Melting Pot

Vegetable Pulao/Pilaf

2011-07-16T22:30:00.001-07:00

I had to spend about a month's time in Ireland on Business. It is unusual to make friends in such a scenario. But I have been lucky enough to have met K...

So when she invited me over to her home during my last week in Dublin I was unsure what to take along with me. A bottle of wine is customary but what along with it, I wondered.

Indian food though loved the world around is always synonymous with the word spicy. I wanted to shatter that opinion since not every Indian dish is spicy. So to suit the taste buds of my friend I came up with this recipe of a simple pulao made from scratch.

By the way for all the mothers who read my blog this can be good lunch box recipe.

You will need:

1. Mushrooms - 1 Packet
2. Carrots - 4-5 chopped
3. Onions - 2-3 Small
4. Green Peas (frozen) - 1 Cup
5. Beans - 1 Cup chopped
6. Corn (frozen)- 1/2 Cup
7. Tomato Puree - 2-3 tbsp
8. Garam Masala - 1 tsp
9. Kashmiri Chilli - 1/2 tsp
10. Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
11. Maggi Coconut Powder - 25-30 gms OR coconut milk - small packet
12. Salt - to taste
13. Basmati Rice - 2 Cups
14. Water - 4 cups
15. Olive Oil - 3-4 tsp

Method:
1. Wash the rice and boil it in salted water till cooked. For this recipe I generally have enough water such that the rice is entirely cooked and the water need not be drained. But you can boil the rice as per your choice.
2. Heat oil in a wok and add the chopped onions. Fry till they are slightly brown.
3. Now add the vegetables one by one and keep frying.
4. Once the vegetables are all fried add the tomato puree, salt, garam masala, coriander powder, and Kashmiri Chilli Powder. The masala should be well incorporated into the veggies.
5. Now add the coconut powder and mix one last time. Switch off the gas.
6. Stir in the cooked rice into this mixture little by little and mix well.
7. Garnish with fresh coriander leave (optional).
8. Enjoy the pulao with some homemade yogurt!

Cooking with Leftovers - Part 3 - Lemon Rice

2011-06-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

This is a ice breaker post. Its been about a year or so since I blogged. Was out of India for close to a year and had no time for blogging. Now I want to restart this weekly activity again. Its like coming back from your hibernation after a long winter.

Anywhich ways, cribbing apart I have got a breather now. Though not quite as you think, I have logged into one of those office calls where no one has joined yet and no one may be joining :) and I thought there is no better time then now to blog about hmm.. let me see something simple.

Now today's dish is a no fuss dish that all of us may have made now and then with left over rice. I never used to like this transformation of rice from nothing to the tangy yellow version of what they call "Lemon Rice" till this once incident.

I was visiting this friends place one weekend and she had to attend a potluck dinner where the menu was "Anything South Indian".

My friend was initially quite unsure of what to take and then finally settled for "Lemon Rice". This was one of the best Lemon Rice I ever tasted and this made me a great fan of this dish. I must say this is an easy to make and yummy recipe to cook up for say a sunday morning breakfast or brunch.

You will need:

Left Over Rice - 2-3 cups
Chopped Onions - 1 cup
Chopped Green Chillies, chopped -1-2
Curry Leaves - 2 Sprigs
Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
Haldi - 1/2 tsp -
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Hing - a pinch
Salt to taste
Oil -2-3 tbsp
Mustard seeds -1/2 tsp -

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a wok.
2. Throw in the mustard seeds and after they splutter throw in some hing and curry leaves.
3. Now add the chopped onions.
4. Put little bit of salt and let them fry. Once they are translucent add the haldi and coriander powder.
5. Fry for a couple of minutes more. Switch off the heat.
6. Now microwave the rice on a high for about 3-4 minutes. You may need to add salt into the rice and mix it well if the rice does not have any salt added when it was boiled.
7. Now mix the hot rice along with the onion masala till it is well incorporated and the rice gets transformed to a yellowish consistency.
8. Now comes the best part. Add lemon juice as per your taste and mix it one last time. Your lemon rice is ready to be served! Enjoy!

Easy Bread Pockets

2010-05-28T05:29:00.000-07:00

You have unexpected visitors at home and you are hard pressed for time. You still want to impress them with some homemade snack..Hmm..does this describe you? At least I am like that to a certain extent..if not more..

Now this dish is very easy and quick to make and is for the circumstance mentioned above :) It is also a good accompaniment with tea or coffee. This recipe was passed onto me by a dear friend of mine who got it from her mom. Thanks R!

Ingredredients:

4 slices of bread

Boiled Potatoes - 2

Salt to taste

Garam Masala (1/2 tsp)

Kashmiri Chilli Powder (1/2 tsp)

Little Water

Oil for Frying

Method:

Heat oil in a wok.

Make a mixture of boiled potatoes, salt, Garam Masala and Chilli Powder.

Cut the sides off the bread and then sprinkle both the sides with water.

After the water is saoked squeeze the bread in between your palm till the water is drained.

Keep about a tbsp of the potato mixture on the bread and join the edges of the bread to make it look like a pocket. You can press it down a bit once fully closed.

Deep fry the bread pockets in hot oil till they turn golden brown.

Serve hot with Tomato Ketchup. Enjoy!!!

Little Lamb - DIY craft for children

2010-05-26T10:00:00.000-07:00

While my son was going through one of his magazines he happened to come across this do-it-yourself craft. Since he is at that age when he can niether say he is truly indepedent nor dependant he wanted me to "help" him make it.

I wanted to use this blog to showcase this craft. So here goes this simple marvel that we came up with just the following things:

Some cotton, two pepper corns, some fevicol and four match sticks. Lots of Imagination and Voila!!

Khatti Bhaji Ki Chutney

2010-05-26T05:15:00.000-07:00

Its been a long time since I posted. I am not getting any time from my routine work and weekends have just flown by without me posting anything. But that does not mean I have not been baking and cooking.

I had baked an apple cake recently that we took along for a family friends birthday. Everyone out there gave it a thumbs up. So yes, I will be blogging about that soon. I have some other recipes too lined up!

Okay to start with I want to blog about this nice and tangy chutney that made today. It is so easy to make and amazingly delicious. Goes well with both Rice and Rotis.

Actually this bhaji called Khatti bhaji in North. In hindi "khatti" means sour and this leafy veggie is naturally very sour and tangy. This veggie was a favorite of my grand mother-in-law so I was told.

Also called "gongura" down south and they use it in chutneys, dals and even pickles made out of these leaves are quite famous. This recipe was passed onto me by a generous colleague of mine who had the patience of answering all my questions.

Here goes:

Ingredients:

Gongura leaves (a small bunch)

2 tbsp of roasted peanuts

2 Green Chillies

4 cloved of garlic

salt to taste

Method:

Grind the roast peanuts into a fine powder.

Boil the leaves along with Green Chillies in little water till the leaves are light green and are cooked.

Grind the leaves along with any little water left and the chillies into a fine paste along with garlic and salt.

Add the peanut powder and give one final stir.

Temper the chutney with chopped onions.

Your chutney is ready. Enjoy!!!

P.S: If you do not want to temper then you may add some hot ghee (optional) on top of this chutney and then top it with freshly chopped onions (mandatory :)).

Homemade Garam Masala Powder - Indian Spice Mix

2010-04-13T09:19:00.000-07:00

Garam Masala(GM) is one of the basic spice mix that is found in any Indian Kitchen and it is like a Man Friday when it comes to Indian cooking.

Any dish that needs to be spiced up, a pinch of this spice mix always does the trick. Though I do love GM I do not quite like the ones that are store bought due to their strong smell since my DH does not quite like it.

One evening I set out to make my own Garam Masala and in my quest came across various recipes online for home made GM. But I used my own permutation and combination and the recipe given below speaks for itself. This is what I would call the North Indian version of the GM and it is quite subtle and a pinch of it can enhance the flavor of any dish that you make.

I use my freezer compartment of the fridge to keep all such homemade spices as it increases their shelf life. Try this and you will be pleasantly surprised how easy it is to make and once done you will thank yourself!!

Ingredients:

1/2cup Cumin Seed

2 tbsp Coriander seeds

4 sticks Cinnamon

10-12 bruised green Cardamom pods

4-5 bruised black Cardamom pods

10 Cloves

1/2 broken Nutmeg

3-4 blades of Mace

1 tbsp black Pepper corns

4 whole Star anise

5 Bay Leaf

1-2 tsp Fennel Seeds

1-2 tsp of ground Ginger Powder

Method:

Dry Roast all ingredients in a Kadhai over a very low flame, sauteing from time to time.
You will know that they are almost done when they turn slightly brownish and give off the wonderful spicy aroma.
You may also divide the ingredients into two batches since some like Coriander and Cumin take less time when compared to Cardamom and Cinnamon.
Once they are well roasted switch off the flame and allow the spice mix to cool.
Now finely grind the above spices.
Store it in an airtight container and use as and when necessary. A pinch should do the trick. Enjoy!!

Baked bread pudding with Caramel

2010-03-17T07:47:00.000-07:00

Bread pudding is one of the simplest recipes that can be prepared using leftover in the kitchen. I love baking this on a lazy sunday morning and enjoy it hot or cold.

My MIL loves this pudding and the best part is it does not take a long time to make. This time around I gave it a little twist with some carmelized sauce and it turned out pretty neat.

Here goes the list of ingredients:

2 cups of shredded stale bread
2 cups of hot milk
3/4 cup Sugar
1 tbsp Ghee or clarified butter
1/4 tsp of Salt
3 eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
1 tsp of Cinnamon powder
1/4 tsp of Nutmeg powder
1/4 tsp of Clove powder
4 tbsp of sugar (for the carmel sauce)
A few drops of water (for the caramel sauce)
2 drops of lemon juice (for caramel sauce)

Method:

Preheat the oven to a 175 deg c. Lightly grease a cake tin with butter or oil.
Ensure that you stuff 2 cups with shredded bread pieces. Now empty this into the container that has the hot milk. combine gently.
Add the sugar, Ghee, salt, eggs, vanilla and the three different powders. Mix gently.
Set this mixture aside.
Now take a wok and put it on simmer.
Add the Sugar and keep stirring till the sugar starts melting and them add a few drops of water.
Continue to stir till the mixture turns light brown. Add the lemon juice. This is done primarly to avoid the sugar from crystallization.
As you continue to stir you see the mixture turn golden brown. Switch off the gas and immediately pour this mixture into the cake tin.
Now pour the bread mixture on top of this and pop it into the oven.
You will need to keep the cake tin in a water bath to avoid the pudding from getting burnt.
You can do this by filling a tray with water and keeping the cake tin in the tray.
Bake this mixture for about an hour. Allow it to rest in the oven after baking it and then let it cool completely before serving.
You may keep it in the fridge and serve it the next day instead. Enjoy!!

Eggless Cake - Pure Vegetarian Cake

2010-03-14T10:31:00.000-07:00

Neccesity is the mother of invention.

Why am I talking philosophy on this blog you may say. Actually last week my son happened to come down with Chicken pox.

In India it is believed that a very light diet helps in reducing the effect of Chicken pox and helps in healing of the scars faster. Though the doctor believes that this is a myth and we need to follow a normal diet, I strongly believe there is some truth to this theory that our forefathers have imbibed in us.

It was this belief that made me abstain my son from any sort of non-vegetarian food including eggs. Now comes the reason as to why I started with that statements. One of those days when he got so bored of the bland food that he wanted me to bake a cake. I am a firm believer that a good cake can only be baked with eggs and this got me in a dilemma. After searching for a while I nailed down a recipe that had no eggs and is totally vegetarian. This was handed over to me by my SIL.

The base ingredient to this cake is milk and milk products and can be baked in a microwave or an OTG. My sis-in-law who gave me the original recipe(which I changed to my fancy:)) uses a cooker to bake this cake.

I thought of all the people who keep telling me that they can not bake because of the limitation of not having a microwave or an oven I thought this is a boon. My recipes are all tried and tested as you see and this one too had to be in a cooker if I had to tell my friends that they could bake too in a primitive oven (Read Cooker) of sorts.

To my surprise this cake did come out pretty good though I must say it is a little milky since the base ingredient is milk and milk products.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup condensed Milk

3/4 cup Milk Powder or Dairy Whitener

2 cups of Whole Wheat Flour

1/2 Cup Sugar

1 1/2 Cup Milk

1/2 cup fresh cream

1/2 cup Yoghurt

1 tbsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp vanilla essence

Method:

Keep a steel stand inside a cooker. This is to hold the cake tin so that it does not rest at the bottom of the cooker. Now let it simmer without the whistle.

Mix all the wet ingredients first in a seperate bowl using a whisker.

Mix all the dry ingredients seperately in a bowl.

Add the dry mixture slowly into the wet incorporating it slowly into the wet mixture until all the ingredients are well combined.

Now take a cake tin and grease it with little oil and sprinkle some flour on it.

Pour the cake mixture into this tin and slowly lower the cake tin into the cooker and leave it to simmer for the next one hour.

After about an hour check the doneness of the cake with a fork or a tooth pick.

Your eggless cake is ready to be served. Enjoy!!

P.S:

You can use the oven to bake this cake too. Preheat it to 170 deg c and then pop this mixture for 1/2 hour to 45 minutes and the cake will be ready.

Instead of 2 cups of flour you can use 1 1/2 cup of whole wheat Flour and 1/2 cup of cocoa powder to make a chocolate cake instead of the plain vanilla.

The original recipe called for 1 cup oil instead of 1/2 cup of cream and 1/2 cup of Yoghurt. You can try that version too. Use vegetable oil such as Sunflower oil in that case.

Pavlova

2010-02-26T06:51:00.000-08:00

Pavlova the name itself is as mystic as the delicacy this is.

I happened to come across this recipe by chance. Never had heard of it before though I knew what a Meringue is. Once I discovered the beauty of this recipe I have been mesmerized till date. I made this first on my Mom's Birthday and was quite nervous. Cos if you have never had something in your entire life it is kind of difficult to judge your outcome. Rather you do not have any benchmark. But coaxed primarily by my sweet MIL I presented it to my mom and everyone gathered. To my surprise it turned out to be quite a crowd pleaser. Voila!! One more addition to my ever growing list of "I can make this cake/pastry!!" :)

The recipe is simple and ingredients minimal. As you beat the ingredients the color of the egg whites which forms the base ingredient comes out in a very ethereal manner so light as if it is floating in air. This was the highlight of me making this dish. The light airiness of the egg whites!! The name Pavlova is after a Russian Ballet dancer called Anna Pavlova. As I was making it I realised why it so represents her!! A picture they say speaks a thousand words, here is a photograph of her in her very famous "Dying Swan" I could relate the ethereal feel of the dessert with her completely.You may find it interesting to read about Anna Pavlova here.

