Sharing Plate – Your Cooking Coach |

So how do you eat your fruit? Everyone is trying to be healthy these days and one tasty way of achieving it is eating fruit. I love fruit, especially in the summer with abundant berries, nectarines, plums, etc. In the winter, it’s a different story, there are so many oranges and apples you can eat! A few times a week I have started eating fruit salad either for a snack or even a meal. I remembered the fruit salad (called fruit chaat in India) I used to have many years ago. The best way to describe the flavor would be similar to Thai food- hot, sour, sweet and salty. It essentially pushes your taste buds to the edge.
Most Indians eat their fruit with salt and pepper. A very popular snack on the streets of Delhi is a concoction of fruit, lemon juice and lots of cayenne pepper and a key ingredient called chaat masala.
The wikipedia definition of chaat masala is a spice mix, used in Indian cuisine. It typically consists of amchoor (dried mango powder), cumin, black salt, coriander, etc. The ingredients are combined and served on a small metal plate or a banana leaf, dried and formed into a bowl, at chaat carts (especially in Southern-India).

I love having my fruit this way!  I use turbinado sugar to give the dish a nice crunch but regular sugar is fine as well.  I had it for lunch today and will probably have it tomorrow as well!

• 1 cup fresh pineapple, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 navel orange or tangerine, peeled and sectioned (cut the slices into half)
• ½ cup red grapes, cut in half
• 1 banana, cut into ½ inch rounds
• ½ apple, cut into ½ inch squares
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 teaspoon sugar (turbinado)
• 1 teaspoon chaat masala

In case you can’t find the chaat masala, then use:

• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cumin powder
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Toss the fruit in a bowl with the lemon juice, sugar and chaat masala (or salt, cumin and cayenne pepper).

I started with the basil chicken sausages I bought yesterday. I admit to be obsessed with chicken sausages! I find them to be a healthy protein and come in lots of flavors and meal possibilities. Anyway, I was in the mood to make a baked pasta dish but not necessarily with marinara sauce. I decided to go with a bechamel sauce (white sauce), which is typically used in a homemade macaroni and cheese. I added pecorino instead of parmesan because it has a stronger flavor and it is not used as often, but, you can definitely use parmesan. Not sure why I chose spinach, maybe because I didn’t have any other vegetables in my fridge except baby carrots and cucumbers. Overall it came out quite well. My daughter thought it was delicious. We ate it with some garlic bread I had left over in the freezer.
The other thing I bought with the sausage was a Portuguese white wine. It looked quite fascinating to me- it had little bubbles! While in Madrid this past summer, we had lots of rose wines with tiny bubbles in them. They weren’t bubbles like champagne, far less- made it a lot easier to drink. I have been looking for something similar until now! The wine is called Gazela and it’s quite tasty. I wouldn’t categorize it as a superb wine but definitely an everyday kind of wine you can have at home. It was around five dollars so you can’t really go wrong. Anyway, the bubbles worked quite well with the creamy white sauce in the pasta.

• 2 basil Chicken Sausages- sliced into 1-inch rounds
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, cut into one-inch pieces
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 10 ounces chopped frozen spinach, thawed with water squeezed out
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ pound penne pasta
• 8 ounces part skim mozzarella cheese, grated- divided into 1/3 cup and 2/3 cup

White Sauce

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk (1%, 2% or whole milk will do)
• ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ cup pecorino romano, grated

Preheat oven at 400 degrees
In a wide skillet, heat the olive oil and add the sausages on medium-high heat. Brown the sausages for about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the onions and garlic. Saute for a minute or so. Next, add the spinach and the salt. Mix well, making sure all the ingredients are warm and cooked through. Keep aside.
In a medium sized pot, bring water to a boil and cook the pasta until almost done ( the rest will bake in the oven). Add the pasta to sausage and onion mixture.
In the meantime, in a small pan, melt the butter and add the flour. Start to whisk the mixture over medium-high heat for a minute or two. Then add the milk slowly while whisking making sure no lumps form. Bring the liquid to a boil. Once it starts to thicken, take it off the heat. Add the nutmeg, salt, black pepper and the pecorino cheese. Add the sauce to the pasta and sausage mixture. Add 1/3 cup of the mozzarella cheese and mix well. Taste and adjust seasoning. Transfer the mixture into an ovenproof dish and top it with the remaining 2/3cup mozzarella cheese. Bake uncovered for 10 minutes. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for another 20 minutes.

