[A Copy-Cat Recipe] Potato Smiles | Potato Smileys

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potato.smiles
n.
1. a french fry that has been flattened and shaped into a circle, with two eyes and a smiley mouth cut out.

{Easy Summer Recipes} Homemade Fruit on the Bottom Yogurt (using Plums)

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One of the many fun activities during my weekend grocery shopping while I was in US was strolling through the endless rows of products right from cereal to various kinds of sauces to fresh, exotic vegetables. Most of the times, I was on tight budget, so once the contents from my pre-made shopping list are in my cart, all I used to do was gape and make a mental note of stuff-I-want-to-buy-once-I-have-tons-of-dollars. You see, shopping frugally was never my cup of tea. I was desired for more. My sinister heart would coax me to buy much more than I wanted but my rational mind would stop me every single time!.

During such escapades, I discovered these down under yogurt cups from an australian company called Wallaby. I tried once and I was hooked. I never imagined fruit at bottom + yogurt on top can be such a delicious indulgence. From then onwards, I bought atleast 10 of these yogurt cups each week, on an average to eat one every day and rest of the three when I crave for more. This went on for couple of years until I moved out of Virginia in the summer of 2010.

..this was my favorite go-to-snack whenever I am low & need some pep up..and it always worked!

While in California, I did search for these, tried a few other fruit-at-bottom products but nothing came closer to the lusciousness of wallaby. I had to be content with flavored yogurts available at Trader Joes, like this one...

...I miss you Trader Joes...:-(

Now, after almost 2 years, on a whim I longed for my favorite indulgence. One night, I swear I even dreamed about these. Determined to make my dream a reality, I made some fruit-at-bottom-yogurt-jars today. The recipe is so darn simple and it came out perfectly in my very first try. Any combination of firm fruit can be used, if you want to refrigerate and use it over a week or so. I had few plums on hand, so I made of them for today's recipe. TH wants with strawberries next time around and off I am to get some berries tomorrow from our nearby fruit market. :-)

Enjoy..

...plums...oh..you..luscious plums..

..cornstarch water being added to cooked,mushy fruit..

plum compote... I have saved some for my toasted bread in tomorrow's breakfast..

[Updated on 21st July 2014] This is my entry to KitchenAid Contest, open exclusively for participants of Indian Food Blogger Meet 2014 scheduled to happen in Bangalore on August 1st and 2nd 2014. 

{Recipe} Home-made Fruit (Plums) at Bottom Yogurt 

Adapted from Simple Bites

Ingredients:

4 plums, chopped into small pieces or any other fruit
1 tsp of water
1 tbsp honey (or sweeten with 1-2 tbsp of sugar)
a pinch of salt
2 tsp cornflour
2 tsp cold water
1 cup plain yogurt (preferably not sour) sweetened with 2 tsp or more honey (to taste)

Preparation:

1. Making fruit compote: In a small pan, heat very finely chopped plums (or any other fruit), honey (or sugar) and salt. Add a tsp of water and bring it to simmer on low heat, stirring every now and then. In a separate bowl, mix cornflour with cold water. Once the fruit mixture becomes a little mushy, add the cornstarch water. Let it simmer for 5 to 8 minutes on low heat, until it thickens. Remove from heat and cool completely.

2. Whisk plain yogurt/curd with honey. To assemble, add 2 spoons of fruit compote at the bottom and then top with yogurt. Refrigerate for at least 30 mins before serving.

Note: The amount of honey or sugar to be added to plums (or any other fruit especially tart ones) and yogurt can be varied according to taste. To add some crunch, top with granola which becomes a great option for breakfast or whenever you crave for something sweet. When refrigerated, covered this will stay fresh for 1 week (if it lasts that long!).

This is Recipe 19 for my The 100 Recipe Challenge for Year 2013. Check out the rest of the recipes posted so far...

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until next recipe,

Fried Cauliflower Curry

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..the moment I came to know that Jaya has extended the deadline for her 'repost event', I was all excited & ready to try my first recipe, ever posted on my blog 'the Vaangi Ulli Theeyal'. Truth to be said, when I tried my hand the first time on this recipe, I was not impressed with the outcome. Yes, the taste was good & edible but there was no 'W.O.W' factor involved.

..I wanted to get that this time..so the next thing I did was - I researched and finally landed on Sig's blog - 'Eggplant Theeyal'. and was truly impressed!...my motto was to get the 'brown sauce' she mentioned in her post.

