7 Quick Fix Meals for Hot Summer Afternoons

Summers are here. When I was a child, I really liked summers. They meant ripe mangoes, vacations, free time, playing all day, visits to my cousins and relatives and so much more. That perspective has cooking meals in a hot kitchen added to it now, and well things have changed.

Cooking  in Trichy, or even Thane (now that I am back home for the summers) in the afternoons is a real task! Hot weathers and then you spend hours cooking  in front of the gas with no fan. Nope, can't do it everyday. So I went back to my old recipes and tried to find a solution to this.

Background Image Courtesy: https://www.123rf.com/photo_26876245_fresh-ingredients-for-cooking-pasta-tomato-cucumber-mushroom-and-spices-over-wooden-table-background.html

Guess what? There are recipes I can use to make nutritious and wholesome meals for the family and me without literally sweating it out in the kitchen! Our mothers, grandmothers and even their mothers have been cooking in this summer heat for ages, and as always they've found solutions. I have taken them in, and added some modern twists to it.

1. Mixed Vegetable Thalipeeth

You can find the recipe here.

Mixed Vegetable Thalipeeth Recipe

 If there are only one or two people for a meal at home, then this is a great recipe to make. It takes literally 5-7 mins to grate the veggies and prepare the dough. And then about 3-5 minutes to make each thalipeeth. Loaded with veggies, these thalipeeths make for a complete meal. Serve with some yoghurt, and green chutney (recipe here), or til chutney (recipe here) or even this garlicky coconut chutney (recipe here).

2. Gujarati Osaman and Chhuti Dal


You can find the recipe here.

Osaman-Chhutti Dal- Bhaath Recipe

A one-bowl complete meal with rice. 15 minutes for the pressure cooker to cook the rice and dal and 10 minutes to flavour the osaman. Chop up some vegetables for a salad when the osaman is cooking and you have a complete meal that is flavourful, light and filling.

3. Fettucine in Pesto Sauce

You can find the recipe here.

Fettucine in Pesto Sauce Recipe

Italian is always a great option for summer. Light meals that cook quickly and are so flavourful without much ado. This recipe takes about 30 minutes end to end. Add in this light tomato and mozzarrella salad (recipe here) and you have a quick and complete meal.

4. Chicken Burger

You can find the recipe here.

Chicken Burger Recipe

A soft bun slathered with a mustard-mayo spread with a juicy chicken patty and crunchy lettuce. This amazingly quick-cooing burger is a delight for both children and adults.This burger only takes 10-15 minutes on the gas and the rest of the time, you can have the fan on as you assemble it! Add some more nutrients with this spiced lettuce, cherry tomato and olive salad (recipe here).


5.  Prawns in Thai Red Curry

You can find the recipe here.

Prawns in Thai Red Curry Recipe

Quick-cooking and tasty, prawns are another one of my summer favourite. This elegant and delicate curry of prawns is deceptive because it is absolutely simple and quick to cook. Grind the curry paste in 5 minutes and cook the prawns in another 10. Pair it with steamed rice and you have a winner. Try it and you'll love it!

6. Falafel Rolls

You can find the recipe here.

Falafel Rolls Recipe

Rolls are a great summer cooking option because once you cook the main filling, you can always assemble them out of the hot kitchen. Make them with rotis, add some vegetables for the crunch and some healthy sauces and you have one whole meal wrapped up!

7. Spicy Thai Rice Noodle Salad Recipe

You can find the recipe here.

Spicy Thai Rice Noodle Salad Recipe

If you like light meals like I do for summers, then this is a perfect dish for you. A delicious balance of spicy, salty, sweet, pungent and sour, this salad makes for a complete meal. I like pairing it with some soothing jasmine green tea. You can pair it with some lemon iced tea too (recipe here).

10 Quick Weekend Brunch Recipes

It's Friday! The day of the week everyone looks forward to. It's the last working day of the week which means weekend's going to be here soon!

10 Quick Weekend Brunch Recipes

Weekends mean waking up late, cooking easy and delicious meals and eating it with family and friends. Weekends mean brunches where kids look forward to treats, and older kids like us look forward to more treats!  

