Greek salad (or village salad) is one of the most common dishes found throughout Greece. These salads are a great way of using your garden tomatoes, especially in late August when they are so plentiful. To make a truly great salad you really should invest in a good quality olive oil. Sprinkle this wonderful salad with feta cheese and oregano and you’ll experience a truly authentic Greek experience!
Rizogalo is one of my favourite desserts. When making rizogalo, you can’t stray too far away from the kitchen, as this dish requires constant stirring otherwise the milk will burn. You may add raisins if you like, although Eva prefers this recipe without the raisins. Rizogalo can be served either warm or cold. This recipe provides 8 servings.
Rice balls are fabulous as a side dish or an entrée. This dish can be modified in various ways; for a healthier version opt for ground turkey or chicken rather than beef, or if you are a vegetarian omit the meat altogether. We hope you enjoy our first Italian recipe!
This is a very simple reciepe to make a delicious potato curry or sabji. This sabji can be slightly modified to be made with or without a gravy. With a gravy, this dish goes great with rice, roti or even some toast. Without a gravy, this dish makes a great replacement for roasted or mashed potatoes usually had with dinner. Today we will be making this potato sabji with a tomato based gravy. Enjoy!
Eggplant Parmesan makes a wonderful vegetarian side dish. Rather than fry the eggplant, Eva prefers to bake them in the oven with a little olive oil for about 20 minutes. It is delicious and a much healthier alternative to the traditional recipe.
Green Beans with Potatoes or ‘Fasolakia me Patates’ in Greek is a vegetarian village classic Eva (and other Greeks) grew up with. As with many of Eva’s dishes, this recipe requires only a few simple ingredients and makes a great meal or side dish. Keep in mind the length of time the beans need to cook depends on not only your beans, but also how soft (or crunchy) you want them, so be sure to sample them as this delicious dish is cooking.
Spanakopita makes a wonderful side dish at a family meal and it also makes a perfect appetizer for parties. In this video, Eva shows us her take on the traditional Greek dish. Instead of using phyllo, Eva uses puff pastry, which you can find in the frozen section of your local grocery store. It is a lot easier to use and makes a delicious spanakopita.
This soup is a twist on traditional corn soup. It is very common to see soups like this on restaurant menus in India. Instead of just salt and pepper, we will also use grated ginger and green chilli. In addition to this, we will add some noodles, to give the soup a heartier feel. I am choosing to use vermicelli noodles, however, you may also use Asian style dinner noodles. This is a great dish to pick you up after a long day!
Souvlaki has become the quintessential Greek dish. You may prepare souvlaki with pork tenderloin, chicken breast, lamb, as well as pork shoulder. It is wonderful in a pita, or served with a side of rice, Greek salad, and tzatziki sauce. If you are planning to serve this dish, be sure to marinate the meat at least 24 hours before you start the barbecue.
Tzatziki is a popular Greek sauce that is often used as a dip with pita bread or enjoyed with various types of meat dishes such as souvlaki and gyros. It is best made with yogurt, but if you prefer not to use yogurt you may substitute it for sour cream.
In this video Eva shows us how to prepare another family favourite: Yiouvarlakia, more commonly known as meatballs with tomato sauce over rice. Like many of Eva’s recipes, this dish requires only a few simply ingredients and is not overly complicated to make.
Paratha are a type of flatbread that originated in India. They are made with whole-wheat flour and typically pan fried with ghee (clarified butter) or oil. The stuffing for a paratha can either be mixed into the dough, or placed into a ball of dough which is made into a pocket. In this receipe we are keeping it simple by just mixing the stuffing directly into the dough. For the stuffing we are using a form of spinich called, fenugreek.
With thousands of miles of coastline, it is not surprising that Greeks have developed numerous delicious ways of preparing fish. In this video, Eva show us how to prepare fish baked in the oven with onions, carrots, garlic, lemon, parsley and olive oil. We love this recipe for its simplicity and nutritional value. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Giouvetsi is a traditional Greek dish made with only a few simple ingredients but it is packed with flavour. It is made with lamb (although you could also substitute the lamb for beef), tomato juice and spaghetti.
Chole is a North Indian chick pea dish. The base is a tomato gravy and to this you add either canned chick peas or if you prefer dried ones which you have soaked overnight. In this recipe we will be using canned chick peas. Like most Indian curries you can adjust the spice so that the dish is spicy or mild depending on your taste. This recipe will make the Chole on the milder side.
