Potato Rosti with grated Beetroot, Onion and Cheese

Potato Rosti is one of the most versatile recipes that you can find. Primarily made with grated potato alone or in combination with other veggies and meats and herbs. This dish originated in Switzerland and many Swiss consider it as a national dish. Usually there are quiet a variation in techniques and size of rosti itself, they can be pan fried or oven baked, I have selected the latter method. I also added an unusual veggie, beetroot, to make it a health friendly dish.

Preheat the oven on 200 degree C
boil 3 medium sized potatoes for 10 mins, remove skin and grate them
boil 1 medium sized beetroot with 1 cup water + 1 tsp sugar, grate it too. Add a little salt and pepper to it.

take 1 large onion, chop it finely or pulsated in food processor along with 1 green chili and handful of fresh cilantro, jalapeno will be the best but any green chili will do. Add salt, pepper, red chili flakes and garlic powder to it

Take 4 tartlet tins and butter them lightly.
First spread a little grated potato, after that lay grated beetroot, top it with minced onion mixture, lay 1 tbs of shredded mozzarella/cheddar cheese and to finish the rosti with another layer of shredded potatoes.

Place it in pre-heated over and bake for 40-50 mins or till the top potato layer turns golden brown.

Tips: As I prefer a lightly brown rosti I have baked it to that extent only, continue baking for few more minutes if you prefer a bit darker brown dish.

Homecooked Pizza Sauce

This weekend I’m planning on preparing veggie pizza with homemade dough and this homemade cooked pizza sauce. This time I’m preparing cooked pizza sauce another way is uncooked pizza sauce in which you just need to add all condiments and little tomato sauce to tomato paste and done, I shall be posting that recipe later
I think there are 3 ways of enjoying pizza,
1. call domino’s or pizza hut (which is the easiest) but then you have no idea what goes into your loving lazy pizza or how fresh the ingredients were or how many calories you consume.

2. prepare pizza at home using store bought pizza dough/pizza base along with store bought pizza sauce, you just have to assemble your pizza with your favorite pizza topping and cheese. Now come no one can be fooled here… this is as good as ordering a pizza from any pizzeria, the only satisfaction you have here is that you know how much cheese you’ve put on top, which I guess shall be much less than the pizzeria one and how much veggies you add to your pizza. Ok so you win 40% battle over ready made pizza but still you don’t know what goes in you store bought pizza sauce…. things with complicated name to confuse customers and trick them into eating unhealthy food. Guys I don’t have any personal grudge towards those companies but a fact is a fact… cannot be changed. But I should also thank them for making life easier for many who grab the pre-cooked sauce during their crunch time. Going to our last point

3. prepare pizza from scratch, prepare the dough and sauce, select your favorite toppings and cheese. Bake and enjoy. This way, no doubt you shall be eating junk food but at least you shall be sure of what’s landing in your body. Who said junk food can’t be healthy?!! prepare dough using whole wheat flour instead of white flour, use fresh herbs and fresh tomatoes for sauce, add tons of veggies as toppings and limited quantity of cheese, this way even unhealthy thing as pizza can be made into a satiating healthy junk food.
So coming back to my weekend plan … I’m preparing this pizza sauce in advance and shall freeze it, this way it becomes handy on weekend … all I have to do is thaw it and use.

Take 3 medium to large ripe tomatoes… make sure they are bright red, blanch them, remove skin and pulse it few times in a food processor to get a chunky puree.
1 small onion and 2 green chillies pulsated in food processor or mixie / chopped very finely
Heat 1 tbs of EVOO in a heavy bottom pan (don’t bring it to smoking point or else all benefits of Olive oil are killed) add 4 big garlic pods grated, chopped onion and chili. Let it work for a few minutes may be 1-2 minutes and then add in chunky tomato puree.
Add 3 tbs tomato paste and 1/3 cup water. Bring it to a boil and simmer it on very low heat for 3-5 minutes.
Now add in 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp chili flakes ( I also added 1/2 tsp red chili powder, as I prefer hotter version of pizza sauce)
1/2 tsp crushed black peppercorns
1 tsp sugar
2 tbs tomato sauce

Mix well and let it simmer for another 2 minutes and done.
Store it in an airtight jar and use as required. Can be refrigerated upto 3-5 days depending on weather conditions or can be stored in freezer for upto 30-45 days.

