Of Awards and Associations!!

This past month has been phenomenal for me as a blogger and the food blogging community as a whole.We're now part of a wonderful community of bloggers called Food Bloggers Network started by Jessica Hose of Oh Cake !Its a great platform to professionally interact with other bloggers and a great learning tool for all of us. Needless to say, I'm immensely enjoying all the discussions that take place here and we have great plans of expanding in ways that the food blogging world hasn't seen yet!If you're interested please request to be added to the group!


Through this, I've now met so many wonderful friends and like minded bloggers who're always ready to help with any query or issue that presents itself.Makes you feel like a part of a supportive and nurturing community where bloggers do not compete with each other, instead, they're there to support and help each other.


Also in the last month I've been greatly honored to receive many awards from my fellow blogger friends!Thank you so so much for passing on these awards to me.I'm very humbled by all your love and support!Here goes my list of Awards.

Given to me by an amazing baker CCU @Go Bake Yourself who loves to create desserts that I would never be able to create myself, that too at a very young age!Yeah she's still in school, but her creativity stretches way beyond her age!Thanks so much my friend!Please stop-by at her blog to see the decadent desserts she bakes!


The second "Versatile Blogger" award comes from a very dear friend I've met though Food Bloggers Network (told you its a nice place :)!)Susan @ Girl in the Little Red Kitchen who's lack of space in her NY apartment hasn't stopped her from creating the delectable edibles that she conjure's up in her tiny kitchen!Please stop over to see for yourself!Drool Alert!!Susan was kind enough to pass on not one or two but THREE awards to me!YAY...Happy Dance:)Thanks so much my dear.I'm honored to be receiving these from you!


The Third "Versatile Blogger" Award comes from a friend I recently got to know!She's Kelly@The Corner Kitchen!Kelly will wow you with her recipes and stunning pics!!I mean literally :)She's amazing with sweet and savory dishes alike and a great person!Thanks so much for thinking of me my friend :)

The Kreative Blogger award was passed on to me by my dear friends Susan@ Girl in the Little Red Kitchen and Sofie @German Foodie.Talking about Sofie,I have to say that she is one of the friendliest bloggers out there and I find her to be a very genuine person without any pretense.She loves to create scrumptious German recipes sweet and savory that are truly mouthwatering and gives you an insight into German cooking!Please stob-by her blog to see the unique delicacies she creates!Thanks so much Sofie and Susan for this award!I really appreciate it :)

This is my first Sunshine Award!Passed on by the lovely Susan@Girl in the Little Red Kitchen!!Thanks again my friend :)

Leibster award was passed on to be from a very inspiring friend Susan@The Wimpy Vegetarian!Susan is a very experienced cook who has a great repertoire of recipes in her belt.She has won many contests on Food52 with her elegant creations.She is a great source of inspiration to all of us and is a very kind and a dear friend.Please stob-by at her blog to see her recipes for yourself.Thanks Susan for the award.I'm honored to be receiving it from you :)


The second Leibster was passed on to me by a very kind friend Laura@Lauralicious Recipes!!Laura's recipes are absolutely delicious and yummy.I can guarantee you that you'll not leave her blog without bookmarking a few!!Thank you dear friend for thinking of me!Please stop-by to check out her creations and start bookmarking :)


So dear friends,now you know why the past month has been great!Always feels great to be recognized :) I have to now pass the love on to my friends out there.Will be letting you all know very soon :)Until then Happy Cooking/Baking!

Vanilla Olive Oil Muffins

My kids love to help me whenever I'm in my kitchen baking.This time round my four year old was very excited to be my helper.While I was getting the ingredients ready he had taken out a large bowl and the whisk on the table ready for mixing!!Of late I've been coming across a lot of cake and muffin recipes with Olive Oil which cuts off the fat content by a lot.Talk about healthy indulgence!I like the sound of that :)

Olive Oil muffins sound so good, but unfortunately I'd never tasted them and was always intrigued every time I saw the recipes posted by my baker friends.So I decided to try making these muffins and figure out myself!My son loves vanilla and so I decided to make a Vanilla Muffin with Olive Oil and Yoghurt.I tweaked the original recipe(which was a cupcake recipe)a little bit and came up with this!

