Bruschetta-Inspired from Julie & Julia

Bruschetta!

I relocated to a new land, far away from my home, a place for the wild n' free..AMERICA. I’m here as a graduate student dealing with the crucial transition phase of my life. It wasn’t great in the beginning though, but later it started getting exciting to me. Initially I thought, living in Springfield, Missouri is going to be really tough, because it isn’t what I expected. I was taken aback when I realized that there wasn’t a single Indian grocery store. And secondly, this place is very quiet with its slow lifestyle, unlike the buzzing New York or L.A which is very untypical for America. But then I realized, I am fortunate to be here, the people are lot nicer here. Yes, I had rude experiences in Chicago! This place is pollution free, traffic free, safe and secure. The only big disadvantage is killing time here! I overcame that too now. I’d been to Branson, a place for value shopping and recreation. I also made a trip to Kansas city-Enthiran movie and Indian food made me feel like India. For the fall break, I was in Eureka Springs, Arkansas- A town on a hill top depicting the Victorian age with its pretty houses, and cute little shops! Classes are like sometimes fun and sometimes boring L Rest is so far so good!

Coming to Food part, I really didn’t have trouble cooking for myself. But cooking for two of my male friends, it is. They aren’t so outrageous like me to try something non-Indian. Lately, I made Bruschetta and compelled them to try it out. And it turned out to a big surprise to me that they liked it so much and they keep asking me to make it again. The idea of Bruschetta was inspired from the movie Julie & Julia. Many food addicts like me, would have seen that movie and were drooling when Eric was gorging on Bruschetta. Ever since I saw that scene, I was like in real urge to replicate it at home.

So here’s how I did mine..

Ingredients :

1 loaf of bread,sliced

3 to 4 bell peppers(yellow & red)

2 large heirloom tomatoes

2 or 3 leaves of basil

Salt & ground black pepper

1 Clove of garlic

Olive oil

Shredded cheddar cheese

De-seed the tomatoes and peppers. Chop them finely.

Chop basil. In a large bowl, add chopped peppers, tomatoes, basil ,salt, black pepper, and 1 tbsp of olive oil. Toss them well.

In a frying pan, drizzle olive oil liberally. Once it got heated up, place the bread slices and let it brown slightly.

Turn around. And brown on the other side too.

Place spoonfuls of the tomato mixture on each slice of bread.

Sprinkle some cheddar cheese and serve immediately!

Bruschetta-Inspired from Julie & Julia

Bruschetta!

I relocated to a new land, far away from my home, a place for the wild n' free..AMERICA. I’m here as a graduate student dealing with the crucial transition phase of my life. It wasn’t great in the beginning though, but later it started getting exciting to me. Initially I thought, living in Springfield, Missouri is going to be really tough, because it isn’t what I expected. I was taken aback when I realized that there wasn’t a single Indian grocery store. And secondly, this place is very quiet with its slow lifestyle, unlike the buzzing New York or L.A which is very untypical for America. But then I realized, I am fortunate to be here, the people are lot nicer here. Yes, I had rude experiences in Chicago! This place is pollution free, traffic free, safe and secure. The only big disadvantage is killing time here! I overcame that too now. I’d been to Branson, a place for value shopping and recreation. I also made a trip to Kansas city-Enthiran movie and Indian food made me feel like India. For the fall break, I was in Eureka Springs, Arkansas- A town on a hill top depicting the Victorian age with its pretty houses, and cute little shops! Classes are like sometimes fun and sometimes boring L Rest is so far so good!

Coming to Food part, I really didn’t have trouble cooking for myself. But cooking for two of my male friends, it is. They aren’t so outrageous like me to try something non-Indian. Lately, I made Bruschetta and compelled them to try it out. And it turned out to a big surprise to me that they liked it so much and they keep asking me to make it again. The idea of Bruschetta was inspired from the movie Julie & Julia. Many food addicts like me, would have seen that movie and were drooling when Eric was gorging on Bruschetta. Ever since I saw that scene, I was like in real urge to replicate it at home.

