Black Bean Quesadilla

Ingredients
Garlic tortillas - 4 Nos.
Tin Black beans - 400 g
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Dried oregano - 1/2 tsp
Dried chilli flakes - 1 tsp
Onion - 1/2 of one small sized onion
Capsicum - diced into cubes
Cheese, grated - as needed
Salt and pepper  - as needed
Olive Oil - 2 tbsp

For garnish
Coriander leaves - as per your taste
Avocado, cut into rough chunks - 1 No.
Limes - 2 Nos.
Pumpkin seeds - 2 tbsp

Method
Take a bowl, mix the drained black beans, cumin powder, dried oregano, chilli flakes, onions, pepper and grated cheese. Season this with salt and pepper. Keep this aside.

Now lay the tortillas on a flat surface. Halve the bean mixture between two of the tortillas and spread out to with a centimeter of the circumference. Sit the other tortillas on top and gently push down to compress.

Heat half of the oil in a frying pan and place one of your quesadillas. Give it 3 mins on each side, pushing down from time to time with your spatula. Flip the tortilla over using your hand as a guide and cook the other side, then turn it out and do the same with the other one, pouring in the remaining oil in between.

In a small bowl, toss together the coriander leaves, avocado, juice of one of the limes, and a pinch of salt.

Now toast the pumpkin seeds and tip into the bowl of coriander and avocado.

Cut your quesadillas into six and finish with garnishing of coriander leaves, avocado, and pumpkin seeds on top. Serve with lime on the side. Eat hot.  

Jewelled Couscous

Couscous prep technique: A very dear friend of mine, Hamda
Recipe Source: Mine

Ingredients
Couscous - 2 1/2 cups
Water - 2 3/4 cups
Red pepper - 1, cut into 1.5 cm pieces
Yellow pepper - 1, cut into 1.5 cm pieces
Plum tomatoes, deseeded and cut into 1.5 cm pieces - 2 big
Zucchini - 3 small
Onion - 1
Coriander and mint chopped - 3 tbsp
Pepper powder as needed
Maggi chicken cubes - 1
Olive oil

Directions
Heat olive oil in a pan, saute onion, red and yellow peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, coriander and mint leaves. Add pepper powder as needed. Keep them aside. (Peppers and zucchini should be crisp).

Preparation of Couscous
Boil 2 3/4 cups of water in a pan along with a stock cube and 2 tbsp of olive oil, when it starts to boil, pour in the couscous and switch off the stove and close the pan with a lid. Let the steam help to cook the couscous. Leave untouched for 10-12 minutes. After the allowed time, fluff them up with a fork.

Now combine the cooked vegetables to the couscous. Sprinkle some coriander and mint leaves over the top and serve hot.

This is a quick fix breakfast and light dinner too.

Rice-whole green moong dal porridge/Cherupayar congee

It is a distant dream for me to grow vegetables  and eat organic. I know it will take a while, but I am being patient for the day to arrive. For now, you all chill out with my breakfast congee. I know most of you had a late night tiptoe weekends. Try this congee to ward off your hangovers. This cherupayar congee works equally well for busy worrywarts and satviks (minus the shallots) as it takes only minutes to prepare and is a pure bliss.   

Ingredients
Raw rice - 1 cup
Whole green moong dal/cherupayar - 3/4 cup
Pure ghee
Shallots - 2
Coconut milk

Directions
Cook raw rice and whole green moong dal in a pressure cooker until 3 whistles or till done.

Serve with thin coconut milk.

Optional: Heat ghee in a pan, add chopped shallots and fry. Pour it over the cooked rice and green moong dal congee.

Foot-long and slices of fruit for lazy Fridays

What a good way to start a lazy Friday than a footlong. Mom is visiting us tomorrow. She will be carrying a lot of goodies for us. Was cleaning up refrigerator to make room for the arrival of all eatables. Doesn't that sound good? Of course for me! I will be relieved partially from all Mommie duties. Mommie, can't wait to eat and cook with you!!!

The word brunch doesn't exist for us anymore since arrival of Abbey. Before Thursdays used to be our movie nights and Fridays were reserved for more sleep.

My hubs is passionate about fishing. The fisherman in him had a sleepless night yesterday dreaming about the huge catch to follow. So man of the house is all set to catch the fish. He shook the dust off the fishing rods last week and presented us with a catch. Fresh fish is always yum!

One of the highlights of winter are the fishing trips with him. He is always lucky to get a huge catch. Once we got a sting ray. We had no idea how to clean it, but youtube came to our rescue. We cooked thirandi varutharachathu after much calls to India. Those days were the humble beginnings of our life here, which I cherish the most. Looking forward to more sting rays this winter!!! 

Ingredients
French bread slit into 2
Tomatoes - 3 slices
Onions - 3 thin slices
Cheese slice- 1, cut into half
Black Olives - 3 nos, cut into 2
Pepper Mayonnaise - A good squeeze
Tomato ketchup - a small dollop

Directions
Slit the bread horizontally, so that it is not fully sliced. Layer the bread with a cheese slice. Second layer with tomato slices. Third layer with onions followed by olives. Give a good squeeze of pepper mayonnaise and little ketchup (if you like) on the other side of the bread. Fold the bread and devour.

Enjoy with some fruit slices and raisins.