Hummus Recipe

A friend was asking for a tried and tested Hummus ( pronounced Hommos) recipe and I thought I might as well include it here.

Ingredients  (Serves 3-4)

1 can chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans)
3 cloves of garlic crushed
1/2 cup tahini ( sesame seeds paste )
1/4 cup lemon juice
Salt & pepper to taste.

Blend all the above ingredients in a food processor till they become a soft paste. Empty it in a flat dish and decorate with some parsley leaves and drizzle with good quality olive oil. Serve with warm pita bread.

For Tahini paste, you can either crush the Sesame seeds yourself and make the paste, or, like me, go to Byblos Deli or TJ or Whole Foods and grab a box ;-).
Pita Bread - The Middle Eastern Flat Bread at TJ is really soft and can be cut into wedges.

PS - I think it is criminal to post without a picture, but silly me, I forgot to click one and A has almost polished the bowl clean. So, next time, will update this post with a picture!

Update - I just realized that I have posted a picture here.

The Dinner

We had some friends ( S & P) over for dinner last night. I wanted to cook Lebanese food for them. It was the first time I ever tried making it at home and they loved it.
Some pictures...
Baked Spanakopita (from COSTCO)

Hummous with whole wheat middle eastern flat bread..

Vegetarian Shawarma with saffron rice for the main course. I stir fried red cabbage, onions, green onions and tomatoes, together with the marinade of the Lebanese 7 traditional spices, until they were nice and juicy. I then drizzled some generous helpings of homemade Toum (garlic sauce) and added a scoop of homemade Hummous on the side. 

And then, we started playing 29. I was so engrossed in the game that I forgot to take pictures of the dessert :( .The dessert was Almond crusted Carrot Cake with dollops of Vanilla Mango Ice Cream.
It was a big hit!

Homemade French Fries

A and I love Fries (who doesn't ?), but we avoid getting it from restaurants solely because it is very rich and unhealthy. We tried making it at home and loved it.

Ingredients

1 Potato, chopped into thin long pieces.
2 Tsp Olive Oil.
Salt, Chilli Powder and Italian Seasoning, to taste.

Preaheat the oven to 450 deg.
Take a bowl and add the Oil to it. Add the Potatoes and toss them in the oil until they are all evenly coated. Sprinkle Salt, Chilli Powder and the Italian Seasoning.

Spread the Potatoes on a baking sheet and bake them for 15 minutes or until they brown. Then, broil on high for 1 minute. This makes them crispier. Be careful when broiling on high. It might get burnt if broiled for more than a minute.

Banoranchoco Mousse

A got me an assortment of chocolates from Fran's Chocolates for Valentine's Day. One of it was an Orange Truffle (Described as "Orange zest is infused with fresh organic cream and a splash of Grand Marnier then poured over dark couverture for a new twist on a classic favorite.") that was lip smacking good. Untill then, I only knew that raspberries go perfectly well with Chocolate, but didn't think so of Oranges.

I was quite impressed by David & Luise's Magic Mousse recipe, that was so quick and easy to make and at the same time, a much healthier version of the regular Chocolate Mousse. I included my innovations to make this Banoranchoco Mousse. I added some pieces of Dates to the Mousse. I then topped it off with some Orange zest. I then refrigerated it for a couple of hours. Oh...it was so delicious.

As am typing this, A's asking me what's for dessert tonight !!!

Spicy Pico De Gallo

A got home a tad early today and I was at home, so had a little extra time on my hands to devote to my experiments in the kitchen.
I wanted to whip something up in a whim and wanted that "something" to be low in calories and fat. All I could think of was some spicy Pico De Gallo. Instead of Chips, I microwaved some Lijjat Pappad and broke them into bite sized pieces.

Ingredients

1 Tomato, finely chopped
1/2 Onion, finely chopped
2 Green Chillies, finely chopped
2 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
Cilantro, finely chopped.
4 tbsp Lemon juice
Salt to taste

Take a bowl and mix all the ingredients together and there! Spicy pico de gallo staring at you, ready to be eaten. Isn't that the simplest snack ever? You can even add black beans and cucumber to it.

