Spinach Quiche

Spinach Quiche

I havent been cooking a whole lot due to my kitchen remodel but this has taught me to innovate dishes which can be whipped up with bare minimum and one such dish that I have been repeating is My Spinach Quiche. So here goes:

Serving Size: 4 people

Ingredients:

4 eggs

1/2 cup of whole milk

Onions chopped -1

Spinach-1/4 cup chopped fresh or frozen

Jalapeno- 1 whole with seeds

Seasoning -I used “Elote” seasoning you can use any

https://www.traderjoes.com/digin/post/everything-but-the-elote-seasoning-blend#:~:text=In%20the%20spirit%20of%20our,%E2%80%94minus%20the%20corn%20itself.

Salt to taste

Cayenne powder- 1 tsp

Garlic cloves-4-5

Sour dough bread – 2 slices chopped up

Butter- 1/2 stick chopped into cubes

Pepper jack cheese slices- 2-3

Preparation:

  1. Firstly whip up eggs and milk in a bowl and keep aside.
  2. Sauté garlic, onion, spinach and jalapenos in olive oil for 5 minutes
  3. Sprinkle salt, cayenne and elote seasoning
  4. Start layering your baking dish with pieces of sourdough bread at the base
  5. Then add a layer of sautéed spinach onion on top
  6. Next coat this with a layer of egg-milk mix
  7. Layer with pepper jack cheese
  8. Repeat
  9. Top layer must have pieces of sour dough bread and egg mix
  10. Finally add a layer of cheese and spread the cubes of butter on top
  11. Bake in the oven at 375 C for 20 minutes.
  12. Enjoy with a slice of sour dough bread toast or simply eat it plain!

Protein packed Crepes / “Dosas”

Dosas or crepes in India are savory and usually made from soaking rice and lentils overnight and grinding it to a batter and letting this batter ferment over night for it to rise. Once the batter rises, we make a thin crepe by pouring over an iron griddle.

Now I wish I had the time to do all these steps. Since I am a busy working full time mom, I am always pressed for time hence my latest Innovation- Protein packed lentil dosa with NO RICE and requires NO FERMENTATION!

Here goes –

Ingredients:

1 cup Red lentils also known as Masoor dal in India

1/2 cup skinned black gram (looks white) also known as Urad dal in India

1 inch fresh ginger -optional

5-6 peppercorns- optional

Salt to taste

Preparation:

Soak the 2 kinds of lentils in water for 2-4 hours.

Make sure to wash the lentils thoroughly atleast 3-4 times till the cloudiness in water disappears as you are rinsing them. The reason for this is to get rid of excess starch which causes gassiness later on.

After soaking for 2-4 hours, blend them in Vitamix or any blender with ginger, salt to taste and pepper corns. I dont add extra water while blending. I add the water in which lentils are soaking and the water level is usually just enough to cover the lentils in the bowl. The batter should not be too watery or thick in consistency. I figured that transferring the water which is already soaking the lentils was just right to get the right consistency.

Transfer in a container and ready to pour in a hot griddle or pan to make instant hot crispy protein packed dosas or crepes.

Enjoy!

PS: Quick contest- Anyone who tries this recipe and posts comments with or without pictures gets access to my next very healthy recipe!!!!coming soon!!!!!

My “Egg Curry” that won me my Master Chef Apron

My “Egg Curry” that won me my Master Chef Apron

Back in 2012, when I auditioned for Master Chef Season 3 with Gordon Ramsay- this egg curry recipe won me my Master Chef Apron. After all these years, I decided to share my recipe with everyone:

Ingredients

Onions- 3 medium diced fine

Tomatoes- 4 diced

Eggs- 6 boiled and peeled and chopped in halves

Garlic- 5 cloves minced

1/2 inch of fresh ginger

1 Clove, 1 Cardamom, a small piece of Cinnamon

Oil- any -I prefer coconut or sesame oil for this recipe

Salt to taste

Cayenne powder- 1 teaspoon

Curry powder or Garam Masala- 1 teaspoon

Curry leaves -3/4, Cilantro and mustard seeds-1/2 tsp for garnish

Preparation:

  1. Place a pan under medium flame and add 1 tablespoon oil. In this recipe I use my garnish in the first step
  2. Throw in mustard seeds, curry leaves, clove, cardamom and cinnamon till they splutter. Add in ginger, garlic, onions and mix with salt to taste, cayenne and spices like curry powder/ garam masala.
  3. Add tomatoes and mix well. Keep covered after adding 1/4 cup of water and let it cook until all tomatoes are stewed and release oil.
  4. Now add in the eggs and fold in gently with the onion tomato paste gently and cook for 2 minutes.
  5. Garnish finally with Cilantro.
  6. Serve with warm Naan bread.

Singapore Noodles aka “COVID” Noodles!

Singapore Noodles aka “COVID” Noodles!

I love indulging in a bowl of Singapore noodles. All the goodness of rice vermicelli, julienned vegetables and optional to add some eggs all immersed in turmeric and curry powder in a wok and stir fried, Yum!

Quick pictorial steps of how I made Singapore noodles:

Julienne veggies -any veggies
Throw rice vermicelli noodles for 90 seconds into boiling water and transfer to a vessel and cover with a towel for 2 minutes.
Eggs is optional – sliced lengthwise
Fluff up noodles and break it up for ease
Saute veggies and egg in a hot wok with sesame oil, veggies and eggs with turmeric and curry powder
Rice Vermicelli mixed in and saute
Falafels with tahini sauce, hummus & babaganoush

Falafels with tahini sauce, hummus & babaganoush

One of my most favorite dishes in this world is Meditteranean- nothing like crunchy falafels with some home made tahini, creamy hummus and babaganoush!

Tahini sauce is nothing but roasted sesame along with Olive oil, lemon, salt and garlic. Its the most delicious dip ever. Hummus is also easy to make with chickpeas, garlic cloves, lemon, oilve oil, tahini and salt.

Tahini thick sauce ( I stick this in the fridge and dilute 1 spoon of this with 2 tsp of water every time I use)

Babaganoush is slightly tricky to make since it involves smoking the eggplant or aubergine in flame to cook and peel off the outer layers. I personally throw the chunks of eggplant after peeling the outer skin into my Vitamix with salt, olive oil, garlic cloves, freshly squeezed lemon and tahini paste. Finally garnish with parsley and mint.