Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Grilled Baguette with Vegetables




Baguette is a French bread crispy and crusty on the outer and softer on the inner part.This recipe is a very good opener for dinner and a healthy snack after a tiresome day from work and can be prepared in few minutes.

1 Baguette
1 cup of finely chopped vegetables like green bell pepper, orange /red bell pepper,mushrooms,spring onions
1/4 cup of chopped tomatoes
1 clove of minced garlic
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp of dried herbs like rosemary and basil
Salt and Pepper




Mix lemon juice, dijon mustard,garlic,2 tbsp of olive oil, salt and freshly ground pepper in a bowl.Add all the chopped vegetables and herbs to combine well.
Cut the bread diagonally.Heat the grill, drizzle remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil and arrange the sliced breads on the grill and see to that the grill marks appear on the bread. Flip the other side and take it out when done. The best way to get the grilled look/ marks is by keeping a plate over the bread pieces and a heavy object like can of tomatoes over the plate.This can also be done using a normal griddle in case the grill is not available.
Top the bread pieces with vegetables and serve.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Avocado salsa

1 ripe avocado
2 medium diced tomatoes
1 clove of garlic
1/4 cup chopped red onions
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
Dijon mustard 1 tsp (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Cut open avocado, peel the skin and remove the seed.Gently cut into small pieces or simply scoop out the flesh with a spoon and mash it. Meanwhile, peel and mince garlic and whisk it with olive oil,lemon juice, freshly ground pepper and salt.You can also add dijon mustard just for a kick. Mix it well with onions , tomatoes ,avocado and chopped cilantro. This goes very well with chips or roll it in a tortilla bread. In the pic...I have cut the tortilla breads in to pieces and baked at 300 F for about 5-6 minutes and that becomes fat free ,oil free tortilla chips.
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Monday, August 3, 2009

Coconut Burfi


Coconut burfi is one of the dessert which is very simple to make.Requires minimal ingredients and takes much less time to make compared to other Indian desserts/ sweets.

Sweetened coconut flakes-1 1/2 cups
1/4 cup of condensed milk
1/4 cup sugar
Cardamon powder 1/2 tsp
Cashews for garnishing

In a heavy bottom vessel add the coconut flakes, condensed milk and sugar. Stir and mix over a medium flame constantly. Add cardamon powder and cook until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan. Transfer into a buttered tray.Flatten the mixture using a spatula. Let it cool for sometime. Cover with a plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-3 hours. Refrigeration process makes the burfi firm and gives longer shelf life. Cut into desired shapes. Cookie cutter can also be used for different shapes. Decorate with cashews.

Note: Unsweetened desiccated coconut can also be used instead of sweetened coconut flakes. Then the coconut, sugar ratio becomes 1 1/2 cups : 3/4 cup sugar. Condensed milk quantity will remain the same.

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