Spinach Frittata

There was a unexpected drizzle this morning and it was most welcome, since it has started getting pretty warm for a couple of days now. There was this parent-educator meet at my son's school and he had the day off, which meant I didn't have to wake up at 5.30 in the morning !
To complement this lovely weather, and with the time I hand on hand in the morning, I decided to make a frittata.
Frittata is something between an omelette and a quiche. It has eggs, cheese, veggies / meat and is cooked in a pan and served as wedges, like in a quiche.



I made it with just four eggs for the three of us. Served it with some salad, oranges, toast and tea. After this breakfast, we were too full to think of lunch and then we were off to his school, which is a little far away. We had to meet all the teachers and by the time we were back home, it was almost 4 pm. Luckily this breakfast / brunch kept us going through more than half the day.
And the meeting with the teachers went off well, thankfully.

Its really simple to whip up and packed with protein, iron and calcium. Works as a great idea to pack in your lunch box too. You can get creative with what you'd like to add in this - mushrooms, cooked chicken, peppers / capsicum, onions, anything that you'd like. You need a round pan that's slightly deep, to cook this in, and you're all set.

I had lost a good number of pics in blogger and am still trying to take new pics and upload them in the posts. Here's one for a simple corn and methi pulao.

Spinach Frittata
(Serves 3)

What you need -

4 eggs
3-4 tbsp milk
2 tbsp grated cheese
salt (since there is cheese, go easy on the salt)
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 cup chopped spinach leaves
6-8 cherry tomatoes (optional)
1 tsp flour / maida (optional)
1-2 tsp olive oil

What you do with it -

Beat the eggs. If using the flour (just in case you are short on eggs), add it to the milk and then beat along with the eggs
You can easily omit the flour and just beat the eggs with the milk
Once the eggs are beaten well and is all fluffy, add the spinach, salt, pepper and cheese
Beat to combine all the ingredients
Chop the cherry tomatoes in half or use them whole
Heat a skillet / deep pan. I use a copper-bottom pan that's about 6" in diameter and about an inch deep.
Sprinkle the pan with some olive oil
Pour the entire egg mixture in the skillet and then place the cherry tomatoes over it
Add a few drops of olive oil at the sides
Allow it to cook on a low flame for about 10-12 mins, till the top settles well
If you are using a large pan, it may take longer to cook. It the top does not set, and the bottom is browned enough, you can allow it to bake in a oven for 2-3 mins just so you don't have the eggs very runny at the top
I covered the pan and allowed it to cook and it took about 12 mins
Cut in wedges and serve with a salad and some toast or just enjoy it as is

Spiced Spinach Rotis

We were in Bangalore for a few days to attend the wedding of my not-so-little-anymore cousin. She's the one I remember holding as a little baby, I know it makes me feel terribly old, but it was wonderful to see her getting married...It was a beautiful wedding and a great time to meet up with family..
Its always terrible getting back to the grind here and these last few days its just been my son and me. Cooking just the basic food for the two of us made it worse...
To slightly spice up the regular roti-sabji, I made these spiced green rotis.



This is a great idea to add a little colour to an everyday meal, with some healthy spinach added to it...

What you need -
2 cups wheat flour
1/2 tsp ajwain /carom seeds
1 tsp salt
2 tsp oil

To grind
1 cup cleaned and chopped spinach
1/2 cup of cleaned coriander leaves
small piece of ginger
2-3 cloves of garlic
1-2 green chillies
1 tsp saunf / fennel seeds
1 tsp dhania / coriander seed powder
2 tsp roasted jeera / cumin powder

What you do with it -
Grind all the ingredients mentioned under 'To grind' to a smooth paste
In a big bowl, add the wheat flour, ajwain, salt and oil
Add the ground paste to the flour and knead well, adding as much water as needed to make a smooth dough
Divide the dough into 10-12 even-sized balls
Roll out on a floured surface
Heat a griddle / tava and cook the rotis on both sides till the brown a little
You can use a little oil while cooking it or just skip it - works well both ways
Serve hot with some pickle and curds or any side dish you like

Palak Paneer / Cottage Cheese in Spinach

Back from my Diwali break...This time it didn't really feel like a relaxed holiday...with lots of rushing around between Bangalore and Chennai, visiting relatives, brother-in-law getting engaged and my little brat turning 5 !
Of course I managed the shopping and eating out at my favourite restaurants in the midst of all this...

We are back home finally and settling back into the routine...
Was waiting to get back to my kitchen and eating some simple food, after all the over-eating back there...



Simple palak paneer and rotis to startup the kitchen again...There are many many variations I have tried for palak paneer, but I like this one best...It really brings out the flavour of the spinach and feels so healthy...

What you need -

2 bunches spinach
2-3 green chillies
2-3 cloves of peeled garlic
1/2 tsp cumin seeds / jeera
2 tbsp milk
150 gm paneer / cottage cheese
2 tsp oil
salt to taste

What you do with it

Remove stems of the spinach. Clean and chop and keep aside
Heat oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds and garlic and chopped green chillies
When the garlic turns slightly brownish, add the spinach
Cook without adding any water, till the spinach turns colour
Drain the spinach and run it through some cold water
Once it cools, grind it to a smooth paste
Cut the paneer into little cubes
If the paneer is frozen, thaw it, cut into cubes and dip into hot water for 5 mins
Add the paneer cubes, milk and salt to the spinach and bring it to a boil
Serve hot with rotis

Pasta in a spinach almond pesto

I had always assumed that 'pesto' had to be made with pine nuts and basil, both of which were never easily available...
Thanks to a lot of posts on in the food blogging world, I realised that pesto was basically 'nuts and herbs pounded together'
I have tried a lot of different combinations and its made my life so much simpler to use whatever is on hand !



