He is a growing boy....look how he is shooting up.....

Cooking for 'growing boys' is challenging(to put it mildly). They are forever hungry and want something interesting to eat. Unless you can match their pace you will have them reaching for junk.

While Burgers get classified as junk food, it is quite simple to convert that into a healthy, wholesome anytime meal. Buy good quality wholewheat buns, stuff with vegetable cutlets( tons of veggies, a little bit of oil) and there you go.

It works as a one dish meal and you could team it with a soup/fresh juice depending on the time of the day and season of the year.

Veggie Burger

Ingredients(Makes four burgers)

Burger Buns: 2 per person ( if you have boys budget for a few more)

Potatoes: 2/3 large sized, boiled

Mixed vegetables: 1 cup( finely chop carrots, beans and boil them along with some green peas)

Paneer: 100 grams, grated

Bread: 1/2 slices

Pepper: 1 tsp

Jeera powder: 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Cheese slice(optional): One per burger

Mayonnaise(optional): 1 tsp per burger

Method

To make the cutlet

Mash the potatoes, add the boiled vegetables, grated paneer, salt, pepper, jeera powder, bread slices and mix well to make a firm dough.

Shape the dough into big, round balls and then flatten them. They need to be the size( in terms of their diameter, pardon the technical jargon) of the buns that you plan to use.

Putting it all together

Halve the burger buns( horizontally). The ones I bought today had already been halved( some clever thinking I must say). Toast them lightly. You could spread some mayo on them(optional), layer a slice of cheese over the lower half(again optional, most kids love it), place the cutlet over it. Cover with the other half of the bun.

Serve with some tomato ketchup.

We had ours for dinner along with a salad and some soup.

Burger also makes a good lunch box option. Kids are quite happy eating it cold. My suggestion would be to skip the cheese slice else you would end up with a gooey mess. Make the cutlet from the night before so that all of you have to do is assemble the burger in the morning.

A good way to sneak a lot of vegetables in. Looks delicious and easy finger food( even your five year old can polish it in a jiffy).

You could keep varying the filling: aloo tikki( potato cutlets) one day, chicken nuggets on another, mince chops the third time etc.

Just about anything can be mashed into a cutlet( even leftover rajma mixed with some boiled potatoes) and turned into a burger. As long as you stay with the burger disguise, kids are sure to love it.

Bon Apetit and Happy Cooking!

P.S: The ketchup art is courtesy my older son. Cooking with kids is even more fun than cooking for kids. Cheers!

Et tu Brutus.....

"Et tu?" my foodie friend asks. Her tone clearly accusing me of betrayal. Yes, me too I answer.

Her surprise/dismay was on being told that I too had joined the group of weight watchers/health watchers who ate a light dinner. And that my dinner these days( on most weekdays) typically comprised of salads/stir fry/soup. She of course assumed that by doing so I was going to miss out on all the excitement/fun centered around food. And that I had resigned myself to a 'ghaas-phoos'(read tomato and cucumber salad) existence. She couldn't have been farther from the truth. Dinner times are actually getting better. I rummage through recipe books/blogs for interesting salad recipes. I reproduce leaner and easier to make versions of the same. The salads are different, interesting and the dressing is usually light. Even when I use mayonnaise I make it thinner by adding some milk to it. Lime juice, olive oil and oregano makes for a nice flavoring.

I seem to have misplaced my Tarla Dala book of soups and salads. In this books she provides alternate dressing for the same salad. There are a total of about fifteen types of dressing and you can mix n match( go beyond her recommended set) to make different salads. In some ways I am glad I cannot locate the book, it is helping me discover new salads/dressings each day.

The other inspiration for the title of this post is the salad below. The chicken version is more popular. What I like about it is the mix of ingredients and flavors. But then isn't that true about most salads.

Tuna Caeser's Salad

Ingredients

Tuna: About 400 grams of Tuna. Choose the regular one in brine

Lettuce: A bundle( four to five big leaves)

Onions: 1/2 chopped fine

Tomatoes: De- seed and chop fine( You can always add the pulp to another gravy dish)

Bread: Toast and then chop into small pieces to make the croutons

Mayonnaise: 2 tbsps

Olive Oil: 2 tbsps

Lime juice: 2 tbsps

Oregano seasoning: 1 tsp( I use the Roopak brand which comes mixed with carway seeds and other seasoning)

Parmesean Cheese(optional): 1/2 tsps of grated cheese

Method

Prepare a dressing of mayo, olive oil, lime juice and oregano. Toss in the tuna, onions, tomatoes and shredded lettuce. If using cheese add it at this stage. Add the bread croutons. Toss well.

Serve immediately.

This is a meal by itself. You could at best combine it with a clear soup.

Lettuce gives this salad a fresh, light feel and a crunchy taste. If using lettuce that has been stored in the refrigerator for a day, refresh in ice cold water to which a few drops of vinegar has been added.

You could also add some finely shredded cabbage and some boiled eggs to the salad.

"Breakfast like a King, lunch like a Prince and dinner like a Pauper". Hope that works for me. Watch this space for more salad recipes. And as for my foodie friend hope I can get her to switch too.

Bon Apetit and Happy Cooking!

Through the blogger's lens.......

"I blog therefore I cook", sums up my present mindset quite aptly. Ever since I started blogging, food has taken on an entirely new meaning.

