Cauliflower and cheese soup in instant pot

Since the weather is cold we’ve been craving soups. My husband made this soup in the instant pot and it was quite tasty .

Ingredients:

1 Head of Cauliflower – cleaned and chopped 

2 Tbs butter 

1 large Bay leaf 

1 medium onion – chopped 

4 cloves of garlic – minced 

2 cups of vegetable broth 

1 cup of shredded cheese (Vegan cheese if you want to keep it vegan) 

¾’s can of Coconut Milk 

¼ teaspoon of Pepper 

Salt to taste

Directions:

1)      Set the Instant Pot to sauté mode and sauté the onions, bay leaf, and garlic in the butter.

2)     Add pepper and a pinch of salt when the onions are transparent.  

3)     Add the vegetable broth, and cauliflower.

4)     Place the lid on the Instant Pot and close the pressure valve.  Set the Instant Pot to pressure cook on high for 5 minutes.  When timer goes off allow the pressure to release naturally (About 20 minutes).

5)     Place the contents of the Instant Pot in a blender or use a hand blender to blend the pot of vegetables until smooth and creamy.  Add coconut milk and cheese and mix until smooth.  

6)     Add salt and pepper to taste.    

Vegetable cutlet

Vegetable cutlet is the first dish me and my sister made ( after our mom said if you don’t want to eat what I made , make your own food )  and we followed the recipe from the classic tamil cookbook ‘ Samaithu par ( cook and see)’. Since then I have simplified the recipe so it doesn’t take much time to make 

Ingredients;

Cutlet:

3 potatoes - cooked and peeled- mashed 

Mixed vegetables with peas/ carrots/ corn -1.5 cup steamed ( I took out the beans/ Lima beans but you can leave in you like)- mashed in a separate bowl

Ginger garlic paste - 2 tbsp ( if you don’t have the paste just grate equal parts fresh ginger and fresh garlic and put in 2 tbsp worth)

Homemade masala powder - 2 tbsp ( recipe below- store extra )

Fennel - 1 part ( I used about 1/8cup) 

White poppy seeds- 1 part ( 1/8 cup)

Cloves - 3 

Grind well into a fine powder and store in an airtight container 

Kashmiri chili powder ( or just chili powder)- 1/4 tsp

Garam masala ( store bought) - 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste 

Panko bread crumbs ( for gluten allergic people use crushed rice cereal or corn cereal / corn meal) - 1/2 cup 

————

Batter : mix together until batter consistency ( like pancake batter- can adjust water to get to correct consistency ) 

Corn flour - 3 tbsp 

Water - 1/4 cup 

Salt and pepper to taste 

————

Panko bread crumbs- 1 cup ( for dipping- see substitution above for gluten allergic people )

Instructions:

1. Mix the potato and the mixed vegetable mash together in a large mixing bowl 

2. Add the spices including ginger garlic paste, homemade masala , garam masala , chili powder, salt to the mash and mix in well. Taste and adjust salt.

3. Add the breadcrumbs to the mixture and mix in well

4. Now set up a dipping station.Put the mashed potato mixture bowl first , then the batter , then the bread crumbs in a bowl 

5. Take a golf ball sized mixture and pat it flat. Dip in the corn batter to coat it and then in the bread crumbs and set on a plate ready to fry.

6. In a fry pan pour 1/2 cup of vegetable/ canola oil and heat up to 375 ( frying temp - can use a thermometer ). If there is no thermometer - heat up the oil in the pan on moderate / high heat (around 8). Once it gets hot enough test it by putting a small pinch of the potato mixture in and see if fries and rises to the top quickly ( this is the appropriate temp).

You can turn down the temp to moderate heat at this point to prevent burning of the cutlet.

7. Fry the cutlet about 30 sec on both sides until golden brown . Use a slotted spoon since this drains the oil . Set the cutlet aside on a paper towel lined bowl to drain the oil 

Cutlet is ready to serve with ketchup/ tamarind sauce / mint chutney 

Apple, beet salad with breaded goat cheese topping

I first had this apple, beet, goat cheese salad at a restaurant in Budapest and then when we got home we had to re create it since it was so tasty. Since then this has been a salad we eat pretty regularly. It is a way to eat beets that is tasty :)

Ingredients 

Canned beets - 1 can - cut into thin strips ( julienned)

Apple-2 large - cut into thin strips ( julienned) 

Clementine/ mandarin orange slices from 2 fruits - optional 

Butter lettuce - cut and washed 

Candied walnuts / pecans - 2 tbsp ( optional )

Breaded goat cheese rounds:

Goat cheese - 8 oz log

Egg- 1 beaten 

Panko bread crumbs- 1 cup 

Dried spices (mix in with bread crumbs) 

Thyme- 1/4 tsp , parsley - 1/4 tsp , basil-1/4 tsp

Salt - 1/4 tsp, black pepper - 1/4 tsp

Vegetable oil - 1/2 cup for shallow frying 

Dressing :

Oranges ( clementines/ halos/ mandarin orange)- 3 juiced

Olive oil - 2 tbsp 

Rice wine vinegar - 2 tbsp

Mustard- 1/2 tsp

Maple syrup - 1 tbsp

Honey/ brown sugar- 1 tbsp 

Salt- to taste

Pepper - to taste 

Instructions :

1. First in a bowl add julienned apple, beets and                (optional) orange slices.

2. Combine all the ingredients for the salad dressing in a bowl beat well until combined. Taste it and add ingredients to taste ( ie if sour add some sweet, if sweet add some sour etc) and set aside.

