ALOO OATS CORIANDER TIKKI

A CHOICE OF SNACKS MAKES ME HAPPY!

I feel happier when food tastes better than expected. We have Bengali's Shyama Puja, Hindus' Diwali celebrations on 31st October, Halloween    is celebrated on the 31st of October. This is pretty challenging, which recipe to share? Bengalis would prefer hotchpotch with vegetables, puffed bread with halwa or mutton curry with pilaf. Diwali observants wouldn't even touch garlic, onion. I could have shared a sweet recipe that would perfectly suit the South Asians, then how can I ignore the Halloween observants? Our boy has affinity for skulls, skeletons ever since tween hood. I don't know why. Ghosts are usually friendly towards me, my family though I am extremely scared of them. We like some specific sweets, do not want them regular on our plate. We are aging, also tastebuds don't remain the same always. Then what to cook and share? Let us come to it later!

LOVING MEALS ARE SIMPLE IN OUR LIVES!

I cannot cook just for the blog share anymore, we must be able to eat what I cook. I dislike wastage of food, I do intermittent fasting, the man & Cristine eat minimal, the son left home few years back. Hence, I need to be tactical while planning and executing a recipe. I can't eat something I don't enjoy. Snacks I love, more ever since I have learnt to use minimal oil. Learn to cook your pakora using minimal oil, eat with less of guilt. 

However less I cook, there are leftovers. I have to manage them well, right? I made two small parathas from a leftover dough, served them with egg curry to the man. A snack added completed the meal plate, we cannot have a bird's diet, please. I had my meal with leftover rice. Last Saturday, I cooked my choice of dishes, my tummy is satiated. I am extremely occupied. Just now, had some electrical works done, I have to clean the dusty rooms now. It is Dipaboli after all, no corner of your homes should remain dark, mind it.

WHAT IS ALOO OATS CORIANDER TIKKI?

Now you all know I had little of paratha dough, little of cooked rice, lot of cooked food on a Sunday morning, a Kalipujo cum Diwali cum Halloween friendly recipe to share with my readers on Monday. What to share became a big question. I was sure it wouldn't be a sweet, we still have narus I made on Lakshmi Puja. Aloo is a love we have at home all the time, how harmful it is depends upon the amount of it's consumption, do not overeat anything, not only potato. I stock oats at home for these purposes, to use as an ingredient for snacks and sweets. I like overnight oats but I do not have breakfasts. This vegan, gluten-free, vegetarian snacks, starter ALOO OATS CORIANDER TIKKI tasted great. It was cooking without any effort, you give it to me everyday, I would have with my tea or coffee. I used only few spices, confidently can challenge Japanese potato croquettes, such bland the latter is. If you deep fry them, they would get a nice even brown finish, I preferred to go healthy.

Few Oats recipes from the blog are EASYMADE FRAGRANT SWEET, BANANA ORANGE OATS CAKE, OATS MATAR GREEN KEBAB.

INGREDIENTS :

POTATO : 2-3

OATS : 3-4 TBSP

CHOPPED CORIANDER : 3-4 TBSP

CHOPPED GREEN CHILLI : 1/2 TSP

RED CHILLI FLAKES : 1/4 TSP

CRUSHED BLACK PEPPER : 1/4 TSP

TANDOORI MASALA : 1/2 TSP

LEMON JUICE : 1 TBSP

SALT : AS REQUIRED

CHOPPED DRY FRUITS OF CHOICE : 1 TBSP [I USED RAISIN & WALNUT]

OIL : 1 TBSP

PROCEDURE :

Check the stepwise photos column wise!

I peeled the potatoes, cut each into 4 pieces, washed them. I took the potato pieces in a saucepan, added enough water and microwave cooked at low heat until they are boiled well.

I let the potatoes cool. I drained the water and mashed the potatoes. I added all of the ingredients except the oats to the boiled and mashed potatoes. I washed the chopped green chillies, fresh coriander leaves before adding.

