Meri Rasoi - By Saumya Mishra

Cheesy Puffy Cups

noreply@blogger.com (Saumya Mishra) — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 11:11:00 +0000

Ingredients:

Just Rol Puff Pastry Sheet - 1 Package
Mix Veggies - 2 cups (Carrot,Peppers,Peas,Boiled Potato,Broccoli)
Grated Cheese - 1 Cup (Filling and Sprinkling)
Frylight Oil Spray - few sprays
Pizza Sauce - 4 tblspoon
Seasoning of your choice - 1 tspoon

Method:

Take out the puff pastry sheet out of the fridge and keep out on kitchen counter for 10-15 minutes.
Roll - out a little more thinner than the original thickness.
Cut out the roundels out of the sheet.
Grease the 12 cupcakes tray with few sprays of Frylight Oil Spray.
Put the Roundels of Puff Sheet inside the cupcake cavities.

Now we will prepare the filling for cups.
Mix the veggies, seasoning, pizza sauce and quarter of grated cheese in a mixing bowl.
Taste the filling and adjust the salt, pepper and chilli as per your taste. For us after mixing bruschetta seasoning the filling was perfect. Pizza sauce also have salt and pepper, so more seasoing can make it over powering.

Both the components are ready now we will assemble the cups.
Fill up the puff pastry roundels, which we put into cupcake cavities just like the picture below.

Now sprinkle some more cheese, so that after melting it makes a kind of pastry cover on top of each cup.

Once all the cups are filled and sprinkled, bake these into preheated oven of 200c for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese on top melts and turns golden brown.
Once baked they will look like the picture below. The pastry will puff and the cheese on top will create a golden brown crust.

Let them cool and serve as a starter, brunch or after school snack to kids. These are vegetarian, healthy and perfect for quick fill of those little tummies.

Hope your kids will also love it like mine did. Until next time........Enjoy :) Saumya

Wholewheat Buns Stuffed With Leftover Bhaji

noreply@blogger.com (Saumya Mishra) — Thu, 19 Jan 2017 16:26:00 +0000

Ingredients:

For the Dough:
Chapati/Whole Wheat Flour 1 - 1/2 cups
Milk 1/4 cup
water 1/4 cup (add 1-2 tblspoon if more needed)
Active dry yeast 3/4 tblsp
sugar 1 tblsp
Salt 3/4 tsp
Olive oil 3 tblsp

For stuffing:
Leftover Bhaji of Pav Bhaji

Method:

Warm the milk,add sugar to it and mix well. Add the yeast to it and mix well. Keep aside.
Take flour and make a dent,add water,olive oil,salt in it and the yeast completely dissolved in the milk.
Mix and make a smooth dough,keep in a warm place covered with a cling wrap for an hour.
Meanwhile to prepare the stuffing, you do not need to do much efforts just dry out the water from bhaji and make it a bit of the paratha style stuffing. Keep it aside to cool down.
By now/after an hour, the dough we prepared would have doubled in size. Take it again and just give it a gentle knead and make 8 equal sized balls.
Take each bun and make a dent in the middle.
put the dried bhaji stuffing inside and pinch all the end towards centre to cover the stuffing, Just like we do while making Kachori.
Roll into smooth bun. Repeat for every bun. Arrange them in the lined baking tray. Keep the pinched joined side down.
Brush them well with olive oil and sprinkle your choice of seasoning on top.

Preheat the oven for 190°C. When the preheat is finished,by the time the buns will again rise a bit.
Bake for 17- 20 mins or until the top crust turns golden brown in colour. (Mine took exactly 20 mins) Smells heavenly!!