3.Freeze the goat cheese for about 20 min before you cut it so it’s firm

4.Cut the goat cheese into 1/2 inch slices 

5.Dip the goat cheese into the egg and then dip it into the seasoned bread crumbs 

6. In a sauce pan add the oil until it is about 1/4 inch deep

7. Heat the oil up to about 350 ( if you don’t have a thermometer just heat up the oil enough and test it by dropping a small amount of the breaded goat cheese, if it sizzles and rises to the top right away then it is at the correct temperature)

8. Now gently place the breaded goat cheese round into the oil and let it dry form about 30 seconds and then turn it over with a slotted spoon 

9. Repeat the same with the other side - you take it out when it is golden brown

10. Drain the excesses oil by placing in a paper towel lined bowl. 

11. Add the dressing from step 2 to the bowl of apples and beets from step 1 and combine well

12. On a plate place the butter lettuce and the place the apple beet mixture on top and the sprinkle with candied nuts and then place the breaded goat cheese rounds on top and now the salad is ready to serve !!

Ven pongal ( savory pongal)

Pongal is the harvest festival in Tamil Nadu where I’m from . It is also the name of the food that is made on that day from the newly harvested rice ! The type of savory pongal made on the day is a little different that this dish. On pongal we just boil rice with salt and milk in a pot and use it as a base to eat with other accompaniments. We make a sweet pongal and a few other dishes on that day as well

Growing up we looked forward to pongal since we went to our grandparents house and hung out with all our cousins. My grandparents were farmers ( rice, coconut) so it was a particularly festive occasion! 

Ingredients 

Rice - 1 cup 

Moong dal ( dehusked split green gram )- 1/2 cup

Ginger - small piece peeled and cut into pieces 

Black peppercorn - 1.5 tsp

Cumin seed - 1.5 tsp

Salt- to taste

Ghee ( clarified butter, you can use regular butter too) 3-5 tbsp 

Cashews- 10

Curry leaf - 5

Instructions 

1. Wash the rice with water until the water is clear. Drain and set aside.

2. Dry roast the moong dal for 1-2 minutes until raw smell is gone . Don’t let it burn 

3. You can cook the rice and dal on a pot on the stove, in a pressure cooker or the easiest would be to cook it in an instant pot

4. Place the rice and dal in the instant pot container. Add 5 cups of water and pressure cook it in the instant pot for 30 minutes 

5. Once the rice and dal are cooked, use a spoon to mix it together.

6. Now take a large heavy bottomed pot and place on medium heat on the stove 

7. Add a tablespoon of ghee and roast the cashews until golden brown and set aside.

8.Add 2 more tablespoons of ghee and sauté the ginger, peppercorns, cumin , and curry leaves. ( I typically grind the peppercorns and cumin into a coarse powder and then use that mixture instead of whole spices)

9. Now add the dal and rice mixture to the pot and mix in well with the spices

10. Add salt to taste and add the roasted cashews. 

11. Add a few more tablespoons of ghee ( optional)

12. Pongal is now ready to serve 

13. You can serve it with  coconut Chutney and as an added bonus with  Madhu vada

Tik tok pasta with baked goat and boursin cheese, asparagus, tomatoes and olives

I only recently learned about this tiktok pasta craze ! It was made popular by a Finnish blogger in 2019 and called uunifetapasta .  I am quite late to the game :) My sister told me she had made variations of it with Boursin cheese and Trader Joe’s spinach artichoke dip as a base for the sauce. 

I decided to give it a try since I had recently bought some goat cheese and new type of pasta I wanted to try. It was called Ronzoni and was made with rice/corn/quinoa. 

Ingredients:

Ronzoni rotini - cooked according to the directions on the box ( cooked for 14-15 min) - al dente - 2 cups 

A block of plain goat cheese - 8 oz

Herbed Boursin cheese - 1/2 package 

Asparagus - 15 spears - cut into three pieces ( discard the bottom third and use the top 2 pieces )

Tomato- 1 box cherry tomatoes- since I didn’t have these I used half a large tomato and cut it into cubes 

Olives - small 1.2 oz cup sliced into halves 

Olive oil- 1/4-1/3 cup 

Garlic cloves - 2 chopped into small pieces 

Fresh basil (or dried italian seasoning)- a bunch 

Salt

Pepper 

Instructions

1. Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the box. Drain it and save 1 cup of the pasta water ( to use later) 

2. Preheat oven to 400 F

3. Take a large oven safe dish and drizzle two tablespoons of olive oil.Place the asparagus, olives, tomatoes, garlic cloves in the periphery of the dish and drizzle olive oil on top and heat it in the oven for 15 min.

