Lazy Sunday Brunch

I am at my laziest on Sunday mornings and I love easy quick recipes for a brunch with the fam. Eggs are a go to and the hubby and the kiddo love anything with eggs as well.

This is just a quick thing I pulled together with some left over grilled chicken from dinner and the rest were all just assembled together in a few minutes. Our usual go to are potatoes that are quickly boiled and sautéed into a hash. This is a great substitute for the chicken.

A simple salad and some fresh sliced avocado makes this a complete meal.

Beat the egg and add some salt, pepper and a couple tbsp of milk. Whisk and make some quick omelettes. Meanwhile, toast some bread and toss some mixed greens with whatever dressing you have on hand.
I used up some chicken I had on hand, but potatoes are a great addition here.

Assemble everything with some sliced avocado.

Viola! Brunch is served.

Paneer/Chicken Enchiladas

A good dish for a nice dinner with friends. It's one of those dishes, that works good served by itself. A side salad and my quick nachos from my earlier post would make this a complete and impressive meal. I made this for my friends who were visiting this weekend, and they were really impressed.

I got store bought enchilada sauce, but it tasted really bad, so I made it from scratch. The re fried beans however taste really good from the can. Taco bell's re fried beans work really well here.

Update: I made this dish again with paneer instead of chicken. It tasted really good too. Just substitute the chicken with panner. The rest of the process is the same.

Chicken Filling:
Ground chicken/Paneer - 1 pound
Onion - 1
Green chilis - 2
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Taco seasoning - 1 pack
Salt - to taste
Red chili powder - 1 tsp
Cilantro - few sprigs
Oil - 1 tbsp

In a pan, add the oil and fry the chopped onions and green chilis. When soft ad the chicken/Paneer and fry till slightly browned. Add the taco seasoning, cumin powder, salt, red chili powder and fry till done. Add the chopped cilantro and keep aside.

Enchilada sauce:
Tomato puree - 1 cup
Chili powder - 1 tbsp
Instant coffee powder - 1 tsp
Dried Oregano - 1/2 tsp
Garlic powder - 1 tsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Chicken stock/Water - 1/2 cup

Simmer all the ingredients together until well incorporated. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Re fried beans - 1 Can
Flour tortillas - 6
Onion - 1 chopped
Cilantro - small bunch - chopped
Sharp cheddar cheese - 1 pack grated

Heat the tortillas on a pan until heated through. lay them on a chopping board and spoon 2 tbsp of re fried beans on each of the tortillas and spread evenly. Add a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the chicken/Paneer filling on each of the tortillas and top with onions, cilantro and some cheese.
Roll the tortillas and place them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Spoon the sauce on the tortillas and cover evenly. Spread the grated cheese on top and bake in a pre-heated 400F oven for 15 to 20 min.
The tortillas will start to get crisp at the ends and the cheese will be melted and bubbly.
Serve with shredded lettuce, sour cream, and guacamole.

It is well worth the effort as this is a really tasty dish.

Mac and Cheese

My little darling wrote his first story. He made up a story about Tom & Jerry, and wrote it for me. It was simple and sweet. I was really thrilled and impressed with it, and decided to make him one of his favorite meals. I asked him to pick a dish, and to my surprise he chose Mac & cheese. Now, this is not one of the dishes he often eats, but it was his choice, so I had to make it. I had none of the ingredients that are needed to make the dish, but I did not want to disappoint him either. So I had to improvise. I had some egg noodles, American cheese singles and bread crumbs. I took a gamble and went with these, but the result was a really flavorful dish, and we did not miss any of the fancy cheeses or the macaroni.

 

Macaroni/ Egg noodles - 1 cup
Butter - 1 tbsp
Flour - 2 tbsp
Milk - 3/4 cup
Any grated Cheese - 3/4 cup (I used 3 American cheese singles)
Bread crumbs - 1/4 cup
Salt - to taste
Black pepper - 1 tsp
Garlic powder - 1 tsp

Cook the pasta according to instructions on the package (Usually in a pot of boiling salted water for 8 to 12 min). In a pan, melt the butter and add the flour. Whisk well and cook this golden brown, and the raw smell is gone. Heat the milk in the microwave, and stir slowly into the flour and butter mixture. Whisk really well, in order to avoid any lumps. When the mixture is well incorporated, add the cheese, garlic powder and pepper. Mix well, till the cheese melts and add the pasta. If the mixture is too thick, thin it with some milk. Pour into an  oven safe dish, and top with the bread crumbs. Spray with some cooking spray or drizzle some oil on top, to help with the browning. Bake in a pre-heated 425F oven for 10 to 15 min, until the bread crumbs are golden brown on top. Serve hot.

Aloo Gobi Paratha - Simplified

The best part of a paratha is the filling. So, the more filling the better. Right? The problem with excess filling is, when we try to roll the parathas, it starts to come out and it becomes very hard to roll them. Also gets messy. I tried this different method, where instead of rolling the parathas before they go on the tawa, I used a flat bottomed spatula to spread the parathas right on the tawa. This ensured that there was a lot of filling in each of the parathas, and also saved me the trouble of having to roll them. I am making these a lot more, now that I found this simple technique.

Potatoes - 2 medium
Cauliflower - 1/2 small
Onion - 1/2 Red chopped fine
Ginger grated - 1 tsp
Green chili - 2 chopped fine
Citantro - few sprigs chopped
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Red chili powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Amchur powder - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Shajeera - 1 tsp
Regular roti dough

Boil the potatoes until soft, peel and mash. Chop the cauliflower into small pieces.
In a pan, heat 1 tbsp oil, add shajeera, and the onions. Cook till soft, add the cauliflower and cook till soft, and it falls apart. Mix the rest of the masalas, salt and the potatoes. Add the cilantro and cool.
Take some dough, roll into a ball, and make with your hands, make it into a small bowl and fill with the filling. Close the ends and seal the ball. Make the rest of the balls this way.
With your hands, flatten the dough ball with the filling.

Heat a tawa and place the flattened dough ball with the stuffing on the tawa. Spray the back of a flat spatula with some non-stick spray or add a few drops of oil and spread it well. Press the spatula on the dough, and press until it expands. Continue to do this until it forms into a paratha. This is a very simple step, and gets done in seconds.






Cook on one side, turn and cook till the other side is lightly brown. Drizzle some oil at this point if you wish.
Remove and serve with pickle and yogurt.