Falafel

Falafel !!  i have had a love-hate relationship with it for a loooooong time.

A perfectionist that i become when it comes to food  flavors and textures, i totally loathed this meditteranian dish each and every time i had it at the restaurants or tried those boxed mixes from the store -- found they made them taste bitter hard and crumbly dry. I would have totally given up on trying this dish again, if not for a close friend who made the same from scratch at home and i thought wow ya why not.. why not make it at home from the very base ingredients. Like they say, sometimes you  appreciate and understand things more when done in reverse. And believe me from the day i reverse engineered the recipe myself, there's been no looking back. This home made falafel version is a keeper in my recipe book forever . I have made it several times  and each time it comes out- ever so moistened , soft and super flavorful inside .

Tzatziki sauce

A Greek sauce generally served with a bread or pita , making it an excellent first course.

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups Hung yogurt or Greek yogurt
• 1/2 a Cucumber, grated and squeezed to remove the juice
• 1 1/2 Cloves of garlic, grated
• 1/4 tsp Lemon juice
• Dill leaves, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients and serve chilled along with some fresh pitas. 

Roasted red bell pepper hummus with crudités

We recently had some neighbors over and i wished to serve some snacks on a platter , vibrant and fresh just like our new friends. The all easy hummus with crudités did a brilliant job with loads of compliments and accolades for a full evening.

The recipe is true fusion of cultures- French crudités meeting the Middle eastern hummus. Crudités are basically appetizers consisting of whole or sliced raw vegetables usually dipped in a vinaigrette or sauce.And the all favorite hummus which is believed to have originated in ancient Egypt, is a spread made from chickpeas. Actually hummus in Arabic literally means chickpeas itself.

The basic hummus recipe is very versatile as you can add anything to it and a totally new flavor dimension is on the horizon every time. Ideas for flavored hummus can be as wide as your taste palette. To suggest a  few flavors -- try making roasted garlic hummus , greek hummus with olives, roasted eggplant hummus, sun dried tomato hummus, lemon garlic hummus,lemon cilantro hummus,  jalapeno hummus... i mean the variety is infinite here :) You can even try black bean or white bean hummus where you replace chickpeas with black beans and cannellini beans respectively.

Today being the roasted red bell pepper hummus day, lets - get set and go ..

Penne puttanesca

This spicy, tangy and somewhat salty pasta has its racy origins in Naples. Great on taste and quick to make.

Corn,black bean and avocado salad

Back home from an evening run , i was relaxing and contemplating what to eat for a light light dinner. Salad with some carbs fitted my idea well. So i headed to my farmland , my fridge .. and i  instantly had a "yum yum ! at first sight " with the innocent avocados, corn and lime..

Super quick and easy.