Onion Samosa

Samosa is a popular and favorite snack of India. This snack is originated from central asia, with a presence world wide. This snack is available as deep fried one in the markets but to make it healthy you can bake it too. So here I'm sharing both ways (deep-fried & baked) of making this dish with my one of my favorite fillings. You can make the layer from scratch or can use store bought wonton wraps to make this snack.
I'm not so crazy about these store bought samosa's with the traditional filling, but my favorite one's & those I go crazy for are sold in trains. Yes...I know they aren't made in hygienic conditions & the oil used has no words to explain. They are small in size & the onion filling makes them so tasty.
Filling is the main part of samosa. The classic filling in samosa is made of onions, potatoes & peas. You can play with fillings of your choice & can enjoy this snack. I used onion poha filling in this recipe as it is one my favorites & also a yummy filling.

Prep Time-30mins
Cook Time- 30mins to 40mins
Serves - 12
Ingredients 
For filling 
1Onion finely chopped
1/4Cup poha
Few curry leaves
1/4Tsp turmeric
1Tsp red chili powder
2Tbs oil
Salt to taste
For Outer layer 
1Cup all-purpose flour + some flour for dusting
1Tsp lemon juice
Pinch of salt
Water
For flour paste 
2Tbs all-purpose flour
2Tsp water
Directions 

Onion Filling
- Heat pan with oil. To that add onions & curry leaves. Fry them till onions are translucent.
- Add salt, chili powder & turmeric. Cook for 1min & switch off heat.
- Add poha & mix them well. Balance salt & chili powder if needed.

Making the outer layer
- Mix ingredients under out layer by adding little water at a time & form a smooth dough.
- Cover dough with a wet cloth & allow it to sit for 15mins before making roti's.
- Divide dough in to 6 equal balls. Dust the base where you are rolling the roti with little flour.
- Roll a thin roti out of the dough as seen above & keep aside. Repeat the same with rest of the dough balls.
- Heat a wide pan & allow it to get hot. Now lay a roti on hot pan & cook on both sides till the wetness disappears as seen above.
- Remove from pan & repeat the same with rest of the roti's.
Flour paste
- Mix flour & water to form a smooth paste.
Making Samosa
- Cut roti's into half as seen above. Layer the flour paste to the straight line of roti & fold it to cone shape. Press the edges a little to make sure they are stuck together.
- Now place spoon full of stuffing it to the pocket & stick the edges using flour paste. Now samosa is ready to be fried or baked. Repeat the same with rest of the stuffing & cut roti's.
For Baking 
- Pre-heat oven @400F & line up a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Arrange samosa's on the baking sheet with a little gap in between & brush them with little oil on both sides.
- Bake them @400F for 15mins & by now they should be mildly brown in color. Flip samosa's to other sideBake them for another 10 to 15mins. You can see a brown crust on top of samosa.
- Remove them from oven & cool them on counter.

Deep Frying 
- Heat oil for deep frying. Add in uncooked samosa's to pan & fry them on medium to low heat till they are nice & brown in color. You can fry couple of samosa's or more at a time depending on the pan size.
- Remove them onto a paper towel once they are golden in color on both sides. 
-Serve them hot as they are or along with green chutney or ketchup.
Note
- You can use your favorite filling instead of the one shared here.
- Brush a generous amount of oil on both sides of samosa's before baking them. This will give you crisp samosa's when you bake.
- Baked samosa's are crunchy when they are warm & are less crunchier after 1hr.

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Egg in the Hole

Egg in the Hole as the name suggests a sunny side egg in a bread hole baked or cooked on stove-top. As I have mentioned in my previous posts we (me & hubby) love eggs to be part of our diet. This recipe is easy peasy & also scrumptious for a breakfast. I have used white bread in this recipe but you can make this delicious breakfast with any bread of your choice. I have shared both baked & stove-top methods here. My favorite is stove-top because of it's simplicity.

