Spinach Enchilada

Enchilada is a popular Mexican dish. Enchiladas are made by rolling corn tortillas around some filling like beans or veggies and covered with chile + tomato puree and baked with cheese. Click to read more about it. I have a very nice neighbor (Shukla aunty) and we exchange our best dishes always. Last month she brought us a plate of flavorful enchiladas she prepared using spinach. She made it from scratch and taught me that recipe. Here is that yummiest enchilada with 'home made enchilada sauce'. We used my homegrown basil leaves in this recipe. This may be a unique recipe with little Indian touch and sweetness, but this is the best for us. Hope you all enjoy!

Basil plants are growing (right)

Ingredients:
tortilla - 6
shredded mozzarella cheese - 3/4  cup

Spinach filling:
Spinach - 1 small bunch
onion - 1/2
garlic - 3 clove
bell pepper - 1/2
cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
oil  - 1 tsp

Filling:
Heat oil in a wok.
Add chopped garlic and onion. Fry for a minute.
Put the chopped bell pepper. Saute till it wilts.
Then add chopped spinach and saute for 1 minute.
Add required salt, red chilly powder, cumin powder.
keep aside.

Enchilada sauce:
butter / oil - 1 tbsp
garlic - 2 cloves
green onion (spring onion) - 1 small bunch
dried Italian seasoning - 1 tsp
Tomato puree - 1/2 cup
tomato sauce - 2 tbsp
hot sauce - 1 tbsp
red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
All purpose flour - 1 tbsp
water - 1/4 cup
basil leaf - 1 sprig
cumin powder - 1/2 tsp

Method:
Heat oil and saute the chopped spring onion + garlic for a moment.
Add AP flour and saute for a few seconds.
Pour in the tomato puree and add salt, red chilly powder, cumin powder, dried Italian herb seasoning and bring it to a boil. Reduce heat and cook till raw smell of tomato vanishes.
Then add finely chopped basil, hot sauce, tomato ketchup / sauce (for sweetness),  1/4 cup water and bring it to a boil. Switch off.
If needed add some shredded cheese now (anyways we will be adding cheese later).


arranging the enchiladas: 
Preheat the oven to 350 deg F. Pour  few tbsp of enchilada sauce in a baking dish.
Toast the tortillas both sides in a tawa or microwave. place them in a wide plate.
Divide the spinach filling into 6 and scoop 1 part to each tortilla.
Fold them as shown in photo and keep them in the baking dish with seam side down (touching the sauce in bottom).
Now pour enough sauce to cover the tortillas.
Sprinkle enough cheese to cover the top.

Bake 15 minutes or till cheese turns bubbly and mild red.

Spinach enchilada is ready!

Serving suggestion:
Serve as main course meal.

Tips:
The left over enchilada sauce (while preparing) can be refrigerated for 3 weeks and used as sauce for pasta or pizza.

Eggplant fry and kitchen garden

Gardening is one of my favorite hobby from childhood. After coming to US, I couldn't understand this weather for a few years and planted only mint, herbs and some flowering plants. Bringing the plants indoor for cold weather and maintaining them is equally interesting but needs more space and knowledge. Then I wanted to grow some seasonal plants (annuals) as if it is a typical kitchen garden. This summer (by June) we bought 3 eggplant seedlings and one tomato plant from the local grocery shop. The apartment has allowed the residents to have some garden space. We planted them in our garden space in downstairs and the plants started growing very fast. I watered them regularly and fed them with home made fertilizer. My neighbors are already much enthusiastic gardeners and hence I started enjoying gardening again with them all. Within 6 weeks we could harvest huge eggplants (18 till now and still coming up) and I made many dishes with that. Also I shared the brinjals with my neighbors and got back some green chillies, long hot pepper (bajji milagai), tomato, spring onion. Our eggplant tastes very good, just like butter (am I boasting now:)). Totally we all enjoyed that buttery creamy delicious home grown brinjals:)
Here is the simple varuval (fry) I made using the second brinjal .... the first one....i picked before it got big, as I didn't realize how big it will grow: )

Eggplant varuval / fry.

Eggplant started showing up and growing.

Eggplants in cluster.

fully grown eggplant shrub.

see the small seeds inside...buttery eggplant.

I weighed each and every brinjal and noted down for fun. The biggest one weighed 584 gm :)

Ingredients: 
Eggplant (big brinjal) - 1 (300 gm)
oil - 2 tbsp
fennel seed (sombu) - 1 tsp
onion - 1
garlic - 5 cloves
curry leaf - 1 sprig
red chilly powder - 1.5 tsp
garam masala powder - 1 tsp
turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
salt - to taste

Method:
Cut the eggplant into small cubes. Heat oil in a wok and add the fennel. After it gets mild red, add the chopped onion and fry till it gets golden brown. Add the crushed garlic, curry leaf and fry for 10 seconds. Then add the chopped eggplant and stir well. Cook covered with a tbsp of water and low heat till it is well done. Add the chilly powder, garam masala, turmeric, salt and cook covered in low heat for a few minutes.
Switch off before it gets mushy.
Eggplant varuval is ready!

