Fried Peppers

We were talking about peppers at work, right after the farmer’s market day. I mentioned something about fried peppers. Someone asked me, seriously, fried peppers?! I said why not. We have had raw, roasted, grilled peppers so why not fried peppers! And then I realize I might have made a mistake when I said fried peppers. I should have said shallow fried peppers. Either way, they are fried! I really love the crunchy sweet taste of the fried peppers. And don’t judge me as I always make every one believe I am a health nut and then talk about fried peppers. These babies are not deep fried as we would fritters. They are just shallow fried, until that light char achieved, that’s it. This is a very quick and easy side dish, enjoyable by any pepper fan!


There is no recipe for this. You want less or more oil, go for it. Your choice. Just heat up the oil on high heat, toss the pepper slices, cook for about 2-3 minutes, salt and pepper them. If you like it, hit them with a touch of balsamic vinegar and honey or leave them alone and enjoy. They are really good as wrapped sandwiches also.

Chili Paneer

Now this is not the traditionally made Hakka style chili paneer. It's made Pakistani style. This one Pakistani restaurant near my home, we go there often. I mean every other week! My son loves their food. They have really good butter chicken, chicken karahi, tikka masala etc dishes that are truly lip smacking. We tried their chili chicken once, and absolutely loved it. At first we thought that it might be Chinese style chili chicken. But to our surprise, it wasn't. It was red dry curry and OMG, it tasted simply delish! It was kind of spicy with lots of green chilies and right away I knew I've got to make this dish at home! Mark loves chicken but not paneer. I've got the chance when he went for a sleep over at a friend's. For the two of us, I made this chili paneer for supper and it warmed up the soul! Everything came together so quickly, I couldn't even believe my eyes when I checked the time! I was done under 30 minutes with parathas to go with my chili paneer.


Chili Paneer

Ingredients
1 lb. paneer, cut into cubes
1 tbsp oil + 2 tbsp for coating
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium green pepper, diced
3-4 green hot chillies(adjust per your taste)
1 tbsp Kashmiri chili powder
1 tbsp each coriander and cumin powder
2 tbsp freshly grated garlic
1/2 tomato, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Chat masala to taste
A few slivers of ginger for garnish

How to:

Coat the paneer pieces with oil, chat masala and bake at 400° F oven for about 10 minutes or till golden brown.
You need to flip them once the bottom is golden.
In a sauce pot, heat up the oil. Add onion and cook till translucent.
Now add the spices, hot green chili, tomato and green pepper cubes and saute on medium high heat till the pepper is tender.
Now add paneer pieces, salt and adjust the seasoning.
Toss everything and cover and cook for 5 more minutes till the spices get incorporated with paneer.
Serve hot.

Shrimp Crostini

This is one of my favorite lunch items. It’s very versatile, you can alter the veggies and meat per your need and it requires no time to assemble. This is an open faced sandwich with all the veggie and protein fixings you need for the day to keep you going. And I need it. I just got promoted. And every new job brings new responsibilities. I have no time at work unlike before. I used to write my posts at work before. Now I can only do it in my short lunch which is mainly eating at desk, working! At home, same old same old. Busy busy busy. So this is exactly what I need. Very less chopping and prepping and voila, a perfectly balanced lunch/snack is ready.

Shrimp Crostini
Ingredients
1 slice multi grain bread, toasted lightly
Slices of cucumber, avocado, bell pepper
Cooked shrimps(or cooked chicken)
Green onions, for garnish
Salt and pepper
Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzle

How to:

Easy.
Build the layers of veggies and meat on top of the toasted slice.
Make sure you drizzle each layer with EVOO and salt and pepper each layer.
Enjoy.