Here are ten delicious weekend brunch recipes that are quick to make and very yummy!

1. Veg Coleslaw Sandwich

The recipe can be found here.

Veg Coleslaw Sandwich

This is the most popular recipe on my blog. I've made a vegetarian version of the sandwich. It has a lightly flavoured garlicky yoghurt spread, with lots of crunchy veggies. Make it 15 minutes in advance, chill the spread a bit and serve fresh!

2. Masala Upma

The recipe can be found here.

Masala Upma

Masala upma is my take on the breakfast classic. I've used congruent tastes of rasam powder to spice up the traditional upma. Serve hot with a squeeze of lime and see it dissapear!

3. Waldorf Salad

The recipe can be found here.

Waldorf Salad

Waldorf salad is an American classic. Fresh sweet red apples are mixed with hints of sharp celery, crunchy walnuts and served in a creamy mayo dressing. The best way to have this is chilled and served on lettuce.

4. Fettucine in Pesto Sauce

The recipe can be found here.

Fettucine in Pesto Sauce

This one is for the kids! Which kid doesn't love pasta? Make the pesto sauce in advance. Cook this noodle pasta in 10 minutes, toss it with sauce and top it with parmesan, or your kid's favourite cheese. Serve with lots of love.

5. Homemade Apple Cinnamon Jam

The recipe can be found here.

Homemade Apple Cinnanmon Jam

Brunch can never be complete without some hot buttered toast slathered with a thick layer of jam. Make some homemade apple cinnamon jam for your next brunch. It takes about half an hour to make and is not rocket science! Feel free to gather all the praises!

6. Pan Seared Aubergines with a Yoghurt Dip

The recipe can be found here.

Pan Seared Aubergines with a Yoghurt Dip

Having friends over for brunch? Cook something 'fancy' in 15 minutes for them. This recipe preserved the flavour of aubergines and mixes it up with a light, refreshing yoghurt dip. Worried that your friends (of you for that matter) don't like aubergines? Trust me, people who hate aubergines have loved this dish and eaten loads of it!

7. Homemade Pizza Sauce for Pizzas

The recipe can be found here. 

Pizza with Homemade Pizza Sauce

Satisfy your weekend pizza cravings (I know you have them!) with pizzas made from a homemade sauce. It takes 10 minutes to make this sauce. You'll have something fresh and preservative free (which just tastes so much better!) on your pizzas. Trust me, your phone-dialling for pizzas is about to go down quite a bit!

8. Veg Hakka Noodles

The recipe can be found here.

Veg Hakka Noodles

This is another very popular recipe on my blog. A dish that is the favourite of adults and kids alike. It's very easy to make and the recipe demands for quick cooking as the technique to get the flavours right. So there you have it... a perfect recipe for a weekend brunch! 

9. Mooli Ke Paranthe

The recipe can be found here.

Mooli ke Paranthe

Do you crave carbs when you wake up on weekend mornings (or afternoons?) How do hot parathas sound? Make these mooli ke paranthe in 15 minutes. They are bursting with taste and love. Sounds like you need just a dollop of butter and a plate now.

10. Kulhad Masala Chai

The recipe can be found here. 

Kulhad Masala Chai

Is your first thought of the day "chai!" like me? Then brew yourself this spicy, sweet decoction and you won't be disappointed. You'll simply be hooked!

5 Unusual Food Courses

This morning I saw an interesting email from my brother in law in my inbox. It was about a Level 1 course on wines by the Wine and Spirit Education Trust of London. Reading that email reminded me of a tea sommelier course that I've heard about and always wanted to do, except it's not easily available in India.

5 Unusual Food Courses, Source: Coursera Certificate

This got me thinking about finding out more about unusual food courses (because I am a geek and proud to be one!). So here's a list of 5 food couses that are off the beaten track.

1. The Science of Gastronomy:

Ever drooled over Heston Blumenthal? Or the  food he cooks? It seems like magic at times, doesn't it? Nope, it's just science taken to another level!

Science of Gastronomy course

The Science of Gastronomy is an online course offered by Coursera. It starts with some basic principles of science that are relevant to cooking. Then it builds up to a crescendo of how to use them to make your meals tastier!

