TENDER GRILLED CHICKEN PITA POCKETS WITH HUMMUS AND GREEN BEANS

Lebanese style recipe- Pita bread with tender, juicy chunks of Chicken, makes for a complete meal and it is healthy to boot! Most of the prep work can be done a day ahead, then all it takes is last minute assembling and you have dinner on the table in minutes.

Ingredients-

• Pita bread- 4 (sliced in half to make 8 pita ‘pockets’)
• Boneless chicken- 500 gms (cut up into bite sized pieces)
• Ginger +garlic paste (fresh)- 1 tbsp
• Fresh yogurt- 1 cup
• Fresh French beans- 250 gms ( top and tail)
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• Grated cheese, sliced onions, tomatoes and lettuce- acc. to requirement
• For the Hummus-
• Boiled chickpeas-1 cup
• Lemon juice- 2 tbsp
• Garlic- 2 plump cloves (minced)
• Tahini- 1 tbsp
• Olive oil- 2 tbsp

Method-

In a large bowl combine the yogurt and ginger-garlic paste, toss in the Chicken pieces, add salt and pepper and mix to coat evenly.Leave for at least 2 hours.

Pre heat griller and grill the chicken pieces for 20 minutes or till golden, keep warm.

Boil or steam the green beans, sprinkle salt and pepper and keep warm.

For the Hummus-

Combine the Chickpeas, lemon juice, garlic and tahini and blend in a blender, add salt to taste.Dish out in a serving bowl, drizzle olive oil on top.

To assemble and serve-

Lightly roast pita and fill pockets with the tender chicken, lettuce and onions, top with grated cheese and grill for a further 10 minutes till cheese is golden and bubbling.

Serve with the warm beans and Hummus.Enjoy!

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PHOTOS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS... getting inspired!!

A friend mailed me these pics (they seem to be just like food bloggers! :)), sharing them with you all...enjoy!

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NUTTY BANANA MUFFINS

Today in the morning I got a phone call from some close friends, saying that they were coming to visit, SO... I made these banana muffins, which were gobbled down in no time, one friend even requested that I pack the left over one's so that she can enjoy them with her evening coffee!
The honeyed flavor of bananas laced with cinnamon and topped with crunchy, toasty almonds is really delicious.
These little gems are a lazy cook's best friend as only a little dreamy stirring is all that is required!
To make these you need-

• Flour-1 1/4 cup
• Baking powder-1/2 tsp
• Baking soda-1/2 tsp
• Bananas- 2, very ripe, mashed
• Eggs-2
• Powdered sugar-3/4 cup
• Vegetable oil/ melted butter-1/2 cup
• Vanilla extract-1 capful/ tsp
• Cinnamon- 1/2 tbsp
• Salt-1/4 tsp
• Almonds- a handful, pulse lightly in mixer

Method-

1. Preheat oven to 180 C.
2. Line muffin pan with paper cup liners.
3. Combine all the wet ingredients together- like Bananas, eggs, butter, vanilla and mix well either by electric mixer or by hand.
4. Combine all the dry ingredients together and gently fold into the wet mixture.
5. Place generous spoonfuls into the lined pan and sprinkle with almonds, bake for 15 minutes or till golden brown and well risen
6. Serve with hot/cold coffee.Lovely with a scoop of Caramel crunch/vanilla Ice cream!

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RIDICULOUSLY EASY CHEESY PASTA

Don't we all love easy, quick dinners?? I sure do, this is one such pasta recipe which is ready from scratch to the table very quickly!.. and is nutritious to boot...

To make this ridiculously easy pasta you need-

Ingredients-

• Pasta of choice (I used tubes)-2 cups boiled till tender but not mushy, if you are a first timer, follow instructions here
• Frozen mixed chopped veggies of choice(carrots, beans, broccoli, cauliflower)-1 cup (u can use fresh too)
• Fat free/reduced fat mayonnaise-1/2 cup
• Ready tomato puree-1/2 cup
• Oregano-1/2 tsp
• Garlic- minced-1/2 tsp
• Sugar-1 tsp
• Onion- 1 small diced
• Olive oil- 1 tbsp
• Grated cheese- 2-3 tbsp 
• Salt and black pepper

Method-

1. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan, saute garlic and onion for a minute till fragrant.
2. Add the tomato puree and fry till oil leaves sides of pan.
3. Microwave the mixed veggies on high for 5 minutes till tender, or simmer in open pan till tender but still crunchy even upto 1 day before.
4. Add the sugar and oregano to the tomato puree and mix well.
5. Now add in the vegetables, the pasta and mayo along with salt and pepper, combine thoroughly and cook till heated through
6. Sprinkle grated cheese (I skimped on the cheese but really you should not) on top and serve with toasted garlic bread.

