Storing store bought fish

I bought some fresh salmon at the store yesterday - as salmon is the favourite fish in my house, I bought more than can be consumed in a day or two, and was wondering if there was any way to store my fish efficiently.

After much research, this link proved to be very useful:
http://www.recipetips.com/kitchen-tips/t--1233/fish-handling-safety-storage.asp

The most useful tip from the site was:

"Wrap the fish individually in plastic wrap. Wrap as tightly as possible.
Wrap tightly again with another layer of wrap.
Place the individually wrapped pieces into a sealable freezer bag or wrap tightly in aluminum foil. If using a bag, be sure to press out excess air from the bag.
Do not package more that one pound in each bag. This will allow the fish to freeze more quickly.
When placing in the freezer, do not stack a lot of packages together in one area. Try to spread them out in the freezer so they will freeze quicker. Once they are frozen, they can be stacked neatly on top of each other."

There are a lot of really neat tips in that link, and if you do have the time, please go through the info.

Bhel Puri

Something fast... not much work this way!!!

Ingredients:
Onion: 1 medium sized, red, chopped finely
Tomato: 1 medium, chilled and chopped
Cilantro: 1 cup chopped
Cucumber: 1/4, diced
Boiled chana: 3 tbsp (optional)
Red potatoes: 3,Boiled and chopped (microwave 7 minutes)
Papri: Buy (optional)
Peanuts: 3 tbsp, roasted (oven, 300F for 15 minutes)
Sev: Haldirams
Puffed rice (murmura): 5 cups
Yogurt: thick, beaten: 2 tbsp
Pudina chutney: Knorr ($1.99/bottle)
Tamarind chutney: Knorr ($1.99/bottle)
Chaat masala: 1.5 tsp (Shan)
Lemon juice: from one lemon (1 tsp concentrate)


Method: To a large mixing bowl, add the veggies, the chutneys, salt, lemon juice and the chaat powder. Mix well.
Add the boiled diced potatoes and puffed rice. Mix well.
If adding papri or chana, add at this stage.
Serve in a bowl garnished with yogurt, peanuts and sev.

Besan Burfi

Something sweet

Ingredients:
Besan: 1 cup
Coconut: 1.5 cups
Sugar: 2.5 cups
Water: 3/4 cup
Cashews: 3 tbsp
Ghee: 2 tbsp
Saffron: a few strands

Method:
To 1 tbsp ghee, add the cashews, and saute till golden.
Remove cashews. .Keep aside.
In the same ghee, roast the besan till it becomes fragrant and changes color.
Keep aside.
To the same pan, add sugar and water and cook on a low/medium flame till the sugar- water mix begins to boil.
Let boil for 5 minutes, stirring often.
Add the coconut. Mix well.
Then add the besan and the remaining ghee. Mix well.
Add the saffron. Let the mixture thicken.
When it thickens to coat the spatula, transfer the mixture to a greased vessel.
Add cashews on top.
Let cool and cut to desired size.

To remember: If the mix gets too thick, it will dry up after cooling, so let it be a little wet before you transfer.
If you under cook the mix, it remains sticky, so ensure that it isn't sticking by taking a small portion out and cooling it before transfer.

Flax Blueberry Muffins

Cant beat the ingredients in this recipe! Very healthy, and very filling.

Dry Ingredients:
Flax flour: 1.25 cups
Soy flour: 1 cup (can be replaced by all purpose flour if desired)
Brown sugar: 1 cup
Baking soda: 1/2 tsp
Baking powder: 2.5 tsp
Salt: 1/2 tsp

Wet Ingredients:
Yogurt: 1/4 cup
Extra virgin olive oil: 1/3 cup
Almond milk: 1 cup
Egg: 1
Vanilla Essence: 1 tsp

Walnuts: 1 cup, chopped
Frozen or fresh blueberries: 1.5 cups
Brown sugar: few tbsp to top
Flax seeds or rolled oats: to top muffins (optional)

Method:
Mix all the dry ingredients well in a large mixing bowl.
Beat all the wet ingredients together.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and gently mix with a large spatula.
Add the nuts and the blueberries.
Mix gently.
Add 1 tbsp batter to each muffin cup. Top with brown sugar and flax seeds.
Bake for 14 to 16 minutes at 425 degrees F.
Serve warm or freeze for up to 6 months.

Pav Bhaji

Tried to make this as diet friendly as possible. I modified a recipe I found behind Shan Pav Bhaji masala. Shan typically has very tasty spice combinations.

