Brussels Sprouts and Dill Chicken Burgers

Lately, these chicken burgers are what I have been eating a LOT of. My husband and kids love it. I make a large batch, and then I'm set for a meal or two! Plus, it gets some green veggies in too.  Improvise this recipe to suit your pantry. 

Change the greens around, add herbs of your choice, use different spice mixtures, switch the chicken to turkey or beef. Enjoy and get creative, barbecue away this summer! 

Ingredients
1 tablespoon coconut oil 
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 cup minced red onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2-inch ginger, minced
1 cup finely sliced brussel sprouts (or 1/2 bunch spinach, finely sliced, or 1 cup finely sliced Kale)
2 tablespoons fresh dill (optional)
1 teaspoon garam masala
Salt, to taste

1 lb ground chicken
1 teaspoon coriander powder
Red chili powder, to taste (optional)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Method

1. In a large skillet, heat the oil. Fry the cumin seeds for a minute, or until the color changes slightly, do not burn the seeds. Immediately add the onions and sauté until it turns pink. 
2. Once the onions turn pink, add the green vegetable (brussels sprouts or spinach or kale), dill, garam masala, and salt. Cook until the vegetable is cooked, remove from heat.
3. While the onion-vegetable mixture cools, in a large mixing bowl, mix together the ground chicken, coriander powder, red chili powder, and fresh cilantro.
4. Mix the cooled onion-vegetable mixture with the ground chicken and form burgers. Use an ice cream scoop to make it easier. 
5. Cook the burgers over medium heat for about 5 minutes on each side.

If you want to freeze the burgers, form them and lay the uncooked burgers out on a baking tray. Put it in the freezer for 15–20 minutes. Remove and put them in a resealable bag. 

Double Chocolate Cookies

It's a rainy day, and schools are closed for the summer holidays— keeping my four year old busy with decorating a chefs hat, an apron, and baking cookies was a super fun way to be cooped up at home. 

I tried a recipe from The Everything Kids Cookbook and we surely weren't disappointed. The cookies are soft and chewy, rich and decadent. 

Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 eggs, room temperature

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to combine the first five ingredients, until smooth.
3. Add the next four ingredients.
4. When the batter is smooth and creamy, stir in the chocolate chips.
5. Drop dough by spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet, or use a melon scoop to make them even and easier for your kid to do.
6. Bake for 8 minutes for chewy cookies and longer (up to 10 minutes) for crispier ones.
7. Remove cookies from oven and let it cool for 1 minute before removing cookies.

South Indian Egg Roast

I have no idea how I lived my entire life without eating these eggs. A few boiled eggs in the fridge go a long way for me— a quick breakfast, an egg salad sandwich for my kids, or an egg and tomato curry. Now that I discovered this recipe on Spices and Aroma, I am hooked! It has changed the way I view a boiled egg forever— and it'll probably change yours too. Someone suggested that we put it directly on the grill, I haven't tried it, but it sounds like a pretty amazing idea.

Ingredients

5 boiled eggs, peeled, sliced in half length wise

2 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 tablespoon coriander powder

2 tablespoons curry leaves, finely chopped

Salt, Pepper, to taste

Water to mix spices into a paste

2 tablespoons vegetable, coconut, or olive oil

Directions

1. Make a smooth thick paste with all the ingredients, except boiled eggs and oil.
2. Heat oil in a wide saucepan.
3. Using hands, smear a layer of the spice mix and gently layer the eggs and let it brown on each side, about 10–12 minutes. Remove and serve hot with rice or any carb of your choice.

Tandoori Shrimp

I could barely believe it when my dear friend Gunjan called me, to ask me to help her teach high school students, at the Dalton School, Indian cooking. The main reason I began writing this blog, was to share quick and easy recipes, and help promote more home cooking. Teaching kids felt like it was the ultimate! 

This recipe, inspired by a recipe by Suvir Saran, in his book American Masala, was simple and delicious. It also helped introduce the students to some of the many Indian spices. Make a batch of the marinate, smear it on paneer, shrimp, fish, chicken, lamb, cauliflower or anything you fancy, and enjoy! Adjust the spice levels and make it kid-friendly. My four year old son loved it on shrimp (omitted the chili for him). In fact, we had some extra mushrooms at the class, so I grilled the mushrooms on a cast iron pan, with the sour cream tandoori marinade and it turned out delicious!  

The students responded very well to this recipe and hopefully some of them will be cooking it at home! And read the notes below for other ways you can apply this recipe, and get more creative. 

Ingredients

For the marinade:

1 tablespoon paprika

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1 small red onion, quartered

4 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped

2-inch piece ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

1/2 cup sour cream

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon toasted cumin

1 teaspoon black pepper

3/4 teaspoon ground cardamon

1/2 teaspoon red chili (or cayenne pepper)

Pinch of ground cinnamon

Pinch of garam masala

1 1/2 lbs shrimp, medium (shelled and deveined), about 20–25 pieces

6 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 lemon, juiced + 1 lemon, cut into wedges for serving

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, for garnish

Method

1. Place all of the marinade ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth.
2. Pour over shrimp, cover and marinade for half an hour or overnight.
3. Preheat the grill or grill pan to medium-high (you should be able to hold your hand 5-inches above the grate).
4. Add the oil, and grill the shrimp in batches, to not overcrowd the pan or grill, cooking until each side is browned, 2 minutes on each side.
5. Remove from the pan, squeeze lemon juice and garnish with lemon wedges and cilantro.

Notes

1. The shrimp can be substituted for chicken or lamb. Revise cooking time accordingly. 
2. Tandoor Shrimp Pizza: You can serve it on a flat bread of your choice (such as Indian naan / focaccia / pizza dough), spread hummus on the flat bread, add 4 pieces of shrimp on each flat bread, top with cilantro chutney, sprinkle with some goat cheese, garnish with chopped cilantro and finely diced red pepper.
3. Tandoor Shrimp Sliders: Spread mayonnaise on a slider bun, green chutney (or pesto), tomato slices, onion slices, Tandoor shrimp, and fresh cilantro.