Cheese Rolls

Diwali is just 4 days away and with the amount of guests that come home during this time; I am always looking for more and more snack recipe so that you are not spending too much time in the kitchen preparing the goodies to be served and at the same time the snacks are not repetitive.

Cheese Rolls is a quick and easy recipe which can be prepared ahead of time and need to be baked 20 mins before your guestes arrive.

Cheese Rolls is a healthy dish which can served as party or finger food as well.

Ingredients:

4 phyllo dough sheets
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese diced
1 cup corn
2-3 spring onions chopped
2 green chilies finely chopped
2 tsp soya sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

Method:

In a pan, heat oil and add the chopped garlic, green chilies and spring onions to the pan. Add corn to the pan and mix well. Add soya sauce, salt and pepper along with the coriander to the pan and let it cook for 5 mins. Remove the pan from the burner and add the diced mozarella cheese to the pan and mix well.

Line the 4 phyllo sheets one on the other on a flat surface and cut the sheets with the help of a knife to a about 5-7 inch size pieces. Add the filling to each sheet and roll them over in the form of spring rolls. Seal the edges with the help of water and transfer to a baking sheet (greased with olive oil). At this step you can either keep it refrigerated or bake it in the oven for 15 - 20 mins till the phyllo gets a golden brown color.

Serve hot with coriander and mint chutney.

Tastes divine and heavenly!!!!!!

Whole wheat Rotini Pasta with Pesto and Mozzarella Cheese

Pasta is one of my favorite comfort foods and to add to it, if it is made from whole wheat or whole grain; I really don’t feel guilty eating a big bowl of pasta. Whole wheat pasta has all the nutrition and health benefits and it’s no longer considered an ingredient which is eaten by people who are on a diet. Rotini pasta has the twisted shape to it and it blends really well with the various pasta sauces.

Pesto has the goodness of basil leaves and is blended with pine nuts, garlic and olive oil to a smooth paste, which is then mixed with the pasta to make a delicious pasta salad or it could be eaten as a stand alone as well.

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat rotini pasta
2 table spoons pesto sauce
2 table spoons marinara sauce
½ cup corn kernels (frozen/ fresh)
½ cup pasta water
2 table spoons mozzarella cheese (cut into dices)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 table spoon chopped coriander leaves


Method:

• Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. Add the rotini pasta to the pot, season with salt. Boil the pasta till its al dente and it roughly takes about 8-10 mins for the pasta to cook. Retain ½ cup of the pasta water. Drain the pasta and transfer to a mixing bowl.
• Add the marinara and pesto sauce to the pan; add corn to the bowl as well. Add salt and pepper to taste along with the mozzarella cheese. Mix all the ingredients well. Now add pasta water to the bowl little by little mixing all the ingredients well so that we have a thick sauce which is well coated throughout the pasta.
• Add chopped coriander leaves to the pasta bowl for garnish and serve warm or you could also chill the pasta in the fridge and serve chilled.


I am sending this recipe to Easy Crafts from Simple Indian Food WYF series is "Salad/Starters/Soups".

Pizza Margarita

Pizza Margarita is a very famous Italian recipe which has very simple ingredients which includes mozzarella cheese, basil leaves and tomato sauce. We have a very famous café in Maryland called Cosi and that is where I ate this pizza for the first time and loved it so much that I had to give it a try. I did add red capsicum to the pizza as it adds bite to the dish.

Try this recipe and I am sure you will love every bite of this simple Italian pizza.

Ingredients: Serves 4

Ready to bake Pillsbury thin crust pizza dough – 1 can
1 cup tomato sauce
10 -12 basil leaves
1 cup sliced mozzarella cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste
Oil for greasing the baking sheet
½ cup sliced red capsicum

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degree F for 10 mins. Grease the baking sheet with olive oil
• Take the thin crust pizza dough and spread it on to the baking sheet.
• Add the tomato sauce all over the pizza dough and spread it evenly.
• Now add the red capsicum, basil leaves and sliced mozzarella cheese. Keep aside some basil leaves for garnish
• Sprinkle salt and pepper to the pizza and bake it in the oven for 10 mins or till the cheese melts and the crust is golden brown.
• Garnish with basil leaves and serve hot.