Vegetarian Mexican Salad

Mexican food is synonymous with spicy, hot and piquant! From authentic mexican salsa to crispy tacos or big, fat burritos, mexican food is often quick to make, and even quicker to eat! Mexican salad, as un-interesting as it may sound, is an enriching meal by itslef. Just as colorful as the mexican culture, this salad has several layers to it. Healthy, nutritive, tasty and filling at the same time, the vegetarian mexican salad is often served in a large cripsy tortilla shell called "Tostada". Layered with beans, vegetables, salsa and cheddar cheese, everything about this salad from its appearance to taste is irrestible! If you've enjoyed eating a "Burrito Bowl" at Chipotle, there's no way you can turn away from this recipe!

Ingredients
2 cups lettuce - shredded
1 cup refried beans
1/2 cup black beans - boiled
1/2 cup sweet corn kernels
1 cup cooked rice
1 small bell-pepper - finely choped
1 large semi-ripe tomato - chopped
1/2 cup cheddar cheese - shredded
3 tbsp gaucamole
3 tbsp sour cream
3/4 cup spicy mexican salsa
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper - to taste

Method
Take a pan, heat 1 tbsp oil and add the chopped bell-peppers to it. Saue them lightly till they become a little tender.

Mix the shredded lettuce, beans, cooked rice and chopped tomatoes all together and allow to sit for some time. Then add the sauteed bell-peppers and spicy salsa to it. Add salt and pepper according to taste.

Add the sour cream and gaucamole on the top, and cover with a generous helping of cheddar cheese.

Top with some corn tortilla chips and serve! Indulge in the flavors of Mexico as you enjoy this vegetarian mexican salad. This goes to DK's Culinary event that celebrates Mexican Food this month.

Spanish Tortilla Omelette

Its one of those lazy saturdays, and you decide to have eggs for breakfast. But you are tired of the same way you eat eggs everytime and are craving for something new. If this sounds like you, then I have a perfect solution to your dilemma. How about an omelette cake?? Ok, before you think I'm nuts, let me introduce you to the Spanish Tortilla Omelette. In Spain, a "tortilla" means a flat omelette cooked with potatoes or "Tortilla De Patatas" which is basically a fluffy, layered and filling omelette which is thick like a cake. In fact, it is so good and satisfying that lots of chefs have said it should be nominated for the Good Food-Hall of Fame (hah! as if such a thing even exists!!)But seriously, try it for yourself. Just make a large tortilla omelette, slice it into wedges and share it with your friends and family!

Ingredients
2 large potatoes - boiled
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion - chopped
1/2 cup button mushrooms - sliced (optional)
1 capsicum - chopped
1 hard tomato - diced
6 large eggs
1/2 cup cheddar cheese - shredded
2 tbsp parsley - chopped
2 tbsp coriander - chopped

Method
Cut the potatoes into even sized pieces and put to boil in lightly salted water until tender. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes to soften. Add the mushrooms, tomatoes, capsicum and coriander and cook for 5 more mins until the mushrooms are tender. Remove from the heat.

Drain the potatoes well, then slice into smaller cubes if needed. Add the cheddar cheese and parsely and mix well. Beat the eggs, season with black pepper and salt. Then grease a round ovenproof pie dish, approx 9-10 inches in diameter. Add the vegetable mixture and level it, then pour the eggs over the mixture. Place the dish in the oven to cook for 20 minutes at 250 degrees or until the omelette is set.

Alternately, use a small fry pan, grease with non-stick spray and pour the potatoes followed by eggs on the top. Cover with a lid and cook it on medium flame just like you make an omelette. When one side is done and fluffed. flip it over and cook for another minute.

To serve, cut the omelette into wedges like a cake, garnish with chopped coriander and serve with ketchup! These mexican omelettes are a tasty way to gather the family for a sunday brunch! Serve these with some homemade mexican salsa and you are all set for a treat!

