Brinjal - Zucchini Subzi with Dill Chapathi

I was wondering whether it is a Brinjal /Eggplant week or is there something about eggplant or may be just a coincidence that everybody thought of making eggplant this week...as I am seeing so many brinjal varieties ..

Seeing all brinjal yummy dishes, I too made brinjal subzi but included zucchini to it and made dill chapati for the subzi.

Ingredients:

Brinjal / Eggplant (cut to medium cubes) – 1 big Zucchini – 1 medium Onion (chopped) – 1 big Tomato (chopped) – 1 medium Ginger paste – 1 ½ tsp Garlic paste – 1 ½ tsp Garam masala - ½ tsp Chili powder – 1 tsp Dhaniya powder – ½ tsp Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp Mustard seeds – ¼ tsp Cumin seeds – ½ tsp Coriander leaves – 2 Tb spoon Oil – 2 Tb spoon Lemon juice(optional) – 1 Tb spoon Salt Method:

• Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds. When it splutters, add cumin.
• Then add onions and fry till golden brown.
• Add chopped tomato along with ginger and garlic paste. Fry till oil leaves.
• Add all the powders (adjust them according to your spice level) and fry for few minutes.
• Then add chopped brinjal and zucchini, add salt, give it a stir, cover and allow it to cook on low flame for few minutes.
• Do not add water, as it will leave water on their own.
• When it is cooked sprinkle coriander leaves on top along with some lemon juice and serve with chapati or rice or Nan.

I have served mine with Dill Chapati. As I had freshly bought dill and had this recipe in mind for a while..so gave it a try with few additions to it. The original recipe is from Maya of Konkan World. You can find the original recipe here. I have made a few variations to the original recipe.

Dill Chapati

Ingredients:

Wheat flour – 2 cups Soya flour – 2 Tb spoon Dill (chopped finely) – 1 cup Ajwain – 1 Tb spoon Turmeric – ¼ tsp Milk – ¼ cup Salt Oil

Method:

• Mix all the above ingredients except oil, add water and knead to form smooth dough.
• I have just chopped Dill and added it without and frying or boiling.
• Keep aside for 30 minutes.
• Then make chapatis.

• Serve hot with subzi and salad.

My Brinjal/Eggplant - Zucchini Subzi with Dill Chapati goes to 'Made For Each Other' event hosted by Asvadha .

PS:

• For the subzi, you can make only brinjal without the zucchini.
• Yellow squash and also Calabaza could be added to it.
• You can add vangibath powder to it instead of garam masala and chili powder.
• I have added milk, more ajwain,turmeric and soya flour to make chapati.
• Soya flour makes the chapati soft and is healthy too.

Eggless Pecan Cookies - Sweet and Savory

Seeing all the egg less cookies, drove to bake some cookies too. I came across this egg less cookie with less sugar and pecans. I had to give it a try...

Pecans has got so many nutritional values such as adding just a handful of pecans to your diet each day may help inhibit unwanted oxidation of blood lipids, thus helping prevent coronary heart disease. It also plays a role in lowering cholesterol, aids in weight loss and maintenance. The review cited studies indicating that nut consumption may increase metabolic rates and enhance satiety Nearly 60 percent of the fats in pecans are monounsaturated and another 30 percent are polyunsaturated, leaving very little saturated fat in pecans. In addition, pecans contain no trans fat. Pecans contain more than 19 vitamins and minerals – including vitamin A, vitamin E, folic acid, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, several B vitamins and zinc.

Ingredients:

Softened Butter – 1 cup Sugar – ½ - ¾ cup Vanilla Extract – 1tsp All Purpose flour – 2 cups Pecans (Finely chopped) – 1 cup Confectionery sugar Method:

• In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy.
• Gradually add flour and then stir in pecans.
• Shape rounded teaspoonful of dough into 2 ½ inch logs and shape into crescents.
• Place one inch apart on ungreased baking sheets.

• Bake at 325 deg for 20 – 25 minutes or until set and bottoms are lightly browned.

• Let stand for 2-3 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
• Dust with confectioner’s sugar before serving

Savory Pecan Cookies:

When I baked the sweet cookies, my husband started pestering me to make something savory to munch..So, in the evening, I made this cookie and added the nutrient pecans too to it. This recipe is something similar to the khara biscuits (Savory) you get in the bakery in India.

