Oven Roasted Asparagus

by Trisha Vaz
I’ve only recently had the opportunity to work with asparagus in the kitchen and I must say, I love this vegetable. I’ve only had it a couple of times and I can’t wait for it to come back in season.

This recipe I’m going to share with you is so very simple, but it results is such delicious bites, I had to share it with you. I think if you have access to asparagus, it would make a lovely addition to your Easter table. There’s hardly any prep involved and it cooks in the over real quick. You’ll be happy to have a dish like this in your arsenal. I know I was.

I’ve tried sauteing and baking asparagus and I like both methods. But the oven roasted version results in such a lovely nutty flavor. That is something I didn’t find with the sauteed version. But if you don’t want to fire up the oven, don’t hesitate to use a pan. The stove top version comes in a close second.

What I love about this recipe, is you can whip up a slightly larger batch easily. You can refrigerate the left overs and re-heat before serving.

Oven Roasted Asparagus


1 bunch of asparagus (quantity doesn’t matter, simply adjust your seasonings accordingly)
Olive oil
Salt, to taste
Freshly crushed black pepper, to taste
Garlic salt, to taste

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Line a baking tray with some aluminium foil for easy clean up.

Wash and trim the asparagus (cut of the hard, woody ends).

Place the asparagus in a bowl. Drizzle with some olive oil, sprinkle with garlic salt, salt and pepper. Toss well and ensure that the asparagus is well coated.

Place the asparagus on the prepared baking sheet in a single layer and space them out. Bake for about 10 minutes or till lightly browned and tender. You can check by piercing with a fork.

Enjoy!!!

This recipe has been linked @
Hearth and Soul, by Zesty South Indian Kitchen

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Recipes, Sides, Vegan

Mixed Berry Smoothies

by Trisha Vaz
Picking up where we left off with the Bursting Berry Muffins, I thought it would be a good idea to use up some more of those frozen berries. I’ve been dying to have a good smoothie for a while now. The days have been consistently getting cooler here and we’ve had some wet spells too. So when we had a slightly warmer day than usual, I decided to make a Mixed Berry Smoothie, a farewell to Summer, of sorts. But I love the cooler weather. It usually means Christmas is around the corner, atleast it did when we were in Mumbai. The fact that its not is going to take a little getting used to here in the Southern Hemisphere. I still find it a little unusual to have a cooler Easter and a warmer Christmas. Anyway, I digress. 

Back to this smoothie. Nothing could be simpler to put together. I used a packet of Nana’s frozen mixed berries, a mix of blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries. I loved the flavors in this smoothie. It seriously made me wonder why I don’t make them more often. Well, I guess it gives me something to look forward to when Summer is back. Another thing you mind want to consider is the seeds from the raspberries. I didn’t care for the crunch of the seeds. If you’re like me, you might want to consider leaving out the raspberries, but I think they add a nice flavor to the drink. 
How do you deal with the seeds?
If you want to make a dairy free version, simply leave out the milk and yogurt and replace it with some fruit juice. I think that would be really delicious too.
We sat down to a nice big glass each after a particularly high intensity evening walk. My body was craving for something sweet and this was perfect. So much healthier than a soda and more delicious too. 
Mixed Berry Smoothies

1 1/2 cup mixed frozen berries
1 ripe banana
1/2 cup of plain Greek yogurt
A splash of milk, optional (I needed a little to get the mix going in the blender.)
Sugar / Honey, to taste
Place all the ingredients into a blender and blitz till it reaches the desired consistency, nice and creamy.
I needed to add a little milk to get the blender going. Some people choose to use a fruit juice instead. You can use either. 
Enjoy!

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Beverages, Breakfast, Recipes

Baked (Garlic Herb) Potato Wedges

by Trisha Vaz
It is so good to have access to an oven again. After a trying 6-7 months without one, the last few have been bliss. My last post talks about how to make a basic chicken roast in the oven. Every roast, chicken or otherwise, needs to be accompanied by a few yummy sides too. I only recently realized that I haven’t posted too many such sides on my blog. Now that was just not done. I had to rectify that. So I’m going to start with these really delicious baked potato wedges. These baked potato wedges are a step up from the humble roasted potatoes. The garlic herb seasoning makes these irresistible.