I mashed well, added the oats. I folded in well, shaped as I wished.

I greased an oven proof plate with oil, placed the kebabs on it. Mine is a convection mode microwave oven. I placed the low height wired stool inside, atop it the oven proof plate.

I used the combination cooking method, grill+microwave; cooked one side for 15 minutes, the other side for 10 minutes. 

Serve and have them immediately with your choice of condiment.

KULAMBU SPICED OVEN COOKED FULKOPI

 I AM UNWELL SINCE THE MORNING!

I woke up with a blocked forehead and pain. I thought  my blood pressure may have gone up or down. Jokingly, I told the man, "if there is a sudden heart failure, you and the son would stay together, not far from each other." Though anyone can go through a heart failure any time, we have to stay healthy. Though I have lost weight, I am an overweight, I dislike heavy workouts. It is scary how my brother, his wife, some friends allow themselves to put on weight. I keep warning Bhai & son. Later in the day, my nose got blocked, I kept sneezing. I understood I have caught cold. Both of us feel that we had covid flu, may be it had low impact because of the vaccines and the boosters we have taken. Earlier Bengali Kids were fed mutton leg soup to strengthen immunity. The mother fed us regular. The man says Covid happened, we did not understand. On Lakshmi Puja day, I felt dehydrated in the evening. I was thirsty, had chilled water. Perhaps that is the reason I am unwell. We are managing our home well but we do not want to, we are used to a luxury called Cristine. I complain about the son not calling us enough, now can feel it is difficult to do all by himself after being pampered by mumma & Cristine didi until age 18. He had the courage to say goodbye to the safe, secured mumma's lap, step into an unknown land alone. Yet, I told him to set aside 1-2 hours every day for home cleaning. Even if I have fever tomorrow, I have to keep my home clean, I cannot sleep in a messy home. 

UNWELL, I DID SET A SIMPLE LUNCH BOX!

I prefer packing the lunch box. On the Lakshmi Puja day, I asked him to eat out. Yet, it took long hours to finish the puja. Separating the husk from the Khoi / popped rice, dressing and frying five varieties of vegetables take time. Kolkata sells de-husked one too at a higher price, I do get that. Feeling unwell, I made the quickest sandwich for the man, boiled potato in microwave, peeled mashed with butter, salt, black pepper powder, placed atop a bread slice with cheese.

In a hurry, I forgot to discard the bread edges. I make them eat food without much of wastage. Certain middle class values should be imbibed within us forever. Okay, licking fingers after meals is bad manners, I am helpless, I end my meals with a clean plate, lick my fingers. I made semolina toast for myself, I thought I clicked, now cannot find.

WHAT IS KULAMBU SPICED OVEN COOKED FULKOPI?

I was to share a Bengali tiny fish recipe of choice today. Something did not feel right about it. I had a cauliflower / fulkopi / gobi resting in the refrigerator, I forgot to bake it for the visiting friend last Saturday. I did a marination mainly with Kulambu Spice Mix, cooked this vegan, gluten-free, vegetarian appetiser, side dish using the microwave+grill option. I named it KULAMBU SPICED OVEN COOKED FULKOPI. It is time consuming but uses less of oil. We can call it healthy. I started to write late today, let me wrap up quickly. It is not a compulsion, I enjoy writing a blogpost in this era of "reels". I lack technical knowhow, also got busy watching son's activities in social media. Of course I am proud about the good things he is doing, it is natural.

Few other cauliflower recipes from the blog are; FULKOPIR DATA PATA DIYE SHUTKI, DIM FULKOPI CURRY, FULKOPI ALOO DIYE KOI MACH ER JHOL. 

