I’ve always been a baby corn fanatic, and I couldn’t help remembering how I used to load them up in my bowl when I create my own ingredients for stir fry at Stir Crazy restaurant, Chicago. Obviously, I will have more baby corns than any other veggies. Though it doesn’t have much taste by itself, I adore them greatly. I mostly throw them into stir fries, haven’t thought of frying them until recently. Since I got so bored of stir frying it, I was very excited to fry them.

Considering my husband’s gluten free diet, I made the batter with just corn starch, you could use a mix of corn starch and all purpose flour which will give a better coating for the fried baby corns. Just the fried baby corns tasted very bland, hence I had to season them to make it flavorful and delicious. Along with the seasoning, it tasted really fabulous. Needless to say, we finished the whole plate in just a matter of minutes.

Fried Baby Corn:

Ingredients:

• Baby corn, canned, rinsed- 1 can or 15 no’s
• Oil- enough for deep frying

To make batter:

• Corn starch- 1/2 cup
• Egg- 1
• Ginger-Garlic paste- 2 tsp
• Ground pepper- 1/4 tsp
• Salt- to taste
• Cold water- 1/4 cup

To make seasoning:

• Oil, used for frying- 2 tbsp
• Garlic, minced- 3 cloves
• Dry whole red chillies- 2 no’s
• Red onion, chopped small- 1
• Soy sauce- 3 tbsp
• Chili paste- 1/2 tsp
• Water- 1 tbsp
• Lemon juice- 1tsp
• Green onion, chopped- 1 stalk
• Cilantro, chopped- 2 handfuls

Preparation:

• Gluten free batter: In a large bowl combine corn starch, egg, ginger-garlic paste, ground pepper and salt, add cold water and make into a thick batter.
• You could even use 2 tbsp of all purpose flour and little more water while making the batter.
• If you are using canned baby corns, rinse with water and pat dry them.
• Place a frying pan over medium heat, add oil and let it turn hot.
• Dip the baby corns in the batter, coat well and put them into the hot oil.
• Make sure the baby corns are dipped well in the oil while frying.
• Fry till it turns golden in color.
• Transfer on a paper towel.
• Place a skillet or pan over medium heat, add 2 tbsp of oil used for frying baby corns.
• Add garlic and fry till it starts to turn golden in color.
• Add dry red chillies and saute for a second.
• Add the chopped onions and saute till it turns light brown.
• To the onions, add soy sauce, chili paste and water.
• Let the sauce come to a boil.
• Now, add spring onions and cilantro, combine well.
• Add the fried onions to the mixture and drizzle lemon juice over it.
• Combine with the sauce and remove from the flame.
• Serve hot as an appetizer or as a side dish.

Every time I had these rolls for appetizer at a Thai restaurant, I used to think to myself of recreating this at home. After all the procrastination, it was yesterday that I finally decided to give it a whirl. It was my plan to make it a few weeks ago when I bought the rice papers, but it’s been sitting in my pantry almost forgotten.

To begin it all, I tired to recollect the taste of the summer rolls that I had eaten. I recalled the mild and fresh flavors. The dipping sauce was a key which complemented the rolls very well.

So, to add flavor to the chicken, I cooked it along with soy sauce and a few other ingredients. The rest of the ingredients for the filling were mainly fresh veggies which gave the rolls a colorful look and a refreshing flavor.

These rolls would captivate your taste buds with its subtle and wonderful flavors! Try them sometime.

Thai Summer Rolls

Ingredients

For cooking the chicken:

• Chicken breast, boneless- 1 pound
• Soy sauce- 3 tbsp
• Rice wine vinegar- 1 1/2 tbsp
• Ginger-Garlic paste- 1 tsp
• Chilly paste or Sambal- 1/2 tsp
• Water- 1/3 cup

For making the filling:

• Carrot, cut thin small- 1
• Red Pepper, cut thin small- 1
• Bok Choy or lettuce, chopped- 3 leaves
• Cooked Vermicelli noodles, cut small- 1 cup
• Roasted Sesame seeds- 1/4 cup
• Cilantro, chopped- 1 handful
• Soy Sauce- 1 tbsp
• Lime juice – 2 tbsp
• Ground pepper- 1/2 tsp
• Salt – to taste

To make the dipping sauce: Adapted from Tyler Florence

• Soy sauce- 2 tbsp
• Rice wine vinegar – 1/4 cup
• Fish sauce – 1tbsp
• Sambal or Chilly paste- 1/2 tsp
• Garlic, minced – 1/2 tsp
• Lime juice – 2 tbsp
• Water- 1/3 cup

To make the Roll:

