Rice Paper Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce

These rice paper spring rolls are also called as Vietnamese spring rolls. These taste amazing with the peanut sauce. I make these spring rolls all the time as my family loves them. Usually we can add any filling of our choice. These spring rolls are a refreshing change from the regular fried ones. They are a perfect appetizer for any occasion and will be a hit among family and friend. These are so delicious, easy to make and healthy.

These spring rolls are so easy to make that you just have to gather all the ingredients and there is no need of cooking except the shrimp that you can cook long before making these rolls. We can fry these spring rolls in oil but it wont be healthy.

I highly recommend to consume these spring rolls within several hours of making them. If they are refrigerated they will become hard and difficult to chew. Try this recipe and let me know.

Ingredients:

1. Rice Paper- 12 numbers
2. Shrimp- 20-25
3. Pickled Carrots - 1 Cup
4. Lettuce Leaves- 2 Cups
5. Rice Noodles- 2 ounces
6. Red Chilli Powder- 1 tbsp
7. Turmeric Powder- 1/2 tsp
8. salt- as required
9. Oil- 1 tbsp

Method for marinated shrimp:

• Mix the shrimp along with salt, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and fry in the 1 tbsp of oil till done. Remove on a kitchen towel and keep it aside.

1. Meanwhile boil water and cook the rice noodles till al dente. Drain, rinse them under cool water and drain again.
2. Heat water in a pan and when it becomes warm switch off the flame and place the rice paper in the warm water and let it rest for 20 sec. Wait till the rice paper is pliable but not super floppy. Carefully lay it flat on a towel.
3. Place a few pieces of sliced carrots, lettuce, rice noodles one on top of the other and fold it tightly, now line the shrimp about 1 1/2 inches below the toip edge of the rice paper. By leaving a gap between the shrimp and the vegetables, the shrimp will look vibrant in the final roll. 
4. Grab the lower edge of the rice paper with thumb and pointer finger, lift and roll up the spring roll. Use the other fingers to hold the filling. Fold the left and right edge and finish the rolling. It now looks like a rolled envelope.
5. Repeat the same with the remaining.

Peanut sauce

1. Peanut Butter- 1/2 Cup
2. Soy sauce- 2 tbsp
3. Vinegar- 2 tbsp
4. Sesame oil- 1 tbsp
5. Garlic- 2 tbsp
6. Water- as needed

Method:

• Mix all the ingredients except water in a small bowl till combined and if the dip is too thick add 1 tbsp of water. The sauce should be creamy and dip-able.
• Enjoy the spring rolls with peanut sauce.

Baked Buffalo Wings and Hot sauce- Twice the celebration, double the joy!!!

                                                      Happy New Year my friends!!!!!!

There are two things to celebrate in my post today. First it's a new year, new beginnings and the second one which I am more excited is that last year it was my blog's 9th anniversary.  Never in my wildest dreams I thought that this space which I have started to share my recipes with family and friends would become a space where I got many friends, a space to share all my dreams and a space to experiment new recipes.

 Once I started blogging, I never thought i'd still be doing it 9 years later. I never thought that through this space I will be able to reach and connect with so many of you and to have the chance to share my ideas with the world. THANK YOU for being here no matter how long or short you have been following.

These buffalo chicken wings are every meat lovers favorite. This finger licking popular creation came out of New York restaurant in the 60's Teressa Bellissimo, who covered the chicken wings in her own special sauce. From then on this has become a popular snack or an appetizer.

Chicken wings are one of our family favorites. These juicy chicken wings tossed in a classic spicy sauce and are enjoyed along with the hot sauce. Snack away with less guilt. The marinade for the chicken is a combination of garlicky, sweet and spicy which will make you reach for more. Even though these are baked they are crispy and delicious just like the ones from the restaurant.

Ingredients:

1. Chicken Wings- 12- 15 pieces
2. Garlic Powder- 2 tsp
3. Salt- as required
4. Honey- 2 tbsp
5. Baking Powder- 1 tsp
6. Hot Sauce- 2 tbsp
7. Black pepper Powder- 1 tsp
8. Red Chili powder- 1 tbsp

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Meanwhile pour all the ingredients (except chicken pieces)in a bowl and mix well until everything gets well blended.
3. Mix the chicken pieces in the above mixture and arrange them on a baking tray. Bake the coated chicken pieces for about 25- 30 minutes.
4. Serve the chicken wings along with the hot sauce.

Hot sauce recipe:

1. Hot sauce- 1/4 Cup
2. Soy sauce- 1 tbsp
3. Garlic Powder- 2 tbsp
4. Honey- 1 tbsp
5. Oil- 1 tbsp
6. Butter- 1 tbsp

Method:

• Combine all the ingredients in a sauce pan and let it simmer for about 8- 10 minutes. 
• Switch it off and cool and enjoy along with the buffalo wings.

Baked Chicken- Veggie salad with Creamy, Tangy Avocado Dressing

These days we are so much into salad that I would be searching for different salad recipes or dressings. One such salad which we all like is this chicken- veggies salad with a creamy and tangy avocado dressing. Tough this baked marinated chicken- veggie I usually make, this time I wanted a dressing that goes well with this salad and here is an easy and simple dressing that will be liked by all.  The left over dressing got finished like a dip with the nachos by my kids. Trust me this will be a perfect dish among guests and they end up asking for a second serve.

