WHAT DO I MAKE...

Not quite the hearty contribution to our "drive" here but Super Bowl was begging for some attention. We were going to a friend's house and I decided to make a quick dip. After a quick scan, I figured I would do something with the sole can of corn in my pantry! Jalapeno-Corn Dip Inspired by Kevin's Hot Corn Dip Corn - 1 can Red onion - 1/4th of a big onion, finely chopped Bell pepper - red or green or a combo - 1/4th of a big pepper, finely chopped Jalapeno - 1/2 of a big pepper (or 1 for a borderline spicy dip) - finely chopped Green onions/scallions - 3, chopped, whites and greens Garlic - 3 pods, finely chopped Mayo - 1/4 cup Cheese - 1/4 cup monterey jack + 1/4 cup mexican blend - that was the original plan but I ended up using mexican blend for the entire 1/2 cup since we couldn't find monterey jack! Panko breadcrumbs - 1/4 cup Butter - 2 T In a non stick pan, heat 1 T butter and saute the corn with a sprinkle of salt and pepper till all the ...

A simple mint chutney to go with your idli or dosai! Ingredients: Fresh mint leaves  - 1/2 cup (or 2 handfulls) Fresh coriander leaves - 1/4 cup (leaves from about 4 sprigs) Urad dal - 2 tbsp Red chilis - 3 Fresh grated coconut - 2-3 tbsp Heeng - 2 pinches (I used a small piece of the whole heeng bar) Curry leaves - 3-4 leaves Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp Salt - to taste! Oil - 1-2 tbsp Heat a tbsp of oil in a pan and roast the dal+red chilis+heeng till the dal is golden brown. Remove on to a plate and roast the fresh leaves till they wilt. Turn the stove off and add the coconut and the roasted dal mix, add salt to taste and let it cool. Add some water (depending on how thick or runny you want it) and grind it in a blender and take it out in your serving bowl. In a small pan, heat some oil and splutter mustard seeds and curry leaves and add to the chutney. You can also add 1/2 tsp of sesame oil over for a good taste and smell :)

Ingredients : Garbanzos (chick peas): 1/2 can Garlic - 3-4 pods (I used a tbsp of my homemade ginger-garlic paste instead) Broccoli florets - 4-5 medium Salt Lemon juice - 1 tbsp EVOO - 4-5 tbsp Grind the chick peas, garlic, broccoli and salt along with 3 tbsp of oil. Grind it to either a complete/coarse paste, according to your choice. Take it out in a bowl/plate, pour over lemon juice and remaining oil, sprinkle some red chili powder and serve!

Here's a recipe from Noor - a good friend, a wonderful cook and the life of all our parties - well back in the (grad school) days when we used to have a party for just about anything!! Ingredients: Red bell pepper/red capsicum - 2 medium, roughly chopped Onion - 1 medium, roughly chopped Garlic - 2-3 pods Dry red chilis - 6-8 long chilis, halved Tamarind - 3" strip (if you can find a good tamarind paste - about 1.5 tbsp, I don't mean the black paste you get in the Indian stores in the U.S.!) Roasted peanuts - 1/4 cup (if you are adding salted peanuts you want to be careful while adding the extra salt) Salt - 1 tsp (or to taste) Oil - 2 tbsp Heat oil in a non stick pan and throw in the garlic and onion. When the onion turns translucent add the red chilis, red pepper, and saute. You could take the dry chilis out midway so that they don't turn black. Again, if you don't want the onions and garlic to turn dark brown, you could take them out before you a...