Almond Tomato Pesto

Almond Tomato Pesto 

Well when you restrict your diet sometimes it can be hard especially if you are part of too many food groups on the virtual media. Someone wanted to know about pesto and that led to a serious craving for pasta and I was glad that I hadn't eaten dinner. I decided to read a bit about pesto and ah ha it provided the exact information I needed , while there are the traditional recipes which mostly needs cheese it is also a generic term for anything which is pound or crushed. I knew exactly what to do. So here is a pesto which is bursting with flavours and is healthy as well

Makes 2 servings

5 to 6 medium sized cloves of garlic
4 plump juicy medium sized tomatoes blanched and peeled
30 to 40 almonds blanched
2 to 4 dried red chilies
Salt as per taste
1 tbsp to 2 tbsp  extra virgin olive oil
1/4th cup fresh mint leaves

Simply start by pounding the garlic and then add the mint leaves and almonds and keep pounding till its more or less smooth and add the tomatoes after chopping them and then add salt and finally add the oil bit by bit to create a smooth emulsion. Serve over wholewheat pasta and you have a healthy meal . You can use it as a dip as well.

In case you do not want to go through the whole process of pounding the ingredients just blend away in a mixer grinder.

Almond Foam Cake

My Perfect Almond Foam Cake 

I started my journey of foam cakes (Cakes where no other fat or very little fat other than eggs is used) and my very first foam cake was a dacquoise which is basically 'a dessert cake made with layers of almond or hazelnut meringue and whipped cream or buttercream) Well I was trying my hands at Opera cake and it being French though I had  jotted down the recipe of an Opera cake from a regular blog I decided to  make the best of Google translator and followed a French blog. The first difference I noticed was that the French blog or rather the 6 blogs I read through had absolutely no all purpose flour involved. I was fascinated with the idea of a cake made with almonds alone and then when I made it I was a convert forever. I mean the Opera was lopsided but caught the fancy of my guests who declared it a raging success. The next time I made a dacquoise my friends said that this was the best frosted cake they have had . Ah well I felt I was floating in the air along with my airy cake. Then there came a time when a particular recipe caught my fancy and I followed it but this time my almond cake was a bit too soggy. To be fair in my previous endeavours I was way too engrossed with the entire assimilation to give extra thought to the base and since the other recipes gave results which were good enough I had never bothered myself with this before and suddenly I felt the need to search for that perfect recipe for almond cake which would be as light as the air fluffier than a souffle and perfect for my taste one which would not only be the perfect base for a gateau but that which would be a perfect light accompaniment with tea or coffee . 

I finally found a recipe which by the looks of it seemed perfect but then most recipes for almond foam cake does use yolks so this is what I did. i divided my batter and one half had yolks and the other didn't. Now you have to please wait for the recipe to know which one was a winner for me

Well so here is a recipe which can serve 4 to 5 because no one can limit themselves to one helping with these darlings
Sporce of recipe Italiandish

What you need :- (all cups used hold 250ml liquid)

1 cup of egg whites beaten to stiff peaks
A few drops of lemon juice
2 cups of almond flour (If you are making it at home like me you would need 200gm almonds)
3/4th  cup of icing sugar
3 tbsp cornflour

Now its very simple if you are making the almond flour simply blanch, dry , toast and grind them on high speed and then mix the cornflour, almond flour and sugar together.

prepare the pan by lining it with butter paper. Preheat oven to 160 C Take the egg whites and add the lemon juice, ( adding lemon juice prevents the egg whites from collapsing once they are whipped to firm peaks)  and well whip them  to firm peaks and gently fold in 3/4th of the whipped egg whites with the dry ingredients and then quickly add the rest of the egg whites and fold it in. You must never try to whisk the whipped egg whites with the dry ingredients else your cake will not rise at all and be a dense mess. Bake at 160 C for 35 minutes to 45 minutes. Once it has been baked let it cool down completely (15 minutes to 20 minutes) before removing it from the pan. If you try to remove it before it has cooled down the cake will break. Now carefully peel off the butter paper sprinkle some icing sugar and enjoy it as it is with a cup of tea.

In case you want a fruity variant how about a peachy glaze

Take two plump peaches

Now bring a bowl of water to boil and drop in the peaches and wait for 2 minutes , take it out wash ti with cold water and peel off the skin, Now make half moon slivers and make a syrup with 4 tbsp sugar and 8 tbsp water, add the peaches and when it bubbles add the juice from 1/4th of a lemon and let it simmer. Once it cools down arrange the peaches on the cake and serve it. The tangy flavour was wonderful.