Ingredients:

Softened Butter – ¼ cup All Purpose flour – 1 cup Pecans (Finely chopped) – ¼ cup Onion (Finely chopped) – 1 medium Chilies (Chopped) – 5 – 6 Cumin / Jeera / - 2 tsp Chilli powder (optional) – 1/2 tsp (according to your spice) Salt Soda (optional) – 2 pinch Coriander leaves - 2 Tb spoon(finely chopped)

Method:

• Fry chopped onions till light brown.
• Mix all the above ingredients till it forms nice smooth dough.
• If it is too dry, add a little water while mixing.
• Shape rounded teaspoonful of dough into 2 ½ inch log and shape into crescents.
• Place one inch apart on ungreased baking sheets.

• Bake at 325 deg for 20 – 25 minutes or until brown in color.
• Let it cool on a wire rack.

My Eggless Pecan Cookies - Sweet and Savory goes to Aqua Daze of "Served with Love" blog's event "Let's go Nuts: Walnuts or Pecans" with my choice of Pecans.

PS:

• You can use also use walnuts to it.
• You can increase the sugar quantity for the sweet cookies according to your taste buds.
• If you cant make the crescent shape, you can make your own shape.
• You can store both in an air tight container.
• For the savory cookies, you can add chillies according to your taste. You can use either only chillies or chilli powder or both according to your spice.
• You can adjust the butter to according to your taste.

Bruschetta

Ingredients: Red seedless grapes – 1 cup Green seedless grapes – 1 cup Cinnamon – ¼ tsp Nutmeg – 1/8 tsp Dash of ground cloves Almond extract – 1/8 tsp (optional) Part – skim Ricotta cheese – 1 cup Candied ginger (minced) – 1 Tb spoon Walnuts (chopped) – 1 Tb spoon Baguette – 1 (cut into 16 slices) Fresh mint leaves for garnish Method:

• Pulse grapes in a food processor 3- 4 times, just until chopped. Drain thoroughly.
• Transfer grapes to a bowl and sprinkle with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and almond extract.
• Stir to blend.
• Place ricotta, ginger and walnuts in another bowl and stir to blend.
• Toast bread slices.
• Spread 1 Tb spoon of the ricotta mixture on each bread slices. Top with a spoonful of the grape mixture.
• Garnish with mint or halved grapes, if desired. This makes 4- 6 servings.

PS:

• Thin – slices biscotti, toasted mini bagels or English muffins can be substituted for the baguette.
• If you like the flavour of cinnamon with cheese , then this is a perfect snack.
• This can be served as breakfast or as a snack in the evening.
• Original recipe is from Amy Muzyka - dietition/certified culinary professional.

Refreshing Vegetable Salad

Ah! yet another warm day today. The temperature is around 70 degrees today and happy to have warm weather instead of the cold freezing weather. It has been a pretty warm all this week. So, for a change made this colourful and crisp medely of summer veggies, bursting with flavor. Between impromptu games of tag and catch, everyone can help lay out the refreshing salad. Enjoy!!

Ingredients: Zucchini – 2 medium (chopped) Asparagus – 10 Red bell pepper – 1 (chopped) Yellow bell pepper – 1(chopped) Orange bell pepper – 1 (chopped) Green bell pepper – 1 (chopped) Red onion – 1 medium (chopped to bite size pieces) Tomato – 1 big (chopped to small pieces) Corn – ½ cup Blue cheese – 2 Tb spoon (optional) Dressing: Red wine vinegar – 2 Tb spoon Olive oil – 1 Tb spoon Salt Pepper

Garlic -2 (finely grated) Cilantro – 2 Tb spoon Basil leaves – 1 Tb spoon

Method:

• Heat a pan and add chopped zucchini and fry for few seconds on high heat.
• Fry asparagus too and then cut them to one inch pieces.
• Fry corn too in a similar manner.
• Mix all the veggies in a bowl.
• In a bowl, mix red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, cilantro and basil leaves together.
• Add the dressing to the veggie bowl.
• Give a stir and serve at room temperature with a little cheese on top.

This simple salad on its way to SWC- Salad under 15 minutes at Cooking Station hosted by Lakshmi . PS: Another way of trying this salad:

• Chop zucchini to very small pieces.
• Add all chopped veggies to it and mix the dressing.
• Keep it refrigerated for 1 -2 hours and serve chilled with cheese on top.

I have not added the green pepper and cheese as I dint have them. I don’t like the raw taste of zucchini, so I have fried them. You can add any vegetables you like. When you are frying the veggies you can add salt and pepper to them individually. Do not over fry the veggies and make them mushy and soft. Just fry for few seconds on high heat so that they are still crunchy.