Oh my, what a delicious, moist treat this was?Why didn't I try this out earlier?I have to tell you that these are my absolute favorites and thanks to all my baker friends out there, I was inspired to bake with Olive Oil.You can clearly taste the Olive Oil in every bite.The yogurt gives it the moistness that make these muffins a perfect healthy indulgent treat!My son enjoyed it and was very proud that it was his creation!My daughter enjoyed it for her school snack the following day!Hubby who is very finicky when it comes to desserts also liked it!That tells it all I guess :)


Vanilla,Olive Oil and Yoghurt Muffins-Adapted from The Foodies' Kitchen
Makes 12 muffins
Print this Recipe


Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup All purpose Flour
Pinch of salt
1 1/4tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
1 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Olive Oil
1/4 cup Plain Yoghurt
1/2 cup milk
1 Egg
1 Egg White
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract


Process:


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.Line standard muffin pan with paper liners.

Sift together Flour,Baking Powder, Baking Soda and Salt.
In a mixing bowl mix the Oil,Yoghurt, Milk,Egg, Egg White and Vanilla Extract.
Mix well and add the dry ingredients and just mix until combined.
Take an ice cream scoop and divide between 12 muffin cups.
Bake on the center rack in the oven for 18-20 minutes or until slightly golden.

Make sure to keep an eye on them.Allow them to cool and serve!

Quinoa Endive Boats

As promised some time back I'm promptly back with another Quinoa recipe!This is a salad served in Endive Boats.Absolutely delicious and perfect for today's gorgeous spring weather.As the weather gets warmer shedding those extra pounds off our body is not a bad idea.After all, we've got to get into those summery outfits, don't we?This recipe will not only help you shed those extra pounds but will also do your body A LOT of good!Quinoa as we all know is extremely healthy, low in carbs, full of vitamins and minerals, a light and nutritious meal that is good and good for you.

This salad has a range of flavors and looks very elegant.Ideal served as your lunch or as a salad for a party.The contrasting textures from the crunchy Endive and Cucumber and the soft and creamy Avocados and Quinoa itself makes for a very interesting mix.The Balsamic dressing and the Raisins add the sweet and acidic hit to the salad.Overall a winner!

Quinoa Endive Boat Salad
Print this Recipe


Salad Ingredients:


Quinoa-1 1/2 cups cooked 
Cucumber-1 cup cubed
Large Avocado-1 cubed
Raisins-1/2 cup
Endives-2 heads (makes about 20)


Balsamic Dressing:


Balsamic Vinegar-1 tbsp
Honey-1 tsp
Salt-1 tsp or to taste
Pepper-1 tsp
Olive Oil-2 tbsp


Process:


Cook the Quinoa according to the instructions.Keep aside.
Cut the bottoms of the Endive heads (about 1/4inch).Separate the leaves and arrange on a platter.
Whisk the dressing together.
Mix all the salad ingredients and drizzle the dressing all over.Toss the salad.Take a spoonful and fill the Endive Boats with the salad.Serve chilled!

March is #Greenslove month and I'm glad to be co-hosting this bloghop with these fabulous blogger friends.Please make sure to check out their blogs while you're here!


Al Dente Gourmet ~ Aldy ~ @AlDenteGourmet
ASTIG Vegan ~ Richgail ~  @astigvegan
Badger Girl Learns to Cook ~ Kimberly ~ @BdgrGrl
Baking and Cooking, A Tale of Two Loves ~ Becky Higgins
BigFatBaker ~ Erin ~ @BigFatBaker
Bon a croquer ~ Valerie ~ @Valouth
CafeTerraBlog ~ Terra ~ @CafeTerraBlog
Cake Duchess ~ Lora ~ @cakeduchess
Cheap Ethnic Eatz ~ Evelyne ~ @cethniceatz
Easily Good Eats ~ Three Cookies
Georgiecakes ~ Georgie ~ @georgiecakes
Kitchen Belleicious ~ Jessica ~ @kbelleicious
Mis Pensamientos ~ Junia ~ @juniakk
My Twisted Recipe ~ Dudot ~ @mytwistedrecipe  
No One Likes Crumbley Cookies ~ TR ~ @TRCrumbley
Oh Cake ~ Jessica ~ @jesshose
Queen's Notebook ~ Elizabeth ~ @Mango_Queen  
Rico sin Azucar ~ Helena ~ @ricosinazucar
Savoring Every Bite ~ Linda ~ @Spicegirlfla
Simply Reem ~ Reem ~ @simplyreem
Soni's Food for Thought ~ Soni ~ @sonisfood 
Sprint 2 the Table ~ Laura ~ @Sprint2theTable
Teaspoon of Spice ~ Deanna ~ @tspbasil 
That Skinny Chick Can Bake ~ Liz ~ @Thatskinnychick
The Art of Cooking Real Food ~ Laura ~@TAofCRF
The Spicy RD ~ EA ~ @thespicyrd 
The Wimpy Vegetarian ~ Susan ~ @wimpyvegetarian
Vegan Yack Attack! ~ Jackie ~ @veganyackattack
Vegetarian Mamma  ~ Cindy ~ @VegetarianMamma

