Tortilla Casserole

This dish is a breather on week nights. All ingredients layered and baked together for a warm, hearty and satisfying meal. It is a super easy, fast and of course a delish dish.

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Tortillas+ black beans+ salsa+ cheese.

These ingredients can be a breather on weeknights! You can try different permutations and combinations with these ingredients and all of them will turn out yummy!

One such outcome is Tortilla casserole. It is a super easy, fast and of course a delish dish. There is no specific ingredient list for this dish, pretty much anything you have on hand. Stir them up on heat, layer it on tortilla and bake it. All the ingredients come together as a warm, hearty and satisfying meal. The bite of the beans, tomatoey flavor of salsa, and corn tortilla, all smothered with cheese is a great tasting combination! And a dollop of sour cream will totally intensify this tasty experience.

These are the ingredients I often use for this dish.

Tortilla Casserole

Makes: 4 servings

Tortilla	- 4
Onion	- 1 small
Green Bell Pepper	- 1 medium chopped
Jalapeno	- 2 small
Black beans	- 2 cans (drained and rinsed)
Corn	- 1 can
Picanate/Taco Sauce	- 1 cup
Salsa	- 1 cup
Cumin	- 1/2 tsp
Mexican Cheese	- 2 cups
Oil	- 1 Tbsp

Pre-heat oven to 350 C.

Heat oil in a skillet, sauté the onions and the bell peppers.

After a few minutes, add the salsa, cumin, and sauce and stir to combine. Simmer for about 5 minutes.

Add the beans, corn, chopped jalapenos and stir until incorporated.

Remove the mixture from the heat.Divide the mixture into 3 portions.

Now,layer the tortillas and the mixture together.

Spread one portion of the mixture in a baking dish
Cover 2 tortillas over the mixture
Top with cheese
Spread another portion of the mixture on top of the cheese
Cover with 2 tortillas
Spread the remaining portion over the tortillas.

Cover the baking dish with a foil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

Remove the dish from the oven and sprinkle cheese on top of the casserole and cover the foil back and place in the oven for 2 minutes for the cheese to melt.

Remove and let it stand for a few minutes.

Cut the casserole and serve with a scoop of sour cream and salsa.

Almond Milk

Doodh doodh doodh doodh hai wonderful, pi sakte hain roz glassful!!! Something so plain, simple and light can be so incredibly awesome. The creamy texture, a hint of sweetness, mild nutty flavor of almonds and aromatic flavor of vanilla make it a delicious sweet drink.

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Doodh doodh doodh doodh hai wonderful, pi sakte hain roz glassful!!!!

Yes, Milk!!! A glass of warm or cold milk, cereal with milk, milk shake, coffee or be it anything I love milk :-)! I have always felt milk as a symbol of modesty, something so plain, simple and light can be so incredibly awesome. I can’t appreciate enough its tasty goodness.

Here is a tastier spin on milk, Almond Milk. I make Almond milk with ground almonds mixed in milk and flavored with vanilla. The creamy texture, a hint of sweetness, mild nutty flavor of almonds and aromatic flavor of vanilla make it a delicious sweet drink. The creamy paste of almonds combined with milk gives it a wholesome and rich taste.

Almond Milk

Makes: 2 servings

Almonds	- 1 cup
Milk	- 2 cups
Vanilla Extract	- 1 tsp (optional)
Sugar	- as required

Soak almonds in water for an hour. Scrape and remove the skin of the almonds.

In a blender, make a paste of the almonds.

Heat milk in a pan until it boils, add the almond paste and let it boil.

Now, simmer the almond milk for some time until it starts to thicken.

Add sugar if required and vanilla extract and stir.

Remove from heat and cool. Drink warm or cold with a few slivered almonds and few strands of saffron on top.

Kothu Parotta

A great way to use left over chapattis and parottas. Shredded parotta cooked with onions, tomatoes, chillies and flavored with medley of Masala powders make a lip-smacking dish.

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Do you remember Kothu parotta?

It has been so many years since I ate this dish that I almost forgot about it. I remember how much I loved eating Kothu parotta in Hotchips and Sangeethas.