So here’s how I did mine..

Ingredients :

1 loaf of bread,sliced

3 to 4 bell peppers(yellow & red)

2 large heirloom tomatoes

2 or 3 leaves of basil

Salt & ground black pepper

1 Clove of garlic

Olive oil

Shredded cheddar cheese

De-seed the tomatoes and peppers. Chop them finely.

Chop basil. In a large bowl, add chopped peppers, tomatoes, basil ,salt, black pepper, and 1 tbsp of olive oil. Toss them well.

In a frying pan, drizzle olive oil liberally. Once it got heated up, place the bread slices and let it brown slightly.

Turn around. And brown on the other side too.

Place spoonfuls of the tomato mixture on each slice of bread.

Sprinkle some cheddar cheese and serve immediately!

Coconut Pannacotta!

Pic 1

Pic 2

This is my first time to participate in Jugalbandi's Click  event.When they announced the theme as 'WOOD',I got very excited and the first thing that came in my mind was 'Coconut shell'..so I made a trip to our backyard and found some coconut shells..Then I tried to make its outer surface smooth by myself ..and got fed up with it very soon.So finally gave it to a carpenter and got it neatly trimed and varnished..

I made coconut pannacotta,an Italian dessert and moulded them in coconut shells ..When I was taking those pictures it was like around 6 .30pm and the lighting was dim.I was'nt quite satisfied with the pictures.

My sis and my cousins were impatiently waiting to finish up the dessert..So immediately after shooting,the shells went empty :(  

Pic 3

So the next day ,I took some pictures with this spice box.I bought this spice box in Munnar last year...

Pic 4

I took more than 100 pictures and couldn't able choose the best one.After so much of confusion ,I could pick up these 4 pictures as my fav..I would like to know which is the best among these 4 pics..So plz help me buddies!

I took the recipe for coconut pannacotta from taste.com ..and i tweaked it a bit..

You will need :

250 ml of fresh cream

250 ml of first-press coconut milk

1 cup of Sugar

2 tbspoon gelatine powder

1/2 cup hot water

1/2 cup grated coconut,toasted

Procedure :

1.In a saucepan,add coconut milk,cream and sugar..Keep stirring until the sugar dissolves in a medium heat.u

3.Add the gelatine to the hot water and whisk using a fork to dissolve completely.

4.Pour this gelatine to the coconut/cream mixture.Whisk to combine well.

5.Pour this mixture into 6 coconut shells/ramekins.Refrigirate for about 3 hours ,or until set.

6.Sprinkle the toasted coconut over the pannacotta and serve.

Other serving suggestion: You can also turn the pannacotta on a serving plate and serve it some seasonal fruits.

I tried the following three recipes this week:

Varsha's Banana-Cocoa smoothie

Archy's Chilli Soya Chunks

Priya's Indian style Calzones

I didn't have soy milk so I went ahead with cow's milk for making this Cocoa-banana shake.And also i replaced silken tofu with fresh cream.I loved this drink so much.Esp my sis who became a very a big fan of this shake.The combo of banana and cocoa is awesome!Thanks a lot ,Varsha.

Though there are many recipes I wanted try from Priya's blog,this one  really triggered me.I added some paneer cubes and skipped cheddar chesse for the filling.It was so tasty and we all loved it...Thank you,Priya :)

I never knew Archy has this yummy soya recipe at her blog until y'day.A very good friend of mine mailed me her recipe and told me that he tried it and it was simply superb.And he insisted me to try this.So I made it today and loved it so much.I also used this curry as stuffing to make a Calzone.This delicious curry has the perfect blend of tangy and spicy taste.I liked it so much...Thanks a lot ,Archy :)

Have a great Sunday!

Authentic Italian Thin Crust Pizzzaaaa!

This post would be my contribution for Culinary Bazaar's A.W.E.D Italiano event!

