Bread Bondas

After making the baked bean and egg toasties, I had some leftover bread and some leftover potato curry. So I thought I would make a few Bread Bondas.

This recipe I learnt from a family friend, Sathyavathi aunty. She actually deep fried it and it tastes much better fried but the fat content hits the sky. And since I had the toasties going on I thought I would see what happens if I make it in the oven. Well it isn't golden brown and the bread pretty much became a biscuit but it was OK. If you want to splurge a bit then definately try it fried.

Bread Bondas

Ingredients
Some curry/filling- I used potato curry but any dry curry will work.
1 bread slice- a day old is preferred with crusts removed. Btw 1 bread slice per bonda. So depends on how much curry you have.

Method

1. Like the toasties, wet the bread and squeeze the excess water.
2. Now take a bit of the curry, rolled in a ball and carefully wrap it with the bread.
3. Take care that all the joins a properly covered.
4. Deep fry until golden brown or bake until the bread is dry on the outside.

Baked Bean and Egg Toasties

When Nandita's (of Saffron Trail) WBB#7 theme was Baking, I scratched my head. Because I like baking and have a few muffins, breads and cakes up my sleeve but I didn't think I would eat any of it for breakfast. Even the savoury ones I couldn't really see myself getting up in the morning and baking (and of course eating!).

Then I remembered! I had come across this recipe ages and ages ago (from an unremembered source) but I had modified it to suit my indian snacking needs. Instead of the baked beans and egg, I would make them with whatever curry was leftover in the fridge for unexpected guests. This was impressive enough for my guests! :)

So I thought I shall come back to the original authentic Aussie recipe. Baked beans is a true Aussie icon. So much so that when Shane Warne went to India in 1998 for World tour he couldn't live just plain old Indian food (please note the sarcasm!) that he had to get a pallet of baked beans to keep him happy. It is a typical Aussie breakfast to have this with toast. Baked beans is nothing much more than cooked navy beans in tomato sauce. So I guess this a twist to the average baked bean breakfast. Enjoy! :)

The recipe below is for one toasty so just make as many as you need. I used a muffin tray for this, but hindsight is a beautiful thing, and I think you are better off using small souffle bowls or a texan muffin pan.

Baked Bean and Egg Toasties

Ingredients
1 bread slice- a day old is preferable and crusts are to be removed.
2 tbsp baked beans- from the can or cooked navy beans mixed in tomato sauce.
1 egg
salt and pepper- to taste.

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celcius.
2. Wet the bread and squeeze out excess water. You may want to roll it out lightly othewise just pat with your hand.
3. Now carefully line the souffle dish or muffin tray with the bread.
   
4. Put in oven for about 15 mins or until the bread has started to regain its original texture.
5. In each shell (still in muffin tray or dish), place about two spoons of baked beans and then crack an egg on top. Alternatively you can put some left over curry.
6. Place in the oven for another 15 mins or until the egg has cooked. Or the curry has warmed up or crispy on top.
7. Remove from dishes/muffin tray and serve with salt and pepper.

Capsicum Stuffed with Risotto

Whenever I go out to eat, I have an annoying tendancy to try and recreate what I have eaten at home. This is annoying because the time I am eating out I tend to dissect the food rather than enjoy it. My hubby thinks that some foods should be enjoyed when other people make it but I believe it is a challenge to make it at home. This recipe is one such dish that I had out (of all place the office cafeteria!) and attempted to recreate at home. And it was pretty easy as well.

Risotto is a dish that I usually don't like eating out as it is made of rice. Well my logic is I get plenty of rice at home and thus I don't really want to eat it when I go out. This logic also applies to Indian food (well atleast South Indian). But this doesn't mean I'm very adventurous. I'm fondly called a 'Food Racist' at work due my strict dietary requirements (not requirements but preferences). Thus hadn't eaten Risotto (or a vast range of dishes) until my better half came along.

And ofcourse once I had it once, it became a regular lunch item at our house. It is simple and filling whilst being healthy. But this dish is a twist to just serving in a bowl. Baking it in the oven just gives it the extra flavour and crunch!

Capsicum Stuffed with Risotto

Ingredients
1 large red capsicum- cut in half with seeds scooped out.
1 cup aborio rice
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion- finely chopped.
2 garlic cloves-finely chopped.
2 dried shitake mushrooms- soaked in boiling water then chopped.
5 sundried tomatoes- chopped.
1 small zuccini- chopped.
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 vegetable stock bullion
fresh basil
1 tsp salt- adjust as required.
1 tsp pepper- adjust as required.
some tasty cheese- optional.