 Serving suggestions:
Serve as side dish with chapati or any rice.

Groundnut chickpea sundal

Chickpea - channa, konda kadalai ; groundnut - peanut, nilakadalai, verkadalai.

Having sundal (salad with lentils) for snack is a great way to stay fit. I always try to keep a batch of sundal in my fridge for that tea time cravings:) Though the easiest way is to buy a canned lentil, I prefer the home cooked ones better. Dried nuts are lesser expensive, healthy and delicious. Pressure cooker makes perfectly cooked chickpeas very easily. We can do stove top cooking too, but it will take nearly 2 hours. Sometimes I cook the chickpeas in a big batch and freeze in small portion / containers, so that I can add some protein in any dish I want.

A healthy snack for tea time.

Ingredients:
dry White or red chick peas - 1 cup (1 coffee mug)
dry groundnut (peanut) - 1/2 cup
coconut oil - 1 tsp
shredded coconut - 2 tbsp
dry red chillies - 3
curry leaf - 2 sprig
mustard seed - 1 tsp
asafoetida (hing) - a pinch
salt - to taste
water (to cook) - to immerse and 1 cup standing over.

 Method: 
Wash the groundnut, chickpeas thoroughly and Soak them for 12 hours or over night. They will double in size after soaking. Fast Soaking can be done in hot water for 5 - 6 hours along with some baking soda (but I won't suggest that). Remove the soaked water which is frothy (must). Wash again and add some more water. They should be totally covered with water and add some water to stand 1 inch above. Pressure cook the peas to one whistle, then reduce the flame and cook in low flame for 15 minutes. Release pressure and take out. Add salt, drain the water. Heat oil in a wok. Splutter the mustard seeds. Reduce flame and add the red chillies, curry leaves, hing and wait till the chillies turn dark red. Add the cooked letils and stir fry till it looses all the water. Check the salt. Add  grated coconut. Switch off immediately.

Serving suggestion:
Serve as snack with tea / coffee.
Sometimes I make some chundal with variety rice like puli saatham, lemon rice or puli kulambu rice as side dish.
Channa is a very healthy protein rich snack with nearly 100 calories per cup after cooking.

Note: 
It would be better to make channa sundal and peanut sundal separately and mix them for the peanut lovers, as some can't take peanuts.
Red channa has more fiber than the white one.
Red chickpeas takes only 6 hours to soak (more the better) and it is easy to sprout too.

Universal food festival in our Church

Last weekend (September 15) our Church, St.Cecelia's Church, Iselin, NJ organized an 'Universal food festival'. The parishioners were requested to bring a dish from their heritage. Also we were asked to send some recipes for the booklet the church printed.
I was very much excited to prepare a food from Indian cuisine. Hubby dear suggested me to make something with a story behind to share. Then he looked at my menu list and picked sarkkarai pongal (sweet rice pudding), as it is prepared on the Pongal day, the day of thanks giving celebrated by Indian farmers. I prepared the pongal using almost 2 lb rice. I needed a very big heavy bottom vessel to prepare this quantity of pongal. So I used my huge 10 liter pressure cooker my Father in-law presented us during our wedding :)  I used it as my stirring pot and it took me nearly 3 hours to get the pudding like consistency. The next thing puzzled me was the serving tray, as the pongal was very heavy and the disposable tray we bought couldn't hold it. So I kept a tray as base and set the disposable tray over it and poured the pongal into it. Now the whole serving tray was safe and I covered it with a foil. Then carried it carefully and presented it to the person in-charge (our favorite choir singer Ms. Mary Jane).
Other dishes from India were Vegetable briyani, chicken tikka, veg samosa and everything tasted fabulous.

The buffet was delicious with many choices from Cuba, Dutch Indonesia, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Philippines, Poland, Polynesia / Hawaii ,  Slovakia, Sri Lanka, Ukraine , Vietnam, All American Classics.

Dessert buffet was opened around 7.30 pm and I was very much delighted to see the guests liking our Sarkkarai pongal along with all the dishes. Whenever someone asked about this 'sweet rice pudding', I told them the festival associated with pongal and we all enjoyed the party.

As soon as the party started I was very surprised and happy to see my recipe printed in the festival booklet.

The next happy thing was the gift they presented us by randomly choosing the ticket numbers. The gift is a beautiful Angel , named as Bright Star Angel made by 'willow tree gifts'. We both were very much thrilled to get that precious gift and consider and thank God as it is His blessings.

Bright Star Angel.

Totally the food festival was a very pleasant experience for all of us and looking forward to participate in all the festivals in Our St.Cecelia's church in future.