In the chicken- veggie salad, you can add any vegetables of your choice and nuts or boiled eggs and enjoy just like that but I found the dressing gets well blended with the salad and kids will enjoy the most. For kids, cut the chicken into bit sized pieces and mix everything and place it in tacos and serve them. Trust me, they wont leave till everything gets finished.

This avocado dressing is delicious, creamy and perfect to drizzle on all your salads. I love avocados in most of my dishes or in smoothies. They taste darn delicious and are very healthy and nutritious. This dressing is similar to guacamole, but this is little more runny and pour able.

This dressing is so easy to make just add all the ingredients in a blender or processor and processes till it becomes a creamy consistency. Hope you all like this and try it out.
Ingredients:
For Chicken- Veggie Salad:

1. Boneless Chicken pieces- 1 Cup
2. Salt- as required
3. Pepper- 1 tsp
4. Chili Powder- 1 tsp
5. Turmeric Powder- 1 tsp
6. Carrots(Cut into strips)- 1 no
7. Mushrooms (cut into 4)- 2 Cups
8. Corn- 1/4 Cup

Method:

• Rub the chicken with the spices and keep this aside for 30 min.
• In a cast iron pan, add the marinated chicken, corn, mushrooms, carrots, salt and pepper. Bake for about 20- 25 min in a pre-heated oven of 350 degrees F.

For the Creamy, tangy Avocado dressing:

1. Avocado (cubed)- 1 no
2. Garlic Clove- 1 no
3. Juice of lemon- 1/2
4. Parsley Leaves- few
5. Olive Oil- 1 tbsp
6. Salt- to taste
7. Greek Yogurt- 2 tbsp

Method:

• Blend all the ingredients in a blender and take in a serving bowl or mix it with above made chicken- veggie salad and enjoy.

Chimichurri Sauce

There are so many variations in the world of Chimichurri, it's difficult to say which preparation is authentic. Chimichurri is a loose- oil based sauce used to accompany barbecued meats or veggies. Chimichurri is a condiment or marinade similar to a pesto. This is an uncooked sauce originated from Argentina.

From my garden...

It is a combination of finely chopped parsley, minced garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and so on. Here in this recipe, I have used a handful of cilantro to enrich the flavors. Adding the cilantro is optional, as I had this at home, I added and it tasted perfect. Chimichurri sauce may be basted or brushed or marinated on meat or it can be served as a dip on the side.

I came to know about this sauce when I saw my friend's Instagram post about making this delicious sauce. She frequently makes this sauce and posts pictures of the homemade sauce, which made me try this out, as I had lots of parsley in my small garden. I made this and my green- leaf hater husband found this tasty and started adding this to marinate meat. My version looks very creamy because I ground it in a blender instead of food processor and not oily, as I added little amount of oil. However this might look, it tastes yummm. This super yummy, tasty, tangy sauce is worth a try.

Ingredients:

1. Parsley- 3/4 Cup
2. Cilantro- 3/4 Cup
3. Garlic Cloves- 7- 8 nos
4. Onion- 1/2 no
5. Pepper Powder- 1 tsp
6. Vinegar- 1 tbsp
7. Lemon Juice- 1 no
8. Lemon Zest- 1
9. Olive Oil- 3 tbsp
10. Salt- as required

Method:

1. In a blender, add the cilantro leaves, parsley leaves, garlic cloves, onions and pepper powder. Give it a nice blend.
2. Mix with a spatula, add the required amount of salt, vinegar, lemon juice, lemon zest and at last olive oil. Blend and transfer to a glass jar and store it in  refrigerator and use it as required.

Hummus

A simple and delicious hummus can be made within minutes, by using soaked chickpeas, sesame seeds, garlic and olive oil. To prepare hummus, chickpeas is a must and so it should be soaked overnight. The best way is to buy canned garbanzo beans and anytime we can make this mouthwatering dip at home.

Hummus is a middle eastern dip, which is famous worldwide. I love my hummus along with roasted or grilled chicken, salads or simply like that. To make this hummus, tahini is an important ingredient. Tahini is nothing but sesame seed paste. As I didn’t have tahini at home, I added sesame seeds to the chickpeas in the food processor. If you don’t want to add tahini, just make the hummus with soaked chickpeas, it will be little liquidy. The taste won’t differ. It will be delicious.

It is said that chickpeas are the most popular legumes consumed in the world, because of lots of protein, zinc, and iron and which are very good replacements for meat.

This month for the MFB challenge, we have to choose any dish from the blog Shab’s Cuisine and so here I am with the simple and everyone’s favorite hummus. Shab’s Cuisine has many different varieties of dishes. The food pics are drool worthy. Hope you all like this and try it out.

One more thing, I have made this hummus for dinner and so I used my light box for the hummus pics.

Ingredients:

1. Chick Peas- 1 Cup
2. Garlic Cloves- 5- 6 nos
3. Sesame Seeds- 2 tbsp
4. Olive Oil- 2 tbsp
5. Lemon Juice- 1 tbsp
6. Water- 1- 2 tbsp
7. Salt- as required
8. Smoked paprika Powder- 1 tsp

Method:

1. Wash and soak the chickpeas overnight. Pressure cook the soaked chickpeas along with garlic cloves till they are cooked and soft.
2. When they are cooled, grind to a fine smooth paste along with salt and sesame seeds.
3. Transfer this to a serving bowl and add the lemon juice, olive oil, and mix. On top sprinkle the smoked paprika and enjoy with pita bread

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