Sweet Potato Paratha | Roti Paratha Recipes

I love to incorporate veggies in parathas and always do so when I get a chance. Yesterday I made this Sweet potato paratha. Not only did the addition of Sweet potato gave a great taste but it also gave a vibrant color to  the parathas and made it super soft. Also do check out my Methi Aloo paratha and Mooli Paratha.

Ingredients:
Sweet potato - 1 medium sized
Wheat flour / Atta flour - 3 cups
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Cumin powder - 3/4 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp + more for cooking
Ginger paste - 1/2 tsp or less
Water - as needed

Method:
Boil and mash the sweet potato until smooth without lumps. Mix the flour, salt, red chilli powder and cumin powder well. Add the oil and ginger paste and mix until the oil is well incorporated. Add the pureed sweet potatoes and knead to a soft pliable dough sprinkling water as needed. Set aside for 30 mins. Take golf ball sized dough and flatten it with a rolling pin. Make circular parathas dusting with flour. Heat a tawa and place the rolled out parathas on it. When the top of the parathas change color, flip over and spray some oil over it. After about 20 secs flip over and press and rotate the parathas with a kitchen towel. The parathas would puff up. Serve hot with a dollop of butter. The perfect side dishes are curd and pickle.
Note: 1 tsp of red chilli powder may sound like too much of heat but it will countered in the sweetness in the sweet potato. You could also use yogurt instead of water while making the dough.

Tofu Golden Triangles with Hot and Sweet Dipping Sauce | Easy Tofu Recipes

We love to go to Asian restaurants. But whenever we go we have very few options for vegetarian appetizers. DH being a hard-core vegetarian, would mostly prefer to order this one next only to Spring Rolls. He is not a big fan of tofu and never like it when it is mild. But when it is made crunchy or spicy he is totally a different person and can't resist. I mostly grill or make Thai curry/Rice with Tofu. When I picked up tofu this time during my grocery shopping, DH was telling (more of complaining) that I never make his favorite appetizer. So one fine evening I surprised him my making his favorite tofu dish. It takes less time to put together this one. I am not kidding when I say it took less time for me to prepare this than to write this recipe.

Ingredients:
Setting time - 30 mins; Preparation time - 10 mins
Tofu - 1 Pack - Firm or Extra Firm
Oil - For deep frying
Salt - for seasoning
Method:
Drain the water in the tofu and dry excess water. Place the tofu wrapped up in a kitchen towel and place a heavy pan over it. In about 15-30 mins all the water would be absorbed in the kitchen towel. Cut the tofu into small pieces. Deep fry the tofu pieces in a oil heating over med-high heat. Fry until golden brown and drain in a tissue paper. When it is still hot sprinkle little salt over 
the tofu. Serve with Hot and Sweet Dipping Sauce.
Note: Like any deep fried item, Tofu absorbs more oil if it has more water inside it. So try to get the water out as much as possible before frying.
Oven Bake Method:
Preheat the broiler. Place the oven rack in the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with aluminium foil and spray oil. Arrange the cut tofu pieces in the pan and broil for 12-15 minutes. Remove every 4 minutes and flip the pieces over. It only takes moments to go from baked to burnt when set in broil mode. So keep a watchful eye after 8 minutes.

Hot and Sweet Dipping Sauce
Ingredients:
Preparation time - 5 mins
Red chilli paste - 1 tbsp plus more if you wish
Sugar - 2 tbsp
Water - 2 tbsp
Vinegar or Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
Crushed peanuts - 1 tbsp (optional - I did not add)
Method:
Mix water and sugar until it is dissolved. Heat all the ingredients until warm. This enables better infusion of the flavors. Allow to cool and serve.

Sending this to 100 Day Global Food Festival event, CC-What's For Friday Dinner, Kid's Delight - Party and to Flavors of Indonesia event by Nayna.

Brazilian Coffee Cookies | Cookie Recipes

I am not a regular coffee-drinker, but would not say no to a cup of joe on busy and cranky days. It is my pick me up. But I love coffee flavored bakes very much. The wonderful aroma of coffee which fills the whole kitchen when baking reminds me of the smell of the filter coffee brewed at home. I baked these Brazilian Coffee Cookies from Sailu's space before a couple of weeks for my friends. 
Also do check out my other Coffee flavored bakes - Mocha Chocolate Muffins and Coffee Almond Biscotti.

Sending this to Susan's Black & White Wednesday.