Crispy Mexican Tacos

Mexican food is famous for its crunchy taste, beans, gaucamole, sour cream and spice! So as we continue to get scattered showers here in CA, hot and crunchy Tacos are something that one enjoys eating. And though you'd find a Taco Bell at almost every nook and corner of the universe, making these tacos at home is not only easy, but the vegetarians can be sure there's no meat sauce in them as you make them in the safety of your own home. Kids would love this delicious food, and with beans, lettuce and avocado, it is also healthy upto a certian extent! And they are not at all time consuming as one stop at the supermarket can get you most of the ingredients. Its pretty much the assembling that you do at home, so you can serve dinner in a jiffy!

Ingredients
8-12 Taco shells (for the more adventurous, I have the shell recipe below)
2 cans of refried beans (same as kidney beans, and they don't have any beef in it)
1 small packet of sour cream
1/2 cup gaucamole sauce
6-7 large tomatoes - boiled
1/2 onion - chopped
1 tsp cayenne pepper (or 2 tsp red chilli powder)
salt - to taste
1 tsp garlic paste
2 cups shredded lettuce
1/2 cup tomato ketchup
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or mexican 4 cheese blend)
3 tbsp oil
2 tbsp Taco Seasoning Mix (available at supermarket)
chopped cilantro - for garnish

Ingredients for Taco Shell:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow corn meal
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg
1 1/2 cup cold water
Oil for frying

Method

Making the Shell
Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Beat until smooth. The batter will be thin. Spoon a very small ladle of batter (about 3-4 tbsp) on a moderately hot ungreased griddle to make a very thin 6 inch pancake. Turn when edges begin to look dry, but not brown. Cook on the other side for half a minute and remove from the griddle. make all your shell pancakes like these and keep. On the other stove, put oil to heat in a skillet or pan. Now using 2 tongs drop each pancake in the hot oil and hold both sides up with the tongs to form a taco-shell shape. Cook on both sides for just a few seconds. Take out and drain on brown paper and allow to cool and harden

Preparing the Taco
Now take another pan, put some oil in it, then saute the onions, garlic paste and the boiled tomatoes. Add in the salt and 1 tbsp taco seasoning and also the tomato ketchup. When everything is cooked, blend it well in a grinder to form a semi-solid tomato sauce or paste.

In another skillet, put some oil and add the refried beans to it. Add 3-4 tbsp water if needed and the remaining taco seasoning mix and cook so that the beans become soft and a thick gravy is formed.

Take each taco shell. Layer it with the home-made tomato sauce at the bottom, followed by the refried beans mixture, then the shredded lettuce, gaucamole, sour cream and shredded cheese. Add more ketchup at the top if you like. Garnish with some chopped cilantro for a touch of Indian flavor. Indulge into the flavor of Mexican food!!

Fried Ice Cream

Ice Creams have always been man's best friend! I can't imagine a world without this beautiful dessert...Everything started with a simple Vanilla Ice cream, and as the years went by, this little beauty transformed into different flavors and colors, spreading its charm upon family gatherings, peaceful evenings or large extravagant parties!! One such variation that I came across was "Fried Ice Cream". I tried it for the first time in an asian restaurant. I was baffled by the name and the concept, and just out of curiosity, we ordered this dessert. But we were very pleasantly surprised with what we saw - simple vanilla ice cream ball deep fried into a golden brown color, and the first bite itself was like a trip to heaven!! Hot and crispy on the outside, and soft and gooey on the inside, indulge into this creative dessert variety that is sure to win your hearts!!

This recipe is adapted from Emeril's recipe on his Food Network show. A perfect way to use plain leftover ice cream, huh?!