There are two types of Pavlova that I have tried. One with chocolate (yes how can I deny chocolate in any of my cakes) and one without which is the classic Pavlova or Pav it is called fondly.

I used the following two links to come up with two different versions of Pav.

http://www.nigella.com/recipe/recipe_detail.aspx?rid=283

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/7271/classic+pavlova

The Pav in the photograph is a Chocolate Pavlova and for this I have used Chikku, Banana and grapes as topping.

I had made a classic version without Chocolate and for that I used grapes, strawberry preserve and topped it with some buttesctoch sauce. Totaly awesome!! That is the best part any pulpy fruit that you feel will taste well as per your shoice can be used liberally as a topping. I am waiting for the mango season to start :) so I can use that as a topping!!

You are going to get lot of wows!! if you do make it in any party that I can assure you. Enjoy!!

Date and Almond Laddu - Moroccon Dessert

2010-01-30T00:59:00.000-08:00

This is a sweet that I had made way back during Diwali. It is very easy to make plus lots healthier than the other sweets normally associated with Diwali since this does not include any ghee and needs no sugar to be added. The Dates give the natural sweetness to this dessert. If you find it a little subtle on the sweetness quotient you may add some sugar like how I did. Else you can avoid it totally.

I give this recipe two thumbsup for anyone who has just started cooking and wants to show thier little culinary expertise to friends and family!!

The original recipe can be found at Alia's site for Moroccon cuisine. According to Alia, dates are prominently used to break the fast during the holy month of Ramadan and this sweet is widely used during this season.

I have made the sweet with some changes. So here goes.

Ingredients:

2 cups of De-seeded Dates (Used the Lion Brand)

2 cups Roasted Almonds

Dessicated Coconut (I used the Maggi Brand)

2 tablespoons of honey

2 tbsp of castor sugar

1 tablespoon of Rose water

½ teaspoon of cinnamon powder

Method:

In a double boiler steam the dates for 20 minutes.

Now take the dates and the almonds in a mixie and make a paste out of the same.

When done, add honey, cinnamon, castor sugar and rose water and mix into a dough.

Make laddus from the paste and then roll them into the dessicated coconut. Enjoy!!

Homemade Paneer

2010-01-30T00:35:00.000-08:00

I often am questioned by my friends at work on how to make Paneer or the cottage cheese at home. It is so easy to make and is much better than the store bought variety. Since this is the base ingredients for most of the north indian cuisine I find it important enough to be included in my list of recipes.

It is very easy to make Paneer. All you need is available in the Indian Pantry.

First of all take about a litre of fresh cow's milk and bring it to boil. Once it is boiled then reduce the heat to a simmer, add a pinch of salt and juice of 1/2 a lemon right at the middle of the vessel. Let it simmer for a couple of minutes and then check if the milk is curdled. If it hasen't you may add some more juice of lemon.

Once the milk has curdled switch off the gas and keep stirring the mixture. You can now see that the water and the fat content in the milk have seperated.

Strain this mixture through a muslin cloth and what remains in the muslin is the Paneer. Leave it for a few minutes till all the water has drained and then use it in any dish of your choice.

Now the water that is left behind is the "Whey" and is very nutritious in nature. You can reserve it for kneading your Chapati dough for soft Chapatis.

Enjoy!!

Tava Vegetables

2010-01-10T06:04:00.000-08:00

I am posting this on behalf of my better half whose culinary expertise is quite famous among all his friends. This vegetarians dish that he churns out for them is always the talk of every party or get together that we have ever had.

So here goes ..in his own words.. The famous Tava Vegetables..

I have made this recipe over a period of time and did lot of experiment on the way and finally its here. Finding it difficult to name, because reaction to food resides as much in our heads as in our mouths, if we believe a food is going to be delicious, we're more likely to enjoy eating it. That's why simply making the name of a food more descriptive or tantalizing can lead us to believe it is tastier and it happens. But believe me whatever name I choose for the “crispy”, “spicy”, “luscious”, “tangy”, “Bitter”, “Piquant”, just ambrosial, it’s the tastiest of all to fulfill all your gustatory organs and ya the “tender”, “slimy”( bit ;-) ) texture is absolutely crucial in any gustatory experience

So here it goes:

Red Bell Pepper (Big size) – 1 – Cut lengthwise

Green Bell Pepper (Big size) – 1 – Cut lengthwise

Yellow Bell Pepper (Big size) – 1 – Cut lengthwise

Brinjal (small) – 5 – cut into roundels

Baby Potato - 250 gms – peeled

Cherry Tomato – 250gms – whole, poked with fork

Beans - 100gms – cut into 3" lengthwise

Ladies fingure(Okra) – 200gms - cut into 3" lengthwise

Baby corn – 6-7 Pcs - cut into 3" lengthwise

Bitter Gourd – 4 Pcs – Boil in salt water and cut into 2 pcs

Sambar Onion - 200gms – peeled

Green chillies – 3-4 big size

Oil - 4 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Method 1:

Fry all the above vegetable in oil in a wok one by one and keep it aside

Method 2:

Spray oil and add salt in all vegetable and bake in an oven on medium to high till the veggies turn crispy brown. You may need to toss them a couple of times in between.

For the Masala:

Onions – 3 medium size – finely chopped

Ginger – 1 inch – ground

Garlic – 10 pcs - ground

Cumin seed – 2 tsp

Pav bhajji masala – 4 tbsp

Tava Veg Fry Masala (MDH) - 2 tsp

Garam masala – ½ tsp

Butter - 2tbsp (Optional)

Method:

Put oil in a wok and add cumin seeds once they sputter add the chopped onions and ginger garlic paste and fry till light brown.

Now ensure the flame is on a simmer and add all (except the green chillies) the fried or baked veggies, mix it carefully ensuring that the veggies are intact and are not mushy.

Add salt, pav bhaji masala and incorporate into the veggies carefully

Add tava veg fry masala, garam masala, butter, and put it in on slow flame for 20-25 mins stirring once in a while.

Garnish with corriander and fried green chillies.

Tasty Tips:

If you fry the veggies in the masala on a slow flame carefully for a long time the masala will get incorporated well into the veggies making it more tastier.

Peanut Butter Banana Moist Cake

2009-12-31T22:06:00.000-08:00

Happened to enter the kitchen one evening and felt that I had some time on hand and wanted to bake something different. Saw some bananas waiting to used in something, some peanut butter left in a jar, a couple of eggs and I thought why not try out a cake with these ingredients instead of the usual cookie.

And so started my quest for a moist peanut butter banana cake which ended up successful enough for me to blog about it!! Here goes!!!

Ingredients:

2 1/3 cup flour
2 cup jaggery
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
1/2 cup butter
1 cup milk
2 eggs ligtly beaten
2 bananas mashed
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Method:
1. Add the flour, jaggery, peanut butter, melted butter and mix it either with a wide spatula or best done by hand till it becomes a crumbly mixture.Reserve one cup of mixture for later use.
2. Now make a small well right in the middle of the mixture and add milk, eggs, mashed bananas, vanilla, Baking Powder and Baking Soda.
3. Mix all the ingredients well into a batter.
4. Meanwhile you need to pre-heat the oven to a 160 deg C
5. Grease a pan and pour the batter and then top it with the reserved crumble mixture.
6. Bake the cake for about 40-45 minutes and ensure that the top mixture (crumble layer) does not get burnt.
7. Check if the cake is done by inserting a tooth pick. Enjoy the cake with some Butterscotch sauce. Awesome!!

Tip: If you feel the top of the cake is getting burnt then you may cover the top with Aluminium foil.

Kutchi Dabeli - Desi Burger - Street Food

2009-12-04T10:02:00.000-08:00

Hey wanted to share an amazing dish that I bumped across. It goes well as a part starter or a snack.

Originates from the Kutch region of Gujarat from where it migrated years later to the streets of mumbai that have made snacks like Pav Bhaji, Chat, Vada Pav so famous. It got its due here and became quite famous with all the street food lovers.
Don't miss it if you are anywhere there.

Anyways one advantage it is not as famous as the Pav bhaji that anyone will know to make and so this can be "your" introduction to any small party, gathering meet that you are having and trust me "No one can steal your thunder" on this one :)

The recipe follows. I have to say it is a little cumbersome but the praises you will get..well worth it!!

Ingredients:

For the Dabeli Masala

• 2 tbsp Oil
• 2 tbsp Butter
• 3 - Onion
• 3 tbsp Dabeli Masala Powder
• 2- Tomatoes
• Salt to taste
• 3-4 Potatoes Boiled
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 2 tsp Lemon Juice

For Garnish:
• 1 cup Spicy Peanuts( I took the non spicy variety)
• 1/2 Cup Corainder Leaves finely chopped
• 1 cup Nylon Sev
• 1 cup Pomegranate Seeds
• 1/2 cup Chopped Onions

For the Bread:

Any Pav Bun will suffice. Ensure that it is soft and fresh. You will have to split the bun into half just until the end and not completely. This should form a kind of a pocket for us to smear all the masalas.

Method for the Dabeli Masala:

Take the oil and butter in a wok.
Once it is hot add the onion and fry for some time.
Now add the Dabeli Masala (1 tbsp) and saute some more.
Once it is well mixed add the Tomatoes and fry.
Add Salt and fry till the tomatoes are soft.
Once the tomatoes are done then add the boiled potatoes, 1 tbsp of Dabeli Masala and a little bit of sugar and lemon juice and sauté till well done.
Transfer the ingredients into a flat plate so that you can assemble the Dabeli.

Assembling the Dabeli Masala with Garnish:

Pulse the peanuts for a couple of seconds till they are slightly crunchy at the same time are not whole anymore.

Sprinkle the peanut mixture on top of the Potato mixture.

Sprinkle freshly chopped coriander leaves on top of this mixture.

Now sprinkle the Nylon Sev on top of this mixture generously.

Finally add the Pomegrate Seeds on top of this.

Now the mixture is ready to filled into the Pav along with the chutney.

Apply a little butter onto the Pav buns till they are soft.

Now apply little bit of the Sweet chutney inside the Pav and then close it to ensure the chutney has spread evenly inside the Pav.

Now apply the Red chutney and do the same procedure as above.

Scoop a portion of the Dabeli mixture and put it inside the Pav and then add chopped onions, some coriander leaves, peanut and press the pav lightly.

Enjoy your Dabeli.

Spicy Red Chutney:

• 10 Red Chillies
• 15-20 Garlic Pods
• Lemon Juice 2 tsp
• Salt to taste
• Water to blend
Procedure: Pulse everything in a mixie till it becomes a smooth paste.

Sweet Chutney:

• Tamarind – Lemon size ball
• Sugar or Jaggery – ½ cup
• Water - 1 cup
Procedure: Simmer the tamarind and jaggery along with water till the mixture thickens. Sieve and remove the tamarind seeds and skin to get the sweet chutney.

Dabeli Masala is easily available across Maharashtra and some parts of Gujrat. It can be prepared at home and Sia in her blog has given the procedure to make the dabeli masala from scratch. Do check out her version of making this dish too..

Katori Chat - Spicy Salad in a Cup

2009-11-06T20:31:00.000-08:00

Its been such a long time since I have got the time to post a good recipe. Something or the other keeps happening. Either I forget to take the snaps or procrastinate when to transfer the snaps from my Nikon to my laptop or too lazy to write the post, some party to attend, some party to host..whew..it just gets into you sometimes..doesn't it. Weekend Mayhem!!

How do we manage to squeeze in so much in just two days. One weekend is never enough for all the things that you plan to accomplish. Yet you eagerly wait for it and its gone in a flash and you again wait for the next one.

Anyway this recipe is long pending and many of my friend out there are eagerly waiting for me to upload it. This is called Katori Chat. Katori is nothing but a cup and chat is a spicy salad so this is nothing but a spicy salad in a cup only difference is you can eat the cup too along with your salad :)

Okay!! It does take sometime to make but this will definetely be a head turner if you make it as a starter in any party. Again I learnt this from my MIL and SIL and am thankful for thier unending support in filling this journal "Melting Pot"

You will need:

Green Chana or Garbanzo Beans - 1/2 cup

Corn -1/2 cup

Flour or Maida - 1 cup

Oil - 1 tsp and more for frying

Salt to taste

Water as required

Onions -2 Small

Green Chilli - 1or 2

Corainder Powder - 1/2 tsp

Pavbhaji Masala - 1 tsp

For the final garnish you will need:

Chopped Onions

Corainder leaves finely chopped

Curd (Thick)

Green Chillies

Tomatoes finely chopped

Imli ki Chutney i.e Meeti Chutney

Salt to taste

Procedure:

Soak Chana for at least 4-5 hrs. Boil the chana and corn. Drain and set aside.

Take the Maida, Oil, little salt and water and make a stiff dough.

Meanwhile in a wok add oil, onions, Green Chillies and fry for some time.

Now add the boiled chana and corn. Add salt, Coriander Powder and pav bhaji masala.

Set this masala aside for later use.

Take a small portion of the dough and roll it into the size of a poori.

Now take a medium katori (Stainless Steel one) and stick the rolled puri on top of the katori.

Deep fry this puri along with the katori. Once fried the katori will come out on its own.

Be very careful when doing this though.

Once you have all the katoris ready you can assemble the chat.

To make the chat put the masala into the katori, add chopped onions, tomato, coriander leaves, Green Chillies, imli ki chutney and Dahi. Add some chat masala if needed.

Enjoy your Katori Chat and tell me how you liked it!!!

Peeta - Momos Indian Style

2009-11-06T19:57:00.000-08:00

In my quest to collect traditional recipes from my MIL I came upon this one recipe that she really loves and used to enjoy as a child. This is a dish that can be made into a breakfast or as a snack.

It is quite easy to make and gets my vote since this is high on the "health" quotient. It is what I call the Indian equivalent to the chinese momos or wantons.

Without getting into too much of details here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

Chana Dal (1/2 cup)

Rice Flour (1 cup)

Aesofotida or hing (A pinch)

Jeera (1/2 tsp)

Ginger Garlic Paste (1/2 tsp)

Green Chilli (1-2)

Salt (to taste)

Haldi (1/4 tsp)

Dhaniya Powder(1/2 tsp)

Corainder leave (2 tsp)

Method:

Soak the Dal overnight. If you can not do that soak it at least for 4-5 hrs.

