Stuffed Hash Brown Patties

Hash brown refers to fried diced/shredded potatoes. Shredded potatoes can be shaped into patties or pressed down into a hot pan to form a pancake shape. In some places, any side dish made of shredded potatoes are also known as hash browns. Frozen hash browns are widely available, but it is very simple to make at home.

When you have a child who asks for hash brown patties at least three times a week, you might end up with something like stuffed hash browns as well. Kids' version of hash browns at my home, is simply grated potatoes mixed with salt and a little flour, shaped into patties, fried until golden brown, and served with a dip.

Potatoes are wonderful in any recipes, especially when it is fried. So I tried to spice up the plain hash browns by stuffing it with cilantro chutney mix, and it turned out great. Sounds like an easier version of the good old aloo tikkis? Yup!

To make the cilantro chutney:
Cilantro leaves - 1 cup, loosely packed

Green chilli - 1 or more to taste

Shallots - 1

Curry leaves - a few (optional)

Grated coconut - 4 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Lemon juice - 1 tsp or more to taste

I have learned that small capacity food processors are good for making chutnies(without water) in small amounts rather than the big 11 cup capacity food processors. My blender came with a one cup capacity food processor attachment(actually I was badly looking for a blender with a small attachment like that!), and I love it for making chutnies without water.

First, process all the ingredients except coconut and lemon juice. Then add coconut and process again. Do not add any water. Add lemon juice at the end.

To make the patties:

Potatoes - 3 big. (one big potato makes 2 patties)

Salt - to taste

All purpose flour - 1 1/2 tbsp(acts as the binding agent here)

Oil - for shallow frying

Cilantro chutney- 1 tbsp for each patties

Peel and grate the potatoes using a fine grater. I use the medium grating side of my box grater. Squeeze out all the water from the grated potatoes and place it in a bowl. Add salt and flour and mix well. (You may also add pepper powder and a little minced onion to this.) Shape into patties with 1 tbsp chutney stuffed inside. Fry on medium heat until golden brown, about 6 to 8 minutes each side.

I have also tried stuffing it with cheese and it came out great.

This is my entry for Jihva for Potatoes at dear Vaishali's Happy Burp.

Old Fashioned Cake - Cooking with kids!

This is a very simple, old fashioned and kid-friendly recipe.

The batter is mixed with hot milk which gives the cake a melt-in-the-mouth kind of texture.

The measures given here make enough batter for a two layer cake. You may halve the ingredients for a single layer cake.

You will need:

Eggs- 4

Sugar-2 cups

Vanilla – 1 tsp

All purpose flour – 2 ¼ cups

Baking powder – 2 tsp

Milk – 1 ¼ cup

Butter – ½ cup

Glaze – ½ cup

Cream cheese icing (recipe follows)

Beat eggs and sugar using a wire whisk. Let your child do it while you measure the flour and baking powder. Add the flour and baking powder to the egg mixture and combine. Heat milk with butter just until the butter melts. Gradually add it to the batter and whisk until combined. Add vanilla. Pour into a greased cake pan and bake at 350 degree F for 30-35 minutes.

Remove the cake from the pan and let it cool completely.

Brush the cake with glaze. I used a 12oz. jar of pineapple topping. I strained it through a strainer and used the liquid for glazing and the pineapple pieces for garnishing!

To make the icing:

Cream cheese - 4 oz

Butter - 1/2 stick

Powdered sugar - 2 cups

Vanilla - 1/2 tsp

Keep butter and cream cheese outside the refrigerator for a couple of hours until it is soft. Then beat them together until it is smooth. I used an electric mixer. Add powdered sugar gradually and keep mixing at a low speed. Beat it until it is smooth and a spreadable consistency.

Spread it evenly on the cake.

This is for Trupti's Little Chefs in the Kitchen event, though a tad late.

Dried Tomatoes Chutney

I am an ardent fan of chutneys. When I was a child, my school lunch box would come home clean if my mom packed some chammanthi with rice. Those chammanthis were made of either green mangoes or gooseberries, and ground using a grinding stone and pestle. But for some unknown reasons, whipping up a chutney is not always a piece of cake for me. I go through a lot of planning and pondering before making a chutney. The coconut chutney I often make for idli & dosa is an exception. Recently I tried peanut chutney for the very first time, which I felt like an Indian version of peanut butter.

