Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

Food Blogging Marathon from 2/9/2013 to 30/9/2013. 

Each day a new alphabet. 4 categories. 

Regional Food, 

Baked Dishes, 

International Flavors / Fusion flavors, 

Street Food / Condiments / Misc / Recipe less Posts on Food

This again is recipe I had seen years ago, in one of those Women's Home (UK),  Good Housekeeping (USA) magazines kept in our club house for the ladies to read. We kids would pour over the pictures and drool without knowing anything about its content. We were least interested in reading recipes or even finding out what they were. Cakes, desserts and such were oohed and aahed about. Non Vegetarian was accepted but personally I never ate. Years went by and I read a recipe for Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie. Looked interesting and easy. So tried my hand and everyone loved it. Over the years I made changes to the filling, tried various combinations. Most were successful. Some just ok. None was too bad or not edible. The topping was always mashed potatoes. Sometimes plain other times with herbs or cheese or even chillies and garlic.
So this here is my version of Shepherd's Pie. Original recipe is from the book Great Vegetarian Dishes by Kurma Dasa. Kurma Dasa belongs to the ISKCON family and does not use onion or garlic. My apologies to him, I have used garlic in my filling and the mashed potatoes too.

Ingredients:


1 cup cooked chickpeas/chole*
1/4 cup mini soya chunks*
1/4 cup grated carrot ( I used this only for the colour)
1/4 cup small pieces of paneer
2 cubes cheese, grated
1 tsp crushed black pepper
1 tsp chopped garlic
Juice of 1 lime
salt to taste.

*Soak chole in plenty of water for 6 to 8 hours and then pressure cook with salt in it till cooked but firm.
*Soak mini soya chunks in buttermilk for an hour and then pressure cook till two whistles, after the pressure drops drain and soak in  water and let sit for 10 minutes, drain and squeeze out the water.





Mix everything together. 

Put it in a greased baking dish/tray.

For the topping:

3 big potatoes boiled, peeled and mashed when hot
2 tblsp butter (amul or similar)
1 tblsp chopped herbs of your choice or just crushed black pepper 
1 tsp garlic paste or crushed garlic
1 tblsp cream
1/4 cup milk
salt to taste
Mash the potatoes when they are hot. add cream and the butter and beat well. Slowly add milk and beat to mix and become fluffy. Add salt, garlic and pepper and mix well. Spread evenly over the filling. 




Bake in hot oven for 30 minutes or till the top is crisp and golden brown in colour. 

Remove and cool slightly. 

                                                           

                                                                                                             

 Serve Hot or Warm. You can serve some whipped sour cream with this. I did not have it so I skipped it.

This is my 4th recipe in baked category.

Logo By Preeti

BM # 32 hosted by Srivalli of  http://spicingyourlife.blogspot.in/

Tiramisu Style Dessert

Tiramisu Style Dessert

Food Blogging Marathon from 2/9/2013 to 30/9/2013. 

Each day a new alphabet. 4 categories. 

Regional Food, 

Baked Dishes, 

International Flavors / Fusion flavors, 

Street Food / Condiments / Misc / Recipe less Posts on Food

I wanted to make the classic Italian dessert, Tiramisu.   But unfortunately yesterday whole day it was raining very heavily and to bake the lady finger biscuits in such heavy and humid weather is a bad idea. I waited till the evening but the rains kept on pouring buckets and buckets of water. I was desperate now, as I had not prepared anything for alphabet T. I was searching the internet when I came across something really beautiful looking dessert. It was like Tiramisu in flavours. So giving up my idea of making a classic Tiramisu I made the next best. 

This being my 6th and the last one in the International/fusion category 



Ingredients:
1 8" square white cake
1 family pack coffee flavoured ice cream
coffee liqueur as needed to soak the cakes
some dark chocolate for decoration
some roasted coffee beans (optional)

 The cake being baked in the oven. I made the cake from Gayathri's blog.

Thank you Gayathri for giving this recipe.




You will find the recipe for this Geonise sponge here:

http://gayathriscookspot.blogspot.in/2013/09/genoise-cake-eggless.html



 Make a white cake and when cool cut it to four equal parts. 

Take one part and split into two.







The coffee liqueur. 1 tsp instant coffee adn 1 tsp sugar dissolved in 1/4 cup hot water. 








The coffee brushed on the cake














The coffee icecream 











The stacked cake pieces smeared with icecream. 

 






Decorated with the coffee beans








On a dessert platter keep the white cake and brush it with coffee liqueur till drenched but not soggy. Sprinkle grated chocolate over this and then spread a little softened ice cream over it and cover it with another piece of the cake. Brush this too with the coffee liqueur like before and spread some ice cream over it.  Spread some grated chocolate over it and spread some ice cream. Spread ice cream on the sides too,  Smoothen it from all sides and  decorate with coffee beans and grated chocolate. Use chocolate sparingly as the coffee flavour has to be the main flavour for it to be a Tiramisu Dessert.

