Multi Layered Bruschetta

Bruschetta

An amazing preparation with veg or non-veg topping on bread slices bruschetta is best for breakfast or snacks. My daughter in-law is an enthusiast cook and modifies each and every recipe according to our taste. This version of bruschetta is her creation. We love to have it in our weekend brunch menu. It is a variation keeping in mind our love for mushrooms.

Preparation Time: 20-30 min.

Cooking Time: 30-40 minutes

Servings: 10-12 Bruschetta

Ingredients Required For Making Bruschetta:

• 400 gm. Fresh Mushrooms
• Sliced Bread (Multigrain/Whole Wheat)
• 4-5 Leaves of Basil
• 100 ml. Thick Coconut milk/100 gm. Coconut milk Powder
• Salt to taste
• 10-15 gm. Walnuts
• 1 capsicum (small)
• 1 Tomato
• Pizza spread
• Butter

Direction For Making Fresh Coconut Milk:

• Grate fresh coconut after removing the kernel from the shell.
• Grind the grated coconut to fine paste by adding 100 ml. water in little amounts.
• Sieve the thick liquid from the paste.
• To the remaining solid add 50 ml. of water and grind again. Sieve the paste. This will give thinner liquid.
• Mix the two milky liquid obtained. Fresh coconut milk is ready.
• If you are using coconut milk powder then add the coconut milk powder to 100 ml. of luke warm water and stir till it dissolves. Heat for 1 min. on low flame with continuous stirring to ensure it dissolves completely.

Direction For Making Bruschetta:

• Wash the mushrooms nicely.
• Drain all water and pat dry them with a cloth.

Cleaned Mushrooms

• Cut the mushrooms to small pieces.

Chopped Mushrooms

• Remove seeds from capsicum and tomatoes and cut then to fine pieces and keep aside in separate bowl.

Finely chopped Capsicum

• Cut the walnut kernels to small pieces (size of pieces may vary as per liking).
• Put the chopped mushrooms in a thick bottom wok and cook on low flame. Mushrooms will start losing water and shrinking. Keep cooking with regular stirring.

Mushrooms cooking in thick bottom wok on low flame

• Once the water reduces considerably the total amount of material in the wok will reduce to half.

Mushrooms ready for Coconut milk to be added

• Add
• Coconut milk
• Salt to taste
• Shredded Basil leaves
• Cook on low flame with regular stirring till all liquid dries off and a thick mass of mushrooms is left. 

Mushrooms cooking in Coconut milk along with herb 

Mushrooms ready for Bruschetta

• Remove the mushroom cooked in coconut milk.

Mushrooms Cooked in Coconut milk

• Butter one side of bread slice and toast it on a pan till light brown repeat same on the other side also.

Crisp toasted slices  and coated with Pizza spread

• Apply pizza spread on one side and keep the slice of bread on hot pan/tawa with the side having pizza spread facing down.
• Toast for just one minute on low flame. Remove from pan and spread a liberal coat of cooked mushrooms above the pizza spread on the toasted bread slice.

Slice Toasted on Both Side 

Toasted Slice With Pizza Spread

Mushroom spread over toasted slice with Pizza spread

• Sprinkle
• 5-10 pieces of capsicum
• 5-10 pieces of tomato

  

  Capsicun and Tomatoes sprinkled over Mushrooms

• Sprinkle pieces of walnuts.
• Enjoy Hot, crisp juicy Bruschetta with tea/coffee/milk/fruit juices

Bruschetta

Tips:

Do not use butter too much slices are supposed to become crisp not full with butter.

Make sure the side with pizza spread should be cooked with care on low flame otherwise they will get burnt and the taste will get spoiled. It has happened with me so be doubly sure that the heat is on low while toasting the slice.

Burnt and blackned slices along with correctly cooked slices

• Basil should be always shredded not chopped with knife.
• Mushroom should not become dry and retain the moisture.
• Multigrain bread is best as the nutritive value as well as the taste gets enhanced.
• Fresh herb give the best flavor.

Alternative Suggestions:

• Sautee one medium size finely cut 100 gm. onion in olive oil till they turn transparent. Add finely chopped 150 gm. tomatoes till they get cooked completely and the mixture become mushy. Add salt to taste. Cook till the liquid start drying and the mixture starts leaving the edge of pan. Add one teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon red chili flakes (or to taste), 1 teaspoon soy sauce and one teaspoon ginger-garlic powder. Cook for just one minute. Cool the cooked mixture and make a fine paste.
• Walnuts can be replaced with Almonds or 1:1 ratio of walnuts and almonds.
• Red bell pepper/yellow bell pepper can be chopped and mixed with capsicum for toppings.
• Basil can be replaced with fresh parsley/celery for change of taste.
• Each slice can be cut to four pieces before making bruschetta. It makes very good appetizer.
• Walnuts can be roasted before adding to toppings.