INGREDIENTS :

CAULIFLOWER FLORET : OF ONE STANDARD SIZED

KULAMBU SPICE MIX : 1 TSP

CUMIN POWDER : 1/2 TSP

CORIANDER POWDER : 1/2 TSP

RED CHILLI POWDER : 1/4 TSP

TURMERIC POWDER : 1/2 TSP

LEMON JUICE : 2 TBSP +1 TBSP

SALT : AS REQUIRED

SUGAR : 1/2 TSP [YOU MAY SKIP]

CORNFLOUR : 1 TBSP

OIL : 2 TBSP

PROCEDURE :

Wash and soak the florets in hot water for half an hour. Drain the water.

Marinate with the spices, cornflower, salt, sugar, 2tbsp oil, keep at rest for an hour.

Grease a grill plate with few drops of oil, place the marinated cauliflower florets on it.

Mine is a convection mode microwave oven. I placed the low height wired stool inside the oven, place the grill plate on it.Close the door. 

I cooked at microwave+grill option for 20 minutes one side. Turned the cauliflower florets thereafter, cooked for 10 minutes.

Take out and have immediately if you are eating it as a starter, appetiser. I had to refrigerate. We would have it tomorrow with hand rolled bread. I can get you more of recipes if I am alive, it got pretty hot, but Kulambu mix is a wonder spice blend.

SPICY BHUTTA STUFFED OATS SNACKER

I WAS CAUGHT UP WITH THIS AND THAT SINCE THE MORNING!

In between I managed to prepare this stuffed snack; vegan, gluten-free and air fried! I have a reason to be happy, else the MacBook charger not working all of a sudden left me crazy. I am managing with an old wire, Cristine gets these solutions. I do not disturb the man when at office unless something is serious. He does not even take the calls. I wonder why an Apple product would dysfunction in little over a year. The son did not take our call last night is a reason enough to make me sad. I do not get angry at him, visiting that city two times made me understand the situation there. He stays in a temporary, rented home with minimal stuffs, he does not get the home feel. Even in the rain or snow, he has to arrange his meals by himself. He has his studies and now a shifting. I do not know whether to stop hoping for his admission in the city's other university. He is there until August, let us see. Only last month, around this time we were with him. Mumma never would get enough of him, at least he should stay safe always, that I pray for every minute. Thousand and one times we have pleaded him to talk to us often, he sticks to his own will. Cooking and Blogging keeps me sane, also the OTT platforms. 

YESTERDAY TOO I WAS DOING SOME EXPERIMENT IN THE KITCHEN!

For long, I had been watching semolina coated fish fries doing the round in the social media. I haven't seen it ever been done within the family, not a Bengali concept either. For any experimental recipe with fish, I choose the cheapest Basa / Sutchi fillet variety that is odourless. If my attempt fails, less of the money would be wasted. The son too has learnt to compare the prices of commodities of the various stores. As tourists, we ended up paying higher prices and he kept scolding us. He was also scolding us for wearing sweaters in a weather which he was thinking to be pleasant. In mumma's head, there had one word roaming; hypothermia, all her effort to advice the son went into vein. It seems peace in life has gone for ever. We got habituated living under an umbrella, want the same for the son. I was unable to accept the bare minimality of his home, more when I saw a lampshade or a discounted bed spread set at the Target. I was wanting to buy and decor his home. I forgot he is a student; he is at one place in the present, tomorrow he would be elsewhere. Mumma just wants to make his living space look like a home. He hardly is taking any interest and then I told any girl in  his place would have set the room & kitchen area nicely. Well, we had almost oil-free semolina coated fish fry and air fried potatoes for our lunch yesterday. My question is why the top did not brown? The potatoes were just perfect, why would I even deep fry?

At night, we had rice with fish kofta, cauliflower leaf & stalk bharta, pointed gourd-potato curry and lentil curry. Saturdays & Sundays I eat like a monster and gain weight by the Monday; again loose some by the Friday and the cycle goes on. Our son did not take the call, the in-law's son did not take their call. Amidst the chaos; the brother's video call last morning was pleasant; I was happy to see the newly renovated home but the way I wanted it would have costed him double the huge amount he has already spent. If the house was located beside the Barrackpore station, I would have insisted them to stay there forever and completely renovate it to a modern set up. I have no greed for that property, I have interest in my brother's upscaled living, he did not get himself a life he was capable of.

