Avocado Mayo and Sun-dried Tomatoes Dip

It is the 'Holiday season' and we all love having friends over for long chats. However when those conversations spill well beyond the meal hours and hunger pangs start to gnaw, we feel obliged to offer some fillers or finger foods. While frying a batch of french fries or cheesy nuggets may seem like the easier option, it sounds rather run-of-the-mill and not a very healthy choice too.

Time to switch to some gourmet snacking with real vegetable chips and a nice home made dip. These amazing vegetable chips from Terra are not just visually striking and much more healthier, they taste just out of this world when paired with a gourmet dip. I made this one in less that 5 minutes and let it sit in the fridge for half an hour for the flavors to come together. While the buttery texture of avocado is enough to give a nice texture to this dip, I added a dash of vegan mayo to enhance the creaminess. The tang of sun-dried tomatoes gets an added zing from a generous splash of apple cider vinegar. Garlic gives it the right note of pungency while the touch of heat from the Mexican Pasilla chile is enough to tickle the taste bud. The sweetness of honey rounds it off.

Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 5 mins ( plus 30 mins standby )

Ingredients -

• 1 avocado
• 2-3 sun dried tomatoes
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp vegan mayo
• 1 tsp honey
• 1/3 tsp Sprig Mexican Chile Pasilla 
• 2-3 garlic cloves
• salt to taste
• 1 tsp chopped cilantro

Preparation - Halve the avocado and remove the stone. Scoop out the flesh into a small blender cup. Add all the remaining ingredients to the same jar. Buzz into a smooth mixture.

Let it chill for sometime in the refrigerator for the flavors to blend in.

Serve with vegetable chips or even better with crudites.

I totally recommend serving this dip with some Blue Terra Chips as it serves as the perfect foil to the starchy crispness of these exotic blue potatoes. 

Mac and Cheese with TERRA Vegetable Chips

In the run-up to Diwali, my house was literally swathed with lights, paper lanterns and delicious aromas from the various kinds of 'mithai' being prepared in my kitchen. Desserts are usually considered the 'piece de resistance' of my cooking and I was literally gloating at the sheer variety I had managed to put on the table. After all, it does not make sense to throw a Diwali party if people are not going to be talking about it. Healthy snacking was the last thing on my mind during that time.

I was bang in the middle of one such preparation when I go a call from hubby. One of his clients was on a visit to India and he wanted to get a feel of the festivities minus the rich Indian food. It was almost time for lunch and I hardly had the time to drum up something that would appease his western taste buds. That is when I was reminded of an amazing box of real vegetable chips from TERRA lying unopened in my cupboard. I quickly opened one of the packs which promise some unmatched gourmet snacking, savored a few pieces and was assured of the superior quality of this amazing product. The exotic taste of these chips is quite unparalleled by itself and the striking visual appeal only serves to elevate it further by a few notches. The rich flavors of parsnip, sweet potato, taro, blue potato, yuca, beets and batata combine to create a burst of crunch and flavor that makes one fall in love with snacking once again.Providing the perfect balance of taste and health, it could be a worthy side for anything I served to my guest.

I quickly zeroed in on a trusted 'Mac and Cheese' recipe to act as the perfect foil to the crackling crispiness of these yummy chips. I added a sparkling mojito to the menu and I was all set to serve a decent working day lunch to the guests.

Read on for the recipe of 'Mac & Cheese' -

Preparation Time - 50 mins

Ingredients -

• 2 cups Macaroni pasta
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Mozarella cheese (optional but recommended)
• 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• coarsely ground pepper for seasoning
• dried herbs (rosemary, parsley, thyme)
• pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup cream
• salt to taste
• 1 inch stick of butter

Preparation - Bring sufficient water to boil in a saucepan. Once it gets to bubbling stage, add salt and then put in the macaroni. Cook for 8-9 minutes.

At the same time, heat the butter in a saucepan. Add the flour followed by the milk and stir it to make a thick sauce. Season with herbs, pepper and salt. Finally stir in the cream and switch off the flame.

Drain the pasta and add to the sauce along with the grated cheese.

Mix and pour the contents into a baking dish. Sprinkle more cheese on top if you want.

Cooking - Heat a oven to 170 degrees. Place the baking dish in the middle rack and bake for 30 mins.

Serve with these delicious vegetable chips .