Fried Mozzarella Sticks

You don’t need much motivation to make these. They are snacks, fried and relatively easy to make..what else? And when the weather is always conducive to tea and snacks it just makes it all the more easier to indulge. In my opinion these are as good or better than the restaurant versions. These works as a great appetizer and can be made ahead to be fried  hot just before the party. And a great way to get your kids to eat some cheese too.

The addition of panko bread crumbs lends a very crispy,crunchy texture to this dish. So go ahead and try it!

Time: 30 min ( Preparation Time) 10 min ( Making Time)

Difficulty: Easy – Medium

Ingredients:

·         16 pieces String Cheese, with wrappers removed of course

·         ½ cups All-purpose Flour

·         2 whole Eggs

·         3 Tablespoons Milk

·         1 Tablespoon Dried Parsley Flakes

·         Canola Oil or any other oil, For Frying

·         Marinara Sauce or Maggi Hot and Sweet Ketchup, For Dipping

·         2 cups Panko Bread Crumbs

Method de Preparation:

1.     Slice string cheese pieces in half, for a total of 32 pieces.

2.     Place flour in a small bowl.

3.     In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs and milk.

4.  In another separate bowl, combine panko bread crumbs with parsley flakes. Add other spices if you like – basil, thyme etc.

5.       TO ASSEMBLE: One by one, roll mozzarella sticks in flour, then dunk in egg/milk mixture, then place in panko crumbs. Use your hand to sweep crumbs all over the mozzarella stick. Gently remove and place on a tray or cookie sheet. Repeat until all mozzarella sticks are coated. This is not easy to do and expect to make a mess. [ You can always have hubby dearest cleanup after because you made this delicious snack :P]

6.     Place tray in freezer for 20 to 30 minutes to freeze. I forgot this step and it was not fun I can tell you.

7.       TO COOK: Heat 1 1/2 inches canola oil in a medium to large skillet over medium heat. When hot, add mozzarella sticks 8 at a time. You can add even 1 at a time and stand there for 1 hr, it is totally upto you!! Watch closely and turn over to evenly brown, cooking less than 2 minutes. Do not allow cheese to bubble and leak.

8.     Remove to a paper towel-lined plate.

9.     Serve immediately with warm marinara sauce or better still with ketchup!

Source: I saw this originally at PW cooks here and here; though I am sure many other versions exist. 

Zucchini Fritters

March 5th 2011

You know how sometimes you see something and you want to try it out.  You might not get to it immediately but it will keep at you till you do. Well, this was one of those, don't ask me why, but it was. And I made this close to 7-8 months ago finally getting to posting it :)

These taste very good. Very light and crisp despite being fried in oil. A good way to use zucchini.  And you could reduce the oil and fry them out as Aloo Tikkis too. 

Time: Preparation time (15 min), Cooking time (15 min)

Difficulty level : Easy - Medium

Ingredients:

• 1 or 2 Zucchinis
• 1 tbsp minced garlic or grated garlic
• 1/2 to 3/4 cups breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup cheese ( any kind)
• 1 to 2 whole eggs
• Kosher salt (to taste)
• Freshly ground black pepper ( to taste)
• Olive or any other oil

Method de Preparation

1. Wash and cut ends of the zucchini. Shred without peeling using a cheese grater. Squeeze the water out with your hand or using a muslin cloth until you have gotten out most or all of the liquid.
2. Place shredded zucchini in a bowl. Add the garlic, breadcrumbs, shredded cheese, eggs, kosher salt and pepper to taste. Stir with a fork until well mixed. Add or reduce ingredients to get into a paste like consistency. You can always add a bit of rice flour if needed to hold everything together.
3. Take a shallow pan and heat olive oil or any other oil to a medium temp. When the oil is hot enough (test by throwing a bit in), drop a scoop of zucchini batter into the skillet and flatten it out a bit. When it browns some (~ 2-3 min), turn the cakes over (they should be a nice golden brown) and cook until done.
4. These go well with our Indian Maggi Hot and Sweet and also with any cold cucumber dip. Some Chai on the side would be nice too :)

Source: I originally saw this at PW cooks here. 

Tip: The Kosher salt is powerful stuff. Use is sparingly or you might end up with a batch of cakes a tad bit salty like I did :)

Chile Con Queso

April 19th 2010

If Indian is our favorite cuisine, Mexican is not far behind at all. The Mr. has a very very passionate affair with cheese in all forms and spices don't hurt him either. And while everything we eat here might he America's Mexican versions, we love it. I say this because not all Indian restaurants depict true Indian dishes and mostly border towards North Indian sabjis. Same I think is true with other cuisines too. We found this to be true when we traveled to China and realised that our favorite Chinese dishes were only available in "P F Changs" and they were not so Chinese in the first place.

But any food that is pleasing to the palate works for us. Chips, Dips and Salsa are favorite starters in most Mexican restaurants especially in most cases the chips and salsa are on the house. I have even read that you can judge the quality of the restaurant by the quality and freshness of their salsa and I think there is a lot of truth to that. And the bean and/or queso dip has always been our favorite.

So when I saw the recipe for this version of the Chile Con Queso, I had to give it a try. And in all modesty I say that this beats any restuarant queso dip I have tried so far hands down! The original has meat in it, and I have modified it to be vegetarian. This is first of my Mexican recipe series that I will posting over the next few days/weeks.

