Chickpea Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing

What better way is there to start a meal than a refreshing, nourishing salad?Add a little panache to your daily meals with a delicious and satisfying chickpea salad

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What better way is there to start a meal than a refreshing, nourishing salad?

Crisp and cool, salads are ideal and refreshing before a hearty meal. Add a little panache to your daily meals with a salad of mixed greens, legumes and elegant toppings.

Chickpea salad with cilantro lime dressing is one of my favorite side salads. The salad is delicious and satisfying. The cilantro lime dressing adds a fresh and refreshingly flavor. I add kidney beans to the mix for a nice contrast both visually and texturally. Also, I sprinkle a dash of chat masala for a sweet and tart flavor. Let the salad sit for an hour in the refrigerator to give time for the flavors to develop.

A healthy and light salad. It is super fast and very easy to assemble and of all, no need to measure ingredients, just add to suit your tastes. This is a nice change from typical lettuce salads. A great dish to make ahead of time - the longer it sits the more flavorful it gets.

A great side salad you can't beat for taste and nutrition. A great salad to serve when you have company at home. I bet your company will not leave even a trace of salad!

Chickpea Salad with Cilantro lime dressing

Makes - 2 servings

Chickpea	- 1 can
Kidney Beans	- a handful
Lime Juice	- ½ cup freshly squeezed
Cilantro	- handful roughly chopped
Chat Masala	- 1 tsp
Salt	- to taste

Add washed and drained chickpea and kidney beans to a bowl.

Pour the lime juice, add cilantro and mix together.

Sprinkle Chat masala and mix. Taste and add salt if needed.

Cover with plastic wrap and keep in refrigerator.

Take it out 20 mins or so before you are ready to serve.

Enjoy!

Cilantro Lime Rice and Black Beans

Fluffy white rice tossed with fresh squeezed lime juice and chopped cilantro.A great blend of flavors that give a soothing and comforting taste.

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Delicious, slightly tangy, basmati rice with a touch of cilantro.A great blend of flavors that give a soothing and comforting taste. Fresh lime juice wake up your taste buds and cilantro jazz up the white rice to create an outstanding rice dish.

My love for this dish started here......

Friday nights are almost often eat-out nights! Its the end of the work week so we are tired but we are in mood to eat something tasty (of course!), healthy(yeah right!) and satisfying. By default, our friday night eat out place is Chipotle. We loooooove the burrito bowl and my favorite part is cilantro lime rice.

Burrito bowl is black beans layered on a bed of Cilantro lime rice, with a serving of grilled meat or veggies, topped with pica de gallo, a dollop of sour cream and guacamole served in a bowl.

Fluffy white rice is tossed with fresh squeezed lime juice and chopped cilantro. The tangy lime infused basmati rice is mild yet flavorful. Seasoned black beans add a nice bite and the extra kick to the dish. This light, healthy and hearty dish is the perfect choice for any meal.

Cilantro Lime Rice and Black Beans

Makes - 2 Servings

Cilantro Lime Rice		Black Beans
Basmati Rice	- 4 cups cooked	Black Beans	- 1 can
Lime Juice	- 1/2 cup	Vegetable broth	- 2 cups
Cilantro	- a handful roughly chopped	Cumin	- 1 tsp
Oil	- 2 tbsp	Oil	- 2 tbsp
Salt	- to taste	Salt	- to taste

Heat oil in a pan.

Stir in rice, lime juice and cilantro.

Add salt and stir till the rice is heated through.

In another pan, heat oil.

Add the vegetable broth, black beans, cumin and salt.

Let it boil for few minutes till the broth thickens a little.

Now layer some cilantro lime rice in a bowl, top with some black beans,pica de gallo or corn salsa and serve with dollop of sour cream.

Gobi Manchurian

A popular Indian Chinese dish that is guaranteed to tickle your taste buds. Deep fried fritters tossed in sweet n spicy sauce and stir-fried on high heat.

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I remember the time when Hot n Sour soup, Fried rice, Hakka noodles,Gobi Manchurian, Schezuan Paneer started to appear on restaurant menu cards. These Indian Chinese dishes were so well accepted that it gained popularity in no time. Today, the Indo-Chinese food has become an integral part of the Indian culinary milieu. Now, every eating joint in India, big or small, carry a wide range of Indo-Chinese dishes in their menu.

Fusion of Indian ingredients and Chinese seasoning and techniques resulted in this winning combination!These dishes are prepared with basic ingredients of an Indian dish like onions, garlic, ginger, chillis but instead of adding Garam masala, Soy sauce and Vinegar are added!

A popular dish amongst them is Manchurian. Deep fried fritters tossed in Manchurian sauce and stir-fried on high heat. Instead of plain flour batter, a batter seasoned with chili sauce and ginger garlic paste is used. The sauce contains caramelized onions, bell peppers, and ketchup and for the 'Chinese' flavor, an overdose of chilli sauce, garlic and ginger, and generous portions of soy sauce and vinegar is added to top it all off .

