Tag Archives: Dips

Green Peas and Edamame Spread

The menu is one of the key aspects to nail down while planning a party. I like a connect in some form between the different courses of the meal. This time, I planned a photography themed party and was thinking about the appetizers. Crostinis set a great tempo to start the meal. I wanted something vibrant and green to contrast with my toasted bread and decided to use peas for my topping. Naming the spread as ‘Smile Peas’ gave me a theme connect as well. When I went to the frozen section in the grocery store to pick up green peas, I came across a frozen packet of edamame beans. Though I had never worked with it before, I knew this would enhance the green factor in my spread. Edamame is a young soybean that has been harvested before the beans have had a chance to harden. It has quite a lot of health benefits apart from being high in proteins and essential amino acids. This spread was served on wholegrain bread, herb and garlic bread, and honey and oats bread which were cut into crescents. It turned out quite tasty and the texture works perfectly for a spread.

Recipe Details :
Serves: 8-10 pax
Time: 20 mins
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients :

  • 2 cups frozen/fresh peas, cooked and cooled
  • 1 cup edamame beans, cooked and cooled
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, grated
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • Salt as needed

Green peas and edamame spread

Green peas and edamame spread


Method:


    Before blending stage

    Before blending stage

  • Combine green peas, edamame beans, grated garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice and olive oil in a processor and blend well until everything gets combined into a smooth puree. There should not be any lumps.Season well with salt.
  • The spread is ready to be applied on your toasted bread.

Tips:

  • You can make this spread a day in advance. It keeps well in the fridge for 1-2 days.
  • Cook the edamame and peas in salted boiling water and then shock them with an ice bath to preserve the green colour.

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Sweet Potato and Chickpea Burger with Tahini Spread

I was surfing the web and saw that most of the food-related updates were connected to the Superbowl. Finger foods, bar bites, burgers and beers comprised most of my news feed. To add to that, I was missing vada pav from back home. This dish was a result of all such thoughts. I decided to use sweet potato as the primary ingredient. Most vegetarian burgers contain mushrooms – but I’m not a big fan of them. To add some body to the burger, I used chickpeas. This combination worked great together and the patty had layers of flavour and texture. When slathered with some tahini yogurt dip topped with thinly sliced onions, it was a perfect bite. It is not very oily and the patty has loads of texture on its own. We paired it with wholemeal buns – but they are good enough to eat on their own. For those who are vegans, you can just skip the yogurt spread. I would love to hear how it turned out in case you try it 🙂

Recipe Details :
Serves: 3 pax
Time: 45 mins
Difficulty: Medium

Ingredients :

  • For burger patty

  • 1 sweet potato
  • 2/3 cup chickpeas, soaked overnight. Else use canned ones.
  • 1/3 cup of all-purpose / wheat flour
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • Salt to taste

  • For tahini spread

  • 1/2 cup greek yogurt
  • 2 tbsp tahini
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Sweet potato and chickpea burger

Sweet potato and chickpea burger with tahini spread


To make the patty:

  • If you are not using canned chickpeas, pressure cook or boil soaked chickpeas till they are soft.
  • Wash and peel the sweet potato. Coarsely grate it to yield around 2 cups. Once grated, squeeze out the water from the sweet potato.
  • In a bowl, take the grated sweet potato, chickpeas, flour, salt and the spices. Mix well to combine. While mixing, try to keep different textures of the chickpeas. I left some whole, some were partly broken and some were smoothened into a paste.
  • Make rounds of the patty mixture and flatten them.
    • Sweet potato and chickpea burger patty

    Sweet potato and chickpea burger patty

  • Heat a non-stick pan on medium flame and add the oil. Place a flattened patty and let it cook on one side. After about 2 mins, flip it to the other side. Remove it when golden brown and crisp.

To make Tahini spread:

  • For the spread, take all the spread ingredients in a bowl and stir. It will seem thick at the start, but as you keep stirring it, you will get the desired consistency.
  • To assemble the burger, I placed the patty on the lower half of the bun, added a layer of onions on top of it and then topped it off with the delicious tahini spread. We had a great meal!

Tips:

  • Do not overcook the chickpeas. You need them to give texture to the patty.
  • Squeeze as much water as you can from the sweet potato. If the patty mixture is too “wet”, it will not get crisp.