Barbecued Herbaceous Mushroom

Herbaceous Mushrooms

Mushrooms are one my favorite. Smoked/barbecued/ in salad/stir fry or any form I just love them. But herbaceous mushrooms are absolute winners for me. Delicately flavored with herb and barbecued to tenderness the juicy mushroom with pitta is heavenly combination.

Preparation Time: 10 min.

Cooking time:3-5 minutes for each skewer of mushrooms

Servings: 4 larger servings

Ingredients Required For Making Herbaceous Mushrooms:

• 500 gm. Button mushrooms

Mushrooms

• 3 Tea spoons Dry Parsley / Basil / Oregano / celery

• 2 Tea spoon Olive oil

• 2 Tea spoon Lemon juice

• Salt to taste

Direction For Making Herbaceous Mushroom:

• Wash and towel dry the mushrooms.

• In a bowl take

• Olive oil

• Salt

• Herb of your choice

• Lemon juice

• Mix all ingredients by beating with a fork till a homogenous mass is obtained.

• Coat all mushrooms with the marinade; keep in a bowl and cover.

• Let the mushrooms marinate for 5-10 min.

Mushrooms marinated in herbs marinade

• Skewer the mushrooms and place on hot amber. Keep turning the skewer for even and uniform cooking.

Skewered marinated mushrooms

Mushrooms marinated in herbs being Barbecued on ambers

• Cook for 2-3 min only with constant turning of skewer.

• Remove the juicy, tender but firm herbaceous mushrooms on a serving plate and serve piping hot with chilled wine.

Herbaceous Mushrooms

Tips:

• Mushroom should be salted very gently little excess of salt can spoil the taste completely.
  

• Mushrooms should not be left in the marinade for more than 10-15 min. Because the marinade contains salt and mushrooms if left for longer duration will lose water and turn limp.

• Do not leave the skewer with mushroom for longer duration on coal, neither cook them in advance as reheating or over cooking will make them lose the juices and mushrooms will turn chewy.

• Do not mix two herbs, make two or more marinade with different herbs and marinate mushrooms in different marinade separately.

Suggested variations:

• Mixture of salt and pepper powder can be sprinkled just before removing from skewer along with a dash of lemon juice.

• Salt can be added just before skewering the mushrooms to avoid leeching of juices.

• Fresh herbs can be taken for marinating mushrooms, but make sure that the herbs are pounded very fine or cut extremely fine not made to paste. Fresh herbs add a totally different dimension to the Herbaceous-Mushrooms.

Minty-Paneer Tikka/पुदीना - पनीर टिक्का (Mint Flavor Barbecued cottage Cheese)

Minty-Paneer Tikka

Paneer tikka is made in many different ways and each preparation is absolutely delicious. Paneer, Mushrooms, chicken, Fish when marinated and barbecued to make tikka are best. The smoky, minty flavor of hot barbecued Minty-paneer  makes it very special. Simple to make, healthy and completely devoid of oil this paneer tikka is weight watchers delight.

Preparation Time: 45 min.(Including marination time)

Cooking Time: 5 -7 Minutes for each skewer

Servings: 10-12 pieces of Minty- Paneer Tikka

Ingredients required for making Minty-paneer Tikka:

• 250 gm. Paneer ( Cottage cheese/ Ricotta cheese)

• 1 Medium size Fresh coriander bunch (Cilantro)

• 15-20 Fresh Mint sprigs

• 100 gm. Fresh thick Curd

• 1 Tea spoon Coriander Powder

• Salt to taste

• 2 Tea spoon Amchur Powder
• Bell pepper of different colors

Directions For Making Minty- Paneer Tikka:

• Cut paneer to 4 cm. Cubed.

• Clean coriander sprigs (Cilantro)of any fellow leaves and hard stem.Wash coriander sprigs in running water.

• Clean mint of hard stem and discard the hard stem. Wash the leaves and soft portion of mint in running water.

• Grind mint, coriander and green chilies to thick paste.

Green Paste of Cilantro (Dhaniya patta), Mint, and green chilies

•  In a bowl take

• Curd

• Salt

• Coriander-mint paste

• Amchur

Curd, Green paste, Amchur and salt

• Beat to make uniform paste for marinade.

Thick creamy green marinade for Minty-Paneer Tikka

• Dip paneer cubes in the marinade and keep in a bowl.

