Avocado Sushi Rolls

My son loves avocado sushi, whenever we go out for Chinese / Japanese food, the first thing he asked can we order avocado rolls? and he will just enjoy that. Looking at him and enjoying this so much, one day I got all the necessary ingredients/equipment to make sushi and surprised him with the rolls at home. He was like mom you made this? it's awesome, and believe me its very easy when you have sushi net at home. Without it, you can use a plastic sheet also but the wooden sheet is very handy and easy to work with. For this particular one, since he loves avocado only, I use avocado in it but you can use color peppers, cucumbers, pineapple too.

For rice you have to use short grain rice, don't try to use basmati to make sushi, you need very much gluten in it so it sticks together, make rice first and cool it and then its just 5 minutes, you can make rolls and ready to eat.

Ingredients : 

1 cup uncooked short grain rice
1 1/4 cup water
2 tbsp Rice vinegar
Salt as per taste
4 Sheets of Nori (Dry Seaweed)
2 Ripe Avocado
Wasabi
Picked Ginger as needed

Method : 

Combine the water and rice in a pan and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat and simmer to low for 20 minutes or rice is cooked perfectly and water has been dry.

Remove from the heat and stir in the vinegar and salt and let it cool.

Tak your bamboo sushi mat and put nori in it, wet your hand and take rice and spread it evenly on to the nori, leaving about 1/2 inch of seaweed empty at the corners.

Arrange strips avocado across the center of the rice.

At this time you can layer up with cucumber, peppers, pineapple.

Lift the mat and roll over the rice and avocado once and press down. Then roll again towards the end to make a long roll. You can moisten with a little water to help to seal at the end.

Set aside and make all the rolls.

Now take a sharp wet knife to slice the rolls into 6 slices.

Serve cut side up with wasabi and pickled ginger.

Enjoy.

Individual Puff Pastry Apple Pies

I don't like to bake a whole pie just for one person in my family, my son only loves apple pie and its too much for him also to finish the whole thing. So I come up with this puff pastry so that I can make individual size pies or squares and he can enjoy it without worrying about too much sugar to consume or have to finish the whole thing.

It's very quick also, I got the small squares of puff pastry and use it only 8 of it since I made only 4 pies. but if you want to use it whole package, make more apple pie stuffing and use it.




Ingredients :

1 Green Apple, cut it in small squares
4 tbsp. Brown sugar
1 tsp. Cinnamon Powder
1 tsp. Nutmeg powder
Few drops of lime juice
8 Pastry sheets

Method

Take out the pastry out and thaw it.

Peel, core and chop apples.

Heat up the pan, add apples with sugar, cinnamon powder and nutmeg powder and cook till apples are soft and sugar is melted and no water is left.

Let it cool the mixture.

After the mixture is totally cool, heat up the oven to 375 F.

Take one puff pastry, poke it with a fork and make it holes in it so it doesn't puff up.

Put two tablespoons full of stuffing in the middle, take another pastry sheet, poke it again and cover it on top of the mixture. Press down the border with fingers to seal and then press with a fork to decorate the edges.

Repeat till you done with the mixture and put it on a baking dish and put it in the oven to bake.

Bake for 20 minutes or until nice and golden brown.

Take it out on a cooling rack and serve it as it is or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

You can store leftovers in seal container and when you want to eat it, heat up in a toaster oven and enjoy it again.

Juar Jo Dodo (Sindhi Juwar Roti)

Since starting making Jowar flour in cooking, try my hands with different recipes because we need variation, you can not eat the same old things every day. So my mom used to make this kind of bhakri with wheat flour, with onions and pomegranate seeds in it and we loved it so this one also has nice thick texture and you can add spices as per your taste and adjust it. Only thing is there is no gluten in it so its hard to make the round, either you can use your hands to make its rounds, just the way bajri rotla has to be done or you can use plastic wrap and put the dough ball in between plastic wrap and make it. Have it with hot ginger tea in the nice cold wintery days and you are all set for breakfast.






