Caramelized Onion & Garlic Buns

I've learned quite a bit about the workings of yeast and the art of making bread, thanks to MasterChef Australia. I decided to put one of those tips to use. I've been thinking of making onion bread for quite sometime. But instead of adding the onion at the initial stages, I decided on caramelizing and adding after the dough has been prepared. Apparently, yeast doesn't like too much disturbance in the initial stage. Once you make the dough, you've incorporated your yeast and hence, adding any kind of spices, veggies or nuts would be okay.

Grissini (Italian Breadsticks)

I think yeast is starting to love me. ;-) How else would you explain every yeast experiment succeeding? (touch wood!!!) In fact, I've already made them thrice, in varying sizes. Homemade breadsticks are delicious! Plus there's an added satisfaction of consuming what you made - from scratch! Grissini, commonly known as breadsticks are Italian appetizers. They are perfect sides for a bowl of soup.

Noodle Burrito | Noodle Frankie

Noodle Frankie is extremely popular in my college. A thin tortilla stuffed with red hot noodles and other spices and rolled like a Burrito makes it an absolute delight to munch on during breaks. Bit by the nostalgia bug, (I graduated in March) I decided to recreate the same roll at home. And I believe I almost succeeded. A bit of tailoring the recipe here and there would give me the perfect homemade Noodle Burrito I've been looking for. What you see here is the perfect Noodle Frankie recipe (I hope so!).

Bhel Puri - Mumbai Street Food

Every street, every beach and every hotel will have Bhel Puri (pronounced as Bhél Pooree) on their menu. It is impossible to come to Mumbai and leave without noticing this very popular snack. :) Bhel Puri is a mixture of Puffed Rice and other veggies & spices in a tangy tamarind sauce. It is also called Jhaal Muri in Kolkatta (meaning - Hot puffed rice) and Churumuri in Bangalore.

Cheesy Bread Cigars

 

I've got this amazing finger food for you! You'll laugh reading the recipe. Only because, its not exactly a recipe! :-D No exact measurements, no proper instructions! And yet, you can produce this awesomely awesome Bread Cigars in under 10 minutes. And yes, I came up with it myself! ;-)

Vegetable Croquette (Kebab)

 

Continuing my quest for quick and low-fat snacks, I present to you these vegetable croquettes. Croquette is just a fancy name for our Desi kebab. When I had to hop to Neetu's picturesque blog for this week's BHW, I decided to make these. And since Croquette sounds cool, I decided to call it just that. :-D I altered the recipe to accommodate the ingredients I had. You can do so too. 

Cucumber Bread Cups

Days when I am at home studying(?!), I constantly look for something interesting to eat. And chips or fries are not options anymore since they make me drowsy and of course, the obvious reason - they are loaded with empty calories! A quest for tasty yet somewhat healthy snack has led me to discover/invent quite a few interesting and quick recipes. Some work while some flop. This is one of those that has worked.

 

Tomato Soup (Healing Foods)

I usually advocate for eating fruits & vegetables in whole. I hate to see beautiful tomatoes or strawberries ground beyond recognition. But, being teeny bit hypocritical, I (only) love tomato soup. I usually drink this when I'm sick and it is such a comfort during those days when you have a coughing marathon. Adding croutons to the soup makes it filling and tasty. And the best part of this soup is > Almost Zero Efforts. Boil the veggies, throw them in the blender & blend away.

Paneer Chilli | Chinese style Cottage Cheese

Paneer Chilli, an Indo-Chinese dish is a fusion of the Indian ingredient Paneer (cottage cheese) with the Chinese style of cooking. Its very simple to make and is an amazing party starter. And not too oily either :-) Of course, if you aren't one of those who like fusion food, then you should stay away from this. :-D

Low-Fat Aaloo Bonda | Batata Vada | Stuffed Potato Dumpling

Before I proceed, here's some background about what we're making today. Typically, Batata Vada | Aaloo Bonda (read like Rhonda ;-))  involves DEEP-FRYING a potato-filling (& other veggies) dipped in gram flour batter. Here's something you may (or may not) have seen before -

This is called a Kuzhi Paniyaram Achchu (don't even try pronouncing it! Only south Indians will get it right :-D) As you can see, it has holes (or kuzhi) in which we pour any batter and make small ball shaped snacks. SO this is what we're using today, to make these low-fat dumplings. If you don't have this, you can always deep fry & then burn off on the treadmill! :-P