My son loves pasta and I get the organic whole wheat one from Fab india here, which is really good..
Have tried coriander-walnut pesto earlier, settled for a spinach-almond one this time...
Found this whole packet of almonds that was a gift from Diwali and decided this was a good way to get it into my son's diet...

Simple flavours, some veggies, whole wheat pasta and a healthy meal was on it way...

What you need -

2 cups pasta (I used whole wheat fusilli)
2 carrots
1/2 cup fresh corn kernels
1 capsicum
(You can use any vegetables, I had these for the day)
1 tsp chilli flakes (optional)
1 tsp crushed pepper (optional)
salt to taste
3-4 tsps olive oil
5 tsps milk (optional)

For the Pesto

10 almonds
2 cups chopped spinach
3 cloves garlic
3 tbsp grated cheese
1/2 tsp salt
4 tsp olive oil

What you do with it -

For the pesto
Soak the almonds in hot water for 15-20 mins and peel the skin off
Blend together with all the ingredients listed under pesto
Do not add water, add more olive oil if necessary

Bring water to boil in a large deep bottom pan, add salt and a drop of olive oil
Add pasta and reduce the heat and cook for 8-10 mins, or till done (Follow instructions on the pasta packet)
Drain the water out and spread the pasta, sprinkle a tsp or two of olive oil, so it doesn't stick together
In a pan, heat a tsp of olive oil, add chopped carrots, corn kernels and chopped capsicum
Stir frequently till the veggies are almost cooked and then add the pesto
Add crushed pepper, chilli flakes and salt
If its too dry, add olive oil or milk, depending on the flavour you like
Add the pasta and stir once or twice
Turn off the heat, add shredded cheese if desired
Serve hot !

Recipes from the Taj: Lasooni Palak (Spinach and Garlic)

Remember I told you about this book I got from my dad's friend. Its got awesome recipes, by chefs from The Taj group of hotels
Some recipes are really interesting, some too complicated to try out and some everyday recipes that work best for me...
This particular one is one of the easier recipes, with ingredients that are easily available.
Spinach is something which is on our plates at least once a week if not more and thankfully TH and the son seem to really like it



Palak paneer, keerai molagutal, soppu palya and a lot more variations have been made fairly often now. I saw the lasooni palak in this book and knew I had to try it out. Its got a lovely texture with the puree and chopped spinach, cream and yoghurt as part of it

This one's also from the Taj at Nashik

What you need -

3 bunches spinach
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
2 tsps oil
pinch of hing / asafoetida
1 medium onion
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp chopped ginger
1 tomato
2 green chillies
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp chilli powder
pinch of turmeric powder
3 cloves of garlic, minced and browned
puree of 2 tomatoes
1/2 cup plain beaten yoghurt
2 tsps cream
salt to taste

What you do with it -

Clean and chop the spinach. Puree two bunches by blanching it and passing it thru the blender. Keep once bunch chopped, aside
Heat oil, crackle cumin and mustard seeds. Add asafoetida, ginger, garlic and green chillies
Add onions and saute till brown
Add chopped spinach and tomatoes and cook till spinach is done and tomatoes are mushy
Add all the powdered masalas and saute
Add spinach puree and tomato puree, yoghurt and cream
Bring to a slow boil
Garnish with browned garlic
Serve hot with rotis and raita

Hara chana (green chickpeas) with muthias

We were in Bombay two weeks back for a family get together and a cousin had invited us over for lunch. She had this absolutely wonderful spread laid out - a complete treat for vegetarians and non-vegetarians. And though I simply love fish (she made 3 varieties of that), i still gorged on this absolutely lovely dish of hara chana with muthias.

Muthias are little dumplings of besan / wheat flour with spices and greens or vegetables. These can be had steamed or fried.
Muthias are also an essential part of 'Undhiyo', a winter special dish of Gujarat.

When I got back to Ahmedabad, I found green chanas in abundance here in the markets, so quickly called her up to get the recipe. Its adapted from Tarla Dalal's 'Rotis and Subzis' and really doesnt take too long to make...

Tasty and healthy dish which is delicious with hot phulkas / rotis




Sending this to JFI-Chickpea hosted this month by dear ms of SometimeFoodie.
Read the JFI now and thought this fits in well. Jihva for Ingredients(JFI) is the wonderful creation of Indira of Mahanandi.
Also sending this to My Legume Love Affair - Seventh Helping, the brainchild of Susan, hosted this month by Srivalli.

What you need -

2 cups of fresh green chana (can use the dried ones soaked overnight)
1 onion
1/2 cup coconut milk

for the chutney -
a handful of coriander
4-5 green chillies
1/2 inch piece ginger
5-6 pods of garlic
a handful of chopped spinach leaves
juice of half a lemon

for the muthias -
1 cup methi(fenugreek) leaves chopped
1 cup of wheat flour
a pinch of hing(asafoetida)
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp salt

What you do with it -

Boil the chana in hot water or cook in a pressure pan if the chana is not fresh.

Grind the ingredients mentioned for the chutney. Spinach leaves need not be blanched for this, just chop and blend with all the other ingredients.

Mix together all the ingredients mentioned for muthias. Add very little water so that the dough doesnt get too sticky.
Make small balls of this and deep fry in oil.

Heat oil in a deep bottomed pan. Add chopped onions and fry till they turn brown.
Add the chutney and then the chana.
Adjust salt. Cook for 4-5 mins.
Add coconut milk just before you take it off the stove.

Add the fried muthias 5 minutes before serving. That way it remins crisp and still gets the flavour of the curry. Keep it longer if you like it soft.

Serve hot with rotis / phulkas