Quinoa & Zucchini Warm Salad

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1 yellow squash - chopped into bite size pieces
2 zucchinis- chopped into bite size pieces
1 sweet onion - roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic - grated
1 teaspoon crush red pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary (if you get fresh rosemary, use 1 teaspoon of it chopped)
salt to taste
1 teaspoon olive oil

Method

Wash the quinoa and cook it in 2 cups of water and a pinch of salt in a covered saucepan (just like you would cook rice). In a karahi, add the oil. When it gets hot, add the onions and garlic and saute it for a couple of minutes. When the onions turn transparent, add the yellow squash and the zucchini along with the crushed pepper and crushed rosemary and salt to taste. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes. We do not want to cook the zucchini and squash soft here, we need a bite to them. Add the cooked quinoa mixture to this and mix well. Serve as a side of warm salad with grilled fish or grilled veggies.

Oven fried herbed chicken with corn salsa/chaat

Ingredients

For Chicken
4 bone in but skinless thighs (you can use legs or boneless breasts too)
1 cup cilantro
10 garlic cloves
2 green chilis (add more if you want it spicy)
1 inch ginger piece
1/4 cup mint leaves
juice of half lemon
salt to taste
2 tablespoons oil
1 egg
Bread crumbs for coating the chicken - I used panko crumbs

For Corn Salsa/Chaat
2 cups corn kernels
1/2 cup chopped tomato
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon chaat masala
1/2 teaspoon sugar
salt to taste
juice of half lemon
2 tablespoons tamarind/date chutney (optional)

Method

For Chicken
grind to a fine paste the cilantro, mint, garlic and ginger along with the salt and the lemon juice. Mix this ground mixture with the oil. Make slits on the chicken thighs (or any cut of meat you are using) and apply this masala. Cover and let it marinate for atleast an hour - if you do it overnight it is better.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Beat the egg and keep it in a plate and spread the bread crumbs in another plate. Line a baking tray with aluminium foil and spray some oil on it. Take the marinated chicken piece and dip it in egg and then cover it with the bread crumbs - do the same for the other pieces. Place them on the baking sheet and bake it in the over for 30 to 40 minutes till the chicken is done.

For Corn Salsa/Chaat
Steam the corn kernels so that they are not raw anymore.Add the onions, tomatoes, chaat masala, sugar, salt, lemon juice and the date/tamarind chutney and mix well. Top with chopped cilantro and serve as a side.

Carrot (Gajar) Raita (Pachadi)

Ingredients
4 carrots
1 cup yogurt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon chaat masala
salt to taste
chopped cilantro for garnish

Method

Wash, peel and grate the carrots. Whip the yogurt along with the sugar, salt and chaat masala. Add the grated carrots and the chopped cilanto. Mix well. If the raita is very thick, add some milk to it and mix well.

Cucumber Raita

Ingredients

2 seedless cucumbers

1 cup of plain yogurt

1 teaspoon sugar

salt to taste

4 teaspoons oil

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

a pinch of asafoetida

5 to 6 curry leaves

2 green chillies - chopped

Method

Peel and grate the cucumber and let it stay till it oozes all the water. Discard the water and use the left cucumber.

In a bowl, whip the yogurt and add the sugar and salt to it. Then add the cucumber and mix it well.

For the tampering - in a kadhai, add the oil. When it is smoking, add the mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the cumin and the asafoetida. Then add the curry leaves and the chillies. Add this tampering to the cucumber mixture.

Cucumber Raita is ready.