Quinoa Pilaf

When flipping through the recent issue of Vegetarian Times, I came across this South American, high-protien staple food. It looked very interesting and quite similar to Couscous. Quinoa has a light, fluffy texture when cooked, and its mild, slightly nutty flavor makes it an alternative to white rice or couscous. I got a packet of Quinoa (keen-wah) from Trader Joe's and made some pilaf. It came out really well.

Here's my version of Quinoa Pilaf

Ingredients

2 cups of Quinoa

Veggies

1/2 Bell pepper, finely chopped
1 Onion, finely chopped
1/4 Eggplant, finely chopped
1/4 Cup Peas
3 Green Chillies, finely chopped

Spices

1 tsp Cumin Powder
1 tsp Coriander Powder.
2 Cloves of Garlic

1 spoon Ginger Paste

3-4 Tbsp Oil

1/4 Cup Raisins
2 Bay Leaves
2 Cloves
1 Cinnamon stick
Salt according to taste

Chopped Cilantro


Soak quinoa in water for 30 minutes. Then, rinse it a couple of times and keep it aside.

Heat oil in a pan. Add bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon, garlic and green chillies. When the garlic turns brown, add the onions and saute. Add ginger paste and saute. Next, add salt, cumin powder and coriander powder and saute for a couple of minutes.
Add the veggies and keep sauteing. Once the veggies are cooked, add the raisins and saute for a minute. Then, add the quinoa. Add 3 cups of water and close it with a lid and let it cook. When all the water has been absorbed, the quinoa is cooked and ready to be served. Garnish it with chopped cilantro.
Tastes great when served with a cup of yogurt on the side!

Egg (Anda) Curry

A made this delicious egg curry for dinner today. It was fanta-freaking-tastic.

Here's A's recipe:

Ingredients

4 Eggs boiled and cut into halves. (We generally discard the yolk.)
1 Onion, finely chopped.
1 Tomato, finely chopped.
2 Green Chillies, finely chopped.
2 Cloves of Garlic, finely chopped.
1 Tsp Ginger paste.
3/4 cup Milk.
1/4 cup water.
Cilantro.
Salt to taste.

For seasoning:

5-6 Tbsp Oil
2 Bay leaves
1 Cinnamon stick
2 Cloves
1 Cardamom
2 Tsp Cumin seeds

Spices

1 Tsp Turmeric Powder
1 Tsp Red Chilli Powder
1 Tsp Coriander Powder
1/2 Tsp Amchur
1/2 Tsp Saunf (Fennel Powder)
1 Tsp Garam Masala

Take a pan and add oil. Once the oil is heated, add bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. After a minute add the cumin seeds. When it starts spluttering, add the garlic and green chillies. After the garlic turns a little brown, add the onion and saute until it turns brown. Reduce to medium heat. Add a tsp of salt and continue sauteing until the onions are soft and brown. Add ginger paste and saute. Mash the onions with a laddle.
Add the spices mentioned above (except Garam Masala) sequentially while continuing to mash & saute. Let it cook really well. Then add the tomatoes. Once they are cooked, add 1/4 cup of water and 3/4 cup of milk. When it starts boiling, add the eggs. Close it with a lid and let it cook for a couple of minutes, and then top it off with the Garam Masala. Once it starts thickening, add the chopped cilantro and voila, Anda Curry is ready.
Serve with rice / roti.

Chickpea Salad

What's more refereshing than a salald? I was flipping through the channels a few months ago and bumped into this yummy salad on Healthy Appetite. I gave it a desi twist and it turned out heavenly....try it sometime!


Ingredients

(15-ounce) can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup roasted peanuts
1/2 cup raisins
2 tablespoons mint leaves (optional)
Sev for garnishing
1 tablespoon chaat masala

Yogurt with Orange Essence:

1/3 cup lowfat plain yogurt
1/4 teaspoon orange zest(optional)
2 tablespoons orange juice
1/2 teaspoon honey

In a small bowl, stir together the yogurt, orange zest, orange juice and honey.

In a medium bowl combine the chickpeas, peanuts, cilatro and onion. In a small bowl whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, zest, cumin, chaat masala, salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the chickpea mixture and toss to combine. You can also serve the chickpea salad over a bed of spinach leaves.

Top with the yogurt sauce and a sprinkle of mint, if using. Garnish with sev.