Most of you know my deep rooted love for the humble potato in every form. This recipe here, is another good one. Its healthier than the regular french fries, but don’t let that fool you. I know these wedges will make more than a few appearances on my dinner table.

Baked Garlic Herb Potato Wedges

2 potatoes, washed thoroughly, skins left on
Salt, to taste
1-2 tbsp. Olive oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder (I used garlic salt and adjusted the salt levels accordingly)
Black peppercorns, crushed, to taste
1 tsp dried Italian herb mix
A little dried parsley (or finely chopped fresh parsley), to garnish

Preheat oven to 210°C.

Cut the potatoes in half, lengthwise and each half into 4-5 wedges, equal in size.

Toss the wedges with the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and make sure all the wedges are coated evenly. You can adjust the quantities of the seasoning to your taste. The quantities mentioned above work well as a guide.

Line a baking sheet with foil. Place the wedges skin side down. Space them evenly so that they cook uniformly.

Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until browned to your liking, crusty on the ends and tender inside.

Serve immediately. Add more salt if needed while they are still hot from the oven.

Sprinkle a little parsley over the potatoes and serve hot.

Sit back and enjoy!

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Recipes, Sides, Vegan

Easy Roast Chicken

by Trisha Vaz
Over the years, in my family, a roast chicken (or two) has become a staple at our family gatherings. There’s something so familiar and comforting about it. Now that we’ve moved to a different country, I still find myself longing for those gatherings or maybe, just maybe, what I’m really longing for is a good roast chicken, lol.

I recently picked up a whole bird from the supermarket. I usually pick up an RSPCA approved product. My take on a roast chicken is usually a very simple, yet flavorful marinade. Of course, you can serve this chicken up at a regular weekend meal or even at a more prominent family get together or party, by putting up some clever sides. I will share some ideas for sides over time. For today, we’ll stick with the roast chicken. So if you’ve never made a roast chicken at home before, this is a good recipe to start with. Chances are you’ll already have all the ingredients in your pantry. I’m sharing this recipe with you today so that you have a little time to try this out before Easter and then maybe, serve it up for Easter as well.

When roasting a chicken, the cooking time will vary based on the sized of the bird. After doing a little reading up, a common rule of thumb for cooking time is 45 minutes per kilo of chicken + 20 minutes. I use this as a guide and this is something you should keep in mind if you’ve never roasted a chicken before. How do you work out cooking time required for a good chicken roast?

Roast Chicken

1 chicken, whole, skin on (I used a smaller sized one about 1.2kilos )
Salt, to taste
Crushed black pepper, to taste
Juice of half a lemon
1 1/2 tsp Ginger garlic paste
1 – 1 1/2 tbsp Olive oil

Wash and pat the chicken dry using paper towels.

Spread all the marinade ingredients on the chicken as well as in the cavity and rub it in well, almost like a massage. Leave to rest for about an hour.

Heat the oven to 200°C.

This time around, I placed the chicken on the rack in the roasting tray. I think it works well. This way the chicken isn’t cooking in the liquids. The skin turns out crisper.

Place the chicken in the hot oven. After about 10 minutes, lower the oven temperature to 180°C. Bake for required time till the chicken is cooked. Halfway through the cooking process, I baste the chicken with the some olive oil.

(If some of the marinade has dripped onto the roasting tray and seems like its burning, carefully add a splash of water to the tray, just a tiny bit to keep it from burning. I had to do this a couple of times.)

Please note the cooking time instructions above. To check if the chicken is cooked well, insert a sharp knife in the joint where the leg joins the body. If the juices run clear, the chicken is cooked. If it is still pink, the chicken needs to cook more.

When the chicken is cooked, cover with foil and let it rest for about 10 minutes.

Serve up with your favorite sides.

Enjoy!!!

What are some of your favorite sides? I’d love to hear from you.