Manchurian is bold, vibrant and has varied flavors. It has a nice balance of sweet, tang and spice all in one bite! It is a tantalizing dish that is guaranteed to tickle your taste buds!

Gobi Manchurian

Makes - 4 Servings

Manchurian Sauce		Batter for Fritters
Spring Onion	- 2 bunches	Cauliflower	- 2 cups of florets
Bell Pepper	- 1/2 cup chopped	Flour	- 1/2 cup
Ginger	- 1 tbsp chopped	Corn Flour	- 1/2 cup
Garlic	- 1 tbsp chopped	Ginger Garlic Paste	- 1/2 tsp
Sriracha Sauce or any Red Chili sauce	- 1 tbsp	Sriracha Sauce or any Red Chili sauce	- 2 tbsp
Tomato Paste	- 3 tbsp	Salt	- to taste
Tomato Ketchup	- 2 tbsp	water	- as needed
Soy Sauce	- 2 tbsp
Vinegar	- 2 tbsp
Brown Sugar	- 1 – 2 tsp
Salt	- to taste

Mix all the ingredients under 'batter for fritters' except cauliflower to make a thick batter.

Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat for deep frying.

Working in batches, dip cauliflower florets in batter, then fry until golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. When done remove fritters from the pan to a plate lined with paper towels.

You can use Mushrooms, Paneer, Chicken, Fish or anything of else your choice for this dish

Mix all ingredients under 'Manchurian Sauce' except onions, bell pepper, ginger and garlic. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a wok or a pan.

Add chopped ginger and garlic and saute till it flavors the oil.

Add chopped spring onions and saute for a few minutes till soft and translucent.

You can use both the onion part and the green part of the spring onions but reserve little for garnish.

Add bell peppers and saute for couple more minutes till they are slightly cooked but still crisp.

Now add the mixed sauces and stir for about 5-7 minutes till it all comes together.

If you like manchurian with more sauce, just double the ingredients for sauce

Toss the fritters in sauce and stir-fry on high heat for a few minutes to coat them well.

Remove from heat, garnish with spring onions.

Serve hot with fried rice or noodles.

Chocolate Brownies (a foolproof recipe)!

A delicate crisp crust enveloping an intensely chocolatey, wonderfully rich and dense brownie that is just as fudgy and moist.

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Brownie has a special place in my heart!

We had cats for most of my childhood. My grandmother was fond of cats so she always had at least one in the house. However, there was a period when we did not have any. Then, one day we heard meowing coming from our backyard and to our surprise, we found two kittens :-)! I named them Snowy, Browny since one was white, and the other was brown. I was very attached to Browny. I would play with him every day after school, feed him and pamper him. We shared this unknown bond of love. If I were not at home even for a day, he would stand in front of my door and meow. After few years on one day, Browny went missing and we never found him.

I was first introduced to brownies here in the US. Since it had the same name, I developed a special attachment to it. Every time I bake brownies, I take special care and interest in making’em. This post is a dedication to my lil cat Browny.

Brownies come in variety of textures. They are thick n fudgy while others are light and cake like. Brownies I make usually fall in between. They have a delicate, crisp crust enveloping a wonderfully rich, dense but moist brownie that is just fudgy enough. Symphony of chocolate, cocoa and more chocolate creates an intense chocolate experience that the chocolate lovers are sure to cherish. This amazingly rich brownie takes perfection with a deep chocolate flavor and heavenly taste that melts in your mouth.

When something is all about chocolate, it can only taste divine. This is just pure chocolate magic!

Chocolate Brownie

Makes - 10-12 Servings

Flour	- 3/4th cup
Semi-sweet Chocolate	- 2 cups
Cocoa Powder	- 2 Tbsps
Butter	- 5 tbsps
Eggs	- 3
Sugar	- 1 1/2 cups
Brown Sugar	- 1/2 cup
Vanilla Extract	- 1 tsp
Instant Coffee powder	- 1 tsp
Baking Powder	- 1 tsp
Salt	- just a pinch

Pre-heat oven to 350 degree F. Line 8 x 8 pan with baking paper/parchment paper and butter the paper.

Lining the pan with baking paper makes it easy to remove brownies from the pan. You can remove them right out by lifting the paper.

Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and set aside.

In a bowl, melt butter and chocolate.

You can substitute milk chocolate for semi-sweet chocolate but reduce the quantity of sugar, as milk chocolate is sweeter.

You can melt them by placing the bowl over a pot of simmering water, stirring until its melted completely. On the other hand, you can use a microwave to melt it. Let it cool for a few minutes.

While it cools, stir together sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and coffee powder.

Pour the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture. Stir until combined.

Add the flour mixture little by little and whisk to incorporate completely.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and cool on a rack.Cut brownies and serve!