Jacket Potatoes

TOTAL TIME : 15 mins
Preparation Time : 5 mins
Cooking Time : 10 mins


Serves 2


Ingredients: 
2 large potatoes ( about 200g each , skins intact)
salt, butter or melting cheese

Preparation: 
1. Wash the potatoes well and prick them with a fork.
2. Place them in a dish and cook for 4-5 mins in microwave at 750 W, until the skin in somewhat crisp.
3. Turn the potatoes and cook them for another 4-5 mins at 750 W.
4. Cut the potatoes open and fill with butter and salt or melting cheese.
5. Its ready ! Serve hot.

NOTE  - INSTEAD OF BUTTER OR MELTING CHEESE, YOU CAN USE FRIED MIXED VEGETABLES FOR INNER FILLINGS IN THE POTATOES. 

Curd Kofta

TOTAL TIME : 25 mins
Preparation Time : 10 mins
Cooking Time : 15 mins


Serves 2


Ingredients: 
1 kg curd
2 tbsp sattu or gram flour
4 tbsp milk powder
1 tbsp ginger paste
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tbsp red chili powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 tbsp  garam masala powder (curry powder)
5 tbsp tomato paste
100 gm ghee ( clarified butter)
1/2 tbsp sugar
4-5 cardamom ( powdered)
salt,

Preparation : 
1. First, prepare a well hung curd from the 1 kg curd.
2. Mix the hung curd, gram flour, ginger paste, curry powder,red chili powder, salt, and sugar well in a large bowl.
3. Make small balls from the mixture.
4. In a frying pan, deep fry the balls until it is light brownish in color.Keep it aside.
5. Fry the chopped onion for 2 mins. Put the tomato paste, coriander powder, red chili powder, curry powder,salt and sugar in it.
6. Pour 1 cup warm water in the above mixture and heat it on low flame (or low temperature).
7. After 4-5 mins, put all the fried balls above in the frying pan.
8. Heat it on high flame ( high temperature) for 4-5 mins.
9. Sprinkle powdered cardamom from the top.
10. Serve hot.

NOTE: You can garnish with fresh coriander leaves before serving.

Onion Soup

TOTAL TIME : 20 mins
Preparation Time : 10 mins
Cooking Time : 10 mins


Serves 2


Ingredients :
200 g of onions
2 tbsp of butter
2 1/2 glasses of stock
1 bay leaf
salt, pepper

Preparation : 
1. Peel the onions and slice them.
2. Place them in a dish with butter.
3. Cover and cook for 4-5 minutes on medium flame ( or at 750 W in microwave ).
4. Add the stock and the bay leaf and continue cooking on high flame ( or high power in microwave ) for at least 5-6 minutes.
5. When the soup comes to the boil, add salt and pepper.
6.  It is ready to serve.

NOTE - You can add bread cubes and grated Parmesan cheese in the soup for better taste. 

Brown Onion Rice

TOTAL TIME : 30 mins
Preparation Time : 10 mins
Cooking Time : 20 mins


Serves 2


Ingredients:
200 g rice
2 onions ( cut into thin slices)
1 piece cinnamon
2-3  pieces cardamom
2-3 cloves
1 tsp curry powder
cumin
salt,oil

Preparation: 
1. Keep the rice in a bowl having 4 cups of water for at least 10 mins.
2. In a frying pan, heat 2 tbsp of cooking oil and put few cumins, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves in it.
3. Put the onion slices in the oil and fry until it turns light brown in color.
4. Now put the rice with water and salt in the frying pan.
5. Cook the rice of at least 20 mins (on low flame/temp.) until it is cooked completely.
6. Serve hot with coriander leaves.

Creamy Root Vegetable Salad

 TOTAL TIME: 50 mins
Preparation time : 35 mins 
Cooking time : 15 mins ( plus cooling and chilling) 


Serves 4 


Ingredients:
300 g small new potatoes
200 g celeriac
200 g swede
200 g sweet potato
juice of 1/2 lemon
4 carrots
1/3 cup (50g) currants
1/4 cup (35g) pepitas
1tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
snipped fresh chives and chopped dill to garnish

For the Dressing : 
1 tbsp 97% fat-free mayonnaise
2 tbsp plain low-fat yogurt
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
2 tbsp snipped fresh chives
1 tbsp chopped fresh dill
pepper to taste

Preparation:
1. Place the potatoes,celeriac, and swede in a saucepan. Add boiling water to cover and bring back to the     boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, place the sweet potato in another saucepan. Cover with boiling water, bring back to the boil  and simmer for 3 minutes.
3. Make the dressing while the vegetables are cooking. Mix the mayonnaise, yogurt and mustard together. Stir in the chives, dill and black pepper to taste.
4. Drain all the cooked vegetables well and put them in a large bowl. Add the lemon juice and the dressing, then toss lightly. Set the vegetables aside to cool, then cover and chill them for 2-3 hours.
5. To finish the salad, use a swivel vegetable peeler or mandolin to cut ribbon strips from the carrots. Mix the carrot strips with the currants and pepitas.Stir in the orange juice. Spread the carrot mixture in the large shallow serving bowl or place on the individual plates.
6. Pile the chilled root vegetables on the top of the carrot mixture. Garnish with a scattering of snipped chives and chopped dill , then serve.

Note - Pepitas are also known as pumpkin seeds.

Nut Cake

TOTAL TIME : 20 mins
Preparation time : 5 mins
Cooking time : 15 mins


Serves 8

Ingredients : 
250 g of chocolate
45 g of walnuts
45 g of hazelnuts
45 g of almonds
170 g of sugar
1 tablespoon of flour
240 g of butter
4 eggs
125 g of vanilla flavored sugar
1 pinch of salt

Preparation : 
1. Chop the nuts.
2. Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place in a microwave container, add 1 tablespoon of water and melt on maximum power for 2 minutes, in the oven.
3. Separate the egg yolks from the whites, adding the yolks one by one to the chocolate while stirring constantly. Add the sugar, the vanilla flavored sugar, the nuts and the flour.
4. Whisk the egg whites until they form peaks and add a pinch of salt.
5. Gently fold into the mixture.
6. Pour the cake mixture into the buttered crisp plate and cook on crisp for 9 minutes,then cook on microwave power at 650 W for another 4 minutes.
7. Give it an appropriate standing time. And your cake is ready.
8. Cool it down and serve.

Carrots With Parsley

TOTAL TIME : 12 mins
Preparation time : 5 mins
Cooking time : 7-8 mins


Serves 4


Ingredients :
500g of carrots
50g of butter
2-3 tablespoons of water
2 teaspoons of fresh,chopped parsley
salt,pepper

Preparation :
1. Scrape, wash and slice the carrots.
2. Place them in a deep, glass dish with the butter and water.
3. Add salt, cover and cook for 7-8 minutes at 750W.
4. Sprinkle on the parsley, mix, add pepper and leave for a few minutes before serving.

For a Special Touch : 
Try using sesame seeds in place of parsley.