Ingredients:
Adapted from Sailu's Recipe here
All purpose flour / Maida - 2 cups
Baking soda - 1/4 tsp
Baking powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Light brown sugar - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1/2 cup + more for dusting
Unsalted butter - 1/3 cup (room temperature)
Egg - 1 (room temperature)
Milk - 1 tbsp
Vanilla extract - 1 1/2 tsp
Instant coffee powder - 2 1/2 tbsp
Hot water - 1 tbsp

Method:
Preheat the oven to 390 F / 200 C. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Mix the hot water to the coffee powder and set aside. Whisk/sieve together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda. Cream the butter and sugars with hand mixer until light. Add the egg and mix well. Mix in the milk and vanilla extract followed by the flour mixture. When the dough comes together, cover with a plastic wrap and pop into the refrigerator for 15 mins. Make lime-sized balls of the dough and place on the parchment paper. Press down with a fork or a slotted spatula and sprinkle some sugar over the top. Place the balls with about one inch gap. Bake for 12 - 15 mins. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool for 30 minutes and store in an airtight container. Repeat with the remaining dough in batches.

I am sending this to 100 day Global Food Festival event by Kalyani.

Szechwan Vegetable Noodles - Quick and Easy Recipe

Szechwan (Szechuan/Sichuan) is a province in South Western China. The Sichuan cuisine is known for its bold and spicy taste and hence the name of the dish. This is a simple and easy to make one-pot meal but very elegant for a great meal. I used left-over refrigerated spaghetti to make this. To revive leftover pasta, drop them in a pot of boiling water with a pinch of salt and drain after 2 mins. Be aware of the heat going into this dish because it is super-spicy.

Ingredients:
Serves: 2-3
Thin Spaghetti or any noodles - 1/2 lb
Vegetables - 2 or 3 cups - I used julienned Carrots, Red Bell pepper, Green Bell pepper - You could use Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower and String beans
Soy Sauce - 2 tbsp (I used low-sodium variety)
Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp
White/Brown Sugar - 1 tsp (to counter the spice)
Salt - to taste
Fresh Ground Pepper - 1/4 tsp (If you dare)
Scallions/Spring Onion Greens - For garnish
Sesame oil - 2 tbsp
Spice Mix:
Dry Red Chillies - 3 or 4 (depending on spice level)
Ginger - 1" piece
Garlic - 3 cloves

Method:
Cook the noodles/pasta according to the package directions. Coarsely grind the ingredients under spice mix in a mortar and pestle or a mixer grinder. In a wide skillet, heat the sesame oil in high heat. Add the carrots and bell peppers (and any vegetables) and saute in high heat for 2 to 3 mins. The vegetables would be half cooked but still maintain their crunch when cooked this way. Add the ground spices and mix for about a minute. Add soy sauce and the cooked noodles. Mix well and add salt and lemon juice to taste. Serve hot garnished with spring onions.
Note: I did not have any spring onions at hand so I did not add. You could add 2 eggs to the noodles if desired. Adding black sesame seeds to finish would also give a beautiful touch. The traditional szechuan sauce calls for using vinegar which I substituted with lemon juice.

Sending this to CC-What's for Friday Dinner; Kid's Delight - Party and 100 day Global Food Festival.



And also to Presto Pasta Nights - #234.

Announcing Serve It Series - Serve It - Festival Potluck

When I and Denny were thinking for the theme this month's Serve It series, we unanimously decided on this one - "Festival Potluck". What is more appropriate than celebrating this month with this theme. Festivals are integral part of Indian Culture from time immemorial. October is festival month for us Indians featuring loads of festivals starting with Navaratri, Dussehra, Ayudha Pooja, Diwali etc. Needless to say Festivals are always associated with Family, Fun, Frolic and of course Food... Lots of it!! 
So dearies link up your festival dishes to the Serve It event this month.

Here are the guidelines for the event:

1. You may send in any entry that you would prepare for a "Festival". Strictly no baked Ingredients are allowed this month.
2. Only Vegetarian entries please. Not even eggs.
3. Please link back to this announcement page and also to Denny's page.
4. New entries are appreciated, however if you are sending archived entries, please re-post as latest (with a date in October 2011) and update with both the links to the announcement page and logo.
5. Usage of links and logo is mandatory.
6. Last date for submission of your entries is October 31, 2011
7. To send in your entries, just link your entries using the below linky tool. 
8. Non-bloggers also can send their entries with a picture to the below email-id.
9. If you have a problem in linking email us your problem to serveit[dot]series[at]gmail[dot]com. We will try to resolve it.