Beef Puffs

by Trisha Vaz
Today I have a yummy little snack to share with you. Back in Bombay and in Goa, these puffs are legendary. You find loads of variants of the puff with a variety of the fillings – chicken, veg, mutton etc. They are pretty easy to find, though finding a good one might not be too easy. My favourites all came from stores in Bandra, namely my college haunt – Andora’s Cafe, Hearsch’s Bakery and a more pricey Candies. So eventually, when I learned to make my own at home, I was really excited. Back in Bombay I always made the puff pastry from scratch and it always turned out well. I hope to make it again someday and share the recipe here.

Here in Sydney, I was thrilled to find I could buy frozen puff pastry. That meant it was now possible to enjoy these little puffs with a fraction of the effort and time involved. Now don’t get me wrong. I am all about cooking and baking from scratch, but everyone needs to be open to a few shortcuts every now and then, especially when life gets hectic. So today, we are going to use the store bought frozen version. That covers the pastry. For a tasty filling I use my Beef mince recipe, but leave out the potatoes. Also you need to make sure that the liquid has cooked out so that you don’t have a runny filling. A runny filling will only result in a soggy pastry.

Now it’s just a matter of assembling the puffs. I cut up each thawed sheet of pastry into 6 portions and place the filling on one side keeping away from the edge. Run a finger dipped in water along the edges and fold over to seal. Apply an egg wash and bake. You can make these in a larger batch and refrigerate them. Just bring them to room temperature and heat them up on a pan or in the oven and you can sit down to a nice little snack. Very often, I have these with some tomato ketchup and I can safely say, nothing beats it.

Beef Puffs


Beef mince (each puff requires a spoon of filling)
Frozen puff pastry sheets, as many as you need (Each sheet yields 6 pieces)
1 egg, for the egg wash

Preheat the oven to 220ºC (follow the package instructions if you’re using puff pastry).

Place the thawed puff pastry sheet on a flat work surface and cut into 6 potions. Place a spoon of the filling on one side of each puff staying away from the edges like so –

Keep a little bowl of water near your work surface. Dip a finger in the water and run on the edges of each puff.

Flip the empty half over onto the side with the filling and seal the edges. Place it on a baking tray lined with baking paper.

Crack an egg in another bowl and beat lightly. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the egg wash over the puffs. This gives it a lovely golden brown glaze.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or till golden brown.

Enjoy them warm.

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Goan Recipes, Recipes, Snacks, Starters / Appetizers

Super Fast Salsa

by Trisha Vaz
This has got to be one of the quickest recipes I’ve come across. Its taken me longer to write up this post than to make this fresh salsa. If you haven’t realized by now, I really like my tortilla chips and nachos. You might remember my homemade version from here. Even though tortilla chips are easily available all over the place here in Australia, I somehow still prefer the homemade version. For this post, you’ll see a store bought option pictured. I just need a little time to whip up a homemade batch, it is so much better; tastier and you know exactly whats in it.

But today we’re here to talk not about the chips, but this really yummy salsa dip. A while ago, I’d picked up a jar from the local supermarket, that claimed to be ‘Hot’. I love spicy stuff, so I thought this would really hit the spot. What I love about Mexican food is the spice from the chillies and peppers and the tang from the lemon and tomatoes.  Much to my disappointment, this store bought salsa was neither ‘Hot’ nor tangy. I knew I had to figure out a way to get my hands on something better. This homemade salsa was fresh, packed full of flavor and you can easily adjust the spice levels to your liking. It was everything a good salsa should be. I sure hope you try it out.

The picture doesn’t do it much justice. It was fairly late in the evening when it was taken. I hope to get a better picture up sometime soon.

Super Fast Salsa

1 clove of garlic
1/4 onion, roughly chopped
2 -3 tomatoes, roughly chopped
Fresh coriander leaves with stalks
Lime juice, to taste
Salt, to taste

Place all the ingredients in the food processor.

Pulse till it reaches the consistency you like and is combined.

Adjust the salt and lime if needed.

Enjoy!

