Baked Veggie Empanadas Baked Veggie Empanadas, made using a wholewheat pastry with a filling of fresh red beans, potato and corn. Serve as a snack or as a meal with a salad and homemade Tomato Salsa. What are Empanadas? Empanada is one and several are empanadas. They are stuffed pastry or bread which are either fried or baked. Originally from Portugal, empanadas are made in several South American countries. The filling varies from region to region. Generally beef is the choice, but these days its easy to find chicken, fish, other meat, vegetables filled empanadas. Also sometimes a sweet filling is used like apples, cream cheese, jam, pumpkin, etc. Interestingly, they are similar to the Italian Calzone, but are smaller in size. Also yeast is…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIES_ REDOING OLD POSTS #23 For this event, Foodies_Redoing Old Posts my 23rd recipe is an easy Summer Style Pomelo Avocado Salad. What is the group Foodies _Redoing Old Posts all about? Updating posts with better photos or better write up or both is what the group Foodies_Redoing Old Posts started by Renu allows us to do. The advantage of rewriting the post in a better manner makes it more SEO friendly and good photos is what attracts your fans to check out the recipe. What Is A Salad? Salad is a mixture of vegetables, fruits, sometimes meat, fish, cheese, grains, lentils, beans, etc which is usually in in small pieces. Usually served as a starter, a side dish or as a light meal,…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIES_REDOING OLD POSTS RECIPE: CARROT ORANGE SALAD Carrot Orange Salad is a super tasty salad bursting with flavours. With a homemade salad dressing, it sure is a refreshing salad. I love the combination of carrot and orange in muffins and smoothies. So why would a salad with those two ingredients be any different? What I love about salads is that there is no restriction to the ingredients one can add. Make a combination that you love. Serve this salad as a light meal, as a side dish, for parties, take it along for picnics, etc. Make Salads Appealing Make Salads appealing to both adults and kids: Add their favourite ingredient like a fruit, seeds,herbs, nuts. Make it colourful, must be visually attractive. Must be…
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Continue ReadingWhat is a Greek Salad? A Greek Salad is a salad that is part of the Greek Cuisine. Usually, it comprises of tomatoes, cucumber, onion, olives, some feta cheese and fresh herbs usually oregano. It is also known as a Farmer’s Salad as he/she would have the ingredients at hand. A good healthy salad can be enjoyed as breakfast or as light lunch. These days it common to find variations of this salad where bell peppers, capers, fruits are added. My Greek Style Salad During the hot season, (okay I know its always hot in Mombasa), I hate spending time in the sweltering kitchen cooking elaborate meals. Sometimes even a simple meal of roti and sabji (veg side dish) becomes a task to cook.…
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Continue ReadingRecipe: Potato Salad With Dill Mention Potato Salad to my hubby and only one type comes to his mind, the creamy potato salad with dill. Whenever I buy baby potatoes to try out a new dish, he will insist that I make his potato salad. The first time I made it for a dinner party, I used fresh cream. Though it tasted really good, by the time we served it, it had become like a big clumpy thick mass. Next time I made it, I added thick plain yogurt. That worked well. Slowly the cream got replaced totally by thick yogurt. Do we miss the fresh cream in it? Not at all. Fresh or Dried Dill While most herbs can be interchangeable for a dish,…
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Continue ReadingI love adding cheese cubes , crumbled cheese , grated cheese to my salad. The day hubby sees cheese in the salad, he comments ” someone’s favourite is on the menu again!” Not that he wouldn’t eat the cheese, am sure he too loves it. Cheese makes the salad more fun…. can you imagine the mixture of different tastes…. its like music for the tongue. Enjoy this simple and lovely salad. Yes, avocados are still in season and not joking at all but now they are huge, they are actually the size of a hawaiian paw paw. I am serious. I’m sure you’ll love this salad as much as I love it. Its filling, different and loaded with all the essential nutrients required. You can…
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Continue ReadingRECIPE: 3 ESSENTIAL CHUTNEYS 3 Essential Chutneys that are common for the Indian Cuisine are the green, date tamarind and garlic chutneys. These 3 chutneys are an essential part of any chaat recipe. Also these chutneys and hot fresh snacks go hand in hand. Often enough chutneys come to the rescue to prepare a lip smacking sandwich or wrap. Chutneys have the unique quality of converting a bland boring dish into a flavourful one. WHAT IS A CHUTNEY? Chutney is a dipping sauce, a condiment. Where Indian Cuisine Chutney is concerned, it is quite different from the chutneys from those prepared by the Western World. As a matter of fact, Chutney originates from the Indian Cuisine. During the British Rule, Great Britain was introduced to…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIES_ REDOING OLD POSTS #45 RECIPE: VEGETABLE BAKED PASTA Vegetable Baked Pasta Vegetable Baked Pasta loaded with vegetables,is cheesy, creamy and simply irresistible. It is totally comfort food for my family. In fact I prepare Vegetable Baked Pasta every fortnight. The vegetables vary but the sauces remain the same. This pasta dish is a version of the traditional Italian dish called PASTA AL FORNO. For Pasta Al Forno pasta is boiled about 3-4 minutes less than instructed on the packet. The pasta is then mixed or layered in a baking dish with a meaty sauce. The meat used varies from Italian sausage to minced meat. Then it is baked. In Italian the word ‘Al Forno” means to the oven, meaning baked. For my version of…
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Continue ReadingRECIPE: BEETROOT GRAPE SALAD Beetroot Grape Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette is a delicate balance of flavours – sweet, tangy and salty. This salad is not only colourful but very tasty and filling too. With the addition of feta and chickpeas, it is perfect as a light meal or as a starter dish. COLOURFUL SALADS There is no doubt that colour plays an important part in our daily lives. Right from the natural colours around us to food. How colourful the food appears, it definitely an attraction to dive into it. Okay, I’m not willing to dive into those artificially coloured desserts, cakes, etc. But naturally colourful food …yes! You will rarely find a basic carrot tomato and lettuce salad on my dining table. I am…
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Continue ReadingIdli Sambar Idli Sambar is a fluffy soft, melt in the mouth fermented and steamed breakfast, served with a delicious, piping hot lentil stew and topped with fresh coconut chutney. Not only is idli sambar a healthy breakfast, but also the fermentation process increases the bioavailability of proteins, and enriches the idli with vitamin B. Low in fat, sometimes its served with a dollop of ghee which is beneficial for healthy joints. What is Idli? Idli or Idly is a popular South Indian savory steamed cake which is usually made from rice and black lentils(urad dal). The batter is allowed to ferment overnight without yeast or other raising agents. Next day its steamed in a idli stand or in small bowls. A popular breakfast dish, its…
