Zucchini Pancake

Preparation time:15 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves 3

Ingredients:
2 medium zucchini, grated
1/2 cup onions, finely chopped
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1 garlic, minced
3 green chili,chopped
3 eggs
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
6 tbsp whole wheat flour
salt and pepper

Method:
1.Whisk egg is a bowl along with salt and pepper.2.Take another large bowl and add all other ingredients. Finally pour the egg mixture into the bowl.3.Heat a large skillet and spray oil. Drop 3tbsp of the batter into the skillet. Cook about 2 minutes on each side until golden brown.

4.Continue with remaining batter. Serve warm along with ketchup.
COOK'S FILE
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HINT: Make small pancake so that its easy to flip.

Cauliflower Omelet

Wide range of book collections, a coffee shop with good amount of sitting space and wi-fi access. What more you need to spend a silent evening?? A and I have developed an interest in spending most of our Sunday evenings at Borders. Borders a book store with well organized sections of books offers a nice reading space. The cookery section is where I spend most of my time.That is where I came across a book on Lebanese Cuisine by Madelain Farah, this is due to my recent interest on Middle Eastern cooking. One of the recipe that interested me in this book was Ijjit Qarnabit otherwise known as Cauliflower Omelet. Cauliflower!! with eggs and milk ??? sounds different. Cauliflower doesn't find its way to my kitchen very often. We both are not a big fan of cauliflower so its often missing from most of our meals. Since its been a while I cooked cauliflower. I decided to try it out. The ingredients suggested were more on the sweet side, personally i did not like the sound of a sweet cauliflower omlette. So I made few changes according to my taste.

Cauliflower, just like broccoli and cabbage is known for containing nutrients that fights against several diseases. 13C( indole-3-carbinol) present in Cauliflower acts as an anti-estrogen and helps to lower the chances of tumor growth. Vitamin C in cauliflower acts as an antioxidant and helps in keeping the immune system strong. Other benefits would be the fiber and low calories. While buying this flower make sure the tops are white. The best way to consume it is by steaming them by which all the healthy components are intact.
However, Cauliflower is considered as a gas-producing food because they are rich in carbohydrates and that causes gas and bloating. So people suffering from bloating,belching or heart burn should avoid this vegetable. As for eggs, which are high in protein and cholesterol. I prefer substituting 1 egg white for every egg yolk because, whites are free from cholesterol and fat. They are loaded with protein. Calorie count of egg white in one large egg is 17. Where as in yolk its 60.

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
4 Eggs ( I used 3 whites and 1 yolk)
1 cup milk ( I used 2%)
required amount of salt
2 tsp pepper
2 tsp chili paste
2 cups cauliflower, cooked
1/4 cup parsley,chopped
1 cup onions,chopped
1 cup carrot, chopped
1 cup zucchini or cucumber, chopped
2 tbsp butter


Method:
1. Beat eggs and milk thoroughly.
2.Add seasonings, parsley, cooked cauliflower and rest of the vegetables.Mix well.
3.Melt margarine in 8" square pan in oven and pour the mixture in the hot pan. The omelet will be 1 inch thick.
4. Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes or until firm.
5.Cut into squares and serve hot with any sauce of your choice.
COOK'S FILE:
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NUTRITION FACTS: Per serving: 292 Calories; 22g Fat (65% calories from fat); 11g Protein;15g Carbohydrate; 189mg Cholesterol; 312mg Sodium
NOTE: The omelet crust should turn golden.

ABOUT THE BOOK:
This book offers a good amount of Middle Eastern cuisine, such as Arabic Bread, Hummus,Falafel etc. It contains a complete glossary of Arabic terms and suggested menus. All the recipes are well described with simple steps.

Chicken and egg savoury rice

This is also a great way to use left over fried tandoori chicken.

Preparation time:20minutes
Total cooking time:12 minutes
Serve 4

Ingredients:
2 tbsp oil
1 onion,finely chopped
1/2 red capsicum,finely chopped
1/2 green capsicum,finely chopped
10 spring onions,thinly sliced
2-3 small red chillies,seeded and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves,finely chopped
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
125g(4oz)Barbecued or Tandoori chicken,finely chopped
5 eggs,lightly beaten
740g(4 cups)cook cooked rice
3-4 tsp seasoning sauce
salt to taste
1/4cup chopped parsley

Method:
1.Heat the wok until very hot,add oil and swirl it around to coat the side.Stir-fry the ginger,garlic,onions,capsicum,spring onions,chili over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked but not brown.Add the barbecued chicken and toss to combine.
2.Reduce the heat, then pour in the beaten eggs.Season well with salt and pepper.Gently stir the egg mixture until it is creamy and almost set.
3.Add the rice and gently stir-fry to incorporate all the ingredients and heat the mixture through.
4.Sprinkle with the seasoning sauce and stir in the parsley.Serve immediately.

NUTRITION PER SERVE
Protein 15g;Fat 20g;Carbohydrate 60g;Dietary Fibre 3.5g;Cholesterol 295mg;2105kJ(500cal)

COOK'S FILE
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HINT:Instead of 5 whole eggs and use 6 egg whites only.I used Sriracha hot chili sauce.
VARIATION:Can substitute coriander leaves instead of parsley.