indian i-shtyle mexican rice

1 can kidney beans/black beans

handful of corn

1/2 bell pepper (to make it more interesting add the different kinds mixed together)
1 red onion
handful of cherry tomatos sliced in half

ginger
1-2 green chillies
5-6 cloves of garlic crushed
cooked basmati rice
olive oil

taco seasoning (i like the old el paso spicy one)

salt

sugar
dhana-jiru (optional indian spice)
cheese to sprinkle on top

cilantro

Saute garlic, chillies and ginger in olive oil. Slice the onions and bellpeppers and add to the pan after the garlic is a golden color. Saute for a while and add the corn and tomatos. Allow the bell peppers to be soft. Add the kidney/black beans along with the spices. Mix the cooked rice with the vegetables. The rice should be a little less than the whole amount of the vegetable mixture. The taste of this dish comes from the vegetables and seasonings, so don't overpower with rice.
Sprinkle the cheese on top as well as the cilantro leaves.

~Voila. Bon Apetit!!!

~salsa

2 tomatos
1/2 green bell pepper

1/4 red bell pepper

1/4 yellow bell pepper
1 red onion

4-5 cloves garlic crushed

1/2 lime

a lot of cilantro crushed

small piece of ginger

1-2 green chillies (the small spicy kind)
salt
pepper
paprika

mix em all together and do the salsa with some chips!
~Bon Apetite!!

saturday lunch party ~ indian style mexican food

I had some friends over for lunch. Hadn't seen everyone together since graduation a couple of weeks ago since everyone was busy moving. Now that I had my kitchen up and running I figured why not have a small get together. Just a few close friends from school. The lunch theme was indian style mexican food. It was mostly experimental and I had so much fun creating these recipes. I'll post the recipes up soon!

Till then ~~Bon Apetit!!!

asparagus + portabella mushroom swirls

Portabella mushrooms and asparagus are my favorite, so my craving for pasta made me mix them together and I ended up with a delicious dish that I had for lunch and dinner.

2 cups of pasta (cooked and drained)
7-8 sticks asparagus
7-8 slices of portabella mushrooms
1/4 bell pepper sliced thin
7-8 thin slices of eggplant (should look like circles)
1 long hot pepper
2 tablespoons sundried tomato
1/2 tablespoon pesto
5-6 cloves of garlic thin slices
1/2 onion thin long slices
oregano, basil, salt, paprika to taste

Heat some olive oil in a wok or large pan. The idea is to be able to have enough room for the vegetables to spread out so you can sautee them. Start with the asparagus and bell peppers as they take longer to cook. move them around in the pan/wok once the oil evaporates keep adding a few tablespoons of water to make the vegetables juicy. Once the asparagus and bell peppers are semi cooked add the onions, garlic and eggplant. Add a little more oil and water and cook for a few minutes or until eggplant is soft. Add the portabella mushrooms at last as they cook fast. While the mixture is still cooking start to add the oregano, basil, salt and paprika as well as the pesto and sundried tomato. Once the mushrooms look cooked go ahead and add the pasta to the mixture.
Top with cilantro/corriander and some feta cheese and shredded parmesan.
~Voila
Bon Appetite!!!

coconut aloo lunch

I woke up today with the urge to cook since I haven't cooked in a while. So I was talking to my friend and I asked her 'what should I cook today?' she says 'curry!!!!' I thought 'oh I might as well!'. So here goes the recipe of my potato and cocunut curry.

~ main ingredients
4-5 cloves of garlic
a piece of ginger (let's say it shouldn't be bigger than the cloves of garlic put together)
2 thai green chillies (the small thin ones that are actually spicy)
6-7 baby potatos
1 red onion
1 tomato
a handful of shredded or minced coconut
a few sliced almonds or almond slivers
a handful of crumbled paneer or may substitute with ricotta cheese drained since its crumpled anyways.
7-8 tablespoons of olive oil (or as required)
1 cup of water

~spices (indian)
2 teaspoons of garam masala
1/2 teaspoon of red pepper
1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons dhaana-jiru (corriander powder)
1/4 teaspoon turmeric

Crush the garlic, ginger and thai chillies together and set aside.
Crush tomatos and onions together and set aside.
Heat some oil and add the garlic, ginger and chilly mixture and saute.
After let's say 2-3 minutes add the tomatos and onions and keep stirring.
On the other burner put some oil in a pan and cut the baby potatos in half and let it cook stirring occasionally. To check if the potatos are done, you test with a fork.
The other mixture should be cooked until brown which is probably around 5-7 minutes. It's okay to cook it longer as long as its constantly stirred.
Add the spices to the tomato-onion-garlic etc mixture and add about a cup of water to it and allow to boil.
Add the coconut, potatos and paneer to the mixture and let it simmer until you are left with a thick consistancy.
Top with almonds and cilantro/corriander leaves.

Serve with naan, pita bread, paratha and/or basmati rice. Makes a delicious lunch/dinner. Easy to cook as well.

~Variations: May add peas or corn to the mixture. If you feel like being complicated you may scoop out the center of potatos and stuff the potatos with paneer, nuts and coconut.

Voila! ~Bon Apetit!!

strawberry cheesecake a la mode

From all the stress of moving, I decided I needed to eat something that looks pretty! I had three pieces of the asian style cheesecake (very light and fluffy not at all like the western cheesecake. Kind of resembles pound cake I suppose, but it's made with cheese). I had just bought a box of strawberries and I some light vanilla ice cream from my friend (I prefer the light taste better. It doesn't feel disgustingly heavy after you eat it). And voila I just decorated my disposable dixie plate with these three and I had a pleasing-to-look-at-yummy-in-the-tummy-surprise.
I really need to buy some nice plates though, getting sick of the disposable ones.
Anyhow, if you drizzle some chocolate sauce and throw some candied walnuts or almonds on it, it would be even a prettier sight.
:) Bon Apetit!

welcome to mehu's kitchen!

This blog is going to be about documenting and sharing my experiments in the kitchen. I don't like to go by measured recipes, I love to throw stuff together and see what happens. I end up sharing my recipes with some friends, so I decided it might be fun to make a blog out of it. I'll post a recipe as soon as I cook tonight!
Bon Apetit till then!!!