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TRIPLE CHOCOLATE BIRTHDAY CAKE

 I baked this Cake recently for a colleague at work, isn't it surprising that you can just close your eyes and bake a chocolate cake and be rest assured that it will be a roaring success!That's the power of chocolate on mere mortals :)

Though the recipe may seem lengthy it is really an extremely simple cake to make and put together, give it a try!!

Ingredients-

 For the cake-

• All purpose Flour-1 & 1/2 cups
• Cornflour-1/4 cup
• Castor Sugar-3/4 cup
• Cocoa powder-4 tbsp
• Butter- 1/4 cup, melted
• Baking powder- 3 tsp
• Egg-1
• Vanilla extract-1 tsp
• Milk-3/4 cup
• Curd-2 tbsp
• Salt-1/4 tsp

For the chocolate syrup-

• Sugar-2 tbsp
• Cocoa powder- 2 tsp
• Vanilla essence-1/2 tsp

 For the chocolate topping-

• Semisweet chocolate- 30 gms
• Butter- 50 gms
• Plain Flour- 2 tsp
• Silver balls, Chocolate leaves &  a tbsp of melted chocolate for drizzling over.

For the Cake-

Preheat oven at 180 C, grease and flour medium cake tin.Combine sugar , flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder & Cornflour and sieve together.Combine egg, melted butter,curd, Vanilla and Milk and whisk.Gently mix the dry ingredients into wet and mix well with a rubber spatula.Pour the thick mixture into pan and bake for 30-40 minutes. Let cool

For the syrup-

Combine sugar, cocoa , vanilla and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan, and boil on medium heat for 5 minutes till thick and syrupy, poke holes in cake and pour over the syrup, let soak for 15-20 minutes.

For the topping/icing-

Melt butter in a heavy bottom saucepan, add flour and let cook on very gently heat till pale, about a minute, next add water and let it come to a boil, add chopped chocolate and stir continuously, it will begin to thicken like custard, tip in the sugar, let boil, remove from heat and let cool, use while still warm.

To assemble-

Carefully invert the soaked cake over serving dish, and pour warm icing on it, it will drizzle down into a glossy cascade.Let it sit in the fridge for 15-20 minutes, place chocolate leaves in the middle, sprinkle silver balls and drizzle some more melted chocolate on top, you can add cherries or jam too.Chill overnight.

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RIDGE GOURD PEPPER CHUTNEY

Saw these beautiful pink flowers in full bloom in the garden today, can anyone tell me their name??

I have never cooked with ridge gourd before, only seen pictures of it on a lot of blogs, so the other day after getting a couple of them from the farmer's market decided to look up what to cook with them.The search led me to Mahanandi with Indira taking this humble gourd to new heights, I had to make this unusual Low calorie and nutritious chutney soon...it was delicious, tangy and really hot! Try it!!
There were a couple of things I did differently, like I added like a bit of cayenne pepper and more onions and also blended the chutney to a smoother consistency in a blender.
  RIDGEGOURD PACHADI (Beerakaya) recipe adapted from Mahanandi
Ingredients-

• Ridgegourd-1 peeled and chopped
• Onions- 2 medium, peeled and chopped
• Cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp
• Black pepper-1/4 tsp
• Salt to taste
• Tamarind paste-1/2 tsp
• Cayenne pepper (deggi mirch)- 1/4 tsp
• Oil-a splash

Method-
Heat a kadhai and add a splash of oil, add cumin seeds and black pepper and toast for a few seconds, next tip in the onions and ridge gourd pieces and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring well, add cayenne pepper and salt and mix well, lastly add tamarind paste and let cool to room temperaure. Cool and blend till smooth.Enjoy with rice or paranthas.

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