Stromboli (Veg)

Last year we had the 'stromboli' for the first time in a restaurant in Philadelphia. Click to read more on stromboli and its origin. On that day the options were minimum as we prefer vegetarian foods only during travel:) So while browsing through the menu this was very catchy and we enjoyed every bit of this spicy hot roll. I don't know what made me crazy for this stromboli, whether the tiresome travel or that unbearable hunger....whatever it may be, I became addicted to this :) From then on, I wished to create one myself and had tips from here and here. Thank you buddies!

To my surprise the process was very easy and I am sure any one can make a great dinner with this simple recipe. Wish to make this stromboli more often:)

Ingredients:
Pizza dough - to make a medium size pizza

Filling:
Spinach - 3 cups (chopped)
kale leaf or any other green- 2 cups (chopped)
red bell pepper- 1/2 cup
olives - 5
olive oil - 1 tbsp
garlic - 2 (crushed)
red chilly flakes - 1 tsp
salt - 1/8 tsp
mozzarella chesse - 1/2 cup

Heat oil in a wok. Fry the garlic and chilly flakes lightly. Now add the chopped vegetables and greens except olives. saute them with salt till they loose the moisture.

Let them cool. Add the cheese, chopped olives . The filling is ready.

Method:
Preheat the oven to 375 deg F.

Divide the dough into two. Take one and flatten the pizza dough to 3/4inch thick rectangle / oval shape.

Grease an aluminum foil and place the base. Spread the above filling leaving 1 cm gap in all the edges.


Gently roll and make a log shape . Place the log such that the seam faces down.


Make slits in the top using a sharp knife.


Spread some cheese (1 tbsp) over the stromboli. (Likewise prepare the next half dough too).

Bake for 15 minutes or till golden.



Take out, slice them into 6 inch pieces and serve hot.

Stromboli is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve as lunch / dinner with marinara sauce or tomato sauce.

Tips:
The fillings can be done in many ways with cooked meat, vegetables etc.
An egg wash over the stromboli before baking will yield a shiny crust. I didn't do the egg wash part.

Anchovy fish fry

If you are a great fan of sea food and belong to Chennai, then you won't need an introduction to this crispy starter, the deep fried anchovies (Nethili meen varuval). In Chennai (Madras), India the restaurants like Madurai Appu, Ponnusamy,Velu military hotel,Pandyas, Anjappar (the list goes on....)are known for their exotic non-veg menus. So don't miss a plate of these crispy anchovies if you get a chance.

I have seen some restaurants serving the full anchovy (with head , tail and small fins too) removing the tract. Believe me this kind will taste great. But I have to remove most of the parts because of my Xav:) He hates fish head and I love it ...weird huh:)So if you are like me, then use the whole fish.

Mostly I prefer non vegetarian buffets while visiting my favorite Indian restaurants. The power of the Indian starters like tandoori chicken , kebab, fish fry will be such that one cannot get satisfied with a single selection of starter:)
I know many of you are like me and so here is an attractive dish to satisfy our palates:)

Anchovy fish deep fried.

Ingredients:
Anchovy fish (nethili meen)- 1 lb
(1 kg will approximately yield 80 big size anchovies)
Salt - to taste (1 1/2 tsp)
Red chilly powder - 1 tbsp
cumin powder - 1tsp
coriander powder - 1tbsp
lemon juice / vinegar - 2 tbsp
rice flour - 2 tbsp (for crispiness)
Red food color - 1/10 tsp (optional)
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Oil to deep fry - 200 ml

How to clean anchovy fish?
Wash and clean the anchovies to remove any sand or impurities. Rinse it in large amount of water thrice to remove the sand, if bought fresh.

Then remove or retain the head as per taste. (If you are frying them, then the head will taste great). Cut and remove the tail. Slit gently in the boneless side to remove the (greenish) digestive tract.

Again rinse once. Apply 1 tsp turmeric powder and keep aside.

The anchovies are ready for cooking now.

Method:
Add all the powders, salt, food color, lemon juice and mix well.
Mix this with the cleaned anchovies and marinate for an hour.
We can fry them immediately also.

Heat oil in a pan.
Deep fry the fishes in small batches till crispy.
Anchovy fish fry is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve as starter or side dish with rasam / sambar / fish curry in rice.