WHAT IS BHUTTA STUFFED OATS SNACKER?

Bengalis call the corn kernels or the entire thing Bhutta. The season of the corn is approaching in Bengal, this island sells it round the year, it is dear to the son's present country of stay too. Roasted corn with lemon juice, salt, chilli powder rubbed on it was the only street snack the parents bought for us happily. At some point, I stopped eating it. In the recent years, I again fell for corns, Bhutta Khees does not sound that deadly to me these days. But corn has to be served tossed in lemon juice and red chilli powder to me, mixed with onion & green chillies. I can have it only that way. Today, I cannot blog about a Bengali recipe, only last month the son took us to a war fact's museum. Although I have studied Political Science, I am far from Politics; I try to get back to the maximum. I was thinking of preparing a tasty but healthy snacker and I got this low oil, vegan, gluten-free, air-fried SPICY BHUTTA STUFFED OATS SNACKER! Trust me, it tasted fabulous. Here is what I ate as my first meal today.

Thats vegetarian Tom Yam flavoured noodles, the stuffed snackers, a shredded coconut laden Potong ice-cream that takes me to my childhood, how I loved the stick ice-creams & kulfi from the wooden box carriers.

Few other similar recipes from the Blog are here; OVEN COOKED COCONUT KEBAB, BROCCOLI KAJU KISHMISH DIYE CHITOI PITHA, LESS SUGAR LOBONGO LOTIKA

INGREDIENTS :

CORN KERNEL / BHUTTA : A BOWLFUL

CHOPPED ONION : 3-4 TBSP

CHOPPED CHILLI : 1 TBSP [I USED THE BIG RED VARIETY]

CHOPPED FRESH CORIANDER : 2 TBSP

OATMEAL : 2 COFFEE MUG

CRUSHED BLACK PEPPER : 1/2 TSP

LEMON JUICE : 1 TBSP

SALT : AS REQUIRED

OIL : 1+2 TBSP

PROCEDURE :

I washed well the corn kernels and all of the chopped vegetables, took them together in a bowl. Thereafter, I added a little of salt, half of the crushed black pepper, the lemon juice to the bowl and mixed well. Our stuffing is ready.

I prepared oatmeal grinding the oats in a blender, transferred it to a bowl. I added a little of salt, 1 tbsp oil, a bit of the crushed black pepper to the oatmeal and rubbed well.

To the oatmeal mix, I added some warm water and kneaded for a minute. The dough would tend to dry soon, add a little more of warm water and knead again but do not add a lot of water in the beginning.

From here, Cristine took up. She tore off smaller portions from the dough and made a pocket in each. She then filled each of the pocket with the spicy corn / Bhutta filling. 

She then closed the ends and gave it the easiest round shape, a bit flattened you can say. She placed them on a greased oven friendly plate and brushed the top with some oil.

Mine is a convection mode microwave oven with a limited air-frying facility.  I cooked them at AF-2 mode for 15 minutes.

We had them hot with fresh coriander+green chilli chutney.

VEGAN & GLUTEN-FREE BAKED TIKIA

AFTER A PRETTY LONG TIME I AM WRITING A BLOGPOST THIS LATE!

I was preferring to write maximum of a blogpost in the daytime & then go for a swim or walk; come back, take shower, eat & then sit to finish off the remaining part of the blogpost! Today morning, I went to the Potong Pasir Shiva-Durga temple! Southern Indian temples have a variety of Gods & Goddesses; in this one the names are written, I would sincerely read! Today is too special a day, ever since the son left home & mumma lost the purpose to cook a lot on this day, she visits this temple near the Potong Pasir Mrt. 

