Skillet Bulgur Cakes with Vegetarian Chili

February 11, 2012 — Chelvi S

I have been making bulgur with different vegetables.  I kind of started getting bored making the same bulgur dish again and again.  So I thought to make this new and interesting version of bulgur dish.  Grilling in butter gives this dish a distinct flavor.  I used salted butter (I know too much sodium).  But it gives even a better taste.  But if you are a health conscious person and want to avoid any fatty stuff, you can use oil spray instead.

Ingredients

  • ½ cup uncooked bulgur
  • 1 ½ cups water
  • Salt to taste
  • About 2 teaspoons canola oil
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 4 oz white mushroom
  • 1 small green squash
  • 1/3 cup dried kidney beans
  • 1 ½ tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2 teaspoons Sri Lankan chili powder
  • ½ teaspoon cumin powder
  • ½ teaspoon coriander powder
  • Butter for skillet

Method:

Cook Bulgur

  • Bring water to boil in a covered saucepan
  • Wash bulgur thoroughly and add washed bulgur to saucepan and bring to a rolling boil
  • Reduce heat to low and cover and simmer until all water is absorbed
  • Let for about 5 – 10 minutes
  • Transfer bulgur to a baking tray and level with a spoon
  • Cool to room temperature
  • Cover and chill in refrigerator for about half an hour to one hour

Cook Vegetarian Chili

  • Soak beans overnight.  Drain water and wash them thoroughly
  • Add beans to a saucepan, add enough water and cook until soft (I used a pressure cooker since its fast.  I cooked for about 8 whistles).  Let cool.
  • Meanwhile thinly slice onion, garlic, and mushrooms.
  • Chop squash into ½ inch cubes
  • Add oil to a saucepan and add onion and garlic and sauté until soft.
  • Add mushroom, squash, beans, chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, ½ cup water, tomato paste and salt and cover and cook on medium flame for about 10 – 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender and the gravy has thickened

To Serve:

  • With a sharp knife, cut chilled bulgur in to diagonal pieces (about 6)
  • Melt about 1 tablespoon butter in a non stick skillet
  • Add bulgur cakes to the skillet and cook on both sides until lightly browned and crisp
  • Drain on paper towel
  • Place 2 bulgur diagonal pieces on each plate and top each serving with vegetable chili.

Serves 3

Posted in Grains, Main Dishes. Tags: , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »

Quinoa with Crunchy Sprouted Beans

February 3, 2012 — Chelvi S

Bean sprouts has a crunchy and nutty flavor.  They are rich in vitamins, minerals, amino acids, protein and phytochemicals.  Usually I add these sprouts in salads which give a nice crunchy taste.  But due to the recent outbreaks of salmonella, or Escherichia coli I started cooking them in high heat so it will at least kill the bacteria to some extent.

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup Quinoa
  • 1 ¼ cups water
  • About 2 teaspoons canola oil
  • ½ lb mixed vegetables (such as bell pepper, mushroom, squash etc)
  • About ½ inch piece of ginger
  • 1 small red onion

  • 1 cup mixed bean sprout
  • Few cashew nuts (optional)
  • ½ teaspoon chili paste
  • 1 teaspoon crushed pepper
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  • Roast quinoa on low flame for a couple of minutes or until fragrant (make sure not to burn it or turn brown)
  • Add water and salt and bring to a rolling boil.  (When adding water to the roasted quinoa, it might splatter since the pan is quite hot).
  • Reduce flame and cook until all the water is absorbed. When quinoa is cooked you will see a tiny tail coming out of the grain.  (See my image for recipe quinoa with vegetables).  Let cool
  • Chop ginger into very small pieces (you can also grind and crush them)
  • Chop bell pepper, squash, and mushrooms into thick sliced.
  • Add oil to a skillet and add ginger and fry for about a minute.
  • Add red onion and sauté until lightly transparent.
  • Now add the rest of the vegetables and sprouted beans and stir fry on medium to high flame for about 5 minutes
  • Reduce flame and add chili paste, crushed pepper and mix well and cook for another minute
  • Transfer cooked quinoa to the skillet and mix well.
  • Season with salt.
  • Roast cashew nuts and sprinkle on the top and mix into the quinoa.
  • Serves about 2

Note: you can use any vegetables you want for this dish.  For example snow peas or sugar snap peas can be another option (I did not have those).  If you are non vegetarian, you may want to try a bit of fried shrimp on the top.