Are chutney and chammanthi the same? Is chammanthi the Malayalam word for chutney? Maybe…. But not for me! I identify chutney as the one we make in a blender with water added. Chammanthi is made using a grinding stone without adding any water.

This dried tomato chutney is just an adaptation of annita’s onion chutney. I swapped tamarind with sun-dried tomatoes.

Sun-dried tomatoes come either dry or packed in oil with or without herbs added. You may use any kind for this recipe.

This is how I made it: Heat up 1 tbsp of oil in a pan and add chopped red onions (one, medium sized). Saute it until translucent. Add 2-3 dried red chillies (I deseeded them), a small piece of ginger, a few curry leaves, and about 6 pieces of sun-dried tomato halves. Cook until the tomatoes are soft, about two minutes. Remove from the stove and grind it to a smooth paste.

Dried tomatoes have a distinct flavor and this chutney tasted good with dosa and idli.

Do you see what I see?



Need more?
Annita's Thenga Chammanthi & Uppumanga Chutney, Giniann's Coconut Sammanthi, Avarma's ulli-mulaku chammanthi, Inji's Kaanthaarimulaku Chammanthi, Shynee's Unakkachemmeen Chammanthi, Pravs' Brinjal Chutney, Roopa's Tomato Chutney, Shaheen's Tomato Garlic Chutney & Biriyani Chammanthi, and Carnation's Dry Chemmeen Chammanthi.

Pasta with Chicken & Roasted Garlic

I ended up with this dish while trying to replicate a dish we had at Romano's Macaroni Grill years ago. This is closer to what they served at the restaurant but not the same. We all love this home made version now, and almost forgot the the taste of the original dish. We have to make another trip to the Macaroni Grill if we want to know how it originally tasted! Nowadays I cook this often, especially when I have leftover grilled chicken.

Preparing the chicken:

You need two boneless chicken breasts. Slice them thin and marinate with salt & pepper for at least 30 minutes. Apply a little oil on the grill. Grill 6-8 minutes(or until done) on both sides. Let it cool down and cut into strips. Keep aside. Alternatively, you may use leftover grilled chicken, or cooked chicken without any colorful masalas such as chilli powder & turmeric powder!. You may experiment with that, but I am afraid it would color up the whole dish.

You also need about 1/3 cup of sun-dried tomatoes(don't use fresh tomatoes). If you have the dried tomatoes that comes in oil, you can use it as it is. If you use the dry kind, soften it in a heated pan with butter. Keep aside.

Ingredients for the sauce:

Garlic - 3-5 cloves
Heavy Cream - 2 cups
Fresh parsley(flat-leaf) - 1/2 cup, chopped, and more for garnishing
Parmesan Cheese - 1/2 cup + 1/4 cup for garnishing
Salt & Pepper- to taste

Roast the garlic cloves. To roast, keep them in a 300 degree F oven for about 15 minutes. The flesh should turn soft and golden color. Let them cool. Reserve two garlic cloves and mash the others to form a paste. (Please do not substitute fresh garlic instead of roasted garlic. It is the roasted garlic that gives this dish an incomparable taste.)

You can do all the above steps in advance. But it is better to do the following steps right before serving. This pasta dish does keep good until the next day, but the sauce dries up a bit. So I prefer to serve it as quickly as possible.

Cook pasta according to package directions. You need bow-tie pasta(that's what they used in the restaurant!), about 6 oz. While the pasta is cooking, you can prepare the sauce as follows.

Mix the roasted garlic paste with the heavy cream, and bring it to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add chopped parsley and parmesan cheese. Add salt & pepper to taste. Stir well using a whisk and turn off the stove.

Drain the pasta and mix with sauce. Chop the reserved garlic cloves and add to the pasta. Add chicken strips and dried tomatoes. Mix well and serve hot sprinkled with more parmesan cheese and more chopped parsley.
They had mushrooms in the original dish. Since I have mushroom haters at home, I left it out. If you choose to add it, you can saute it in butter with salt and add it to the pasta along with chicken and tomatoes.

More pictures from the workshop(please click to enlarge):

Ingredients for the sauce! I thought I got it all, but where is the cheese?

White sauce ready to go in the pasta

Grilled chicken cut into strips