Ingredients
1 quart vanilla or coconut ice cream - 3-4 scoops
1 cup crushed frosted cornflakes (Kellogs or other)
1 cup sweetened coconut flakes (if you like nuts, use walnuts or choco-chip cookies)
2 large eggs
2 tbsp sugar
Vegetable oil, for frying
Hot chocolate sauce or strawberry sauce
Whipped cream (optional)

Method
With an ice cream scoop, form 4 large balls of ice cream. Place on a dish and freeze for at least 2 hours. I tried going safe and actually froze it for 5 hours:)

Grind the cornflakes first so they are converted into a fine powder. Do the same with any other ingredients you are using, like walnuts or cookies.In a bowl, combine the cornflake crumbs with the coconut and walnuts (or cookies). Spread the mixture in a shallow dish. Now dip the ice cream balls in the crumb mixture, roll around so each ball is evenly coated with the mixture and freeze again for 30 minutes.

In a bowl, beat the eggs and sugar. Dip the coated ice cream balls into the eggs, then gently roll in the crumb mixture again, coating completely. In this case, the more you coat, the better it will be. No part of ice cream should be left uncoated!:)Freeze for another 1-2 hours, or until you are ready to serve.

Heat the oil in a large pot and wait till it is really hot (around 375 degrees). One at a time, lower the balls into the oil and fry until golden brown, about 10-15 seconds only. Do not fry more else the balls will crumble and the ice cream will melt!! Just long enough that the cornflake covering gets cooked.

Remove from the oil, drain on a piece of paper and place immediately in a dessert bowl. Drizzle with chocolate sauce and whipped cream and dazzle your guests with your Fried Coconut Ice Cream!! Remember, you should deep fry the balls immediately before serving only. Do not fry and keep!

Tip: If you want to make this eggless, try using maida (refined flour) with a little water and use this batter instead of egg yolks for fried ice cream. You can use any ice cream flavor that you like, but vanilla, coconut, butter pecan or chocolate would be the best suggestions. Also, try not skipping the coconut shavings in the mixture as this adds a nice crispy flavor to the dessert.

Similar Recipes:
Fried Banana with Ice Cream
Delicious Anjeer(Fig) Ice cream

Tres Leches Milk Cake

Cakes have been famous since decades as a dessert, and with each new day, you are bound to find many variations to a traditional cake which make these sweet delicacies even more delightful. I recently tried one such variation at a friend's birthday party, and was totally enthralled by the pure richness of this cake. It is called the Tres Leches Cake, which literally means "3 types of milk" cake. It was so sweet and soft that you put a spoon in your mouth and it melts!! And it is so simple to make too. As the name suggests, it uses 3 types of milk to form a layered cake which is soft to the core. It goes extremely well as a cake, but what I like the most about it is that it can be used to make perfect desserts, especially those to be served in a glass, with fruit toppings, ice cream and chocolate! Try it for yourself.

Ingredients
1 packet of vanilla or yellow cake mix (or you can bake a cake from scratch-Vanilla Cake recipe) 1 cup whole milk
1 cup condensed milk - lightly sweetened
1 cup evaporated milk (method described below)
1/2 cup shredded coconut shavings
For garnish - cherries and whipping cream

Method
For making the evaporated milk:
Pour 2 1/2 cups whole milk into a medium heavy saucepan and bring it to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook 45 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the sugar and continue simmering until reduced to 1 cup. The milk should turn light cream in color. Collect in a cup and keep aside to cool.

Bake the cake as outlined on the cake mix, or follow the recipe here.

In large bowl, stir together the condensed milk, evaporated milk and whole milk.

When the cake is cool, remove it from the pan and trim off the browned top, bottom, and side surfaces of the cake. This way you only have the soft inner core of the cake. Clean the cake pan and line it with two long, pieces of plastic wrap or butter paper. Return the cake to the pan and poke top of cake every 1/2 inch with a fork or toothpick. Slowly pour the Tres Leches Milk over the cake. Fold the ends of the plastic wrap over the top of the cake to enclose it completely so that milk does not drizzle out and instead gets soaked well by the cake. Refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours or overnight, if you have the time.