• Pour remaining marinade on the top of paneer pieces. Cover and keep aside for marinating for minimum 30 minutes.

Paneer cubes Marinated in green Marinade

•  Remove the stem and seeds from pepperoni and cut bell peppers to 4 cm. cubes.

• Skewer the marinated paneer piece and bell pepper pieces alternately at a distance of 1-2 cm.

Marinated Paneer and Yellow Pepperoni in skewer

• Barbecue the paneer on the red hot amber with regular turning of the skewer.

Paneer marinated in green marinade being barbecued

• Remove the skewer from amber the moment paneer starts getting dark brown edges. It will take 4-5 min. for paneer tikka to be cooked to perfection.

• Serve hot Hara Paneer tikka with Coriander-mint chutney as an appetizer and with Laccha Paratha and chutney for main meal.

Minty-Paneer Tikka (Barbecued Green paneer Tikka)

 Tips:

• Make sure curd is thick otherwise the marinade will become too runny.

• Paneer should be fresh and juicy not brittle and old.

• If the paneer has been kept in deep fridge then allow it to stand at room temperature till it becomes soft, do not thaw in micro-wave or dip in hot water.

• Turning of skewer during cooking on hot coal is must to ensure even cooking.

• One paneer piece can be sandwiched between two pepperoni pieces.

Suggested Variations:

• Other vegetables like cauliflower, thick round pieces of carrots round tick pieces of brinjal can be marinated along with paneer and skewered with paneer for barbecuing.

• Gravy of cashew can be made and just before serving hot barbecued Minty- paneer tikka can be added to hot cashew gravy and served as main course with Roti/parantha/Laccha Parantha.

  http://jyotsna-pant.blogspot.com/2011/10/roti-indian-bread-no-oil-dry-so-low-on.html

  http://jyotsna-pant.blogspot.in/2013/10/lachcha-parantha-pan-fried-indian-bread.html

Khandvi (Indian savory made of Gram Flour)

Khandavi

Khandavi is a Gujarati preparation from Bengal gram / Chana flour (Besan). In Maharashtra some thing similar in looks and taste is there called Surali Vadi. In Gujarat Dhokla, Khaman, Farsan, Khandavi are a must accompaniment with any and every main meal and of course they double up as wonderful snack also.  In my endeavor to taste different type of food from Indian as well as other part of world (Whenever possible) I order different Thali (Complete meal) from different state of India. Once while I ordered for Gujarati Thali I never imagined it will be an array of savories. Kadi, Khichadi, rice and vegetables etc. Almost everything in Gujarati food has a touch of sweet taste. They add bura(http://jyotsna-pant.blogspot.com/2012/11/bura-dry-grainy-powdered-sugar.html) in the food. Extremely tasty filling and nourishing food but what I loved most was Dhokla, Khandavi and Khaman. In Ethiopia I met Sefali a young lady who not only demonstrated the whole process of making Khandavi but gave me and my husband a sumptuous treat of Gujarati meal and hospitality. Thank you Sefali for this. I share what I learnt for the benefit for all my followers and friends. Preparation Time: 5 min. Cooking Time: 10 min Setting Time 10-15 min Servings: 4-5 Medium helpings. Ingredients Required For Making Khandavi: 1 Cup Besan (Bengal gran / Black gram flour) 1 Cup Butter milk Besan and butter milk 1/2Tea spoon Red Chili Powder 1/2Teaspoon Salt / or to taste 1/4Teaspoon Turmeric Powder 1 Pinch asefoetida 1/2Teaspoon oil / ghee 1/2Teaspoon Mustard seeds 1/2Teaspoon Cumin seeds 2-3 Teaspoons Sesame seeds (Preferably white) 5-6 Teaspoon freshly grated coconut Direction For Making Khandavi: In a big thick bottom stain less steel container take Besan Butter milk Salt Turmeric powder Red chili powder Butter Milk, Besan, Red Chili Powder, Salt, Turmeric Powder before mixing Mix all ingredients nicely to get a uniform paste. Cook the mixture of spices, besan and butter milk on low flame with continuous stirring till a thick paste is obtained. It will take 10 min. Butter milk, Besan, Spices added and mixed and being cooked on low heat Khandavi mixture after 5 min of being cooked on low heat Cooked Khandavi Mixture after 10 min of being cooked on low heat Add asafoetida and cook for one minute. Consistency of Khandavi mixture before spreading Spread the hot cooked mixture on the plastic sheet thinly. Khandavi Mixture Spread on Plastic Sheet Allow to cool. It will take 5-10 min. When cold the spread paste should be set nicely so that it can be peeled from the plastic sheet. Checking Before cutting Cut the set paste carefully to square pieces (4-6 inches).  Cutting before rolling Roll each piece from the sheet to make a roll. Place each roll on a serving dish. Khandavi Ready For Garnishing Grate coconut (Fresh/Dry) and spread 2-3 teaspoon on the rolled Khandavi. In a pan take 1/2Teaspoon oil / ghee and heat. When the oil is smoking hot add Mustard seeds Cumin seeds Sesame seeds Green Chilies Kadi patta Let the seeds splutter and the sesame seeds become light brown in color. Pour the mixture on the rolled Khandavi. Mouthwatering, soft, Delicious Khandavi is ready. Enjoy it as side dish as Gujarati do or enjoy it as snacks with Coriander-Mint chutney.( http://jyotsna-pant.blogspot.com/2011/10/green-coriander-and-mint-chutney.html) Tips: Measure the butter milk and besan with the same size cup. While cooking keep stirring and cook on low flame. Else either lumps will be formed or the mixture will get burnt. Before spreading all paste for setting test with one spoon. If the mixture peels off nicely after getting cold then it is ready for spreading else cook for some more time. The thickness of the mixture should be as shown in the picture. While preparing the garnishing for Khandavi add coconut last else it will get burnt. Suggested Variations: Very finely cut 2-3 teaspoon coriander leaves (Cilantro) can be added to the besan mixture before cooking. When coriander leaves are added then the mixture should be spread slightly thicker (2 mm. maximum). 1 Teaspoon sugar / Jaggery can be added to the besan mixture before cooking.

