Movie night Snack- Spinach Strombolis

Movie nights with friends require finger foods and quick snacks which can be served at room temperature. I always like to make strombolis which are a favorite with many cheese lovers. One ingredient which gives the ultimate taste to spinach strombolis is Pesto sauce, you can make it at home or get it from a store, my favorite is Trader Joe's Pesto alla Genovese. Here's a recipe that'll make your movie nights sizzle.
Ingredients:

1 can Pillsbury® Pizza Crust or homemade pizza dough
3-4 generous handfuls of baby spinach leaves (or thawed frozen spinach)
1 small clove of garlic, chopped
3/4 cup of grated mozzarella cheese
1 heaped tsp pesto sauce (I used store bought)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
2 tsp parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Farenheit.
Put the spinach leaves in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for about 5 mins or till the spinach is cooked. The spinach will reduce in quantity and wilt.
Remove the excess water from spinach and chop it finely.
Add the finely chopped garlic, the pesto sauce, grated mozzarella cheese, chili flakes, 1 tsp of the parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste.
Open the can and unroll the pre-made pizza dough. If using homemade dough roll out the dough in a rectangular shape.
Cut the crust vertically down the center to get 2 long pieces




Spread the filling down the long rectangle, leaving a little bit of a border around the edges
Roll the crust from the long side to get 2 long logs.
Press down lightly along the edge to seal well.
With a sharp knife, make a few slits in the log.
Sprinkle with the remaining parmesan cheese and again press a little bit to make the cheese adhere to the dough.
Bake for 12 minutes or till the stromboli is golden brown.
Cut into pieces of desired size. Serve with marinara sauce for dipping.

Easy Home-made Pizza

For the dough:

Home-made pizza dough is much healthier as well as economical compared to store-bought dough. It can be used for Pizza, Calzones and Stromboli. Here's a recipe which makes a great crust. The main ingredient in making the dough is the yeast. I prefer active dry yeast as it can be mixed directly to the flour and works out wonders with the dough.

3 1/2 cups All-purpose flour (I used self-raising flour)
1 cup warm water (between 95° and 115° F.)
2 T active dry yeast
2 T honey
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt

In a big mixing bowl add flour and yeast and mix thoroughly.
Add the salt to the flour. Make sure to wait for at least 5 mins. before adding salt to flour and yeast as salt tends to kill the yeast.
Add the honey and olive oil to the warm water.
Now add the water mixture to the flour while constantly mixing it with a big spoon.
Keep mixing the flour till it becomes a ball of dough. If the dough seems too dry add more water 1 Tbsp at a time.
Once the dough is mixed place it on a floured surface and knead for at least 5-6 minutes.
Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
Place the bowl in a warm and dry area to rise. I always place it in the oven with the light of the oven put on.



After 45 minutes the dough would be doubled. Remove it from the bowl and deflate it and knead it again for a minute. Once again keep it covered to rise for another 1 hour.
After an hour the dough is ready to be rolled out.
You can even make this dough in advance and keep it in the refrigerator for a day loosely covered with a plastic bag. Or you can freeze it for up to a week.
This dough can make two medium sized pizzas.


Pizza Preparation:

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (or any other good melting cheese)
1/2 cup tomato sauce
chopped bell pepper, tomato, onion , tofu, pineapple, olives or any other topping of your choice.

Pre-heat the oven 400 degrees F.
Once the dough is ready roll it out in a large circle and place the cheese, tomato sauce and toppings on it.
Bake it in pre-heated oven for 10-15 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the cheese has melt. You can sprinkle some more cheese at the end of the baking time and let it melt.

Bharwan Bhindi (Stuffed Okra)

Stuffed veggies make a delightful appetizer or side. The spicy filling adds to flavor in a crisp vegetable. Some of my favourite stuffed veggies are okra, karela (bitter gourd), and tomato.

Okra has been in cultivation for centuries, thought to originally come from northern Africa around the region of the upper Nile and Ethiopia, from where it spread towards Saudi Arabia and India. It's earliest record of cultivation is in Egypt.


The fibre content of okra helps to stabilize blood sugar levels as it curbs the rate at which sugar is absorbed from the intestinal tract. Okra’s mucilage binds cholesterol and bile acid, which carries toxins dumped into it from the liver.


For stuffed Okra you need

15-20 okras
for the filling
4 tbsp besan/gram flour
1 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
½ tsp amchur/ dry mango powder
salt to taste
a pinch of turmeric


Wash and pat-dry the Okra.
Cut out the top and end of the okra and slit them vertically as shown in picture.
Roast besan until the raw smell goes.
Mix all the filling ingredients together. Stuff this filling between the okra slits.



Shallow fry the okra in a non-stick pan covering the pan occasionally and turning okra pieces around to be cooked evenly.
Remove from pan once it is browned and cooked.
Serve warm with rice or chapati.