Prep Time-5mins 
Cook Time-15mins 
Serves-2people
Ingredients
4Bread slices {Any kind}
4Eggs 
1/2Cup shredder cheese
Oil or butter
Salt & pepper as needed
Directions

Baked Version 
- Pre-heat oven @350F. Spray a baking sheet with oil & keep aside. 
- Cut bread in a desired shape by using a cookie cutter of your choice. The ideal cutter would be a round one & used the same. 
- Now lay the bread slices on the baking sheet. Break open egg in one bread hole & repeat the same with rest of the eggs. 
- Egg white does skid out a little, place the baking sheet in oven right away you finished filling the holes. 
- Bake for 10mins & remove out of oven. By now eggs are set in place & now evenly sprinkle salt, pepper & cheese on them.
-Bake for another another 5mins or till the cheese is settled on bread. This will set the yolk too.
- Remove from oven. Cool it on counter top & serve it.
Stove-top Version 
- Heat a pan & add a dollop of butter to pan. 
- Place cut bread on pan & break open a egg in to the hole. Cook it for few seconds till the egg white is set. Flip bread & cook for few seconds. With this the yellow won't be runny & will be set perfectly.
- Now reverse the bread. Sprinkle salt, pepper & cheese on bread. Allow cheese to melt & it hardly takes seconds for cheese to melt as the bread is already hot enough.
- Once the cheese is melted remove bread from pan.
- Repeat the same with rest of the bread slices & eggs.
-Serve warm & enjoy the healthy breakfast. 

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Baked Granola

Granola is a healthy breakfast dish.  I first tasted granola at a hotel breakfast bar & instantly fell in love with it. I love crunchy food & granola is mildly crunchy which won't put so much of stress on your tooth too. Granola is mix of oats, sweetener,  nuts, dried fruits & some butter. It is a perfect filling breakfast to start your day with. I used steel cut oats to make this dish as it gives this a much crunchier texture. But the original granola consists of rolled oats & a little mix of steel cut oats too. You can play with the recipe & customize it as you like. Like for a sweetener you can go with brown sugar, maple syrup, granulated sugar, honey or any other sweetener of your choice.  I came across few microwavable granola dishes which I would love to give them a try in near future. For now I'm settling with this baked granola which makes me happy in tummy.

Prep Time-5mins
Cook Time-35mins
Serves-4people
Ingredients
1Cup steel cut oats
1/4Cup brown sugar
2Tbs butter @ room temperature
1/4Tsp salt
1/4Cup pumpkin seeds
1/4Cup sliced almonds
1/4Cup chopped apricots
Directions 

- Pre-heat oven @300F degrees & line the baking sheet with lining.
- In bowl mix all the above ingredients & spread the mixture evenly on baking sheet without any lumps.
- Bake @300F degrees for 15mins. Then remove granola mixture from oven & shuffle it to bake it evenly.
- Place back the baking sheet in oven & bake for 20 more minutes or till it turned to mild brown in color.
- Remove from oven & cool it on counter. In case of lumps break them before storing.
- Store it in a airtight container.
Note
- I have used only steel cut oats. You can replace them with rolled oats or can make a crunchy granola with half & half of both.

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Scrambled Eggs

Scrambled eggs are perfect & healthy morning breakfast. This is a easy recipe which will be ready in 2mins & for a busy day this dish comes in handy. Scrambled eggs are our favorite & we love having them for any course of meal. 
Eggs are the hero of any american style breakfast. When ever we vacation we never miss to try out breakfast dishes that are locally available & love to enjoy the many variation of egg dishes for breakfast.  Recently we even started brunching on weekends & believe me they are truly satisfying. My husband enjoys the simple scrambled egg as one of the orders. They are fluffy, soft & yum to taste. It's a texture hard to get in Indian style omelette. Later I realized that the secret was adding milk & butter to the egg mixture. Here I tried this microwaved scrambled eggs with those changes & could feel the similar texture I was aiming for.

Prep Time-1min
Cook Time-2mins
Serves-1person
Ingredients 
2Eggs
2Tbs milk
2Tsp butter @ room temperature
1Tsp freshly ground black pepper
Salt to taste
Ketchup for garnish
Directions 
- In a microwavable mug break open eggs. Add in salt, pepper & milk.
- Whisk it to smooth mixture.
- Microwave it on high for 1min. Eggs should have puffed half way. So go ahead & microwave for 1more minute on high. By now it must have raised up perfectly.
- Cool it for few minutes. Using a fork you can scramble the egg & enjoy it with a dash of ketchup.
Note
- You can make this dish on stove top too.