Posted in Grains, Lunch, Main Courses, Main Dishes, Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , . Leave a Comment »

Vegetarian Baked Ziti

January 29, 2012 — Chelvi S

Ingredients:

  • 4 oz pasta such as Penne, Rotini etc.
  • 1 teaspoon cooking oil
  • ½ cup chopped onion
  • 2-3 cloves garlic finely chopped
  • 1, 10 oz pack frozen mixed vegetables
  • ¼ teaspoon cumin (optional)
  • ¼ teaspoon paprika
  • 1 ¾ cups pasta sauce
  • ¼ cup low fat ricotta cheese
  • About 1 cup or more mozzarella cheese
  • Parmesan cheese for sprinkling

Method:

  • Cook pasta and drain.  Set aside
  • Add pasta saucepan and ricotta cheese to a saucepan and cook on medium heat until ricotta cheese is melted and sauce start bubbling.
  • Set aside
  • Pre heat oven to 400F
  • Add oil to a skillet and when hot add onion and sauté until soft
  • Add garlic and sauté for another minute or two
  • Now add cumin and fry until fragrant.
  • Thaw vegetables and add to the skillet and cook until all the water is absorbed and the vegetables are soft.  Add chili powder
  • Now add the cooked sauce to the vegetables and mix well.
  • Add cooked pasta to the vegetables and mix thoroughly
  • Transfer to a oven proof dish and sprinkle generously with mozzarella cheese.
  • Bake for about 15-20 minutes or the cheese is lightly browned and bubbly
  • Let cool and when serving sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese
  • Serves: about 2 – 3 as a main dish
Posted in Main Dishes, Pasta Dishes. Tags: , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment »

Quinoa with Roasted Veggies

January 8, 2012 — Chelvi S

I like to roast vegetables instead of sauteing them on a stove top.  Especially with the cold weather and windows shut, sauteing in oil makes the whole house smell.  So this is one of the most easiest way to cook vegetables which is quite healthy and time consuming.  Once you put the vegetables in the oven, you don’t have to stand next to it.  So here is a quick version of Quinoa dish.

 

Ingredients:

  • ½ lb vegetables such as green beans, bell pepper, cauliflower, mushrooms.
  • ½ lb sweet potato
  • 5 red radishes
  • About 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons flax seed grounded
  • ½ teaspoons roasted cumin seeds
  • ¾ cup white quinoa
  • 1 ¼ cups water
  • Salt to taste

Method

  • Pre-heat oven to 400F
  • Slice bell pepper into thin slices.  Break the cauliflower into small florets.  Slice mushrooms into thick slices.  Chop green beans diagonally into 1 inch pieces
  • Cut sweet potatoes into about ½ inch cubes
  • Add all the vegetables to a cookie sheet with salt and sprinkle with olive oil and mix well
  • Bake for about 45 minutes
  • Let cool
  • To cook Quinoa: add quinoa to a skillet and roast lightly on medium flame.  About 5 minutes.
  • Stir water and salt to quinoa and bring to a rolling boil.  Reduce heat and simmer until all the water is absorbed.  About 10 minutes
  • Let cool.  Now mix vegetable with quinoa and season with salt and pepper
  • Serve with mango pickle.
  • Serves 2 as a main dish
Posted in Grains, Main Dishes, Quick Dishes. Leave a Comment »

Quesadilla

November 15, 2011 — Chelvi S

Quesadilla is one of my favorite dishes. Quesadillas are normally corn or flour tortilla filled with veggies, meat and cheese and cooked on both sides until the cheese melts. You can use any vegetable combination you want in this dish. I like whole wheat since it is healthy. Also you can replace mozzarella cheese with any of your choice like shredded cheddar, mix of different cheese etc. Since the cooking time of tortilla is very short, vegetables must be cooked ahead before filling the quesadillas. Red onion gives a very strong flavor for this dish. Also mixing green and red/orange pepper gives a different flavor and a slight sweet taste.


