Carrot- beet root salad

Ever since I got back to working full-time, my time in the kitchen has dwindled to near zero. While I am happy for the time I got to experiment in the kitchen for nearly a year, if I am totally honest, I do not mind not having to slave for hours everyday to produce something that may or may not be palatable. But, I do miss trying out new recipes, and today, I decided to make a "top up" dish because I felt like doing so.
It ended up tasting much better than I expected, and for that I am glad.

2 medium carrots

1 medium beetroot

1 tbsp melon seeds (peanuts might be better, but I had run out of them)

1 tsp sesame seeds

1 green chilli (or more, as per taste)

1 tsp olive oil

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp lemon juice

Salt to taste

Method:

Grate the carrots and beetroots.

Mix the olive oil, sesame oil, lemon juice and salt, and pour over the grated vegetables. 

Break the green chilli in half and add to the grated vegetables. Mix well, and allow to marinate for 1 hour.

Add melon seeds and mix well. Garnish with sesame seeds before serving.

Serve cold.

Spinach-Salami-Cheese Muffins

A photograph of what seemed like spinach-cheese muffins had been torturing me all day, and by lunchtime, I decided I would burst if I didn't get to eat it soon. Since there was a bunch of spinach leaves in the refrigerator, the time between thought and action was amazingly low!
I took a recipe from the Internet, adapted it to suit what I had in the kitchen, and came up with something I am sure to use again.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons butter, melted
1 egg
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup chopped spinach
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Couple of slices of salami cut into strips
Handfull of melon seeds (walnut might be better, but I had only melon seeds at home)

Method
Preheat oven to 175 degrees. Lightly grease 12 cup muffin cups.
Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a mixing bowl.
Stir the melted butter, egg, milk, spinach, cheese and salami together in a large mixing bowl until evenly blended. Slowly stir in the flour mixture to form a batter. Spoon about 2 tablespoons into each muffin cup. Sprinkle the melon seeds on top
Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 25 minutes.

Grab a cup of coffee. Enjoy!

Roast Cauliflower

Roast cauliflower/ gobi massallum is a dish my mother often made, and which I have made a few times too. The masala for that used to be the standard "North Indian masala", with the grated cheese adding the appropriate taste of the exotic.
Since my older one has developed a liking for Worcestershire sauce, however, I decided to experiment with a very different masala this time, and I really liked the results. Next time, I am buying a much bigger cauliflower, because this got polished off in no time at all.

1 medium cauliflower
2 medium onions chopped fine
3 medium tomatoes chopped fine
1 green chilli (deseeded, if you don't want it too hot)
2 tbsp kasoori methi
2 tbsp walnuts
1 tbsp melon seeds
1 tbsp flax seeds
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
cooking oil

salt to taste

Method
Remove the leaves of the cauliflower, soak it in salt water for about 15 minutes, steam for 10 minutes and keep aside
Heat the oil, and fry the onions till they turn transparent
Add tomatoes and green chilli and fry till it starts releasing oil
Add kasoori methi, and give it a quick stir.
In a blender, blend the cooked masala and the nuts to get a smooth paste
Stir in the sauce, honey and salt.
Preheat the oven to 220 degrees
Turn the steamed cauliflower over, and push the masala in through the florets (use up about a third of the masala this way.
Lightly grease a baking dish, spread a thin layer of the masala on it, place the cauliflower on top, and cover with the masala.
Place in the oven, and bake for 15 minutes at 220 degrees.
Serve hot. Tastes best with hot rotis.