Stuffed Vegetable Kulcha (Mixed Vegetable Stuffed Indian Flatbread)

This recipe is from Archana's Kitchen's recipe. As I had some leftover Aloo-Simla Mirch (Potato & Green Bell Pepper; see Feb. 6) in the freezer, I decided to use that as the stuffing. I liked the dough recipe, which was easy to make, to stuff, and to roll out. I also liked the kulcha cooking instructions, which were for a skillet on the stove (vs deep-frying); I used a griddle. I always like to have Indian breads (especially the stuffed ones) for a snack or light meal. They are so delicious and filling. Yay!

Archana's Kitchen Website, Stuffed Vegetable Kulcha (Mixed Vegetable Stuffed Indian Flatbread)

Archana's Kitchen Facebook

Caramel Chai Abstract Art Buns,

with Vegan Caramel

These are based on the yummyness that is Cupcakes & Curries' Caramel Chai Hot Cross Buns (Instagram, Feb. 18). The caramel used is that of A Virtual Vegan in her Vegan Chocolate Caramels (Instagram, Feb. 13).

I'd read that some people like to make smiley faces, instead of crosses, on their hot cross buns. That seemed such a nice idea, that could cheer up anyone not having a good day, that I thought I'd try it. Unfortunately, I didn't pay close enough attention to the part of the recipe, that says the flour-and-water paste shouldn't be too runny -- and so the smiley faces became more like abstract art. It didn't affect the taste, fortunately.

As I can't eat certain things because they are too rich for me, I had to make some substitutes. Instead of milk, butter, and caramel with cream, I used water, oil, and vegan caramel. What was important to me, is that I was able to bake these yummies that I can enjoy for a few days. (I stashed a few in the freezer.) Yay! 

Cupcakes & Curries Website, Caramel Chai Hot Cross Buns

Cupcakes & Curries Facebook

A Virtual Vegan Website, Vegan Chocolate Caramels

A Virtual Vegan Facebook

Tomato Sambhar 

(South Indian Soupy Veggies & Dal/Legumes),

with Korean Wheat Noodles

The sambhar was simple, made with leftover tomatoes and masoor dal/red lentils, along with mustard seeds, frozen mirepoix (onion, celery, and carrot), urad dal, and sambhar powder. These noodles cooked very quickly -- done in one minute! I was too tired and hungry to add another vegetable (aside from the tomatoes) and wait for it to cook, and decided simplicity was the best strategy here.

Wikipedia Website, Sambar (dish)

Cheela Sandwich,

with leftover Gingered Green Peas,

on toasted soft Italian bread. 

I didn't have any chutney, so I spread some pizza sauce on the toast. The peas will actually be more likely to remain on the sandwich, if they are between the bottom toast and the cheelas (unlike here). These are from the same batch of Cheelas as pictured yesterday. A nice vegetarian sandwich -- yum!

Cheelas (or Theplas?)

The recipe I consulted said these Indian griddlecakes were called Theplas, but they seem more like Cheelas. They were made with a batter of gram/besan/chickpea and rice flours, with some seasonings. To doubly make sure they weren't too heavy for me to eat, I left the covered batter out on the counter for a couple of hours, and I also added a dash of baking soda. I don't know if that's what did it, but they were very light.

I topped the first few with some tomato and onion, but those fell apart and aren't pictured here -- though they were also delicious! My experimenting with the recipe gave the griddlecakes a strong flavor -- but I found that I liked it. I certainly have been looking forward to eating them for dinner, the last couple of days.

Here are a couple of recipes, which I haven't yet tried:

Archana's Kitchen Website, Gujarati Methi Thepla (Spiced Indian Flat Bread with Fenugreek Leaves)

Nisha Madhulika Website, Besan ka Cheela Recipe

Baked Burekas

This is my attempt at Baked Burekas, made with eggroll wrappers, filled with mashed potato.