Remove the Dal from water and ensure the water drains out. Grind it into medium fine paste.

Add hing, jeera, ginger- garlic paste, coriander leaves(finely chopped), Green chillies(finely chopped), Salt, Haldi and Dhaniya Powder.

Mix it properly into a paste.

Now take about 2 litres of water and bring it to a boil in a pot.

Meanwhile using a little lukewarm water take the rice flour, salt make a dough.

Make the dough into small balls and roll into small circles about the size of pooris.

Put the paste and fold it into a semicircle and close using water at the ends. And then dip it into the boiling water. Close the lid and let it be on simmer for 5-7 mints.

Once done remove it and drain the water.

Enjoy it with chutney. Recipe follows.

Chutney:

You will need:

Tomato (2 Small)

Coriander leaves ( 1/2 bunch)

Green Chillies (1-2)

Jeera (1/2 tsp)

Salt (to taste)

Garlic (1-2cloves)

Mint Leaves (a few)

Grind all the above ingredients into a fine paste. Enjoy Peeta with chutney.

Melt in your mouth Doughnuts

2009-10-30T19:26:00.000-07:00

My little one is a crazy fan of doughnuts. Our Apartment complex was having a small fair for Durga Puja and there was this do-nut guy whom my son gave continous business for those 4-5 days. Once the fair was over my son decided it was best to get mamma to make it for him.

I was flabbergasted. I have never made them. No clue about how to make them. Non-baking recipes is not my forte as you know! But this request had to be met :)

So I set out and googled, got some good recipes and made them. They were liked both by my hubby and my son alike!! So I want to share this simple recipe for making doughnuts.

You will need:

Warm water - 1/4cup

Yeast - 2 1/4 tsp (1 packet)

Warm milk - 1/2-3/4 Cup

Butter - 2 tbsp

Sugar - 2 tbsp

Egg - 1

Wheat flour - 2-3 cups

Oil for Deep frying

For the glaze:

Powdered Sugar - 1 cup

Water - 3 tbsp

Butter - 2tbsp

Vanilla - 2 drops

Method:

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Set aside till froths.

Now take the milk and add the sugar, butter and mix well.

Add the egg and mix again.

Now add the Wheat Flour slowly little at a time and keep mixing.

If the batter is a little watery you may add some more wheat flour.

Once the batter is ready let it rest in a warm place covered with a muslin cloth in a well oiled bowl.

After an hour take this out and knead for a couple of minutes and using a rolling pin make a round circle of the dough. You may need to use dry flour generously before rolling in order to avoid the dough from sticking.

Using a Coffee mug and a small bottle cap shape the dough in to D0ughnuts.

Let them rest for another 45 minutes or so in a flat plate till they are well risen.

Prepare the glaze by dissolving the sugar, water, vanilla and butter in a bowl.

Now fry these in oil on medium heat, in a pan with say 2" of oil till golden brown. Drain and keep aside.

Now dip one side of the doughnut into the glaze and keep aside for the glaze to set.

Enjoy your doughnut with milk, coffee or tea!!

Cooking with Leftovers - Part 2 - Bread Pudding

2009-10-30T08:49:00.000-07:00

For all those vegetarians out there here is an easy and quick dessert to cook up and with leftovers. Some cold milk straight from the fridge and some stale bread is what you need to whisk this dessert. By stale I mean the last few pieces that keep lying there waiting for salvation :) not knowing whether they will end up in the dustbin or will be given away to the maid. These pieces tend to be a little harder and are best suited for this recipe.

Without writing my usual stories this time I just want to get with the recipe for a change :)

You will need:

Bread - 2-3 cups, cut into bite sized pieces

Cold Milk - 2-3 cups

Sugar - 3/4 cup

Raisins - A handful

Ghee - 2-3 tbsp

Method:

Take a pan and rest the bread pieces on the bottom of the pan.

Add the cold milk on top of this bread pieces. Basically the bread peices should be completely immersed in the milk. Else you can add some more cold milk.

Let the bread pieces soak in this milk for an hour or so.

Now turn on the heat and let the milk simmer slowly. This may take some time and you may have to stir it once in a while.

Once the bread and milk are all combined add the sugar.

Keep stirring at this point in time and add the ghee.

Continue stirring and ensure that the pudding does not get burnt.

Finally add the raisins into the pudding.

The Bread Pudding is ready to serve. Although I must say that it is better eaten cold then warm.

An interesting thing to note that this pudding is somewhat similar to the baked version except that this does not have any eggs. Enjoy your Pudding!!

P.S: You do not need to cut the sides of the bread.

Urad Dal Laddu

2009-10-18T00:17:00.000-07:00

Diwali is a time when I try Indian sweets!! As you all know I am a baker at heart and do not like the no-baking sweets so much since most of them are laden with ghee or are fried.

But during Diwali I let go of all my calorie consciousness and gorge on all the yummy sweets!! Once a year I guess its okay to indulge!!

This year I was contemplating on what sweet to make. Last year I started this blog with the oh-so-sweet Rasgulla and it started my journey in blogosphere. This year I wanted to do something different.

I finalized on two interesting recipes that I had never tried before. And I must say they were quite a success with my family.

One of them is the Urad Dal Laddu. My MIL says that this laddu is traditionally made and consumed during the winter season. Since Diwali marks the onset of Winter I thought there can't be a better choice.

Urad Dal is considered a highly nutricious among lentils and is used in combination with rice to prepare a variety of breakfast dishes like dosa, idli etc. But this recipe breaks the barrier of this lentil into the dessert arena :)

It is an easy to make yet yummy mithai to adorn your Puja Thali..So here goes the recipe!

You will need:

2 Cups of White Lentil/ Urad Dal(split and dehusked)
Fistful of Rice
1 1/2 cup of sugar (Powdered)
1/2 cup Ghee
1/2 cup of Cashews (broken)
1/2 cup of Raisins

Method:

Dry Roast the Urad Dal and the Rice till the Dal is medium brown. You can see the raosted Dal in the photo below.

Now cool this mixture in a plate and grind this into consistency that is not fine but not coarse. Probably like of chiroti sooji or fine semolina consistency.
Now take little bit of the ghee in a pan and once the ghee is hot add the broken cashews and the raisins and fry till they are brown.
Switch off the gas and remove the cashew and raisins from the pan into a plate. You may coarsely grind this so it can incorporated into the laddu easily.
Now in this pan add the urad dal and rice mixture. Add the powdered sugar and the rest of the ghee.
Finally add the cashews and raisins and mix well with hand.
Try taking fistful of this mixture and test if you can make a round ball out of it.
If you can then make laddus of the same size. If you can't you may need to add some more ghee.
Once all the laddus are done you need to store it in air tight containers for them to last for a long time. Enjoy!!

This is my first time making laddus with help from my MIL of course who has the patience to answer all my crazy questions and thanks to her I guess I have to a certain extent mastered the trick to make laddus!

Dual Celebrations - Festival of lights & First Birthday of my Blog

2009-10-17T12:26:00.000-07:00

Happy Diwali to one and all!! May this year bring you closer to achieving your dreams :)

Diwali is all about celebrating with family and friends
Over crackers and
On shopping for gold and silver
On decorating the home with flowers and rangoli
On lighting up your home with little diyas
On making homemade goodies with your family...

Talking about which I just completed celebrating Diwali with my family. It was amazing. They say reaching a destination is not half as good as the journey itself.

It holds so good when it comes to preparing for Diwali. It literally tires you out. But once the puja is done and the house is sound asleep the only thing that I can remember is not the Puja itself but the painstaking flower rangoli that we manage to come up with every year, the night out to make those mithais and namkeen that are needed for the Puja..The list is endless..

I do not want to post any recipe tonight since I am really tired, but just want to wish everyone out there a great year ahead!!

Although my next post will have the details of the mithai that I made along with my MIL!!!

Oh!! and also I am so excited to have been completed one year of successful food blogging and am thrilled!! Dual celebrations indeed!!

Amla Pickle

2009-10-11T02:14:00.000-07:00

I have now officially graduated to make more sophisticated stuff that moms are famous for!! I made some pickle and surprise, surprise. It did come out very well to my amusement!

It all started during lunch time when S had got some homemade andhra style amla pickle made by her aunt. I was smitten!! I told her to give me the recipe and she promised to do so. Little did she know how much adament I am when it comes to getting hold of traditional recipes :) When she was visiting her hometown I called her and got the recipe thanks to her co-operative aunt who told all the little details.

Next stop was the Supermarket and I was all set. I was warned that this is not the season to make pickle but determined I was!!

Amla or Hogplum or the Indian Gooseberry is an amazing fruit with extraordinary benefits. You can read all about it here. This pickle made of Amla is very easy to make and tastes so good.

You will need:

Amla - 1 kg

Groundnut Oil - 1 1/2 cup (for frying)

Groundnut Oil - 1/2 cup (for tempering)

Salt - 4-5 tbsp

Chilli Powder - 4 tbsp

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tbsp

Tamarind - 1 ball the of meduim apple

Mustard Seed - 2 tbsp (tempering)

Jeera - 1 tbsp

Methi or Fenugreek Seeds and Mustard seeds- 1 tbsp each (Dry Roast)

Chana Dal - 2 tbsp

Water 2 cups

Garlic - 4 whole (peeled and minced roughly)

Method

Cut and de-seed the Amla.

Dry it in the sun for about a couple of hours till the moisture has been removed.

Dry roast the methi and mustard. Once done, cool it and powder it. Set aside for later use.

Heat the groundnut oil for frying and fry the amla for 5-10 min till Amla is brown.

Strain and cool the Amla.

Take salt and haldi in 1 cup of water and bring it to boil. Once bubbly, simmer it for about 5 -10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Take the tamarind and bring it to boil in 1 cup water, simmering when the mixture thickens, for about 10 minutes. Cool it.

Once the tamarind paste is cooled extract the paste through a sieve removing any seeds impurities. Set aside.

Now add the tamarind paste and the salt-haldi mixture in a dry bowl. Add the chilli powder, Amla and the raosted and ground methi-mustard seed powder. Mix well with a dry spatula.

For the tempering, heat the oil. Add Jeera, Mustard, Chana Dal and Garlic and fry till the spices and garlic are well browned.

Cool this mixture and then add it to the amla mixture.

Transfer the amla pickle into an air tight container.

If you find that the pickle is dry, add some oil (boiled and cooled) to the mixture.

Enjoy your pickle with Rice or Rotis!!

P.S: Mine didn't last for a long since it got over :) I am making some more right now!!!

Daring Bakers Challenge Sep 09 - Vol-au-Vents filled with mushrooms and cream

2009-09-27T00:00:00.000-07:00

The September 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.

The thought that I could make this was too difficult for me to digest. But I must say it was an exhilarating experience. The puff pastry sheet that is used to make so many things is something that requires lot of time and patience. So I take this post to salute all the bakers out there who work day in day out on these pastry sheets so we can get these mouthwatering pastries. Seriously it is their labor makes this so light (not on calories :) )and airy that we hardly take a few minutes to gobble :)

Of all the things that I like made out of pastry sheet I would best relate to "Khari biscuit". This is a Indian version of puff pastry that is made using flour and margarine available widely in Maharashtra and some parts of Karnataka. It is found in most of the bakeries and is usually had with Indian Masala Chai. To enjoy it you need to actually dunk it into the hot Chai and then bite into it. It is yummy!!

When I saw the challenge I thought that I will definitely bake the pastry sheets just like that which is how they bake the Khari Biscuit. They did come out well and I must say I surprised myself since they did "puff" quite a lot.

Now after that my second attempt was to make the vol -au-vent. I must say I am more then satisfied with this third entry DB event. My hubby liked them a lot.

I made a filling of mashed potatoes and stir fried mushrooms in cream with parsley and chives, garnished with grated carrots and fried cashews.

I know what a combination! But it came out to be really yummy. In fact with the rest of the pastry sheet I made puffs as they are called in India. These are pastries filled with sweet of savory filling.

Forming and Baking the Vols-au-Vent

You will need:-

Well-chilled puff pastry dough

Egg wash (1 egg or yolk beaten with a small amount of water) I used milk instead

Filling of choice

Method:

Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.

Using a knife or metal bench scraper, divided your chilled puff pastry dough into three equal pieces.

Work with one piece of the dough, and leave the rest wrapped and chilled. (If you are looking to make more vols-au-vent than the yield stated above, you can roll and cut the remaining two pieces of dough as well…if not, then leave refrigerated for the time being or prepare it for longer-term freezer storage.)

On a lightly floured surface, roll the piece of dough into a rectangle about 1/8 to 1/4-inch (3-6 mm) thick. Transfer it to the baking sheet and refrigerate for about 10 minutes before proceeding with the cutting. (This assumes you will be using round cutters, but if you do not have them, it is possible to cut square vols-au-vents using a sharp chef’s knife.)

For smaller, hors d'oeuvre sized vols-au-vent, use a 1.5” round cutter to cut out 8-10 circles. For larger sized vols-au-vent, fit for a main course or dessert, use a 4” cutter to cut out about 4 circles.

Make clean, sharp cuts and try not to twist your cutters back and forth or drag your knife through the dough. Half of these rounds will be for the bases, and the other half will be for the sides. (Save any scrap by stacking—not wadding up—the pieces…they can be re-rolled and used if you need extra dough. If you do need to re-roll scrap to get enough disks, be sure to use any rounds cut from it for the bases, not the ring-shaped sides.)

Using a ¾-inch cutter for small vols-au-vent, or a 2- to 2.5-inch round cutter for large, cut centers from half of the rounds to make rings. These rings will become the sides of the vols-au-vent, while the solid disks will be the bottoms. You can either save the center cut-outs to bake off as little “caps” for you vols-au-vent, or put them in the scrap pile.

Dock the solid bottom rounds with a fork (prick them lightly, making sure not to go all the way through the pastry) and lightly brush them with egg wash. Place the rings directly on top of the bottom rounds and very lightly press them to adhere. Brush the top rings lightly with egg wash, trying not to drip any down the sides (which may inhibit rise). If you are using the little “caps,” dock and egg wash them as well.

Refrigerate the assembled vols-au-vent on the lined baking sheet while you pre-heat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC). (You could also cover and refrigerate them for a few hours at this point.)

Once the oven is heated, remove the sheet from the refrigerator and place a silicon baking mat (preferred because of its weight) or another sheet of parchment over top of the shells. This will help them rise evenly.

Bake the shells until they have risen and begin to brown, about 10-15 minutes depending on their size. Reduce the oven temperature to 350ºF (180ºC), and remove the silicon mat or parchment sheet from the top of the vols-au-vent.