Before the pandemic, they had a food counter in the adjunct hall, it closed down post pandemic! Only on Tuesday & Friday mornings, they would sell prasadam! I cross that area regular, do not make it to the temple! To me, visiting a holy place means taking shower, wear clean, pressed clothes & visit with a calmer mind! Wearing a walking dress I wouldn't enter! I am happy with today's visit, gradually learning how to offer in a non-Bengali style temple! I took good amount of fruits & flowers; the priest too gave me a fruit & flowers, bhasma [the holy ash]! Whilst I was taking this picture, a family of three; a mother, father & daughter were clicking too! They requested me to click them, I gladly obliged! They are a Keralite family from Mumbai, was enquiring about this island! We had a brief chat, I was saying Dubai has more of Keralites and our island has more of Tamils! Most of the desi / Indians would have that hidden attraction for a foreign land! Although India has progressed a lot; the clean roads, good transport, the strength of dollars has it's own charm! I had the same feeling as what I saw in the Keralite family's when I stepped here as a tourist back in 2006! I made up my mind then our child should get the taste of such a life! If you do not teach your child to dream, go & get, they would tend to stay in the cocoon! I want mine to reach heights, without stressing himself, without harming others! They wished the best for the son, I wished happiness for them & their daughter! 

HELLO MUMMA, WHY ARE YOU EATING THIS SIMPLE TODAY?

Well, mumma prefers eating at Popeye's on this day! Now, we have one at the Woodleigh Mall! Today, whilst returning, I passed that area, it was 12:35-40 pm at that time, I have my first meal post 4 pm! Hence, I had a bowl of "dudh chitoi" at first! 

Maggi noodles is not stocked at this home! May be yearly once I would have! Today, I craved for it, sent Cristine to get one from the Indian goods' minimart! There was no time to cook it with baby corns, mushrooms, broccoli, beans; I asked Cristine to just serve it boiled with the masala garnish! Again after a long gap I would have it! I offered my home God family, oranges; I had a hot cup of orange tea!

I liked that tea! There are a lot of food in the refrigerator, yet this mumma got two ripe avocados for 2$ today, she fell for guacamole after having it in the United States! But what is her plan today? That is to prepare avocado bharta! If I like it, I would share the experience with my readers! These days, I prefer my choice of vegetarian dishes, bhartas with my rice & roti! 

WHAT IS THIS VEGAN & GLUTEN-FREE BAKED TIKIA?

I ate wrong today but last night's meal was decent & healthy! Yesterday, I got exhausted all day trying my hands on croissant making! The outcome was good but was not worthy to get a place in the blog! I did not wish to get to the blog a homely Bengali / desi recipe, today deserves some share that the maximum in this world can have! I am inclusive, specially on a day like today! An idea popped up & I ended up baking this vegetarian delight, VEGAN & GLUTEN-FREE BAKED TIKIA! I have used healthy ingredients in it like desiccated coconut, carrots, a little of potato, dry fruits, onion & green chillies, a bit of oil & salt, dry mango powder and thats it! 

Simultaneously, I made this mixed veg achar with the available ingredients in my kitchen! There is not enough sunlight in this season here, all my Boris / the Black Gram Lentils paste balls got spoilt! Try this snack that uses only a tbsp of oil in the making, you will only be happy! 

Few other snacks, fries & fritters recipes from my Blog are these : PAN COOKED ALOO BEET GAJOR ER FRITTER, BENGALI BEGUNI, PAKORA / TELEBHAJA / FRIES & FRITTERS, PYAZ NOODLES PAKORA

INGREDIENTS :

MINCED CARROT : 1/2 SMALL TEA CUP

MINCED ONION : 2 TBSP

MINCED GREEN CHILLI : 2

CHOPPED FRESH CORIANDER : 2 TBSP

BOILED POTATO : 1

DESICCATED COCONUT : 1 SMALL TEA CUP

CASHEW NUT : 7-8

WALNUT : 7-8

RAISIN : 10-12

SALT : AS REQUIRED

DRY MANGO POWDER : 1 TSP

OIL : 1 TBSP + A LITTLE TO BRUSH

PROCEDURE : 

Peel, wash the carrot & onion; wash the green chillies too! Mince them together in a hand mincer! Be careful, I have got a deep cut on my right thumb in the blade!