Ingredients:
Potatoes: 4
Cauliflower: 1/2 a medium sized flower
Peas: 1 cup (used frozen)
Beans: 3/4 cup (used frozen)
Green bell pepper: 1, chopped into small pieces
Tomatoes: 2 (chopped finely)
Garlic: 8 cloves
Onions: 1, red, chopped finely
Cilantro: 1/2 cup, chopped
Pav bhaji masala: 4 tsp (adjust acc to individual taste)
I cant believe its not butter: a few tablespoons
Lime wedges: to garnish
Pav bread, can also use burger bread found in costco

Method:

• To a large microwave safe bowl, add potatoes quartered and half-fill with water. Cover with a plate and microwave 8 to 10 minutes till the potatoes are boiled.
• Remove potatoes, peel and chop roughly to small pieces.
• Cut cauliflower into large florets and microwave with a little water, covered, for 8 minutes. Microwave the garlic cloves along with the cauliflower.
• Once done, remove, reserve this water and roughly chop cauliflower into small pieces. Chop garlic also.
• To a large pot, add 1 tbsp olive oil. Add the chopped onions. Saute till golden brown. Add the chopped bell peppers and chopped garlic. Saute for 5 minutes.
• Add chopped tomatoes. Cook till tomatoes are soft.
• Then add the remaining vegetables. Add the reserved water. Add salt and the pav bhaji masala. Add chili powder, if you like it spicy.
• Add about 3/4 cup water. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Add cilantro. Mix well.
• To make pav, spread both sides with a little I cant believe its not butter and fry on a tawa till light golden.
• Serve hot with above bhaji garnished with chopped onions and chopped green chilies (optional).

Butterscotch Almond Brittle (Chikki)

We love chikki. I have tried so many different versions at home, and this is one special favourite. I have a secret ingredient in this recipe which gives the chikki a unique taste.

Ingredients:
Dark brown sugar: 1 cup, packed
Butterscotch chips: 1/4 cup
Almonds: 1 to 1.5 cups, dependng on how you like it
Salt: 1/4 tsp

Method:
Add the sugar to a thick bottom vessel. Add 1/4 cup water and cook on a low flame till it forms a syrup.
Simultaneously, roast the almonds at 300F for 15 minutes, mixing occasionally.
Too the sugar syrup, add the butterscotch chips and salt. Mix well.
Add the almonds, mix.
Layer the mix on an aluminium foil and let cool.
Break into rough pieces after the brittle gets cold and enjoy!

About glycemic indices of fruit

Have been trying to get the table in but blogger seems to be having some trouble with the word format. If you are not able to make out something, or are confused about the breaks in between, please copy-paste the table in Word. Hopefully, I can think of some way to post this in a more accessible version.

Glycemic Index of commonly eaten fruits

Fruit	Serving	Calories	GI	GL	Carbs (grams)	How much makes one serving
Apple (Raw) Apple Juice Apricot Banana Blueberry Cantaloupe Cherry Coconut meat Coconut water Custard apple Cranberry Dates Fig Grapes, Green (Raw) Grapes, Black (Raw) Grapefruit Guava Honeydew Jackfruit Kiwi fruit Lemon Lychee Mango Melon Orange Orange juice Papaya Passion fruit, purple Pear Persimmon Pineapple Plum Pomegranate Prune, dehydrated Rambutan, canned Strawberries Strawberry guava Tangerine Watermelon	125 g 248 g 35 g 120 g 148 g 117 g 117 g 80 g 240 g 100 g 95 g 100 g 100 g 104 g 120 g 123 g 55 g 170 g 165 g 91 g 47 g 90 g 100 g 170 g 131 g 248 g 140 g 18 g 178 g 25 g 84 g 66 g 154 g 132 g 150 g 120 g 6 g 88 g 122 g	65 117 17 105 84 60 74 283 46 101 44 277 74 104 NA 52 37 61 155 56 12 60 65 48 62 112 55 17 103 32 40 30 105 447 123 40 4 47 37	38 40 57 52 22 65 22 NA NA NA NA NA NA 46 59 NA 57 NA NA NA NA NA 51 NA 42 53 56 NA 38 NA 66 39 NA NA NA 22 NA NA 72	5 11 2 12 4 8 4 1 2 6 1 20 3 12 10.5 2 3 2 9 2 0 6 8 3 5 13 6 1 8 2 6 3 6 39 6 0 0 2 6	17 29 4 23.9 21 14 19 12 9 25 12 75 19 27 NA 13 8 15 40 14 4 20 17 11 15 26 14 4 28 8 11 8 26 118 31 10 1 12 9	1 cup chopped 1 cup 1 fruit 1 medium sized 1 cup 1 cup chopped 1 cup, with pits 1 cup shredded 1 cup 1 small fruit 1 cup, whole 5 dates, pitted 2 medium 1 cup 30 grapes Half a fruit 1 fruit 1 cup diced 1 cup, sliced 1 large fruit Juice from one 10 fruit Half a fruit Half a cup, diced 1 medium sized 1 cup 1 cup diced 1 fruit 1 medium 1 fruit 1 medium slice 1 medium 1 medium 1 cup 1 cup, drained 10 medium sized 1 small fruit 1 medium 10 cubed pieces