• Rice Paper
• Warm water, to soak the rice paper –  taken in a deep flat pan

Preparation:

1. In a saucepan combine the chicken, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ginger-garlic paste, chilly paste and water.
2. Cook the chicken covering the pan with its lid until it has cooked well and all the water has dried up, dice the chicken small and keep aside.
3. Cook the vermicelli noodles according to package instruction, drain water and chop small.
4. In a large bowl, combine the above mentioned for “making the filling” ingredients and keep aside.
5. For making the dipping: In a blender puree all the above mentioned “to make dipping” ingredients till smooth. Pour into a small bowl. This sauce is slightly spicy, if you want it less spicy adjust the amount of chilly paste.
6. Soaking the Rice Paper. Fill a deep flat pan with warm water.
7. Take one rice paper and dip into the warm water for a few seconds till it gets soft.
8. Don’t over soak the rice paper as it will fall apart.
9. Take the paper out of the water, hold it for a few seconds to let the water drain, gently place it on a plate.
10. Place 1-2 tbsp of filling onto one end of the soaked rice paper.
11. Roll it over holding tight two times, fold in the left and right sides, then tuck and roll it over to close the till the other end.
12. Place it on a platter and cover with a damp towel to prevent it from drying out.
13. Serve the rolls immediately along with the dipping sauce.
14. If there is any leftover filling, you could have that as a fresh salad after drizzling it with some dipping sauce.

Tips:

• For a vegetarian version: Just skip the chicken from the filling and fish sauce from the dipping sauce.
• If you don’t have rice paper, just make the filling and have it as a salad ( after adding more cooked vermicelli noodles), it’s a very refreshing salad.

When button mushrooms got glazed..

Lately, whenever I get a chance to cook, I have been quick fixing everything, from appetizers to desserts. It’s not that I have lost my passion for cooking, it’s just I have moved to a different state and in the process of settling down. It’s hard to move out of a place where you have good friends and family always around, but what I feel is, this separation helps our relationship with them grow even more healthier and stronger. No matter where you are true friendship lasts forever.

Apart from getting yet another chance to meet new people and to explore new places, the part I love the most is that I could explore new restaurants and new kinds of food. New place didn’t disappoint me in this matter, it is incredibly packed with many restaurants which I have never dined before. Hoping for more fun and food, I hereby start a new life in this new place..

Glazed Stir Fried Mushrooms

Ingredients:

• Button Mushrooms- 1 pack
• Minced garlic- 1tsp
• Red pepper flakes- 1/2 tsp
• Fresh Rosemary sprigs- 1
• Thyme sprig- 1
• Pepper powder-1/2 tsp
• Salt- to taste
• Balsamic Vinegar- 1 tbsp
• Butter or olive oil- 1-2 tsp

Preparation:

• In  a wide skillet, add  olive oil, add garlic and saute.
• When the garlic starts to turn golden, add red pepper flakes, give it a stir and add mushrooms to this.
• Add fresh herbs to this, rosemary and thyme, along with salt and pepper powder.
• In medium high heat, stir fry the mushrooms until it turns brown.
• Finally, glaze the mushrooms with 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar.
• Stir fry in the vinegar for a second and remove from the stove.
• Serve hot as a side dish or spread the glazed mushrooms over baked chicken or steak.

Cheesy, Crispy, Crunchy Samosas…..

If someone asks me what was my favorite snack while growing up, I would say instantly without any further pondering: Samosas. Yes, this was and is my favorite snack, especially to munch on in the evenings along with a cup of hot tea. This crispy, crumbly triangle shaped stuffed pastry with either veggie or non-veg filling gained a special place in my heart. My mom used to make this most of the days, especially on weekdays so that my sis and me could have this after coming from school. On those days, coming back from school, first thing I did was to rush into the kitchen and eat the samosas, it was hard for me to stop with just 2 or 3. I ate as if I were on a samosa eating competition. If I had participated in a real competition, I would have won for sure. Most of the times I fought with my sis over the last one. Many times I won the fight, but my conscious wouldn’t let me have it all by myself, so had to share with my sis, and this made the last samosa taste the best.

This snack is often considered as the street-smart snack in India, sold by street vendors. Not just sold on streets, there wouldn’t be any cafeteria without samosas on their menu, mostly placed on a huge tray piled up with this crispy treats. As soon as we enter the cafeteria, our eyes would start starring at this and the order will be placed in no time.  Now this doesn’t limit on just streets or cafeteria, this can be found on the menu of any fine dining restaurants as well. Without a question, samosas have become the favorite snack of all.

