Tag: side

Ankitha Gadag’s Salata Aswad

Impress your guests with this easy Sudanese side-dish with only 5 ingredients!

Hello & Welcome to Ankitha Gadag Recipes where all the recipes you will find are unique, exotic and curated by myself, Ankitha Gadag. If you are a new follower to Ankitha Gadag Recipes – Welcome! If you are a loyal follower – then I apologize for the long delay in curating a new recipe 😦

To catch you guys up to speed, I have been busy  on the art front, I gave you guys a little snipped of some of my creations in my last blog (Ankitha Gadag’s Baked Whole Snapper Recipe!) Butttt, let me tell you, selling and establishing your artwork is no easy feat! How do you entrepreneur artists make it out there? I am open to any and all advice, suggestions 🙂  I have also been working on framing and customizing packaging for customers. Here is an example :

ankitha-gadag-art

Apart from the art, I have been busy working on my portfolio website for my technology consulting business.  (Yes, I am an artist and a tech-geek :)) If you haven’t checked it out already, make sure you go visit Ankitha Gadag Portfolio  – and don’t forget to send me feedback.

Alright, enough with catching you all up on my life. Back to business. Now, you are probably wondering, what in the world is Salata Aswad and why would I want to make it? Well, let me explain…

Salata Aswad is a wonderful eggplant & peanut butter dip that originated in Sudan. Although there are variations of this dish within South and North Sudan, the version were going with today is the most authentic. The flavors remind me a lot of  baba ghanoj, except better, and all credit is due to the creaminess from the peanut butter.  This dish was inspired by my Sudanese friend’s mother who is an amazing cook herself. I feel so fortunate to be able to share this treasure of a recipe with you all today! It is so easy to make with all the ingredients you most likely already have. Why would you NOT make it, is the real question?!

This recipe can be eaten as  a dip with some pita bread, or served as a side. I personally love to spread it over my scrambled eggs in the morning.

Ingredients:

  • 1 eggplant
  • 2-4 cloves garlic
  • 1 tomato
  • 1 lemon
  • 2 heaping tbsp peanut butter
  • 1 serrano pepper
  • 1 tbsp cumin powder

 

Instructions:

  1. Start by cutting your eggplant in half and drizzling some olive oil on both sides ankitha-gadag-salad.jpg
  2.  Set your oven to broil and bake the eggplant for about 10 mins. You will want to flip the eggplant halfway through
  3.  Your eggplant is done baking when the outer skin is crispy and the inner meat has browned a little

     

  4. With a fork, scoop out the inner flesh of the eggplant and dispose of the outer skin. In a bowl add in the remaining ingredients.

     

  5. Blend well and add salt, pepper and cumin powder. Garnish with parsley (optional)

Serve with some hot pita bread! Enjoy and let me know how you made it yours!
ankitha-gadag-recipe-salad.jpg

-Ankitha Gadag

Chilled avocado & cucumber soup

Light, refreshing and creamy with cool flavors from mint and dill

You don’t normally think of soups in the summertime, especially not in Texas. However, this COLD cucumber and avocado soup hits the spot with its refreshing ingredients. It’s creamy, with a slight heat from the garlic & serrano. It gets layers of flavor from the fresh  dill and mint. Contrary to traditional hot soups, this chilled soup is absolutely delightful on a hot summer afternoon on the patio (margaritas recommended).

I was inspired to create this soup when a friend put me up to a food challenge. Her criterion was “cucumbers” and “chilled.” This was out of my comfort zone. Normally, my recipes pack heat from various spices and they normally involve a protein of some form. This was such a fun challenge, because it was so easy to make with relatively few ingredients that I would never think of combining. More than likely, most of these ingredients are already in your fridge.

Anyways, give it a shot (before the summer ends!), and let me know how it turns out 🙂

chilled-cucumber-soup

You will need:

  • 1 avocado
  • 1 serrano
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 english cucumber (peeled)
  • fresh mint (1 bunch)
  • fresh dill (1 bunch)
  • 1 1/3 cups sour cream
  • 1 1/3 cups greek yogurt
  • 1 cup vegetable broth

 

cucumber-avocado-soup

Method:

  1. Combine all ingredients above in your blender.
  2. Puree to a fine, creamy texture
  3. Add salt, black pepper to taste. I topped off with some smoked paprika for a little kick 🙂

creamy-avocado-cucumber-soup

That’s it! Easy peeezzyyyy 🙂

Let me know how it turns out, would love to hear from you!

-Ankitha

 

Spicy, Garlicky Guacamole!

Chunky and flavorful guacamole made with all-natural and fresh ingredients

Guacamole is one of my favorite snacks in the world. It’s healthy – full of great fats and tons of health benefits. It’s versatile – snack on it with some chips or use it as a topping for nearly any dish (eggs, toast, sandwich, burger, etc), and it is DELICIOUS as a party appetizer. There has never been a time I served it and didn’t get asked for the recipe.
For the record, I never shared the recipe… until now…
That said, for this top-secret recipe, you will need :
  • 1  large avocado
  • 1/2 small, red onion
  • 1/2 lime
  • 1/2 tomato de-seeded
  • 4 Thai chilies or 1-2 jalapenos (depending on how spicy you like it!)
  • cilantro (handful)
  • sea salt (key words: SEA salt)
  • 1 garlic clove
vegetables
Method:
  1. Chop the garlic and chilies in really fine pieces, The finer the better. Most recipes would tell you to de-seed your peppers, but not I. That’s where the kick comes in
  2. Chop your onion, in fine cubes. Wear your goggles if you need to
  3. Chop the tomato. Its important to remove the seeds so the guac isn’t too runny
  4. Add the avocado. Here’s a cool trick on how to cut it like a pro
  5. Add the sea salt. I normally add around 1 tbsp, but taste test it as always
  6. Add in the lime juice and chopped cilantro last
  7. Stir! If you have a mortar & pestle, that’s even better
  8. Enjoy!!
guacamole