Egg white only on the left 

Now you must be wondering why I would choose this over the one where nothing else is different except the addition of 3 egg yolks with the dry ingredients before the egg whites are folded in. Well it was light as well and in fact it puffed up even more but the one which had egg whites alone was lighter and that was all that it needed to win.

Date almond shake

Date almond shake 

250ml to 300ml chilled  toned milk
5 dates (I used seedless ones)
15 almonds with skin
1 tsp honey (optional)

So dates have a very bad name of packing you with calories so that eating a lot of dates apparently leaves you without a date but the truth is each date has a mere 23 kcalories and they get their bad name because 70% of a date is sugar but its packed with iron and other nutrients and having 5 of these against refined sugar is much more healthy and it energizes you and so beginning your day with it isn't such a bad idea .

So simply chill the milk and use the almonds with skin (the skin has vital vitamins) , dates and honey if you like it extra sweet and add a bit of milk and blend away to make a smooth paste and keep adding the mild bit by bit to make a smooth date shake and enjoy. Adding a bowl of fruits and a water poached egg with the date shake makes it a perfectly healthy start for the day :)

Chickpea Red Cabbage Salad

So eating healthy is a topic which is a dominant one in most people's minds. You can be eating it, recommending it, denouncing it but most adults are usually thinking about it at least once every 3 days. With the holidays and festivals it becomes mighty difficult to hold on to your healthy eating habit and everything goes into disarray and a little help is always very very helpful.

I have been on and off the eating healthy food from December, first there were the holidays and then the visit to my Mamma-in-law and then back to some healthy eating and then again there were a few celebrations with the other half and so it has been one see-saw ride and I am finally back home with a hopefully calm head and ready for some mild healthy diet. Now I personally do not like the word diet since it automatically conjures images of underfed stick-thin  sick people but the phrase 'following a healthy diet plan' is a huge hit with me because I am not above desires and so while I love my fresh salads and fruits and soups I might just reach out for that slice of pie once in a week but here is the problem. I speak from my personal experience and well what usually happens is once you go off track it becomes mighty difficult to come back to your senses. So the piece of pie leads to a piece of sachertorte and that leads to something else and then there is the period of panic when one realizes one has piled on a few kilos here and there and so when Claudia from My Continental Kitchen began an event of low calorie food I was relieved , you see  when there is a support group or reminder to eat healthy you are naturally  but conscious and for me once I start with a bit of participation it automatically becomes a habit and so I am grateful that the lovely lady has created the virtual event where everyone is welcome to share their ow calorie dishes (soups, salads and other low calorie dishes) and so come Monday and I was fully recovered from the welcome back to Calcutta Biriyani, Chocolate lava cake , pasta and decided on some filling yet healthy Chickpea salad.

Now before I go to the simple recipe here is a few tips from my experience which always helps me loose some kilos. Once you know you are on a healthy track you first need to stock up your pantry with. So fresh vegetables, fruits, legums , lean meat , fish but what one also must do is to think about the taste buds and so stock up on herbs, spices and any flavouring agent which helps a great deal. Imagine you have a few greens and carrots and lemon and you feel bored and are about to cook some deliciously unhealthy cheese toast but if you have a bit of parsley you can have an excellent salad in no time which reminds me that you need not give up on any ingredient when eating healthy. Controlling portions is the key factor for a successful healthy diet. So even if you do eat a single buttercookie and balance it with soups and salads for the main courses you are good to go but of course you must train yourself to stick to a single cookie or a tiny portion.

So coming back to my Chickpea red cabbage salad this one is easy and extremely healthy and delightfully delicious. I chose Chickpeas because a cup of boiled chickpea is nto only filling but has a mere 269 calories.

Serves 2

1/2 a cup of dried chickpea which should yield 2 cups of boiled chickpea
3 cups finely shredded red cabbage
1/4th cup finely chopped parsley
1 medium sized onion
20 almonds lightly toasted and halved but with the skin on since it contains some much needed nutrients
Salt and freshly ground pepper as per taste
2 heaped tsp feta

Dressing :
1 tbsp :2 tbsp -> lemon juice: extra virgin olive oil

Simply soak the chickpeas overnight and boil them in the morning. Let the chickpeas cool down and in the meantime shred the cabbage ,slice the onion and  chop the parsley and toast your almonds at preheated oven at 140 C for 5 minutes to 7 minutes of each side. Alternatively one might toast the almonds on a skillet on the gas-stove on medium flame but in that case one must keep a constant eye on them so that they do not burn one bit. Whisk the oil and lemon juice together to form a smooth silky emulsion. i use a fork which is good enough for the amount .

Mix everything together except the dressing  and add some crumbled feta on top. You have a delightfully healthy meal waiting for you.  Along side some grilled lean meat or fish this is perfectly healthy and wonderfully tasty.