I've successfully completed this course and it's an absolutely delightful learning experience. The science explained is very easy to understand. And it really makes planning new recipes and dishes interesting and easier.

2. Tea Sommelier:

If you love tea like I do, then this one is for you! It is definitely on my list of courses I want to take up.

Tea Sommelier: If you know about this tea, you ought to take it! 

A tea sommelier (like a wine sommelier) has formal training about tea. These courses are not just about tea preparation and serving or food pairing with tea (yes, you can do that). They're also about the history of tea, plantation of tea, production of different types of tea etc. It's a hands -on course too. For example have tea tasting sessions in which you just taste different types of teas (sometimes up to 100 teas in one day)  for days in a row and make notes about them. This helps develop your taste palate for tea.

3. The Ethics of Eating

No, it's not about table manners.

Source: https://www.edx.org/school/cornellx

The Ethics of Eating course is being offered on edx by Cornell. It deals with the bigger questions about eating. The course deals with the ethical and philosophical questions like animal rights, sustainability etc of what you choose to buy and eat. They've a pretty interesting line up of experts joining this discussion: philosophers, food scientists, activists, industry specialists, food writers and farmers.


4. Edible Landscaping:

An edible landscaping course is all about growing your own food.

Edible Landscaping Course: Souce: http://www.healthy-holistic-living.com/edible-landscapes.html

It covers designing, creating and maintaining a low maintenance edible garden. An edible landscaping course will have modules on natural and eco-systems, designing and drawing the landscape to scale, specific aspects of growing plants and practical sessions.


5. Cooking Vacations

These are not really courses in a formal sense, but then I've already said that I am looking at unusual food courses.

Cooking Vacations: Source: http://www.theinternationalkitchen.com/

Cooking vacations are quite popular in Europe and growing quite fast in India. It works very simply: you take a scenic location, mix it with a great food culture and top it off with chefs teaching you how to cook local food. Something pretty basic that you as a cooking fanatic and your family (which may not be much into cooking) can both enjoy.

10 Inspirations to Innovate in the Kitchen

What inspires people to do some thing? What is it that strikes a chord with them to create some thing or pursue the object of their inspiration? Inspiration can come from many sources, and each of them is precious as it pushes us to think beyond the box and do something interesting.

So the other day I was thinking about what is it that inspires us to cook and innovate. And I realised that inspiration can come from many sources, and many needs too. Here are some that I thought of!

1. The 'Hungry-Stomach' Inspiration

This is the top most reason to cook! When you are hungry and you like to cook, you will enter that kitchen and whip something up.

So how does being hungry help us to innovate? Many times being hungry comes with particular cravings that you have to satisfy and when you cook for these cravings, you innovate too. Some of my favourite dishes that I make when I have cravings are aloo parathas (spiced potato stuffed flatbreads) and sheera (sweet semolina pudding).

Aloo Parathas

Aloo Parathas With Aamras for those "I-am-Hungry" Cravings!

And when you are very hungry you will reach out to make those dishes that you can make really fast and eat fast!

2. The 'I-am-too-bored-to-cook' Syndrome

Think of all those times when you have been the only one at home for a meal and have been too lazy to cook. Or when you have had too much work and the thought of entering the kitchen just doesn't sit right.
At these times I like to make some quick soups and salads that are filling and don't take too much time, thought or effort to cook.

Asian Style Salad

Asian Style Salad for the 'I-am-too -bored-to-cook' syndrome

Thukpa

Thukpa Soup for when you are too bored to cook something elaborate

3. The 'I-have-these-ingredients' Excitement

Every time I go to Crawford Market, it gives me this reason to cook. For at least a week after my shopping sprees, I will be cooking new and exotic dishes in my kitchen, because I will have found the right ingredients.

Here are some dishes that result from my latest shopping spree at Crawford market:

Fettucine in Pesto Sauce

Fettucine in Pesto Sauce

Pumpkin Soup with a Mirepoix Base

Thai Green Curry

Thai Green Curry from Scratch: because I had all the ingredients!