After finished baking,brush them with butter or oil and enjoy with tea/evening snack!
This would also be a great snack for kids after they come back from school!
One more close look at the texture :) Enjoy until next time :)

Spinach Handvo

noreply@blogger.com (Saumya Mishra) — Sun, 15 Jan 2017 11:30:00 +0000

Ingredients:

Handvo Batter:

Rice - 1 cup
Lentil Mix - 1/2 cup each ( arhar,chana daal )
Fenugreek Seeds - 1 tspoon
Yogurt - 2 tblspoon
Baking Soda - 1 tspoon
Green Chili Paste - 1 tspoon
Ginger Paste - 1 tspoon
Garlic Paste - 1 tspoon
Turmeric Powder - 1 tspoon
Red Chilli - 1/2 tspoon
Lemon Juice/Pickle Gravy - 1 tspoon (Optional)
Citric Acid - 1/4 tspoon
Baking Soda - 1 tspoon
Jaggery - 1/2 cup
Salt - 2 tspoon
Oil - 2 tspoon
Spinach - 1 cup finely cut and blanched

For Tempering / Sprinkle :
Oil - 2 tblspoon
Red Chilli - 2-3 whole
Hing - a pinch
Mustard Seed - 2 tspoon
Sesame Seeds/Til - 2 tblspoon + 1 tblspoon for sprinkle
Peanuts - 1/4 cup
Fried Onions - 2 tblspoon

Method:

Making The batter:
Wash and Soak Rice and both lentils along with fenugreek seeds for overnight.
Now grind soaked rice, lentil and fenugreek seeds with the help of water.
Make a thick smooth paste, sprinkle water while grinding.
Do not mix a lot of water to make it a runny batter.

Making Handvo Mixture to Bake:
Mix the batter well.
Now add 2 tblspoon yogurt, 1 tspoon salt and mix well.

Keep it to ferment. If the weather at your place is hot or warm keep the batter for 4-5 hours and if it cold and chilli ferment it for 7-8 hours.

Once fermented add jaggery and mix well to get the jaggery melted very well.
Now we will add the spinach in the batter and mix well to avoid any lumps.
Now its time add the spices.
Add in the green chili, ginger, garlic, red chili, turmeric, salt, citric acid, baking soda, oil and also the pickle gravy or lemon juice.

Mix the batter very well to form lump free batter.
Taste it and adjust the Spices accordingly.

Pre-heat the oven to 190c and grease a 8"-10" pyrex tray.
Now we will prepare the tempering.

Warm the oil in a pan, add in the mustard seeds, sesame seeds, red chilli, hing, Peanuts and let them pop.
Now add the tempering to Handvo Batter and mix well.

Pour the batter into the greased tray.
Sprinkle some more sesame seeds and fried onions over it.

Now bake the Handvo for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Cool the handvo and cut into desired sized pieces.

Serve with assorted chutney or pickles.
This is a very good option as a breakfast, brunch or starter in a party.

Tomato Masala Bhindi / Tomato Okra Fry

noreply@blogger.com (Saumya Mishra) — Thu, 27 Aug 2015 13:30:00 +0000

Just like Aloo / Potatoes , Bhindi /Okra/Ladyfinger is also very good option for side dish in the meal. Bhindi can be made in various ways but mostly dry as it gets slimy when left with moisture. I make Bhindi mostly as a side dish with Daal and Rice or With Paratha for morning breakfast.

In this Bhindi recipe I used tomatoes as well for the first time. I was bit skeptical at the first place but since I've bug of experimenting in kitchen, so I just went for it. To compliment moisture from tomatoes I added some gram flour in the dish. Also to avoid Bhindi get slimy or wet while cooking, clean, wash and dry it in advance, so when you are cooking it, it fairly dry.

When I was little, we use to get Bhindi in our lunchboxes with Puri/Paratha. Sometimes on weekend, we ate Bhindi with Dal Rice and Chapati in lunch. Using fresh green chilies, thinly sliced onions and sliced garlic enhances its taste. Crisp the bhindi by shallow frying it a tspoon or so of oil and it will be the best side dish for your meal.