4. Place the cheese in the middle of the dish. 

5. Cook the cheese and the vegetables in the oven for 20 more minutes until the cheese is bubbly.

6. Take the dish out of the oven. Add the pasta little by little into the dish and mix the vegetables, cheese and pasta together. Add a little pasta water to make the pasta creamy. 

7. Add salt, pepper and herbs. 

8. Pasta is ready to serve !!

Spinach paneer muffins

We wanted to make a higher fiber breakfast with spinach for baby and we found this recipe and modified it substituting chicken with paneer and adding a few more things. It was a hit ! Baby ate the muffins and loved the paneer in it. Eventhough we made this for baby , we loved these muffins too!! 

Ingredients:

Frozen spinach ( thawed)- 5 oz ( get an 8 oz package)

Can of creamed corn- 1

Eggs- 5

Butter (melted) - 1/2 cup

All purpose flour - 1 cup

Oatmeal ( grind into a powder) - 1 cup

Thawed paneer cubes - 1 package ( 8 oz)- cut into small pieces 

Small onion - 1/2-  cut into small pieces - Sautéed until translucent 

Shredded cheddar cheese - 2 cups

Ground flax - 3 tbsp

Ground Chia seeds- 2 tbsp

Baking powder - 1.5 tsp

Salt- 1 tsp

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F

2. Grease the muffin pans ( we used a silicone pan) and set aside 

3. In a large bowl add 1/4 can of the creamed corn, butter, eggs, paneer, sautéed onions, and 1.5 cups of shredded cheese and mix

4. Place the rest of the corn and thawed spinach in a blender and blend until it is a smooth mixture 

5. In another large bowl combine the dry ingredients: the flour, oatmeal powder, baking powder, flax, chia  and salt

6. Now take the wet ingredient from steps 4 and 5 and mix it in with the dry ingredients to make a smooth mixture 

7. Fill the muffin pan with the mixture and top it with some shredded cheddar cheese.

8. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 F ( bake until golden brown on top)

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Grandma Hazel’s birthday cake

This is a cake that is a different ( slightly healthier) version of the popular watergate cake. The watergate cake usually is a white cake , with pistachio pudding , nuts ( pecans, walnuts) , club soda and sometimes pineapple or coconut. 

Ingredients - 

Angel food cake ( loaf)- 1 

Pistachio pudding mix (jello brand or others ) -1 

Milk- 2 cups

Cool whip 8 oz - 1 

Crunchy candy bar - 1 large  ( Kit Kat/ butterfinger ( we like this one!)/Heath bar  )

Pyrex dish 9X13

Instructions 

1. Take the angel food cake and rip it up into medium sized pieces and use it to line the bottom of the Pyrex dish.

2. Make the pistachio pudding per package instructions ( in a large bowl mix 1 package of the pistachio pudding mix with 2 cups of cold milk) 

3. Layer the pudding over the cake and spread evenly 

4. Now spread the cool whip over the pistachio pudding.

5. Crush the candy bar into small pieces and spread evenly over the cool whip 

6. Chill in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours before serving. This cake is not cut into a slice , you can scoop out desired amount and serve it in a bowl.

Caramelized pear and plum grilled cheese

I had some pear and plum left over since baby ate just a few slices of it and I decided to make something out of it. I caramelized it and used it in grilled cheese. It was an extremely tasty impromptu recipe ! 

Ingredients 

Bread - 2 slices 

Butter - 2 tbsp  ( 1 tbsp extra )

Cheese ( I used white cheddar with herbs de Provence) - 5 slices ( this was a block cheese so cut into a few slices , if using sliced deli cheese would use 2 slices ) 

Pear - 1/2 cut into small cubes 

Plum - 1/2 cut into small cubes 

Brown sugar - 1 tbsp 

Cinnamon - pinch

Nutmeg - pinch 

Instructions 

1. Place a saucepan on medium heat and add two tablespoons of butter , now add the cubed pear and plum and sauté and then add the brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Sauté well for 5-6 minutes until it is caramelized and take off the stove and set aside 

2. Now take the pieces of bread and butter one side of each slice. 

3. Now arrange the slices of cheese on the bread and spread the caramelized fruits on top.

4. Place the bread on a sauce pan on medium heat and let it cook for a minute and then flip over and let it cook for another minute or longer until cheese is melted and the outside is golden brown 

5. Grilled cheese is now ready to serve