After being on my toes for the entire week, I finally got some time to put my feet up and nap. It was 5 pm on a Friday when a friend of mine made last minute plans to drop in for dinner at my place. As much as I wanted to be by myself and relax, I loved the idea of having my friend over for dinner. Catching up with friends is always a great way to unwind, but the next thing on my mind was to whip up a delightful dinner for the evening. In times like these I always end up calling my mom for rescue! Quick and tasty recipes always come handy when you have hardly any time left to get the table set!
As soon as I began this conversation with my mom, the first question she asked me was what vegetables I have in the refrigerator. I quickly peeped in and saw that I had a big packet of spinach, a packet of sweet corn and some bell peppers. That’s it! Without panicking, I pulled the bottom drawer of my kitchen shelf. Guess what? There was a big bag of potatoes and onions. Sigh of relief! I decided to make corn cutlets for starters; my main course would be spinach tortillas and bell pepper sauce. Spices and herbs are quintessential elements of my food preparation, so I always have them stored in my kitchen. The desert was the simplest and the fastest to make. I chose to go with Creamy Almond Delight!
I would love to share the recipes for all the dishes I made that evening. Try them, you won’t regret!
For the corn cutlets:
Take 1 ½ cups of corn kernels and boil them thoroughly. Take a non-stick pan add 2 Tbsps of extra virgin olive oil, add one large cup of finely chopped onions, fresh mint leaves, fresh coriander leaves, 2 potatoes boiled and mashed finally crushed red chilies. Mix them well and add bread crumbs. Don’t forget to add salt (As per your taste)! Let the mixture settle for ten to fifteen minutes. Now divide the mixture into equal portions and make oval shaped cutlets. The best thing about cutlets is that you can shallow fry! Take another pan, add 3 to 4 Tbsps of oil and fry the cutlets turning sides. Make sure they turn brown and become crisp. Serve hot with ketchup.
The next task ahead of me was to roll out spinach tortillas. I had prepared the dough before I began making tortillas. This recipe is the easiest of all, firstly grind spinach and green chillies and keep the paste aside. Make sure you don’t make the paste too watery as it may be difficult to mix it with the wheat flour later.
For the dough- 5 cups of wheat flour, 2-3 Tbsps of oil, salt and the spinach puree. Nicely mix all these ingredients, knead the dough to perfection. Divide the dough into equal portions and roll out tortillas.
Bell pepper sauce: Take a pan, add 2 Tbsps of oil, add chopped 1 large cup red bell peppers, 4 cloves of garlic, 1 onion sliced, 3 Tbsps of coriander, crushed red chilies and salt as per your taste. Cook them till they soften. Grind this mixture into a fine paste. Roasted bell pepper sauce is now ready to serve!!
Creamy Almond Delight:
It was then time to please my sweet tooth with some delicious dessert.
For the creamy almond delight:
Take a stock pot; add six to eight cups of full fat milk. Boil milk and reduce it to half. Make sure the milk thickens. In a blender, add 1 cup almonds, 3 Tbsps of soaked rice and 1 tea spoon of cardamom powder. Blend it into a smooth paste. Add this paste to the milk after it thickens. Add 3-4 cups of sugar to it. Mix it well and bring it to boil again. Cool the mixture and store it in a refrigerator to chill. Garnish with chopped almonds and saffron strands.
Try these recipes, I am sure your taste buds will be pleased:)
photo credit: pintrest, pintrest, pintrest Poorvi Adavi is currently a freelance writer for several travel and lifestyle magazines. She has a business management certificate from UC San Diego and a Masters in Communications