Lets have a look at my way of making "Tomato Masala Bhindi / Tomato Okra Fry". It's fairly simple recipe like most of my recipes. Not any exotic ingredient , just the everyday ingredients from your kitchen and the dish will be ready for time of Breakfast, Lunch, or Dinner. Hope you all will try to make it and let me know how everyone liked it at your home.. Until next time..................., Happy Cooking Friends, Saumya

Pictorial Method of Making "Tomato Masala Bhindi / Tomato Okra Fry":

Wash bhindi/okra in water thoroughly. Wipe them with a kitchen towel or just spread them on chopping board to allow them to dry naturally.
Cut off the crown and base tip of each bhindi, vertically slice them keeping a width of your choice in thickness. I kept them almost 0.45inch.

Slice Onions thinly, chop tomatoes finely and cut green chilies very fine.
Heat 1 tblspoon oil in a thick bottomed shallow frying pan.
Add the sliced Okra and fry them until golden n crisp. Take them out on a paper towel lined plate.

Now add sliced onion and green chilies in the same pan with another tablspoon of oil.

Saute onions till they start turning light brown.

Now add the chopped tomatoes. mix well.

Now add powdered spices , Turmeric, Coriander, Garam masala, Salt, and Amchur with gram flour in the pan.

Mix the spices and gramflour well. Cook this mix until the tomatoes become soft and mushy and you start to see oil releasing from the sides.

Now add the fried crispy bhindi/okra. Mix well but gently to avoid pressing it too much.
Put the flame on high and fry the Okra and Masalas well to avoid any moisture in the dish.
Don't burn the dish in order to dry the moisture, if starts to burn switch off and take it away from the hot burner.
Once you can't see any moisture in dish, switch off the flame and immediately turn it out in a serving dish.

Garnishing with coriander is optional, as very few people eat Okra with fresh coriander.
Serve Tomato Masala Bhindi as a side dish in any of your meal like with chapatis, dal, rice or may be parathas.

Ingredients:

Okra/Bhindi/Lady finger - 500grm
Onion - 2 medium , thinly sliced
Tomato - 2 medium , finely chopped
Green Chilies - 2 thinly sliced
Asafetida/Hing - a pinch
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tspoon
Coriander powder - 1 tspoon
Raw Mango Powder/Amchur - 1/2 tspoon
Garam masala - 1/2 tspoon
Salt - to taste
Gram Flour - 2 tblspoon
Oil - 2 tblspoon

Method:

Wash bhindi/okra in water thoroughly. Wipe them with a kitchen towel or just spread them on chopping board to allow them to dry naturally.
Cut off the crown and base tip of each bhindi, vertically slice them keeping a width of your choice in thickness. I kept them almost 0.45inch.
Slice Onions thinly, chop tomatoes finely and cut green chilies very fine.
Heat 1 tblspoon oil in a thick bottomed shallow frying pan.
Add the sliced Okra and fry them until golden n crisp. Take them out on a paper towel lined plate.
Now add sliced onion and green chilies in the same pan with another tablspoon of oil and saute them till they start turning light brown.
Now add the chopped tomatoes. mix well.
Now add powdered spices , Turmeric, Coriander, Garam masala, Salt, and Amchur with gram flour in the pan.
Mix the spices and gramflour well. Cook this mix until the tomatoes become soft and mushy and you start to see oil releasing from the sides.
Now add the fried crispy bhindi/okra. Mix well but gently to avoid pressing it too much.
Put the flame on high and fry the Okra and Masalas well to avoid any moisture in the dish. Don't burn the dish in order to dry the moisture, if starts to burn switch off and take it away from the hot burner.
Once you can't see any moisture in dish, switch off the flame and immediately turn it out in a serving dish.
Garnishing with coriander is optional, as very few people eat Okra with fresh coriander.
Serve Tomato Masala Bhindi as a side dish in any of your meal like with chapatis, dal, rice or may be parathas.

