Get a day off and you would think the whole day is yours and yours only, may be somewhere I had this little teeny weeny bit in my heart saying No no.., everything won't turn out as you want, I always go straight to my conservatory with my cup of tea Mmm..., and the plants I adore trying to save them from this cold winter, a pity I don't have a heater in my conservatory which would have made my plants have a warm surrounding, but poor little darlings have no such luxury, everyday I pray please don't die on me, I talk to each one of them, that's started my day off, checking all the plants, cleaning around picking around the withered leaves do you want to see my conservatory garden you can have a look at it.. here it is ....
I have got a few more this is just a sample.., they are not doing very well now especially my Doddapatre..:(

I had planned to bake a cake and got all the ingredients ready but everything got haywire, Once I started I couldn't stop picking around the kids clothes sorting out their rooms, trying to wake up my daughter asking her to get ready for her driving lessons, the time just flew, I remembered I had to do some shopping it is so cold, days are getting colder and colder walked down to a little town nearby to go to my favourite shop its a health wise shop I get lot of organic goods from there, I couldn't walk back as did a bit more shopping than I intended to and waited for the bus to turn up but incidentally it didn't turn up it was getting late and there was this kind gentleman who dropped us off near our house. Bless him, came home and had to cook something quickly as it was arrival time and they come home hungry.
I had some puy lentils which I had soaked earlier, and some thawed short cut pastry, this was quick one I could muster up right at the time they knock the door !!.
Here is how I stirred this up...

PUY LENTILS AND VEGETABLES HOT PIE
Recipe : own

INGREDIENTS:

Short cut / Puff Pastry Block (use as required )
100 grms Puy Lentils
2 Onions
3 to 4 Garlic
1" Ginger
2 Cups of assorted vegetables
( Carrot, Green, yellow and Red peppers, Potatoes, peas, broccoli)
1 tsp Chilli powder
1/2 tsp Pepper powder
1 tsp Coriander powder
1/2 tsp Cumin powder
1/4 single cream
Salt as required
1/4 cup of grated cheddar cheese
2 tbsp Butter

Cook the Puy Lentils with enough water with little salt in a Pressure cooker.
In a large wok heat 2 tbsp of butter, add chopped ginger, garlic and onions saute them until they sweat and become soft and translucent to this add the  masalas chilli powder, pepper powder, coriander powder, cumin powder then add the cooked puy lentils and chopped vegetables add required amount of salt and close the lid and cook for few more minutes around 10 to 15 minutes until all the veggies get properly cooked to this add single cream and grated cheese mix well and switch off the stove.
Allow it to cool completely,

pour them on to a buttered dish,

take thawed short cut pastry or puff pastry cut them for the three buttered dish press them on to the dish make three slits and brush them with milk, bake them in a pre heated oven for 30 minutes to 40 minutes until you see the pastry nice and golden in colour.

doesn't it look good, for a winter evening a one pot meal.

Sending this off to Bake-a-thon event started by champa, here is entree...

The post Puy Lentils and Vegetables Hot Pie appeared first on My Veg Fare.

COULIBIAC WITH QUINOA, LENTILS AND VEGGIES

FOR THE PASTRY
250 gms All Purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp Sugar
75 gms Cold butter
75 gms Vegetable Margarine
4 to 5 tbsps of Cold water

INGREDIENTS FOR THE FILLING
1/2 Cup Puy Lentils
1/2 Cup Horse Gram/Kollu
1/2 Cup Quinoa
1 Red Pepper
1 Green Pepper
1 Potato
1 Big Onion
2 to 3 Green Chillies
1 tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
5 sprigs of Coriander leaves
2 tbsp Oil

METHOD:
Making the Pastry:
Sieve the flour with salt and sugar then cut the butter into the flour with a knife, Rub it in quickly like bread crumbs with your fingertips, The secret of light pastry is in keeping your pastry cool, If we use our palms of our hand the butter will oil and make the pastry tough. Use water 1 tbsp at a time, you may need more or less water depending on the weather and the dryness of the flour, Knead it into a soft round ball, cover it in a cling film and keep it in the fridge until you require it.

To make the filling:
Wash and Soak both the lentils before you start making the Pastry, Once done with pastry, put these lentils in one cup of water in a vessel and pressure cook them till soft ( 3 whistles), Drain the water.
Cook Quinoa in 1 and 1/4 cup of water with a tsp of oil in a low flame, stirring now and then they cook very well and fast. careful that you don't burn the bottom. Take it out and spread it out so the grains separate out.
Heat Oil in a wok add Chillies fry and then add Ginger-Garlic paste and then the chopped onion and sauté them till transparent, then add chopped peppers and sauté them till soft then add the cooked lentils, mix well then add Quinoa and chopped Coriander leaves and Salt as required mix well and close the lid, keep it in a low flame for few minutes so the mixture absorbs the salt.
Now the mixture or filling is completely ready, Keep it aside. Give time for it to cool.

To Assemble the Pastry:
Make 4 parts out of it, Keep the other three parts back into the fridge while you work on the first one, Make the dough into a rectangle spoon the mixture in the middle as shown in the figure, then cut diagonal strips in the pastry on each side of the filling to create a plaited effect ( I have not done a very good job as my kids helped me do it, they got bored and messed it up a little bit !!), I did not trim of any extra pastry that is why that odd look at the end, Brush the Pastry with milk and Bake in a Preheated oven 200 degree C (400d F)/ Gas Mark 6. until golden brown in colour.
If you do not want to make the pastry yourself you can use ready made Puff Pastry, which I used once and it was really beautiful to look at than this.

My kids loved it, and everything was gone.., I felt quite happy as I made them eat not too much butter (like used in Puff Pastry), they ate lentils and Quinoa.

I love to send this to Priya's CWF _ Quinoa event started by Kiran  thanks to both you, I enjoyed making and my family enjoyed eating it!!

This I would love to send to Hearth and soul volume #27 and Hope they like it.
I would also like to send this to MLLA #30 of Susan's hosted by Priya of  Mharo Rajasthan's blog

The post Coulibiac with Quinoa, Lentils and veggies appeared first on My Veg Fare.