Chili Cheese Toast

This is a quick recipe for breakfast with loads of cheese and some veggies. Though it is very simple and quick, the taste is awesome. You should at least try it once.

Ingredients

• 2-3 tbsp butter
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 2 slices of bread
• 1 bell pepper very nicely chopped
• 1 small onion very nicely chopped
• shredded cheese
• spices (red chili flakes, salt to taste)

Procedure

• Take butter in a mixing bowl and keep it in room temperature for some time to make it soft
  

• Add garlic
  

• Mix it well
  

• Now apply it on both sides of the bread slices
  

• Add shredded cheese on bread slices
  

• Sprinkle chopped bell pepper, onion. Add chili flakes and sprinkle some salt. You can also optionally add pizza seasoning like oregano etc as per you taste.
  

• Now put pan on lowest flame and keep the bread slice on pan. Cover it with the lid and let it cook for few minutes in lowest flame. (You can also switch off the flame and keep the bread on warm pan so that the cheese becomes soft and melts and we get crispy bread). 
  

• Once done, cut it in half or quarter
  

• Garnish it with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot
  

Idli

Preparing idli is not difficult when batter is ready. Please check my page on Idli Dosa Batter recipe with lentils and Rice to know step by step Instructions on how to prepare batter. You need idli mould to prepare it and it can be prepared with steam in either in cooker or in microwave. So, in this page, I will not tell about how to make idli, but rather will tell about how to enhance Idli taste or what make it taste special or rich. This is about garnishing Idli batter before preparing Idlis.  

Ingredients

• 4-5 Curry leaves nicely cut
• 1-2 green chilies cut nicely 
• around 1 table spoon of grated ginger
• 5-6 pieces of cashew break in pieces
• pinch of hing or asafoetida
• 1 tsp of mustard seeds or rai
• 1 table spoon of ghee
  

Instructions

• Heat ghee in a pan in low flame. 
• Add mustard seeds. 
• When it starts to crackle, add green chilies, curry leaves and hing. 
• Add grated ginger and let it cook for around 1-2 minutes. 
• Add cashew pieces and give another 1-2 minutes. Keep mixing the ingredients to avoid it from getting burned. 
• Add the mixture in Idli batter and mix the batter softly. 
• Now prepare Idlis from the batter.
  

Veg Manchurian

For a vegetarian people, vegetarian Manchurian with gravy is one of the main option that goes well with almost everything be it either noodles or fried rice. 

Ingredients

For Manchurian Balls:

• 1 grated carrot 
• 1 cup of grated cabbage
• 1/2 cup of finely chopped beans (optional) 
• 1 tablespoon of chopped garlic and ginger each 
• 1-2 tablespoon of all purpose flour
• 1-2 tablespoon of corn flour
• Salt to taste
• pinch of black pepper
• oil for frying
  

For gravy:

• 1 medium size chopped onion
• 1 capsicum finely chopped
• 2-3 strands of spring onion finely chopped
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 1 block of grated ginger 
• 1-2 green chilies finely cut
• around 2 tablespoons of corn flour 
• 2 tablespoon of soya sauce 
• 2 tablespoon of chili sauce 
• 2 tablespoon of tomato ketchup
• 1 teaspoon of vinegar
• 2-3 cups of water 
• salt to taste
• black pepper 
• 2-3 tablespoons of oil

Instructions

For Manchurian Balls:

• Grate carrot, cabbage and beans (optional) in a bowl. 

• Squeeze out water from the grated vegetables (this water can be used in gravy). 

• Now add chopped ginger and garlic, salt and pinch of pepper. Add corn flour and all purpose flour little by little (just enough to form a proper bonding). We don't want to add extra flour else the taste will be more of flour than of vegetables. You don't have to add water as vegetables are moist enough to form a proper bonding. Mix it well.
  

• Now take small portion at a time and form balls. (Apply oil in your palm while doing so). 

• Now deep fry them till it is golden brown.
  

For gravy:

• Heat oil in a pan and add chopped ginger, garlic and green chilies.
  