Paneer Jalfrezi (Indian style Paneer/Pepper Stir Fry)

Isn't the weather absolutely gorgeous?Spring is finally in the air and I'm so looking forward to kids playing outside, my beautiful morning walks (that I've ignored for a long time), lots of outdoorsy activities with the family!Glorious days ahead,with the dazzling rays of the sun exposing itself through the windows into your rooms, aah the feeling of being warmed!

My recipe for today promises to do that too.That feeling of warming-up to an unmatched aroma of a medley of spices and flavors that sing a soft tune, a tune of deliciousness!

What are the ingredients, you ask?Well, Paneer with colored peppers stir-fried using curried spices.It can range from mild to hot and very hot depending on your taste.Its very tasty and a quick way of making dishes Indian style without having to spend a long time, which makes for a perfect weeknight meal!Also good for potlucks and gatherings;

• as an appetizer alongside a crusty bread
• as a filling inside a tortilla 
• as a filling inside a puff pastry
• can aslo be served as a main dish

Paneer Jalfrezi (Indian style Paneer/Pepper Stir Fry)
Print this Recipe


Ingredients:
Paneer-400 gms (easily available at your Indian Grocer's)
Onions-1 large sliced
Green peppers-1 medium sliced
Red Peppers-1 medium sliced
Ginger-garlic paste-1 tbsp
Tomato puree-1 cup
Ground Cumin-2 tsp
Ground Coriander-2 tsp
Garam masala-1 tsp
Red chilli powder-1 tsp
Green Chillies-2 chopped
Oil- 3 tbsp
Salt- to taste


Process:


In a wok heat oil and add the onions.Add the green chillies.Fry for about 2 mins and add ginger-garlic paste.Fry for a minute.Add cumin, coriander , garam masala and red chilli powders.Cook for another minute and add the peppers and the paneer.Add salt and cook for about 5 minutes, until the peppers are shiny and paneer is soft enough.Add the tomato puree and cook for another 2 minutes.Check the seasonings and garnish with coriander.Serve hot with naans, rotis or parathas.

 

My friend Sonali from Only Fish Recipes has awarded me the Versatile Blogger Award!Thanks so much Sonali!She has an amazing collection of fish recipes that will make you drool!!Please visit her blog to check out her fish recipes!

I will nominate other bloggers in my next post!

Also linking this entry to #Indianfoodpalooza a wonderful celebration of Indian Food hosted by Indian Simmer,Creative Culinary and The Colors of Indian Cooking !!!Please join in the fun event if you have made and posted an Indian dish from 1st-31st of March.There are prizes to be won!!

Rice Flour Pua (Indian style pancakes with banana and fennel)#Gluten free#Veg

Today is the festival of Holi (festival of colors),celebrated all over India and by Hindus all over the world.Holi is celebrated by holding bonfires the night before and by throwing colored powder on each other on the day.Apart from the mythological story behind Holi of the triumph of good over evil, it is also celebrated to bid farewell to the winter and to welcome the beginning of the new season, spring.Its one of the most exhilarating holidays, that is full of fun, mischief and can get really really wild.If you're in India during this time it will be hard to recognize anybody because all you'll see is the colored faces of people everywhere!

And with all the fun, excitement of a holiday comes good food.I remember gorging on multifarious varieties of food during Holi and they included many sweet and savory items like Pua,Mutton Curry,Puris,Dahi Wada, Kachoris etc etc..and its a long long list!
Of course, I cannot create the entire menu by myself here, but there is one thing I definitely look forward to making on Holi and that's the Pua, a kind of Indian Pancake made without eggs.Pua can be of two types

• one with All Purpose Flour,milk, sugar, bananas,fennel and cashews mixed into a batter and deep fried~Served with either Rabri( a dessert made by reducing sweetened milk till it is reduced to a creamy reduction,flavored with nuts and spices!If you haven't tried it, then you're surely missing something :),or something savory like a curry!It can also be eaten as a snack.
• Maal-Pua that is made with the similar ingredients except the Banana and Fennel, but is then immersed in a sugar syrup after its deep fried~Best served with Rabri!

