Cheesy Cauliflower Bake

Who doesn't love cheese??!!! And specially if you talk about kids, they hate veggies but love cheese :) A combination of both in one casserole - "Cheesy Cauliflower Bake"! Very mild flavors of Italian seasoning... Smoky flavors of baked cauliflower n creamy texture of cheese... Yummm, a perfect bake to include as a side on main course!

Already had a half head cauliflower in veggie rack n I got one more! Couldn't think of anything else than combining it with cheese n simply bake, to accompany my creamy shell pasta for dinner :P

INGREDIENTS:

15-20 Cauliflower Florets
2 tbsp Grated Cheese
1 tsp Dried Oregano
1/2 tsp Chilly Flakes
2 tsp Lemon Juice
1 tbsp Olive Oil
Salt, to taste

STEPS TO FOLLOW:

- Preheat the oven on 200º for 5 mins.
- Take cauliflower florets in a big bowl and add olive oil, oregano, chilly flakes, lemon juice and salt into it.
- Mix everything well and transfer it to a baking bowl.
- Put this bowl in oven to bake for around 30 mins (turning it once in between).
- Sprinkle cheese over it and bake it for 5 more mins.
- It's ready to serve as a side for your family dinner! :)

SJ's NOTE: 

- Adjust the amount of cheese as per your taste. Kids would love it more!
- I used a combo of 3 cheese: Mozzarella, Cheddar & Parmesan here.

Rajma Masala

I keep trying to use 'Red Kidney Beans' in variety of dishes... Rajma Kebab, Dal Makhni, Tacozza etc. And yes, that too with different types of Rajma available in market :P

But here is a recipe of the most famous North-Indian subzi - "Rajma Masala", which has been one of my favorite dish to cook!!! Used here is a dark-red kidney beans which is known as Kashmiri one...

 

Makes: 2 servings

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup Red Kidney Beans (Rajma)

1 Brown Onion (medium) 

1 Tomato (big)

1/4 cup Curd 

1 tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste

1/8 tsp Turmeric Powder

1 tsp Coriander Powder

1 tsp Kashmiri Red Chilly Powder
1/2 tsp Garam Masala

1 tsp Crushed Fennel Seeds
1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds

A pinch of Asafoetida (hing)

1 tbsp Cooking Oil

STEPS TO FOLLOW:

- Soak rajma overnight in water. Pressure-cook it for 3 whistles and keep it aside.

- Cut the onions into long thin strips and finely chop tomato separately.

- Heat oil in a deep-pan and add cumin seeds, hing into it.

- Once it crackles, add ginger-garlic paste and onions. Saute it for around 30 seconds. 

- Add chopped tomatoes and cook again for a min.

- Add cooked rajma, curd and all the spices into it. Mix everything well.

- Cook it for 3-4 mins. Make sure it's not mashed at all.

- Serve hot with Naan/Paratha :) 

SJ's NOTE:

- Add a little water while adding rajma, if you are planning to serve it with a plate of steamed rice :)

- If want to make Tacos with Indian touch, keep it dry and mash a little for stuffing.  

Chana Dal Stuffed Paratha

I'm fond of trying various stuffed paratha!!! I never prefer having leftover items on the next day and so I hardly have something in freeze from previous lunch/dinner :) A little extra rice I had this time, which I definitely wasn't going to have on plate again... So I thought of making quite a different paratha stuffed with a combo of chana dal n leftover rice! 

On the very 1st bite, I got negative vibes from my husband, so was disappointed a little. But the next moment, he said... It's super-tasty n healthy one, I was so relieved! Making sure of his expressions, I gotta know he was expecting it to be Aloo Paratha, so the expressions changed :P 

Paratha-lovers, try it out! This is definitely a healthy n delicious alternate of 'Aloo Paratha' :)

Makes: 6

INGREDIENTS:

For Dough--

1/2 cup Wheat Flour

1/2 cup Plain Flour (Maida)

1 tsp Chopped Coriander Leaves

Salt, to taste

2 tsp Oil

For Stuffing--

1/2 cup Chana Dal (Bengal Gram)

1/2 cup Boiled Rice (I used leftover-rice)

1 tsp Roasted Cumin Powder

1/2 tsp Red Chilly Flakes

1/2 tsp Amchur (Dry Mango Powder)

Salt, to taste

STEPS TO FOLLOW:

- Soak chana dal in water for an hour and pressure-cook it for 1-2 whistles only.

- Drain excess water and rinse it. Keep it aside.

- Mix all the ingredients of dough in a big bowl and knead a soft dough by using lukewarm water as required.

- In another mixing bowl, take cooked chana dal and add rest of all stuffing ingredients. 

- Mix everything well but make sure it's not completely mashed.

- Divide the dough and stuffing into 6 portions. Take one ball, roll it out to make 4" in diameter. 

- Place a stuffing ball onto it. Fold it from all the sides to make a lemon-sized ball again.

- Roll it one more time to make paratha of 7"-8" in diameter. Repeat the same process for other balls.

- Pan-roast it by drizzling a little oil every time till you find brown-spots on both the sides.

- Serve hot with Coriander-Mint Chutney or a Yogurt bowl :)

SJ's NOTE:

- You can add one small-sized boiled potato for binding, if you are not using rice.

- For rich flavors, use clarified butter (desi ghee) to replace oil. 

Chickpeas-Potato Patties

Protein packed, low fat and delicious patties to add a different element on your burger bun or pita bread! I have previously posted the recipe for Falafel and here is a sibling of that... 

Tiny chunks of chickpeas gives a lovely taste n texture to these patties and that worked for me! You can add finely chopped veggies (carrots, beans etc.) if you wish to make healthier one. I kept them simple n loved serving them as an appetizer or evening snack. 

Makes: 6-8

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup Boiled Chickpeas (Qabuli Chana)

1 Boiled Potato (medium)

1/4 cup Onion cut into thin strips

3/4 cup Breadcrumbs

1 tsp Roasted Cumin Powder

1/2 tsp Red Chilly Powder

1/2 tsp Mint Powder

2 tsp Lemon Juice

Salt, to taste

Oil, to shallow-fry

STEPS TO FOLLOW:

- Grind boiled chickpeas coarsely and transfer it to a big bowl.

- Mash boiled potato and add it along with onions into it. 

- Add 1/2 cup breadcrumbs with all spices and mix everything well.

- Divide the mixture in 6-8 portions.

- Give a desired shape to all patties and coat them with remaining breadcrumbs for extra crispness.

- Heat oil on a shallow-fry pan and put 3-4 patties at time.

- Let it be golden-brown and crunchy on both the sides. Take them out on an absorbent paper to drain excess oil and remain crunchy.

- Serve hot with Coriander-Mint Chutney!

SJ's NOTE:

- You can add fresh chopped mint leaves instead of using mint powder!

- Add more breadcrumbs if it's hard to shape the patties. 

- Arrange a lettuce on burger bun, put this patty and top up with your salad slices n cheese! Burger is ready to serve... 

Sending it to Sowmya's Healthy Diet- Lunchbox -Priya's Versatile Recipes and Guru's Cooking - Kids Special Event!!!

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