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Condiments, Pickles & Spice Mixes, Recipes, Starters / Appetizers, Vegan

Bombay Street Food Special #10 – Dahi wada

by Trisha Vaz
2 posts in 2 days …. your probably wondering if thats even possible. I know I am. But I am going to find the time to catch up with my posts from now on. So, thank you for sticking around and being so patient. You will find more regular posts here from now on, compared to the last couple of months. I have been cooking and baking a whole lot, I just haven’t had the time to share it with you. But fingers crossed, thats going to change.

Okay, so yesterday, I shared with you a treat that I’ve only recently learned to make, the humble cruchy vadas or deep friend lentil fritters. We enjoyed these so much, I decided to try and use these in another popular Indian treat, the Dahi wada. (Dahi-meaning yogurt and wada – fritters). Essentially, Dahi wadas are little fritters dunked in some seasoned yogurt with a little flavoring to take it to that next level of yum. 
I know that the dahi wada purists will frown on my method, but it works for me and it is really delicious. Delicious enough to have converted an aunt of mine who was visiting. She never has dahi wadas when it is up for grabs at parties, buffets or at Indian restaurants because of a couple of unpleasant experiences she’s had previously. She claimed that these looked fantastic and she couldn’t go past it without trying some and turns out she loved it. I even gave her some to take home and enjoy later. 
What I did was, made up one batch of the the lentil fritters. We had half of it with some chutney and I used the other half to make these dahi wadas. 
This is not an exact recipe, but some guidelines. You need to tweak it to suit your liking. Its a little sweet, a little savory and a little tangy all at the same time.
In this instance, I used some store bought freeze dried coriander since I could not get my hands on any fresh coriander. But use fresh if you can. I’m happy to have found this little treasure pot. I keep one at hand for times when I can’t find the fresh stuff.  
Another time saver is this bottled Date and Tamarind Chutney, found at any Indian store in Sydney. Again, I’d prefer to use a home made variant, which is tastier and has better consistency, but if you’re in a pinch, this will work fine. If you’d like to make your own little jar at home, you can find the recipe here – Tamarind and Date Chutney.
Now on to the Dahi wada. Here’s what the end result will look like – delish!
Dahi Wada

Deep-fried lentil fritters
A bowl of hot water
1 tub of Greek yogurt
Salt, to taste
Sugar, to taste
Red Chilly powder, to taste
Cumin powder, to taste
Tamarind Date Chutney, to drizzle over, to taste
Fresh coriander chopped/ freeze dried coriander, to garnish
Mint Chutney (Not used here, but can be used, if desired, to taste)
Take hot water in a large bowl.
Dunk the warm wadas in the water and keep it submerged in the water for a little while (1/2 a minute or so) till it has absorbed a fair bit of water. 
Place the soaked wada between the palms of both hands and press firmly to drain all the water out. (We do this to get rid of any excess oil as well as to make the wada more absorbent – that way it takes in more flavor of the yogurt.) Continue with the rest of the fritters. Place in the serving dish or platter in a single layer.
In a large bow, beat the yogurt. Add salt to taste and some sugar. It should lightly sweeten the yogurt but not make it too sweet. Add a splash of water and whisk the yogurt. You need to add the water gradually till you get a thick pouring consistency. (Somewhat like a pouring custard consistency.) In all, you need enough yogurt to cover the fritters completely and generously.
Pour this yogurt over the fritters till you have covered them well. 
Sprinkle some red chilly powder, cumin powder and drizzle some Tamarind Date Chutney and Mint Chutney (not used here but can be added if desired) over. 
Garnish with a sprinkling of chopped coriander.
Refrigerate for a little while, atleast half an hour to let the flavors build and then serve chilled.
This makes a nice refreshing snack for a warm summers day, or if you are like me, its perfect any day of the year.    
Enjoy!
NOTE: This is NOT a sponsored post. I haven’t been approached or compensated by Gourmet Garden or Pattu or any stores that stock them. These are just products that I happen to be using at the moment and work well for me.