Green Apple and Pear Drizzled with Chocolate with Date Caramel Sauce Plus Blogversary

When I started out exactly a year ago, I had never imagined I would complete one year of food blogging. I was apprehensive about my writing frequency and the variety that I could bring to my blog. Today, I feel satisfied to have conquered all those apprehensions with deelight by writing at my own pace and loving what I choose as the topic whenever I post. In this journey, I have come across and learned from so many amazing food bloggers. I thank each and every one of you for the continued encouragement through your likes and comments. Every little gesture of yours was, is and will remain valued. Last but not the least, my family and friends have always motivated me and continue to support me endlessly. To every person who reads this blog – a big THANK YOU is in order as each of you makes this blogversary special!!!
When I thought about the recipe that I wanted to feature as my blogversary post, I knew it had to be simple and sweet. Its going to be a simple dessert made of fruits drizzled with chocolate and served with an amazing dip. The simplicity of the recipe makes it easily doable but when you have a bite of the fruit in this combination, it is heavenly! I started this recipe like an artist was painting a canvas – assembled my structures, splashed my colour and signed off in style 🙂 I was surprised at what I achieved in not more than 15 mins but it satisfied the sweet urge that I felt after dinner. Hope you all like this too!

Recipe Details :
Serves: 3-4 pax
Time: 15 mins
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients for serving: :

  • 2 medium green apples, cut in crescents
  • 1 pear, cut in crescents (optional)
  • 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 tbsp almond milk

Ingredients for sauce:

  • 1/2 cup dates, pitted
  • 1/4 cup almond milk
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

Green apples and pears

Green apples and pears

  • Cut the green apples and pear into crescents and keep them on a plate. I was just feeling creative and started placing it in a scenic manner.
  • Combine the chocolate chips and almond milk in a small bowl and microwave it for maximum 40 seconds till the chocolate melts. Remove it and whisk until smooth. The melting process can also done on low flame on a stove.
  • Drizzle the chocolate using a nozzle on the fruits. I have not used a nozzle, hence my drizzling is all over the place – just ensure that there is a bit of sauce on all the fruit slices.
    • Green apples and pears with date caramel sauce

    Green apples and pears with date caramel sauce

  • Now for the date caramel sauce: Take the pitted dates and soak them in a bowl of boiling water for 10 mins. Now combine the dates with almond milk and blend them together in a food processor for about one minute. Take the dip out in a serving bowl. I also tasted this dip with pancakes and it was delicious. I call it caramel sauce only because of the colour it turned into 🙂
  • I signed off in style as D.V. (Deelightfully Veg)!!


    • Tips :

    • Red apples can be used, but preferably they should not be over sweet.

Kiwi and Mint Chutney

    While grocery shopping, I noticed a box of kiwi fruit. You may be surprised to know that I had never tasted it before till that day. Intrigued by the fruit, I went ahead and bought it. I was quite blown away by the taste of the fruit – it was a great blend of sweet and tart flavors. I discovered later that it is also a very good source of Vitamin C and can be used in smoothies, cake toppings and chutneys/dips. This combination goes well with breads, chips and rotis or parathas.

    Recipe for Kiwi and Mint Chutney

    Serves : 4-5
    Ingredients :

    • 3 kiwi fruit
    • 1 cup mint, finely chopped
    • 1 cup coriander, finely chopped
    • 2 tsp ginger, finely chopped
    • 3-4 green chillies, finely chopped
    • 1 tsp cumin seeds
    • Salt to taste

    Kiwi and mint chutney

    Kiwi and mint chutney


    Method:

    • Wash and chop the mint and coriander leaves.
    • Peel the kiwi fruit and chop it.
    • Take all the ingredients in a mixer and blend it to form a purée.‎
    • Store the dip in a bowl and keep it refrigerated. Kept refrigerated, it will last for about a week.
    • In the picture, I’ve shown a veg sandwich made using this chutney as the spread. The texture of the chutney can also be seen as a part of the close-up picture of the bowl.

    Tips :

    • If your kiwi fruit is sweet, you can add lemon juice. As always, taste before adding.
    • You can also make this using either coriander or mint. You need not use both.