Ingredients:

  • 4  (10 inch) whole wheat flour tortilla
  • ½ lb bell pepper (green + orange/red)
  • 6 oz button mushroom
  • ½ cup sliced red onion
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • ¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Method:

  • Slice bell peppers into thin strips.
  • Add oil to skillet and when hot, add peppers and onion and sauté until half cooked.
  • Add mushroom to the skillet and cook until vegetables are cooked but still crisp.
  • Divide vegetables into 2 portions.  Do the same with cheese.
  • Wipe the skillet clean with paper towel and spray a little oil
  • Add a tortilla to the skillet and sprinkle some cheese
  • Top with half of the cooked vegetables spreading evenly leaving about ½ inch at the ends.
  • Sprinkle with cheese on the top
  • Cover with the other tortilla and cook on low flame until cheese is melted
  • Turn over carefully and cook until cheese is melted on the other side
  • Place quesadilla on a cutting board and cut into wedges
  • Serve with guacamole or tomato salsa and sour cream
  • Makes 2 quesadilla

Variations: After adding filling vegetables to the tortilla you can add extra ingredients you like such as fresh chopped tomatoes, black olives, cilantro, corn etc.

Posted in Main Dishes, Sandwiches & Wraps. Leave a Comment »

Pasta with Broccoli and White Beans

May 17, 2011 — Chelvi S

For this recipe, fresh broccoli should be used.  Frozen might become too soft when sauted

Ingredients:

  • 4 oz pasta (Rotini, Penne etc)
  • ½ lb fresh broccoli florets (after thick stems removed)
  • 5 sundried tomato halves chopped into small pieces
  • 1 (15.5 oz) can northern white beans
  • 16 whole black olives
  • 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese + extra for sprinkling
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil

Method

  • Cook pasta and drain and set aside
  • Add oil to a heavy saucepan/skillet and once it’s hot add chopped dried tomatoes and sauté for about a minute
  • Add broccoli florets and sauté for about 4 minutes on medium-high flame
  • Meanwhile wash and drain the beans thoroughly (I wash the beans to remove any chemicals added as preservative)
  • Add washed beans to the saucepan and cook on medium-low flame for another 3 minutes
  • Add pasta, black olives, salt, pepper and the cheese and mix well while on low flame
  • Transfer to a plate and sprinkle with extra cheese
  • Serves 2
Posted in Pasta Dishes, Quick Dishes. Leave a Comment »

Pasta with Roasted Mixed Veggies

April 5, 2011 — Chelvi S

Ingredients

  • 4 oz pasta (Rotini, Rigatoni etc)
  • 4 oz asparagus
  • 4 oz bell pepper
  • 6 oz portabella mushrooms
  • 1 medium sweet potato
  • ½ cup cherry tomatoes
  • 1 -2  tablespoon olive oil
  • ½ cup pasta sauce (I used the basil and tomato sauce)
  • ¼ teaspoon dried basil
  • 2 tablespoons pine nuts toasted
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Extra virgin olive oil for sprinkling
  • Parmesan cheese for sprinkling

Method

  • Cook pasta and drain.  Set aside
  • Preheat oven to 350F

  • Cut asparagus into 1 inch pieces.  Cut bell pepper into thin strips.
  • Quarter mushrooms
  • Peel and cube sweet potatoes into ½ inch cubes
  • Add cut vegetables to a cookie sheet/tray and add olive oil, salt and pepper and mix well

  • Bake for about 45 minutes or until vegetables are roasted but a bit crunchy
  • Add cooked pasta, roasted vegetables, pasta sauce to a saucepan and mix well on low flame
  • Add parmesan cheese and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil
  • Sprinkle with toasted pine nuts
  • Optional:  Black olives can also be added to this pasta dish
  • Serves 2
Posted in Pasta Dishes. 2 Comments »

Vegetable Quinoa Pilaf

February 8, 2011 — Chelvi S

I found a quinoa recipe in the good housekeeping website.  (check recipe at Vegetable Quinoa Curry).  I took this recipe and modified to make it as a vegetable quinoa pilaf.

Quinoa (Red & White):

Quinoa is a grain like plant grown for its edible seeds.  Even though quinoa looks like a grain, it does not belong to the grass family (graminacea). Quinoa is closely related to spinach, beets, and Swiss chard.  The most common ones are the white quinoa which becomes transparent or off white when cooked.  But other varieties features colors as red, orange, brown etc.  Cooked quinoa seeds are very fluffy and crunch in taste.