While you are assembling the dessert you may have to put it in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes if the weather is warm as the icecream starts to melt. Work quickly and if necessary put it in the freezer for a few minutes before continuing. 






Serve chilled 

Roasted vegetables with Pasta

Roasted Vegetables with Pasta

 

Food Blogging Marathon from 2/9/2013 to 30/9/2013. 

Each day a new alphabet. 4 categories. 

Regional Food, 

Baked Dishes, 

International Flavors / Fusion flavors, 

Street Food / Condiments / Misc / Recipe less Posts on Food

I had planned to do my Ratali Crisps (Sweet Potato Crisp) recipe which is a big hit with whoever eats it. It is a very simple recipe and has minimum preparation time and once in the oven you set the timer and forget it. It is golden goodness of rich taste and filling dish that you can eat as side or as main or as a snack. From the day I had decided to do this I was looking for Sweet Potatoes in the market. Everyday my trip to our vegetable market was yielding no results.  Finally today by evening I had to change my plans. If I did not cook and post it how could I be ready for R on  21/9/2013. I was looking for either a baked or an international/fusion recipe. Since at present I am in love with Italian food I decided to make something Italian. Rissoto, Roasted veggies, Rustic Focaccia, Rustic Walnut Bread. Too many choices and too little time. I went in for Roasted Veggies with Pasta. This would also take care of my dinner and my post for alphabet R. So here is my take on Roasted Veggies with Pasta.

Ingredients:

1 long brinjal/eggplant/aubgerine 

1 zuccini (I used sponge gourd/turai/ghosale)

1 small carrot

1 green capsicum (use only half)

1 red capcicum (I did not use it as it is not available here)

1 yellow capsicum (I did not use it as it is not available here)

1 big onion
1 big tomato

10 -12 garlic + 4 more

2 green chillies

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp each of dried herbs of your choice(I used oregano, basil and rosemary)
1/2 tsp paprika or red chilli powder

Oil to grease the Roasting Tray

1 tblsp oil to cook the garlic
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese 
1/2 cup cheddar or regular cheese (I used Amul cubes)

1 cup uncooked Pasta of your choice (I used multicoloured rotini or corkscrew pasta)

Method: 

Cook the pasta in plenty of water to which 1 tblsp oil and 1 tblsp salt is added. Drain when cooked al dente. Keep warm.

 Drained cooked pasta

Cut the brinjal, carrots and zucini into 1/2 inch slices. Cut tomato into half and then into thick slices. Dice capcicum and onions into big pieces. Chop green chillies fine. smash the garlic with the flat of your knife once. 

Grease a baking tray and put the vegetables in it and add the smashed garlic, salt and herbs. Toss well and spread evenly. Roast in hot oven for 30 to 40 minutes or till the vegetables are brown and done well.

 Roasted veggies

In a pan heat 1 tblsp oil and add 4 pieces of garlic and let them brown. Add the pasta and paprika and toss well. Check for salt. Now add the roasted vegetables and toss again to mix well.  Remove in a serving bowl and sprinkle both the cheese. Your tasty roasted veggies with pasta is ready to eat. Serve hot or cold. 

 

 This is my 5th recipe in International/fusion category.

logo by Preeti.

Food Bloggin Marathon # 32 organised by:

http://spicingyourlife.blogspot.in/

Quiche

Quiche

Food Blogging Marathon from 2/9/2013 to 30/9/2013. 

Each day a new alphabet. 4 categories. 

Regional Food, 

Baked Dishes, 

International Flavors / Fusion flavors, 

Street Food / Condiments / Misc / Recipe less Posts on Food

This is one recipe i wanted to make for a long time but somehow I did not even attempt it. When I joined A to Z FBM I knew what I would be doing for Q. This recipe for quiche was inspired from the book 'Great Vegetarian Dishes' by Kurma Dasa. I had watched this programme on Star TV somewhere in 1990 when there was only one English TV channel. There was a cooking show everyday at one particular time and I would watch it regularly. This chef Kurma Dasa is Australian but is from the ISKCON family and cooks great vegetarian food. He does not use onions and garlic too. I was hooked to his shows. At the end of the show they would show an address from where you could get his books. The address was Australian and the main office was in Varanasi (Benaras). I sent a letter asking for the price and how I could order it. To my utter surprise and delight, I got the book by paid parcel. I did not have to pay a single rupee for it. I have done many recipes from it and it is like the book for international vegetarian recipes. 

Half the things necessary to make such recipes are not available to me in my town so I adept and use what is available or then make do without if it is possible. 

For this Quiche you will need the following or rather I used the following ingredients and this is how I made it. It came out very well and was delicious warm or cold.