I loveeee pizzas especially the one with thin crusts.Basically I'm not a big fan of bread ,so I don't prefer those Greek style pizzas which are said to have extremely thick bases.I have never tried making a pizza base at home before.This was my first attempt and they came out palatable!The sauce and topping were adorable and tasted really yummy..And my first pizza crust was bit soft while the second pizza was crispier.I loved the latter,I kept it in the oven for a much more time and got them more crispier..
I made the reaallll Italiano way sauce with all the herbs like oregano,basil n thyme in it.You can make the toppings in any way you want like tandoori paneer,Hawaiian style with pineapples n snap peas,fruits and nuts,grilled chicken ,shrimps etc.The choices are endless!
If you have a pizza stone then it really helps the pizza to get the crust crispier ,but I don't have one .So I baked my pizza in a pan with a table spoon of olive oil coated in it..

Now over to making of Pizza..

For making dough you will need:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup warm milk
2 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
A big pinch of baking soda
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil




Add the yeast and sugar to the warm milk and mix well till they are frothy.
Mix the salt ,baking soda and the flour well.Combine the milk with the flour slowly and make a soft dough.Add the olive oil and knead for 8 mins.Cover with a towel or cling wrap and allow to ferment for 1 to 2 hours in a warm place.



Dust some flour on the work surface.Knead and divide the dough into two equal portions.With a rolling pin make a 1/4 inch thick circle.If you're a pizza acrobat you can flip it in air and make a really even crust..


If you don't have a pizza stone..You can use a pan with some olive oil coated in it..Place the rolled out dough on the pan..


For Sauce:Blanch 4 to 5 tomatoes and puree them.In a pan add the puree and 1/2 tsp of sugar,1/2 tsp salt and 2 cloves of crushed garlic.Cook in low flame until the sauce thickens.Add a pinch of oregano,dried basil and thyme.Add lots of freshly ground pepper.Give a stir and turn off the heat.The sauce is ready!

For the topping I chose sliced button mushrooms,green bell pepper,onions,Sweet corn kernel,and black olives and a lots of Mozzarella cheese and some Parmesan cheese..



Place the sauce in the middle of the pizza base and gently run the ladle in a concentric circle to evenly spread till the edges..You can add some rich tomato ketchup if u ran of the sauce..



Throw the vegetables as u desire over the sauce...



Grate lots of mozzarella cheese and sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top the vegetables and pop into a 250C preheated oven and bake for approx 20 mins or until done!


And here you got the sizzling pizza..Just transfer them onto a wooden circular board and slice them into wedges or squares..Thin crust pizzas are generally squared..


Have a closer look at the delicious toppings with the perfectly baked vegetables and smelted cheese...Mmmmmmmmm.


Wanna have a bite??

Penne in alferdo sauce..

Pasta dishes are probably the fastest meals you can cook and really enjoy..They can be made in innumerous ways with lots of nutrition in it...And for this reason I love pastas!!
In India,Pastas are gaining popularity in the form of instant pastas..
Alferdo sauce is a sauce named after a restaurant and it has full cream,butter and cheese as its basic ingredient.Try this at home,and feel being in Italy...




You will need:
250 gms pasta
1/4 cup full cream
1/4 cup milk
2 tspoon butter
1 clove garlic chopped
1 tspoon tomato ketchup
2-3 tspoon grated parmesean and cheddar cheese
1 tspoon Italian spice mix(oregano,basil and thyme)
Salt and pepper to taste



Boil water in a heavy bottom vessel.Add generous salt and few drops of oil.Cook the pasta till tender(approx 10 mins) and drain.



Melt the butter in a saucepan and fry the garlic in it.
You can also add onions if you like.



Add the cream and milk and keep whisking..



Add the ketchup ,some salt and whisk well..Turn off the heat and add the cheese.Mix till it melts..


Add the pepper and other spices and stir well..


Mix the pasta well with sauce..


Serve hot!
Mamma mia!!