Grilled Chicken Pasta Salad

Ingredients

1. 2 chicken breasts

2. 1 tbsp of Dijon mustard (grainy)

3. 1 tsp of honey

4. 1 tbsp of Olive oil

5. Salt and freshly ground pepper

6. 2 cups of fusilli (colored) cooked until al dente (pasta)

7. 5 Lemons (juiced)

8. 1 cup of sun dried tomato dipped in oil.

9. 1 Jalapeño chopped

10. Dash of Hot sauce

Directions

For Chicken:-

1. In a tray add Dijon mustard, honey, oil, salt and good amount of pepper and juice of 2 lemons.

2. Whisk well and rub your chicken with your hands in this mixture.

3. Leave it for 10 minutes and in the mean time heat the grill.

4. Now grill the chicken for 4-5 minutes on each side. When your chicken is ready let it sit for 2-3 minutes before cutting.

For Pasta:-

5. In the mean time make your pasta ready.

6. In a mixing bowl add juice of 3 lemons, salt and pepper and 2tbsp of olive oil, a dash of hot sauce

7. Put the pasta in the mixing bowl and toss well.

8. Now add sun dried tomatoes to it and stir.

9. Finally slice up the grilled chicken and lay it all over the top.

10. Garnish with jalapeños and serve.

-Chitra

Sugar Free Fruit Cake / Tuti Fruti / Ruehrkuchen mit Fruchten German Cake

This one I learned when I was in Germany. I was there during Wheinnacten / Christmas, when everyone was preparing such tasty cakes. I learned this from my friend Ella, this is her family recipe. Hope you also enjoy as I do.

Ingredients

1. 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

2. 1 cup chopped golden raisins

3. 1 cup of green kishmish (raisins)

4. ½ cup of cranberries

5. 1 ½ cups of chopped walnuts

6. ½ tsp of salt

7. 1 cup unsweetened crushed pineapple jam

8. ¼ cup grated orange and lemon peels

9. ¼ cup orange juice

10. 5-8 packets artificial sweetener (as per taste)

11. 1 tsp baking soda

Directions

1. Mix sugar substitute with orange juice. Pour over chopped cranberries. Soak 1 hour, mixing often.

2. Mix raisins, nuts, lemon orange peel and pineapple jam mix it in the flour until well coated.

3. Add the cranberries and orange juice mixture.

4. Sprinkle baking soda over mixture, and mix.

5. Fold in the mixture well don’t stir. Pour batter into a greased and floured 9 inch loaf pan.

6. Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 40 minutes.

7. Cool and serve with fresh strawberry or raspberry syrup or just plain with tea or coffee.

8. For syrup you can crush the frozen raspberries or strawberries and boil them sugar and water. For every cup of berries add ½ cup of sugar and 2 glass of water. After the mixture is thickened or turned syrupy, strain it and cool down the syrup. You can use this over pancakes, bread, cakes or salads.

-Chitra

Fresh Winter Salad

Avoid buying salad’s, instead make this at your home for you and carry it along with you. Enjoy fresh chilled salad in your lunch time in cool winter afternoon.

Ingredients

1. 1 Orange peeled and separated in individual slices

2. 2 carrot peeled and cubed

3. 2 small guava’s cubed

4. 1 cup of lettuce leaves chopped roughly

5. 1 cucumber peeled and cubed

6. Juice of 1 lemon and 1 tsp of lemon zest

7. Pinch of salt and pepper

8. Pinch of crushed dry mint leaves

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients in one bowl

2. Sprinkle Salt and pepper and dry mint leaves.

3. Pour lemon juice all over. Toss it well.

4. Serve in serving tray garnishing with lemon zest.

-Chitra

Fattoush

 

Zesty Lebanese Salad made from toasted pita / Arabic bread combined with mix vegetables and herbs is a perfect starter for your meal. It’s super healthy and refreshingly delicious. Try it today.

Ingredients

1. 2-3 tomatoes chopped in cube size

2. 1 cucumber chopped in cube size (quartered lengthwise and chopped)

3. 1 green pepper seeded and diced

4. 4 scallions / green onions chopped roughly

5. 1 cup of romaine lettuce chopped

6. 2 tbsp of parsley chopped

7. 1 tsp of dried mint

8. 1 cup of cilantro / dhaniya/ coriander chopped

9. 2 pita bread toasted and cut into cubes

10. ½ cup of oilive oil

11. Salt and pepper to taste

12. ½ cup of lemon juice

Directions

1. Add the tomatoes, cucumber, scallions, lettuce and herbs (cilantro, mint, parsley) in a bowl.

2. Whisk oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper and add to the bowl. Toss.

3. Put the toasted, baked pita bread cubed already at the top and serve.

-Chitra

Mint Lemonade

Ingredients

1. 5 large lemons

2. 2 thinly sliced lemon slices

3. 5 cups water

4. 1/2 cup sugar

5. 1/2 cup finely chopped mint leaves

Directions

1. First Juice all the lemons

2. In a large mixing bowl add water, lemon juice, sugar and mint leaves.

3. Now stir it well, with a hand mixer until it is blend well.

4. Make it ready before the party and serve in individual glasses with lemon slices and mint leaves.

5. This serves around 2 liters. It’s a refreshing drink to quench your thirst on a hot summer day.

-Chitra

Khatti Meethi Tamatar ki Chatni

Ingredients

1. 10-15 desi tomatoes

2. 1 tsp of sugar

3. 1 tbsp of oil

4. 1tsp of cumin / zeera seeds

5. 1 tsp of salt and red chili powder

Directions

1. Dice tomatoes in very small pieces or grate them

2. Heat oil in pan

3. When oil is hot drop in cumin seeds

4. When the cumin seeds crackle add tomatoes

5. Let them cook for 5 minutes with lid closed on slow medium heat.

6. Now add sugar and stir well till sugar caramelizes.

7. When sugar is melted well add salt and red chili powder and let it cook until all water is evaporated on slow heat.

8. Serve hot or cold with parantha’s or on bread as a spread.

- Chitra

Low Fat Burschetta with Roasted Tomatoes

Ingredients

1. ½ cup of feta cheese

2. 2 tbsp of mozzarella cheese

3. 1 sesame French baguette loaf bread, sliced 1 inch thick

4. 2 cups of thinly sliced firm tomatoes (seeds out)

5. Salt and black pepper to taste

6. 1 tbsp of lemon zest

7. Two tbsp. of fresh chopped basil

8. Olive oil for drizzling

Directions

1. Preheat the oven for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

2. Toast the bread in oven by drizzling olive oil on both sides of bread until light brown.

3. Toast the tomatoes also with olive oil and salt and pepper until they turn golden brown.

4. Now take out the tomatoes and let it cool down for some time.

5. In a big bowl add tomatoes, basil, lemon zest, mozzarella cheese.

6. Take out the bread now and place the tomatoes mixture and let it bake for 5 minutes.

7. Garnish with crumbled feta cheese and mint / basil leaves.

8. Bake them only when your guest arrives. Before that just prepare all ingredients.

Adding only two tbsp. of cheese will be less fattening as compared to normal burschetta and using all fresh ingredients is healthy as a dish.

-Chitra