Crostinis!

Ingredients:

Common Ingredients (other than topping):

1) A baguette (prefrably the ones without cheese cprinked on top, and whole wheat), diagonally cut
2) Parmesan or cheddar cheese, grated
3) Mozarella cheese, grated (totally optional)
4) 2 teaspoons fresh cream
5) Oregano, white pepper powder and salt
6) totato puree/ (I prefer fresh tomatoes blanched and pureed)
7) 2 teaspoons olive oil

Toppings:

A) Peppers

one red and one yelow pepper (this makes about 10-12 pieces). Roast or bake both n peel off the skin. Take off seeds and chop into small pieces.
Heat olive oil, lightly fry the peppers, and one tablespoon cooking vinegar. Let the vinegar evaporate. Then add one teaspoon cream (this acts as a binder and preverts toppings from falling all over the place.), and one large spoon grated cheese.
Add oregano, salt, pepper, heat some more.

Take the baguette pieces, roast with oilve oil in a pan for 1 min on both sides, coat lightly with puree and add the topping. Garnish with parsley.

B) Zuccini
One small green and one small yellow zuccini. (This makes around 12)
Chop both into small pieces.
Heat olive oil, lightly fry the zuccini, let them vrey slightly brown. add one teaspoon cream (this acts as a binder and preverts toppings from falling all over the place.), and one large spoon grated cheese.
Add oregano, salt, pepper, heat some more.

Take the baguette pieces, roast with oilve oil in a pan for 1 min on both sides, coat lightly with puree, add topping and garnish with fresh tomato.

C) Mushroom:
Chop both into small pieces.
Heat olive oil, lightly fry the mushrooms, let them vrey slightly brown. Add one large spoon grated cheese and let it melt (no cream here! GAG!)
Add oregano, salt, pepper, heat some more.

take the baguette pieces, coat with puree, add mushroom mixture, sprinkle more grated cheese.
Microwave on high for 1 min or bake for 6-7 mins in convection, 360/180 (top/base)

D) Tomato -FRESH
Take 3 large fresh ripe tomatoes, chop into very tiny pices, but do remove seeds. Mix with olive oil, a little fresh cruched garlic, white pepper, 4 drops of lemon juice and oregano and salt.

Lightly roast the baguette pieces in olive oil and add the mixture. Garnish with parsley (ESPECIALLY when yu kmake dieshes with fresh garlic, and not cook it, DO use parsley as a garnish)

Raw Mango Chutney

Ingredients:

1) A small-medium fresh, raw mango (one the size of your fist makes a medium cupful)
2) fenugreek seeds (methi)
3) mustard seeds
4) dried red chilli pepper
5) one teaspoon oil

Procedure:
1) Heat the oil and add both seeds till they pop.
2) add the chillies, fry till they become brittle (dont let them go brown)
3) grind above mixture, but not smooth
4) Add mango and grind again (not to a smooth paste, its nice when slighlty rough n yu hav to bite the mango-yum!!)
5)Add salt AFTER its done, else raw mango tends to ooze water.

Goes with anything, especially curd rice n dosas, ( I even like it with bread n cheese :))

Note: 1) This stays for a max os 2-3 days and is best when fresh.
Other variations:
Tomato (Braise the tomatoes on high flame with just 2 drops of oil and continue the procedure)
Green apple (raw apple - this tastes fantastic! Same procedure as the mango chutney)
Roasted brinjal (Roast brinjal on glame, or grill it(or make 3-4 slits in the vegetable, coat with oil, wrap in foil and bake at 360 degrees in convection oven for 15 mins), peel of the skin when cold, and repeat procedure)

Lentil Soup

Telugu: Pappu Pulusu.
Serves: One cup uncooked lentils, this serves 4.

a) the powder.

Ingredients:
1) 15 dry red chillies
2) 2 teaspoons fenugreek seeds
3) 2 and 1/2 teaspoons mustard seeds.

Procedure:
Roast all 3 till dry in a wok/pan (prefrable no color change of chillies)
Grind to a fine powder.

b) the soup base

Ingredients
1) Lentils (yellow, split and dry) (Indian arhar dal OR moong dal only)
2) tamarind paste - 1 teaspoon
3) sugar 1 teaspoon
4) powder (see above) 1 teaspoon
5) 1 teaspoon oil
6) asafoetida powder
7) mustard seeds
8) curry leaves

Procedure:
1) Steam lentils in pressure cooker and mash well.
2) Add water (2 cups) in a pot, mashed lentils, tamarind paste, sugar, salt and powder. stir well. Boil.
3) Heat oil, add mustard seeds, when they pop add asafoetida and curry leaves.
4) simmer for 5-7 mins on medium

Variation 1:
Stir onions, boil (but they SHOULDNT be mashed) while soup simmers

Variation 2
Add fried garlic at the end, and boil for a minute.

Variation 3:
Add cooked drumsticks while soup simmers.

Best with rice.

Potato in Onion Gravy (dry)

Telugu : Alugadda ulipaayi khaaram koora.
Helpings: ~4

Ingredients:
a) Potatoes (half a pound baby potatoes OR 3 large ones), steamed/boiled and peeled.
b) 3 large onions, chopped
c) 10-12 dried red chilli
d) cumin seeds
e) mustard seeds
f) cooking oil (I use sunflower oil for ALL Indian cooking. You may substitute with palm or groundnut, but avoid sesame or mustard oils unless mentioned)

Procedure:
1) Roast red chillies till hard and brittle in a dry wok. Grind to a slightly rough powder.
2) Heat half the oil and add cumin seeds. Add onions after they pop. Add salt when onions start turning white.
3) Add onion/cumin to the chilli powder and grind again to a rough paste-like consistency. Avoid adding water, or max 2 tablespoons if required.
4) Heat the rest of the oil and add mustard seeds. Add the paste once they pop. Fry lightly for a min on medium.
5) Add baby potatoes / potato pieces and fry on lkow (without covering wok) for 10 mins.

Goes best with rice, but I think its nice with Roti too.

Minestrone Soup

Minestrone for the simplicity and freedom to experiment!!! I tried quite a few tricks before, but the following is the simplest and yummiest so far:

Ingredients:
Any of the following veggies:
Beans
Carrots
Peas
Potato
Pumpkin (squash)
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Brussell sprouts
Golden corn
Zuccini

You can use JUST about anything here!!!

Required:
Onions (1 large)
Garlic 3-4 cloves
Oregano + Rosemary + Basil
Pepper (I prefer white, but blacks ok)
One tbsp olive oil
Lots of water.

Procedure:

a) Preparing vegetables

1) I prefer all veggies fresh
2) cut viggies into tiny pieces, and for every one cup of veggies add 11/2 cups water.
3) microwave in high for 25 mins.
4) after 25 mins, drain the water and keep aside (STOCK)
5) now add 1/2 cup water for 1 cup veggies n microwave on high for 15 mins. Mash with a potato masher, but NOT fine.

b)Preparing soup:

1) Heat olive oil and add chopped garlic. when it just changes color add onions.
2) When onions change color add stock.
3) Boil for about 10 mins on medium flame.
4) Add semi-mashed veggies
5) simmer for about half an hour
6) Add salt ( I prefer sea-salt myself), the herbs and pepper.
7) Seve with grated cheese (optional)