Thanks for reading this post my friends, this festival means a lot to me.
Thanks,
Viki.

Avarakkai varuval (broad beans fry)

Usually my veggie stir fries used to be less spicy and less oily. But here is a spicy recipe for a simple stir fry with broad beans. We can substitute avarakkai with snow peas (tastes almost same).

Spicy Avarakkai Varuval.

Ingredients:
Broad beans (avarakkai) - 250 gm
sesame oil / olive oil - 3 tbsp
fennel - 1 tsp
shallot onion - 2
red chilly powder - 1 tsp
cumin powder - 1/4 tsp
turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
curry masala powder - 1 tsp
curry leaf - 1 sprig
salt - to taste

Method: 

Wash the broad beans (avarakkai) very well. Remove the two tips and thick fiber in edges. Slice the broad beans as thin as possible.
 Heat oil in a wok and fry the fennel seeds till red. Then add the finely chopped shallot and fry till it wilts. Add the chopped broad beans and cook covered in low heat for 5 minutes. Stir in between. Add the salt, curry leaf, all the powders mentioned above. Sprinkle a tbsp of water and cook covered for 2 minutes. Switch off.
Avarakkai varuval is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve as side dish with sambar rice or any rice.
Makes a good side dish with chapati.
I serve some raitha also with this fry and chapathi.

Greetings!

Hearty wishes for all my friends and readers who celebrate Ganesh Chathurthi festival! Happy celebrations !
Cheers,
Viki.

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Click to see some kozhukkattai (dumplings) from my recipes:
Mothagam

Pidi kozhukkattai

Paal kolukkattai (sweet dumplings in coconut milk)

Paal kolukkattai (milk dumpling)

Kambu kolukkattai (millet dumpling):

Homemade tortilla chips and guacamole

Tortilla chips with a dipping sauce is a quick snack or appetizer in many parties. Flour tortillas are Mexican flat breads similar to Indian chapati. Chips made of tortillas can be seen in any grocery store or restaurants. I always crave for some spicy snack and search for some healthy ideas as well. I love tortilla chips very much, so decided to prepare a batch of baked tortilla chips instead of frying. Also I wanted to try a easy guacamole recipe from Alton Brown. I got the recipes for baked tortilla and guacamole through internet. Click to see the sources for baked tortilla chips and guacamole recipes. Thanks to the authors, we got a big batch of excellent tasting low calorie snack.

Homemade baked tortilla chips with guacamole dipping.

Store bought corn tortillas.

coat with the prepared masala.

Stack them up.

Cut them into  wedges.

Spread as a single layer over a baking sheet.

Enjoy the baked tortillas with guacamole.

Baked tortilla chips:

Ingredients:

Store bought corn tortillas - 12
Extra virgin olive oil - 2 tbsp
lemon - 1
cumin powder - 1 tsp
red chilli powder - 1 tsp
turmeric - 1/4 tsp
salt - 1/2 tsp

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degree F (175 degree C).
Take a mixing bowl and add everything under ingredients except tortilla. Squeeze the lemon to the mix. Take 1 tortilla and spread little masala over it.
Repeat for all the other tortillas and stack them up.
Cut them into wedges, as shown.
Arrange the arrange the tortilla wedges in a single layer on a cookie sheet.
Bake for about 15 minutes. Slightly toss the chips and bake again for 7 minutes or till the chips turn mildly crispy. Don't let them brown.
Take the pans out of the oven and let the chips cool and get more crispier in room temperature. After cooled completely, store in airtight containers or zip lock covers.

Serve with salsa or ketchup or guacamole.

Guacamole:

Ingredients:

Big Avocado / Florida avocado - 1
(Hass Avocado can also be used. But I bought this on that day).
lemon - 1/2
salt - 1/4 tsp
red chilly powder - 1/4 tsp
cumin powder - 1/4 tsp
onion (finely chopped) - 2 tbsp
tomato - 1 (finely chopped)
cilantro (chopped) - 2 tbsp
garlic (chopped) - 1 clove

Method:

Mix everything except avacado.
Mash the avacado with a potato masher or spatula and mix 1 hour before serving to ensure the bright color of the dish.

Serving suggestions:

Serve the tortilla chips with guacamole as starter / snack .
16 baked tortilla chips with  this dip will give around 120 K cal.  (Very low calorie spicy snack).

Note:

Corn tortilla in this recipe can be substituted by preparing some chapati with maida / All purpose flour.
Avacado dipping can be replaced by a simple ketchup as dipping sauce. That too tastes great with the tortilla chips.
Tortilla chips may taste similar to baked thukkada.

Event:

Sending my baked tortilla chips with guacamole to Party snacks event, hosted by Faiza (Sinehidhi) of En Iniya illam.

I am sending the below entries also for the event.
1. Thayir (Curd) vadai

2. Vazhaikkai bajji

Happy hosting dear!