Dil Se..: March 2010

Mar 29, 2010

Oven roasted/ Baked Chickpeas

This is one healthy and tasty snack I recently discovered. Though I have used my oven a lot for baking cakes, cookies and muffins, I have never ever thought of roasting chickpeas until I saw it here. It was so delicious and I am planning to try the same method using other beans as well. I used a little oil in this recipe to make it crunchy, but it can be made fat-free as well.

Ingredients
Chickpeas - 1 can (or) 1 cup soaked overnight
Olive Oil - 2 teaspoons (Any vegetable oil can be used)
Coriander powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Cumin powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Chilli powder - 1 teaspoon
Salt to taste

The above ingredients are the ones I used for the recipe. It is quite fliexible. You can use any masala you like. Some variations include: garlic powder, garlic salt, garam masala, italian herbs seasoning, onion powder, poultry seasoning, chaat masala etc.
Adjust the amount of spice and masala based on the quantity of chickpeas you use.

Directions
Preheat oven to 425F

If using fresh chickpeas, soak the chickpeas overnight. Drain the water before using. If using the canned variety, drain the water and since it already contains some salt, reduce the salt accordingly.

Before Roasting

In a small bowl, mix the oil along with the spices/masala and the salt.

In a baking dish, take the chickpeas, and pour the spice-oil mixture. With a spoon mix the beans so that the spice coats all the beans evenly.

Place in the preheated oven and bake for about 35 - 40 minutes. Once in every 10 minutes, keep stirring the chickpeas so that it gets roasted evenly.

After Roasting

Keep checking in between if it is done as oven times vary. if you want the chickpeas to be a little chewy remove it at around 30 minutes.

Store in an airtight container.

Sending this to Sunday Snacks:Healty Snacks started by Pallavi and hosted by me.

Mar 25, 2010

Green Monster for Breakfast

I know this title sounds like something fishy! Yes, it is called Green Monster in the blogosphere!
It is another great breakfast I discovered recently. This is a slight variation of the spinach- banana smoothie which most of you guessed correctly. I made this with swiss chard which I recently grabbed from the farmers market. It was my first trip to the farmers market near our new home and I was thrilled to see all the fresh vegetables and fruits fresh straight out of the farms. I did all the vegetable and fruit shopping for the week and above all they are all organic without all those pesticides and wax!!

The swiss chard can be replaced by any kind of spinach or greens.. I guarantee you will never get the weird raw spinach taste. It is masked well by the sweetness of the fruit you add. It has all the goodness of fruits and veggies and I added some cereal to it and it made a great breakfast.

In the mix:
Swiss chard - 1 cup packed
Banana - 1
Milk - 1 cup
Peanut Butter - 1 tablespoon
Any cereal - 1/2 cup (Oats, wheat bran, oat bran, corn flakes, wheat flakes or any regular cereal)
I used Bob's Red Mill 7 grain cereal
Flax seeds - 1 teaspoon (optional)

Wash the spinach/greens thoroughly to remove all the sand particles. Chop roughly. Add all the ingredients to the blender and blend for 30 seconds to 1 minute in order to get a smooth smoothie. If you want more sweetness add a teaspoon of honey to keep it all natural!

Keep the ratio of spianch:banana 1:1 in order to balance the taste of the smoothie.

Makes a great nutritious and power-packed smoothie!!

Sending this to Healing Foods:Spinach started by Siri and being hosted by me,
JFI: Breakfast started by Indira and hosted this month at Veggie Platter and also to Serve me some Juices, Shakes, Smoothies

You have a left to send in your entries for the following events:
Tried and Tasted
Healing Foods
Sunday Snacks -Healthy Snacks

Mar 22, 2010

Sev Puri using Tortilla Chips

This is a yummy snack which can be assembled in a matter of minutes with simple ingredients. Who dislikes Indian chaat! I was craving chat one day and did not have the puri and had no mood to make it myself. I had some leftover homemade baked tortilla chips I had made the previous day to have along with the homemade salsa and guacamole.

I just assembled it with some chaat ingredients and voila! Amazing sev puri was ready!

Ingredients
Papdis/ Tortilla Chips - around 20 pieces
Chopped red onions - 1/2 cup
Chopped tomato -1
Boiled and mashed potatoes - 1/2 cup
Green chutney - 2 teaspoons
Tamarind / Imli chutney - 3 teaspoons
Salt to taste
Chaat masala - 1 teaspoon or as per taste
Chopped fresh coriander leaves - 1/4 cup
Thin Sev - 1/2 cup
Fresh lemon juice - 2 tablespoons

Directions
In a serving plate, arrange the tortilla chips or papdis.
Place one teaspoon each of the boiled potato, tomatoes and onions.
Top the mixture with the imli chutney and green chutney. Sprinkle the emon juice, chaat masala and salt as per taste.
Finally garnish with the chopped fresh coriander leaves and the sev.