Chop the coriander discarding the root ends, wash! Use the mincer to chop the walnuts, cashew nuts, raisins!

Take together everything in a big bowl! Add the boiled potato, salt, oil & dry mango powder! Mix everything well!

Add the desiccated coconut and mix well again! Shape into tikia of your choice!

Grease an oven proof plate with a little of oil and place the tikias on it! 

Mine is a convection mode microwave oven! I had placed the low height wired stool inside, preheated at 180*C! 

I had placed the plate with uncooked tikias & baked at 180*C for 10-12 minutes! 

I took out the plate, turned them over & brushed some oil!

I placed them back atop the wired stool, baked at 180*C for another 5-6 minutes!

Remember, the cooking time may vary in different machines!

Our vegan & gluten-free, extremely tasty snacks are ready to be served with a choice of sauce or chutney!

TOMATO YOGURT MICROWAVE MADE CHICKEN

I DID NOT EXPECT SUCH AMAZING RESULT FROM AN EASY MADE CHICKEN CURRY!

Few months back whilst scrolling my photo album, I discovered a chicken feature made last year or early this year! After much of hesitation, I deleted the pictures! I felt the spices did not mingle well with the meat & curry, given it was a quick curry made in the microwave oven! But I had on my mind to cook it sooner, with the same ingredients and using the microwave method! That I did last to last Saturday & enjoyed the chicken curry until yesterday afternoon! Light meat curries, chicken or mutton sets my mood! Like I wasn't that happy with the thick mutton curry I cooked last Saturday for our guests! The problem is I fear the raw smell, I did not use much of oil or spices, just that I tend to over cook the mutton for long hours, the fat melts & the gravy gets oily & thick!

I WENT FOR AN EARLY LONG WALK TODAY!

I was back home by 1 pm, dot! I have no plans to eat out today & tomorrow! Hence, I finished off with the out door walk pretty early as per my schedule! Usually, people go for morning walks, in this island any time is a good time to go for walks or run, they love running! I just wish to take part in walkathons but there are only races happening throughout the year! Running caused me knee injury, my last participation in a race was in December, 2019! I go too slow, almost walk & finish a half marathon in nearly four hours, no point of going! I cannot stress or push myself, I fear injury, even death! I dislike working in the gym, feels claustrophobic! I enjoy long walks & swim, in my own slow pace! I walked 7.5 km today, that could have been fine if my tongue remained in my control! I just love food! Anyway, I had a fulfilling walking session in my own pace, happiness is to know no one was there to force me with anything! We love our freedom at this home, I enjoy such clicks too!

I wish I could grow them & that home is supposedly my dream home, I want it in my dream alone! I am a panicky self, even if the man buys one such, I cannot stay! 50% of fear is of burglary & 50% of the haunted witches & ghosts! At this time, I have no qualms about not owning a home here, that phase has passed away! As long as the son scores good & remains firm with his aspirations, mumma wants to keep cheering him! She wants him to get a good job, settle in a peaceful place, scenic but have the home near the city centre, have green space at his home which essentially would not be in a secluded place! His parents are not comfortable about living in big areas with scattered homes, neither they want the same for him! We would discuss with him all of these as & when required, no hurry, one thing at a time! Of course, if his partner does not agree with us, we would not interfere!

WHAT IS THIS TOMATO YOGURT MICROWAVE MADE CHICKEN?

See what I & Cristine had for our lunch, the maximum are leftovers from last Saturday! The egg & potato spiced rice was made this morning for the man's lunch box & packed with chicken kebab, also Malpua! 