If the centers have risen up inside the vols-au-vent, you can gently press them down. Continue baking (with no sheet on top) until the layers are golden, about 15-20 minutes more. (If you are baking the center “caps” they will likely be finished well ahead of the shells, so keep an eye on them and remove them from the oven when browned.)

Remove to a rack to cool. Cool to room temperature for cold fillings or to warm for hot fillings.
Fill and serve.

Michel Richard’s Puff Pastry Dough
From: Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan

Yield: 2-1/2 pounds dough

Note: This recipe makes more than you will need for the quantity of vols-au-vent stated above. While I encourage you to make the full recipe of puff pastry, as extra dough freezes well, you can halve it successfully if you’d rather not have much leftover.

There is a wonderful on-line video from the PBS show “Baking with Julia” that accompanies the book. In it, Michel Richard and Julia Child demonstrate making puff pastry dough (although they go on to use it in other applications). They do seem to give slightly different ingredient measurements verbally than the ones in the book…I listed the recipe as it appears printed in the book. http://video.pbs.org/video/1174110297/search/Pastry

Ingredients:

2-1/2 cups (12.2 oz/ 354 g) unbleached all-purpose flour

1-1/4 cups (5.0 oz/ 142 g) cake flour

1 tbsp. salt (you can cut this by half for a less salty dough or for sweet preparations)

1-1/4 cups (10 fl oz/ 300 ml) ice water

1 pound (16 oz/ 454 g) very cold unsalted butter

Plus extra flour for dusting work surface

Mixing the Dough:

Check the capacity of your food processor before you start. If it cannot hold the full quantity of ingredients, make the dough into two batches and combine them.

Put the all-purpose flour, cake flour, and salt in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and pulse a couple of times just to mix. Add the water all at once, pulsing until the dough forms a ball on the blade. The dough will be very moist and pliable and will hold together when squeezed between your fingers. (Actually, it will feel like Play-Doh.)

Remove the dough from the machine, form it into a ball, with a small sharp knife, slash the top in a tic-tac-toe pattern.

Wrap the dough in a damp towel and refrigerate for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the butter between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and beat it with a rolling pin until it flattens into a square that's about 1" thick. Take care that the butter remains cool and firm: if it has softened or become oily, chill it before continuing.

Incorporating the Butter:

Unwrap the dough and place it on a work surface dusted with all-purpose flour (A cool piece of marble is the ideal surface for puff pastry) with your rolling pin (preferably a French rolling pin without handles), press on the dough to flatten it and then roll it into a 10" square.

Keep the top and bottom of the dough well floured to prevent sticking and lift the dough and move it around frequently. Starting from the center of the square, roll out over each corner to create a thick center pad with "ears," or flaps.

Place the cold butter in the middle of the dough and fold the ears over the butter, stretching them as needed so that they overlap slightly and encase the butter completely. (If you have to stretch the dough, stretch it from all over; don't just pull the ends) you should now have a package that is 8" square.

To make great puff pastry, it is important to keep the dough cold at all times. There are specified times for chilling the dough, but if your room is warm, or you work slowly, or you find that for no particular reason the butter starts to ooze out of the pastry, cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate it . You can stop at any point in the process and continue at your convenience or when the dough is properly chilled.

Making the Turns:

Gently but firmly press the rolling pin against the top and bottom edges of the square (this will help keep it square).

Then, keeping the work surface and the top of the dough well floured to prevent sticking, roll the dough into a rectangle that is three times as long as the square you started with, about 24" (don't worry about the width of the rectangle: if you get the 24", everything else will work itself out.)

With this first roll, it is particularly important that the butter be rolled evenly along the length and width of the rectangle; check when you start rolling that the butter is moving along well, and roll a bit harder or more evenly, if necessary, to get a smooth, even dough-butter sandwich (use your arm-strength!).

With a pastry brush, brush off the excess flour from the top of the dough, and fold the rectangle up from the bottom and down from the top in thirds, like a business letter, brushing off the excess flour. You have completed one turn.

Rotate the dough so that the closed fold is to your left, like the spine of a book. Repeat the rolling and folding process, rolling the dough to a length of 24" and then folding it in thirds. This is the second turn.

Chilling the Dough:

If the dough is still cool and no butter is oozing out, you can give the dough another two turns now. If the condition of the dough is iffy, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes. Each time you refrigerate the dough, mark the number of turns you've completed by indenting the dough with your fingertips. It is best to refrigerate the dough for 30 to 60 minutes between each set of two turns.

The total number of turns needed is six. If you prefer, you can give the dough just four turns now, chill it overnight, and do the last two turns the next day. Puff pastry is extremely flexible in this regard. However, no matter how you arrange your schedule, you should plan to chill the dough for at least an hour before cutting or shaping it.

The filling:

1 cup Milk

4 tbsp of Cream

8-10 Button Mushrooms

1 tbsp dried Chives

1 tbsp dried Parsley

1 Mashed Potato

1 tbsp of Butter

4 tbsp of grated carrot

1 tsp of lime juice

2 tbsp of cashews lightly sauteed in butter till browned

1 tbsp of cornflour

Salt and Pepper to taste

Garnish: Cucumber cubed, Tomatoes de-seeded and diced, Onions chopped, mint leaves

Method:

Melt the butter and saute the mushrooms till done. Add the parsley and chives and fry for some more time.

Now add 3/4 of the milk and let them cook for a minute or so.

Add the cream and let it simmer for a while. Add the salt and pepper.

Add the cornflour into 1/4 cup of cold milk and mix well.

Now slowly add this milk and keep stirring.

Once the mixture thickens turn off the heat.

Add the mashed potato and grated carrots and lime juice.

Once cooled scoop it into the baked Vol-au-vent shells and top with the cashews. Cashews give a certain crunchiness which beats the meaty taste of mushrooms.

Warm it in the oven before serving with the suggested garnish. Enjoy!!

Cooking with Leftovers- Part 1 - Dal Parata - Unleavened Bread made of Lentil and Wholewheat

2009-09-26T03:38:00.000-07:00

What do you do with the leftovers?

It is a question that every woman is constantly needs to ponder on before pushing it into the fridge saying "Oh well, Ill eat it tomorrow" and sometimes the tomorrow never comes :)

As always these leftovers then come out as a part of the weekly or fortnightly fridge cleanup and are usually thrown. Aren't you giving me that smile now.. okay..may be there are some of you who really utilize leftovers effectively. I personally try my level best but do sometimes end up the way I explained above.

Now I thought I will start a series of sort. You know what I mean where I will post some recipe that can be made from leftovers. This is the first in the series and I do promise to continue this.

Okay, now just a note before I start for all the mothers out there who constantly try to ensure that their kids have "Dal". I know it can be very difficult. So even though this post is about leftover for all those who have children complaining of "No Dal Mom" this is a great way of giving them their daily dose of proteins without them knowing :) Ready to go into the Lunch Box!

I am talking about masking cooked lentils i.e the Dal into the whole wheat rotis or paratas that you prepare. You can use any Dal that is leftover. It could be Masoor Dal or the Red Lentils, Toor Dal or Yellow Lentils or Moong Dal.

You will need:

Left over Dal -1 Cup
Whole Wheat Flour - 2 cups
Salt
Oil - 1/2 tsp
Water - 1/2 Cup approx (to knead the dough)

Method:

Take the dal and the Flour into a wide bowl.
Add Salt and slowly add water little by little kneading the dough by hand. That's how we traditionally do it here in India. You can use a Food Processor /Kitchen Aid.
Knead for some time till you get soft pliable dough. Adjust the water based the dough consistency. It needs to soft to touch. At the same the dough should not stick to your hand.
At this point you can either add a few drops of oil and knead some more till you get a soft dough.
Once done let it rest for some time.
Take a small portion of the dough and roll it into a ball.
Flatten it on some flour and then using a rolling pin roll into a neat round.
Heat the Griddle or Tawa and once it is hot put the roti on the tawa and fry on both the side using oil of your choice.

Alternatives:

You can fill this roti with mashed potatoes seasoned with some salt and make it into a stuffed parata as you see in the picture above. Enjoy!!

Almond Date Cake (Eggless)

2009-09-18T06:21:00.000-07:00

Finally it has arrived!! Egg less baking in my blog. For all my dear vegetarians who have been patiently waiting to this day thank you so so much.

I will be posting cooking tips to all my previous recipes which had eggs as to how they can be prepared without eggs. As you know this blog consists of recipes that are tried and tested. A dear friend A has taken the pains to convert many of my recipes into egg less versions and she claims that they taste as good as the ones with egg.

The first in this list is the now famous Moist orange cake that can be now prepared without egg. You will find the updated post here!

Okay now back to the main post. Hmm..Where should I start. I remember this one colleague of mine S who always used to ask for egg less cakes whenever I used to take my baked goodies to the office. She was very patient since it has been close to a year and I never ever tried egg less baking even once.

The main reason that I used to stay away from egg less cake it in order to substitute the egg (which to a certain extent I do consider extremely healthy no offence) the egg less version used loads of butter, cream etc. etc.

My search for a healthier egg less versions has taken me to a number of sites, places, people but none of the recipe got me so intrigued that I immediately wanted to bake it. Till I chanced upon this amazing post by Shilpa called Date Cake @ Aayis Recipes

I have changed the ingredients to suit my taste. So here goes the recipe:

You will need:

20 Dates (I used Lion Dates)
1 Cup Wholewheat Atta (I used Ashirwad)
1/2 Sugar
3/4 Cup Milk
1 tsp Baking Soda
A pinch of salt
1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
1 tbsp of vinegar
1 fistful almonds (powdered roughly)

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 160 deg.
The dates should be soft enough to be ground into a fine paste. If not you may need to soak it overnight. I used the "Lion" brand of dates that are extremely soft and de-seeding them took 5 minutes hardly.
Grind the dates, milk and sugar into a fine paste. Add the oil, vinegar and set aside.
Sift the Wheat flour along with the Baking Soda and salt. Twice is very good if possible.
Now just add this into the date paste and mix with a spatula carefully little by little.
Add the almonds and mix into the batter carefully.
Once well mixed pour it into an oiled baking tin and bake for about 25-30 minutes. The time may vary depending upon your oven.
Check if your cake is done by inserting a toothpick in the center of the cake.
Enjoy your egg less cake with your favorite ice cream.

P.S: I found that this cake is a little fudgy and dense may be because of non-existence of egg, may be due to the dates. Nevertheless it was yummy!!Eggitarians try baking it with an egg and omit the vinegar, use 1/2 tsp of Baking Soda.

Punjabi Dal Makhani - Maa Di Dal - Black Lentils Cooked in Creamy Gravy

2009-09-12T01:35:00.000-07:00

It was a lazy afternoon and I was browsing for some good shows to watch. That is when I happened to watch this Madhur Jaffery’s cookery show where she was visiting Amritsar. I was totally glued and for the next hour or so I thoroughly enjoyed the way she enthralled the viewers by showing the real Punjabi cuisine visiting houses, colleges, gurdwaras and even a river bank to cook up some scrumptious dishes..

One such dish caught my attention for the simplicity in which she portrayed it. That was the Maa di Dal or Dal Makhani that was served as a part of the Langar at the Gurudwaras.

Langar is the term used in the Sikh religion for the free, vegetarian-only food served in a Gurudwara. Langar is a community meal that is open to all irrespective of caste or creed.

This simple meal is prepared by hundreds of volunteers, consists of mounds of Roti or unleavened Bread and Dal or creamy legume based side dish to go with the Bread.

It is a simple recipe but is so delicious to make. For once you may need to forego the calorie calculator and enjoy this yummy dish with bread of your choice.

You will need:

Black Lentils or Ural Dal (whole) - 1 Cup

Rajma or Red Kidney Beans-1/2 Cup

Tomatoes -3 Medium, finely chopped

Garam Masala- 1 tsp

Kashmiri Chilli Powder - 1 tsp

Garlic Minced - 2 tsp

Ginger Minced - 2 tsp

Onion finely chopped -1 Medium

Salt to taste

Ghee - 1 tbsp

Fresh Cream -1 tbsp

A dollop of Butter

Method:

Wash the Dal and Rajma and soak it overnight.

The next morning change the water, add some salt and pressure cook the Dal and Rajma.

Once the dal gets cooked well, add the tomatoes, Garlic, Ginger, butter and 1/2 tsp of the chilli powder and let it cook for some time till the tomoatoes are well cooked.

At this point in time add the fresh cream, salt and the Garam Masala and let it simmer for a while.

Now take the Ghee in a small pan for tempering. Once it is hot enough add the chopped onions and fry till the onions are brown. Add the rest of the chilli powder (1/2 tsp) and then add this tempering into the simmering dal.

Close the lid and switch off the flame. At this point the dal would have attained the creamy thickeness desired. If it too thick you may add a little water though.

Serve the dal with Roti or Nan. Try it when you have guests to impress ;-) Enjoy!!

Chana Masala -Garbanzo Beans-Chick Peas-Indian Style

2009-09-04T22:28:00.000-07:00

Susan, a lovely blogger and splendid photographer behind the delightful blog called The Well Seasoned Cook and Sia from the amazing blog called Monsoon Spice have invited bloggers to participate in this event called "My Legume Love Affair-Fifteenth Helping"

I choose the so-so famous "Chana Masala". It is one of those dish that you will find in all the North Indian restaurant menus as well as in most of the North Indian weddings, parties and gathering.

Even though it is a famous dish there is so much mystery surrounding what goes into this dish.
That is because there are so many different ways of making this dish given the amount of diversities that we have within North Indian cuisine.

I have simplified this dish to a great possible extent and I am sure as you read this post you may be tempted to try it. The twist here is I have added some boiled chickpeas to the ground masalas to give the thickness or creaminess that is so important to this gravy at the same time ensuring that the calorie factor is very low unlike using dry fruits or heavy cream to get the same creaminess.

This dish is:

Easy to make

Quick to make

Uses less ingredients

Healthier

Now to speak a little more on the legume in the limelight the Kabuli Chana or the Chick Peas or Garbanzo Beans as it is called world over is used to make so many amazing dishes world wide. It is definitely the most versatile in the legume family. Apart from the Chana Masala that is made in India the one dish made out with this that I love is the Hummus that is made in the Middle eastern Cuisine.

