Garlic and Basil Hung Curd Dip

I would totally call this a lazy person’s style of dip. All one requires is hungry taste buds that help you add your favorite set of ingredients to a plain bowl of hung curd. This dip is refreshing; definitely very quick and easy to make. Use it as an early morning sandwich spread, or have it with your good old tortilla chips and other variety of crispies.

This is what you will need:

Ingredients (Preparation time: 5 minutes)

1 bowl of hung curd

½ finely chopped red onion

5-6 cloves of finely chopped garlic

8-10 leaves of fresh basil torn into tiny pieces

1 tsp finely chopped green chilies

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

Salt to taste

Method

• Add all of the above ingredients to the hung curd and combine well. Serve cold.

Could this get any easier?

Happy Eating 🙂

Cayenne Pepper Garlic Chutney

I have clearly fallen in love with this chutney. As soon as one batch gets over, I yearn to make another batch of this delicious super delicious goodness. It is mildly spicy and full of flavor. Serve it up with your favorite munchies or use it as a spread. I bet it will go well with mostly any dish you name. It is easy to prepare and store as well.

This is what you will need:

Ingredients

250 gm cayenne pepper

2 garlic heads

2 medium-sized onions

1 tsp sugar

2 tbsp olive oil

½ cup white vinegar

Salt to taste

Method

• Add cayenne pepper, garlic cloves and onions in your mixer grinder and blitz with roughly 1/2 a cup of water.

• Heat oil in a pan  and add the cayenne pepper paste. It might splutter, so be careful about that! Add sugar and salt to taste (I added 1 tsp). Cover lid and let it cook on a medium-low flame for 10 minutes. Stir at regular intervals.

• Turn off the flame and add vinegar. Let it cool and store in an air-tight container. Keep it in the refrigerator.

Enjoy! 🙂

Easy Homemade Nacho Chips

Who wouldn’t like to munch on something so delicious, so satisfying, so crunchy —> CHIPS? Well, at least I am sure, not someone who is reading this post. 😉  I think, sometimes it is okay to nibble on the so called ‘not so healthy food’. Right? I mean, it reminds you of so many glorious edible creations existing on this planet. They are so addictive and clearly no one can eat just one! It is like your hands feel this magnetic force coming from the chips…they don’t seem to pull away. 😉

 I wanted to share this easy nachos recipe with you all, just so you can enjoy and share this amazing goodness with your loved ones. I have made this recipe quite a few times now and I don’t seem to get enough of it. They are fun to make. You can even involve little kids; give them cookie cutters to give shape to their chips. It doesn’t have to be triangular every time you know. Hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as I do.

This is what you will need:

Ingredients (Preparation Time: 10 minutes   Cooking Time: 10 minutes)

1 cup Maize (corn) flour

¼ cup Wheat flour

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp roasted cumin seed powder (optional)

¾ cup water to knead the dough

Oil for frying

Method

• In a bowl, combine maize flour, wheat flour, salt and roasted cumin seeds powder (dry roast 1tsp cumin seeds in a pan for about 30 seconds. It will release its aroma, which is when you will know they are done. Turn off the flame and grind it with the help of a mortar and pestle) the flavor is incredible.  Add water little by little and knead it into a fine dough.

• Divide the dough in four equal parts. On a flat surface place a cling film/plastic sheet and take 1 part of the dough and flatten it with the help of a rolling pin.
• With the help of a knife/cookie cutter cut into desired shapes.
• Prick it with a fork to avoid fluffing up in oil and in turn making the nacho chips crisp (tongue twister :p).
• Lift each piece carefully and drop them into hot oil, pressing them downwards.

• Once they are nicely fried, serve these yellow golden color crisps with your favorite dips. I couldn’t help but nibble on them while preparing them in batches. 😉

Served with Chili Garlic Dip & Cheese Dip

Topped with cheese sauce, tomatoes, olives & spring onion

Note: I have used wheat flour, as maize flour is a little difficult to handle on its own. Wheat flour helps in holding the dough together. You can also use refined flour in case wheat flour is not available. The former is just a healthier option.

For the cheese dip– Take 2 tsp cheese spread( I used black pepper flavor), 1 tbsp milk, 1 pinch red chili flakes, few sprigs of spring onion leaves finely chopped. ( Feel free to add any of your favorite ingredients). Microwave for 15-20 seconds and mix well.

For the chili garlic dip– Take 3-4 fresh cayenne pepper roughly chopped, 1 medium sized red onion roughly chopped, 3-4 cloves garlic. Add it to your mixer grinder with 1-2 tbsp water and form a smooth paste. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and add paste. cover lid and cook for 10 minutes. Add salt to taste and 1/2 tsp sugar. Give it a mix. When the oil comes to the top, turn off flame and set aside to cool.  Add 1 tbsp vinegar. Store in a clean, sanitized air- tight container.

Enjoy! 🙂

I am linking this recipe to The Spice Trail on Bangers&Mash

Chili Garlic Paste

Ingredients

4-6 cloves of garlic

2 Dried Red Chili pre-soaked in warm water for 15minutes

Salt to taste

1 tsp lemon juice (optional)

Method

Put the ingredients into a mixer and make a paste.