Roasted assorted vegetables (रोस्टेड भाज्या)

I love to roast vegetables. My new favourite way to cook veggies! Super easy, simple, healthy and very tasty dish. You can use any vegetables that you may have at home.

Ingredients:
1 sweet potato
1 medium zucchini
1-2 carrots
5-6 asparagus stalks
1 large potato
1-2 tsp olive oil
4-5 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tsp Italian seasoning
salt as per taste
2 tsp pepper powder
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

Servings:
3 people

Wash all the vegetables thoroughly. Cut potato, zucchini, sweet potato into round slices about 1-1 1/2 inches thick. Cut carrots and asparagus stalks into bite sized pieces.

Preheat oven to 400 degree Fahrenheit. In a flat oven dish, line aluminium foil to roast the vegetables. You can also roast them directly on the oven plate. Mix olive oil, garlic cloves, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Now add all the vegetables into the oil mix and coat them well. Leave it aside for marination for 5-10 minutes. Pour all the vegetables in the oven dish.

Place the vegetables in the oven and roast for 30-40 minutes. After every 10-15 minutes, turn the vegetables to uniformly heat them in the oven. Once the vegetables turn slightly brown black, turn the oven off and leave it inside for additional 10 minutes to roast.

This is a great side dish with either rice or chapati.

Apple & dried cranberry chutney (सफरचंद व सुक्या क्रेनबेरीजची चटणी)

I found this recipe on this website. I modified it a bit based on what was available at home. It is very quick and easy to make recipe

Ingredients: 

2 apples (I used Fuji apples)

a fist full of dried cranberries

1 tsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp sesame seeds

1 1/2 tsp cumin or jeera powder

3 tsp coriander or dhaniya powder

salt as per taste

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp oil

Servings: 3-4 people

Peel the apples and cut them into small cubes. In a hot frying pan or kadhai, add oil and roast sesame seeds for a minute. Next add apple cubes and stir well. Cover with a lid. After 5 minutes, add the remaining ingredients other than salt and mix well. Cover with lid and let it cook on medium flame for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, apples will become soft. Mash it lightly using spoon and stir together. Simmer for another 5-10 minutes and chutney is ready to serve. 

This chutney can be served with bread, or used as a sandwich spread.  You can also have it as a side dish with chapati.

Kale greens salad (केल ग्रीन्स सलाड)

Ingredients:
7-8 kale green leaves
mozzarella cheese, grated for garnish
a handful of mixed nuts and raisins, (optional)
a few dried cranberries
little bit of lemon juice
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp olive oil
salt
pepper

Servings: 3 people

Cut kale green leaves finely. Do not use the thick stem of the leaf. Lightly mix chopped kale leaves with olive oil, honey, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Leave it for 5-10 minutes. Just before serving the salad, add dry fruits, nuts, cranberries and grated mozzarella cheese. Gently mix all ingredients together and serve.

Cheese stuffed sweet mini Peppers (चीज स्टफ्ड भोपळी मिरची)

I had bought sweet mini peppers from the grocery store. While surfing the net for recipe ideas using sweet mini peppers, cheese stuffed mini peppers seemed very popular search result. I was trying this vegetable for the first time, so I decided to try this recipe first.

Ingredients:
8-10 sweet mini peppers
1 1/2 tbsp mozzarella cheese
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp Italian seasoning of mixed herbs
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
little bit of lemon juice (1/4 tsp)
1 tsp pepper powder or paprika
salt optional (Keep in mind cheese contains salt already)

Servings: 3 people

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degree Celsius).  Cut the top portion off the mini peppers, take out all the seeds inside. In a bowl, crumble mozzarella cheese and add olive oil, mixed herbs, garlic cloves. Mix lightly. Sprinkle little bit of lemon juice and stir. Cheese stuffing is ready.

Fill mini peppers with cheese stuffing. Do not overstuff, since cheese will melt on heating and ooze out. Coat mini peppers lightly with very little oil. Transfer cheese stuffed mini peppers on a baking sheet or a baking tray. Cook for about 10-15 minutes or until the cheese melts. The mini peppers should feel tender and slightly blackened.