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Quiche Bread Pockets

Quiche is a savory breakfast dish. Quiche is a crust based dish but you can find many crustless ones online. One of those variations to this recipe I came across is baking egg mixture in bread. In coincidence I had some left over bread & decided on giving this dish a try. You can use white, wheat or your choice of bread to make this dish. The egg mixture I used is a basic omelette batter but you can get creative and add in few more greens like spinach, broccoli or your choice of veggies to suite your taste buds. You can either use the whole egg or just the egg whites to make it healthy. 

Adapted from here - Quiche Toast Cups 
Prep Time-15mins 
Cook/Bake Time-25mins 
Serves - 2 to 3 people
Ingredients 
6Bread slices 
3Eggs
1/2Onion finely chopped 
1Tbs minced garlic
1Tomato finely chopped
3Tbs chopped coriander leaves 
1/4Cup parmesan cheese
3Tbs milk 
Oil to grease pan
Salt & black pepper to taste

Directions 
- Pre-heat oven @300 degrees. Grease pan & keep aside.
- In a bowl add onions, tomatoes, coriander leaves, cheese, garlic, milk, salt & pepper. Mix them well. 
- To the bowl break open eggs & whisk the mixture smooth.
- Stuff breads in to greased pan & keep it in the oven for few minutes. Remove from oven & add in the ready mixture to bread pockets.
- Bake them @300 degrees for 20 to 25mins. They will be puffed as seen in the picture & time to remove from oven. 
- Cool them on counter for few minutes & serve them as they are or with ketchup. 
Note
- You can cut bread rinds for neat look.
- Roll bread a little to flatten it & it will make the jobs easy of stuffing bread in the pan. I skipped rolling the bread. 
- Play with ingredients as you like. 

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Baked French Toast

Baked French Toast is a different way of making regular french toast. The process of making a french remains the same in both procedures, but the only difference is the cooking method. I was little skeptical while I was making this dish about how it will turn out & all. But surprisingly it came out very well & was very satisfying too. You can flavor up this dish by adding few blueberries, strawberries while baking & enjoy the goodness of them. For today I'm sharing a very basic baked french toast dish that tastes awesome. Enjoy!!!

Prep Time-15mins 
Cook/Bake Time-30 to 40mins 
Serves-2people
Ingredients 
6Bread slices 
1&1/2Cup milk {2%fat}
2Tbs butter @room temperature
1Large egg
1Tsp vanilla extract
4Tbs sugar 
1/4Cup chopped almonds to garnish
1Tbs melted butter for greasing the pan
Maple syrup to serve {Optional}
Directions 
- Pre-heat oven @400 degrees & grease baking dish with butter.
- In a bowl break open the egg. To that add in milk, butter, vanilla extract & sugar. Whisk them to smooth batter. 
- Now lay 3bread in baking sheet as they fit. Pour half the batter on the bread & lay the rest 3 bread on top. Pour in the remaining batter on top & press the bread a little. Doing that will allow the bread to soak in the batter. Sprinkle chopped almonds on top evenly. 
- Place baking dish in to oven & bake it for 30 to 40mins. You can see the bread puffed up & also edges get crusty.
- Remove from oven. Cool for 10mins on counter top before you serve. 
- Add a dash of maple syrup & serve it .
Note
- You can replace low fat milk with half & half for much richer taste. 
- Double the recipe for a bigger batch of french toast.

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Baked Omelette

Baked Omelette is a perfect breakfast for any day. This is a simple Indian style omelette which can also be made on a stove top with little more of oil addition to it. I like baking it because of the simplicity of it. Once you have the mixture ready & the bowl is in the oven you can relax or get to the left out work. This dish is very fulling for a breakfast when served along with bagels or bread & a glass of juice. 