4. The 'Some-Ingredients-Missing' Desperation

Oh, this one! The one that befalls all of us at some point in time. It makes such innovative cooks out of us! Especially when we are craving one particular dish, and we are missing one or two ingredients out of all those needed. Like once when I was craving upma (savoury semoilina pudding) and I did not have any rawa (semolina) at home... here's what I did!

Oats Upma

Oats Upma made when I had Rawa missing from my pantry!

5. The 'Empty-Storage' Conundrum

This is such a cliche when it comes to bachelor pads or singles places. You can still crave home cooked food when you are too lazy to shop. What do I do in such cases? I make tadkewaale dahi chawal (tempered yoghurt rice)! A quick no-fuss fix!

Tadke Waale Dahi Chaawal

And those days when I do not have any vegetables at home, I make this interesting sabzi-

Papad Ki  Dahiwaali Sabzi

6. The 'Special-Occasions' Creativity

Special occassions call for special dishes. And if you  love cooking, they also call for you to try and create new recipes to mark the occassion. I have some great memories of some really special dishes I have created for such special occassions

Hummus (chickpea dip) Platter for my brother's birthday with regular hummus, basil hummus and masala hummus (Indian style!)

Hummus Platter 

Cheesy Sweet Corn Canapes that I made to celebrate my 100th blog post

Cheesy Sweet Corn Canapes

7. The 'I-don't-want-to-eat-the-same-old-stuff' Alternative Search

Variety, as they rightly say, is the spice of life. And you indeed cannot eat the same dishes again and again. Everyone needs a change from their traditional food, once in a while. And these are dishes I cook to liven things up in the kitchen every once in a while!

Pan Seared Aubergines with a Yogurt Dip

Restaurant Ready Pan Seared Aubergines with a Yogurt Dip

Spaghetti in Red Sauce

Spaghetti in Red Sauce with Olives

8. The 'Kid-Might-Eat' Hypothesis

Every mother will agree that your concept of cooking changes completely when you have a kid! The dishes and food you have cooked over the years get questioned. And food and cooking becomes an exploration from scratch based on one hypothesis, "My kid might eat this". Here are some dishes that kids might eat-

Hakka Noodles

Hakka Noodles for the Kids

Healthy Vegetable Cutlets that hide all the veggies in it!

Healthy Vegetable Cutlets

9. The Recipe Re-creation Mode

Recipes, to me, are signposts or guidelines to be followed while making variations in them as per my taste preferences or those of my family. Some recipes that I have gotten innovative with are-

Dhaniya Kadhi (fresh corriander based yogurt sauce) that I saw on a food-travel show on T.V.

Dhaniya Kadhi

Pink Guava Curry that I found in the Good Food India magazine

An adapted version of pink guava curry

10. The 'Weather Calls for It' Cooking

Seasons change. Seasonal vegetables change. And the weather also calls for certain dishes. Need I really say more?

Cold and refreshing Waldorf Salad served chilled for summers

Waldorf Salad

Pakoras (fritters) with a twist for the rains

Onion Spinach Fritters with 

Hearty roasted red pepper and tomato soup for winters

Roasted red pepper and tomato soup

Salt And Pepper With a Lot of Spice: A Lookback

Facebook lookback videos have become quite a trend. It is a brilliant concept that uses analytics to create a snapshot of your 'story' on Facebook. I have a Facebook page for this blog: Salt and Pepper With a Lot of Spice for which I wanted a lookback video... but Facebook hasn't put in that option. So I went ahead and made one myself!

Here is the lookback video... hope you enjoy it as much as I did making it!

Cheesy Sweet Corn Canapés

And I have reached my 100th post!

It has been quite a journey writing about food the last one-and-a-half years. I have indulged in creating as well as learning new recipes, food memories from the different home kitchens that I love, one food experiences at my favourite restaurants and some learning and fun in food thoughts and food creativity. This blog was always meant to combine my two loves: food and writing... and it has helped me bring them together with a lot of fun and learning adventures!