This dish is a guaranteed family favourite! It is made with only a few simple and healthy ingredients and takes less than an hour to make. It is absolutely delicious and one of our favourite comfort foods. We grew up on this dish and we hope you enjoy it as much as we do. This dish is usually served with rice but feel free to substitute the rice for pasta if you prefer.
Baklava is one of the most popular Greek desserts known around the world, but there are also many different ways of preparing this wonderful and decedent sweet. In this video recipe, Eva shows us how to prepare baklava rolls. The ingredients are the same as the traditional baklava recipe, but here the phyllo is rolled and cut into individual pieces.
Kourabiedes are a traditional Greek cookie made for special occasions like Christmas. They are butter cookies covered with icing sugar and are a favourite among Greeks. This recipe makes a huge amount of cookies (about 8 dozen), so feel free to cut the recipe in half or simply give them away to loved ones as gifts!
Diples are a wonderful Greek dessert to make on special occasions. The dough is rolled into long, thin strips, fried in hot oil and then dipped in syrup. It is best to prepare and fry the dough a couple of days before you add the syrup. Frying the diples takes a bit of practice, but once you become more experienced you might try frying the diples in fancy shapes.
Here is another wonderful vegetarian dish that uses only a few simple and healthy ingredients. Both Swiss chard and black eyed beans are rich in nutrients and very high in fiber. In Greece, this dish is usually eaten as the main meal, but it also makes a great side dish.
Kulfi is a type of frozen Indian dessert similar to ice cream. It comes in many different flavours such as, mango, pistachio and rose. In this recipe we are going to keep it simple and just use a combination of ground almond, cardamom and saffron to provide flavour.
This is another classic Greek dish which has been handed down from generation to generation. It is made with fresh and healthy ingredients, and it is the perfect meal to serve on a cold winter’s night. There are different variations of Avgolemono soup, but in this video Irene shows us how to prepare it with rice and chicken.
This is the perfect meal to make on a weekend afternoon. It is simple and healthy and fills the house with wonderful smell. Add a side of salad and it is perfect for family gatherings!
This is a nutritious and wonderfully satisfying vegetarian dish. The name ‘yiyantes’ comes from the Greek word for giant (‘giant beans’). Yiyantes can be cooked a couple of different ways, and in this recipe Eva shows us how to prepare these giant beans in tomato juice baked in the oven (plaki-style).
The ninth video is up on ThursdayForDinner.com with Dipali showing how to make Cabbage Sambharo or Warm Spiced Cabbage Salad. Cabbage Sambharo is a Gujarati side dish similar in look and feel to coleslaw or salad. Visit Thursday for Dinner for the full recipe.
Pastitsio is a layered pasta casserole, also known as “Macaronia tou Fournou” (pasta cooked in the oven). It is a very popular dish throughout Greece and is the perfect dish to make for a large family gathering or party, as it yields a large number of pieces. Pastitsio consists of layers of pasta, a layer of ground beef, and a thick béchamel sauce.
Moussaka is a layered casserole made with layers of eggplant, meat, and a béchamel sauce. In this video, Eva shows us her slightly healthier take on this classic Greek dish. Rather than frying the eggplant, Eva broils the sliced eggplant in the oven for 10 minutes on each side. Her recipe also calls for sliced potatoes to serve as the base of the dish along with the eggplant.
Moog dal is a traditional Indian lentil soup. Moog dal is the main ingredient in the soup, hence the name. However, you can add other types of lentils such as, masoor dal, val dal and chora dal, as we do below. In different parts of India, this dal is made differently. In the north, it is made to have a much thicker texture. Today we will be making it Gujarati style, which means it is more like a soup.
The fifth video is up on Thursday for Dinner titled The Perfect Biscotti. Biscotti is one of those perfect desserts that go so well with a Greek coffee or espresso shot. An Italian cookie twice-baked, what more could you ask for?
Biscotti is an Italian cookie which is twice-baked. It makes a wonderful snack and is a great accompaniment to coffee, tea or wine. It is a light and textured cookie and makes a great alternative to the more sugary cookies available at the local supermarket. With biscotti you can really experiment with the ingredients: you can add chocolate chips, any time of nut, and even dried fruit like cranberries. Here Eva shows us her recipe for biscotti. We’ve tried many different biscotti recipes and found this one to be the best.
Greek coffee is both delicious and mysterious! It is a wonderful drink to serve your house guests, but also provides a window into your past, present and future…well, apparently, but we’re not quite sure. Greek coffee is quite strong and is served with the foam at the top and the grounds at the bottom of the cup. It is made using a small pot, called a briki in Greek, and is sweetened according to taste: bitter, medium, sweet, or very sweet….
