Almost Mediterranean salad platter

Simply love Mediterranean food, what more to ask for a low calorie platter which has your favourites.
You could choose from a variety of dressings and sides on your platter.
I call this a Almost Mediterranean salad platter because i have substituted a lot of ingredients but kept the theme and flavors Mediterranean.

My version has....
Falafel's Turnovers (No fry Falafel)
Spiced Tofu (Used this instead of feta)
Red rice and chickpea salad (Used Red rice instead of Bulgar wheat)
Hummus (Made a low calorie version by reducing the oil content)
Baba Ghanoush
Olives & Jalapenos

 Falafel turnovers
1 can chickpea
1/2 onion
2-3 tbs rice flour
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp tahini paste (i used sesame oil instead)
salt to taste
Few drops of sesame oil
Green chilies (as per your taste)

Grind the above ingredients in a food processor with no water.
Heat a non-stick pan on medium flame and spread the mix and cook on slow flame on both sides until cooked.
If you wish u could add a few drops of oil to cook it a little more crisp.
Sprinkle with red pepper.



Spiced Tofu
1 Block firm tofu
Yogurt dressing for the marinade.
Parsley for garnishing

Cut the tofu into desired size pieces and marinade them in the yogurt dressing for about a hour or more.
Garnish with parsley and red pepper



Red Rice and Chickpea Salad
1 cup cooked Red rice **
1 can Chickpea
1/2 red onion chopped
1/4th cup chopped Black olives
1/4th cup chopped Green olives
1/4 cup Yogurt dressing
Parsley
Red pepper

Mix all the above ingredients and toss well. Adjust spice and salts according to your taste



Yogurt Dressing
2 cups whisked yogurt
1 tbs Dijon mustard
1 tsp Garlic powder
Few springs Chopped Mint
1/2 tsp sesame seeds
Salt
Black Pepper


Hummus
You can find the recipe here.

Baba Ghanoush
You can find the recipe here.

Assemble the above things on a platter. Chill and serve.

**Note- You can use Couscous, Bulgar Wheat, Brown Rice - Instead of Red Rice.


This post is off to Simply Food  and  Show Me Your HITS -Legume and Lentils Event, happening @ Nalini's Kitchen, Event by Sangeetha of Spicy Treats and 

Vermicelli and Semolina Upma

  

Mum, I am hungry!! I get overwhelmed when i hear these words from my lil 5 yr old. She loves junk and only junk. I have to keep trying new recipes to fit into her criteria of "LIKE IT"
I guess all kids are hooked onto Noodles, So being very diplomatic here i made Vermicelli Semolina Upma. Looks like Noodles and healthy to eat. I load it up with a lot of colour,, (veggies ofcourse)

1 cup Semolina
1 cup Vermicelli
1 cup Chopped Parboiled veggies ( i used corn, carrot,  green peas)
1/4th cup chopped onions
1 or 2 whole red chilies (mine were not spicy)
Few curry leaves
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1/4 th tsp turmeric
Salt to taste
1 glass water
Ghee/oil

In a pan add Ghee , once hot crackle the mustard, whole red chilies and add the curry leaves, add the chopped onions and saute till transparent. Add the semolina  and Vermicelli. Roast till the rawness goes off. It will start giving out fragrance and the colour will start getting little brown.
Add the parboiled veggies, season it with turmeric and salt. Saute for a few more minutes and add water. Cover and cook on slow flame for about 5-10 min. Squeeze in some lemon juice and serve warm.

This post is of to Valli's ”Kid’s Delight – Evening Snacks/Tiffin” event  hosted by Cook's Joy.

Crream of Mushroom Soup

Creamy, smooth, heavenly.... I simply adore the flavour of mushroom soup. During winters Soups are just so blissful. Loved the aroma spreading around of the house of butter sauteed mushrooms :) hmmm i know it sounds tempting. Well it sure is creamy but not fatty. I just did not have the heart to binge into cream, butter, cheese ...so made a nice low calorie soup.

It had a delicate flavour with a dash of spice of black pepper.

Lets get to the recipe:

One cup chopped button mushrooms

Half cup chopped white onion

1/4 cup chopped unpeeled potato

3-4 pods of crushed garlic

Dash of black pepper

Salt to taste

One cup low fat milk.

Water

One tsp butter

In a pressure cooker add mushrooms (leaving a few aside for garnishing), onions, potato, garlic and salt. Add enough water to cook the ingredients. Once cooked cool and blend them to a smooth paste.

In another pan heat some butter and saute the chopped mushrooms for about 2 minutes. Then add the blended veggies to it, Add milk and water. (Adjust your consistency) and let it boil for at least 15 min. Garnish with black pepper, parsley and a small glob of butter :)