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Recipes, Snacks, Starters / Appetizers

Bombay Street Food Special #9 – Deep-fried Lentil Fritters

by Trisha Vaz
After what seems like forever, I’m back in the blogosphere. And I just have to share this little treat with you. It is a South-Indian delight. We’ve been missing the readily available street food in Mumbai an awful lot lately, so I’ve decided that instead of whining about it, I was just going to have to put my big girl pants on and learn how to make it myself.

So off I went, to scour the internet for recipes easy enough for a beginner in South Indian food to get right. You might wonder what I’m on about. You see I love South Indian treats, but a lot of them call for the perfect ratio of ingredients, overnight fermentation and consistency of the batter, to name a few pressure points you might come across in a recipe. I wanted something that wouldn’t take as long. After a little looking, I found a recipe for Deep-fried lentil fritters. It requires a little planning in advance, since the lentils have to soak for a while (you could make the Chutney and the prep the other ingredients in the meanwhile), but other than that its fairly simple to prepare. The fritters turned out fantastic. Crunchy on the outside, fluffy on the inside and they packed some lovely flavor. I should tell you at this point, that the first time I made these fritters, the batter was a little thinner than it should have been. The resulting fritters were tasty but absorbed a little oil while they were being fried. I knew at once that I needed to make some changes. When I made these a second time and watched the water content closely. The batter was a lot thicker than the previous time.
And since then I’ve made these a couple of times and they hit the spot every single time. So until I learn to make a few more Indian street food delights, I will make these bite sized treats everytime the we’re hit with the craving for some South Indian food.
I’ve used a bit of chillies with the seeds since we like our food with a little bite. But you can either cut down on the chillies or leave them out completely. Serve this hot with some Coconut Chutney on a wet / cold day or any other day really coupled with a piping hot cuppa tea and you’re in for a real treat.

Come back tomorrow and I’ll show you how to use these fritters to make another yummy snack.

Deep-fried Lentil Fritters
1 cup Urad Dal, black lentils (skinned and split)
1/4 onion, finely chopped
2 green chillies, finely chopped
1/4 tsp. freshly crushed black pepper
1 sprig curry leaves, roughly torn or chopped
A little grated ginger (optional)
2 tbsp rice flour
Salt, to taste
Oil, for deep frying
Wash the dal a couple of times in water and drain.
Soak the dal in water for 20 minutes.
Drain the water. Rinse the dal through with fresh water again and drain.
Grind the dal with a tiny bit of water to a smooth paste. Remember, to not add too much water. You don’t want a thin runny batter.
In a bowl, mix the paste, salt and rice flour. Add the onions, chillies, pepper, ginger and curry leaves and stir through, to mix the ingredients evenly.
Heat the oil in a wok to deep fry.
When the oil is hot, ladle the batter carefully into the oil one tablespoonful at a time and keep the oil on a medium heat. Fry the fritters till golden brown.
Drain the fritters onto some kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil.
Enjoy hot with some Coconut Chutney and a hot cuppa tea.

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Breakfast, Recipes, Snacks, Starters / Appetizers, Vegan

Chicken on skewers

by Trisha Vaz
As promised in the last post, here’s one on the chicken on skewers. Now this recipe is quick to put together, but the flavors are much better if you get started a few hours before you want to serve up. There is barely any hands-on work other than marinating the chicken pieces, but the flavors get a chance to do their thing and you end up with a lot of deliciousness. However, if your in a rush, try and give the chicken at least an hour to sit in the spices.
When you use wooden skewers, its very important to let them soak in cold water for about 30 minutes to an hour. If they float to the top use a small plate to weigh them down and keep them submerged in the water. This is important since you don’t want them lighting up in the oven with the heat. Ofcourse, if you’re using metal skewers, simply skip this step. I prefer the wooden / bamboo skewers, because that means a little less washing to do after the meal. 🙂 But feel free to use what you have on hand. 
This recipe is very versatile, you can alter spice levels and substitute them for others you prefer. You can also easily double or triple quantities of chicken based on how many people you need to feed.
I served the chicken with some Baked Cauliflower Poppers and some plain yogurt and a salad to make a wonderful weeknight meal. It made for a delicious, healthy meal. 

