Tofu Salad

This salad is very health at the same time filling.We being vegetarians I have used Tofu instead of a meat product. The strong flavor of ginger gives an Asian touch to it. The spring mix salad packet works well for this salad. Some of the leaves it contain are  lettuce, romaine, arugula, baby spinach, red kale, green chard radicchio and tatsoi.

For the Salad 

Spring mix salad - 1 packet(Cut them)
white onion - cut length wise
cherry tomatoes - 6-7 nos(Cut into halves)
Cabbage - 1/4 cup (thinly cut length wise)
Strawberries - 1/2 cup (cut length wise)
Croutons - 1/2 cup
Almond - 1/4 cup
sesame seeds - 2 tsp


Dressing

Grind 1 inch piece cleaned ginger and 4-5  cloves in the blender adding little water. Drain the water into a cup and discard the waste. Add 2 tsp soya sauce, 1 tsp honey, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp lemon juice, mix it well and keep it aside


Marinate Tofu
Tofu(extra firm) - 1 box

Manchurian sauce - 3 tsp
honey - 1 tsp
olive oil - 2 tsp

Remove the water from the tofu and cut them into desired size cubes.
In a bowl add 3 tsp Manchurian sauce, 1 tsp honey and 2 tsp olive oil and tofu cubes. Marinate it for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, heat a pan, add 1 tsp olive oil, almonds and sesame seeds. Toast them till they are lightly crispy. Then add the marinated tofu. Keep the flame medium. Toast the tofu, almond and sesame seeds together till the tofu turns light brown on all sides. You can add the remaining marinate liquid into the prepared dressing.

Mixing the salad
In a bowl add the spring mix, onions, cherry tomatoes, cabbage, strawberries, croutons and the dressing. Mix it well.

Plating the Salad
Take a round or square dinner plate. Spread  the salad mix. Over it add the hot toasted tofu with almonds and sesame. Serve immediately.

Pancake Balls

This is a good afternoon snack for kids during holidays. Children love chocolate and it is like a surprise when they take the first bite and they see the chocolate oozing out. You can also use cheese or fruit jam instead of chocolate. For pan cake batter you can use store bought instant pancake powder too.


Basic Pancake Batter
All purpose flour - 2 cups
baking powder - 3 tsp
egg - 1
salt - 1 tsp
sugar - 2 tbsp
milk - 1 1/2 cup
oil - 3 tbsp
Butter for frying

Sift the flour with baking powder. Beat the egg. Add milk, salt and sugar and mix well till the sugar dissolves. Add oil and stir the sifted flour slowly into the liquid. keep it aside for 10 minutes.

For stuffing
Chocolate  - 1/2 cup(hershey's mini chips)
Three cheese - 1/2 cup

Heat an Aebleskiver pan/Neyyappam pan. Brush butter on the pan. Keep the flame low to medium. Fill half of each pit with pancake batter. Put some chocolate chip into each then add some more batter to cover them. When the bottom is cooked turn the top portion to touch the bottom. See that all sides are evenly cooked. In the next batch instead of chocolate add three cheese or fruit jam.

Capsicum fry with Besan

This is a simple dish yet very tasty. Capsicum is tossed with besan and are coated lightly with spices. The lemon juice in the end lifts the flavor and a gives a tangy taste to the dish. It goes well with rice as well as rotis.


Ingredients

Green bell peppers/Capsicum - 3 medium sized
white onion - 1
besan(Chik pea flour/red gram dal flour) - 1 cup
coriander cumin powder - 1 tsp
turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
red chili powder - 1/4 tsp
garlic - 2-3 cloves
green chili - 1(split into half)
asafetida - pinch
mustard seeds - 2tsp
salt to taste
oil - 2 tsp
lemon juice - 4 tsp
coriander leaves for garnish


Method
Cut the capsicum/ bell peppers into small cubes. Cut the onion and garlic into small pieces.
In a hot pan add 2 tsp oil. Add mustard seeds. When it pops add green chili, asafetida, garlic and chopped  onion and fry it. Keep the flame medium
After couple of minutes add the cut bell peppers. Then add salt, coriander cumin powder, turmeric powder, red chili powder and fry well. 
Close with a lid. Let it cook for 5 minutes. When you open the lid the capsicum onion will be tender. Cook it for another couple of minutes till the moisture starts to completely evaporate. 
Add the remaining 2 tsp oil and besan little by little  and mix it well. Add lemon juice and give a last stir. Garnish it with coriander leaves.