Tips:
This Sauce tastes better after refrigeration, that is because the condiments get time to release their flavor as the time passes.
Can also add in parsley, thyme and other herbs, I haven’t added it as I was aiming for a specific taste.

Hummus

As everyone knows hummus is a middle eastern dip that is served as an appetizer with pita bread, well know is khuboos out here. This easy to make dip has suble flavors to it.

Take 1 cup boiled chickpeas (remove the outer skin of as many chickpeas as possible, this will make hummus gastrically friendly), toss them in blender or food processor, add 1 small garlic clove, salt to taste, 1 tsp lemon juice and 1 tsp of tahina, tahina is sesame/til paste or alternatively make ur own tahina paste-lightly roast sesame seeds and blend them into a fine paste.
Ground this mix into a smooth paste and store in airtight bottle or jar.
Serve it with a sprinkle of paprika and a table spoon of olive oil.

Enjoy.

Quesadilla

Quesadilla, a mexican snack food made of cheese, pronunced in spanish as “kesa diya” or “kesa dia”, literally means “cheese tortilla” or “cheese cake”.
In this recipe cheese and other ingredients are sandwiched between two flour tortillas and grilled on an oiled griddle, flipped so both sides are cooked and the cheese is melted, finally served after being cut into wedges. This type is often called “sincronizada” in Mexico.

Ingredients :

For flour tortillas:

1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tbsps butter
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking pwd
approx 1/2 cup mix of warm milk & water, 1:1 ratio

For the vegetable filling:

onions (chopped finely), cabbage (chopped finely), carrots (shredded), capsicum (chopped finely), spring onions (chopped finely, including onion greens), tomatoes (chopped finely) or any vegetables of your choice
salt to taste
red chili flakes
3/4-1 cup grated cheese
1/4 tsp black pepper grounded
1 tbs chili sauce
1/4 tsp chili powder
4 cloves garlic
1 tbs olive oil

Method :

For Tortillas :
Combine all the ingredients except milk in a wide utensil and mix well so that baking powder gets nicely incorporated within the mix. Now slowly add the warm milk & water mix to knead to a soft dough. Keep aside for 30 minutes.
Divide the dough into 8 equal balls and roll them into thin chapatis of approx 7″-9″ diameter.
Pre-heat a griddle and place each tortilla on the hot griddle for only 3-5 seconds on each side and remove. This step is done to ensure that tortilla don’t stick to each other when stacked. Keep aside all the lightly toasted tortillas.

For Veggies :
In heavy bottom pan heat olive oil and saute crushed garlic cloves, once the raw garlic smell is gone add all the veggies.
Remember to keep the flame on medium high. Stir in all the other ingredients like salt, pepper, chili flakes etc and turn off the heat.
Remember veggies should not be raw, neither should they be thoroughly cooked, we need them to hold that crunchiness.
This whole process should not take more than 3-4 minutes.
Prepare this mix before hand so that by the time you prepare quesadilla, veggies would cool down to room temp.

For Quesadilla:
Place a tortilla on a clean surface and spread the veggie mix on it, shred some mozzarella, cheddar or any kind of cheese, run a damp finger around the rim of this tortilla and place another tortilla on it. Seal the rim by pressing these two tortilla together. You can also take a fork and press along the rim.
Pre-heat a griddle and on medium heat roast both sides of the quesadilla flipping over to toast both sides. Ensure that you cook it over medium heat, you want the cheese to melt inside.
Remove quesadilla onto a serving plate, slice into triangles and serve hot with garlicy salsa or tomato ketchup.

Tips:
Adding sweet corn or baby corn enhances the taste.
You can also add in cottage cheese into veggies and top it with mozzarella or cheddar cheese for more creamy quesadilla.
Alternatively we can spread salsa and cheese or salsa and sour cream for that perfect quesadilla.