Lazy Hubbie's Panini

My husband doesn't like cooking much.If he has to cook something for survival this is one dish he like to make. He has become such a fan of this that now-a-days he even volunteers to make this when I am not around. I am sure you would also enjoy this simple sandwich.
Ingredients:

Bread-2 slices

Cheese spread-1tbs

Onion-2tbs

Tomatoes-1tbs

Cilantro-1tsp

Butter-1tbs

Pepper- to taste

Salt-to taste

Method:

Spread cheese-spread  on one side of the first slice of bread. Layer with chopped onions (we prefer this as it is less messy to eat this way),de-seeded tomatoes (this prevents the bread turning mushy),cilantro,pepper and salt. To the other slice of the bread apply butter on one side and then put the buttered slice facing the fillings. Place it in the preheated panini press and cook till the sandwich turns golden brown.

Oven Roasted Asparagus

Asparagus is something which we don't usually try out; though we had tried it on a few occasions previously. But because of its medicinal properties whenever I find a recipe that I think would suit us, I try it out, but it never seemed to work for us. Last week while watching Kitchen Boss in TLC, I came across this recipe being presented and thought that it would work, seeing the ingredients that went into making it. And it really did.
Ingredients:
1pound medium-thick stalks asparagus
I tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
Coarse Kosher or sea salt
Red chilli flakes
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
Chunk of Parmesan for grating
Method:
Preheat oven to 450° with a rack set in the middle. Rinse and pat dry the asparagus. One spear at a time, snap off the bottoms of each stalk where it wants to breaks naturally.If you are a person who doesn't like asparagus's tough skin you can peel the skin using a peeler
Place the asparagus on a sheet pan and toss the asparagus with enough evo just to coat. Add a generous pinch of salt and red chilli flakes and toss to coat.
Sprinkle the breadcrumbs and grated parmesan evenly across the spears and place the sheet tray in the oven to roast for 7-10 minutes.
Remove the asparagus from the oven when the breadcrumbs are golden brown and the asparagus tips are starting to brown.

Ash-e Mast

Ash-e Mast is a lightly spiced yogurt based thick soup with herbs,white rice,chick peas with addition of meat and/or vegetables. I decided to make this as I wanted to make a Persian dish that is a little spicy and that would suit the cold winter weather. My search for such a dish ended up on My Persian Kitchen, and by the looks of it, I knew it would be something my family would love to try out. Of course, as usual I substituted some of the ingredients with my own and came up with this modified version of the recipe.
Ingredients
2 onions
4 cloves garlic
2 cups soya granules
1 egg
1/2 cup chickpeas, dried
1/3 cup rice
1 bunch parsley, equivalent to 4 cups
1 bunch cilantro, equivalent to 3 cups
1 bunch mint, equivalent to 2 cups
1 bunch green onions or chives
1/4 + 1/8 tsp turmeric
yogurt
Method:
Saute one of the onions and 3 garlic cloves until translucent. Add 1/4 tsp turmeric and saute for another minute. Add 4 cups of water, a dash of salt and add chickpeas. cover and cook for one hour.If using a pressure cooker for 20 minutes.
In the mean time, puree the second onion along with one clove of garlic.Add 1/8 tsp turmeric, salt and pepper.Mix well together. Add soya granules and an egg and mix it all well.
Make little balls with the above mixture about the size of a cherry.
Add rice to the chickpeas along with 3 cup of vegetable broth (or water). Cook for 15 minutes more.If using a pressure cooker cook for another 8 minutes.
Rough chop your herbs.
Add soya balls to the chickpeas and rice.  Add salt & pepper to adjust seasoning.
Add herbs cover and cook for 5 minutes till the soya balls are cooked on  medium. While cooking make sure to stir the pot every so often to make sure that the bottom doesn’t stick.  Further adjust seasoning if needed.

Once the Ash-e(soup) is ready you can either add 2 cups of yogurt to the pot or a dollop of yogurt to each  bowl.  If you are adding the yogurt to the pot, let it warm through gently making sure it does not boil. Sending this over to A.W.E.D- Iranian by DK, hosted by Sweet Artichoke.

Eggplant Parmesan

My daughter doesn't like to eat any dish made with egg-plant if she knows what the ingredient is. The only way I can make her eat any egg plant preparation is to camouflage it in such a way that she won't suspect it is egg-plant. Since she is a lover of Italian food (with me taking liberties to suite the Indian palette of ours), I found this recipe one sure way to make her eat some egg-plant.
The original recipe: Family Circle
Ingredients:
Egg plant - 1 big, cut into 1/4" thick circles (I shaved off the skin also, but you can leave the skin on)
Bread-crumbs - 3/4 cup
Eggs- 2 numbers
Chilli paste - 3 tbsp (or to your taste)
Salt - to taste
Garlic powder - 1/2 tsp
For the sauce:
Garlic - 4 cloves
Canned tomatoes - 2 cans
Oregano - 1 1/2 tsp
Red pepper flakes - 1/4 tsp
Basil (fresh) - 1/2 cup
Onion - 1/2 cup, diced
Mozzarella cheese - 1/2 cup
Pasta - 1 packet, cooked following the directions on the pack
Method:
For the Egg Plant :
Heat the oven to 400 degree F. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. In a plate, mix bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, oregano and salt. In another plate, lightly whisk the eggs. In a bowl, mix the garlic powder and chilli paste. Apply this chilli paste evenly on to both sides of the egg plant slices. Dip each slice in the egg and coat it with bread crumb mix. Place the egg plant slices on the prepared baking tray, spray with cooking oil evenly and bake for 25 minutes or until it is brown or tender.
For the Sauce:
While the egg plant is in the oven, heat a skillet, add 2 tbsp of cooking oil and saute the onions till slightly brown. Add garlic, tomato, oregano, salt and red pepper flakes. Simmer this, stirring occasionally for 10 mts. Add basil to the sauce. If you like a chunky sauce, leave it as it is or if you want is smoother, you can blend this using a hand blender.
Overlap the eggplant slices on a baking sheet(make 4 piles), spoon sauce evenly over each portion. Don't use up the whole sauce - reserve about 1/4th for serving. Evenly sprinkle with Mozzarella cheese and bake at 400 degrees F for 10 mts. Serve the eggplant with pasta and the sauce that was reserved.
Sending this over to Bake Off hosted by Champa  and to Akila for her event Dish Name Starts with:E