Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes and gravy are a heavenly combination. I became a fan at the first taste. Very easy to make and tastes amazing. You can make it fat rich or low fat and still you won't compromise on the taste. Mine is the low fat version. There are numerous ways in which the mashed potatoes and gravy are made. I generally make them like this. I Also make a cranberry sauce, will post the recipe when I make it next time. Make and enjoy. Makes a good combination with steamed green beans and chile. I will post the recipe of Bean Chile soon.

Prep time: 40 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Servings: 3 to four

Ingredients:

For mashed potatoes:

1. 5- 7 medium sized golden or red potatoes

2. Scallions - 2 finely chopped [optional]

3. Chives - 2 tbsp dry or finely chopped fresh [optional]

4. Oil - 1 tsp

5. Garlic - 1 tsp minced, grated 

6. Salt - to taste

7. Ground Pepper - to taste

8. Milk - upto 1/2 a cup

9. Butter/oilve oil - 1 tbsp

For gravy:

1. Onion - 1 medium, finely chopped

2. Garlic - 1/2 tsp minced, grated

3. Soya Sauce - 2 tbsp

4. Corn Starch - 1/2 tsp mixed in 2 tsp cold water 

5. Brown sugar - 1 to 2 tsp [optional]

6. Cayanne/chilly/peprika powder - 1/2 - 1 tsp

7. Salt - to taste (soya sauce also has a lot of salt, so be careful)

8. Parsley - 1/2 tsp dry or finely chopped

9. Water - 1 to 1/2 cups

Method:

For mashed potatoes:

1. wash and boil potatoes untill well done. Turn the stove off, drain all the water and put the potatoes back on the stove for a few more seconds till the water evaporates. Keep in mind that, potatoes need to be hot to work further.

2. You may remove the skin or keep them, it is upto you.  I keep the skin. Mash them into a smooth paste.

3. In an other vessel which can hold all the mashed potatoes, heat oil and saute garlic in it. Simmer the flame and add mashed potatoes, oilve oil, salt and pepper and mix in. Add half of the milk and mix in well, if it can take more add little more and mix. keep adding little and mixing till potatoes can absorb the milk. Remember, it should not look like pan cake batter or become too runny.  Add scallions and chives or just any one of them and mix in well till they are evenly distributed. Turn the stove off and serve with a simple gravy.

Method to make gravy:

1. Heat oil in a pan and saute onions till they turn slightly golden brown. 

2. Add the garlic and saute for a few seconds. Add dry parsley and saute for a few seconds.

3. Add water soy sauce and let it boil for 3 minutes. 

4. Add salt, cayenne and brown sugar and let it boil for a couple of minutes.

5. Add the dissolved corn starch and boil till it thickens a little bit. Dissolve some more corn starch and add to get the right consistency. It must be like soup, slightly thick, but not too much. Add fresh parsley now if you are using it instead of dry. Cook for a minute more and pour on the potatoes and enjoy.

Tips:

1. I make the low fat version by using just olive oil or using "I can't believe it is not butter" and 1% fat milk. Amount of fat you put into these potatoes is totally upto you.

2. To make Mashed potatoes vegan, use soy/rice/almond milk instead of usual milk.

Steamed and sauteed Green beans

A wonderful tasty, yet very simple vegetable to make. Is a good combination with mashed potatoes and gravy. Makes a very good low fat, low carb and low calorie appetizer as well. Jazz it up with the flavours you like, this is just one way of making it. Here goes the recipe.

Prep time: 10 Mins
Cook time: 4 to 10 Mins
Servings: 4 approx

Ingredients:

Green beans - 1 pound
oil - 1 tsp
Parsley - 1/2 tsp dry or fresh
Garlic - 1 clove minced or grated
Salt - to taste
Ground pepper - to taste
Adobo - 1 tsp (Optional)

Method:

1. Wash and take out the fiber from the sides of the beans. If you think the beans is not very stringy you can use them straight after washing. Steam then in the microwave for 4 minutes, let them stay inside the box for a minute longer before you open the lid. If you do not want to microwave beans, you can blanch them. This may take a little longer than microwaving. To blanch the beans, Boil water in a large wok or pot. Drop the beans into it and let it stay in there for 5 minutes. In the mean while, in another big vessel, fill cold water and drop in a few ice cubes to make the water chilly. After 5 minutes of hot water bath, drain the hot water from these beans and drop them in cold water. This will shock them, make their colour brighter and stop them form cooking further. Let them stay there for 3 minutes, drain the cold water and set the beans aside.

2. In a pan which can hold all the beans, Heat oil saute garlic and dry parsley. If you use fresh parsley, sprinkle the finely chopped parsley after sauteing beans.

3. Drop the beans in to the pan, add salt and pepper. This would be the time to sprinkle fresh parsley, toss everything together till well mixed. If you are using adobo, add that before tossing. Keep in mind, adodbo has salt too, so you may want to first taste the beans if they need more salt if you are adding adobo. Steamed and sauteed green beans are ready to be served.

Tips:
1. These steamed beans can be made many different ways. This is just one of the low fat versions. If you want it slightly tart, squeeze some lime juice. You can add 1 tbsp of finely chopped scallions to it, give a mild onion flavour.
2. Use less oil to saute beans, more oil makes the beans extremely greasy and wont be pretty to eat.

