Monday, November 9, 2009

Stuffed Cauliflower



O.K I know my picture sucks! But trust me this is a really nice recipe. I got it from my Tarla Dalal cookbook. Its so easy and really tastes good. This has been sitting in my inbox for days. When I first saw the recipe I wasn't sure about it. But I was so bored of the usual fare that i went ahead and made it. Its a nice side dish and i'm sure next time I make it i can make it look much better than this. The picture in the book was really pretty. You essentially cook a whole caulifower, stuff it with a corriander coconut chutney, bake it and pour a slightly sweet tomato sauce over it before serving. Next time I might use some cheese too.

Ingredients
One whole head of a culiflower

Marinade:
One bunch of cilantro
2 green chillies
4 tblsp grated coconut (fresh or frozen)
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
salt to taste

For Sauce
1 tblsp all purpose flour
1 tbslp butter
1 cup tomato ketchup
1/4 tsp chilly powder
salt and sugar to taste

Method:
Grind all the marinade ingredients together in a blender to a smooth paste.
Boil salted water. Remove leaves of whole cauliflower and add the whole cauliflower to boiling water. Cook till almost done but not too mushy that it will break on touch. Let it cool. Apply the corriander marinade all over and in between florets. Place it in the oven on warm for atleast 20 minutes. Prepare a roux-melt butter and add flour. Cook till bubbly and brown. Add the tomato ketchup and seasonings. Just before serving pour the sauce over the cauliflower, garnish with cooked peas or put some grated cheese on top and bake till melted. Makes a great side dish.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

No Bake Pumpkin Pie


It was a very action packed weekend. Nits was out of town, Sahana's first halloween so I wanted it to be fun. On Friday Sahana "the dragon" had a parade at her day care. It was really cute to see all the kids walk around in their adorable costumes. Sahana was a doll in her giant red and blue dragon outfit with wings and tail-super cute. Here's a pic of her trying to escape. At home I set about carving my jacko lanterns. I wanted to make something appropriate for this time of year. Then i remembered my Everyday Living- November edition had a no bake pumpkin pie recipe that was eggless as well. My inlaws don't eat eggs although gelatin is o.k so this recipe was perfect. Another one of Martha's recipes here. This was a relatively easy dessert, especially with the store bought graham cracker crust I used.

Ingredients (makes 2 pies)
One can Libby's pumpkin pie mix/or any brand pumpkin puree
4 oz cream cheese at room temperature
One can evaporated milk
One cup brown sugar
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice mix
2 packets gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
2 store bought graham cracker pie crusts
whipped cream (to serve with)

Method
Whisk cream cheese into the pumpkin pie mix till well blended. Add gelatin to cold water and let it sit for 5 minuts. Meanwhile heat milk and brown sugar in a saucepan to a low boil, lower heat and simmer.  Add spice mix and gelatin and stir on low heat until all the gelatin dissolves. Add the milk to the pumpkin mix and whisk well until all the ingredients are well blended. Pour into pie crusts. Refrigerate for atleast 3 hours till set. Serve with whipped cream.