CHILLI PEANUT DIP

Red Chillies, or any chillies can light your mouth and throat on fire but that same chilli can help ease your pain too. The capsaicin found in chillies is naturally anti-inflammatory. The hotter the chilli, the more potent the capsaicin. I guess that is a bonus since chilli can enhance flavor of any food. In other words, I eat it for the flavor yum! Adding the red chillies to my peanut sauce makes it perfect for dipping veggies or nuggets or whatever you want to dip. It makes snacking on veggies a delicious experience.

INGREDIENTS
1-2 Red Chillies, Dry
1 Cup Peanuts, Raw (no shell)
1-2 Cloves Garlic
1/2 Cup Onion, Sauteed
1/4 Tsp Tamarind Paste
Salt to taste

PROCESS
1. Roast the peanuts in a pan. Keep stirring constantly to avoid burning them. No oil needed.
2. When they begin to brown slightly, take them off the heat and let them cool.
3. Peel the shell/skin off of the peanuts after they cool and throw in food processor.
4. Add the remaining ingredients and let the food processor do its magic. 
5. Serve in a bowl with your favorite veggies for dipping.

TIP
You can always add 1 red chilli and go from there on how potent you want the dip to be.
Experiment with other varieties of chilli peppers and see how it changes the flavor.

TOFU WALNUT BURGER

I am always trying to add more protein sources to my family's diet. If I don't make it attractive and delectable, my kids will refuse to touch it. If I call it burger, they line up to eat it before I can finish saying 'burger'. This way they eat their protein and veggies and have their junk food fix (in the form of healthy food of course). I add some oven baked sweet potato fries along with it. Adults love it too. Try it out.

INGREDIENTS

2 Cups Arugula/Mixed Greens
Burger Buns

BURGER PATTIE

2-3 Cups Tofu, scrambled/shredded (Substitute Paneer)

6 Tbsp Whole Wheat Flour (Substitute Rice Flour for a gluten free version)

1/2 Onion, minced

1/2 Lemon, juice

1/2 Cup Walnut, coarsly chopped

2 Green Chilli, finely chopped (optional)

2 Tbsp Cilantro, minced

1 Tbsp Garam Masala (Substitute Curry Powder)

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

AIOLI

1 Cup Mayo

1/2 Lemon, juice

2 Tbsp Cilantro, minced

Pepper to taste

PROCESS
1. Drain all the water from the tofu and strain it with a muslin cloth. Need the tofu to be as dry as possible. Then scramble it.
2. Combine the rest of the ingredients of the pattie together with the tofu.
3. Add more flour if the pattie does not form easily. Make even sized patties.
4. Line a cookie sheet with silpat or spray some cooking spray.
5. Brush the patties lightly with oil and place on cookie sheet and under the broiler on Med/Hi
6. Keep a close eye on it. Once the patties begin to brown, flip them over and let them cook till the other side browns too.
7. If you don't want to broil it, you can always shallow fry them in a pan.
8. Combine all the aioli ingredients together.
9. Assemble the burger on the buns with some arugula topped with the pattie and the aioli. So delicious and healthy.

VEGAN STIR FRIED RICE

This is so easy and quick to make. It gets eaten up as quickly too. You can make it with fresh rice or leftover rice, whichever works for you. Brown rice makes it more healthier to eat if you happen to like it. Make this any night, always a hit!

