Spicy Vegetable Omelet

I love to have eggs anytime of the day, be it scrambled, omelet or boiled eggs. Even though I know that the yolks have high cholesterol content, I cannot see myself eating just the white or even egg substitutes (egg beaters etc). To eat eggs and not feel giulty I have made my serving sizes smaller. This quick and easy vegetable omelet is Indian equivalent to Italian frittata and makes a good dish for anytime of the day, especially for a lazy weekend breakfast (or brunch).

Ingredients:
Eggs - 4
Onion - 1, finely chopped
Tomato - 1, finely chopped
Potato - 1, boiled and cubed
Peas - 1/2 cup
Green chilies - 4
Garlic - 1 clove
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Monterey Jack cheese - 4tbsp
Fresh cilantro - 1 tbsp chopped
Salt - to taste

Method:

• Preheat the broiler.
  
• Heat 2tbsp of oil in a heavy-bottom skillet. Add the garlic and onion and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.
  
• Add the tomato, potato, peas, chile, cumin & coriander powders and chopped fresh cilantro and continue to cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the onion has softened and the mixture is well blended. Season to taste with salt and chili powder.
• Beat eggs lightly. I usually add 1 tbsp of water and a dash of hot sauce to the eggs.
• Add the eggs to the veggie micture, cover, and cook over low heat for 4-5 minutes, or until the underside is golden brown.

• Sprinkle cheese over the omelet and cook briefly under the preheated broiler until the cheese has melted and the top of the omelet is set.

• Slide out of the skillet, cut into wedges and serve immediately.

We had our Indian style frittata with whole grain toast. This omelet makes 4 servings.
This is my entry to Nandita's Weekend Breakfast blogging #2.

Palak Rice

Being south Indians, we had rice for all our three meals. Having chapathis or parathas was only on occasion, may be twice a week. If you have a pressure cooker or electric cooker, making rice is a jiffy. So here one of my jazzy Palak rice, that's great to make for a week day dinner.

Ingredients:
Rice - 11/2 to 2 cups cooked
Spinach - 1 bunch
Onion - 1 medium chopped
Tomatoes - 2 crushed (I used abt 1/3 can of crushed tomatoes)
Fresh Corn - 1/2 cup
Green chilies - 4-5
Garlic - 2 cloves
Cloves – 3
Cinnamon – 1 small stick
Cardamom – 2
Bay leaves – 2
Chili powder – 1tsp
Garam Masala – 1tsp
Salt – to taste

Method:

• Add bay leaves, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves to rice while cooking.
• Saute spinach in 1tsp oil and grind into a smooth paste with green chilies and garlic. Keep aside.
  
• Heat 2tbsp oil in a pan, add onions and saute till they turn light brown. Add turmeric, tomato puree and corn. Cover and cook till tomatoes are done.
• Add spinach paste, chili powder, garam masala & salt and saute for about 15minutes. Add water, if the mixture looks too dry.
• Add the spinach mixture to rice, mix well. Serve hot with onion raita.

This is my entry for Anthony's Curry Mela.

Black Bean Chili w/ Basmati Rice

I really love my beans and I always keep my pantry stocked with different kinds of canned beans(I especially love black and red kidney beans), so that I can use them when I have nothing in the refrigerator or running out of time. Canned beans are so convenient and don't require any prior planning.
I know there are a few million recipes for making Chili and this is my quick and easy version.

Ingredients:
Black Beans - 1 16oz. can (Rinsed and drained)
Refried beans - 3 tbsp
Vegetable Buillon cube (low-sodium) - 1
Tomato sauce - 2 tbsp
Crushed tomatoes - 4tbsp
Onion - 1 medium chopped
Jalapeno pepper - 1, seeded and chopped
Garlic - 2 cloves
Cumin powder - 1tsp
Chili powder - 1tsp
Salt and Pepper - to taste

Method:

• Heat 1tbsp olive oil in a pan, add onions, jalapeno and garlic and saute till the onions are transparent.
• Add the rinsed black beans, refried beans and vegetable buillon cube and 1/2 cup of water. Cook for 5 minutes on medium flame.
• Add the tomatoes, cumin & chili powders, salt and mix well. Add about 1 cup of water (you can add either more or less depending on your liking).
• Cook for about 15minutes or till the Chili comes to the consistency you like.
• Adjust seasoning and serve hot.

This can be served over Yellow spanish rice, white rice, baked potato, nachos...... Using refried beans makes the chili thicker (you can completely omit this). This chili can be made with any kind of beans - red kidney, pinto.....

This is my entry for Revathi's FMR "Comfort foods".

Janthikalu - JFI#4:Flour

It is that time of the month again to make a dish for JFI (Jihva for Ingredients - Indira's brain child) and this time (fourth time to be exact), Santhi of Santhi's kitchen is hosting the event. Ingredient for month of August is Flour and Santhi is honoring all the flours under the sun . Though it sounds so simple, it is a tough one because of the wide range of recipes to choose from.
I made Janthikalu, which uses two kinds of flours - Rice flour and Chickpea flour (besan). Janthikalu are similar to Sev & Murukulu (Chakli) in terms of the ingredients and hardware used (Janthikala Mold).
I have to mention about my Janthikala Gottum (Mold). I asked my mom to send me one from India and she sent the one, she has been using for years (she replaced it with my Ammamma's mold). So this mold is kind of sentimental and I hope to take good care of it.

Ingredients:
Rice flour - 2 cups
Besan (Chickpea flour) - 1 cup
Sesame seeds - 2tsp
Chili powder - 1tsp
Cumin powder (jeera) - 1tsp
Ghee - 2tbsp (Can be replaced with hot oil)
Salt - to taste
Oil (vegetable, canola...) - for deep frying

Method:

• Mix the flours, sesame seeds, chili and cumin powders, ghee, salt together.
• Add just enough water to make a thick batter. Make sure that the batter is not too watery or too thick.
• Using a spoon, fill the mold with the batter.

• Heat oil till very hot. Press the mold over the hot oil and try to make concentric circles, so that the batter drops in the oil in circular coils.

• Fry till janthikalu turn golden brown. You might have to flip them once to fry uniformly on both sides.

• Remove with a slotted spoon on to a paper lined plate to remove any excess oil.

• Let cool and you can store in an air-tight container for upto 10days.