My understanding is that burekas, a baked, filled pastry very popular in Israel, are related to Turkish börek, and were developed among Sefardi Jews in Turkey. They can be made with filo or pastry, and many recipes use frozen puff pastry. I have to be careful what I eat, so I was reluctant to use any commercially made dough/pastry, but didn't feel up to making my own. The alternative was to try with eggroll wrappers.

I don't usually like baked eggroll wrappers, at least the kind available to me. So, I was very happy when a YouTube video showed me the way: brush egg wash on the inside of the pastry, before filling and wrapping it up, as well as on the outside. That's what I did, it was fairly easy, and I liked and enjoyed eating the results. Yay, burekas! Gosh, it's been a while; I think I should make some again, soon.

2 Minutes Mug Brownie

This recipe is from the @rekhakakkar recipe of Feb. 17. I substituted ground hazelnuts, as for some reason, I don't Iike walnuts. Also, I have to be careful not to eat items that are too rich, so instead of 1 Tbsp oil, I used about 1 tsp oil and 2 tsp applesauce. The recipe was very simple, and I liked that I could use one measuring spoon size for almost all the measuring. Next time, I might try it with ground almonds. This was for a late-night snack, as I like a little something sweet to end the day. It was simple to make, and I really enjoyed it!

+Rekha Kakkar 

@Rekhakakkar Instagram, 2 Minutes Mug Brownie

Strawberry-Pomegranate & Cream Sorbet

This is based on the sorbet recipe of Gemma Stafford. This sorbet contains frozen strawberries and some pomegranate syrup. There's no actual cream in the sorbet, but I added twice as much sweetened condensed milk as the recipe called for. (The homemade sweetened condensed milk recipe is also from Gemma Stafford.) I made the pomegranate syrup from store-bought pomegranate juice. Very bright and colorful!

Gemma Stafford Facebook

Gemma Stafford Website, Homemade Raspberry Sorbet

Harcha-Bread Pakora, stuffed with Gingered Peas

The Harcha is from the photo of 2 days ago, and I guess I did make bread pakora out of it, after all! (Basically, I stuffed the Harcha bread with veggies, dunked it in a chickpea-flour batter, and fried it.) The Gingered Peas are based on a Suvir Saran recipe from Indian Home Cooking. As I can't eat deep-fried food, I pan-fried it, instead. (Besides, deep-frying this behemoth, would be like trying to deep fry a battle cruiser. 😄 ) I liked it so much, that I ate it up fairly quickly. However, I would have liked for it to be crispier. This only means, that I will simply have to try it again, and experiment.

Recettes Hindoucha YouTube, Harcha en 10 Minutes

Chocolate Mahalabia (Creamy Chocolate Pudding)

This recipe is from SmileyGirl230's Feb 1st video on YouTube. In the photo, I sprinkled some ground hazelnuts and some mini-chocolate chips on the pudding, but it really needs no adornment. I made it early in the afternoon, and to give it time to chill, had to wait until after dinner to try it. At the first taste, I thought, "Oh my gosh, this is the best pudding I've ever had!" It's very thick and creamy, and smelled so chocolatey while it was cooling on the table, before I put it away in the fridge. Yummy! 

SmileyGirl230 YouTube, How to Make Chocolate Mahalabia (Creamy Chocolate Pudding)

SmileyGirl230 Facebook

Harcha (Moroccan Flatbread)

This is another version of the Moroccan bread, this time from a Recettes Hindoucha / Hindoucha Wasafat recipe seen on YouTube last Dec.4: Harcha en 10 Minutes. (The video isn't in English, but does have a list of the ingredients in French, about a minute in.)

In this version, the semolina-flour batter is cooked in a nonstick frying pan on the stovetop. As I must have used a smaller pan than seen in the video, it took me about 15-20 minutes to cook the first side, and much less for the second side. It smelled so good while it was "baking"! It also tasted yummy, with wild-blueberry spread.