Chicken on Skewers

250g boneless chicken
1/3 cup plain yogurt
Salt to taste
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chilly powder
1/4 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp cumin powder
2 tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped
11/2 tsp ginger garlic paste
Olive oil, to drizzle over the chicken

Soak the wooden / bamboo skewers in some cold water for 30 minutes to an hour.

Cut the chicken into cubes.

Mix the spices in the yogurt in a bowl and check for salt levels and adjust if needed.

Add the chicken pieces to the spice mix and toss well to coat.

Cover the bowl with some cling film and leave it to marinate in the fridge for about 4-6 hours or overnight. If you are in a rush, try and let it marinate for atleast an hour.

When you’re ready to bake, carefully thread the chicken pieces onto the wooden skewers. Drizzle some olive oil over the chicken.

I placed the skewers on a foil lined baking dish to catch the drip (since I didn’t want to add to the clean up later).

Bake in a preheated oven (about 180ºC) on the top shelf under the grill, for about 8 to 10 minutes on each side, or until golden and cooked through.

Notes:

  • Don’t cut the chicken pieces too small else they’ll dry out while cooking.
  • You may baste the pieces with a little olive oil when you flip them over.

This recipe has been linked here –
Tuesday Talent Show @ Chef in Training
Time to Sparkle @ Inside BruCrew Life
Simple Supper Tuesday @ Hun … What’s for Dinner?
Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen’s Country Cottage
Thriving on Thursday @ Domesblissity 

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Chicken, Mains, Recipes, Starters / Appetizers

Cheese stuffed Whole Wheat Garlic Breadsticks

by Trisha Vaz
Those of you who’ve been following this space for a while, know that I’ve always loved the idea of baking my own bread, but have always been intimidated by the mighty “yeast”. However, off late I’ve been doing better with it. I whipped up these stuffed bread sticks a while ago and we absolutely loved it. Warm bread straight out of the oven, with a garlic butter spread on the inside coupled with some melted gooey cheese. Whats not too love! Just writing about it has me longing for another piece. The best part is that this is a whole wheat bread, with just a tad of all purpose flour, so it is a healthier variant too. Now that I’ve made this lovely delight, my head is just swimming with other options to use as a stuffing. I’m really looking forward to some more experimentation with this bread. But don’t take my word for it, try it out.

Now, who’s ready to take a peek at what the stuffing looks like. I used a mix of mozzarella and cheddar by Kraft. I think I’m going to up the cheddar the next time.
Cheese stuffed Whole Wheat Garlic Bread Sticks
(Yield: 8 bread sticks)
For the bread – 
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup water
1/2 tbsp instant yeast
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp olive oil
For the garlic spread –
2 tbsp salted butter
6 large cloves of garlic, chopped
Red chilli flakes, to taste (optional)
Mixed Italian herbs, to taste (optional)
Grated cheese, to taste (your choice of cheese / blend)
In a bowl, mix the yeast, water and sugar and dissolve.
Add the flours to it and knead it to form a soft pliable dough. The dough will be a little sticky. Its a sign that your gluten is forming, which is a good thing.
Mix the oil and the salt using the palm of your hand and rub it into the dough.
Cover with a damp cloth and leave it in a warm place for about an hour or till the dough has doubled in size.
Oil your fingers and knock back the risen dough lightly.
Roll the dough out on a lightly dusted surface.
Mix all the ingredients of the garlic spread except the cheese and apply on the dough.
Sprinkle grated cheese on half of the dough, flip the other half over to cover.
Cover with the damp cloth and leave to rise for about 20 minutes to half an hour.
Preheat the oven to 180ºC and bake for 15-20 minutes till it browns on top.
Take it out of the oven and immediately brush lightly with some olive oil.
Enjoy!

