Chilli Mushrooms

Do you love mushrooms?
I do, no we do!
We do love them for their fabulous taste and texture. But there’s more to mushrooms than its taste, mushrooms are fat free and they are rich in proteins,fiber and vitamins.

Here’s my favorite mushroom dish which is very much on the spicier side,this can be served along with roti, or jeera pulao.

Spicy Indo-Chinese noodles

Indochinese dishes are the ones prepared using the Chinese cooking methods using the Indian ingredients, a fusion. Noodles are the favorite in my house! So I try to as many veggies as I can to make it healthy and interesting.

Now, I go chop chop chopping with the veggies. Once this is done, it is very easy to prepare the noodles. Well, I prepare 2 versions mostly one the spicier ofcourse for me and Sundar and the other without spicy for Hasini.

This serves upto 3 persons.

You need

1 pack of noodles

1 small Onion sliced thinly lengthwise

1/2 cup mixed bell peppers (thinly Julienne cut)

1/2 cup shredded cabbage

1/2 cup Carrot (thinly Julienne cut)

1 tsp garlic chili paste

1 tsp Schezwan sauce

2 tsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp black pepper powder

Salt to taste

1 tsp of white vinegar

Spring onions to garnish

Boil water in a large pan.Add salt.When it bubbles and swirls, add noodles.Reduce the flame to medium and close the pan with a lid.Cook for 4-5 minutes or until they are ‘just’ soft.Take care not to over cook.The cooking time depends upon the quality of the noodles and the softness of the water.Drain the noodles to discard the water completely.Keep the noodles along with the drainer under a running tap of cold water.Drain the cold water and add a tbsp of oil and mix it along gently using your fingers,as the noodles must have turned cold by now.This helps to keep the strands separate and glossy.

In a pan, add a tsp of oil and to it add chopped onions and saute for a while. Then add the cabbage, peppers, carrot and saute on low flame for 7-8 mins or until the veggies are half cooked. Add the garlic-chili paste, schezwan sauce, soy sauce, black pepper powder and mix well with the veggies. Now add the cooked noodles to this veggies and saute for a min or two. Garnish with spring onions. Serve hot with Gobi Manchurian or any Indochinese sidedish

I am sending this to Flavors of china event hosted by Kalyani,

Hot and sour soup

Besides Tomato soup, all us would surely want to grab a hot and sour soup. It is always on the top list of favorite soups! I never see a reason to have the hot and sour soup. Even a hot summer day deserves a spicy soup.

You need:
2 tbsp Chili Sauce
11/2 tbsp Corn Flour / Corn Starch
1-1/2 tbsp Soy Sauce
2 tbsp Vinegar
2 tbsp Capsicum finely chopped
2 tbsp Spring Onions chopped
2 tbsp Tomato Sauce
2 tbsp Carrots finely chopped
1/4 cup Cabbage finely chopped
1 tsp Black Pepper Powder
1-1/2 tsp fresh grated Ginger (optional)
1/2 tsp Sugar
Salt to taste
4 cups Water

Mix 4 cups of water, chili sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, salt, ginger and pepper powder and bring the mixture to a boil. Now add all the chopped vegetables into the soup. Cook for a minute on medium heat. Dissolve corn flour in 1/2 cup water and add to the soup stirring constantly till it becomes thick (do not dissolve corn directly in the soup or in hot water. It dissolves well only in cold water. This is the reason, we dissolve in cold or room temperature water and mix with soup). Cook again for a few mins then remove from flame. Add  to a serving bowl and serve when hot!

Garnish with some more green onion and serve hot!! This spicy tongue-tingled Hot and Sour soup is always a big hit where ever I made!

Suggestion: This soup should be prepared just before serving as it tastes best when fresh; else you won't enjoy the same taste! You can also throw in peas, baby corn or other veggies of your choice.

Corn-Peas cheesy pita pockets with hummus

The word of spice terrors my kutti sundari, Hasini. Being a toddler, she is very choosy! When it comes to food, very less choices to eat. Last time, when I went to India, my parents and inlaws asked me what is Hasini's favorite food? I was wondering why have'nt I thought about this untill now.
Ofcourse, only thought in my mind was the food I feed should be healthy which refused my mind to think in this angle! This made me realize, I have a huge working schedule ahead on my way. So, the week I returned home, sat at my desk and thinking about the veggies, fruits, grains, milk varieties that she liked or did she ever ask me any kind food more than I served? Ofcourse, there were times when she asked herself. How come now I got so many in my list?
All of us, like to give our kids healthy foods. And ofcourse we forget most of the times, they need fulfill their taste-buds.  More than this, I always make it a point to ask my kiddie to choose the veggies for her day. And I do some mathematics here by adding and subtracting some veggies.

Corn peas Cheesy velvety Pita pockets

You need
2 Whole grain Pita pockets
1/4 cup of corn & peas
1/4 cup of black beans
2 small baby carrots grated
1 slice 2% milk cheese
1 tsp butter
4 small cubes of panner
Salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper to your taste (optional)
2 tspn of hummus

Soak the black beans overnight or for 1 hour in warm water. Wash and cook the black beans, corn and peas till tender. Add a tsp of butter and fry the panner till golden brown. And in another pan saute the cooked black beans, corn, peas and the grated carrots with the butter. Add salt to taste and add freshly ground black pepper.
I should tell you this, I was half way through the cooking today, and Hasini pulled out the chair and peeped into the pockets(Pita). And stretching out her hands to grab the plate. But the final garnishing are still to be done.

Two little hands grabbing away the pockets!
 

Back to the recipe.
Apply 1 tsp of cream cheese inside the Pita pockets. Now, add the cooked veggies and panner. Cut the cheese slice, spread and stuff inside with the veggies. Microwave for not more than 15 sec ( it is just to make the cheese spread evenly with the veggies).

This can be had without any dips also. But I used hummus (as that is one Hasini's favorites!).

She liked it quite a lot and it took only minutes to finish her breakfast. And this is a heavy, healthy, enriching kids to eat veggies. I am a Happy mom today!

I am sending this as an entry to "Kids delight", a dish liked by your kid with colorful hue. Want to try for your kids? Let me know if your kid liked it!

More recipes on chick peas:
Chick peas salad, Hummus