Now moving back to our "Chana Masala" the Ingredients are very simple:

Chick Peas – 1 ½ cup (soaked overnight)

Garlic Pods – 4-6

Ginger – 2” piece

Tomato Puree - 3 Tbsp (Can be replaced by 1 Medium sized Tomato)

Onion – 2 Medium sized

Turmeric Powder or Haldi – 1 tsp

Coriander Powder or Dhania -2 tsp

Kashmiri Chili Powder or Cayenne Pepper – 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

Garam Masala – 1 tsp

Oil – 2 tbsp

Coriander or Cilantro Leaves for Garnish

The Method:

Add salt to the soaked Chick Peas and cook them till they done.
Take half cup of this cooked chick peas and reserve the rest of the Chick peas along with the water aside for later use.
Now chop the onions roughly into four pieces.
Add the half cup of cooked chick peas, onion, garlic, ginger and grind into a fine paste.
Take the oil in a wok and when it is hot enough add this paste.
Fry this paste till the paste turns into a light brown color. This may take 15-20 minutes and does require constant monitoring.
Now add the Turmeric Powder, Coriander Powder, Salt, Chili Powder and fry for some more time.
When the masalas are well incorporated in the mixture add the Tomato puree and fry for a couple of more minutes.
At this point in time you will notice that the masala will give out oil and this is a good indication that it is done.
Add the cooked chick peas along with the water.
Stir and simmer this for some time till done. It may take 5-10 minutes. You may add more water if needed depending upon the consistency that you need.
Garnish with Coriander leaves.
Enjoy with Nan, Roti, Bread or Rice!!

Fish Fry - Express Indian - Party Dish

2009-09-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

This is my entry to another blog event that is taking place at Mad Tea Party called "Express Indian".

I know what you may be thinking. That I am enrolling into so many events around the food blogosphere :) Why not? It is amazing.. This new hobby of mine..Blogging and sending entries to Blog events.

Okay so much for the introduction. Now the rules of this event are that we need to come up with a party dish which needs not more than 6 ingredients and takes less then 30 minutes to make barring the time taken to chop and marinate etc..etc..you know what I mean.

Now I have chosen a good old dish that we normally make as a starter most of the times. This is so easy to make and so so delicious.. And yes! it does fall within the event rules.

It is the good old fish fry. I use Seer Fish, Mackerel for making this. This is the way my mom and my moms mom used to prepare this dish.

And yes this has been a hit at all the parties that we made this. That is with the non-vegetarians!!

Ingredients:

Fish -4 Pieces
Red Chilli Powder - 2 tsp
Salt - To taste
Hing or Aesofotida - A pinch for every piece of fish
Lemon Juice (1-2 tsp)
Oil (for shallow fry)

Marination Time: 30 minutes

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Method:

Clean the fish and pat it dry using a kitchen towel or napkin. Note that the fish should be realtively dry after this and should not be leaving any water. You may need to thaw the fish well in advance if using frozen fish.
Now mix the Red Chilli Powder, Salt and Aesofotida in a dry bowl.
Now sprinkle the prepared mixture onto the fish and pat gently. Turn the fish onto the other side and sprinkle on the other side.
Let it marinate for a minimum of 15 minutes.
Now take some oil in a flat bottom pan.
When the oil is just at the right temperature shallow fry the fish.
Bring it a simmer and let it fry in low heat turning when necessary.
When completely done remove from the pan and transfer it onto a plate.
Garnish with a few drops of lemon juice and your fish is ready to be served at your party. Enjoy!

P.S:

1. For all those who make this, try having this with Rice and Plain Dal. It is an amazing combination.

2. For all the vegetarians who have managed to read so far (I know I have many of them out there) thanks for bearing with me on this one :). A tip is you can make the same thing with any vegetables such as Brinjal, Potato, Raw Jack Fruit etc. Only thing is you may need to add a little bit of Rice flour and water to coat the batter onto the vegetable.

Dobos Torte - Daring Bakers Challenge - Aug 09

2009-08-27T06:12:00.000-07:00

This is my second entry to the Daring Bakers Challenge and it has been an exciting journey so far and I do want to continue participating.

The August 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonful of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular DobosTorte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

Dobos torte is a famous Hungarian cake, famous also in Slovakia, invented by and named after a well-known Hungarian confectioner, József C. Dobos (1847-1924) in 1884. It is a five-layer sponge cake, layered with chocolate butter cream and topped with thin caramel slices. The sides of the cake are sometimes coated with ground hazelnuts, chestnuts, walnuts or almonds but the original cake is without coat, since it was a slice of a big cake. Dobos's aim was to make a cake that would last longer than other pastries, in an age when cooling techniques were limited. The caramel topping helps keep the cake from drying out. The cake is also often called 'Dobos-torta' or 'Dobostorta'. Source: Wikipedia

This is an amazing dessert to present for a gathering, party or just on a special occasion. I have tweaked this recipe based on my comfort infact made it much easier.

Cake:
· 6 eggs, separate yolks from whites
· 2/3 cup sugar
· 1 tsp vanilla essence
· 2/3 cup Whole Wheat flour + 1 tbsp
Chocolate ButterCream:
· 1 cup sugar
· 2 tsp water
· 1 cup butter
· 3 tbsp cocoa powder
Caramel :
· 2/3 cup Sugar
· 1 tsp of sugar
· 1 tsp water

Method:

Beat the egg yolk and set it aside.

Now beat the egg white along with the 1 tbsp of Wheat Flour.

Now add the sugar (Powdered) into the egg white mixture till stiff.

Slowly incorporate the egg yolk mixture into the egg white mixture.

Add the vanilla essence.

Pour this mixture into a flat baking tray in a thin layer.

Bake it in a preheated oven (150 Deg C) for about 8-10 minutes. You can use butter paper for better results.

Now prepare the chocolate buttercream by melting the butter, water and the sugar together. Once they melt let cool and then add the cocoa powder and combine to a smooth consistency.

The cake needs to sandwiched between a layer of this chocolate buttercream.

Now reserve the top most layer of the cake since this needs to have the carmel topping. You may need to cut in trainagular shapes and arrange it on a flat tray.

Caramlize the sugar with a tsp or two of water on medium heat. You may need to add a few drops of lemon juice to stop the sugar from crystallizing.

Now when the sugar is caramelized this mixture needs to be poured on to the top most layer.

You can serve the cake immediately or may be keep it in the refrigerator for sometime before serving it.

Modak - Food of Gods

2009-08-23T10:49:00.000-07:00

Today we celebrated Ganesh Chaturthi or Chavati with great love and devotion towards the most intellectual of Gods among the Hindu Gods and Godesses.

Now everyone makes different types of sweets to entice him and each part of India has a special sweetmeat made for him. For he is supposed to be one great foodie among all the gods :)

As kids we used to wait for this day and would enjoy it thouroughly and feast on all the delicacies made by our aunts and grandmas.

In Western India there are mainly two sweets prepared as an offering. One bieng Appo and the other being Modak.

Appo is more like the Indian version of the Danish Æbleskiver made with Wheat Flour, Jaggery, Coconut and Cardomom. I will post the recipe to make this soon. Oh! there is a savoury version of this Appo too but that is made for breakfast and not for offering.

I usually prepare Modak as offering. So that is the story behind this blog post.

Now there many different variants for preparing modak. One is the steamed version prepared with rice flour and the other is the deep fried version which is what I made this time.

The ingredients are as follows:

Wheat Flour - 1 1/2 Cup
Chiroti Sooji (Semolina) - 1/2 Cup
Grated Coconut - 1 cup
Jaggery - 3/4 Cup
Cardomom - 1 pod powdered
Clarified Butter or Ghee - 1 tbsp
Water - 1/2 cup
Cashewnuts -5-6
Raisins -10-12
Oil for frying

Method:

Mix the Wheat Flour and the Semolina along with water and make a stiff dough.
Add some oil to this and knead till it is pliable dough. Set aside.
Now take the Ghee in a wok and one it is how add the coconut, Jaggery and the cardomom mixture to this and fry till the jaggery melts.
This may take a while. Once done add the broken cashewnuts and raisins and mix well.
Turn off the heat and let this mixture cool.
Now take a small portion of the dough and roll it into a poori. Basically you need to get the round shape which will fit in your palm.
Take a little bit of the coconut mixture and keep it right in the middle and now seal the ends by pulling the edges towards you. The photograph above may help you decipher that.
Once done you will need to take oil in a wok and once the oil is hot enough fry these modaks in oil till they are light brown.
Modaks are ready to be served or offered.

P.S:

Kids really love this. Try it ;-)

Peanut Butter Cookies

2009-08-07T14:46:00.000-07:00

I found that preschoolers have a keen sense of what is new, always relate the adverts with stuff on sale on the supermarket shelf.

In fact even though they are all in the process of learning to read, anything that has "Free" written on it gets their attention first and they are bent upon convincing us to buy these freebies. Again I blame all the ads for their liberal use of "Free" for this phenomenon.

Now one such item that came up in recent time was the introduction of peanut butter by a very popular oil brand. The advert showed a child with lot of strength enough to pull huge table. Okay so much for that. Now this is the precursor. Since this kind of prompted by son to get me into buying this thing.

We ended up buying it and after a couple of weeks into it I found he just got over this advert and his interest to eat it as well. Sadly it was only available in medium jar only leaving me with lot of peanut butter to eat. As I am not one of those gifted with amazing metabolism I was not keen on having it anyway and thought of various alternatives that can be possible.

That's when I came across these cookies. I have tweaked the original recipe slightly. This cookie I found to be more of a cross between the granola bar and the normal cookie. It is healthy, tasty and chewy. My son unknowingly had to have it anyways and he did enjoy having them.
Now for the ingredients:

o 1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
o 1/2 tsp baking powder
o 1/2 tsp baking soda
o 1/4 tsp salt
o 1/2 cup Jaggery Powdered
o 1/2 cup sugar
o 2 tbsp Ghee
o 1 large egg
o 1/2 cup peanut butter
o 1/4 cup mashed banana
o 1 1/2 -2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
o 1/2 Cup Raisins

Method:

Preheat the oven to a 175 Deg C.
Mix all the dry ingredients first.
Now one by one add the wet ingredients and fold it into the dry mixture. This can be done by a spatula and you do not need any other kitchen aid.

Once done you may need to check the consistency of the batter. It should be good enough like a Puri Dough. If it is liquid add more oats or Flour. If it is very dry add a few drops of milk till it binds well.
Now make it into small balls and drop them onto the baking sheet flattening it slightly.
Bake it for about 10-12 minutes or till the edges are brown.
These cookies I found will not be so crisp as the rest of them but will have a certain chewiness about them.
Perfect as a munch. Healthy and tasty! Enjoy!

Mint Tomato Chutney

2009-08-02T10:48:00.000-07:00

I seriously did not get any time to post leisurely as I usually do and hence this entry. This is a quick chutney that I came across sometime back and is a instant success within my family and friends.

The ingredients are easy to find and voila there you have it!! A quick fix to "what should I be having with chapati or rice". Since it goes well with both.

Not to mention that you can use it as a dip for any of your veg or non-veg starters. So much for its introduction.

Now for the ingredients:

1 tbsp til white (dry roasted)

1 bunch of mint leaves

8-10 garlic pods

1-2 red chillies

Salt

Jeera (2 tsp)

Tomatoes (2- Medium sized)

A marble sized ball of tamarind or equal amount of Yogurt

Oil (1 tsp)

Method:

Heat oil in a wok. Add the jeera and once it splutters add the garlic pods and the Red chillies. Fry for some time.

Now add the washed,chopped mint leaves. Fry till they wilt. Add the tamarind into this and fry for some time.

Once done add the tomatoes and fry till they are cooked. That will take a few minutes. At this point in time you may add some salt. It is always advisable to add some more later after tasting the chutney.

Now let this mixture cool.In the meanwhile grind the dry roasted til into a fine powder.

Add the cooled mixture and pulse for a couple of minutes. Your Tomato mint chutney is ready

Milan Cookies - Daring Bakers Challenge Jul09

2009-07-27T07:23:00.000-07:00

This is a special entry to the Daring Bakers Challenge for Jul 09.

The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

I chose to bake the milan cookies.... it is an art to bake such amazing cookies..mine did taste amazing.. the proof was the empty box the next day.. my son actually did the honour of completing the last scrumptious bit of it..

But it was not a picture perfect cookie I must say compared to some of the posts..Well I know most of them are from professional bakers.. And I am amateur when it comes to baking.. So with all the guts that I could gather I am posting this photo of the cookie...not exactly like the original milan cookie..but nevertheless i tried..

The recipe that I followed is as given here

Although I must say I did my own tweaks to it in terms of reducing all the measurement by half...since I did not want that many cookies..

I will be revisiting this post at a later date with more details on the measurement that I used to bake this cookies since my son loved it so much.. So Long..

Kashi Halwa

2009-07-25T06:02:00.000-07:00

Okay.. Now that I have become a regular blogger I decided to take the next step. It is a big one for me. Come to think of it a person who couldn't manage to cook forget baking a few years ago to a full blown cook cum baker (only on home grounds) plus now a blogger on food.

This entry is very special since by this entry I am participating in my very first blog event. And it happens to be Regional cuisines of India initiated by Lakshmi

The RCI for the month of July’09 is RCI-Udupi & Mangalorean Cuisine!

So I have a sweet entry here literally! This is Kashi Halwa.. Seriously I have no clue why it is called so.. But it is an amazing dessert..Combine some hot Kashi Halwa with some plain Vanilla Ice cream. Mouth watering. You must try it to believe it.

Konkani cusine forms an integral part of what is called "Mangalorean" cusine, hence this entry.
This is one of the many desserts that is part of most of the Konkani marraiges and functions. I have tried to tweak it in my own way.

Now for the main ingredients that is Ash Gourd. This is one of those Gourds that has high water content so you need to be very patient while grating this.

Now for the ingredients:

Ashgourd grated - 3-4 cups

Sugar - 1 - 1.5 Cup

Ghee or clarified Butter - 2 Tbsp

Cardamom Powder - 1/2 tsp

Dry Fruits for Garnishing

Method:

Cut the Ashgourd into medium sized pieces and then grate them individually.

Once this is done, transfer the grated ashgourd into a Kadai and let it simmer till all the water evaporates.This may take a long time since this gourd does have high water content.

When you see that the water has evaporated add the sugar. The color of the halwa changes immediately.

Continue frying for some more time and then add the ghee.

After adding the ghee you may need to keep stirring till the halwa is done.

Add the cardomom powder mix well.

Lastly garnish with dry fruits of your choice. Ususally cashews are added since they are found in abundance along the coast of Mangalore. I have used Badam instead.

Enjoy your halwa as I earlier said with some good old Vanilla Ice Cream. A twist to the traditional recipe I must say. A good one at that!