Pollo Alla Milanese

So the most delicious things in life are the simplest ones. One such delight is the Pollo alla Milanese which is basically chicken breast beaten well to flatten it and then served with spinach and a tomato sauce but then Christmas is all about love is it not?

Well it actually goes back to the 26th when I was tryign to meet my deadline and was in a flurry of typing , listenign analsyizing etc and then the phoen rings and here si what happened:

H: "Where are you Manjari?" Me: " I am in my house why?" H: "Come out please" And holy Mother of God there he was standing in front of my house , my lanky bear of a husband. Well with his beard and all he can pass of as a bear , a lanky one at that standing with his luggage and a rose. Between transit to his hometown the dear man had made a stop and demanded that i immediately accompany him which was not possible since I had a deadline and a Christmas celebration which had been anyways fashionably postponed . With precious little time left since we came to an agreement of my traveling on the 30th I knew that a Dundee cake and whole roast would not be possible what with packing and all and so I decided on a simple recipe which did not require the oven.

So this cotoletta as the Italians would say might have originally been made of veal but i have read in blogs by people from that land of culinary delight that chicken is also acceptable hence from Cotoletta alla Milanese it becomes pollo (chicken) alla Milanese. Well authentic cotoletta is a cutlet fried bone in but i did get my chicken breasts all deboned from the butchers and used the bone for a fantastic stock for later usage .

Christmas is definitely all about relationships and so I had originally planned on the Pomodoro (tomato) sauce and spinach tossed around with garlic and olive oil but since I was going away I could help ask my best friend which sauce she would prefer and she said she would want the white based sauce and so the dish finally came to represent the Italian flag. My dear friend and cousin gobbled up both sauces and from the way they were engrossed in the dish I can say that my Christmas was most definitely a wonderful one. Now Bechamel sauce is essentially French but add a bit of nutmeg and Parmesan and you have Italian white sauce

Anyways the most obvious reason for choosing this lovely dish is because of its sheer simplicity and here is what you do

Use 1 chicken breast per person and flatten it with a mallet Ah but before that this is what you need

Chicken breast 1/2 per person
Salt and pepper
Olive Oil
Homemade breadcrumbs Handful for 2 breasts
1 egg per breast (again the size of eggs vary greatly)
Roughly 50gm all purpose flour per breast


For the pomodoro sauce (Tomato sauce)

8 large plump tomatoes
3 to 4 large sized garlic cloves which when minced should yield about 2.5 tbsp garlic (You see the size of the garlic varies from place to place)
Salt and pepper
2 to 3 tsp red chili flakes
Handful of fresh basil
1tbsp extra virgin olive oil

For the special Italian bechamel sauce

3 tbsp of silky smooth almond paste
3tbsp unsalted butter
3 cups of whole milk
6 tbsp cream
Pinch of nutmeg
Salt and pepper
A good handful of Parmesan cheese

For the spinach

I used about 500gm of spinach
3 tbsp minced garlic
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

The recipe is basically very simple.

Start with the sauces . Simple blanch the tomatoes and chop chop chop. Use about 4 tbsp olive oil and saute minced garlic and add the chili flakes and half the chopped basil and quickly add the tomatoes and stir and cook on medium flame till it bubbles and add salt , pepper and the rest of the basil then mash a bit and simmer till you get a thick sauce.

For your white Italian bechamel sauce simply melt the butter and add the smooth nut paste and the milk and quickly add salt, pepper , nutmeg half the cheese and stir continuously so that no lumps are formed to make a smooth silky sauce and then add the other half of the cheese and mix well. You can also first bring the milk to a boil with the nutmeg salt and pepper and simmer it for 5 to 7 minutes then melt butter add nut paste and the flavoured milk and cheese and simmer while stirring continuously.

All you need to do is flatten the chicken a bit and season with salt and pepper and then simply roll around in the flour and then dip in whisked eggs and coat well with breadcrumbs so that no bit is left un-coated and then fry in the olive oil. The flavour of this cutlet comes from the frying in olive oil and this one must never substitute with other oils else it seizes to be Pollo alla Milanese from Italy and believe me the flavour of the olive oil fried cutlet is superb. Here is a little tip with your breadcrumbs. The fresher it is the better it is of course and nothing beats homemade ones but adding a bit of salt, pepper and dried oregano gives an amazing flavour.

Once you are done with the chicken. Simple add 5 to 6 tbsp olive oil to a hot pan and add the minced garlic and the chopped spinach and cook on high heat for not more than 3 minutes to retain the colour and flavour. Over-cooking renders the spinach bitter.

You have your beautiful meal waiting for you and everybody to appreciate