I usually make samosas with non-veg filling, here is the recipe for non-veg filling: http://thasneen.com/cooking/stuffed-poori/

But this time I wanted to make the filling in a totally different way. Hence I made a cheesy filling for my samosas. Here are the step-by-step instructions for making the pastry and the filling.

For making the Filling:

• Onion chopped-1
• Green pepper, chopped-1/2
• Canned corn, rinsed-1/2 of the can
• Jalapeno chopped-1
• Garlic mined- 1tsp
• Ground cumin-1tsp
• Ground coriander-1tsp
• Ground black pepper-1/2 tsp
• Cheddar cheese shredded-1/2 cup
• Cilantro chopped-1 handful
• Salt- to taste
• Oil- 2 tbsp
• Vegetable oil for frying

Preparation:

• In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp oil over medium heat.
• Add onion, salt and saute till translucent.
• Add garlic and jalapeno to this and saute for few minutes.
• Add green pepper and corn to this and let it cook.
• Now add, ground cumin, ground coriander, ground pepper and give it a stir.
• Add cilantro to this.
• Finally add the cheddar cheese and mix everything well.
• Turn off the flame and close it with the lid until we make the dough.

To make the Dough:

• All-purpose flour or Maida- 1.5 cups
• Salt- 1/4 tsp
• Water- enough for kneading the flour

Method:

• In a large bowl, combine flour and salt.
• Add water little by little and knead the flour, add only just enough water to make a soft dough.
• Add oil to this, combine well, wrap it and set aside for 20 minutes.

• After 20 minutes, make small lemon size balls out of the dough.

• On a floured surface roll each balls into a thin circle using rolling pins.

• On a flat skillet or tawa, heat the rolled dough on both sides, just for a second.
• Don’t over heat the rolled dough, edges should be still soft.

• Cut the heated rounds into 2 halves.

Making the Glue:

1. All-purpose flour- 1tbsp
2. Water- little

• Mix flour and water together and make it into a smooth paste. It shouldn’t be watery.
• Working with 1 piece at a time, apply the above glue on half of the cut edge.
• Form cone shape by overlapping the cut edges.

• Fill the cone with 1 tbsp of veggie-cheese mixture.

• Apply glue on top inside edges of pastry; press to seal. Trim jagged edges. Crimp with fork if needed.

• In a wok or deep saucepan, heat oil to 350°F.

• Fry samosas in batches until golden in color about 4 minutes.
• Remove to paper towel–lined tray.
• Serve Warm with tomato ketchup or with the quick salad.

Tips:

• For a healthy version, use fat free cheddar cheese and bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes

Most of the meat appetizers are served along with a dipping sauce or some kind of sides. Most of the time, tomato ketchup acts as the dipping sauce. I love to have my meat cutlets and other meat appetizers with tomato ketchup. At times I make an easy salad as the side dish.

Quick Salad:

Ingredients:

• Red onion minced-1
• Tomato minced- 2
• Green chillies minced-1tsp
• Cilantro chopped-1 handful
• White vinegar or lemon juice – 1 1/2 tsp
• Salt-2 pinches

Preparation:

• Mix all the above mentioned ingredients in a small bowl.
• Serve this salad with any kind of meat appetizer.

Tips:

• You could also substitute lemon juice for vinegar.

Being a hard-core non-veg, my freezer is always stacked with meat and other meat products. Surprisingly, today I found my refrigerator to be empty; there was neither any meat nor any veggies. And I really wanted to make something fried. Finally, my eyes caught on a can of chickpeas sitting at the corner on the counter top. First thing that flashed through my mind is Falafel, a very popular Middle Eastern appetizer. I always order Falafel whenever I go to Middle Eastern restaurant. Since I was looking for fried snack, Falafel was the right one to make. The best thing about making Falafel is that, it only calls for easily available ingredients and it could be made in no time.

Ingredients:

• Chick peas( cooked)- 15 ounce can
• Onion finely chopped-1
• Garlic minced-1 tsp
• Parsley chopped- 3tsp
• Cumin powder-1tsp
• Coriander powder-1tsp
• Pepper powder-1tsp
• All purpose flour-3tbsp
• salt- as required
• Oil- for frying

Preparation:

• Pat dry the canned chick peas. If you don’t have canned chick peas, boil dried chick peas with water in  pressure-cooker until it is well cooked.
• Combine the chick peas with all the other ingredients.
• Mash the chick peas with a wooden fork or you could even combine in a food processor and make into a coarse thick paste.
• Make the mixture into small round balls and flatten it in between the palm of your hands.
• Deep fry it in oil, until golden brown.
• Serve hot with Hummus or Tahini sauce. If you don’t have any of these, serve with Tomato ketchup.