Chilli Rellenos and A Cooking Class

Eating food from different cultures is now so common all over the world. It is so easy nowadays to procure ingredients to cook anything. Just check out the shelves of any grocery store in the larger cities.

They say that the Indian palate is so used to its own tastes that it is very hard to introduce new tastes. That I am not so sure is true. You find people trying out all types of food. But the thing is that it is always comforting to eat that which is already familiar to the palate.

Though from two ends of the world, isn't it strange to see the striking resemblance between the two cuisines in both the ingredients used and the methods of cooking. I guess the main reason Mexican food has an edge over the other cuisines of the world (in India) is because it is close in taste to Indian food. The use of tomatoes, kidney beans (rajma), onions, chilli, cumin, coriander (cilantro)... they are all the common factors in both cuisines. The tortiallas are very similar to our chapatis.. I think the only difference is in the use of cheese in Mexican food.

Mexican is one of my favorite cuisines and I can eat Mexican for all meals, breakfast, lunch and dinner and all other meals in between. Though I was almost 22 years old before I tasted Mexican food for the very first time, I took to it like a duck to water. Delicious is the only word that comes to mind.

Very recently, I went for a cooking class on Mexican food. It was quite a nice experience.. They taught us a few things which I came home and promptly replicated. Turned out well.

One of my all time favorites is the Chilli Rellano. Sounds foreign? Well it is simply our yummy Mirchi bajji with a different stuffing..

Ingredients:

6 Long chillis ( Bajji Mirchi)

100 grams cottage cheese

100 grams cooking cheese (or cheddar)

1/2 teaspoon Oregano

salt and pepper to taste.

100 grams toasted Bread crumbs

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

Oil to deep fry

Method:

Make a slit along the length of the chilli

Take out the seeds and the long white string inside.

Make a mixture of the stuffing.

Stuff the green chilli with the cottage cheese mixture.

Heat oil to a medium ( not smoking).

Make a paste with the flour and a little water. Put the bread crumbs on another flat plate.

Dip the stuffed chillis into the flour paste and then into the bread crumbs.

Deep fry till golden brown.

Serve hot with salsa and sour cream.

ENJOY!!!!!

Hara Bhara Kababs

You know how we pick up recipes from here and there? Jot them down on a piece of paper and then transcribe them with a lot of interest into our recipe books? My book is full of such recipes. Those that I found interesting when I read it and written down so diligently but never tried out. Various types of recipes... North Indian, Continental (or as we like to refer to them - Bakes), lately Mexican etc. I think the next month should go in trying out all these untried recipes. I am sure I will find a lot of gems out there.. a lot of keepers.
One such recipe was the Hara Bhara Kabab. I had written it down in so many different places but never tried it out. Finally I put my lethargy behind me and took the plunge and was so pleasantly surprised... It turned out extremely well.

Recipe:

4 medium sized Potaoes boiled
3/4 cup Peas boiled
100 gms Spinach

1 tablespoon Green chillies chopped finely
2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves
1 tablespoon chopped ginger
1 teaspoon chaat masala
2 tablespoon cornflour
salt to taste

Oil for deep frying

Peel and grate potatoes.
Mash boiled peas.
Blanch the spinach and finely chop it.

Mix the above 3 ingredients with green chillies, coriander leaves, ginger, chaat masala, cornflour and salt.

Divide it into 25 equal portions. Shape into a little tikki or ball and deep fry.
(In case there are worries on high calories that this dish will entail, then it can be shallow fried too.)

Serve hot along with green chutney and tomato ketchup.

Carrot Salad

Each family has members who are very picky about what they eat and have very definite dislikes. My husband is one such who will not eat chana/chole, banana, tindora(aka dondakai/kovakai) etc etc. He has such hatred for cooked carrot that never will he eat carrot curry in any form. But on the other hand he loves raw carrot. I guess all things crunchy are welcomed by him.




Now we all love one raw vegetable dish with lunch. So as a compromise we made up this yummy South Indian tasting carrot salad which is simple but extremely healthy and full of goodness.


4 medium Carrots
2 green chillies
1/2 a lime
Oil
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds.
Salt to taste

Grate the carrots. Heat oil. Add mustard seeds. When they start spluttering, add green chillies and switch off the flame.

Pour over the grated carrot. Add lime juice and salt to taste.

And thats it. Its that simple.