Chicken Tikka Masala

2009-07-17T03:40:00.000-07:00

I truly love this dish every time I have it in a restaurant out with my family. At the same time I used to wonder how can I prepare this dish on my own? Will it turn out as good as it does outside.

It was our anniversery that day and I wanted to make something special so I finally picked up enough courage to try this dish. I do not say it is a easy recipe to make. But if you want to try out something special for your family which is different from the usual stuff you prepare then this is something that you can try out. Have this along with home made nan and the result, trust me is fabulous..You might as well have a table set to make the set up for this to complete the picture.

You will need the following for making the tikka:

2 lbs Boneless Chicken

Salt (to taste)

1 tsp Chilli Flakes or Chilli Powder

2tbsp Ginger Garlic Paste

1 tsp Coriander Powder

1 tsp Jeera Powder

1/2 Cup Yoghurt

2 tbsp of Broken cashews (Use a rolling pin to do this)

1/2 tsp Lime Juice

4 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

For frying:

6-7 Tbsp of Vegetable Oil

Procedure:

Clean the chicken thourougly and arrange it on to the cutting board. Cut it into cubes.

Transfer the chicken into a large bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and combine the mixture well.

Let it rest for at least an hour to upto four hours before use.

Now take some oil in a shallow bottom pan and fry the marinated chicken cubes till well browned.

You can alternatively use an oven to do this. Pre-heat the oven to 180 Deg Celsius. And arrange the chicken cubes on a oiled baking sheet. Pop it into th oven for about 12 - 15 minutes till the cubes are well browned. You may need to turn the cubes from one side to the other in between though. You can use this as a starter too if made in excess can work two ways. Can be added in gravy and used as starter.

For the Masala you will need the following:

2 tbsp Oil
1 tbsp GInger Garlic Paste
3/4 -1 Cup Tomato Puree
1/2 Cup Cream
1/2 tsp of Garam Masala
1 tsp of Red Chilli Powder
1 inch Cinnamon or Dalchini
2-3 Cardomom or Elaichi
Salt to taste

Procedure:

Heat the Oil. Splutter the Cinnamon and Elaichi in Oil.
Add Ginger Garlic Paste. Fry some more.
Add the Tomato Puree and let it simmer for a while.
Now add the Garam Masala and Chilli Powder and stir well.
When you see the oil oozing out of the corners add the cream and stir well.
Add the salt and simmer till the gravy looks done.
Now add the chicken tikka to the masala and you are done. Enjoy with Nan, Roti or plain Rice.

Matar Ki Kachori

2009-07-11T06:43:00.000-07:00

The other day I was watching a daily soap along with my family. Though not an ardent fan of these soaps they never the less grab your attention if any one of your family member is hooked on to it.

I didn't quite follow the story. So relied on the information given to me by my sister-in-law. It is quite natural then to look at the brighter part of the soap rather than the story itself. After all they are the ones that should be watched out for. The latest saris, jewellery..seriously i do not understand if the story is just a byproduct and main attraction is the gaudy showcase of jewellery and saris on screen..not to mention the ghastly makeup..so much for my hatred towards daily soap.

Now coming to the point, as I was watching I heard the protagonist's dad mentioning about the amazing "matar ki kachori" that his lovely wife prepares. That kind of caught my attention since I had not had a kachori made up of green peas. My sister-in-law immediately promised that she and my mom-in-law will teach me how to make it. So goes the story of how I learnt to make this amazing kachori. This is unlike the crunchy dal ki kachori that you may have often had.

You will need:

For the filling:

1 ½ - 2 cup green peas (thawed)

8-10 cloves garlic (Crushed)

1 tsp Jeera

A pinch of Aesofotida (Hing)

2-3 Green Chillies

Turmeric (a little)

1 tsp of Coriander of Dhania Powder

1/2 tsp of Garam Masala

1 Tsp of oil

Method:

Pulse the Green peas roughly in a mixer until it is almost minced.

Crush garlic and green chilli in a mortar and pestle.

Add this to the Green peas mixture.

Heat some oil in a kadai. Put Jeera and hing.

Put the green peas mixture and fry for some time.

Add Turmeric, Salt and Coriander powder, garam masala powder. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Fry for a few more minutes. Don’t let the mixture dry entirely. It should be a little soft.

Now for the Puri you need:

1 ½ - 2 cup maida

½ cup Atta

1 tsp salt

½ cup oil

Water

Mix all the above ingredients and make a dough using little water. It should be a little harder then the chapatti dough. Keep aside for ½ hr before use.

Now make small balls and fill the mixture a little at a time and then flatten the balls into a small puri either by hand or roll lightly with a rolling pin.

Deep fry in oil.

Serve the kachori with Dahi ki chutney and Pudina chutney.

Pudina Chutney:

1 bunch of Fresh Pudina

A few Coriander Leaves

2 Green Chillies

1/4 tsp jeera

Salt

1/2 tsp Amchur powder

Mix all the above ingredients into a fine paste. Your chutney is ready.

Dahi Chutney:

1/2 - 3/4 cup thick Dahi

1 tsp Bhuna Jeera powder

1/2 tsp Red chilli powder

Black salt to taste

Mix all the above ingredients into a fine paste. Your chutney is ready.

Enjoy the Kachori with Garama Garam Chai and along with your friends and family!!

Methi Mushroom Matar Delight

2009-06-24T10:20:00.000-07:00

This is not a traditional recipe. But something that I came up with when I was pressed for time. This is so easy to cook and tastes so delcious. I have a good friend who when I had got this subzi in my lunch box requested me to post the recipe since she really liked it.

I know I keep repeating that this is so easy to make. But trust me I do not like to cook dishes that take a long time to cook. Seriously. Talks apart this dish is very versatile. You can use any vegetable for your choice. Here I have used fresh button mushrooms, Green peas and fresh fenugreek leaves or methi.

Ingredients:

Mustard Seeds-1 tsp
Red Chillies - 2
Vegetable Oil - 1 1/2 tsp
Button Mushroom - 1 packet (15-20 mushrooms)
Fenugreek Leaves - 1 bunch
Coconut paste - 1/2 cup
Jeera - 1 tsp
Green Chillies - 1-2
Haldi - a pinch
Garlic - 5 cloves

Method:

Cut each mushroom into four pieces. Wash the fenugreek leaves thoroughly in water and chop them fine.
Heat vegetable oil in a kadai and add the mustard seeds and red chillies.
When they splutter add the mushrooms, methi and the green peas(I used frozen) and salt and stir.
Close the lid and let it cook for 2-3 minutes.
Meanwhile blend coconut, green chillies, Jeera, Haldi and Garlic into a fine paste.
Open the lid and add this masala and without stirring let it cook with the lid closed for 3 more minutes.
Now open and stir till all the masala is blended well and then let it cook for an additional 5 more minutes.
Check if the mushroom and methi are well cooked. Serve it hot with roti or nan. Enjoy.

Yummy easy-to-make Nan

2009-06-19T23:24:00.000-07:00

The whiff of freshly baked nan is so awesome!! When I made nan last time I got a compliment on this from my FIL who usually doesn't prefer any bread made out of maida. He said this is the first time he had such a great tasting nan. That is enough to keep me going for a long time now :)

I need to share this with all my readers :) Especially the ones who wait for my easy to make recipes. Seriuosly this is so easy to make and you will love all the compliments that you will get when you serve it. One good tip is that you should be serving it with any cream based gravy items. Good combinations are palak paneer, chicken tikka masala, methi malai etc. I will be giving you a simple recipe in the next post that you can use with this Nan.

In the meanwhile the here are the ingredients:

4 cups of Maida
2 tsp of Active dry Yeast
1 cup Warm Water
4 tbsp Dahi
1 tsp Sugar
1-1.5 tsp Salt
2-3 tsp Oil
A pinch of Baking Soda
Butter or oil for frying

Easy method:

To start with mix the warm water and sugar and then stir in the yeast to this mixture. Let the yeast froth. This will take 3-5 minutes.
In the meanwhile take the maida and mix the dahi, salt, baking soda and oil into it. Now gradually add the yeast mixture into this and make a dough. If the mixture is a little sticky you can add a few drops of oil till the dough is comes to the desired consistency.
Now set this aside covered in a wet cloth in a warm, dark place to rise. After an hour remove it and knead the dough again to remove air sacs that get formed.
Let it rise for the second time in the same manner. After well risen you can take it out and shape it into a ball and roll it into the desried shape. Since the dough is made of maida it is easy to strech it into a traingle shape that the nan usually are in hotels.
Heat the tawa till it is really hot.
Now put the nan on the tawa and let it cook on one side. Turn around and let cook on the other side. You can apply oil or butter as you turn from one side to the other.
Serve hot with a blob of butter melting on top of it. Yummy isn't it..

Alternate method:

Now there is an alternative method too. This method actually imitates the tandoor in the restaurants. It is a little cumbersome compared to the previous method but will give you nice results. Try it when you have time. You will need an iron girdle for this the non-stick version will not do.
Follow the instructions till step 5.
Hold the nan in your palm . Now take some water and rub it on to the top surface of the nan.
Note that the water shouldn't be dripping but the entire nan should be now wet.
Now in one stroke put the wet end of the nan on the hot (i mean really hot) tawa.
Hold the tawa and now turn it upside down directly facing the flame. Because of the water the nan would be sticking to the tawa and you will need to hold it in this fashion ensuring you cook the nan gradually, without taking it too close to the flame and mannouvering to cook entire nan slowly.
At this point in time the nan will blow up slightly and when you see light brown spots come up on the entire nan you know that it is done.
Now keep the tawa back on the flame and after a minute remove the nan from the tawa.
The nan if cooked properly will not stick on to the tawa and comes out easily with a thin spatula.
I know it sounds very complex but it isn't try it you'll not regret it :)
You can also make nans in a gas tandoor if you have one following the regular instructions.
Enjoy your nan with some creamy curry. In the photograph I have the nan (made this in the alternate method) beside this yum chicken tikka masala that prepared. I will post about it soon.

Methi Besan

2009-06-13T11:15:00.000-07:00

This is one of the traditional recipes that I got hold of from my mother-in-law. It is predominantly a maharastrian dish but is made in the adjacent Chattisgarh state from where my family hails.

It is an easy to make dish that can replace the dal and subzi into one. The best thing about this dish is that it is so easy to make both time wise and complexity wise.

Ingredients:

1 onion

5-6 cloves of garlic

1 green chili

2 tomatoes

Coriander leaves chopped (a little)

Methi Leaves chopped( a small bunch, washed and chopped)

1 cup of Green Peas

1 Tbsp oil

½ tsp Mustard Seeds

Haldi (a pinch)

Dhaniya powder ½ tsp)

Salt

Garam Masala Powder (a little bit)

Kitchen King Masala (a little bit)

Water (3-4 cups)

Besan (2tbsp- adjusted according the consistency you want)

Method:

Heat the oil in a kadai, add mustard and onion and green chilli, fry till onion turns golden brown.

Now add the crushed garlic and fry some more.

Add the tomotoes and fry and till tomotatoes are well fried.

Add the methi, coriander leaves, green peas and saute for a while till all the greens are wilted.

Now add the hadli, dhaniya powder and salt.

Add the water and get it to a boil. Once the water is well boiled and you find that the green peas and the leaves are cooked well, add besan little by little from one hand and keep stirring from the other hand.

Ensure that you keep stirring, now when you sense that this is the desired thickness that you want you can just stop there and let the mixture simmer for a good 10-15 mints.

Keep stirring once in a while though, taste and check if the rawness of the besan has gone.

Finally add the kitchen king masala and garam masala and serve hot with steamed or boiled rice. Enjoy!

Egg Plant Salad

2009-06-08T10:30:00.000-07:00

This is dedicated to all those who said that I only publish baking recipes :)

Here I am with a down to earth recipe using the "Baigan Raja". I dont know how many of you remember having seen this TV series that used to come a long time back in Doordarshan during the summer holidays.

Yes I am talking about the huge purple shaped "Baigan Raja" who used to appear in this series. Those were the days of molopoly when good or bad, kids could only watch only one channel. Nostalgia apart summer and salad go very well. Thats the reason I am posting this recipe. It is easy to make and so delicious. Goes very well with both rice and roti.

My mother-in-law has been making this from a long time now. I thought i will share this simple yet tasty recipe with all of you out there who take time off to read my recipes :)

Ingredients:

1 Egg Plant (Big)
1 Onion chopped
Corainder Leaves finely chopped
1-2 green chillied finely chopped
1-2 tbsp of Fresh yoghurt /Dahi
Salt to Taste

First and foremost poke holes into the egg plant with a knife and then apply oil all over it. Now roast the egg plant on open flame till you can see that it is done. You will know this inserting a knife into it.

Now remove it off the flame and once cooled remove the peel. Mash the egg plant and then add the rest of the ingredients. Serve cold as a side dish to complete your meal. Enjoy!

Variation: Original recipe that my mother-in-law's mom used to make, used raosted tomato's pulp instead of the Dahi that I have substituted it with. So you can use either one of the combination.

Make-in-a-jiffy Chocolate Cake

2009-06-03T06:56:00.000-07:00

This goes to all those friends of mine who have been inspired to bake after reading my blog and have gathered the courage to bake for thier family. My advice to all of them is it is very easy to bake as long as you know what the base ingredients are and then you can come out with your own innovative ways of baking.

Now this recipe spawned out of the basic cake recipe that I had posted sometime last year.

Anyways you can make this cake in less then an hour and in a microwave. Bake it, let cool and then cut the cake horizontally into two halves. Pour some chocolate syrup on the lower half and then let the first half rest on top. Pour some more syrup on top and there you have it a cake that you can celebrate with your family in less them an hour's time.

My family does not fancy all the topping and the cake is good enough to be eaten just like that so I do not usually pour any topping. But nevertheless you could do this.

So here goes the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup Atta

1/2 cup Cocoa Powder

A pinch of salt

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1 1/2 cup Sugar (I substitute half the amount sugar jaggery)

1 tsp Vanilla Essence

3 ripe Bananas (small)

3/4 cup Vegetable Oil

3/4 cup Yoghurt

3 eggs

Fistful of broken cashews or Almonds or any other dried nuts

Method:

Now first add all the dry ingredients (Atta, Cocoa, salt) except the Baking Powder + Baking Soda in a bowl. Set aside.

Combine sugar and oil along with the eggs and whisk for a minute.

Now add the vanilla essence and bananas and whisk for some more time.

Now gradually add the dry ingredeints into the wet ingredients and mix.