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Bread, Recipes, Sides, Starters / Appetizers

Mushroom Toast Bites

by Trisha Vaz
Here’s something I came up with on the go. In the spirit of complete disclosure, I must admit that I got this sauteed mushroom beauty from my brother who had whipped these up to serve along with some barbecued beef strips at out last barbecue. It was delicious and everybody loved it (even the mushroom haters.) This is so simple and easy to put together and even if you aren’t planning on barbecuing anything, this would work really well as a side dish. A few days ago, I was feeling completely uninspired about what to cook up for dinner. Yes, that does happen to me sometimes. And as a last minute light bulb that sprang to life in my head, I realized that I had some yummy button mushrooms in the fridge. Immediately I thought of the sauteed mushrooms, but it struck me that I didn’t want to do anything fancy besides this. I simply toasted some bread and served the mushrooms with the bread and a nice fresh salad alongside. That was a simple, yummy weeknight meal for us.

Mushroom Toast Bites


200g packet of button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced thickly
2 onions, sliced
1-2 green chillies, slit
1 tsp olive oil
A knob of butter
3 cloves of garlic, lightly crushed to release flavor
Salt, to taste
Crushed black pepper, to taste

Place the oil and butter in a pan over medium heat.

Add the mushrooms and saute till they’re done. Don’t overcrowd the pan as the mushrooms will just stew in their juices. Do this in stages if you’re using a small pan. Drain the mushrooms and keep aside.

Using the same pan, add a dash more oil / butter, if needed and tip in the garlic and onions and saute them on medium heat till they’re lightly caramelised.

Add the chilies and the mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir to mix well.

Take off the heat.

You can add some chopped coriander leaves at the end. I didn’t have any that evening, so I just left that out.

Lightly toast slices of bread and cut in halves and place the stir fried mushrooms over it.

Arrange on a platter and serve.

This recipe is linked to –
Savory Sunday
My Meatless Mondays
Mix it up Monday
Recipe Sharing Monday
Just Another Meatless Monday
Mouthwatering Monday
Mangia Mondays
A Little Birdie Told Me

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Recipes, Starters / Appetizers

C is for Chickpeas – Hummus

by Trisha Vaz
I have a soft spot for dips – I don’t know if I like them all (I’ve tried a few that weren’t my cup of tea – but I think its just because of how it was made and if it were made well, I’d probably have liked them too), but there are a few that I really, really like. This hummus is one such dip. I don’t know what it is about dips, but I love having something to dip breadsticks, crackers, chips, vegetable sticks etc. in. This month I chose to do a post on Hummus – a chickpea dip, since we’re at the C & D stage of the Eating The Alphabet series, hosted by Brenda of Meal Planning Magic. Chickpeas have a host of health benefits. They are high in fibre, help regulating blood fat and lowering blood sugar levels. You can read more about the health benefits of these little gems here, here and here.

I’d usually serve this hummus with pita bread, but the day I made the hummus, it completely slipped my mind to pick some up. I did the next best thing and made do with what was available in my kitchen, sliced bread which was lightly toasted and cut up. And it tasted great. I spiked the hummus a little by garnishing it with some red chilly powder, but if you don’t care for spicy food, you can simply leave it off. The recipe mentioned below is more of a guide than a recipe, I would suggest that you keep tasting as you go along and adjust the seasoning as required. Also, I hear that Tahini is an essential ingredient for a good hummus dip, I didn’t have any so I simply added some sesame seeds to the mix before blending. In the event I try using Tahini, I will update this post with my observations.
Hummus

1 cup chickpeas, boiled and drained (You can use the canned variety if you’d like. You can find the method to boil your own chickpeas here. If you are boiling it yourself, reserve some of the liquid.)
1- 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1-2 cloves garlic, minced finely
1/4 tsp cumin powder
Red chilly powder, to garnish
A spring of fresh coriander, to garnish
Salt, to taste
In a blender, blitz the chickpeas, sesame seeds, garlic, and cumin powder using a little of the reserved liquid to aid the process. Don’t use too much as you don’t want it too runny.
Add the lemon juice and blitz again, scrapping down the sides of the bowl as needed. With the blender running, gradually add in the olive oil and blend till everything is smooth and creamy. 
Taste the dip and adjust the seasoning as required. At this stage, if you need to add salt, please do so.
Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish to your liking. 
If you’d like to join in on the fun, just comment and let me know and I’ll get back to you with the details.