Black Gram (kala chana) Sprouts Salad

Sprouts have long been famous as “health food.” Whole pulses like moong, chana, chole, chawli, rajma, masur etc., can be easily sprouted. These sprouts are the energy foods for the body.

I make kala chana or black gram sprouts very often at home and like to have it raw in a salad. apart from the energy it provides all vitamins when consumed raw.

Sprouting is soaking, draining and then rinsing seeds at regular intervals

until they germinate, or sprout. I usually make sprouts in one day. But if you want the long , tender and juicy white sprouts you can keep it an additional day to grow longer.

Take 1 cup of black gram, wash it and then soak it in a bowl in 2 cups of water, preferably in a warm spot. Cover and wrap the bowl tightly with a muslin or thick cotton cloth.

After 12 hours uncover the bowl and you will find that the gram has softened and there are very small sprouts appearing. Drain the remaining water (you may use this water in your cooking, i add it to my juice, since it has some nutrition dissolved in it), very lightly rinse the gram and again cover it and keep it in a warm place.
After another 12 hours you will see long white sprouts growing out of the gram. The sprouts are ready now.


I make this salad very often and it is great both in taste and nutrition.

1 cup sprouted black gram
1 big Roma tomato finely chopped
1 white onion finely chopped
1 green chili (jalapeño) finely chopped (optional)
2-3 sprigs of fresh cilantro (or your favorite herb)
1 tbspn Extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
salt to taste
pepper
chaat masala (optional)

In a mixing bowl add sprouts, chopped tomato, chopped onion, jalapeño. Add olive oil, lemon juice, salt pepper, chaat masala. Toss and mix evenly. Garnish with finely chopped cilantro. Serve this energy packed salad cool with soups and toasts or as a side.

Variation:

1. Add 1/2 cup of cottage cheese or paneer cubes.
2. Add one ripe banana cubed.

Atta Halwa (Whole Wheat Fudge)

Prasad (offering to Gods) used to be an incentive which kept us hooked to religious poojas as kids. Mom would make mouth-watering sweets full of goodness for almost all main poojas.
Halwa with lots of nuts makes a great sweet dish at festivities be it the more popular carrot, semolina and Doodhi(bottle gourd) halwa or the simple whole wheat halwa .
I adore the simplicity of atta halwa and that is what I prepared last week.

3/4 cup Coarse ground whole wheat flour
3/4 cup sugar (I like it mildly sweet, hence I use only 1/2 cup sugar)
2.5 cups water(warm)
3-4 tbsp ghee
1/2 cup chopped cashew and almonds
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/2 tspn cardamom powder

Roast wheat flour in ghee till light brownish on a slow to medium flame stirring constantly. The unmistakable aroma of roasted wheat flour is hard to miss. I usually add 1 whole cashew in the beginning and when the cashew turns brown I know the roasting is done.
Now add all cashew and almond pieces and raisins. Roast for another 2 minutes.
Add the sugar while stirring constantly.
Add the warm water till it gets incorporated in the flour. The water will quickly disappear and the volume of the halwa would be doubled.
Add the cardamom powder and give a final stir. The rich appetizing aroma fills the kitchen.
Cover for a minute. Switch off the flame.
Indulge your sweet tooth in the goodness of atta halwa. A simple way to please the Gods !

Mooli Paratha

My Mom could make parathas stuffed with a variety of fillings. Mooli Paratha (pan-toasted radish stuffed bread) used to be my favorite lunch menu. To go with it Mom would make a special tomato raita (relish) to gratify my taste-buds. I still try to make it Mom's way, not without nostalgia. Here's a recipe.

For the filling:
1 big Mooli (Daikon radish) washed ,peeled and grated
2 whole green chillies finely chopped
1/2 cup cilantro leaves finely chopped
salt to taste
1 teaspoon cumin powder

For the Paratha bread:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup milk
water as needed
vegetable oil/ ghee for frying

1. Knead a soft dough by adding milk and water as required to the whole wheat flour.
2. Press the grated daikon radish between palm to extract extra water out.
3. Mix radish, green chillies, cilantro salt and cumin power to make the filling.

4. Make rounds from the dough about one inch each.
5. Take 2 rounds and roll out thin rounds.




6. Place the filling evenly on one rolled out round and cover it with the other round. Seal the edges with little water.
7. Place the paratha on a hot non-stick skillet (tawa).
8. Toast one side till it gets small brown bumps then flip on the skillet.
9. Coat the toasted side evenly with some oil/ghee and then flip again.
10. Coat the other side with little oil too.
11. Cook on both the sides till the paratha becomes golden in color.
12. Serve hot with cool tomato raita and ketchup.

Tomato Raita (Relish)



1 cup Yogurt
1 small Roma tomato finely chopped
1/2 small white onion finely chopped
2-3 sprigs cilantro washed and finely chopped
salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder

Whisk the yogurt till it becomes smooth. Add all the ingredients and mix lightly . Serve with parathas, rice or as a side dish.