Vegetable Puff

I am (like I've already said in all cycle gaps!) a sweet lover. Any time of day or night I can have them. But the U S of A, with its abundant sweet treats, has even made me crave for some salty/spicy snacks from time to time! Unlike in India, where you can stop by a 'kaiyendhi bhavan' or bakery and have those pakodas or samosas or kara bun or puff, there are not much choices in the light snack variety other than a pizza slice or bread stick here. Then, one of my friend surprised me with those home-made vegetable puffs one day. Ever since, I try to stock up on those frozen puff pastry sheets ready to make these easy savory treat for those lazy afternoons or to trick guests to make them believe that I am a super cook! ;)


Ingredients


Frozen puff pastry sheet - 1

1/2 an onion, diced

Mixed vegetables

(diced potatoes, beans, carrots, peas) - 1 cup

garam masala - a pinch

chilly powder - as per taste

salt - as per taste



1. Make a vegetable masala sauteing the diced onions in a little oil and adding chilly powder, garam masala, salt and mixed vegetables (I used regular potato masala).

2. Thaw the puff pastry sheets.


3. Preheat oven to 350 F(or 400 F)


4. Cut it into rectangles, fill with vegetable masala, close and seal the sides. Poke the pastry sheets with a fork[Alton Brown's(one of my favourite cooks from food network) advice!]

5. Place it in ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 30 mins(or 20 mins)

P.S1. : me - in hiding, this is not going to be a Friday feature. It just happens to be a Friday today!!


P.S2. - I've been looking for 'kara' bun recipe for a long time. Anyone knows of a recipe or a link, please let me know. Any other such savoury recipes(no frying) that you know of can be shared too.

Teenage Turmoil

I'm sure, as a child, most of us would have wanted to grow up fast! Especially, the hype and gloss surrounding the teenage years would've added to the impatience. But like most things in life, what most adults conveniently cover-up or not highlight is about the unwanted but unavoidable aspect of that age, the not-so-simple, beauty spot pimple!!

The timing of its appearance (as a solitary reaper or as a gang) is something one has to awe at! Exactly before a family function or school annual day or the day you get to meet a friend's good looking older brother!! The more people tell about the advantages of practicing untouchability with the 'beauty spots', one would feel like crushing it!!

Luckily, the face is only visible to others and not to ourselves(unless you are a descendant of Snowwhite's stepmom!)! But the disadvantage is, people looking at you start giving beauty tips/remedies for the lovely spots. Apply this cream, that cream, multani-m(a)itti, curd, milk, cucumber, apple or whatever is in season! The folks at home would get all worried that their share of healthy snacks is neither going inside their tummy nor ours!

As a last resort, medical help is sought. Here again there is dilemma whether to go for homeopathy, allopathy or ambikapathy/amaravathy. Homeopathy takes 40 yrs to get results. Allopathy will result in side-effects lasting between 40 days-40 yrs. Not much is known about the effects of ambikapathy/amaravathy! Anyway, by the time, the magical teenage ends, we are left with a moon-like face, complete with craters!! Then, you step into adulthood and realise among the other bigger issues, these pimple problems were really simplest of them all!