When everything is well incorporated stir in the nuts. Finally sieve the baking Powder and Baking Soda mixture into this batter and give a final stir.

Add this batter into a greased microwave dish, preferably a flat bottomed round container is the best.

Microwave it on high (800W) for about 8 minutes and your cake is done. Enjoy.

Tips:

To ensure the nuts do not sink sprinkle some atta on top of them before stirring them into the batter. They will not sink.

If you find that the cake batter is little thick add a few teaspoon of water or any kind of liquid till the batter reaches the desired consistency.

Chocolate brownies

2009-05-23T01:58:00.000-07:00

Chocolate has been something that has fascinated me ever since I was a child. I beleive eating a piece of chocolate is like paying our respect to this wonderful creation of god and man :) any reason to eat it and in any form..

This week I thought I will blog about this amazing Chocalate Brownie recipe that I tried. Trust me it is out of this world. Melt in the mouth brownie that I have ever had.

As per Wikipedia chocolate brownie is one of those inventions that was made by the sheer need of a cake that could be eaten out of hand easily. You can get all the details about the history behind this amazing american dessert here.

Now the recipe is very very simple. You will need:

2cups white sugar

1 cup Atta

4 Eggs

2 tsp Vanilla Essence

1 cup of Butter (I used Ghee instead)

4 oz of unsweetened chocolate

1 cup chopped walnuts or chocolate

Method:

Preheat the oven at 175 Dec celsius.
Melt the butter and the unsweetened chocolate in a double boiler and set aside. Ensure that the mixture is not overly heated but just warm enough for the chocolate to have melted.
In a bowl mix sugar, atta, eggs and vanilla essence till combined. Now add the butter-chocolate mixture and incorporate it evenly into the dry mixture.
Finally add the chopped nuts or chocolate.
Bake for half an hour and test till the tooth pick comes out almost clean.
Cool for about an hour outside and then refrigerate.
Enjoy with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Tip: It is better to take the brownie out while the tooth still shows moist crumbs since the chocolate will continue to cook after taking it out from the oven. You can see the brownie in the first pic cut into pieces and second just out of the oven... :) yummy!!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-05-16T04:06:00.000-07:00

It is amazing how a chocolate chip cookie and a cold glass of milk can do to you on those days when you may not be feeling very good.. It is such a soothing feeling.. my son loves these cookies so this time around I thought why not try and make these cookies for him.

I baked these cookies early one morning before rushing for work.

After I came back home and I had to rush into a Telecon. So it was well past my son's dinner time when I finally got to talk to him. He comes to me and says that he needs to tell me a secret. that while his grandparents were sleeping he sneaked into the kitchen pulled a chair and ate a cookie because he loved it so much. That was the best compliment that I can ever imagine. He is my greatest critic and fan.

With that story I here by give the recipe for these wonderful cookies.

1 cup Butter
1 cup Jaggery (Powdered)
1/4 cup granulated Sugar
2 Eggs
1 1/2 tsp of Vanilla Essence/Extract
2 cups of Atta
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp of Salt
2 cups of Chocolate chips

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degree centigrade.

Combine the butter with the jaggery and the sugar and beat it for a minute or two till well combined. Then add the eggs and vanilla essence. Beat for some more times.

Add Baking Powder and salt to the Atta and mix well. Gradually add this into the wet mix combining carefully. Lastly add the chocolate chips. You can either use store brought or you can make tiny pieces of chocolate that you get such as Hershey's, DairyMilk etc. I used Hershey's extra dark chocolate for making these cookies.

Once all the mixture is combined well make it into laddoo shape balls and arrange it on a pre-greased baking tray. I make 6 cookies at one time since the tray that I have is quite small.

Bake it for 10 minutes and then take the cookies out of the oven.

Let it rest for a couple of minutes more after which you can transfer it to a cooling rack. Enjoy your cookies.

Dahiwali Bhindi

2009-04-09T12:14:00.000-07:00

Ladies finger, Okra or Bhindi as it is popularly know in India is a very commonly used vegetable in many side dishes. It is usually fried since it tends to be gooey if made into a gravy.

Nevertheless this vegetable is very tasty and is a good source of iron. There are myriads of ways to make Bhindi. But if you want to make it in a different way or if you are in a mood to make Bhindi which is a little semi dry and tangy you can look at this recipe given below.

It comes from the land of Rajasthan and is made with curd i.e yogurt. It is very simple to make and takes less time too. At the same time this is one dish that looks very presentable especially when you have guests and you want to make something that looks very good.

Here goes the recipe:

Bhindi - 15 to 20
Onion - 2 Medium, thinly sliced
Green Chillies - 1 -2
Gram Flour or Besan - 1-2 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
Kitchen King Masala - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil - 4-5 tbsp
Yoghurt - 2-3 tbsp
Jeera or Cumin Seeds (You can also use Shahi Jeera for that extra richness :) )

Method:

Clean and wipe the Bhindi of any water. Chop both the ends of the Bhindi.

Apply half the amount of Haldi, Coriander, Cumin, Garam Masala and salt to taste. Add the entire amount of Gram Flour and mix well.

Take a pan and pour half the oil and once the oil is hot enough fry the Bhindi in the oil till almost cooked. Drain out the oil and set it aside.

Keep the vessel that you used to mix the bhindi with the masala aside for later use.

Pour the rest of the oil and when the oil is hot add the cumin seeds.

Once the cumin seeds sputter add the sliced onions and add a pinch of salt. Add the chopped Green Chillies and fry till onions turn golden brown.

Add the Haldi, Red Chilli, Cumin, Coriander, Garam masala Powder and fry for some more time.

Add the fried Bhindi into the mixture and fry further for some time.

Now add the Yogurt into the vessel with the masala (Refer #4). Beat it into a smooth paste.

Mix this yogurt mixture into the Bhindi and fry for a couple of minutes.

Close the lid and let this cook for 5-6 minutes till done on a slow flame.

Once done add the Kitchen King Masala and mix well.

Dahiwali Bhindi is ready to serve. Goes well with Roti or Rice served along with any dal.

Moist Orange Loaf

2009-04-01T06:45:00.000-07:00

Oranges and baking. Hmm.. I am not sure how many of you out there would think that it is a good idea to mix both of them together..

But this post is a proof that you can bake the most moist and delicious cake using this citrus fruit. I just happened to stumble on this when I was contemplating on baking a lemon loaf. Since Indian lemon is very tangy I thought it is best avoided. I thought of using mandarin oranges instead. The result was fabulous..

This cake takes about an hour and half from start to finish. The end result is really amazing..A word of caution you may need to bake more since this cake disappears quite fast :)

I did share the cake with a few of my friends at office and they loved it too. I have found so many supermarkets selling these artificially flavored orange cakes from various brands calling them "healthy" but most of them do not even come close to the one that you can make in your own kitchen from scratch. Try this recipe and you will not be disappointed.

You will need the following ingredients:

Vegetable oil/Butter - 4tbsp
Sugar - 1 cup
Egg – 1 no.
Low fat yogurt - 2 tbsp
Milk - 1/2 cup
Whole wheat flour - 1 1/2 cup (I use Ashirwad Atta)
Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp
Mandarin Orange – 1
Rind of 1 Mandarin Orange

Procedure:

To start with extract the juice of the orange and keep it aside.

Preheat the oven to 175 Deg C.

Warm the milk and mix the sugar (only 3/4 cup). Ensure that the sugar is well dissolved.

Add the oil. Using a blender mix it all well.

Now separate the egg white from the yellow and beat them separately. Carefully add the yellow to the above mixture.

Now add the yogurt and blend.

Now add the flour little by little till it blends well into the mixture.

At this point add the egg white and gently fold it into the mixture. Add the rind of the orange and fold in again.

Line a loaf pan (small size) with aluminium foil.

Oil it and dust it with some flour.

Now just before emptying the content into the pan sift the Baking powder and soda into the mixture and blend one last time.

Pop it into the oven for 30-45 minutes or till a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.

While the cake is baking add 1/4 cup of powdered sugar into the orange juice that was extracted and mix till all the sugar has dissolved. The orange glaze is now ready.

Once the loaf is done take it out of the oven. Let it rest for 3 minutes.

Poke tiny holes into the loaf using a skewer.

Pour the glaze slowly over the loaf till all the juice from the glaze is absorbed by the loaf.

Give it some time before you take the cake out of the pan by pulling the foil gently.

Let it cool down completely before cutting it. Else it may break since this loaf is extra moist.

Enjoy your orange loaf!

Update: For all the vegetarians out there who do not eat eggs there is a piece of good news. You can make this without that egg. Substitute it with 1-2 teaspoon of cream and voila! the vegetarian version of the cake is ready to be served!!! Try it and let me know how you liked it.

Basic Bread Recipe

2009-03-21T12:58:00.000-07:00

The bread that you get today in any grocery store is pre-packed and sliced..But my memories of bread is of a long time ago when we used to get fresh bread from the bakery round the corner. The way they used to slice each loaf and then put it in a cover and give it. You could still feel the warmth in the loaf and the smell was hmm..very good..

One day I just thought why not give it a try..After a few attempts I am here to tell you my triump in baking the perfect loaf which my family enjoyed...

Recipe Source: Angies Place

I have tweaked the original recipe to suit my taste. So here goes the ingredients. Please note that 1 cup is the normal chai cup that we use in india.

To start with take:

1/4 cup milk

1 Tbsp Sugar

1 Tsp Salt

1 1/2 Tbsp Butter

Warm the milk just so that the you can add all the above ingredients and they get blended into the milk easily.

Microwave 1 cup of water for about 30-40 sec on medium heat to get the temperature warm enough for the yeast to activate. This is more then lukewarm and less then hot. A couple of tries and you will get there. Now once the temperature is just right add about 2 1/4 tsp of active dry yeast and mix it well. I add a few drizzles of honey in this mixture since honey acts as a catalyst in activating the yeast faster. Set it aside for a few minutes. You will notice that froth starts forming on the top of this mixture.

Now take:

1 cup - WholeWheat Flour or Atta

2 cups - Maida or All Purpose Flour

Mix both these well and now add the yeast mixture along with the milk and knead into a smooth dough. This dough should be a little more stickier then the one that you make for your regular phulkas.

Now let the dough rest in a well oiled vessel covered with a kitchen towel and let it rise for an hour's time. This is achieved by keeping the dough in a warm place.

After an hour take the dough out and knead it again. Now flatten the dough to remove air pockets by using a rolling pin and get it into a rectangular shape. Now starting from one end of the rectangle roll the dough slowly. At the very end pinch the ends and also the sides securely. Put this into a oiled baking dish, cover it and let it rise again for about an hour's time.

After an hour take the loaf out and pop it into a pre-heated oven at 180 Deg c for about 15- 20 minutes. You may need to adjust the temperature and time depending upon the oven size.

After about 20 minutes remove the laof from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack. Your bread is now ready to be sliced. Enjoy your bread with some butter and jam.

Lal Bhaji Ki Subzi

2009-02-27T19:38:00.000-08:00

This blog was started with the main intention to preserve traditional recipes but somehow I had not got the time to start doing this seriously. Some of my friends suggest me that rather then posting elaborate recipe I should start blogging on recipes that are simple to make with very few ingredients.

So this time around I come with a simple yet traditional recipe from the beautiful land of Chattisgarh. The cuisine found out here is not very different from the one that you find in south or north but definitely has its own taste and use ingredients found locally in the region.

This recipe uses Red Amarnath leaves or called Lal Bhaji in Chattisgarh. You will find these in any standard Indian grocery store along side palak that is spinach or any other greens. They have a distinct red color leaves as well as taste.

According to some botanical reasearch conducted these have medicinal properties.

Now the recipe is pretty simple.

1 Bunch - Amarnath Leaves or Lal Bhaji including tender stem
1 Small Onion
8-9 pods of Garlic cut into pieces or crushed
1-2 Red Chillies (Dry)
A pinch of Aesofotida or Hing
1 small Potato
Salt to taste
Turmeric Powder
1 Tomato
1-2 tsp of Olive Oil

Take the oil in wok and once it is hot enough temper it with red chillies, Hing and garlic. Add the onion and fry for some time. Once the onion is brown enough add the washed and finely chopped leaves along with the tender stem and fry till the leaves are wilted.

Now add a small potato cut into cubes and sprinkle it with turmeric and salt to taste. Let it cook for a while. Next add the tomato and cook for little longer.

When the potato is completely cooked you can switch off the gas and your subzi is ready. Serve hot with rice and dal.

Sooji Aur Kaddu Ka Muffin

2009-02-26T00:20:00.000-08:00

It is an amazing thing. Baking! A very good stress buster at least for me. The waft of the freshly baked cake, muffin, bread fills the entire house making you feel so good. I really love to bake for my son since he enjoys whatever I bake for him :) at least most of the times.

But the baked stuff is usually high in calories and people like me need to think twice before having it. So I got this wonderful recipe to make healthy muffins through one of the videos online and I tweaked this recipe a little bit to adjust according to my taste rather things that I could find in my kitchen. These muffins are so yum at the same time they are extremely healthy. I have used the yellow pumpkin (Kaddu) for this recipe as a base. This muffin is made with Whole wheat Flour and Bansi Sooji or the semolina or sometimes called farina. You can use Dalia too instead of the sooji. You will find it in any standard indian grocery store. Here goes the recipe. Enjoy!

Pre-heat the oven to 200 deg celsius and oil 6 muffin cups (medium sized) and you are all set to bake these yum muffins.

1 cup Whole Wheat Atta
3/4 cup Bansi Sooji
a pinch of salt
3/4 Cup Sugar
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 cup cashews and almonds cut into small pieces
1 tsp ground Cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground laung or cloves

Mix all these ingredients into a dry vessel and now make a well right in the middle of this and add the wet ingredients which are as follows:

1 egg
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 - 3/4 Curd or Yoghurt Unsweetened
1 cup Yellow Pumpkin or Kaddu (Small) mashed

Now mix all these together till all the atta is well mixed and batter is that of a thick consistency. Basically if you try to pour it, it should take a few seconds before it falls down.

I have found that this muffin batter should be thicker than the batter you make to bake a cake. Once you start baking you will get an idea :)

Pour the batter into the oiled muffin cups and bake it for about 20 minutes or till a fork inserted comes out clean.

Enjoy your muffins!

How to get mashed Pumpkin:

Cut the Pumpkin into half and remove the seeds. Now cut further into cubes and bring it to a simmer with just enough water so that all the cubes are well immersed. After about five minutes insert a fork and see if you can pierce it easily into the pumpkin. This is the right time to take the pumpkin out. Drain all the water and then mash the pumpkin. We need about 1 cup of mashed pumpkin for this recipe.