Ingredients:

For the pastry:

1/2 cup refined vegetable oil

1 1/2 cup wheat atta/wholemeal flour

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp roasted cumin/jeera powder

salt to taste

water as needed

Mix all the ingredients for the pastry  except water and rub well to make it look like bread crumbs. Add a little cold water, about 2 tblsp and make a firm pastry. 



 Press evenly into one 9 inch flan dish or pan with loose bottom. 












 Bake in hot oven till light brown. 

 Let cool completely.






For the filling you will need:

  
 1 big onion chopped fine

1 big green capsicum chopped fine
1/2 cup sweet corn kernels
1 tsp chopped green chillies
1 tblsp chopped garlic





Some dry herbs like thyme, basil, oregano, rosemary (choose 2 or 3 that you prefer)

salt to taste

 


1/4 cup cream cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tblsp tomato ketchup
2 tblsp corn flour
                                                                                                                                                       

1 cup grated cheese. I grated 6 cubes of cheese

For topping:  
1 big tomato cut in thin round slices

How to proceed:
Beat the cream cheese till it is soft and fluffy. Add sour cream and beat well. Add tomato ketchup, herbs and all the other filling ingredients. Mix well but lightly . It will look like this



  

Now spread the filling in the baked pastry shell and smoothen it. Arrange  tomato slices over it.

Bake in hot oven till the cheese is bubbly and the crust is golden like this. for about 20 to 30 minutes

 

 



Remove from the tin and serve.  

 



You can serve it hot or cold. 

Some notes:
I used hung curds instead of cream cheese as it is not available in my town. I put just set curd/yougurt/dahi in a big strainer lined with a clean handkerchief and kept it in fridge to drain overnight. You can use hung curds but it should not be sour.

For sour cream I used regular cream with a little hung curd mixed in it. 

Many thanks to Kurma Dasa for his original recipe in Great Vegetarian Dishes. 

This is my 4th international/fusion recipe

logo by Preeti.

Food Bloggin Marathon # 32 organised by:

http://spicingyourlife.blogspot.in/

Peppy Peppers

Peppy Peppers

Food Blogging Marathon from 2/9/2013 to 30/9/2013. 

Each day a new alphabet. 4 categories. 

Regional Food, 

Baked Dishes, 

International Flavors / Fusion flavors, 

Street Food / Condiments / Misc / Recipe less Posts on Food

Chillies are also known as peppers in some parts of the world so I have named these stuffed chillies Peppy Peppers for the alphabet P

I make these very often as everyone in our family like them. They are great with rice or with chapatis or even to eat as a side. I use to  shallow fry them till the cheese melted and the chillies were spotted with brown spots. The big fat chillies that are not hot or the Bhavnagri chillies  are very good for these. Of course if you like to eat very hot chillies go ahead and make with any kind of fat chillies. I normally use the long fat chillies that are used to make mirchi bhajis in the south. You could make a slit and stuff or even just remove the stalk and and remove the seeds from that hole and stuff. Normally I make a slit and stuff after removing the seeds but my maid cut them in two vertically so that is how I made it this time.

Ingredients:

 10 big fat green chillies of your choice

2 medium size potatoes, cooked and mashed

100 gms paneer, grated

4 cheese cubes, grated

1 tsp black pepper powder

1 tblsp finely chopped garlic

any fresh or dried  herbs of your choice

salt to taste + some more

juice of 1/2 a big lemon/lime

1 tsp green chilly, finely chopped (optional)

oil to coat the pan

Method:

Mix mashed potatoes, grated paneer and grated cheese lightly. Add the herbs, chopped garlic, black pepper powder and salt. Squeeze the lime juice, add the finely chopped green chillies, if using and mix again with a light hand. Keep aside for 10 minutes.

Now wash and dry the chillies. Remove the stalk and cut into two vertically. Remove seeds and any white part inside. Sprinkle very little salt in each half of the chilly. 
Put about a tblsp of the potato mixture and stuff carefully. Do this with all the chilly halves.

Grease a baking tray and arrange the stuffed chillies and bake in hot oven for 12 to 15 minutes till cheese melts and the stuffing is golden brown.

 The Peppy Peppers are ready to eat. Crunchy and mildly spicy.

Serve as starters or with soup or as a side with curd rice or pulao.

If you are using the long and fat chillies then you can wrap the stuffed chilly in a chapati to make an awesome chilly frankie.

I was surfing one day and came across these wonderful baked chillies. http://www.thekitchenismyplayground.com/2012/06/baked-jalapeno-poppers-eating-alphabet.html

So instead of pan frying I baked mine too.
Enjoy.


This is my 3rd recipe in International / fusion category

logo by Preeti.

Food Bloggin Marathon # 32 organised by:

http://spicingyourlife.blogspot.in/