For the folks who don’t know what I am talking about,'Kothu' in Tamil means chopped and paratha is popularly called out as 'parotta'! Kothu Parotta is made with shredded parotta cooked with onions, tomatoes, chillies and flavored with medley of Masala powders.

For no specific reason, I was suddenly reminded of this dish. Being such an ardent lover of this dish, I could not retain this just as a remembrance anymore. The remembrance created a desire, desire instigated the urge, which in turn compelled me to try this out!

Yes! I made it at home and it turned out fantastic. Hot and spicy kothu parotta served with cool Raita is one lip-smacking dish!

Cooked Parotta/ Chapati	- 4medium
Onion	- 1 medium (chopped)
Tomato	- 2 (chopped)
Green Pea	- 1/4 cup
Ginger Garlic Paste	- 2 Tsps
Garam Masala	- 1 Tbsp
Pav Bhaji Masala	- 2 Tbsps
Chili Powder	- 1 Tbsp
Turmeric Powder	- 1 Tsp
Cloves	- 4
Cinnamon Stick	- 2 1” sticks
Bay Leaf	- 1 small leaf
Curry Leaves	- 4-5 leaves
Cilantro	- for garnish
Oil	-5 – 6 Tbsps

Shred or tear each parotta into 1-inch pieces and keep aside.This recipe works great if you have left over or a day old parotta.

In a pan, heat oil. Add cloves, cinnamon stick, bay leaf, curry leaves and ginger garlic paste and fry until it flavors the oil.

Add onions to the pan and cook until soft and translucent.

Add in the tomatoes and cook until it forms gravy. Add the green peas to the tomato onion gravy.

Add turmeric powder, chili powder, Garam Masala, Pav Bhaji Masala, salt and stir nicely. Cook for few minutes until the masala blends with the gravy.

I have tried different combinations of masala powders and like the Garam and Pav Bhaji the most. You can use your choice of masala and also vary the quantity.

Now add the shredded parotta pieces to the gravy and stir nicely to make sure all the pieces are coated with gravy. Stir on flame for few minutes and then remove from stove.

Garnish with a bunch of cilantro and serve hot and spicy kothu parotta with chill raita.

Eggs in the Nest :-) !

Yes! Eggs in the nest! Hardboiled egg wrapped in a layer of mildly seasoned mashed potato, coated with breadcrumbs and deep-fried!

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If you are thinking how I got the title for this post, it is from the photo below! I named this post after I photographed the dish and it kinda felt apt. Doesn’t it?

I vaguely remember how I know this dish. I remember tasting this dish for the first time when my cousin made it at home. It was probably during my good old school days. Then I remember asking my mom to make it a couple of times. After that, I don’t think I had it again. Truly, I have had this dish very few times that I can hardly remember what it tasted like. However, for some reason the ‘idea’ of wrapping the egg and frying it always remained in my mind.

This dish is nothing but hardboiled egg wrapped in a layer of mildly seasoned mashed potato, coated with breadcrumbs and deep-fried! As you bite it, you make way through the crispy crunchy crust, soft mashed potato mantle and to the core, the boiled egg. The journey through the different layers of distinct flavor and texture is definitely something worth asking for more!

Hard-boiled Eggs	- 4 medium (Shell peeled)
Potatoes	- 2 large
Breadcrumbs	- 1 cup
All purpose flour	- 1/2 cup
Chili Powder	- 1 tbsp
Black pepper	-1 tbsp
Salt	- to taste
Oil	- for deep frying

Boil potatoes until soft and cooked.

Peel the boiled potatoes and place in a bowl. Using a fork, mash the potatoes.

Add red chili powder, black and salt, to the mashed potatoes and mix well.

You can use any seasoning of your choice.

Divide the potato mixture into four, take a quarter of it, mould it around one of the eggs. Make sure that the potato coating is even all around the egg.

Mix all purpose flour and some water to make medium thick batter.

Dip the egg ball in the batter and then roll it in breadcrumbs.

Slide the eggs carefully into a pan of hot oil, and let them gently fry for a few minutes. Nudge them with a ladle every now and then to turn them over.

When the eggs turn golden brown, remove from the oil, drain on paper towel and allow it to cool.

Slice in half and eat greedily!