Pav Bhaji

Pav Bhaji is a popular Mumbai street food. As a child, I don't remember eating street food as my parents were against it and they didn't cherish any dish with garam masala in it. The first time I tried Pav Bhaji was at Mumbai during an outing with my close friend. I believe it was at "Sukh Sagar", which according to my friend, was the best in town. It was a busy, crazy place. People chatting, steel plates and glasses clanking, people bumping while walking through the narrow passages-I remember wondering if I really needed to eat at this busy place.
We were served pipping hot Bhaji with a dollop of butter on it with warm butter toasted bread. It tasted pretty good and of course we were hungry after going around town!
After getting married, I learnt that my husband was a big fan of street food. Now Chaat, Samosa's, Vada Pav..... is something that I make every few weeks.

Ingredients:

1 packet store bought Pav (bread)

1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium tomato, chopped
2 medium potatoes, boiled
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup cauliflower florets
1/4 cup frozen peas
coriander leaves
2 tsp Everest pav bhaji masala
Lemon juice, for serving
salt to taste
oil/butter

How it's made:

Cook carrots, peas and cauliflower together.
In a non stick pan, heat oil. Add onions and garlic. Fry until translucent. Add tomatoes and pav bhaji masala. Fry until tomatoes are soft. Add cooked veggies and potato. Mix well. You can use a potato masher for texture. Adjust salt. Add coriander leaves. Serve hot with a dollop of butter and lemon juice.

Slit Pav in half (horizontally). Butter both sides and heat on pan until light golden brown.

Serves: 4

Dalitoy (Konkani Dal)

Dalitoy, is the main staple of Konkani cooking. Most Konkani household cook this dish on a daily basis. It was one of the first dish I learnt to cook when I got married.
On any special occasions, be it wedding or religious event, no meal would be complete without Dalitoy. The seasoning which comprises of chillies, curry leaves and asafoetida gives an aromatic and distinctive fragrance to this dish. Some Konkani communities add haldi (turmeric) while cooking toor dal. They also season with ghee and then garnish with coriander leaves before serving.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup toor dal (split pigeon peas)
2 green chillies
1 tsp sasam (black mustard seeds)
2 dried red chillies (I use byadgi), broken into pieces
1 sprig curry leaves
1/4 tsp hing (asafoetida)
1 1/2 tsp oil/ghee (coconut oil can be used, but I use canola)
salt to taste

How it's made:

Wash and rinse dal. Add enough water to cover dal and pressure cook for 10-12 minutes. (To speed up cooking process, dal can be soaked in water for an hour or two before pressure cooking). To make the dal a little spicy, green chillies can be added while pressure cooking dal.
Once dal is well cooked, transfer to a saucepan. With a hand blender (smart stick hand blender), blend dal until creamy and smooth. Add enough water to make a medium thick soup like consistency. Add green chillies and salt. Bring to boil.
In a "Phanna Davlo" or small frying pan, heat oil. Add mustard seeds. When it splutters, add red chillies, curry leaves and hing. Season to dal.

Cover and let it rest for 2 minutes before serving. Serve hot with white rice and a side dish like - Bhenda Upkari, Kori Sukka, Palak Kulitha Kodel or just pickle and papad.

Serves: 3-4

Fresh Fruit Tart

Fruit tart makes a perfect dessert for casual or formal event.
It takes less than an hour (with prep time) to put  together this colorful and elegant treat.
I made this simple and classy dessert on the occasion of my friends birthday.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
6 tbsp melted butter
1/4 cup sugar
a pinch of salt
8 oz cream cheese ( I used 1/3 less fat Neufchatel), at room temperature
1/4 cup white chocolate chips
2 tbsp sour cream
Cut up fruits -kiwis, strawberry, madarin oranges, blueberries

How it's made:

Grease a 9"pie pan. Pre-heat oven to 350 deg F.
Melt chocolate chips and set aside.
Combine graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, salt and sugar. Once well mixed, transfer mixture to pie pan and press into the bottom and sides of the pan. Bake at 350 deg F for about 15 minutes or until edges start to brown. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
In the meantime, in a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, sour cream and melted chocolate. Pour into cooled crust. Decorate with fruits and refrigerate for 2-3 hours before serving.

Minestrone Soup

Winter has been dull, gloomy and bitter cold this year. Initially, I thought I was the only one complaining about the weather, but then realized that many are awaiting for warmer weather. For a day in between, we had temperatures in the 70's and we spent our entire day out doors. It was a nice break from heavy winter coats and sweaters. We even managed do a little yard work.
Today was our first day of spring and I still don't see a break from winter. Although the day is a little longer, evenings are pretty miserable. I still cannot survive without my throw.
A hot bowl of Minestrone soup for was my favorite this winter season. I first tried this soup at "Olive Garden" many years ago and I think they serve the best.  I find it to be a complete meal with a combination of protein, vegetables and carbs.  I've made this soup several times and this recipe has been sitting in my inbox for a few months now. This one pot dish is a healthy and hearty dish for such weather. Hopefully, this will be our last one pot dish and we soon spring back to gardening and grilling.

Ingredients:

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 celery stalk, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and diced

1 medium zucchini, chopped

1 - 10oz box frozen spinach, defrosted

1 - 28 oz can diced tomatoes

1/2 can ( from 15 oz can)white beans (cannellini), rinsed under running water

1/2 can (from 15 oz can) red kidney beans (Rajma), rinsed under running water

3-4 cups vegetable or chicken broth

1 cup cooked pasta ( I used penne)

1-2 tsp Italian seasoning

a few basil leaves

Grated Parmesan (optional)

oil

salt and pepper to taste

How it's made:

In a large heavy bottom pan, add oil. Once it heats, add onions, garlic, celery and carrots. Cook for 5 mins. Add canned tomatoes, beans, Italian seasoning, broth, salt and pepper. Boil and then lower heat and cook on low heat for 30-45 mins. Add pasta, spinach and zucchini. Cover and cook for another 15 minutes. Add basil. Adjust seasoning. Ladle into bowl and garnish with Parmesan cheese.

Serves: 8

Note: This recipe works very well with slow cooker. Instead of cooking for 45 mins on gas, combine all the ingredients together (apart from pasta, spinach and zucchini) and cook on medium for about 3 hours. Then add pasta, spinach, zucchini and cook for another 30 minutes.

I like the combination of red and white beans. You may skip the red beans and add one can of white beans.