INGREDIENTS
1.5 Cups Uncooked Rice
1 Cup Carrots, diced
1/2 Cup Green Peas
1/2 Cup Green Beans, cut
1 Cup Cabbage, shredded
1/2 Cup Onion, diced
1-2 Cloves Garlic, minced
4-5 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp Vinegar
1 Tbsp Oil
Salt to taste

PROCESS
1. Wash rice thoroughly under water. This removes the excess starch from the grains and they don't stick together once cooked.
2. Add the rice with 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce, salt to taste (soy sauce already has salt in it so be careful how much you add), and water in a rice cooker and let cook. If you don't have a rice cooker you can cook rice over your stove too.
3. In a Wok/Frying Pan add the oil. Keep on High heat. Once hot add the garlic and onion.
4. When the onion begins to look translucent, add the remaining veggies.
5. Once the veggies are par cooked, add the soy sauce and vinegar and the cooked rice.
6. Mix thoroughly and enjoy

TIP
1. You can add tofu to it for some variation
2. You can also add scrambled egg to it if you like
3. Watch the amount of salt you add since Soy Sauce already has a lot of sodium

GARLIC SPREAD

We finally had a family road trip through a town called Gilroy in CA. It smells of garlic as you pass by it. Of course we made a stop, and bought a big bag of fresh picked garlic. Once we got home did I realize how much garlic we purchased. Not to worry, I thought of this garlic spread right then and have a lot of it in my freezer ready at a moments notice to use for flavoring any kind of food, or just as a spread for some fresh garlic bread. I make it with Jaggery (Panela) which is a "natural" sweetener made by the concentration of sugarcane juice without the use of any chemicals or synthetic additives or preservatives. It contains a wealth of minerals, protein, and vitamins. If you don't have access to jaggery, you can always use brown sugar.
The most tedious part about making this spread you ask? Well peeling all that garlic. I made a mental note to start from store bought, peeled, ready to go garlic next time. Unless you have a lot of patience, you should get the store bought peeled version of garlic.

INGREDIENTS
5-6 Heads Garlic, peeled
1/4 Cup Jaggery/Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Salt
3 Tbsp Cup Cayenne Pepper
4-5 Tbsp Oil

PROCESS
1.  Bring all the ingredients together in a food processor.
2. Once it is a pasty consistency, it is ready to use.

MANGO MARMALADE

Mango Marmalade is the best! It is so yummy with some toast or just by itself. A perfect flavor explosion in the mouth or tangy, sweet, salty and a touch of spicy. I love mangoes to being with and then a marmalade... heaven!

INGREDIENTS
2 Raw/Unripe Mangoes, peeled and  shredded
1 Tsp Salt
2 Cups Sugar
1 Tsp Cumin
1 Cinnamon Stick
4-5 Cloves
1/4 Tbsp Cayenne Pepper (optional)
1 Cup Water

PROCESS
1. Mix salt into the shredded raw mango and let sit for an hour. The mango will begin to release water. Drain the water just a bit.
2. Add the cumin to a pan and toast on medium heat. You will smell it when it gets done.
3. Add 1 cup of water and sugar and bring to a boil. Add the mango and the rest of the ingredients except cayenne pepper.
4. Let is simmer on low heat until the mango is cooked through and combined well with the sugar.
5. Dip a spoon into the syrup. If it is not watery when you pick the spoon up, then you are good to go. If you let it cook to much then the syrup is going to get crystallized as it cools.
6. Turn the heat off and add the cayenne pepper and mix. Let it cool and enjoy!

CLARIFIED BUTTER

What is clarified butter? Well, it is what is left after you remove the milk solids from regular butter.  Clarified butter has a higher smoke point than regular butter, making it ideal for cooking foods at higher temperatures. Foods cooked with clarified butter have a richer taste and a very nice aroma too. Try it out, you will know what I mean. It does not burn as easy. It is also known as ghee in many parts of the world.

INGREDIENTS
2-4 Sticks Unsalted Butter

PROCESS
1. Put all the sticks of unsalted butter in a pan over low heat and melt.
2. Let it simmer until the melted butter does not look murky anymore. This will take a while. Keep stirring every 15-20 minutes so that the milk solids don't stick to the bottom of the pan as they separate.
3. Once the milk solids float to the top and the butter looks clear underneath, strain the milk solids out completely (for longer shelf life) and the clarified butter is ready to use.
4. It will go back to a thicker consistency as it cools.

Tip: Store in the refrigerator for a longer life or store at room temperature for everyday use.