Burger

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook time: 0

Servings: I made for 2 people.

I made good use of the Lentil Burger Patties I made this week. I had shoved them in the freezer after making them. This Monday was feeling too lazy to cook, I had some ciabatta bread in the freezer, so grabbed both of them chopped a few veggies like, tomatoes, onion and romaine lettuce and also sliced some mozzarella cheese. I chopped 2 slices of a salad tomato and chopped the rest in to chunks. Tore lettuce leaves, used 1 leaf each to layer the burger used the rest in the salad. I chopped 2 slices of a big onion to layer the burger and stored the rest away. Sliced a few strips of mozzarella, layered it on patty, microwaved to melt it. Then cut the rest of the strips into bits and added it to the salad. Topped the salad with Sun-dried tomato dressing, layered the burger as you can see in the picture. I also mixed tomato ketchup, mustard and some old blue cheese dressing, mixed them together and smothered it on insides of the bread. 

Once the patty is ready, it only takes 10 minutes to fix all this. So working people, spare 2 hours in the weekend and you will not have to worry about lunch or dinner for atleast for 3 times in the week.

Lentil burger patties.

Lentil burger patties are good for health, are low in fat and carbs and high in protein and iron. It is good food for the body. Lentil patties are packed with texture and flavour, give it a  try and you will know. I used a few ingredients which were lazily laying in my fridge. You can also do the same, except for a few ingredients which have to be kept the same. Here goes the recipe... 

Prep time: 1 hour

Cook time: 45 mins

Pieces: 12 to 16

Ingredient:

1. Raw Lentils - 2 cups

2. Onion - 1 big, finely chopped

3. Red and green bell peppers - 1 to 1/2 each depending on their size, finely chopped

4. Celery - 3 stalks, finely chopped

5. Spinach fresh\frozen - 1 whole bunch, washed, drained and finely chopped. If  using frozev use 1 cup. (optional)

6. Mint - 1/2 cup, finely chopped

7. Carrots - 1/2 cup, finely chopped

8. Potato - 1 medium, boiled and mashed. (optional)

9. Garlic - 4 to 5 pods, grated/minced or 2 tsp paste.

10.  Salt - to taste

11. Chilly powder - 1 tsp (alter to taste)

12. Pepper Powder - 2 tsp (alter to taste)

13.Parsley dry - 3 tsp

14. Oregano dry - 2 tsp

15. Oil - 1 tbsp

16. Texturized soya nuggets - 1/2 cup, dry ones, soaked, drained and minced or buy the texturized granules. The brand in India is Nutrella. (optional)

17. All purpose flour (maida) - 1 to 3 tsp

Method:

1. Soak Lentils atleast for 4 hours in cold water or 2 hours in hot water. Then cook them with a tsp of salt for 20 to 25 minutes. Please keep checking, you want them just cooked through, you will not want to cook them to a paste. Just take a few lentils and put them in your mouth, if you get the cooked taste, they are done. Drain the water or save it in the fridge for future use into some soups.

2. While your lentils cook, you can chop all the vegetables.

3. Heat oil a big vessel on medium heat. Add parsley, oregano, mint, onions and garlic with 1/2 tsp salt and let them cook till onions get slightly brown. 

4. Add carrots and celery and let them sweat, add bell peppers and let them sweat. 

5. Add spinach and let it wilt completely. Add sufficient salt (keep in mind, you have slated lentils and onions), pepper and chilly powder and mix it in well. If you are using a potato, this will be the time to add it and mix it in well.

6. If you are using texturized soya nuggets, add the minced nuggets and mix it well.

7. Add the lentils and just mix it well till it blend with all the other ingredients evenly, close the lid and let it cook for five minutes on low flame.

8. With the help of a masher or a strong ladle, mash as much lentils as possible and make a coarse paste, you can turn the stove off if it starts to burn the patty mixture. let it cool to touch.

9. Heat a skillet on high medium and make a lemon sized ball of the burger patty mixture. Place the ball in center of your palm and press it down gently to make a disk shape. If the patty seems to breaking, do not panic. Sprinkle 1 to 2 tsp of all purpose flour, mix in well and try again. Add a little more if you need. Flour acts as a binding agent. If you use a Potato, you might not need flour.

10. Put the patty in the skillet, drizzle a few drops of oil on the side of the patty, let it get slightly brown, flip and do the same again. It may take 3 to 5 minutes for both the sides to cook. You can place more than one patty in the skillet, as much as your skillet can accommodate and roast the patties. They are ready to eat. 

Serving suggestions:

One major use is in burgers.  You can dice them and add it into your salads, they will make the salad a meal when you add 'em. You can wrap these in tortillas with some veggies and dressing and call it a lently-burrito. The possibilities are endless... It is up to your imagination.

Tips:

1. They freeze beautifully and thaw easily. So make 'em and freeze 'em. When you need to fix a quick lunch or dinner, all it take is 10 flat minutes and you have a very healthy meal.

2. You can use egg as a binder as well. Break 2 eggs, beat them, add them to the mixture, mix well and make into patties. The patty may break in your hand but after cooking they hold strong. However, flour is the best binder here.

3. You can also add cheese to this burger, like mozzarella, Parmesan or cheddar. You may not need a binder when you add cheese coz it binds as well. You can add 1/2 cup of cheese or cheeses of your choice. Make and enjoy.