Something old..something new..

This post has been long due! I was actually suppose to post this one last september but today is the day that I finally got around to posting it. The topic of this post is truly apt! This post started off to showcase my growing love for Mexican food. An idea struck and I wanted to show you why I first started loving Mexican food and how far I have got on experimenting with it!

Back in school, one of our usual lunch options was chickpea burrito from a Mexican food cart. It used to be yummy! And I was truly thrilled to find chickpeas in a burrito!
Since coming to San Diego, I cant seem to get enough of Mexican food. Here in SoCal, its the best cuisine you could find and offers you regional variations in the food. It is here that I learned that eggs are frequently used in Mexican cuisine too and they taste amazing! So last year when I actually started making Mexican dishes at home, experimenting with eggs was a no-brainer.
So today I present you two recipes..

Something old..

Chole burrito (Chick-pea burrito)

Ingredients:
2 cups boiled chickpeas
2 tbsp tomato paste / 1 tomato chopped
1 chopped onion
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tbsp coriander-cumin powder
1.5 tsp red chili powder
salt to taste
1.5 tbsp oil
1/4 cup shredded cheese (I used the mexican mix)
1/4 cup thinly sliced onions
1/4 cup rice (optional)
8 mini tortillas / 4 standard ones

• Add some oil to a pan and let it heat. Once heated add the garlic and let it brown a bit. Drop in the onions and saute them well.
• Add the red chili and the coriander-cumin powder and let the spices get cooked.
• Add in the tomatoes and let the whole thing saute well.
• Finally add the chickpeas and season well. Let the spices seep into the chickpeas and let it simmer for about 5 mins. The chickpea mixture is now ready.
• Now to assemble the burrito. Heat the tortilla on one side and flip it. Now place some cheese at the center and add the chickpea mixture. Top it with some onions and rice and wrap the tortilla, you can seal it by placing some cheese between the fold and turn over the burrito. Let it heat for a min on the other side. 

I usually serve my burritos with fresh guacamole sitting on a lettuce bed and some spicy salsa!  :)

Now for,

Something new.. 

I have actually made several variations of this recipe and it all started with this specific one posted by Kevin from Closet Cooking. 

Asparagus & egg enchilada

I really dont have a specific recipe for this. Since eggs are so versatile, I usually mix them up with a variety of veggies or sometimes just use the basic scrambled eggs recipe. Give it your own spin and you will surely not be disappointed! Another easy thing to use the Indian style egg bhurji which is basically scrambled eggs seasoned with curry masala. 

The same base can easily become a burrito / enchilada. For the enchilada sauce, I usually also keep switching the flavors of my sauce too. I know the pictures aren't the most perfect ones..but it was delish!

 As you see my love for Mexican food is growing and I hope to learn more authentic recipes and someday I hope I get a chance to go to Mexico and try out the real stuff! :)

Summer time rush..

Summer time is supposed to be all about relaxing and chilling out in the sun..but come this summer and I have been rushing through the door day in day out! It has been crazy busy but it has been all great.. :) June began with a work trip to St.Louis and I was physced! The trip went really well and I did get some time to drive through downtown St.Louis and get a glance of the lovely arch! The arch was absolutely beautiful and it was a lovely sunny day to be at. 

On one of the weekdays I drove through a mall nearby and found something really uncommon in one of the artsy stores. They had live crabs for sale called Hermit Crabs!

The shells on the crabs were painted with cute patterns and at first glance one would have really no clue that there was a crab in it! I was almost tempted to touch one of them..

The rest of the June past by with more work and really didn't leave me anytime to bake. This has been the first month in a long time that I did not bake! Hopefully I will make up for it this month. :) I did cook a lot and in fact I can now proudly say that I make really soft fluffy rotis! :) That was one more thing I had to master sooner or later and practice for the past month has made it possible. 

With summer I am reminded about India. This would be the season when one would get the best of the tropical fruits! The markets would be loaded with mangoes, cherries, jackfruits and lychees! It was years since I had a yummy lychee and the other day at the Indian grocery market I spotted them! I literally ran to grab a bunch and the moment I was home I was enjoying the fresh flavor! Along with these lovely fruits the one thing that I miss about India is the 'Naturals' ice-cream. Its a local chain that sells fresh fruit ice-cream which ranges everything from coconut, chikoo to lychee ice-cream! I got so nostalgic that I just had to make it and ofcourse of a healthier kind! The ice-cream came out to be really rich and bursting with flavor. I experimented with the recipe using the basic vanilla ice-cream recipe as my base. Another great way to use lychee / lychee juice is in cocktails! I cant wait to buy my next batch and experiment with it..ummm! :)

Lychee by itself is really yummy and I can finish a dozen in a matter of minutes..really seconds.. :P But the best part about it is the health benefits that lychee has, read on here for more! Though to truthfully say it I love lychee for its flavor and really had no clue about how healthy it really is until recently. 

Lychee Honey Ice-cream

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped lychees or use the canned one with the juice from the can

1.5 cups 2% milk

1 cup heavy whipping cream

5 tbsp honey

4 tbsp sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Zest from 1/2 lime 

• In a large bowl, mix the milk,cream,honey and sugar. Once mixed well, add the vanilla extract followed by the lychees and the juice. Let the mixture refrigerate for 1-2 hrs.
• Take the mixture out and mix the zest in and pour the mixture into your ice-cream maker. Follow the instructions on your ice-cream maker and let the ice-cream churn. Transfer to a freezer-proof box and let it refrigerate for 2-3 hours at a minimum. Enjoy!

Work has taken most of my time away in the past month and I am really trying to keep myself on track with my usual schedule..so here's hoping to getting back to more blogging and enjoying the summer with all my readers! Have a great 4th of July everyone! :)