Chile Con Quesadilla

June 16th 2010

Remember my post about this superb Chile Con Queso? And also how I had truckloads of leftovers. Also I am sure you have had these evenings when you want to eat something *different* and not the leftovers from the day before or the day before that. And if that something could magically appear on your dinner table then that would be perfect now, would it not? 

Well, no more wishful thinking, this is almost like that.

Difficulty level : Easy

Time: 15 min

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp Chile Con Queso per quesadilla
• Flour tortillas ( 1 per quesadilla)
• Butter ( to grease)
• Sour cream ( optional) on the side

 Method de Preparation

1. Defrost the Chile Con Queso from the freezer and bring it to slighter hotter than room temperature.
2. Heat a pan on medium heat.
3. Grease a little bit with butter and start with the tortilla on the pan.
4. Repeat on the other side.
5. Once both sides are slightly brown, add the queso into one side and fold in half.
6. Using all your skills, transfer to a plate and serve hot with a dollop of sour cream on the side.
7. And you will not stop at one :)

Chef's Tip:  Don't tell me I did not warn you, if your queso is very liquid then you cannot eat this with your hands, use that fork and knife.

Variations: Heat a can of vegetarian refried beans or black beans in the microwave some and then mix with this queso to use as the stuffing for an instant bean-queso quesadilla or burrito.

Snake Gourd Sabji (Podalanga Poduthuval)

June 16th 2010

This is a simple and easy side dish that can be eaten along with any south Indian soup - sambar, rasam and the like. On the rare occasion that the Indian store has this vegetable available, I tend to buy it fresh and then make this dish. It does taste different from the original vegetable that you get in India (not as flavorful) but much much better than the frozen variety.

Difficulty level : Easy 

Time:  under 30 min

Ingredients

• 3-4 snake-gourd cut into small cubes
• turmeric powder ( a pinch)
• oil
• mustard ( 1 tbsp)
• urad and chana dal ( 1 tbsp each)
• curry leaves ( a few)
• scraped coconut ( 1 tbsp)
• green chillies (3-4)
• salt ( to taste)
• hing or asafoetida ( a pinch)

Method de Preparation

1. Wash and cut snake-gourd into very small cubes.
2. Take oil in a pan, add the mustard and when it splutters, add the urad and chana dhal.
3. When both slightly brown, add a pinch of asafoetida (hing).
4. Then add the vegetables and a pinch of turmeric.
5. Close partially for the first few minutes with a lid so the vegetable can cook.
6. When you see the snake gourd become lighter or cooked ( to remove any uncertainty take a piece out and squish with your fingers to check), add the coconut and the green chillies ground together or just as is.
7. Top off with salt and curry leaves.

Mozzarella Tomato-Basil Panini

May 26th 2010

If you don't know by now I absolutely love my Panini Maker and put it to good use. It is one of the purchases in my kitchen that I can say I use very regularly. This combination of frezh mozzarella cheese and tomatoes in a basil-olive oil sauce is divine. And the great part about these sandwiches is they can be assembled ahead of time and just grilled in time for a party or in the morning for lunch. If you do not have a panini maker, these can be done on the stove top too on a pan.

Difficulty level : Easy

Time:  15 min 

Ingredients

• Mozzarella cheese cut in slices (~ 2 or 3 per panini)
• chopped fresh basil ( 1 or 2 tbsps)
• olive oil ( per liking) - 4 or 5 tbsps
• Tomatoes cut in slices (~ 2 or 3 per panini)
• pepper (optional)
• Bread slices (2 per panini)

Method de Preparation

1. Mix the half the olive oil and the basil in a cup and keep aside.
2. Lightly spread plain olive oil on one side of each bread slice, just a bit.
3. On the same bread slice, on the other side, spread this olive oil and basil mix. So you will have for each panini, two bread slices with plain olive oil on the outside and the olive oil and basil mix on the inside.
4. To assemble each panini,  stack bread, tomato and the mozzarella and the other bread slice. Throw in some fresh ground pepper if you like (optional).
5. And put in the panini maker, assembling your other sandwiches in the meantime.
6. Take out and serve with ketchup or just plain. 
7. This would go nicely with a fresh side salad and you have dinner and if you have any leftovers lunch also taken care of.

Variations: You could use shredded mozzarella but the chewy texture of the slices would be lost.