When cooked, the bead like quinoa will have a tiny tail like protruding from the seeds.

Cooked Quinoa:

Quinoa is very rich in amino-acids as well as rich in manganese, iron, copper and phosphorus

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup quinoa
  • 1 ¼ cups water
  • 10 – 12 oz mixed vegetables (cauliflower, carrots, string beans etc)
  • 6 oz extra firm tofu baked
  • 2 teaspoons cooking oil
  • ¼ cup chopped onion
  • 2 – 3 cloves garlic chopped
  • ¼ inch piece ginger chopped
  • ½ teaspoon coriander powder
  • ¼ teaspoon cumin powder
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • Couple of cashew nuts (about 10)
  • 2 teaspoons generous Greek yogurt
  • Salt to taste

Method

  • Add quinoa to a saucepan and roast on medium flame for about 5 minutes stirring frequently
  • Stir water and salt to quinoa and bring to boil.  Reduce heat and cover and simmer until all the water is absorbed (about 10 minutes).  Set aside
  • Break the cauliflower into small florets.  Slit the carrot lengthwise and then chop diagonally into thick slices.  Cut green beans into 1½ inch pieces.
  • Add oil to a saucepan and add onion and sauté for about a minute.  Add chopped ginger and garlic and sauté until onion and garlic are golden brown
  • Add coriander powder, cumin powder and fry for a couple of seconds on low flame
  • Add vegetables, water and cover and cook on low flame until all the water is absorbed and vegetables are soft (if needed sprinkle a little water at a time to prevent burning)

  • Add cashew nuts, quinoa, baked tofu, Greek yogurt to the vegetable mix and mix well
  • Serve warm (serves 2 main dishes)
Posted in Grains, Main Dishes, Others. 1 Comment »

Pasta with Sundried tomato & Pine nut sauce

January 26, 2011 — Chelvi S

Ingredients

  • 4 oz pasta (Rotini, penne etc)
  • ¼ cup + 2 teaspoons pine nuts
  • 12 halves of sun dried tomatoes
  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • ¼ cup water
  • ½ teaspoon pesto sauce (basil pesto)
  • 1 tablespoon parmesan cheese
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
  • 3 oz baby spinach
  • ¼ cup whole black olives

Method

  • Lightly toast pine nuts
  • Cook pasta and drain and set aside

  • Add ¼ cup pine nuts, 10 halves of sun dried tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, water, pesto sauce, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to blender and puree until smooth.  Transfer to a dish and set aside
  • Chop the rest of the sun dried tomatoes into very small pieces
  • Add olive oil to a skillet and add cherry tomatoes and sauté for about 15 – 20 seconds (make sure the tomatoes do not get over cooked and become mushy)
  • Add pasta sauce, cooked pasta and spinach to the skillet and continue to cook on very low flame until spinach is wilted.
  • Add black olives, chopped sun dried tomatoes and mix well
  • Sprinkle rest of the pine nuts on the top.
  • Serve warm (It’s best served immediately)
  • Serves 2
Posted in Main Dishes, Pasta Dishes, Uncategorized. Leave a Comment »

Black Beans & Spinach Stuffed Pasta Shells

January 18, 2011 — Chelvi S

Ingredients

  • 4 oz pasta shells
  • 14 oz can black beans
  • 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach
  • 6 oz chopped tomatoes
  • 3 – 4 cloves garlic chopped into small pieces
  • 1 teaspoons oil
  • 1 – 1 ¼ cups pasta sauce
  • Mozzarella cheese

Method

  • Cook pasta and drain and set aside
  • Pre-heat oven to 350 F
  • In a skillet add oil and sauté garlic until browned
  • Add chopped tomatoes and cook until they are soft
  • Squeeze excess water from spinach and drain and wash the black beans (I wash them to remove any chemical or preservative added)
  • Add black beans and spinach to skillet and cook for about 5 minutes
  • Mash the beans lightly with the back of the spoon
  • Add pasta sauce to a baking dish and spread it evenly
  • Stuff the shells with the vegetable mix and arrange them on the baking dish
  • Sprinkle with cheese and bake for about 15 – 20 minutes or the cheese is melted and lightly browned
Posted in Main Dishes, Pasta Dishes. 1 Comment »
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