Salmon Cakes with Aioli dip

We recently went to the REI members event where they had a few finger foods and one of them were these yummy looking tiny crab cakes that were out of the world..So I came back home totally wanting to make something similar..I dint have crab at home but had some left over salmon from making fish puttu the other day. So I decided to make salmon cakes instead..
This is a healthy and utterly delicious recipe that just will make your taste buds very happy!!

Ingredients:
Salmon, cooked, shredded - 1 lb
Onion, large, finely chopped - 1/2 no
Bell Pepper, finely chopped - 1/2 no
Eggs, slightly beaten - 2
Garlic powder - 1tsp
Worcestershire sauce - 1Tbsp
Hot sauce - 1/2 Tbsp (or to taste)
Old bay seasoning - 1/2 Tbsp
All purpose seasoning - 2 tsp (opt)
Bread crumbs - 1/2 cup
Pepper - 2-3tsp
Mayo - 2 Tbsp
Butter - 1/2 Tbsp
Olive oil -
Salt, to taste

For Garlic Lemon Aioli Dip:
Garlic pods, crushed - 2
Mayo - 1/2 cup
Lemon juice - 1 Tbsp
Salt - 1 pinch
Pepper - 1 pinch
Capers - 1 Tbsp (optional)

 

Method:

1. Roast salmon in very little oil in a flat pan until completely cooked and slightly golden on both sides. Remove from pan, cool and shred into small pieces once cooled.
2. In the same pan, add butter, 1/2 tbsp of olive oil and add the onions and bell peppers, worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, garlic powder and all the seasonings, salt, pepper and let it cook until soft and slightly golden. Once done, remove from heat and let cool.
3. In a mixing bowl, mix together salmon, onion mixture, beaten eggs, bread crumbs and Mayo. Adjust seasonings per taste if need be. 
4. Heat in low flame about a tbsp of olive oil in a flat pan or griddle.
5. Take equal amounts of the mixture (I used an ice cream scoop for this) and make them into balls and then flatten them out a little like biscuits about 3-4 inches in diameter and place them in the oil one by one. 
6. Slowly brown both sides of the cake until completely firm and well done. 
7. Remove from heat and serve hot with garlic lemon aioli dip or tartar sauce. 
8. For the dip, mix all the ingredients together and adjust seasoning.

P.S : I used leftover salmon in this case. You can precook and refrigerate the fish for more than a week and use it when you need it. You can prepare the mixture and store it for a few days ahead before making the cakes as well.
Breadcrumbs substitute:  If you dont have breadcrumbs, you can use ritz crackers or any salt crackers or toasted bread to bind the ingredients together.

Curried Egg puffs

Puffs are my favorite snack of all times..You can make them in so many varieties..And thanks to the ready to cook puff pastry shells..the job's even easier!! I dont know what sort of curry they usually add to egg  puffs in India..But I've seen some with green chutneys as base too..but I tried my simple version of onion masala curry with boiled eggs and it turned out really good...

P.S: Dont forget to learn the chinese alphabet on the last pic :)

Ingredients:
Puff Pastry Sheets - 2, thawed
Eggs - 4, boiled and cut in half
Onion - 3 Large, cut thin long
Olive Oil to stir fry
Chilli powder, to taste
Coriander powder - 1tsp
Curry powder - 2tsp
Garam Masala - 1tsp
Ginger Garlic paste - 1tsp
Salt, to taste

For Egg Wash:
Egg - 1, slightly beaten with 2 tsp of water

  

Method:

1. Cut each pastry sheet into four squares and let it thaw at room temperature at least for 30mins to an hour until flexible.
2. Boil the eggs, cut them in half and keep aside. 
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
4. In a small pan, add olive oil and add the onions, ginger garlic paste and all the masalas and stir fry until the onions are caramelized and keep aside.
5. Take each square sheet, apply a spoonful of the onion curry paste on the bottom and place an egg half cut side facing down.
6. Wrap the four corners of the sheet and seal. Stuff and seal all the sheets similarly.
7. Apply the egg wash on each puff to get a golden brown color.
8. Spray some Pam on a baking sheet and place the puffs with atleast an inch of space between them. 
9. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
10. Serve with ketchup or hot sauce.

 

P.S : That was my attempt of a smiley face with ketchup :)

Prawn/Shrimp masala

This is the most common way of making prawns. I tried to make them in a hurry one weekend, so I called my aunt and she gave me the recipe. 

Things Needed:

Small packet shrimp – tail removed
2 medium sized onions – chopped
5 tomatoes or one 12 oz can diced tomatoes
A pinch turmeric powder (manjal podi/ Pasuppu dhummu)
2 tsp garlic – chopped
2 tsp red chilly powder (milagai podi/ mirrapa dhummu)
1 tsp salt

Method:

• Heat oil in a kadai and add a spoon of oil.
• Then add onions and garlic and sauté till the onion is a little brown.
• Then add tomatoes, turmeric and chilly powder. Keep on medium heat and make sure the curry doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
• When the raw smell of the chilly powder has gone – might take upto half hour or more, add salt and taste.
• If it tastes ok, then add shrimp and mix with the curry. Cover for 6-7 minutes.  Thokku is done - Enjoy

Tons of Veggies Pasta

Finally after a long time I'm back!..with the pregnancy and the moving to Seattle, things have been really busy...I never got time to post anything..I always feel cooking is just a small part...writing up and posting the recipe is most of the part.. :)
Anyways, here's a simple pasta recipe I put together with a lot of veggies and mascarpone cheese..Its rich and yummy!