...well the result is below -

..no brownness as expected becoz - I added too much of coconut! :(.. I love grated coconut in gravy-based dishes, so out of that habit, I added I guess a tad bit more than expected. I was too depressed to even blog about it but the verdict my roomies gave while their taste-testing was very encouraging. They loved it! C'mon who doesn't love coconut. :).. So, I am happy now..am gonna try this again, add 'right amount' of roasted coconut with spices & get the 'brown sauce' into it! :-).

..and as many of you all know, we had a very heavy spat of snow from past two days here in DC area. Normally I love snow but I hate anything 'too much of it'..:(.. All of us were literally stuck at home and thank goodness we did our errands on Friday itself!

..in such depressing times, our minds automatically trigger for some serious 'indulging & comforting food' and my roomie, P made one such dish. As per her, there was no particular name for this, so we came up with one - 'Fried Cauliflower'. Paired with some simple Jeera rice & above Theeyal on the side, it was pure heaven! Thank you P for brightening our long, boring, snowy days with this awesome recipe. :)

Fried Cauliflower

Ingredients:

1 medium-sized cauliflower
4 cups corn flour
2 tbsp all purpose flour (maida for binding) [this is not added in this recipe]
2 tbsp garam masala
salt -to taste
1 tbsp red-chilli powder
1 medium sized onion, chopped
2-3 green chillies, finely chopped
1 tsp chilli-garlic sauce (store-bought)
1 tsp tomato ketchup
oil - to fry


Preparation:

1. Cut cauliflower into small florets and pressure cook them with enough water. Drain the water & keep aside.(don't let them completely cool down)

2. In a mixing bowl, add corn flour, garam masala, red chilli powder, salt with warm (pressure-cooked) cauliflower florets. Mix well until the florets are properly coated.

3. Heat oil in a pan and fry these coated cauliflower florets. Drain the excess oil on paper towels.

4. Now, heat a tsp of oil in a separate kadai and saute onions with garlic & green chillies, until light golden brown. then drop the fried cauliflower florets. Mix in the ketchup & garlic sauce. Adjust the seasoning if needed.

5. This can be eaten just an an appetizer or snack or as a side-dish. Enjoy!

P says - She was asked to make this dish for almost every potluck party until now and it is always gone in minutes!..After tasting this, I am not-at-all surprised by that! :-) 

Hope you all have a wonderful week ahead!

Chao,

Can This Recipe Be Saved Contest - 'Thai Rice and Bean Croquettes'

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"Can This Recipe Be Saved Contest" is a one-of-kind event initiated by Susan of 'FatFree Vegan Kitchen' where she asked us to use our creativity and save her 'Thai Croquettes' which were originally made by pumpkin...:)

.... and here in my version, I made use of Red Kidney Beans and Rice instead of pumpkin and also made few additions to satiate my tastebuds.
Thanks to Nupur, as I got to know about such an event from her post where she made the some yummy "Thai Eggplant Croquettes."


Thai Style Red Bean and Rice Croquettes
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Ingredients:

1/2 cup pre-cooked sliced beans
1 cup Red Kidney Beans ( I used canned!!)
1/2 cup (White/Brown) Rice ( I used White..)
3 tbsp Soya Sauce
1 tbsp Thai Red Curry paste
1/2 medium Onion - finely chopped
Salt - to taste
1/4 tbsp BlackPepper
2 tbsp Cornflour
1 tbsp flax seed
1 tbsp Lemon Zest ( I used 1 tbsp of lemon juice..)
1/2 tbsp sugar (optional)
Oil - to shallow fry

Preparation:

1. Place the green beans, Red kidney beans and half the rice into a food processor and pulse to chop coarsely (do not puree!).If you have a small processor, you may have to do this in batches. Pour into a bowl and add all remaining ingredients.
2. Mix the contents well. Add very little water if needed.
3. Make small cylindrical shaped patties (or any shape) and shallow fry both the sides on a hot skillet with little oil. Instead, we can even bake in the oven at 425F.
4. Serve with Susan's yummy Thai Sweet and Sour Dipping Sauce.
I served these with my favorite tomato ketchup instead...:)

November is 'Vegan Month of Food' and dear Suganya is organising an one-off event - "Vegan Ventures".
Off these 'Thai Rice and Bean Croquettes' go to Suganya's event too.
Click here to find out who all are participating in 'VeganMoFo' Event.