My mom made the first kind,the kind I try to make every Holi.But this time, I totally forgot to add All Purpose flour (originally required for this recipe) to my grocery list and had to look for options instead.I looked in my pantry and the only flour I could see was Rice Flour.What a Bummer!(I could not go out to get it because I was expecting somebody to come fix something in my house, lets not even go into that!)

I was determined to make my Pua, and due to the lack of options, I used Rice Flour instead.For some reasonI could not deep fry them since they were sticking to the bottom, so I tried panfrying them in a non-stick pan instead. Healthy by chance!!They came out delicious!These are so good, that you could eat them for breakfast, snack or dessert.The flavors of banana with the fennel seed is pure magic and the cashews add that extra delicious nuttyness to these Puas.Result? Delicious, healthy, gluten free and of course Vegetarian Pua :)

Rice Flour Pua (Indian Style Pancakes with Banana and Fennel)#Veg #Gluten Free
Print this Recipe


Ingredients
Rice Flour or All Purpose Flour-1 cup (makes about 8-9 Pua's)
Milk-2 cups for rice flour or 1 cup for AP Flour enough to make a semi-thick droppable consistency
Banana-1 mashed
Fennel seeds-1 tbsp
Sugar-1/2 cup
Cashews chopped-1/2 cup
Oil- for panfrying Rice Four Pua or deep frying AP Flour Pua

Process:


Mix all the ingredients to form a smooth batter.You can add  a little more milk if the batter is too thick.Heat oil in a non-stick pan.Take a small ladle and spoon the batter onto the pan, in batches.Flip the Pua's once you notice air bubbles on one side.Cook the other side until done.
If using AP Flour heat some oil in a deep pan.Drop a ladle of the AP batter into it.Once its fluffy, flip it over until the other side is light golden in color.Drain out excess oil and continue in batches.Enjoy!!

Spinach, Artichoke and Mozzarella Koftas -Greens Bloghop

For our Greens Bloghop, I thought of taking something very traditional and giving it a little makeover by using some unique ingredients not that commonly used in Indian cooking.Koftas (meaning meatballs)came to mind, a dish that has so many variations in so many different countries.Originated in Persia, Koftas were originally made of minced lamb or beef, but gradually starting gaining popularity in other countries all across the Middle East,Africa, Asia and Europe.In India Koftas made way into both vegetarian and non-vegetarian households with many versions that have became equally popular.The vegetarian koftas are usually made of Paneer,Potato,Lauki(Bottle gourd-from the squash family),Cabbage,Jackfruit etc..but I've come up with a fusion dish that will transport you into the exotic culinary world of rich, saporous food from the East!

Smooth and luscious, these koftas are a pure delight and will have you craving for more and more!I made my Koftas using Spinach, Mozzarella and Artichoke.We all know that spinach,artichoke and cheese complement each other very well, so when I thought of spinach for the koftas the other two almost naturally followed.These are served in a mildly spiced, slightly sweet and creamy tomato gravy!Best part is, they're easy to make and great for entertaining since you can make them ahead of time and just heat them up when its time to serve.

You prepare the balls and gravy separately and plate them together at the last minute.Traditionally Indian koftas are made using ghee, butter and cream.I've made them skinny by using Greek Yoghurt and a tbsp of butter at the end to finish off the dish.Good and good for you~

Indian Spinach,Artichoke & Mozzarella Koftas
Print this Recipe

Ingredients:

For the koftas:

1 standard size pack of frozen spinach or 2 packs of fresh spinach(I've used frozen spinach here)-makes about 10-11 koftas
1 medium sized ball of fresh mozzarella cheese-grated
Small jar of Artichokes(6oz)-crushed by hand
Ginger-1/2 inch crushed
Besan or chickpea flour-1 tbsp (you could also substitute cornstarch)
Ground Cumin-1 tsp
Ground Coriander-1 tsp
Salt-1/2 tsp
Cornstarch for rolling
Oil- for frying