I so much keep eating outside, I am feeling home bound these days! After a walk or a swim, I am preferring to eat at home, may be twice or thrice a week I would eat outdoor! The thing is, when I eat alone outside of home, I try to keep the budget within 7-9-10$! In such a scenario, your choices get narrowed, I have almost covered everything within this budget that suits my tongue! Now what? At home, I do enjoy playing with ingredients, make lame videos of the steps! You have to remain engaged in some fruitful job, I will not allow myself to sit idle! This non-vegetarian meat recipe, TOMATO YOGURT MICROWAVE MADE CHICKEN had been an impromptu idea! I mean we keep doing chicken with yogurt & tomato, at times adding turmeric or at times without it, at times using yogurt alone or tomato alone, besides other ingredients! I have never tried a microwave version! I only depended on a rough idea about what I want of it; a light curry base chicken using a little amount of oil! The stepwise pictures would say how simple a gluten-free chicken curry it is!

Few other meat recipes from this blog are : EASY STEAMED CHICKEN, BEET GAJOR ALOO DIYE PATHAR MANGSHO, CHICKEN PRAWN VEGETABLE SOUP

INGREDIENTS :

CHICKEN : 1 KG MEDIUM CUT

SLICED ONION : 1/2 COFFEE MUG

SLICED TOMATO : 7-8 PIECES

SLITTED GREEN CHILLI : 4-5

GARLIC PASTE : 1 TBSP

GINGER PASTE : 2 TSP

TURMERIC POWDER : 1 TSP

CUMIN POWDER : 1 TSP

CORIANDER POWDER : 1 TSP

RED CHILLI POWDER : 1 1/2 TSP

SALT : AS REQUIRED

OIL : 1 OR 2 TBSP

PROCEDURE : 

Wash the chicken pieces well under the running water! I do not have to struggle to get water, I would not understand what scarcity of water is! I may sound like Nero but the thought of having non-veg food at a normal place does not excite me, did they clean the meat & fish properly? I will cook at home, I have a help!

Marinate the washed chicken with enough salt for an hour, wash thoroughly a couple of times! This helps get rid of the raw smell!

Add all of the ingredients except for the washed & slitted green chillies to the chicken taken in a microwave proof bowl! Of course, we would wash the sliced onions well!

Fold in well & keep covered for an hour! Thereafter place the bowl in the microwave oven, cover it with a microwave proof plate. Microwave at 300 power for 10 minutes. Take out and stir well!

Again microwave at 300 power for 12-13 minutes, take out and give a stir!

Add the slitted green chillies, stir & microwave at high for 10-12 minutes! We should be done! 

We can enjoy it with both plain rice & chapati, even toasted bread!

 

CRISPY BAKED PASTRY SHEET ROLL

AFTER A PRETTY LONG TIME, I AM WRITING A BLOGPOST, A FEEL GOOD THING FOR SURE!

Yesterday was a day full of tensed moments! It was World Cup Cricket's Final Match last evening, India was one of the contestant! You can imagine the amount of pressure on our minds! The man hides it tactfully, I am expressive! We have to accept that the Australian Cricket Team had been strong all through, they do not go out of form ever! Our son never sits to watch a game of cricket, he is an ardent fan of Formula-1 matches, of what else mumma does not know! In my side of the family, except for me, every one else had been good in sports; all of the three sisters including our mother earned medals in sports, the father played football, my brother used to be a good swimmer, cricketer, sprinter! The entire family would watch any sport on our black & white television, the maternal grandfather who stayed with us in Kolkata during his posting there would insist all of us watch the important football, cricket, lawn tennis matches! Then the man entered my life who did not play any game but is fond of watching sports! I would sit with him & watch the game of cricket! I do not watch the Wimbledon or American Open anymore! Well, to watch the Gymnasts perform in the Olympics used to be my another hobby! I am myself far from playing any game! Today, I feel I had to learn something besides the text books, may be music!

HOW DO I SPEND MY SUNDAYS?