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Condiments, Pickles & Spice Mixes, Recipes, Starters / Appetizers, Vegan

Aloo Tikkis – Potato Patties

by Trisha Vaz
The last couple of weeks have just passed me by. There are so many goodies that I’ve whipped up during this time, but I just haven’t gotten around to posting any of them yet. To top that I had the craziest weekend. We had the family over for lunch on Saturday, it was so much fun having them over, that’s 11 people and 3 dogs in all. Once they left, I had to focus on a real quick clean up since I had to complete an order of a kilo of handmade liqueur chocolates and a couple of dozen thank you bars for a Monday pickup. By the time Monday  arrived, I was ready to sleep it off. Of course, that was not possible. Even though things were so hectic, I enjoyed every minute of it.

Since I had very little time to put meals together in the last few days, I whipped up some of the quick but good stuff. One such treat is the Aloo tikki, or a potato cutlet. Its comes together fairly quick and is really tasty. I served it as a side but I think it would be really tasty in a vegetarian burger as well. This tikki is fairly versatile and you can add a few finely chopped veggies to it if you’d like. You need to add some bread crumbs to make these a little sturdier than they would ordinarily be. It also adds a lovely crunch to the tikkis.  This would be a great way to serve the kiddies their veggies, in a burger. I think they’d enjoy it. Try it out and let me know how it goes.
Aloo tikkis before frying
Aloo Tikkis

2 potatoes, washed, boiled and mashed
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 green chilly, finely chopped (optional)
Some fresh coriander leaves, chopped
Salt to taste
A pinch of chat masala (optional)
1/2 tsp red chilly powder or to taste
A couple of pinches of cumin powder
1-2 tbsp bread crumbs
Oil, for frying
Mix all the ingredients except the oil well. 
Check for seasoning and adjust if needed.
Shape into small cutlets.
Shallow fry in a pan.
Serve hot.

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Recipes, Sides, Starters / Appetizers, Vegan

Homemade Tortilla Chips – Take 2

by Trisha Vaz
Here’s another take on homemade tortilla chips. You must’ve figured out by now that I like my nachos. Unfortunately, tortilla chips are pretty hard to come by in stores around here. And when you do find a packet, their either insanely overpriced or terribly salty and full of artificial stuff you don’t want to be putting into your system. So a while ago I’d made some Nachos, from scratch. I was pretty happy with the way it turned out. The only thing that I wasn’t thrilled about is that the tortilla chips were roasted on the griddle and then deep fried, meaning, lengthy process, not to mention I found the chips absorbed more oil than I’d have liked. So when I was browsing through my recipe book collection the other day, I came across another take on tortilla chips by Nita Mehta. So I said why not give it a try. Here you deep fry the dough directly.

I must say, I was really pleased with this take on homemade tortilla chips and I know for a fact that this will be my go to recipe in the future. For starters, the process was considerably shorter that the first version. These chips can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container. They don’t absorb much oil and are nice and crunchy. A note of caution, these are so darn good, you won’t be able to stop munching on them just the way they are. We went though half of the quantity without even making a single portion of nachos with them. They make fantastic nibbles.

Tortilla Chips
Recipe from: Soups, Salads & Starters by Nita Mehta


1 1/2 cup corn meal (also called maize flour or makki ka atta)
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp carom seeds (ajwain)

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl.

Knead into a pliable dough with water.

Make large marble sized portions and roll them out into thin discs.

Prick it all over with a fork.

Cut into wedges.

Heat some oil in  pan and deep fry on a medium flame till they turn golden brown in color.

Drain them off on some absorbent kitchen paper.

When they’ve cooled off completely, store in an air tight container.

Use as needed.

This recipe is linked to –
Savory Sunday
Mangia Mondays
Hearth & Soul
A Little Birdie Told Me
Tuesdays At The Table

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Recipes, Snacks, Starters / Appetizers, Vegan