Vegetable Hot Dog

Hot dogs are a staple of American food. But what is a vegetarian to do? Here is a vegetarian take on the hot dog. This is a recipe that was published in The Hindu newspaper in 1992. Saw it as I was looking through my recipe collection.

Difficulty level: Easy
Preparation time: 10 min + 2 hrs for mayonnaise
Cooking time: 45 min
Makes: 6-8 servings

Ingredients:


Hot dog buns: 8
Beetroot 'dogs': 8
Vegetarian mayonnaise: 1 cup (method given below)
Lettuce: 8 leaves

Beetroot 'dogs':
Cooked and mashed potato: 3 cups
Grated beetroot: 1 cup
Oil: 1 tbsp + for shallow-frying
Peanut(crushed slightly)- 2 - 3 tbsp
Bread crumbs: 1 cup
Saunf: 1 tsp
Salt: to taste
Chilli powder: 1 tsp
Garam masala powder: 1/2 tsp
Green chillies: 2, sliced
Onion: 2, thinly sliced
Ginger: 1" piece, thinly sliced
Cilantro: leaves of 1/2 bunch

Grate the beetroot. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a skillet and add the saunf. When it splutters, add all the chopped ingredients and fry well. Put in the potatoes, beetroot, salt, the masala powders, peanut and coriander leaves. Stir well till dry and let it cool. Shape the 'dogs' according to the size of the rolls. Roll in breadcrumbs, shallow fry in oil or ghee till golden. Remove and keep  (2 tbsp all-purpose flour/maida can be added to the mixture before making the 'dogs', so they do not break while frying)

Slit each roll, lengthwise. Apply a thick layer of the mayonnaise on the inner sides of the roll.
Place a dog and a lettuce leaf in the centre and sandwich it with the sides of the roll. Serve with chilli or tomato sauce. When served with a salad and a soup, this is a complete meal.

Vegetarian Mayonnaise


Thick fresh curds/yoghurt: 2 cups
Thick fresh cream: 1 cup
Grated cucumber: 1/2 cup
Grated cheese: 1/2cup
Salt, pepper: to taste

Pour the curds into a sieve or cotton cloth, to remove all liquid, and keep aside for 2 hrs. Collect the thick curd and mix with all the ingredients into a smooth paste. Refrigerate till required.

Egg-less Mayonnaise

Mayonnaise is used in may a dish but for people that don't eat eggs, dishes using Mayonnaise is usually out of bounds. Below is a version of Mayonnaise that doesn't use eggs.

Difficulty Level: Easy
Preparation time: 2 hrs + 5 mins

Thick fresh curds/yoghurt: 2 cups

Thick fresh cream: 1 cup

Grated cucumber: 1/2 cup

Grated cheese: 1/2cup

Salt, pepper: to taste

Pour the curds into a sieve or cotton cloth, to remove all liquid, and keep aside for 2 hrs. Collect the thick curd and mix with all the ingredients into a smooth paste. Refrigerate till required.

Mushroom Manchurian

Cauliflower Manchurian is a staple of the Vegetarian Indo-Chinese cooking in Kerala. For reasons that I will not go in now, I don't particularly like Cauliflower (Shhh.... please don't tell my kids). My husband suggested I try replacing the Cauliflower with Mushrooms and it actually worked out quite well.

One minor problem was the fact that between the kids and me, we ate so many of the fried mushrooms that the final dish was a bit less than the planned 3 servings.

Difficulty level: Medium
Preparation time: 45 min
Cooking time: 45 min
Yields: 2-3 servings

Ingredients:


Button mushrooms: 8 oz.(about 225 gms)
All-purpose flour: 3/4 cup
Cornflour/ cornstarch: 1/4 cup + 1 tsp
Ginger-garlic paste: 3 tbsp + 1 tsp
Soy sauce: 3 tbsp + 1 tsp + 1 tsp
Oil: 1 tsp + for deep-frying
Chilli sauce: 1 tsp
Chilli powder: 1/2 tsp
Whole red chilly: 1
Spring onion: 1/4 cup
Salt: to taste

Clean and cut the mushrooms into small pieces. I cut a medium-sized mushroom into 16 pieces lengthwise. Add 3 tbsps each of ginger-garlic paste and soy sauce, along with some salt (be careful with the salt, as the soy sauce contains salt too). Mix well and keep aside for atleast 30 min.

Make a batter slightly loose, with the all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup cornflour, 1/2 tsp chilli powder and 1 tsp soy sauce. Transfer the marinated mushrooms into this mixture. Deep fry in hot oil, in batches. Drain to a platter lined with paper towel.

In a skillet, add 1 tsp oil. Saute 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste and a split whole red chilly. Add 1 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp chilli sauce,  finely chopped spring onions and fried mushrooms. Sprinkle 1 tsp cornflour uniformly on top and saute for 2 minutes.

Serve hot as appetizer ,with chilligarlic sauce or tomato sauce. Or if you are like me, have it with noodles or chapathi.

Variation:

If you prefer this with gravy (Sauce), right after you saute the ginger-garlic paste and red chillies,  add 1 1/2 cups water and bring to a boil. Gradually add 1 tbsp cornflour dissolved in 1/4 cup water, stirring continuosly until it resumes boiling. Boil till the gravy becomes transparent and reaches your desired consistency. Add the fried mushrooms, along with soy sauce and chilli sauce. Boil for 2 minutes and remove. Serve with noodles or rice.

Chocolate Burfi

I have always been fond of burfies. So I decided to make the chocolate burfi. This would be one of the easiest . Just to let you know, the resulting burfi will be soft and gooey, and that is the way I like it. This recipe from www.showmethecurry.com, is made in the microwave.