Paneer Tikka (Cottage cheese cooked with spices)

Juicy Paneer Tikka with salad on the sides

Cottage cheese is one of my favorite milk products. When it is made to Tikka it takes the subtle flavor of the herbs put in the marinade yet maintains the classic taste of its own. Though Paneer Tikka is made in different manner I write this recipe on the demand of my daughter-in-law’s sister Amrita. She liked it especially because it is literally oil less. Paneer Tikka can be had as snacks as well as side dish to the main course. I love it so much that for me every time is paneer tikka time.

Preparation Time: 45 min. (Including marination time)

Cooking Time: 10– 15 min.

Servings: 10- 12 Medium servings

Ingredients required for Paneer Tikka:

• 250 gm. Paneer (cottage cheese)

• 50 - 100 gm.  Cream (Malai)

• 100 gm. Thick Curd

• 1/4 Tea spoon Turmeric Powder

• 1 Tea spoon Amchur Powder (Dry raw mango powder)

• 1 Tea spoon Red chili Powder

• 1 Tea spoon Kasoori methi (Dried and powdered green leaves of methi)

• Salt to taste

• 2 Tea spoon Olive oil.

Direction for marinating Paneer:

• Cut paneer to 2cm.x2cm. pieces.

Cottage Cheese (Paneer ) cut into pieces

• Take Paneer pieces in a bowl.

• Add Turmeric powder, salt, chili powder and amchur.

Turmeric powder, Salt, Chili powder and Amchur added to Paneer pieces

• Add malai(cream).

Cream and curd added to Paneer pieces

• Add kasoori methi and mix well.

Mixed after adding Kasoori Methi

• Keep aside for at least 30 min.

Direction for Making Tikka

• Take a nonstick Tawa and keep it on high flame.

• When hot lower the flame and spread one tea spoon of olive oil on it.

Hot non stick tawa with one teaspoon of oil

• Place marinated paneer pieces on Tawa and let them cook for 3-4 min, without disturbing.

Marinated Paneer pieces placed on hot Tawa and being cooked

• The side of paneer which are in touch of tawa directly will become brownish pink.

• Carefully turn them upside down.

Turning Paneer pieces upside down to cook from both side

• Cook the other side also till brownish pink in color

Paneer Tikka with salad

• Serve the tikka with coriander mint chutney, 
•  http://jyotsna-pant.blogspot.com/2011/10/green-coriander-and-mint-chutney.html

• http://jyotsna-pant.blogspot.com/2012/06/hariyali-chutney-raw-mango-chutney.html

   

Tips:

• Do not make the paneer pieces very small.

• Tawa should not be smoking hot when you place paneer on it, because paneer will get burnt spoiling the taste.

• Curd should be thick and not too sour.

Suggested Variations:

• Kasoori methi can be replaced by oregano/ parsley/ basil to change the flavor of paneer tikka.

• Malai (cream) can be replaced by curd to reduce the fat content due to malai.

• Paste of green chili and coriander can be added to marinade instead red chili powder and methi, this gives very good flavor and color to tikka.