This is one of my my favorite quick fix dinners. It takes less than 30 min from start to finish and you end up with a healthy meal.

Ingredients:

For Fish:

4 fresh or frozen Tilapia filets  (frozen in my case)

1 tsp cumin powder

1/2 tsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp garam masala

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Salt

Ground pepper

Oil Spray

Method:

1. Wash and pat dry filets.

2. Spray oil and sprinkle chopped garlic, followed by salt and spices on all 4 filets.

3. Spray oil

4. Cook on grill/stove top for 8-9 minutes turning them half way.

Rice:

I used Uncle Ben’s Wild rice and cooked it according to the instructions. However, I did not use the herb package included (it has too much sodium).

Asparagus:

Frozen asparagus

Olive oil

Salt+pepper

Coat Asparagus with a few drops of olive oil and sprinkle S+P. Grill them along with fish. They can also be steamed.

Result: A healthy meal for two under 30 min, along with fresh fruit for dessert.

Grilled Tialpia served with Wild Rice and Asparagus along withCantaloupe for dinner.

I cook a lot with lean ground turkey. I love it for a couple of reasons: very short cooking time, no meaty smell, very flexible- you can make a million things with it and of course, it’s very tasty. This particular dish is my version of a Shepherd’s Pie. I used 97% fat free turkey and spruced it up with lots of veggies.

Ingredients:

1lb Ground turkey (97% lean)

Veggies:
1 large onion-chopped
2 carrots-chopped
Green and red bell peppers -chopped
2 handfuls thin green beans (frozen)-broken into halves
1 handful Asparagus (frozen)- cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
2 handfuls Spinach (Fresh)
7-8 mushrooms-chopped
1 tomato – chopped
3 med-large potaotes (any kind) -peeled

Seasoning:
2 tsp oil
3 cloves garlic (grated)
1 tsp ginger (grated)
Red chilli flakes
3 green chillies (small)
Mint leaves

Spices:
2 cloves
Turmeric-pinch
Red chiili powder – 2 tsp
Cumin powder-1 tsp
Coriander Powder-2 tsp
Salt to taste

1. Heat oil on medium heat. Add cloves, mint leaves and red chilli flakes.
2. Add ground turkey and break it up. Cook till it loses its pink color and turns light brown.
3. Add chillies, grated ginger and garlic. Add turmeric and cook for 3-4 min.
4. Add chopped onions and carrots and cook till onions are translucent (3-4 min)
5. Add all the spices.
6. Add tomatoes.
7. Add rest of the veggies and cook for 2-3 min.
I added salt in between. Finally, check the taste and add whatever is needed.

In the meantime, preheat oven at 375 degrees. Take a casserole dish and spray some olive oil. Slice potatoes directly into the dish and make a thin layer. Add a layer of cooked turkey and repeat this till the final layer has sliced potatoes. Spray some olive oil on top and pop it in the oven for 20-25 min.

Another alternative is cooking the potatoes before hand and mashing them. Use the mashed potatoes in place of sliced ones. I found that I have to use more potatoes in this case (extra carbs) and it’s also more work. I used to do this but came up with the sliced version since it’s easier.

Since you are using the oven, you can bake something else during that time. I made corn bread. I just used a prepacked mixture and followed the instructions. I also made a salad on the side with a can of chick peas, sweet corn, tomato and fresh spinach. I dressed it up with fresh lime juice, salt and pepper, red chilli flakes, little cumin powder and some olive oil.

There you go, a quick, tasty and healthy dinner…and lunch for the next day.

I forgot to take a picture this time ,but it looks something like this.

Let me start by saying that is was really tasty . I’m not a big fan of vankaya/brinjal/eggplant/aubergine (whaever you want to call it), but gutti vankaya koora and my MIL’s masala vankaya are the only two dishes I like with this vegetable.  There are a lot of variations for this recipe, so I came up with my own.

Ingredients:

7-8 clean Brinjals

1 Onion

2 Tomatoes

5-6 cloves Garlic

Ginger

1 tbsp toasted poppy seeds

1 tbsp grated coconut (dry)

Oil

1 tsp Cumin powder

1 tsp Coriander powder

1 tsp Garam Masala Powder

1-2 tsp Red Chilli Powder

1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder

1 tsp Cumin seeds

6-7 Curry leaves

1 tsp tamarind paste

Salt to taste

Method:

1. Chop onions and tomatoes.

2. Heat oil and saute onions.  After 3-4 min add ginger and garlic. Stir and add chopped tomatoes.

3. Cook till onions are transluscent and remove from flame.

4. Clean brinjals while onions and tomatoes cool down.

5. Add cumin, coriander, garam masala and red chilli powders along with brown sugar, grated coconut  and turmeric powder to the sauted mix and blend in food processor.

6. Make a horizontal and vertical slit at the base end (opposite of stem end) of  all the brinjals and stuff them with the paste. Take care not to break them.

7. Heat oil on med heat and add cumin seeds and curry leaves.

8. Add all the brinjals to the pan carefully and saute them for a few minutes.

9. Add the remaining paste along with 1/2 cup water.

10 Cover with lid and cook on low for 15-20 min, stirring in between.

11.  Remove lid and cook for another 5 min.

12.  Add tamarind paste and 1 cup water. Adjust salt. Cook on low for 5-10 min.

13. Remove from flame and add chopped coriander leaves.

Serve with roti or rice and papad (chips in my case ).

Gutti vankaya koora served with rice, chips and lassi - perfect dinner.

Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!