For the tomato gravy:

Fresh tomato puree or Canned crushed tomato -2 cups
Cardamom (whole)-2
Cloves-2
Ginger Garlic paste-1 tbsp
Ground Cumin-1 tsp
Ground Coriander-1 tsp
Garam Masala-1 tsp
Red Chilli powder-1 tsp or to your taste
Kasoori methi-1 tsp crushed by hand (easily available at Indian grocer's)
Honey or sugar-1 tbsp
Water-1 cup
Salt-to taste
Oil-2 tbsp
Butter-1 tbsp
Greek Yoghurt-1 tbsp

Process:
Koftas

• Boil the fresh spinach for about 2 mins and drain.Squeeze out all the liquid once its cool.If using frozen, microwave the spinach for about 2 mins and squeeze out any liquid.
• Grate the mozzarella. 
• Squeeze the liquid out from the artichoke and crush them roughly with your hands.

In a deep vessel mix all the kofta ingredients except oil and cornstarch.Take a small amount into your hands and roll them into balls.Roll these into the cornstarch and either deep fry or shallow fry on medium high till they are golden.

Tomato Gravy

In a separate skillet, heat oil and add the Cardamom and Cloves.Add the ginger garlic paste and stir for a minute.Add the tomato puree and the spices.Add some salt and cook on medium high until you see oil around the edges (About 5-6 minutes).Discard the cardamom and cloves now.Add the honey or sugar.Add some water and bring to a boil.Reduce and cook until it reaches a nice consistency and add the butter.Mix and turn off the heat.Add the kasoori methi.Move the pan away from the burner and add the greek yoghurt.Mix gently.Your gravy is ready.

Keep them separately until ready to serve.If you mix them the koftas might break apart.When ready to serve, arrange the koftas on top of the gravy or mix it gently into the gravy and serve hot with Naans,Pitas, Rotis or even rice!Enjoy!

Please join in the Greenslove fun by linking any leafy green recipe from the month of March.I'm co-hosting this bloghop with these amazing blogger friends.Please visit their gorgeous creations while you're here!

Al Dente Gourmet ~ Aldy ~ @AlDenteGourmet
ASTIG Vegan ~ Richgail ~  @astigvegan
Badger Girl Learns to Cook ~ Kimberly ~ @BdgrGrl
Baking and Cooking, A Tale of Two Loves ~ Becky Higgins
BigFatBaker ~ Erin ~ @BigFatBaker
Bon a croquer ~ Valerie ~ @Valouth
CafeTerraBlog ~ Terra ~ @CafeTerraBlog
Cake Duchess ~ Lora ~ @cakeduchess
Cheap Ethnic Eatz ~ Evelyne ~ @cethniceatz
Easily Good Eats ~ Three Cookies
Georgiecakes ~ Georgie ~ @georgiecakes
Kitchen Belleicious ~ Jessica ~ @kbelleicious
Mis Pensamientos ~ Junia ~ @juniakk
My Twisted Recipe ~ Dudot ~ @mytwistedrecipe  
No One Likes Crumbley Cookies ~ TR ~ @TRCrumbley
Oh Cake ~ Jessica ~ @jesshose
Queen's Notebook ~ Elizabeth ~ @Mango_Queen  
Rico sin Azucar ~ Helena ~ @ricosinazucar
Savoring Every Bite ~ Linda ~ @Spicegirlfla
Simply Reem ~ Reem ~ @simplyreem
Soni's Food for Thought ~ Soni ~ @sonisfood 
Sprint 2 the Table ~ Laura ~ @Sprint2theTable
Teaspoon of Spice ~ Deanna ~ @tspbasil 
That Skinny Chick Can Bake ~ Liz ~ @Thatskinnychick
The Art of Cooking Real Food ~ Laura ~@TAofCRF
The Spicy RD ~ EA ~ @thespicyrd 
The Wimpy Vegetarian ~ Susan ~ @wimpyvegetarian
Vegan Yack Attack! ~ Jackie ~ @veganyackattack
Vegetarian Mamma  ~ Cindy ~ @VegetarianMamma

Also linking this entry to #Indianfoodpalooza a wonderful celebration of Indian Food hosted by Indian Simmer,Creative Culinary and The Colors of Indian Cooking !!!Please join in the fun event if you have made and posted an Indian dish from 1st-31st of March.There are prizes to be won!!