Mango Salsa; Meatless Monday

I believe I am a true mango lover! I love mangoes in all shapes and forms: raw, ripe, cut, curried, juiced... Pretty much anything.Check out  some of my mango recipes on my blog: During summer it is nice not to slave at the stove, to sit down on the terrace in the evening and enjoy the view. I made this mango salsa the other day to go with some leftover tortilla chips. This is very simple and easy to make and will vanish right in front of you. It is a perfect dish for your table during BBQ parties or to bring it to one. 

Do try it before mango season is done!

Servings: 3-4

Prep time: 5-10 mins Cook time: 0Total time: 5-10 mins

Ingredients: 

Ripe Mango, chopped : 2 cups

Onion, finely chopped: 1/4 cup

Chopped Bell pepper/capsicum: 1/4 cup. 

Tomato, chopped fine: 1/2 cup

Green chilli: 1 small, finely chopped( you may deseed the chilli if you don't want it to be spicy).

Cilantro, finely chopped: 2 tbsp

Lemon juice: 1 tbsp, can be adjusted based on taste.

Sea salt: 1/8 tsp

Honey: 1/2 tsp

Method: 

Add all the above ingredients to a bowl. Mix thoroughly. 

Refrigerate until ready to use. 

Serve chilled. 
Enjoy!

I am bringing this to Angie's Fiesta Friday #179! Her cohosts this week are Petra @ Food Eat Love and Laura @ Feast Wisely. 

Cooking made easy: 

If you have a party, you can make salsa like this the day before so that you are not stressed on the day of. 

You can vary the amount of lemon juice and honey based on how sweet the mango is and how you like your salsa: more sweet or more tangy. 

Tip for healthy living:

Freshly made salsas are much better than store bought ones. Use produce that is in season for the salsa. These are much fresher than produce that is not in season. 

Food for thought:

If you do wrong and try to prove you are right, TIME will smile at your foolishness. 

Please do share your thoughts. Your opinion matters!

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Chili Garlic Asparagus Rice

Summer is here!! Which means I don't want to spend hours slaving in the kitchen!! Not that I ever did! ;) You guys know me.. If it isn't quick and easy, it is not happening in my kitchen!! It is more so now than ever as the kids want to be more outside the house than inside! This recipe that I am sharing with you today is another of my accidentally invented recipes!! Or rather spontaneously put together recipes!

My husband likes to take his lunch from home. He loathes to eat outside food. However, his home-cooked lunch has to follow certain guidelines:
A. It cannot be a sandwich
B. Rice item is preferred.
C. It has to be vegetarian.
D. It should not smell of spices while reheating!!
E. It cannot have any kind of sauce/gravy or any other liquid component to it that may possibly leak from the lunch box!!

Well, I have been very creative and innovative with his lunches. Usually I put together some kind of fried rice/ pilaf sort of thing together for him. This particular rice is another such innovative dish which happened to come together due to a tired me on a weeknight . I had made spicy garlic sauteed asparagus and Basmati rice for dinner. I decided to rice into it. Then I remembered that I had some grilled corn in the refrigerator. I took it out, shucked the corn and added it into the rice! And voila!! A delicious dish was born!!

My husband just loved it! Here is the recipe for you to try!

Prep time: 8 minsCook time: 12 mins
Total time: 20 mins

Servings: 2-3

Ingredients:

Asparagus: 6-8 nos
Garlic cloves: 4-5 nos
Red chilli powder( medium spice level): 1/2 tsp ( the amount of chilli powder can be adjusted based on the level of spiciness of the chilli powder and of the individual.
Olive oil: 2 tbsp
Water: 2 tbsp
Cooked rice: 3 cups
Vinegar: 1 tsp
Grilled corn: 1
Black pepper powder: 1/8tsp
Scallions: 2, green part only, chopped.
Salt: to taste

Method:

Wash the asparagus. Snap off the woody stem. Break the remaining stem into 2-3 pieces depending on the length of the asparagus. Keep aside.

Mince the garlic. Keep aside.

Shuck the corn. Keep aside.

In a sauté pan/frying pan/wok, heat 1 tbsp of oil. Add the minced garlic. Sauté until garlic is fragrant. Do not burn it. Add the red chilli powder. Sauté for 10 seconds. Add in the asparagus. Sprinkle 2 tbsp water, stir fry for couple of minutes on medium-high flame. Add salt as per taste. Now lower the flame and cover and cook for 5-6 mins or until the asparagus is tender.

You can stop at this stage if you want make just chilli garlic asparagus.

To continue making the rice, add the shucked corn to the pot. Mix well. Now add the  cooked rice  ( preferably cold rice) into the pot. Fold in the rice until it is mixed. Add vinegar & black pepper powder. Toss.

Garnish with chopped scallions.

Serve hot.

Enjoy!!

 I am bringing this to Throwback Thursday #46, Fiesta Friday #127  and Saucy Saturday #52. Angie's co-hosts this week are Suzanne @ apuginthekitchen and Jess @ Cooking Is My Sport.

Cooking made easy:

When I cook rice, I always cook a little more than I actually need. This way, I have some rice in the fridge on hand to rustle something up together in a hurry!

Tip for healthy living:

Eating healthy and exercising on a regular basis is a great way to keep your body in good shape and condition. 30 minutes of moderate exercise 5 days a week or 75 mins of vigorous exercise spread through the week is recommended. A minimum of one hour of physical activity every day is recommended for all individuals from 5 years of age!

Food for thought:

It is nice to have valid competition; it pushes you to do better. Gianni Versace

Please do share your thoughts. Your opinion matters!