Rava Idli

2009-02-20T23:15:00.000-08:00

Making the ubiquotous Idli takes such a long time. You should remember that you need to soak the rice and lentils overnight and then the next day you need to grind them together and then allow it to ferment.

If you have a craving for Idli and do not want to wait for that long here is a simple dish that can be made in a jiffy. The reviews that I got after making it was enough for me to put this in my list of "Recipes that take less time but gets you all the Praise"

Here goes the recipe:
Part 1:
o 1 1/2 cup of chiroti sooji or fine semolina
o 1 Tsp of Mustard Seeds
o 1 Tsp of Urad Dal
o 1 Tsp of Chana Dal
o a pinch of asafetida
o 1 Red chilli
o 1 tbsp broken cashews
o 2 tsp of oil
Part 2:
o 3/4 cup unsweetened Yoghurt
o 1 tsp of grated ginger
o 1 tsp of finely chopped green chillies
o 1 sprig of curry leaves
o 1/2 cup finely chopped coriander leaves
o 1 -2 tsp of salt

Part 3:
o 1 cup of water
o 1-1.5 tsp Eno Fruit Salt

To start with heat two tsp of oil in a wok and roast all the ingredients given in Part 1 except Sooji and when you can smell the aroma of the dal you can add the chiroti sooji and fry till the sooji becomes lightly browned.

Now keep this mixture aside and let it cool.

In a bowl take all the ingredients given in part 2 and mix it together. Now
slowly start mixing the sooji mixture with the yoghur mixture. Slowly add water and keep stirring till you get the batter in the correct consistency. It should not be very watery at the same time it should not too thick.

Now keep this aside for about 15-20 minutes. After 20 minutes you may add a couple of tbsp of water if you find that the batter is too thick.

Take a Pressure cooker with the weight off. Pour some water and bring to boil with the lid on. Now oil the idli stand and when everything is ready pour the eno fruit salt into the batter and mix it and quickly pour the mixture into the oiled idli stand. And steam this mixture for about 15-20 minutes or till a skewer inserted in the idli comes out clean.

Serve the Rava idlis with Cocunut Chutney and Sambar. Enjoy!

Capsicum Rice in a Jiffy

2009-02-20T20:04:00.000-08:00

There have been lot of occasion when there is only one vegetable in the fridge and you need to make dinner before hitting the neighbourhood mall for your weekly supply of grocery.

Now the vegetable in question today is the ever versatile capsicum or shimla mirch as they say in hindi or the Bell Pepper for all others. Whatever it is called I have found that this humble vegetable is so dynamic and can be used in different types of recipes and it blends in very easily with everything. So here is my take on this wonderful veggie.

This recipe is something that is very easy to prepare and it calls for capsicum and rice as the base ingredeints. The rest of the stuff you can easily get from any standard indian pantry :)

So here goes the recipe.

1 Katori (Medium)Rice
3-4 Medium sized Capsicum
Salt to taste
2 tbsp of Olive oil

For Dry Roasting:
2-3 Red Chillies
1/2 tsp mustard Seeds
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp of Jeera
2 tsp of Urad Dal
2-3 tbsp of peanuts
two sprigs of curry leaves
Cinnamon stick small 1"
1 small elaichi (cardamom)
1 small laung (clove)

Boil the rice in water until it is just about cooked. Drain it and keep it aside. You may put salt and dribble some oil to keep the rice from sticking with each other.

Now dry roast the ingreadients as mentioned above and then keep it aside for cooling. Once cooled grind it into a fine powder in a coffee grinder.

Now cut the capsicum into bite sized pieces and keep it aside.

Heat some olive oil and fry the capsicum till they are slightly wilted. Now put the ground spice powder and fry for a couple of minutes. Now mix in the rice and fry for some more time.

Serve it hot with some onion raitha.

For the Raitha or the Yoghurt dip you will need:

1 Cup Yoghurt or Curd
1 medium sized onion sliced
Salt to taste
1 tsp cumin seeds, dry roasted and powdered
A pinch of paprika or chilli powder

Mix all the ingredients and serve along with the rice.

Enjoy your Capsicum rice with Raitha.

Basic Biscuit Recipe

2009-01-08T06:57:00.000-08:00

Basic Biscuit Recipe:

Ingredients:

 1 Cup Atta
 1/2 Cup Quick Cooking Oats
 A fistful of Cashews powdered
 1 Cup Dry Coconut Powder
 1 Cup of Sugar
 A pinch of salt
 1/2 tsp of Baking Soda
 1 tsp of Baking Powder
 5 Tbsp of Custard powder
 3/4 Cup Oil
 A few drops of milk

Mix all the ingredients along with oil and see if it is in the consistency of a chapati dough though the biscuit dough needs to be a little more sticky then the chapati dough.

If you find that the dough is dry add a few tablespoons of Milk till the dough has reached the consistency as desired.

Now preheat the convection oven or OTG to a 160 Deg C and then grease a baking sheet.

now with well oiled hands make small balls of the dough and then flatten them with a fork to form the "Tic Tac Toe" on top of each of these balls.

Bake the biscuits for 12-15 minutes. The time depends on the oven as well and may vary. The base of the biscuits will be slightly browned when done. Now take these biscuits out and let them cool on a wire rack.

They will be soft when taken out of the oven hence be very careful and when cooled they tend to get crispy.

Christmas Fruit Cake Recipe

2008-12-29T08:28:00.000-08:00

As a child I always used to love this cake that was specially baked around Christmas. So this time around I tried to bake this cake. A word of precaution as this cake is not for people who want to bake a cake in a jiffy.

So if you have the time in the world this is a perfect cake that can be baked. Your little ones are definitely going to appreciate the effort.

Though I call this cake Authentic I have tweaked the original recipe for healthier ingredients. So here goes the Recipe.

You will need:

2 Cups of Whole-wheat Atta
2 Cups of Dry Fuits – Raisin soaked, Cashew, Tutty Fruity, Almonds sliced
1 Cup of Vegetable Oil or Olive Oil
3 Large Eggs separated
1 tsp of Cinnamon Powder
½ Tsp of Nutmeg Powder
½ Tsp of Clove Powder
½ Tsp of Ginger Powder
1 Tsp of Cardomom Powder
A pinch of Salt
1 Tsp Baking Powder
¾ cup Powdered Sugar
6 tbsp of Sugar
3 Tbsp of Water
½ Cup Boiling Water
2-3 Tbsp of Milk
2-3 drops of Vanilla Essence

Method:

Soak the Dry Fuits in some milk for a few hours. Set aside

Simmer 3 tbsp of Water in a pan. Now add the 6 tbsp of Sugar. Keep swirling till the sugar is dissolved. Ensure that you do not stir with any spatula and keep swirling for the next 7-8 minutes till the sugar is caramelized. Now add the boiling water slowly to the pan till all the water is completely mixed with the caramelized sugar. Keep aside to cool.

Preheat the Oven to 160-170 Deg Centigrade. Grease a baking pan with non-stick spray.

Now take a bowl and whip the oil and the powdered sugar till they are well mixed. Add the vanilla essence and whip in egg yolks one by one into the mixture.

Now sieve the flour along with the spices and baking powder.

Mix the flour little at a time to the mixture and whip it well.

Now add the caramelized sugar water to this mixture and whip for one last time.

Sprinkle some Atta onto the Dry fruits and then fold in all the dry fruits into the mixture carefully. The sprinkling of the Atta is to ensure that the dry fruits do not sink into the batter.

Now whip the egg whites till soft peaks are formed and this to the mixture. Check the consistency of the batter and if too thick you can add a few drops of milk.

Pour the batter into the baking pan and bake it for 45 minutes to an hour's time till a tooth pick comes out clean.

Take the cake out and after it cools completely cut it into pieces and store it in an airtight container.

You can substitute the oil for butter or margarine and use maida instead of atta for the originial recipe.

Jhatpat Pulao with Palak Raitha

2008-11-05T07:39:00.000-08:00

This is one tried and tested recipe in my list of "easy-to-cook" recipes. Especially when you have unexpected guests and you do not have enough time to turn out something nice.

All you need is some cooked rice, a few vegetables from your refrigerator and some curd to turn this dish in less then an hour's time.

Ingredients for the Jhatpat Pulao:

3-4 Carrots
1 Bowl of Green Peas
2 Medium sized Onions
6-8 button Mushrooms
1 Capsicum
A few pieces of Paneer
Salt to taste
1 Tsp of Crushed black pepper

2 Katori (Medium) of Rice

Method:

If you have cooked rice you can readily use it. Otherwise take the rice and wash it. Now boil 5-6 cups of water and put some Pudina (mint) leaves into it along with salt and some all spice leaves(If you dont have this you can put whole spices).

When the water starts to boil put the washed rice and cook till the rice is 90% complete.
Drain the water and keep the rice aside.

Now take some oil in a pan, throw in some whole spices like BayLeaf, Cloves, Green Cardamom, Cinnamon, Star Anise along with some thinly sliced onion and saute for a while.

Now add the chopped carrots, capsicum, Mushrooms and green Peas into the pan and saute till almost done.

Add salt and crushed black pepper after a while. Now finally put the paneer and fry till well browned.

Once this is done take a serving platter and pour the cooked rice on it. Now pour the vegetable mixture and and mix it lightly.

Garnish with fried onions and cashew before serving hot along with the palak raitha.

For the Raitha:
Ingredients:
Palak (a bunch)
1/4 tsp methi
pinch of hing
4-5 red chilles
1 tsp of jeera
1 Nestle Dahi (big)
Oil
Black Salt to taste

Heat oil in a pan. Throw in the Jeera, Methi, Hing and Red chillies and saute till well browned. Now pour the cleaned and chopped palak leaves and fry till the leaves are wilted.

Now take some dahi in a mixie container and pour the fried ingredients and blend it together. Take it out into a container, pour in the rest of curd, black salt. Garnish with thinly sliced onions and serve along with the Pulao.

Basic Cake Recipe

2008-11-03T05:27:00.000-08:00

I never knew how to bake a cake until a few years ago when I happened to watch Sanjeev Kapoor's "Khana Khazana" in which he was teaching a cake that could be baked in a microwave in within 10 minutes.

That was when I first started baking cakes. In a microwave. Since then its been many years now since i have been baking different types of cakes and have tried to come up with a healthier version for everyone to enjoy. This recipe is one recipe that I have shared with many of my friends.

You can bake a cake using in a convection oven or in a microwave. The setting will be different. The taste varies. I personally like the cake baked in a convection oven over the microwave. It comes out more crispy an well browned.

In a microwave the cake come out real soft but without the browning effect.

But I make both depending upon the time that I have.If I need to make it in a jiffy I use the microwave.

If I have ample time I use the convection oven. So here goes the recipe.

Ingredients:

Dry:

1. Wholewheat Flour (2 Cups)
2. Sugar (1 1/2 Cups)
3. Salt (a pinch)
4. Baking Soda (1/2 tsp)
5. Baking Powder (3/4 tsp)

Wet:
1. Eggs (3)
2. Vegetable Oil(3/4 cup)
3. Milk (3/4 Cup)
4. Vanilla Essence(a few drops)
5. Water (1/4 Cup - 1/2 Cup)

Combine the dry ingredients slowly into the wet ingredients and whisk it in one direction for the next 10 minutes.

If the batter is a little too thick you can add some more water. It should be at a thicker consistency then pancake batter.

Microwave:

Grease a baking tray and pour the batter into the tray. Microwave it on high for 8 minutes. Use a skewer in the center of the cake and check if the cake is completely baked. If it comes out clean the cake is baked completely and ready to be cooled.

Convection Oven:

Pre-heat the oven for 150 deg c for about 5 minutes. Now grease a baking tray and pour the batter into the tray. Heat it in the oven for the next 35-45 minutes. Check with skewer if it comes out clean. The cake if done will have look dark brown on the surface.

The cake given above was baked in a convection oven.

Rasgulla

2008-10-31T00:27:00.000-07:00

Diwali is a time when I usually make (try to make :) ) some kinds of indian sweets for my family. Every year I think of different types of sweets that can be made from scratch. I remember a couple of years back when I asked my cook (who used to work in a restaurant earlier) to teach me how to make rasgullas. He told that he could make it easily. I got all the ingredients and he started making them. A couple of hours later I realised that I made a mistake by asking him. It was disastrous. All the curdeled Paneer was totally wasted in his effort to make rasgullas since he tried to put baking soda to make it fluffier. forget the fluff all the paneer balls disintegrated into the sugar syrup in no time and the whole thing was unrecognizable. I thought my dream of making rasgullas from scratch will remain a dream. Till the day one of my sis-in-law told me this "easy to do" recipe that can never go wrong. So hear it goes.

Ingredients:

1 ltr Toned Milk

2 cups Sugar

6 cups Water

1 tbsp Maida

1 Lemon

Few drops of Rose Water

Few strips of saffron

Method:
Boil the milk and remove the first layer of cream that forms after the milk is boiled and cooled for 5-10 minutes.

Now switch on the gas simmer the milk. Add the juice of 1 lemon and stir the milk till the milk starts to curdle.

If the milk does not curdle add some more lemon juice.

After the milk is curdled completely strain the milk onto a muslin cloth and tie it on the water pipe of your kitchen sink for the next two hours.

After 2hrs take the muslin cloth with the paneer and keep it on a flat base like the kitchen countertop. Now keep a 5 ltr cooker filled with water on top of this for the next 25 minutes.

After 25 minutes take the paneer out and start kneading it well till the ghee starts seperating. Now take 1 tbsp (not heaped but flat) of maida and add it to this paneer and knead it for some more time.

Make small lemon sized balls of paneer. Now take a cooker and pour 6 glasses of water into it. Switch on the gas and put the cooker with water on boil. Add two cups of sugar to this mixture.

When the water is boiled and the sugar is all l=melted add a few drops of Rose water and some kesar water into the mixture.

Now simmer the flame and drop all the paneer balls carefully into the sugar syrup.
Close the lid (with the whistel) and allow it to simmer for the nexxt 7 minutes. Ensure that the pressure within the cooker is not so much that it starts whistling when you close the lid.

After 7 minutes have passed switch off the flame and allow the rasgullas to remain in the cooker till all the pressure is down.

Once cooled remove the rasgullas onto a bowl along with the sugar syrup and refrigerate it immediately.

P.S: Use the cooker which has the lid that closes from inside for better results.