The harcha was thick enough to cut a slit into, and stuff with a filling, as pictured here. Good for sandwiches. Perhaps it would also make good stuffed French toast, or a savory bread pakora. I may try those ideas . . . if there's any left! 😉😄

Recettes Hindoucha YouTube, Harcha en 10 Minutes

Recettes Hindoucha Facebook

Grape Focaccia [1]/ Schiacciata All'uva

This bread is based on the recipe at LeitesCulinaria.com from last Oct. 10. The recipe is very specific that one should only use wine-, concord, or other, similar grapes, and definitely not red grapes. Unfortunately, all I had this time were 2 lbs. of red seedless grapes, which I cannot eat raw and didn't want to waste -- so, that's what I used (for this and another focaccia). 😊 I liked this sweet focaccia, which allowed me to once again enjoy grapes. Next time, I'll have to see about using the specified grapes (if I can find seedless).

As it sounded like the bread does not stay for very long, I wrapped up individual pieces and stashed them in the freezer for later. There's a variation of the recipe given, for blueberry focaccia. The recipe says that this is useful if the grapes you need are unavailable or out-of-season, and will resemble the original well enough. I would like to try that some time; it sounds quite yummy.

Leite's Culinaria Website, Grape Focaccia Recipe

Peaches & Cream Sorbet

This was made with frozen peaches, homemade sweetened condensed milk, some ground cinnamon and cardamom, and a good pinch of salt. There's actually no cream involved. I just like to call it that because I put in a generous 1/2-cup of the sweetened condensed milk, rather than the 1/4-cup called for in the Gemma Stafford Bigger Bolder Baking original Raspberry Sorbet recipe. (The sweetened condensed milk is her recipe, too.)

Bigger Bolder Baking Website, Homemade Raspberry Sorbet

Dal Wali Roti/Dal Paratha 

(Indian flatbread whose dough includes leftover dal/legumes) 

Valentine's Day Special

This Dal Wali Roti/Dal Paratha wants to wish you a Happy Valentine's Day! (You can see the earlier photo from today, below, for general details on the parathas.) When I went to take photos of the parathas, I noticed this one's unique shape, which was quite accidental, and decided to take a photo and save it for the big day. So here it is!

Chawla's Kitchen YouTube, Punjabi Dal Parathas / Dal Wali Roti

Dal Wali Roti/Dal Parathas 

(Indian flatbread whose dough includes leftover dal/legumes)

These are based on YouTube video from Chawla's Kitchen. In this case, the leftover dal has already been featured here on Feb 9 & 11. The #tbt Grilled Veggie Sandwich leftover filling of cannellini beans, mixed veggies, and spices, turned into the filling for the Veggie Bites (with the addition of mashed potato). And there was still more filling left. What to do with it? Add flour and turn it into Dal Wali Roti/Parathas!

I made this dough and put it in the fridge for the next day. When I went to make the roti, they were pretty good but not optimum, and I realized: next time, it would be better to take the dough from the fridge earlier, to allow it time to come to room temperature. So, I learned a valuable lesson, at the same time as I munched on paranthas for dinner!

Chawla's Kitchen YouTube, Punjabi Dal Paratha / Dal Wali Roti

Baida Roti (Egg Paratha)-style Pizza 

I had 2 slices left of the Pizza with Fresh Tomato Slices (No Sauce) (Feb. 10 photo), and wanted to eat it with some egg, for protein. (Normally, I might make a cheese-less pizza, and then add a little cheese when I reheat it in the toaster oven.) I remembered the scrumptious-looking Egg Parathas that @thegutlessfoodie on Instagram makes for breakfast sometimes, and thought that was ideal.

So, I scrambled an egg well, in a bowl, and then poured it into a frying pan heated with a little olive oil. I then placed the pieces of pizza, upside-down, in the egg, until that side of the egg was done. I may also have turned it over after that; not quite sure. I cut the egg into 3 about-equal portions (one each with its pizza, and the last one, I ate with a slice of the other pizza I'd made (Feb. 2nd photo)). Wow, I really like that method! Wonder what else it works with? Hopefully, I'll be able to try it some time with actual parathas! 