• Now add chopped onion and spring onion whites. Wait till it is little translucent.

• Add chopped capsicum and cook for 1-2 minutes

• Now add all sauces
  

• Add around 2 tablespoons of corn flour in half a cup of water and mix well. Now add the mixture in the pan. Add another 2 cups of water and let it cook. Add salt to taste (consider sauce that was added as that also contain salt) and pinch of black pepper.
  

• Add vegetable balls in the gravy
  

• Garnish it with spring onion green and server hot
  

Veg Hakka Noodles

If you need a break from your usual food, Chinese is one of the best option and for a vegetarian, there is no other better option than Veg Hakka Noodle. The more and varieties of vegetables you put in here, the better. While adding vegetables, think of different colors that you can add like add different color bell pepper.

Ingredients

• Vegetables of your choice like chopped cabbage, chopped beans, chopped spring onion, bell peppers (cut in long slices or in big cube shape) 
• 1 medium size onion cut in cubes
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 1 packet of noodles 
• 2-3 tablespoon of oil 
• Salt to taste 
• 2-3 tablespoon of soya sauce 
• 2-3 tablespoon of chili sauce 
• 2-3 tablespoon of tomato ketchup 
• 1 teaspoon of vinegar
  

Instructions

• Boil noodles in a pan with warm water as per the instructions on the packet. Add some oil in water while boiling it so that they don't stick to each other. Once done, strain it in strainer and rinse it with cold water and keep it aside. 

• Heat oil in a pan and add ginger and onion. 

• Add spring onion white and cook till onion becomes little translucent. 

• Add chopped beans and cabbage and let it cook for some time. Cover the utensil to form a little steam. Add little salt, that will cook the vegetables little faster. 

• Add bell peppers and let it cook for 2-3 minutes. 

• Now add all the sauces and mix it well. 

• Add noodles little by little and keep on mixing it. 

• Serve it hot. It goes good with any Manchurian gravy (See my another post on Veg Manchurian gravy)
  

Spicy Chole or Chickpeas

Chickpeas is not only rich in proteins but when cooked properly is yummy too. The key thing here is the slow cooking and patience while preparing the gravy. There are multiple combinations that can be prepared with Chole like Chole rice, Chole with Puri, Chole-Bhature, Chole with Samose, Chole-Tikki etc.

Ingredients

• 3-4 medium size tomatoes
• 2-3 medium size onion
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• a block of ginger
• 2 dried red chili 
• Spices (Salt to taste, turmeric powder, cumin seeds, asafetida or hing, Everest's Chole Masala)
• Whole spices (2-3 tez patta or bay leaves, 2-3 small dalchini or cinnamon sticks, seeds of big elaichi or black cardamom crushed)
• 3-4 tbsp oil
  
• Around half a kg Chole or chickpeas
  

Procedure

• Soak chole overnight with extra water. Boil them in pressure cooker with water (with salt and turmeric powder) till 5-6 whistle or till Chole is soft.
  

• Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. Now add tez patta or bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, crushed big elaichi seeds, dried red chili and hing.
  

• Add a paste of onion, ginger and garlic on the pan and let it cook for some time or till the paste is little golden brown.

• Add paste of tomatoes on it and add Chole Masala (My recommendation here is Everest Chole Masala). Let it cook for another around 10-20 minutes in a low flame. As you cook, you will see the color of gravy changes from light to dark as shown below. Keep stirring it in time to time to avoid burning of the gravy. Finally you will see that tomatoes and onions have formed a proper gravy, all spices are properly absorbed and oil has started to separate from the gravy.
  

• Now add the gravy in boiled chole. Adjust water level and salt, if required and let it cook for some more time in low flame, so that the chole also absorbs the gravy properly.

• Garnish it with chopped onion, coriander leaves or any indian dip like coriander or tamarind chutney.
  

Tips

• Chole tastes more yummy when served with Indian chutney or dip like coriander or tamarind (imli) chutney, especially when eaten as a chat item.
  

• Boil some water with Indian black tea. Filter this water and use this for more darker color for chole.