Difficulty level: Easy
Preparation time: 5 min
Cooking time: 10 min
Setting time: 2-4 hrs
Makes: about 30 pcs

Ingredients:


Instant dry milk(milk powder): 5 cups
Heavy whipping cream: 2 cups(1 pint)
Powdered sugar: 1 1/4 cups
Chocolate chips: 1/2 cup
Unsweetened cocoa powder: 1 tsp

In a deep microwave-safe bowl, mix the dry milk, whipping cream and powdered sugar well. Mix well.
Cook in the microwave for a minute at a time, taking it out and mixing it every time. Mine cooked for 8 min (every microwave is different, so keep a close eye on it). Look for the mixture fluffing and folding in. Stop cooking once the mixture is folding in. Mix again and pour 3/4 of the mixture onto a greased (or lined with waxed paper) baking pan . Spread and level the mixture with a spatula. To the balance of the mixture, add the chocolate chips and cocoa powder while it's still hot. Mix till all the powder is mixed in and the chips have melted. Pour this mixture to form the top layer.

Allow the burfi to set and solidify. Cut into desired shapes. Store in the refrigerator and serve at room temperature.

Masala Pappad

This used to be our favourite appetizer at a restaurant in Chicago. So I decided to re-create it at home. And here it is!

Difficulty level: Easy
Preparation time: 15min

Ingredients

Fried Lijjat pappad
Tomato:  1, cut into small cubes
Onion: 1, medium, finely chopped
Green chillies: 1
Chopped Cilantro: 2 tbsp
Lime juice: 1/2 tsp
Salt: to taste
Chat masala: 1-2 tsp

Add lime juice to the finely chopped onion along with a pinch of salt and mix well with hands. Keep aside for atleast 10 min. The longer it sits, the less oniony it tastes.

Mix the rest of the ingredients well into the above, except for the pappad.
Lay the fried Lijjat pappad pieces on a platter.  Sprinkle the mix evenly on the pappad. Serve immediately with a dash of chat masala on top.

Mixed Hakka Noodles

This is one of the most versatile of noodles. So every time I make it, I use different veggies. Here I've used chicken and eggs in addition to the vegetables I had in hand. You can use mushrooms, cabbage(red or green), kale, celery, asparagus, corn, bell peppers(Shimla peppers/capsicum), sprouts, nuts, other meats like prawns, mutton, beef etc. in addition to the usual carrots, beans we use while preparing noodles. Just be creative!

Difficulty level: Medium
Preparation time: 15min(plus 1-2 hrs for marinating meat)
Cooking time:  30 min

Ingredients

Chow mein noddles- 100 gms,cooked according to package directions
Chicken- 4 breast tenderloins(about 250gms)
Corn kernels- 5 tbsp
Edamame(shelled soy beans)- 5 tbsp
Celery- half of a stalk, cut into thin slices or about 5 tbsp
Asparagus- 3 stalks, cut into 2 " length or about 5 tbsp
Whole red chillies- 2 nos.
White pepper powder(or coarse ground black pepper powder)- 1/8 tsp+ a pinch
Turmeric powder- a pinch
Oil- 2 tbsp
Red chilli paste- 2 tsp
Ginger-garlic paste:1 1/2 tsp
Soy sauce: 2 tbsp+3/4 tsp
Eggs- 2
Salt- to taste


Marinate the chicken(cut into long thin strips) in 2 tbsp cornflour/cornstarch, salt, 1/2 tsp ginger-garlic paste and 3/4 tsp soy sauce. Keep aside for 1-2 hrs. You can do the rest of the meat separately  in a similar way.

Scramble the eggs with salt and a pinch of  coarse ground black pepper and keep aside.
Deep fry or shallow fry the chicken pieces  and keep aside. I used 1 tbsp oil and cooked the chicken pieces- a healthier option. Cook the vegetables in boiled salt water for 4 min and keep aside. If you like to bite into the raw vegetable pieces, you can skip this.

In a skillet, add 1 tbsp oil and add the whole red chillies, along with 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste. Saute until the raw taste of the ginger-garlic paste has gone. Add the onion and saute until it turns light brown. Add the chilli paste and white pepper(or black pepper) powder and saute for a while. Add the cooked vegetables and mix well. Add the scrambled eggs and fried chicken. Mix well. Add the 2 tbsp soy sauce and mix well. Add the cooked & drained noodles. Toss well using two wooden spatulas. Serve warm topped with spring onions/ green onions.

Vegetable corkscrews in cream sauce

This is one of my attempts to get my children to eat healthy. I guess it is a result of my experimentation. The vegetable pasta is made from a blend of pasta dough and vegetable puree.

Difficulty level: Easy

Preparation time: 5min

Cooking time: 11 min

Makes: 2 kid-size servings

Ingredients

Vegetable corkscrew pasta- 1 cup dry (I used the Organic kind from Natural Eddie's Spaghetti)

Salted butter: 1 tbsp

Heavy cream: 1/4 cup

Whole milk(full-fat milk): 1/4 cup

All-purpose flour: 1 tsp

Shredded cheese (I used a blend of Romano,Parmesan and Asiago chesses): 1/8 cup

Salt: to taste

Dry basil: a dash

Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain.

In the meantime, melt the butter and add the cream and milk. Once it starts to bubble, add the all-purpose flour while stirring continuosly.  Keep stirring for 2 min, to make sure the flour is cooked through without forming lumps. Switch off the flame and add the drained pasta along with basil. Mix well. Garnish with some more cheese and let the kids enjoy!!!