The Gutless Foodie Facebook 

@theGutlessFoodie Instagram, 31 Dec. 2016 

@theGutlessFoodie Instagram, 10 Feb. 2017

Potato, Cauliflower, & Onion Soup

This dish is based on a Supper with Michelle recipe for Potato, Cauliflower, & Leek Soup, of Jan. 26. (Accompanying the soup here, is some of the pizza topped with fresh tomato slices, from my photo of a couple days ago. Another time, it was some of the Veggie Bites pictured yesterday.) It was another fabulous recipe! The soup was warm and very comforting, during the cold weather. 

I usually have to be careful what I eat, and so I often have to modify recipes. In this case, I used some onions instead of leeks, and less oil, and left out the garlic and half-&-half. I wasn't sure that flour would work so well with so little oil, so I used some potato flour to thicken the soup. I mixed in some creamy whole-milk yogurt to the soup while eating. I would rather have had the original, but I really enjoyed this version (especially with the pizza). Yummy! 

Supper with Michelle Website, Potato, Cauliflower, & Leek Soup

Veggie Bites

These were made with a filling of mashed cannellini beans, mixed veggies, and spices. This is based on the YouTube video of Cooking for Fun, of Stuffed Pizza, Zaatar, & Cheese Rolls. The previous photo from today is of a Veggie Bite that turned out looking like it should, more or less. This photo here is of one of the first ones I stuffed, and I was very disappointed with it, before I baked them. But then, strangely, after it was baked, I thought that this one seemed the most photogenic of them all, somehow.  I made sure to take a picture -- just before I ate it, to find that it tasted just as good as all the others! 😉😄 The lesson I learned is, it's okay if what you made isn't perfect, as long as it tastes good. 💡😃

Cooking for Fun YouTube, Stuffed Pizza, Zaatar & Cheese Rolls

Veggie Bites

These were inspired by Cooking for Fun's recipe on YouTube a few months back, for Stuffed Pizza, Zaatar, & Cheese Rolls. At that time, I made the Stuffed Pizza Rolls version, but as I can't eat much cheese, it contained a lot of pizza sauce -- which oozed out. Don't get me wrong -- even the oozed pizza sauce tasted good! I wanted to make it again, but needed a different filling. I remembered that the leftover filling from the Grilled Veggie Sandwich (cannellini beans, mixed veggies, spices) of the other day's picture was still available, in the freezer.💡

So, that,with some mashed potato mixed in, became the filling for these Veggie Bites, seen here with creamy whole-milk yogurt and some Tomato Thokku (pictured a few days ago). Yummy! They are also good to accompany soup, I found. I did have to add some potato flour to the filling, as it was not dry enough. The first few Veggie Bites didn't look perfect, but had their own charm, and they all tasted fine! 😄😃

Cooking for Fun YouTube, Stuffed Pizza, Zaatar & Cheese Rolls

Pizza with Tomato Slices

This was the 2nd of 2 pizzas that I made the other day, topped with sliced fresh tomatoes. This one just had the tomatoes, no sauce. It's light, so great for a snack. In honor of #nationalpizzaday.

Grilled Vegetables Sandwich

#tbt : This grilled veggie sandwich was inspired by Indian-style grilled sandwiches seen online. I defrosted frozen mixed veggies, and then cooked them a bit with some canned cannellini beans, and some spices like ground cumin and coriander. Next, I put everything in the food processor, and the filling was ready. I put the filling between slices of homemade bread, and cooked the sandwich the way I would a grilled cheese sandwich, although using just a little olive oil on the outside of each bread slice. I was very pleased at how nice and grilled it turned out, even with so little oil. Yummy! 

Pav Bhaji Masala Dosa, Masala Dosa

(See photos from the last 3 days for the individual elements: Simla Mirch-Aloo, Tomato Thokku, and Pav Bhaji Masala Dosa.) As I was about to make dosas a few days ago, I remembered that I also already had both a potato dish and tomato thokku, and realized I could make masala dosa out of them! I was so excited. And then I was delighted when it actually worked out, and was so yummy. I really enjoyed this special dish. 

Cook Like Priya Website, Pav Bhaji Masala Dosa Recipe 

Hebbar's Kitchen Website, Tomato Thokku Recipe