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Chicken, Mains, Recipes

Homemade Nectarine Jam

by Trisha Vaz
I made jam at home. And not just any jam, I made some delicious Nectarine Jam. I’ve been holding back on ya! Not intentionally of course, but I just haven’t gotten around to sharing this information with you –

Paddy’s Market at Flemington rocks!!!
I’ve only been there a couple of times now, but I love the place. Fresh, seasonal produce combined with an opportunity to meet the growers and very reasonable pricing, makes this one of my favorite places to shop for fruit and veggies.
On my first trip there, I picked up a whole box of tomatoes, which transformed into homemade tomato puree. I will share that post with you soon. And some amazing veggies that churned out some super yummy food for us.
Our last trip there was equally fantastic. My husband picked up this huge box of yellow nectarines at a bargain. Now there’s only so much nectarine that the two of us can eat before it starts getting bad. I didn’t want any of it to go to waste, so before I lost any of them, I decided to try my hand at making some jam. Now I have to admit that I was a tiny bit nervous. You see, I’d never made jam before. But I decided to take the plunge.
The process was not as tedious as I expected it to be. After washing, de-stoning and chopping up the fruit, all it took was about 45-50 minutes on the stove top. It would have been a shorter process but I had the heat on so low in the beginning, that the vessel was barely warm when the mix should have started simmering. So I turned up the heat and everything else pretty much fell into place. I did make one change to the original recipe, I added some cinnamon sticks to the fruit in the pan. This took the jam to a whole different level of yummmm.
If you haven’t tried making jam before, don’t let it intimidate you. Now that I know first hand how simple this process is, I can’t wait to try my hand at making jam of some other fruits as they come in season. The resulting jam was not just beyond delicious, but I also knew what was in it. I knew for a fact that there were no funky ingredients in there like you find in the store bought version.
How good was this nectarine jam? Here’s something to consider – My husband doesn’t care about jam too much. I mean he’ll have a little, if there’s no other option, but that’s it. The color and the aroma of the homemade nectarine jam was so alluring, he had to try a little, without me having to ask him to. After the first spoonful or two or maybe even more, he was converted. He loves this jam. That says a lot. I see a lot more homemade jam in my future 🙂
Homemade Nectarine Jam
Yellow Nectarines
Lemon / (s)
Sugar
Cinnamon sticks
1) Prepare your fruit – We used a carton of nectarines. Wash, de-seed and chop the fruit up. I left the skin on.
2) Weigh the fruit. Add half the weight in sugar. eg. My fruit weighed about 1900g give or take a few gms. I added about 950g sugar.
3) Squeeze the juice of 1 lemon onto the fruit and put the peel in with the fruit. Throw in a couple of cinnamon sticks.
4) Cook over a medium heat till it reaches the desired consistency. Make sure you stir frequently else the fruit could stick to the pan and burn. Also, the stirring helps with breaking down the pieces of fruit. It helps to use a wide pan, so that more liquids can evaporate. It took me about 45-50 minutes.
Take out the lemon skins and the cinnamon sticks. Use a potato masher to break down the fruit to achieve the consistency you like. I left some pieces of fruit in, I like a chunky jam with pieces of fruit in.
When it has cooled, store this nectarine jam in prepared jars. (They should be washed and completely dry).
Since I don’t sterilize the jars or follow other canning steps, I keep my jam in the refrigerator. Lets see how long it lasts.
And look at that color, all from the fruit, without anything artificial.
I sure hope you give jam-making a go. I found it immensely satisfying and a whole lot of fun. 🙂

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Breakfast, Condiments, Pickles & Spice Mixes, Recipes

Where can I find Sour Cream in Mumbai???

by Trisha Vaz
Even though I’m not in Mumbai any more, I know there must be atleast a few other cooks and bakers like me, who found amazing recipes online, only to find that they needed sour cream to make it. “What’s the big deal?”, you ask. Well the deal is you can’t find Sour Cream in Mumbai. This is one product that hasn’t yet made it to the supermarket shelves. No matter how hard you try, it will be practically impossible to find a tub of it, and if you’re really lucky and you do, you’ll have to pay an exorbitant amount for it.

It was extremely frustrating for me, until I decided that enough was enough. I was determined to find a way to either make it myself or find a substitute for it. After a lot of reading up and digging through quite a lot of material, I found out that you can easily mix up a concoction that you can use when a recipe calls for sour cream. All you need is some Fresh Cream – I always used Amul Fresh Cream and thick curds (dahi) – this you can either use homemade dahi or Amul Masti Dahi – a brand I preferred to use. I’m pretty sure you could use any other brand available with the same results.

