table spoon
3. Onion - 1 medium thinly sliced
4. Green pepper - 1 thinly sliced
5. Red pepper - 1 thinly sliced
6. Mushrooms - 1 cup sliced
7. Salt - to taste
8. Pepper - to taste
9. Sharp cheddar cheese - 1 cup

Method:

1. In a skillet, heat some oil. Add onions, peppers and mushroom. Saute till it gets soft. Season it with some salt and pepper. Keep it aside.

2. Place the tortilla in another hot skillet with just a few drops of oil, leave it just for a couple of seconds and flip it over.Reduce the heat to medium low. All the fillings have to be placed in one half of the tortilla.
3. Sprinkle some cheese, then the sauted vegetables. If you decide to add some meat, place it now. I chopped the mutton masala and just added it as the next layer. For the last layer sprinkle some more cheese and fold the other half of the tortilla to form a semi circle.
4. Gently flip it, so that the cheese melts on the other side too.

 Serve it with salsa, guacamole and sour cream.