Cheese and Chilly Spread

Food industry lost one great player when Shekhar decided to become a techie!

Having said that, let me share an interesting spread that Shekhar made in 5 minutes...

You will need
1. Grated Mozzarella / Monteray / Mixed cheese - 1 small bowl
2. Green Chillies - 10/12 [depending on your taste]
3. Garlic - 5-6 cloves
4. Crackers
5. Bread

How to Make
1. Coarsely ground the chillies and the garlic
2. Mix nicely the grated cheese, ground chillies and garlic and salt
3. Microwave for 1-2 minutes, right before serving

You are done!
To eat, you can spread the mix on a cracker and cover it with another. Microwave the cracker pairs for 30 second. The cheese will stick the crackers together! Enjoy your snack :)

You can also spread the mix on toasted bread and top with onions / tomatoes for a hot and spicy breakfast / brunch that melts in your mouth!

Mirchi ka Salan [Chilly in Tamarind Sauce]

Even though the main ingredient of this recipe is chilly, the gravy is not hot. And this makes for a very interesting combination taste ranging from "hot to sour", a pleasant surprise for your palate.
Ingredients
1. Chillies [can choose from different varieties] - 20 pieces
2. Onion - 1 mid-sized onion
3. Grated Coconut - 1 small bowl
4. Tamarind [diluted in 1/4 cup water] - 2 tspn
5. Methi [Fenugreek Seeds] - 1 tspn
6. Coriander Powder - 2 tspn
7. Chilly Powder - 1 tspn
8. Turmeric Powder - 1 tspn
9. Cumin Powder - 1 tspn
10. Ginger - 1"
11. Mustard Seeds - 1 tspn
12. Red Chilly - 2
13. Salt - To taste

Preparation
Wow, after that long list of ingredients, we better get started cooking. Prepare the following before you start making the curry
1. Fry chopped onions, drain and keep aside
2. Split the chillies and lightly fry them in the same oil
3. Fry the methi dana and coconut and keep aside
4. In a grinder, grind the fried onions, coconut, methi and all ingredients from 2 to 10

Gravy
1. Heat oil in a wok
2. Add Mustard Seeds and Red Chillies, broken into two
3. When the mustard starts to splutter, add the coconut-tamarind paste, made above
4. Stir the mix and fry for a minute
5. Add the green chillies and stir for another 3 minutes
6. Add a little water and salt to taste
7. Cover and let it simmer for another 3-4 minutes, or the desired consistency is reached

Tastes equally well with rice or roti. N'joy!