Sour Cream


200g fresh cream
1 heaped tbsp thick curds
A pinch of salt

Beat the cream till slightly thicker and still creamy.

Add the curds and the salt and mix well, till everything is well incorporated.

Use as needed.

And that’s it! How easy is that?

I hope you find this little snippet helpful. I sure did.

Disclaimer: This post hasn’t been sponsored, nor have I been compensated by Amul in any way. These are products that I use and really love working with and wanted to share with you.

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Condiments, Pickles & Spice Mixes, Recipes

Dill Potatoes

by Trisha Vaz
Ok, today’s post features my favorite vegetable. Yup, you heard me. My favorite vegetable is the humble potato. I can eat it in any form – baked, fried, mashed, roasted, any which way. I usually have potatoes in the house, for me they are a pantry staple. I rely on potatoes for those days just before I can make my weekly grocery shopping trip, where the fridge is almost bare. You’ll see a few potato recipes here like Batata vadas, Bhajiyas, Aloo Cheese Frankies, Potato Chops,  Fries, Aloo Bhaji, Hasselback Potatoes and Aloo Tikkis. But I’m pretty sure that these options are just the tip of the iceberg.

Anyway, this is one recipe, that can be made many different ways. You can –

  • Boil potatoes – on the stovetop or in the microwave
  • Roast potatoes – I usually pop a couple of potatoes whole and skin on (but washed well / brushed) in the oven, if I’m roasting some meat or baking a casserole or something. I simply wrap it in foil and leave it in till done.
  • Use raw potatoes, washed, peeled and cubed

What makes it special is the dill. Dill and potatoes go well together. Haven’t tried it before, well, you definitely should.

Dill Potatoes 


2 potatoes (You could use as many as you think you’ll need)
Salt, to taste
Dill leaves (either fresh or frozen), to taste
1 tsp canola oil

Prep your potatoes as desired – either boiled, roasted or raw.

Cut the potatoes into cubes.

Heat oil in a pan and toss the potato cubes in gently. Let it fry till they edges get nice and golden brown and crunchy.  (This will take a little longer if you are using raw potatoes – keep it on a medium heat so that it cooks through. If you’re using boiled / roasted potatoes you can turn up the heat a bit and heat through till it browns to your liking.)

When the potatoes are done to your liking, season with salt and toss in the dill leaves, as much or as little as you’d like. Toss it up well.

Serve hot.

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Recipes, Sides, Vegan

Pan fried Pork Chops

by Trisha Vaz
Ok, here’s a quick option for those dinners when you want to have something special, but just don’t want to spend too much time or when take-out just won’t do. Now I know these are pork fillets, but at home, when we were younger we always called them pork chops, for some strange reason. And the term stuck. To this day, I still call them that.

The other day, I was in the supermarket doing my usual grocery run and I saw these gorgeous packets of pork scotch fillets that were on special. (When things are on special, you want to make sure you have some time before the ‘Use By Date’ printed). These were well within the time frame and looked good. So I picked up a packet since I hadn’t figured out what we were going to have for dinner that day.

The recipe isn’t even a recipe per say, just a marinade and then you cook the meat to your liking. But the sheer simplicity that results in something this delicious made me want to share it with you. Once you apply the marinade, you should try and give it atleast half an hour to an hour to let the flavors do their magic. If you don’t have that kind of time, you could still make this and have a delicious dinner, but letting the meat sit in the marinade makes it so much better.

Serve it up with some fresh salad and your favorite side and you’ve got yourself a fantastic meal.

Pan Fried Pork Chops


Pack of 3-4 pork scotch fillets
Salt, to taste
Lime juice, to taste
1 tsp. ginger paste
1 tsp. garlic paste
Freshly crushed black pepper, to taste
1 tsp. oil

Place the pork chops in a large shallow dish or plate.

Sprinkle the salt, lime juice, ginger and garlic paste and the crushed pepper. Rub the marinade into the meat.

Let the meat sit in the marinade for half an hour to an hour.

Heat the oil in a pan. Place the pork fillets in the pan. Cook to your liking,

I cook it for about 4 minutes on each side.

Take it off the pan and let it rest for a couple of minutes.

Serve up and enjoy!

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Mains, Pork, Recipes