Method

1. Preheat the oven to about 180 degress Celcius
2. In a saucepan, bring to the boil about 8 to 10 cups of water. Drop the buillion in and reduce the heat to a simmer.
3. In a seperate large saucepan, add the olive oil. Sautee the garlic and onions until they turn golden brown.
4. Add the aborio rice to the onions and sautee until they appear transulent with a white core. This takes about 1 minute.
5. Now add about a cup of the simmering vegetable stock to the rice and mix until absorbed. Repeat this procedure until the rice is about half cooked.
6. Add the chopped zuccini, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes and tomato paste and stir through.
7. Continue adding the stock a cup at a time and stirring until it has been absorbed by the rice. Repeat this until the rice is cooked through. The amount of stock required depends on the rice and how cooked you want the rice to be (some like it al dente and some like it soft). Adjust the amount of stock you add to the rice as you require.
8. Add the basil leaves when rice is cooked and turn off heat. This can be served on its own.
9. Using half a capsicum as bowl, fill to the top with the risotto and sprinkle with some cheese.
10. Cook in the oven for about 20 mins and serve.

Nippat Masala

I used to live in Banglore when we were India. Now Bangloreans know how to have food. Every type of food I have had in Banglore has been top notch that I am still thinking about it. The thing that I like most about Banglore is their street food.
Everytime I go there I am a big fan of CHAAT. Bhel puri, masala puri, pani puri, moti masala, and the list goes on. I can go to a chat house and have dinner there. My mother in law got worried when I said I didn't want dinner but Chaat instead.
Everyone that goes to India is worried about food contamination and are scared to eat roadside. However this is the best kind of food!
There was a man near our house in the mid 80's that used to sell chaat near my house. And his food was so good that we would want to visit him even before our family. Every couple of years we would go to India and make a special trip to his little 'bandi' (cart). We did this for a span of 20 years. And each time he would remember who we were and ask about how we were and what we were doing. But I was dissapointed when he stopped coming to the roundabout a couple of years ago. A few trips ago I found out he wasn't selling chaat anymore and no one knew where he went. Well that's what you probably get for coming once everyone 2 years!
However I attempted to recreate his magic at my house with Nippat Masala. The masala is this context is basically a mix of tomatoes, onions, coriander, lemon juice, salt and chilli powder. Street food, especially Banglore street food, this masala is put on everything. They put it on Mirchi Bhaji, they put it in puffed rice (to make bhel puri), they put it on 'Motis' (also referred to as gold finger. I think I have to make a seperate post about this altogether), and the list goes on.
One such item with this masala mix is Nippatu. Nippatlu are basically a snack food is the same family as Muruku. A recipe for it can be found here. Well I had some of these which I bought and so I thought I would bring back the taste of Banglore with it. So I hope you enjoy! :)

Nippat Masala

Ingredients
Some premade nippatulu- broken to bits.
1 small onion- finely chopped.
1 tomato-finely chopped.
1/2 bunch coriander-finely chopped.
1 lemon- juiced.
1 tsp salt- adjust as required.
1 tsp chilli powder- adjust as required.

Method

1. Another great recipe. MIX AND SERVE!

Chicky Chicky!

After the day of eating rich foods and heavy meals, the next day we weren't too keen on a big breakfast. Since I had some Turkish bread I thought I would make a simple hummus and chickpea salad. Short and sweet but high in calcium!

Hummus

Ingredients
1 can chickpeas or 400g chickpeas soaked overnight and cooked
1 or 2 garlic cloves- minced finely.
1 lemon- juiced.
1 tbsp tahini- this is seasame butter (like peanut butter but made with seasames).
1 tsp salt- adjust as required
1 tsp pepper- freshly ground

Method

1. In a mortar add the garlic and salt and crush until the mix is sort of glossy
2. Add lemon juice to the this mix.
3. Now add a teaspoon of tahini and mix well. Reapeat this until it is difficult to move your spoon in this mixture. It is really important that you mix well after adding the tahini otherwise it will come out bitter.
4. Grind the chickpeas a little. Grind them until you have the texture you require. Add the tahini mix to the chickpeas.
5. Mix it all up and add pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings. If it tastes bitter add a bit of lemon juice.

Chickpea Salad

Ingredients
1 can chickpeas or 400g chickpeas soaked overnight and cooked
1 carrot- finely chopped.
1 cucumber- finely chopped.
2 or 3 lettuce leaves- ripped into small bits.
1 lemon- juiced.
1 tsp salt- adjust as required
1 tsp pepper- freshly ground

Method

1. This is the easiest recipe. MIX AND SERVE. :)