Right before serving, cut the cake into slices, spread the whipping cream on the top, and garnish with raspberry sauce and a cherry. You can even toss it into a glass, cover it with some strawberry pieces, then pour some chocolate sauce on it and serve like a classic dessert!!

Homemade Mexican Salsa

"Chips and Salsa" is a universal favourite, and though Salsa finds its origin in the mexican cuisine, it's fame has crossed borders and travelled far and wide. It is similar to ketchup, but much more tasty and spicy. In fact, different cuisines have added their touches to salsa and hence you'll find a variety of salsa bottles on supermarket aisles. I'm sure most of you know how to make this, but just for the benefit of a few of my readers who might not, here's my homemade authentic mexican salsa recipe.

Ingredients
1/2 medium onion - finely chopped
3 medium tomatoes
1/2 capsicum - chopped finely
3 serrano chillies - chopped
red chilly powder (optional)
salt/pepper - to taste
2 tsp oil

Method
Take a pan, add 2 tsp oil and add the chopped onion, capsicum and the serrano chillies. Saute for 1-2 mins, but not so that they become soggy. Then add the chopped tomato. Add some salt, and red chilli powder and mix everything together. Remove from flame and let the mixture cool a little. Finally pulse everything together in a mini-grinder or food processor for 2 mins. DO NOT add water. Make sure that the salsa remains chunky, and do not blend it into a paste.

There, a perfect accompaniment to your chips (tortilla or regular) is ready. Enjoy and indulge in the spicy flavours of Mexican food!!

Cabbage Rolls and Salsa

Hi guys and gals! Today is Sunday, and I'm sure many of us would go and enjoy this perfect day on a beach or a park picnicing with friends and family. So here's something that will help you remember me when you are having fun in the sun! I have to give credit to my friend for inspiring me to try out this recipe. Lettuce rolls are a part of asian food (photo courtesy of dkimages), and when we went to P.F.Chang's, and couldn't find a lot of vegetarian food options, I tried to make my variation of these rolls which are not only healthy and filling, but look great on a platter too!! So whether its picnic or you have invited guests for snacks, this one will surely be a hit!

Cabbage Rolls and Homemade Salsa

Ingredients
6 cabbage leaves
3 medium-sized potatoes - boiled and mashed
1 carrot - shredded
Half an onion - shredded or finely chopped
Peas - haf a cupPeanut powder -2-3 tbspSpices-turmeric and red chilli powder- 2 tsp, mustard seeds-1tsp salt, lemon juice to taste, a pinch of sugar
Oil - 2 tbsp
Toothpicks to hold the rolls
For the Salsa - 3 serrano chillies, half onion, 3 tomatoes, half capsicum - chopped finely

Method
Separate some green and fresh leaves of the cabbage, wash them thoroughly with water and set aside in the referigerator. Now heat oil in a saucepan, add mustard seeds, onions and green chillies and saute for some time. When onions are cooked, add the shredded carrot and let it cook entirely. Once done, add the mashed potatoes and peas and also add the spices. Mix well and add 2 tsp of water if needed. Cook covered for 5-7 mins.

For the salsa, take a pan, add 2 tsp oil and add the chopped onion, capsicum and the serrano chillies. Saute all till cooked well. Then add the chopped tomato. Add some salt, lemon juice (if needed) and red chilli powder and mix everything together. Remove from flame and let the mixture cool a little. Finally pulse everything together in a mini-grinder or food processor for 2 mins. DO NOT add water.

Take out the cabbage leaves. Take some potato mixture and shape into rolls. Place this in the centre of each cabbage leaf, sprinkle peanut powder on the top and roll the leaf over to cover the mixture. Fix with a toothpick so the roll doesn't open up. There!! Delicious and absolutely healthy Cabbage Rolls are ready!

You can pack them in a picnic-box and relish with salsa. For serving in house, spread the rolls on a white or black plate and drizzle the salsa over or on the sides. For a buffet setting, place the rolls in the centre and leave the salsa too to let the guests enjoy it the way they like!!