Prep Time-10mins 
Cook/Bake Time - 15 to 20mins
Serves-2people
Ingredients 
3 Large eggs
1/2Cup chopped onions 
1Tomato finely chopped 
1/4Cup coriander leaves finely chopped 
1/2Tsp turmeric 
1&1/2Tsp chili powder 
1Tsp garam masala powder {Optional}
Salt to Taste 
Directions 
- Pre-heat oven @350 degrees & line a deep baking bowl with sliver foil. Brush it with little oil.
- In a large bowl add onions, tomatoes, coriander leaves, turmeric, garam masala powder, chili powder & salt. Mix them well.
- Break open eggs in to the veggie mixture. Whisk the mixture & pour it in to the foiled baking dish.
- Bake for 15 to 20mins or until a wooden pick comes out clean. 
- Remove from oven & cool it on counter top.
- Don't use a spatula to remove the omelette. Remove foil from baking dish & flip on to a plate to avoid breaking the omelette. 
- Serve once it is warm.
Note
- I used one whole egg & 2 egg whites instead of whole 3 eggs. 
- You can add in broccoli, spinach & mushrooms for much healthier version.

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Nutella Coffee Mug Cake

Nutella Coffee Mug Cake is a delightful small bite for your cravings. Recently I became a fan of microwavable mug cakes & was experimenting on them a lot.  Microwaving has never interested me & I'm totally against it. But with cravings at odd hours of the day I had to compromise with my beliefs. So here I'm with a cake which is ready in seconds for any time sweet cravings. This is a crumbly, sweet cake which you want to make again & again. You can have it as it is or top it with a scoop of ice cream, few strawberries & savor the goodness.

Prep Time-3mins to 5mins
Cook Time-1min20sec
Serves-1person
Ingredients
3Tbs all-purpose flour
2Tbs milk
2Tbs nutella
1Tbs black coffee
3Tsp sugar
1/4Tsp baking powder
Directions 
- In a microwavable mug add flour, sugar, baking powder, black coffee, nutella & milk. Whisk them together without any lumps.
- Microwave it on high for 1min 20sec.
- Cool it & enjoy.
Note 
- If you want to use instant coffee powder, then add in 3tbs milk & 1Tsp coffee powder { I haven't experimented with this}.

My other favorite which I recently made is " Peanut butter Mug Cake". Give it a try.

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Chocolate Cupcakes

Chocolate Cupcakes are a classic & most favored cupcakes by every one. I tasted & tried many recipes & lastly got hooked to the one that was perfect to my taste buds. I made it many more time before sharing it here & loved how they came out every time. This recipe yields a dozen cupcakes & if needed you can halve the recipe for lesser cupcakes. I 'm not so keen about the frosting so I skipped it, but you can enjoy them by adding your favorite frosting. Enjoy these little sweet chocolaty bites.

Adapted recipe from here.
Prep Time-15mins 
Cook Time- 25min 
Serves-13 to 14cupcakes 
Ingredients 
Dry Ingredients 
3/4Cup all-purpose flour
1/2Cup cocoa powder 
1/2Tsp baking powder 
1/2Tsp baking soda 
1/4Tsp salt 
Wet Ingredients 
1/2Cup buttermilk 
1/2Cup brown sugar
1/2Cup sugar 
2Eggs @ room temperature 
1/4Cup butter melted 
2Tsp vanilla extract 
Directions 
- Pre-heat oven @350 degrees & line the cupcake pan.
- In a bowl sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, soda & salt. Mix them & keep aside. 
- In another large bowl crack open 2eggs along with sugar & butter. Whisk them to creamy texture. Next add in vanilla extract & buttermilk. Whisk them smooth. 
- Next add in little by little of dry ingredients while mixing them together. Don't over whisk the batter.
- Now scoop the batter halfway thru in to one liner & repeat the same with rest of the batter. 
- Bake them @350degree for 25mins or till knife comes out clean. 
- Remove from oven, cool them & frost them as you like. 
Note
- You can replace butter with oil as the original recipe. 
- Sugar- You can either go with half & half as above or can replace with one sugar. But if you choice is brown sugar them you might have to add another 1/4cup of it to make them sweeter. 

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