Ingredients:
Wheat penne pasta - 1/2 lb
Onion, diced - 1 medium
Zucchini, cut into thin small pieces - 2
Squash, cut into thin small pieces - 2
Green Peas & carrots, diced - 1/2 cup
Green Pepper, diced - 1/2 no
Garlic, crushed - 2 medium cloves
Mascarpone Cheese - 4oz
Parmesan cheese - 1/4 cup
Lemon juice - 1 Tbsp
Parsley, chopped - 1-2 Tbsp
Italian seasoning - 1 tsp
Chives (Fresh/dried) - 1/4 tsp
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Olive oil

Method:

1. Cook pasta in enough boiling water and salt for about 8-10 minutes until cooked.
2. Heat olive oil in a pan and add the onions and sauté until soft. Add the crushed garlic and sauté for a minute. Now, add all the remaining veggies and sauté until cooked and soft. 
3. Add all the seasonings: salt, pepper, lemon juice, chives and italian seasoning. 
4. Now add the mascarpone, parmesan cheeses and parsley and mix. 
5. Toss the pasta and cook for a minute until everything gets coated evenly. 

Baked Ravioli

I looked at ravioli in costco refrigerator and fell in love instantly. Is this love at first sight?
I was constantly thinking about it and how I would do sweet sweet things to it :)
Then like with any relationship it sat in the fridge for sometime until I realized it is being abused.
Or more like I had nothing else to do so I gave it a shot;)
Pics speak a thousand words they say:

Recipe:

Easy peasy Costco spinach cheese filled ravioli
mozzarella
Prego sauce (regular)

Boil the frozen ravioli for 5 mins be careful not to over boil it. Take a baking dish and pour the prego sprinkle lil mozzarella then add this boiled ravioli sprinkle more cheese on top.
Pre-heat at 400 degress and place this tray in the oven for 30 mins. Viola golden brown and ready to devour.

Grilled Shimp Tacos

Mexican foods is one of my favorites and was craving for tacos since long time and finally decided to make it last nite...
These days, my husband and I have been eating at our own convenient times and we have mostly forgotten about sitting and having dinner together...and the tacos brought us back together at the dinner table :P (mainly coz he was excited abt the tacos i guess..)

So here's the recipe for a simple grilled shrimp tacos and homemade guacamole. If you're too lazy to make guacamole yourself you can buy store-bought ones too..

Ingredients:
Corn Tortillas - 6-8
Shrimp, large size - 15-18 nos
Cabbage, shredded - 1/2 cup
Cilantro, chopped - 1/2 cup
Red Onions, cut thin and long - 1/2 cup
Sour cream - 1/4 cup
Cheese, shredded - 1/4 cup
Chipotle Chillies in Adobo sauce, to taste

Shrimp Marinade:
Old Bay seasoning - 1/2 Tbsp
Paprika - 1 Tbsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp (optional)
Buttermilk - 2 Tbsp
Lemon juice - 2 Tbsp
Cumin/Jeera powder - 1/2 tsp
Brown Sugar - 1 tsp
Garlic, minced - 3 cloves
Adobo Sauce, to taste
Tandoori BBQ Mix - 1 Tbsp (optional)

Guacamole Recipe:
Avocado - 3 nos
Red onion, diced - 1/2 medium
Tomato, diced - 1 medium
Lemon Juice - 3 Tbsp
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder - 1/8 tsp
Garlic, minced - 1-2 cloves
Salt, to taste

Method:

Prep Work:

1. Scoop the inside of the avocados and and mix everything from the list to prepare the guacamole.
2. Marinate shrimp with the marinade from above for about 20-30 mins
3. Cut all the veggies and set everything ready in a plate.
4. Grill the marinated shrimp in a grill for about 2-3 minutes each side until slightly browned. If  you're using an oven, heat at 400 degrees for about 4-5 minutes until browned. Adjust time based on your oven and do not overcook as it might make the shrimp hard. Remove from heat and set aside. 
5. Take the chipotle chillies from the adobo sauce and crush them to a paste or mince them and keep aside.
6. Warm up the corn tortillas in a slightly damp paper towel in the microwave for about 15-30 seconds, again do not heat for more than a few seconds since this might make the tortillas soggy. 

To Make a Taco:

1. Place each tortilla, spread some chipotle chilli paste with adobo sauce based on your spice level. 
2. Arrange 3-4 shrimps on the center of each.
3. Add some cabbage, guacamole, cheese, sour cream, cilantro one on top of each other and close.
4. And finally, take a bite of the yumminess!! :)

I was going to make traditional mexican rice and also add refried beans as sides. But I didn't have enough time or energy to make those..so I bought these awesome stuff called Old El Paso's tortilla stuffers..they have different varieties of rice and personally I love the mesquite chicken rice. It's an amazing side dish..and the whole meal came together perfectly!! I hope you enjoy..

Grilled Salmon

This amazing grilled salmon recipe is from one of our best friends Mahesh. He's great at the grill and I've been to one of their barbecue evenings before and loved it! I wish my husband can get a few grilling lessons from him :P
He was kind enough to share his salmon recipe "inspired by the oriental kitchen"

Ingredients:
Salmon - 2 lbs

Mahesh's Magic Sauce:

Soy sauce - 1/2 cup

Sesame oil - 3 Tbsp

Freshly ground garlic - 2 Tbsp

Finely Chopped cilantro - 1/ cup

Peeled and grated ginger - 2 Tbsp

Fresh ground pepper, to taste

Sugar, to taste

Salt, to taste

Crushed red pepper, to taste

Method:

1. Mix everything from the sauce list above to create the marinade.
2. Marinate the fish with the mainade and chill in the refrigerator for about 30 mins.
3. While the marinade is doing its job, prep the grill and my fish grate.
4. Now, place the marinated fish in the fish grate and grill until slighly browned for an amazing asian grilled fish!