Ingredients :

3 cups of Juwar flour
1 Small onion - finely chopped
1  teaspoon grated ginger
1 Green chili finely chopped
2 tbsp. Fresh green garlic finely chopped or you can use garlic chives
A handful of chopped coriander leaves
Salt as per taste
1 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tbsp. Fennel powder (Sauf)
2 tbsp Olive oil/canola oil
Water as needed for dough
Oil as needed to cook

Method:

Mix flour, vegetables, and seasoning.

Add water little by little till you get a nice smooth dough.

Divide into 5 parts.

Heat up the pan, and if you are using hands, wet your hands, pat it gently on your palms, and try to make thin rounds by changing hands till the desired small size you get. Then put it on greased pan and quickly pat till you get nice size and thickness.

If you are using plastic wrap, put the ball in plastic, cover with other side and roll it till your desired size and put it on pan, cook on one side and flip it, add one tbsp of oil and press it with flat spoon to make it nice golden in color and flip it again so it can cook and oil gets on both side.

Take it out on a cooling rack with a paper towel in it and proceeds with rest of it.

Enjoy it with hot tea, coffee or lunch or dinner.

Athela Jalapenos Marcha - Pickled Jalapenos Chilies - Indian Style

Here in the US, whenever you go to Swaminarayan temple, they sell a lot of snacks, sweets and other items, one of it is, Athela marcha, but its not from regular chilies, they use, Jalapenos to make this. I used always buy that whenever I am in that area, but for one small box and few chilies in it, cost more. So after two times, I stopped buying it and start making it at home. It's so easy to make and you can buy more jalapenos and make more pickle than store brought.

The recipe is nothing fancy, Wash, cut jalapenos and add it in spilt mustard seeds (rai na kuria) , salt, turmeric powder and done.  Go ahead and make this and enjoy it. Since we are cutting all the veins of Jalapenos there is no spiciness left. So you can enjoy it without worrying about spice.






Ingredients : 

9 Jalapenos
2 Tbsp Spilt Mustard seeds (rai na kuria)
1 tsp. Turmeric Powder
Salt as per taste
3 Tbsp Olive oil or Mustard oil or canola oil ( as per your wish I took Olive oil )

Method : 

In a container, mix oil, salt, turmeric powder and rai na kuria and keep it aside.

Cut the top of the Jalapenos and cut it in half. If your hands are sensitive, wear rubble gloves and work with Jalapenos.

Cut the seeds and veins from the jalapenos, wash it nicely.

Now depend upon jalapenos, cut 3 - 4 long matchstick slices and cut all of it.

when it's done, mix in oil mixture and keep it for 2-3 hours and it will be ready to eat.

You can enjoy it with your lunch or dinner.

Jowar Flour Thepla - Sorghum Flour Flatbreads

So when you are on a diet and can't have wheat or Methi (fenugreek leaves) but still wants to eat thepla, what you can do? Take gluten-free flour, mix it with other greens, like coriander leaves, mint leaves, green garlic, ginger, and spices and make it and enjoy it. So make this instead of wheat flour, add jowar flour, bajri flour, add your greens, spices, make the dough and proceed as you do for your normal thepla.

Ingredients : 

1 cup Jowar Flour 

1cup Bajri Flour

1/4 cup Raagi Flour

1/2 cup chopped Coriander and mint leaves

2 tbsp. chopped fresh green garlic chives

1 tbsp grated ginger

3 tbsp white sesame seeds

1 tbsp Turmeric powder

1 tbsp cumin and coriander powder

1 tbsp. Red chili powder

Salt to taste

2 tbsp Olive oil/peanut oil/canola oil

Oil as needed for roasting

Method

Take all the flours in a big bowl. add your greens and spices in it and oil in it and knead a soft dough. 

Make 8-10 golf size balls and keep it aside.

Heat up your flat pan. 

Roll one thepla and cook it on one side and then when its bubbly, flip it over and cook on another side, spread one tbsp of oil on it and make it little red in color on both sides and put it on a paper towel with a cooling wrack.

Proceed with rest and enjoy it with green chutney,   Kacha Papaya No Sambharo | Raw Papaya chutney  or tea/ coffee.

A2K - A Seasonal Veg Table
The VegHog.