Veggie Pita pockets.

I had mentioned a few days back that I am here on an internship in India and also mentioned about my brother being my best food buddy. I mean really I guess its all about Biology. We have almost the same choices when it comes to food tastes, picky veggies and our eating joints.He always enjoys whenever I try something in the kitchen.And not to forget we always feel hungry at the same time esp. when it comes to the evening snack.

That brings me to the point: Todays recipe was just the same situation where we were hungry and hoped to have something hearty and fun to cook.

These veggie pockets are made right from scratch and the pita pockets included, It was truly fun making them.I made them out of 100% whole wheat flour which made them super healthy.I'll be posting the recipe soon.The best part is one can play with the veggies and try various combination as per ones taste.

2 whole wheat pita pockets halved
1 cup kidney beans seasoned with some fat free vinaigrette( I used Balsamic)
1 cup steamed broccoli
1 cup mixed peppers( red, yellow and green)
1 cup baby spinach
2 low fat American cheese slices cut into half triangles
Cilantro chutney
Pizza Sauce
1 tomato cut into thin slices
1 medium onion finely chopped

Cut the pita bread into halves, I made 1 set Indian style and 1 set Italian.

Italian:

Spread the pizza sauce on the inside, line with cheese and then start stuffing.

1)Spinach
2)Broccoli
3)peppers
4)onion

Spray with non stick spray and keep aside.

Indian:

Spread the Cilantro chutney on both sides. Start by layering the cheese and then the tomato slices. Stuff with:

1) Spinach
2) onion
3) beans

Spray with non stick spray.



In a preheated oven at 350 F bake them for about 8 - 10 minutes.

Ready to eat!

Cilantro chutney( Dip)

1 cup fresh cilantro
2 cloves garlic
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tbsp peanuts( salted or unsalted; if using salted adjust the salt accordingly)
½ jalapeno seeds removed
Salt and whole peppers about 1 tsp
Grind all the ingredients in a mini food processor and add about ¼ cup of water to thin it
To make it more tangy add sliced mangoes and if desired add some sugar to make it sweet.

This is one of the best chutneys. Spread it on a slice of bread and add tomato slices, cucumber and onion slices. We have a healthy sandwich to eat!

Asparagus stuffed Chicken breast!

Asparagus is one vegetable which I have read a lot about and seen a lot but never really tried. Recently I finally tried it and decided to start slow and incorporate it in a main dish and I was so happy I did it coz it was really nice.

4 chicken breast pound thin.
4 stems asparagus steamed
1/2 red bell pepper sliced thin and steamed
1/2 yellow bell pepper sliced thin and steamed
2/3 cup goat cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 tbsp EVOO

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Start by pounding the chicken breast thin and season with salt and pepper on both sides.

Cook the veggies by steaming them al dente.If the asparagus spears are too long divide them into two halves.

Place the halved asparagus, pepper and about a tbsp of goat cheese, roll and tie it with a kitchen twine.

Bake in the oven on a pan with non stick cooking spray for about 30- 40 minutes.

Serve it with a white sauce, this is actually just a rue but I made it with whole wheat flour with the remaining goat cheese,about 2 tbsp of dry white wine and red chilli flakes.

The Asparagus on top of the chicken is my mom's addition.It was sauted with S & P with garlic.

Since this was my first try with asparagus I would be glad to hear about any suggestions!

Happy Eating.