I have always been a foodie. Am part of an extended family where most phone conversations begin with: what's cooking? It is not uncommon among us cousins to call each other up across states/countries/continents for recipes. Food talk dominates whenever we meet. We plan our menus/meals days ahead of each other's scheduled visits. Post the visit we quickly update the rest of the family on the outcome of our efforts- what worked/what did not, what was perceived to be new/interesting etc.

So how is it different now? It is not easy for me to articulate what has changed but kuch to hua hai. I remember having a chat on this with fellow blogger Raindrop. Both of us agreed that blogging had given us a 'seventh sense' /a sort of third eye. We were a lot more sensitized and receptive to the various sounds, smells, flavors around us. It was like wearing a blogger's lens when one looked at the world.

Thus Khichdi was no longer a bland, healthy dish but "comfort food", Caramel pudding transformed itself into "dizzy pazzy", Soups from being mere appetizers now symbolized warm, nourishing, winter food. It was almost as if another layer/dimension had been added on to food.

One is also constantly on the lookout for new recipes, new food experiences etc. etc. Meal times at home are a lot more interesting. You try and make your everyday cooking 'blog worthy' either through a concept or execution. You cook, experiment, combine flavors and in the process hone your cooking skills. You attack recipe books with renewed vigor and more often than not find your own variations of the same.

Mustard chicken is the result of one such attempt. It has its origins somewhere in the South of France. What I present below is a leaner and easier version of the original. The sharp/pungent flavor of mustard is balanced by the combined flavors of honey, lime juice and olive oil. So a mustard based recipe without the 'bite' of mustard.

Mustard Chicken

Ingredients

Boneless Chicken: 400 grams( Breast pieces)

Mustard paste: 3/4 tbsps( soak about 3/4 tbsps of mustard seeds for 3/4 hours and then grind to a fine paste)

Olive oil: 1 tbsp

Lime juice: 1 tbsp

Oregano seasoning: 1 tbsp

Honey: 1 tsp

Salt: 1 tsp

Method

Wash the chicken pieces and pat dry. Prick all over with a fork. Prepare a marinade with the mustard paste, lime juice, olive oil, honey, oregano seasoning and salt. Marinate the chicken pieces in it for 2/3 hours(Ideally place the container in the refrigerator). Take the container out about 30 minutes before you start cooking, to allow the chicken to thaw.

Heat a non- stick plan. Brush some olive oil on it. Once the pan heats up place the chicken pieces. Cook on high for a little while(pan sear the chicken), turn the pieces and continue to cook on high. Then reduce the heat, cover and cook for about 8/10 minutes. Open the cover, increase the heat and let the marinade completely coat the chicken.

Serve along with a tomato and celery salad.

Exotic to be part of a party menu AND easy to cook/healthy enough to eat everyday.

Bon Apetit and Happy Cooking!

Soul Curry.....

It is the festive season. Almost all the food blogs that I have read over the past few days are full of party cooking. Elaborate meat dishes or exotic desserts.

I am however choosing to write about one of the more basic ones at this time- Khichdi. The feasting has been done with and so the focus needs to quickly turn to health. Also with the mercury dipping to 3 degrees and Delhi being colder than Shimla( if Times of India is to be believed) one needs warm, nourishing food.

As with soups, Khichdi tastes wonderful during winters. It is comfort food in most Indian homes. Yes, this is true across regions. Some version of the Khichdi exists in every home. In fact Khichdi has also the inspiration for the Anglo Indian dish Kedegree. There are ofcourse many adaptations of this basic dish including one with leftover keema.

In the East Khichdi is usually prepared as a main meal during festivals. I have happy memories of eating Khichdi with tomato chutney and baigan bhaja( shallow fried brinjal) during Ganesh puja and Saraswati puja. The same is also served as prasad at the puja pandals during Durga Puja. Despite the near absence of oil or spices the dish tastes delicious. As with all other comfort foods it is unpretentious in character, provide easy satisfaction and help us ease back into every day life.

It is a one pot meal. The rice provides the carbs, the daals provide the protein and the vegetables the vitamins/minerals etc. The tempering is subtle and no single ingredient dominates.

Khichdi

Ingredients

Rice: 1 cup

Moong Daal: 1/2 cup

Masoor Daal: 1/2 cup

Jeera: 1 tsp

Ghee: 1 tsp

Bay leaves: 2

Ginger: 1 inch, grated

Shelled Green Peas: 1/2 cup

Potatoes: 2, cubed

Salt: 1 tsp

Turmeric: 1/2 tsp

Red Chillies: 2/3

Method

Roast the moong daal for a few minutes( till you get a nice aroma, take care not to brown the daal). Next take about 3/4 cups of water in a pressure cooker and let it come to a boil, add the rice and allow it to cook for a few minutes. Then add the daal, vegetables, half the grated ginger, salt, turmeric. Mix well. Cover the pressure cooker and let it give out one whistle. Switch off the cooker and allow it to cool.

Separately heat oil in a small kadai, add the jeera, red chillies, bay leaves and the remaining ginger to it. Let the jeera sputter. Add the tadka to the Khichdi. Serve immediately.

Khichdi needs to be eaten as soon as it is cooked.

Khichdi is also the first solid food that is given to babies in India. So comforting childhood memories and a sense of security is what it also provides.

Bon Apetit and Happy Cooking!