For my 100th blog post I was planning to create a new recipe. I was wondering what the theme should be when I realised that the holiday season that the entire world celebrates - Christmas and New Years' Eve - are just around the corner. It brings with it some really great parties and holiday food. I am part of a lot of food-related groups on Facebook and I follow a lot of food blogs (not surprising, really) and I see the Christmas trends of bakes and cakes in full swing. I am not a baker, so the best way I can contribute to this party season is through some savoury party food.

Cheesy Sweet Corn Canapés

These Cheesy Sweet Corn Canapés are a quick preparation making them a perfect party food. They are cruchy yet cheesy, non-spicy, cheesy, creamy and dotted with sweet corn and have been liked by fussy kids and adults alike.

Cheesy Sweet Corn Canapés 

Cheesy Sweet Corn Canapé

Cheesy Sweet Corn Canapés

Preparation Time: 15 mins (to steam the corn)
Cooking Time: 10 mins

Makes 25 canapés

Ingredients:

5 tbsps butter
5 tbsps refined flour (maida)
2 cups milk
1 tbsp grated cheese
1 cup sweet corn steamed
½ tsp black pepper powder
Salt to taste

For serving:

25 basket puris/ tart shells

Method:

In a pan heat the butter till it melts. Lower the flame, add in the refined flour (maida) and keep stirring and roast till the flour releases a roasted aroma. This takes about 4-5 minutes.

Keep the flame low and while stirring the roasted refined flour and add in the milk, ensuring that there are no lumps.

When the sauce starts to thicken to a thick soup-like consistency, add in the grated cheese, the salt, the black pepper powder. Mix well so that the cheese melts into the entire sauce and flavours it.

Finally, add in the steamed corn and mix it in well in the white sauce.

Fill about a tablespoon of the prepared mixture into the basket puri/ tart shells and serve immediately.

Tips:

Using a whisk while stirring can ensure that there are no lumps in the sauce.

Make sure the white sauce doesn’t get too thick on the flame, as even after the heat is turned off, the sauce will thicken in the residual heat. This will make the filling mixture very dense.

Hummus Platter

Special occassions call for special creations. My little brother had his 22nd birthday (okay, so he is not so little anymore then!) on Wednesday and I wanted to gift him something made from my love for cooking. He loves trying different types of cuisines that I try at home quite often. So I made something from a new cuisine with my twist to it for him: a Hummus platter. I made the Hummus platter with three types of Hummus: Regular Hummus, Basil Hummus and Spicy Hummus with whole wheat pita bread. He loved it! So it was quite a success!

Hummus Platter

The above picture has the Basil Hummus in the front, the Regular Hummus in the middle, and the Spicy Hummus at the farther end. 

Regular hummus is a post I have already done. You can click on the title to go to it!

Basil Hummus

Ingredients

1 cup chickpeas soaked overnight
5 tbsps seasame seeds
8-10 garlic cloves
6-7 leaves of fresh Italian basil
3 tbsps olive oil
Salt to taste
Water to adjust consistency

Method

Pressure cook the chickpeas. Roast the seasame seeds in a pan on a low flame till they are brownish and release their aroma. Blend with a little water to make the tahini paste.

In the blender, blend the garlic cloves, the basil leaves, the tahini paste and the salt to form a smooth paste. Add in the cooked chickpeas and olive oil and blend. Add water to adjust consistency as desired.

To serve, create a little depression in the middle and pour some olive oil into it (see picture above).



Spicy Hummus

Ingredients

1 cup chickpeas soaked overnight
5 tbsps seasame seeds
8-10 garlic cloves
6-7 leaves of fresh Italian basil
3 tbsps olive oil
1 1/2 tsps of red chilly powder
1 tsp of cumin powder
Salt to taste
Water to adjust consistency

Method

Cook the soaked chickpeas in the pressure cooker. Make the tahini paste by roasting seasame seeds as described above and then blending them with a little water to form a smooth paste.

Blend together the chickpeas, the tahini paste, the garlic cloves, the olive oil, salt and the red chilly and cumin powder. Keep adding water in little quantities till the desired consistency of the dip is reached.

Serve with some olive oil on it (see picture below).

Serve the different types of Hummus with pita bread toasted in a little olive oil and enjoy!

The three types of Hummus served with olive oil on them