Roast Cauliflower in Spicy Zucchini Sauce

Recreating a yummy dish that you've had on some travels is always fun as it brings back memories of good times. This one was a favourite on a trip to Fiji, and has again become a family favourite now at home!

Perfect with a nice cool drink as a snack or as a starter with friends. Here it is, ROAST CAULIFLOWER IN SPICY ZUCCHINI SAUCE.

Ingredients: 1/2 of a full fresh Cauliflower florets, handful of almond flakes or chopped almonds, chilli flakes, 1 tsp garlic paste, olive oil for roasting.

For the Zucchini Sauce: 1 Zucchini chopped, 1 onion diced, chilli flakes/dry red chillies, 1 tsp garlic paste, salt to taste. 

Make: In a heavy bottom pan, put in a spoon of olive oil and heat up. Add chilli flakes and garlic paste, fry a little. Add almonds and Cauliflower florets, then roast nicely for about 10 minutes until golden brown. Do not over cook of the florets will soften. 

In another dish to make the sauce, add a little olive oil to heat up. Put in chilli flakes, garlic paste and roast a little before adding onion. Next add in Zucchini, salt and mix well. Cover and cook for about 6 minutes until Zucchini is soft and cooked. Cool to room temperature then grind the whole mixture to a paste/sauce, only add a spoon of water if needed to grind.

In a serving platter, spoon the warm sauce and spread around nicely. Then carefully place the roasted Cauliflower florets on top of the sauce and finish with all the almonds on top. Garnish with fresh parsley/chives/coriander as desired.

Enjoy the delicious and healthy treat! 

Masala Puri - Bengaluru style

Anyone from the Indian subcontinent will agree to one thing about food - there is nothing more tantilising and taste-buds satisfying than a spicy, tangy, fresh CHAAT!! Wheather it is a pani puri from the carts or gobi manchurian from a fancy restaurant or good old sev puri made at home, a good Chaat can bring a smile on anyone's face :) 

Every time we visit Bengaluru we make sure we indulge in one of our favourites, MASALA PURI. Being back home sweet home though, it was too tempting not to re-create that Masala Puri magic..so here it is, my version of the very famous Masala Puri, made in a quick and easy way!

Ingredients (for two servings): 1.5 cups of green peas, 1 potato, 1 red onion, 1 tomato, 2 carrots, corriander, few cinnamon sticks, few cloves, salt, chilli powder, chaat powder, 1 spoon tamarind paste, 1 spoon garlic paste, crisp wheat crackers or papdis (Indian wheat biscuits), sev.

Make: In a pan, lightly fry in a spoon of oil, chopped onion and garlic until golden brown. Add cinnamon sticks and cloves and fry lightly. Add the peas and chopped potatoes and 1 carrot chopped with half a glass of water. Add salt and cover. Simmer in low heat for 15 to 20 minutes and you should see the peas and potatoes have cooked well and become very soft. This can also be pressure cooked. Once cooked let it cool a little and transfer all of it except some cooked peas (which is needed later) to a grinder. Grind to a paste then add salt, chilli powder, tamarind paste, chaat masala, the cooked peas from before and mix well.

To assemble Masala Puri, in a plate, make a layer of crispy crackers broken roughly, then pour the masala all over generously. Make a another layer of grated carrot, chopped tomato, chopped onion and few more crackers. Top with corriander and sev. Not only will it look mouth-watering, it will taste amazing with the mix of spicy and tangy flavours!

Eggplant Bruschetta

Eggplant or Brinjal or Aubergine, is one of those versatile veggies that you are either love or just don't like. It's no surprise that I'm a huge fan and I always try to bring Eggplant into simple dishes. Very few flavours match that of a nicely grilled Eggplant, with perfect roasted skin and soft flesh. So why not just enjoy this simplicity!

Taking the idea of Bruschetta, an Italian entree or side dish, typically made with roasted bread and topped with fresh tomato, basil, onions etc I tried creating the same with Eggplant instead of bread - the result was YUM! Those who love anything Eggplant will definitely love this one!

Here it is, my version of EGGPLANT BRUSCHETTA:

Ingredients: One medium sized Eggplant (firm), 1 tomato chopped, one red onion chopped, 1 spoon olive oil, salt to taste, herbs of your choice such as parsley, basil etc.

Make: Chop the Eggplant into thick circles (don't make it too thin as it will flop once grilled). On a griddle pan, grill/roast the circles nicely on each side with a bit of olive oil. Should take about 5 to 8 minutes each side. In a bowl, mix the chopped tomato, onion and all herbs with olive oil. Add chill powder if you like some spice. 

Once the Eggplant circles are well grilled, spoon some mixtures on each slice and serve immediately. Enjoy!