Appam is a delicacy from the state of Kerala in India. Everyone likes this recipe as it has mild sweet tastes and goes very well with vegetable stew, vegetable tomato stew, chicken stew and egg curry. Traditionally, Appam is prepared using ingredients like rice, coconut milk and yeast. Appam is very easy to make as it uses very limited number of ingredients and proves to be very delicious. This recipe is slightly different from traditional methods as I have used a variety of ingredients. I have used multi-grains (like wild rice, red rice, brown rice, quinoa), oats and whole jowar, then grinded it with yeast and coconut milk. Whole jowar can be found in any Indian grocery store and the mix of the remaining grains is mostly available at HEB or Sprouts. The texture of this Appam is soft like pancakes, very healthy and delicious. Do try this Appam and I am sure everyone in your family will love it, even the kids. 
Sweet & Sour Mango Chutney
Mango is a versatile fruit, as many delicious recipes can be prepared with raw mango as well as ripe mango; such as mango pickle, drinks, mango roll up, sweet or spice chutney, shrikhand, ice cream, lassi, mango kulfi and so on. Sweet & sour mango chutney is one of my childhood favorite, and my mom used to make this dish during mango season in the summer. She would make it in large quantities and store it in a jar. We loved eating it in our lunch boxes with parathas. This mango chutney also known galka or khattmithi in Northern part of India, but every state has its own variation of making this sweet & sour chutney with different ingredients and has many different names. This recipe made with raw mangoes, jaggery and some spices in Eastern UP & Bihar style.
Grilled Methi(Fenugreek) Chicken
Grilled Methi(Fenugreek) Chicken is a recipe with slight variation from the regular grilled chicken. The chicken is marinated with dry roasted fenugreek leaves along with other regular ingredients like hung curd and tandoori spices. The taste of this chicken is little different than regular and also fenugreek gives a very nice aroma to the recipe. This is a perfect non-veg starters for you mini parties, family and guests. Kids too love this grilled chicken.
Dates & Nuts Gujiya
Gujiya is a one of very popular festive season sweet snacks in Northern part of India. It’s generally made during festivals like Diwali or Holi, however it is readily available in sweet shops but homemade always better. There are many kinds of Gujiyas based on the filling in it, like milk mava, rava, coconut with nuts and so on. This Gujiya recipe is made from filling of dates and nuts and flavored with cardamom powder. The outer layer is crispy and flaky. In sweet shops you can also find Gujiya which are dipped in sugar syrup. Enjoy this very tasty Gujiya though keep in mind the calories.
Veggie Quinoa Uttapam
Uttapam is a well know South Indian breakfast dish which belongs to the dosa family. Generally most of the dosa’s are thin and crispy however; uttapam is thick and soft similar to pancakes. The batter for preparing any kind of dosa is the same however; the cooking process is different for different kinds of dosas. Uttapam is generally topped with vegetables like onions, tomatos and carrots and served with coconut chutney and sambhar. The batter for regular uttapam is prepared using 1 cup of urad daal and 3 cups of idli rice, however; in this recipe I have used red rice, quinoa, yellow moog daal and red poha to prepare the batter. This is slightly different than traditional uttapam and gives a different taste and texture to it. You can add your favorite veggies and the healthy uttapam is a perfect breakfast and after school snacks for kids.
Mini Pizza Tart
Pizza is a popular American food which is readily available in many restaurants. Kids always get very excited just hearing the word Pizza, but we all know it contains a lot of cheese and is not very healthy if consumed regularly. Therefore, when you prepare it at home you can control your own ingredients and make it more healthier. You could reduce the amount of cheese as well as add more veggies or meat. To make mini pizza tart, you will need mini tart pans which are available in stores. For a more appealing look, add handles to your pizza tart as shown in this recipe. I am sure your guest and kids would be impressed with this mini pizza tart.
Beans & Quinoa Veggie Patties
Sandwich is a very common breakfast or snacks items and also works well for kid’s lunch boxes. There are variety of sandwich you can make like peanut butter jelly, cheese, Nutella and so on. The sandwich made from this patty recipe has good amount of protein. Patties can be either veg or non-veg and can be used along with lettuce, tomato, cucumber and so on. The recipe is to prepare a veggie patty using red kidney bean, black-eyed beans, quinoa and mix of veggies. For this recipe I have used fresh boiled beans however you can used canned one too. Patties can be prepared ahead of time and stored in refrigerator similar to store bought frozen patties. It certainly saves time early morning when everyone is in rush and helps in having a good quality breakfast.
Gatte ki sabji( Sabzi)
Rajasthan, a state in India, has its own specialties when it comes to delicacies. Gatte ki sabji is one of that delicacy prepared using simple ingredients however has amazing taste. Though it is specialty of Rajasthan,its famous all over India. Other parts of India have their own variation of besan curry similar to to gatte ki sabji and I have shared couple of recipes of the same. It seem Rajasthani marriage celebrations are incomplete without this dish. The main ingredient of the recipe is besan (gram flour) which is used to prepare Gatte. The curry is based out of tomato, curd and mix of spices. In this recipe, I have also added fresh fenugreek (methi) leaves which make Gatte’s more delicious. Making dough for Gatte is little tricky and it should be of wheat flour chapati’s consistency. The delicious curry goes very well with Roti, Rice, Naan and Paratha.