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

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

Baked Cauliflower Poppers

by Trisha Vaz
Cauliflower – now here’s a vegetable that can go either way if you ask me. Till date, I like my cauliflower with a little crunch. I think cauliflower has a little bit of a bad rep, because some folks just don’t know how to cook it well. I’ve had cauliflower in many forms – steamed, steamed and tossed in butter, filled in some parathas, as pakodas / fritters or curried like an aloo gobhi (a recipe I will share with you soon), and I like most of them. But serve me some overcooked, mushy cauliflower florets and I will struggle to get through a portion of it.

This is another ingenious way of cooking cauliflower, if you ask me. They call it a healthier alternative to fries, and I will agree. Can you imagine a healthier alternative to fries? It was hard for me to, and I always thought this would be a lot of hype and would not deliver. But, I was wrong, and I’m glad I was wrong. Because these little beauties turned out gorgeous. They are so more-ish, its hard to stop eating them. Like you see in the picture below, I served these up with some skewered chicken (recipe to follow in the next post). It was super quick to put together and it was absolutely delicious. It needs very little prep work, so once you pop it in the oven, you can get on with other tasks you may have to complete.

It turns out, that these poppers can be served with some ketchup, but we loved them just the way they were and didn’t even bother with the ketchup.

If you haven’t tried these yet, I really think you should. I know that these baked poppers will make an appearance at my dinner table every now and then 🙂

Baked Cauliflower Poppers

1 head of cauliflower
2-3 tbsp. olive oil
Salt, to taste
Freshly crushed black pepper corns, to taste

Preheat the oven to 190º – 200ºC.

Wash and dry the cauliflower and cut it up into florets. Try and maintain the same size to ensure even cooking.

In a large bowl, toss the cauliflower florets, olive oil, salt and pepper. Make sure the florets are evenly coated with the oil and seasoning.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil and spread the cauliflower over it evenly.

Bake for about 20-30 minutes, stirring and turning the florets over every now and then, to make sure they don’t burn. I stirred them around every 8 minutes or so. Keep an eye on them and turn them as needed. You don’t want them to burn.

Once they’re nicely roasted, serve them up hot and enjoy.

This would be so much healthier than a bag of potato chips to snack on too. 

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Recipes, Sides, Vegan

How to make Marzipan from scratch!!!

by Trisha Vaz
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve received numerous requests from readers for my marzipan recipe used for my Easter goodies. Its taken me this long to post it as I’ve got it scribbled on a tiny piece of paper and I haven’t had much time to hunt for it or type it out. But I finally managed to track it down and type it out. That too, just in time for Easter. So this post is for all of you who’ve waited so patiently for it.

 

 
This Easter, why don’t you try making some goodies at home. Marzipan is a little finicky to get right but I’ve used this recipe that specifies exact time for cooking it. That makes it easier to handle. I’ve used this for years now and find it easier compared to some of the other recipes. I know that traditionally marzipan calls for almonds to be used, however, cashew nuts are more abundant here than almonds are so this recipe uses cashew nuts. 
 
 
Marzipan

 

200gms Cashew nuts, ground to a powder
400gms Sugar
150ml Water
½ tsp Almond Extract
 
Melt sugar in the water over the fire on high heat.
 
After the sugar melts, add the powdered cashew nuts and stir on low
heat for exactly 7 minutes.
 
Remove on a flat dish and add the almond essence.
 
Allow it to cool by stirring with a spoon or spatula.
 
Bind into a dough, color and use as desired.
 
Note:

 – If the marzipan turns too dry add a couple of drops of rose water and knead till it reaches desired consistency.
 – If the marzipan is slightly moister than you’d like, knead with some icing sugar till it reaches the desired consistency.
 – If the dough is too moist, put in back on the fire for a minute or so and stir. This step is usually not needed. I had to do this just once when using a different stovetop and the lowest flame was way to low than what you’d find on a regular stove top.

 
 
 

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Cakes, Cookies & Desserts, Christmas Recipes, Dessert, Recipes, Vegan

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

Crushed Black Pepper Crackers / Mathri

by Trisha Vaz
I was looking at putting together something savory for a tea time treat and I thought of this Indian version of the cracker that one of my Mother’s neighbors had made many years ago while we watched on. I don’t really remember the recipe she used. All I remember her saying is to make sure that the oil used in the dough needed to be warm. So with that in mind I just put a few things together and tried it out and it wasn’t too bad. Turns out we really enjoyed these crackers. The traditional version is called Mathri and is deep fried, though I’m sure they’d bake well too.

