Guacamol- first tryst with avocados

Hyderabad is a strange place. If you want something as simple as vegetables, you need to order it online and have it delivered to your door step. That also means you come across exotic vegetables you might otherwise not buy. Avocado is one such vegetable and it is no surprise what I made with it!

1 avocado

1 small onion

1 small tomato

4-6 pods garlic

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp paprika powder

Salt to taste

Method:

Peel and deseed the avocado. Mash it till smooth. 

Add lime juice and salt and mix well. 

Chop the onions, garlic and tomatoes give and add to the mixture. Add paprika powder and mix well. 

Refrigerate before serving. 

Papa A La Huancaina

When I saw this Peruvian dish posted by SB about a month back, I knew I had to try it out sometime. With the kids home for the holidays, now is the prefect time and I made it today.

The dressing was really lovely, and I know for sure I am going to make it again soon, maybe even as a dip.

For Huancaina Sauce
Soda Biscuits: 10-12 crackers
Paneer: 250 gms
Red Habanero Chillies : 3-5 pieces (Can increase of decrease as per your spice preference)
Toned Milk: 200-250 mls (Tweak according to the consistency)
Salt: To Taste
Lemon Juice: To Taste
Extra Virgin Olive Oil : 2-3 table spoons

For the salad
6-7 Boiled potatoes
6-7 boiled eggs
One bunch of Romaine Lettuce
Black Olives to Garnish


Method
Break the biscuits and add them to the blender, add crumbled paneer, pieces of habanero chillies, toned milk, extra virgin olive oil and salt and blend till a pasty consistency sauce is formed, taste and add lemon juice as per your acidity preference and chill.
On a platter spread the lettuce leaves, potatoes, boiled eggs and pour the sauce evenly over it and serve.

Chilean 'humitas'

When I saw this recipe posted on Indian Food Freak, I just had to try. The kids and I love corn, and I have been meaning to make a corn chowder ever since I was mesmerized by the smell of corn from the thela-gadi parked outside the apartment building.
I wasn't sure if I would be able to pull off wrapping it in corn leaves and boiling it, but everyone was so encouraging, I had to give it a try. And I am glad I did, because despite all my misgivings, it turned out pretty good.
The recipe that was originally posted by Gabriela Avendano required you to scrape the corn off the cobs, but I cheated and used corn that was already plucked out. The recipe given here is the one that I ultimately followed.

Dehusked corn from two cobs
1 finely chopped onion
Basil
1 cup of milk
2 teaspoons of paprika- I substituted red chilli powder
salt to taste

Method:
Put the corn into a blender and grind coarsely.
Fry the onion, add to the corn purée with milk, and red chilli powder, to create a firm kind of paste, not too runny.
Season with salt.

Make the parcels using corn leaves & tie up with string.
Cook in boiling water for 30 minutes- while cooking, it should look like this.

Serve with a salad.
In Chile, some people sprinkle castor sugar on their humitas instead of salt when served, but I went with salt instead.

Quesadillas with leftover roti

On a Monday morning, when you are already dreading the rest of the week, if you see a post that says, "Leftover rotis get a dandy do-over with these delicious Quesadillas", you immediately sit up and take notice. This is my take on the Tadka Pasta girls' dish.

Chop and mix together one onion, 1/2 red bell pepper. 1/2 yellow bell pepper, some olives and a few coriander leaves. Spread this mixture on one half of a leftover roti. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of grated cheese. Fold the roti over, sprinkle some more cheese on top, and grill in the oven till the cheese melts.Cut into wedges and serve with ketchup or salsa