A Chef's Melody

Our family is vegetarian so we have very few option to explore.My husband's current project is in Dallas and a Mediterranean  lunch buffet place called "Galilee Grill" in downtown dallas attracts him a lot. This place has a wonderful buffet under $10 and you will be amazed to see how crowed it is during the weekdays lunch hours.I too love middle eastern food as it is quite spicy. As my DH and son are a fan of falafel there are times when I cooked it very often.Just to make it  healthy I  add either mix vegetables or spinach or soya chunks to these and believe me the addition of these ingredients made them more tasty. Originally falafel was made of fava beans but later as it migrated outside Egypt fava beans were replaced  by chickpeas.Falafel grew to become a common form of street food or fast food in the Middle East. During Ramadan, falafel balls are sometimes eaten as part of the iftar, the meal that breaks the daily fast after sunset Falafel became s...

Here's what you will need 1 cup Sabudana/sago 1/4 cup peanut butter (smooth, unsalted and no sugar added.) 1/2 cup sugar,powdered 1/2 tsp cardamom powder 1/8 cup cashew nut powder(optional) ( You could use cashews for garnishing instead) ghee as required The Cooking Process Dry roast the sabudana till they are light golden and grind it to a fine powder. In a large bowl beat the peanut butter till it is light and fluffy.Now add the sugar,sabudana powder,cashew nut powder and cardamom powder and mix the ingredients well. Grease your palms with ghee and make small lime size balls.If you find it hard to shape you could add 1-2 tbsp of melted ghee to the mixture. These ladoos can be served as snack. Variation: Replace peanut butter with 2 tbsp fine peanut powder and 1/4 cup ghee. Makes :20 ladoos

Here's what you need 1 cup cauliflower florets 1 tsp garam masala 1 tsp paprika A pinch asafeotida/hing ¼ cup milk 1 tbsp cashew nut paste 1 tsp mustard seeds 1 tbsp crushed kasoori methi 2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro 2 tbsp ghee 1 tbsp oil 1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar/jaggery salt Set 1 2 pods garlic (optional) 4 red chili Soak the red chilis in ¼ cup of water for ½ an hour and drain.Grind the garlic and chilis into a smooth paste.Use water if necessary. Set 2 2 medium roma tomatoes chopped in chunks ½ tsp fenugreek seeds 1 tbsp mustard seeds ½ tsp tamarind concentrate Dry roast the mustard and fenugreek seeds.Grind it along with the rest of the ingredients in the above list. The Cooking Process Heat a tbsp of ghee.When it is hot enough stir fry the cauliflower florets till light golden .Drain the ghee and remove the florets .Keep aside. In the same wok,add oil when it is hot add the mustard seeds,asafoetida, and the chili-garlic paste.Saute for coup...

Here's what you need: 1 1/2 cup semolina/rava/cream of wheat 2 cup low fat plain natural yogurt 1/4 cup canola oil (you can use butter instead) 1 cup sugar 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp vanilla essence 3 to 4 tbsp of nuts for garnishing (optional) 1 tbsp lemon zest a pinch of salt For syrup 1/4 cup water 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice 1/2 cup sugar The cooking Process Beat the yogurt and sugar well till the sugar dissolves. Add oil,zest,essence,baking soda and salt.Once the wet ingredients are mixed well add the semolina.Mix and let it stand for at least 2 hours.I sometimes even let it stand overnight.This enables semolina to soften and the cake turn out  fluffy. Preheat the oven to 350 deg F.Grease a tray and pour the batter.Garnish with nuts.Bake for 25-30 mins or until the toothpick comes out clean when inserted at the center of the cake.Let it cool for 15 mins and then unmold. In the meantime prepare the syrup.Heat the water and sugar mixture ...

For the cake: Here's what you need Dry ingredients 3 cups all purpose flour 6 tbsp cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s Dutch process cocoa) 2 cups sugar 2 tsp baking soda ¼ tsp salt Wet Ingredients 2 cups water 2 tsp distilled white vinegar 1 tsp vanilla extract ½ cup flavorless oil (I used Crisco Canola) The Cooking Process With the rack in the middle, preheat the oven to 350 deg F. Sift flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt thrice. Whisk sugar, oil, water, vinegar and vanilla till sugar dissolves. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well with a hand mixer on medium speed for 2 mins.Grease and flour the two 8 inches round cake pans. Pour the mixtures equally in both the pans and bake for 35-40 mins or until the toothpick when inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.  After 20 mins unmold and transfer on a cooling rack. Let it cool completely for at least an hour before you begin to frost. For the syrup ¼ cup water ¼ cup sugar ½ l...