Crushed Black Pepper Crackers

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup vegetable oil, warm
Salt, to taste
Freshly crushed black pepper, to taste (leave it coarse)
1/4 – 1/2 tsp carom seeds
Approx. 1/2 cup warm water
Oil, for deep frying
Mix the flour, salt, pepper and carom seeds in a bowl. 
Add the warm oil and mix well to incorporate into the flour evenly.
Add warm water gradually to knead into a dough. You may not need all the water. The dough shouldn’t be too soft or too hard either.
Roll out into thick-ish discs and use a round cookie cutter and cut out into smaller circles. Prick each circle a couple of times with a fork to ensure that it doesn’t puff up while frying. 
Repeat till all the dough is used up.
Heat oil in wok for deep frying. Carefully fry a few crackers at a time on medium low flame till they turn golden brown. 
Let them cool off completely before storing in an air-tight container.
Enjoy them with your afternoon cup of tea.
This recipe is linked to – 
A Little Birdie Told Me
Full Plate Thursday

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Recipes, Snacks, Vegan

Peas Pulao … yes please!

by Trisha Vaz
I love peas pulao! There, I said it. This mildly flavored rice dish adorned with little green peas is something that I can eat by itself with a fresh garden salad on the side. Having said that, this rice is usually whipped up in Catholic homes all over Mumbai and Goa for a special meal, be it a festive occasion or a birthday or any other gathering. It pairs amazingly well with a variety of meat curries, like pork sorpotel, chicken cafreal and many, many more, and I can tell you it is a real treat. I look forward to sharing my family recipes for these meat curries with you soon.
 
For now, we’ll get back to the peas pulao. The preparation is really simple and the few spices used add a fragrant warmth to the rice rather than a spicy heat. Don’t let the simplicity of this dish undermine its flavors. Try it out and see for yourself.
 
A lot of folks seem to have trouble with the rice ending up very soft and mushy. This happens for a number of reasons like wrong amount of cooking water, too much stirring while the rice is cooking etc. I’ve made this rice hundreds of  times and have never encountered such a problem. So I think if you stick to the measures, you should be good to go.

 



Peas Pulao


2 bay leaves
1-2″ cinnamon sticks
2 pods green cardamom
4-5 cloves
6 black peppercorns
1/2 large or 1 small onion, chopped
1 tbsp oil
1 cup long grained rice
2 cups water
1/4- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
A handful of green peas
Salt, to taste

If you’re using frozen peas, keep them out to thaw for a while.

Wash the rice and leave it to soak in some water for about 15-20 minutes while you prep the rest of the ingredients.

Heat the oil mildly in a vessel and add the bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and peppercorns and let them warm up and infuse the oil with their aromas and flavors, taking care not to burn the spices.

Add the chopped onion and saute till the onions and soft and translucent and start taking on a little colour.

Add the turmeric powder and stir well.

Drain the water that the rice was soaking in and tip the rice into the vessel.

Stir gently making sure you don’t break the grains down while stirring.

Once the rice is well coated with the spices in the pan, add the water, salt to taste and the green peas.

Cover and let it cook on a low flame, till all the water has been absorbed.

Fluff up the rice using a fork and not a spoon so that you don’t mash the grains.

Serve hot with your favourite curry.

Please remember that if you’d like to change the quantity of rice used, the rice to water ratio should always be 1:2. That is 1 measure of rice to 2 measures of water to cook it in.

This recipe is linked with –
My Meatless Mondays
Mouthwatering Mondays
Mangia Mondays
A Little Birdie Told Me

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Goan Recipes, Mains, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

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

Bombay Street Food Special #4 – Sukha Bhel – Light and healthy puffed rice salad

by Trisha Vaz
Today I’m going to actually add another post to the Bombay Street Food Special Series I’d started a while ago. I’ll bet you thought I was done with that. But I’m not. I will keep adding to that section, because I love street food. Today’s recipe, falls under the chaat category and there is a more fully loaded version with a number of chutneys and stuff that I so want to try making at home, I’ve just never gotten around to it, but this version is a quick and easy treat that you can munch away on in about 5 minutes. It has lovely fresh flavors and it makes for a quick, healthy snack.

It is ideally served with some papdi, which is a small crispy puri. I didn’t have any handy and haven’t yet tried making them, but soon will. I did the next best thing. I served it with some of my homemade tortilla chips. The street food stalls in Mumbai sell portions of this chaat in paper cones and patrons use the crisp, but sturdy papdi as a spoon.
Sukha Bhel

1 cup puffed rice, murmura
1/2 onion, chopped 
1/2 tomato, chopped
1 green chilly, chopped fine (optional)
1 tsp fresh coriander leaves, chopped
A pinch of Salt
A couple of pinches Chaat masala
A squirt of lime juice
1/4 cup sev
1-2 papdi/tortilla chips crushed
1 papdi/tortilla chip whole
Mix the onion, tomato, chilly, salt, lime and chaat masala lightly, in a bowl.
Add the puffed rice, crushed papdi / tortilla chips and sev and toss well. 
Garnish with the chopped coriander leaves.
Serve with a whole papdi / tortilla chip.
This recipe is linked to –
Savory Sunday

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Recipes, Salads, Snacks, 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