I am not sure if a lot of people are aware of savory French toast. I grew up with it, my Mom used to make it for dinner all the time. There was a street vendor near our house who sold the same thing but took it to a different level! He added onions, cilantro and lots of Serrano chili. Over the years it was my brother who replicated the dish at home. Recently I asked him how to make it. Today since it was snowing, my husband remembered the dish – it’s definitely a comfort food- and we made it.
The original dish is made with white bread, I wanted to be healthy and used whole-wheat instead. It also tastes great if you add grated cheese in the egg mixture.
Growing up we used to have the savory French toast with ketchup. Recently I have discovered a jar of tomato chutney sold at Trader Joes, which goes perfectly with this dish.
We really enjoyed the French toast with a hot cup of Masala Coffee – you wonder what that is? Well I will have to divulge that another day!

• 4 pieces sliced bread
• 4 eggs
• ½ cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 cup green onions, chopped
• 1 serrano chili, chopped
• 1½ teaspoons salt
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons water
• 2 teaspoons olive oil

Egg Mixture

In a wide, shallow plate add the eggs, salt, cayenne pepper and the water. Beat until everything is mixed well. Add cilantro and mix. Keep aside.

Heat a large non-stick pan and add one teaspoon oil. Add half cup of the green onions, serrano chili and sauté on medium heat for about a minute. (Work with 2 slices at one time) Take each slice and dip in the egg mixture and place on top of the cooking green onions and serrano chili. Cook for at least 4-5 minutes on medium heat. Flip both the slices to cook the other sides for another 4-5 minutes. Once both sides are cooked well, place one slice on top of the other (like a grilled cheese sandwich). Cut in half and serve.
Follow the same steps with the other two slices with the left over green onion and egg mixture.

I bought two mangoes last week and wanted to use them in some dish. I love the combination of sweet, savory, sour and spicy. Felt like cooking shrimp and that is how I came up with this concoction. I read some recipes that used blended mango as a glaze but I wanted to use it as a sauce, so I cooked it and then added onions with the shrimp. I had gone to the grocery store to buy medium sized shrimp but then I saw the really tiny shrimp were on sale! They worked quite well in the recipe, very tender.. of course you have to be extremely careful not to over cook them. The rice came right from my head, with the hours of food television I watch coupled with all the magazines I read, it kind of just came to me. I wanted to use a Mexican cheese, and found Cotija in the store. It’s very salty and has a firm texture so it doesn’t melt all the way when you add it to the rice, gives it a nice texture. Overall the recipe was a success! It may look a little tedious but it really isn’t, just has a few more steps than usual. We had the meal with some Pinot Noir and called it a night.

• 2 mangoes, cut into one inch pieces
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• ½ teaspoon tamarind concentrate (if using tamarind paste, use one and half teaspoons)
• 2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Up to ½ cup chicken broth

In a small frying pan heat the olive oil and add the five ingredients above.  Cook on a medium heat for 20 minutes.  Once the mango and garlic are soft, blend to a smooth sauce.  Add chicken broth if the sauce is too thick. Keep aside.

• 1 pound shrimp
• 1 big yellow onion but into one inch pieces
• ½ cup cilantro, chopped
• ½ cup green onions, chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt to taste
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 lime, juiced if needed

Heat up the olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the onions and cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes until they are soft. Then add the shrimp and cook for a minute. Then add the mango sauce and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Adjust seasoning and add the cilantro and green onion. Taste to see if the limejuice is needed.

Roasted Corn & Lime Rice with Cotija Cheese

• 1 cup rice (basmati or any long grain rice)
• 2 cups chicken broth
• ½ cup roasted thawed frozen corn (trader joes brand)
• 4 ounces cotija cheese (queso blanco or ricotta salata will do)
• Zest and juice of one lime
• ¼ cup green onions, chopped
• 1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
• Salt to taste
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

In a heavy pan, bring the chicken broth to a boil. Add the rice and cook on high till it comes to another boil, lower the heat, cover and cook for about 20 minutes. Add the roasted corn and cover for 5 more minutes. Then add the cheese, limejuice and zest, salt, olive oil, green onions and cilantro. Mix well and taste and adjust seasoning.

This potato dish is usually made when you don’t have anything else in the fridge. There are always potatoes at home and it takes a few minutes to put this together. There is also a spicier version that is sold on the streets in New Delhi.. somehow tastes a lot better there! This is my attempt to re-create it, enjoy!

• 1 pound yellow potatoes boiled and cut in 2 inch pieces
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 3 scallions chopped
• 1 serrano chili deseeded and chopped
• 1 lemon juiced
• 2 teaspoons garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Salt to taste
• ½ cup chopped cilantro

In a wide skillet heat the olive oil and add the mustard and cumin seeds. Add the chopped potatoes once the spices begin to sizzle. Saute on high heat to brown the potatoes about 10 minutes. Once the potatoes are golden brown add the scallions and the serrano chili. Then add the lemon juice, cayenne pepper, garam masala and salt. Garnish with the cilantro.