Match made in heaven...or shud I say...kitchen?

Growing up, I was truly blessed to have a mother who loved experimenting with different types of cuisines. It was somewhat unusual for most kids in my knowhow to have whole meals where the fare was completely continental….whether it was a wok full of vegetable spaghetti with red sauce and garlic bread, or vegetable cutlets with tomato soup, or sizzlers with multiple sides, or pizzas or enchiladas, or ….I truly give credit to my mom’s cooking for my love of multiple types of cuisines.

And in trying to inculcate the same love for different flavors and textures in my boys, I have been working very hard to try and get them to taste a wide variety of food.  The rule at our place is that it is ok if you don’t care for the new dish, as long as you have given it a fair shot….an open minded tasting by trying at least 1 or 2 tsp of the items on your plate.

With my culinary efforts, and thru use of some cajoling and other interesting tactics applied by my husband, the kids appear to have expanded their palate significantly. This has truly helped me further experiment with their lunch boxes as well.

So with that in mind, and considering the popularity of the previous lunch box post (http://samridhiatdivalicious.blogspot.in/2013/09/now-you-see-itnow-you-dont.html), I decided to add some more ideas for all you lovely mommies to consider for your darlings.

MP style poha with steamed sprouts

Healthy with a nice dose of flavor. For the sprouts, soak the lentils overnight (I used a mix of whole green grams and Turkish grams). In a wok, add 1 tsp of oil and let it heat up. Add 1/8 tsp of whole mustard seeds and let them pop. Add some curry leaves with chopped green chili. Stir in chopped onions (2 tsp) and allow to cook for 2-3 mins. Add 3 tsp of chopped tomatoes, salt to taste and the sprouts (1/4 cup). Cover and cook on low heat for 5-6 minutes. Serve topped with fresh chopped cilantro. Add lemon juice to taste if needed.

This is truly one of my favorite snacks/breakfast item. Soak 1/4 cup of thick flattened rice (poha) in water for 10 mins. Take 2 tsp of oil and heat it up. Add a pinch of hing (asafoetida) and 1/8 tsp of mustard seeds. After the seeds splutter, add curry leaves; chopped green chili; peas (2 tbsp.); a pinch of red chili powder and a pinch of turmeric. Stir and add the soaked rice. Add salt to taste and a good dose of sugar (1 tsp at least). You want this to be a good mix of sweet and savory. To finish, add 2 tsp of lemon juice and a sprinkle of chopped cilantro.

 Paneer paratha with blueberry and apple muffin

These paneer parathas are superbly moist and delicious. To make them, start by grating/finely chopping 2 tbsp each of carrots, green beans, cauliflower, onions. Grate 100 gms of paneer. In a pan heat some oil and add the veggies. Add 1 chopped garlic pod, a small pc of ginger grated and salt together with a pinch of garam masala and turmeric. Add the paneer and stir in some chopped cilantro. Cool the mixture and stuff into kneaded whole wheat dough balls and roll into parathas. Cook in a pan or tawa using some oil/ghee. Slice into triangles for easy eating/handling.



The recipe for these muffins were from the website http://www.bestrecipes.com.au/recipe/basic-muffin-base-L8631.html

The modifications I made were to add 1 tsp of vanilla essence, 1/4 tsp of salt, increase the sugar amount by 1/8 cup, adding 1 medium sized apple peeled and chopped together with 1/2 cup of dried blueberries.

Would I call this the best muffins? Unfortunately no. But, they were super easy to make and took me less than 10 mins to assemble. Kids get very excited to see these in their lunch boxes and the addition of fruits helps reduce my guilt :).

Black bean quesadilla with pineapple salsa and nachos



For this very refreshing pineapple salsa, simply chop and mix together 1 medium sized tomato, 1/2 onion, 2 tbsp. cilantro, 1/4 each of red and green bell peppers, de-seeded chili to taste, 2 cloves garlic and 1/2 cup chopped pineapples (I used the tinned variety). Stir it up and add salt, red paprika, juice of 1 lemon and refrigerate for at least 2 hrs.

To say that I saved the best for the last would be an understatement. These quesadillas are really that good!! The pictures above are actually pertaining to the dinner from the night before, which is why you see the corn and spring onion rice with smoked paprika as well as the home made sour cream. The filling was made using 1/2 cup of kidney beans soaked overnight and then boiled well in a pressure cooker. Mash the beans. Finely chop 2-3 tbsp. each of bell peppers, onions, spring onions, tomato. Take a tsp of oil in a pan and add chili flakes together with 2-3 cloves of grated garlic. Add some grated ginger and the veggies. Cook till tender and add the mashed beans. Add salt, 1/4 tsp of sugar, oregano and paprika powder and cook for another 3-4 mins. After the mixture cools down add 1/4 cup of grated cheddar cheese and 1 tbsp. of chopped cilantro. Your mixture is ready. Take the tortilla and cook one side on a pan with some oil. Turn and spread the mix on one half. Fold and cook on both sides till crispy. Remove from pan and allow it to cool down slightly before slicing into 4 triangles. I find that a pizza cutter works best for me.

Hope you get to try one or more of the above recipes and your kids treat you to a day of bringing back their lunch boxes empty!! I know mine always do :).