Difficulty level : Easy

Time: 10 min (prep time), 20 min (making time)

Ingredients

• 32 ounces weight Velveeta Cheese Loaf ( found in the Cheese section, non-refrigirated)
• 14.5 oz Diced tomates with Jalapenos
• 1 large onion
• 4 oz hot fire roasted Jalapenos
• 1 lb Old El Paso Vegetarian Refriend Beans (optional)
• 1 bunch spring onions
• Oil

 Method de Preparation

1. Chop the onions finely and in a pan take some oil and saute this till it turns brown. Keep on medium to high heat.
2. Cut Velveeta Cheese into smaller cubes so it will be easier to blend in.
3. Add the cheese cubes, the diced tomatoes and the jalapenos in once the onions have cooked well.
4. If you are using the refried beans, add them at this stage.
5. When done and mixture starts to bubble, top with chopped spring onions and serve chot with chips. 

Chef's Tip: The above ingredients produce a LOT of queso, so make this amount only if you have are having a get-together or you can always store some in the freezer which is what I did.

Variations: I skipped the refriend beans because I wanted just a queso dip and not a bean cheese dip, so based on what you like, take a pick.

Source: Pioneer Woman Cooks 

Grilled Eggplant Panini

Feb 17th 2010

I have already mentioned that the Mr has a love affair with this vegetable, so this was something I made for his surprise birthday bash, right after the guests came, 'cos it was just that easy :) This is a super easy dish to make on the spot if you do the prep work earlier. Having a good panini maker is the key! 

You could alternatively toast this on the pan but would be more work and not the same taste.

Difficulty level : Easy

Time: 35 min (prep time), 2 mins (per panini)

Ingredients

• Mayonnaise
• Olive oil
• Eggplant  (big fat purple one)
• Basil (chopped)
• Roasted red pepper (in a jar)
• Bread (Oat N Nut or the like)
• Mozzarella Cheese Slices
• Onion sliced
• Salt

Method de Preparation

1. Cut the eggplant in thin slices and just brush with oil on both sides and sprinkle just a little bit of salt. Set the oven to either broil or at 475 F and then grill on both sides.  If you use the broil setting make sure you check constantly so that the veggie does not burn (~ 6 min). Slicing the eggplant thin ensures that it is cooked well.
2. In a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise and the chopped basil and keep aside.
3. To assemble the sandwiches, slightly brush with olive oil on both sides of the bread, spread the mayo mix on one side, place eggplant and the sliced onions and a couple of roasted pepper slices on top. Add the mozzarella slice and place the other slice of bread (oiled on both sides too).
4. Grill in the panini maker till desired.
5. And voila, slice and serve.

Source: I found the recipe here but have modified it some to suit my convenience. http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/eggplant_panini.html

Tip: At times you could do a simple panini without the eggplant and with a panini maker, it would taste good too. Everything else can be kept the same. Cut in smaller triangles, they make great appetizers too.

Roll it :)

Jan 17th 2010

I came across this as I was browsing and immediately wanted to try it out, because I love both kawan parathas and egg and the simplicity of this idea, yet the taste potential had me bowled over. As luck would have it, no kawan at home, so I used Costco's Tortilla land flour tortillas and they worked out well.

Original source: 

http://www.bongcookbook.com/2010/01/kolkata-egg-roll-quick-easy-version.html

Ingredients 

• Egg
• Chapathi or Kawan Paratha
• Onions, Tomatoes, green chilles and cilantro
• Oil
• Maggi hot and sweet chilly sauce
• salt 

Method de Preparation

1. Slight heat tava, and then start with cooking chapathi or Paratha on the same. When both sides are about half done, pour a beaten egg (salt added) on one side.
2. Add some oil on top (1/2 tbsp). When half cooked, flip and allow egg to be in contact with tava and cook.
3. When done, flip over, add onions, tomatoes, green chilles and cilantro. Pour a thin stream of the sauce all along.
4. Roll into a burrito like shape and dig in!

* Will taste good with shredded cheese also thrown in I think.

Food for a Rainy day

If there is one thing the weather in Portland is conducive for, it certainly will be bajjis and pakoras :) Every time when I look at the overcast sky and the dark clouds, and feel cold in the 50 degree weather K and I look at each other thinking the same thoughts. However if my wishes came true too often, our cholesterol levels would be not liking it too much.

However this was one such Saturday that we gave in. Here is the recipe I use. This allows for a crispy crust and one can use a variety of stuffing.

Ingredients

Maida 1 cup
Rice powder 2 cup
Bengal gram powder (kadala maavu) 1 cup
Cooking soda (sodium bicarbonate) 1/2 tbsp
Curd 1 tbsp
Salt, chilly power and asafetida
For the bajji: Capsicum, bread, paneer, banana (vazhakka), apple, brinjal, potato, onion, perkanga (ridge gourd), bajji molaga etc are some varieties of bajji can that be made.

Method

Mix all above and make into a paste (not too watery) –about the consistency of dosai maavu. Dip the item you want in it and fry in oil that is heated. Enjoy with a side of ketchup or chutney of your choice.

Tastes best snuggled in a sofa on a rainy day watching a movie :)