Ever since the son has left for his college, we hardly have anything to do on this day! For long, I continued the practice of getting store bought food for the man! Then one day, I stopped going out to the mall opposite to fetch food! Sundays seem long with most of the cooking done on the Saturdays! Yet, at least one meal I wish to cook on a Sunday, it can be the simplest! I enjoy the exercise, it helps me spend some quality time! The son would not pick up the phone always, the man would prefer having his beer, wine or whisky over going out with me on a lunch date! I have a license but cannot drive, drink driving is out of question at this home! Every country should have strict rules with regards to drink driving & playing music while driving! Yesterday, under the stress of India's possibility of losing the match, I cooked this!

For yesterday's lunch, we had a scrumptious Bengali platter, all items of our choice! That chicken curry I wish to blog about, I liked it! Today, after a swimming session, my first meal was a noodle bowl, corn+butter+chilli+salt cup & I do the latter better than any outlet selling it!

The problem is I cannot have that butter corn cup alone for a better looking, fitter body! Hence, my hanging belly keeps showing up prominent! Cristine cooked the noodles pretty well!

WHAT IS THIS CRISPY BAKED PASTRY SHEET ROLL?

I always have a pastry sheet packet kept in my freezer, I like cooking various snacks using it! The problem is I am poor at shaping them with the filling! Cristine wasn't around, I rolled them the simplest way because they were to be baked! I do like Bengali style rolls, specially the egg rolls but cannot digest those heavy stuffs! I started liking spring rolls when I first had them in my college days, did not have much of idea how Far East had it or South East Asia had it! I only knew it as Chinese Food! Funny enough, sitting in Singapore, I find their spring rolls pretty bland, having only some shredded & boiled cabbage or turnips with a hint of salt! For a desi like me, it is not welcome! Also spring rolls are deep fried! If I have learnt using pastry sheets for snacks that are oven cooked just brushing some oil, why would not I? I do have one or two similar recipes in the blog! The filling made for this CRISPY FRIED PASTRY SHEET ROLLS is one of a kind! Though I wished for a vegetarian snack, sometime back I discovered this Spring Home's pastry sheets have eggs used in the making, consider these non-vegetarian snackers!

INGREDIENTS : [FOR THE FILLING]

CHOPPED CARROT : A BOWLFUL

BOILED POTATO : A BOWLFUL

CHOPPED ONION : 2 TBSP

ROASTED PEANUT : 2 TBSP

CHOPPED COCONUT : 2 TBSP

CHOPPED GREEN CHILLI : 1 TSP

CURRY LEAF : 7-8

TURMERIC POWDER : 1/2 TSP

CUMIN POWDER : 1/2 TSP

CORIANDER POWDER : 1/2 TSP

DRY MANGO POWDER : 1 TSP

CRUSHED BLACK PEPPER : 1/4 TSP

CUMIN SEED : 1/4 TSP

ASAFOETIDA : A PINCH

SALT : AS REQUIRED

OIL : 1 TSP

INGREDIENTS : [FOR THE BAKED ROLLS]

THE FILLING

THE PASTRY SHEETS

SOME OIL OR GHEE OR BUTTER TO BRUSH

PROCEDURE :

Take the cut coconut, carrot, onion, green chillies together, wash & marinate with salt & turmeric! 

Heat 1 tsp oil in a wok, temper with the cumin seeds & asafoetida!

Add the marinated vegetables, stir & cover cook! My initial plan was not to add the boiled potato, later I changed my mind, I love potatoes!

Remove the cover, add the rest of the spice powders, curry leaves & give a stir! Add the boiled & mashed potatoes, fold in well! 

Add the roasted peanuts, fold in well & take down! Let it cool!

Cristine wasn't there at home & I am poor at folding a pastry sheet!

I felt free to just roll them & bake! I filled one side with some filling, applied water to the two ends, rolled the simplest way, pressed!

I greased one oven proof tray and placed the rolls with the two ends side placed down! I brushed some ghee on them for a better flavour!

Inside my convection mode microwave, I placed the low height wired stand, preheated the oven at 160*C!

I had placed the oven proof plate inside, closed the door, baked for 15 minutes at 160*C! 

The cooking time varies for different machines, be careful!