Dhokar Dalna / Fried Lentil Cakes in Spicy Gravy

noreply@blogger.com (Saumya Mishra) — Sun, 23 Aug 2015 13:56:00 +0000

Chana Dal is very nutritious and easy to digest. These little beans are a powerhouse of lean protein, fiber and iron. They're packed with nutrients, such as folic acid, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and zinc. Chana Dal also known as "chholar dal" comes from India , where it's appreciated a lot unlike the western countries. "Bengal Gram Lentil" is the British English term for what we call "chana dal" in Hindi. It's glycemia index is also very good for blood sugar levels.

Chana Dal is very closely related to garbanzo beans, or chickpeas. The differences are that chana dal is younger, smaller, split, sweeter, and has a much lower glycemic index. But you can substitute chana dal for garbanzo beans in just about any recipe.

Chana dal is the split kernel of a variety of chickpea known as desi or bengal gram. It has a sweet and earthy flavor, and the cooked bean is about the size and shape of a corn kernel. Chana Dal is one of the many lentils used to make dal, the family of Indian lentil dishes that form the foundation of Indian cuisine. Chana Dal makes a quick-cooking, exotic addition to dals, soups, curries, dips, pilafs, fritters, salads, casseroles, and rice or whole grain dishes. Toss them in a little olive oil and your favorite spices and roast them in the oven for a wonderfully tasty, healthy snack.

This time I used this powerhouse of nutrition in Bengali style and made famous Bengali dish called " Dhokar Dalna". Heard many times about this dish from many of my friends so decided to make it for dinner tonight, as I was left with 1 bowl of soaked Chana daal after making Chana Daal with Ghiya. Try making it in your kitchen as well. Until next time..................., Happy Cooking Friends, Saumya

Just like all the Kofta and Kadhi recipes, this also has two parts. One is to make Dhoka/Lentil Cakes and other is to make gravy for it. Lets start with the first part, which is to make Dhokas.

Pictorial Step-wise Method for Dhoka and Gravy:

Wash and soak Chana Dal/Bengal Gram for minimum 4 hours or overnight (for best results) .
Take the dal along with green chilies, salt, ginger and grind to a fine paste. Add little water (may be a tblspoon or so) as required for grinding.

In a non stick pan, heat oil. Now add the dal paste in the pan along with Hing, Turmeric powder, Coriander powder, Garam Masala, Salt and Red Chili powder.

Cook it until the mix comes off the sides clean.

The dal should be cooked so that it is moist and soft but not runny or hard. Once it is cooked, transfer to a greased plate.

Apply oil on your hands and pat the paste into a flat cake, make sure the sides are tucked in. Make a 1 1/2 inch width cake.

The paste gets dried up fast, so you need to be quick in patting it down.
Once it cools down, cut into desired size and shape pieces.

Heat a Pan/Wok with oil and shallow fry Dhokas till golden brown on both sides.

Gently slide them into wok and don't flip over for the first few minutes. Fry in 4-5 at a time and drain them over a kitchen towel.

Now peel and chop the potatoes into thing long pieces.

Par Boil them for 7-9 minutes and then shallow fry them in the same pan that you used for frying the lentil cakes.

Take them out and keep them aside until they are ready to use.
Again heat 1 tblspoon of Oil in the same pan/wok.

Add in the cumin seeds, whole garam masala and a pinch of Hing.

Add tomatoes and grated ginger, saute till tomato is well cooked and soft.

In a cup mix the spices Turmeric powder, Coriander powder, Garam Masala, Salt and Red Chili powder with a tblspoon of water and make a paste.

Add this paste to the Pan/Wok and fry the masala with tomatoes at low heat. Add in the Sugar as well.

Add the fried potatoes and about 1 and 1/2 cups of water.

Now cover and cook till the potatoes are soft.
Adjust the water and seasoning as per your choice of thickness and taste of gravy. Next add the ghee and mix everything .
Now gently add in the Dhokas/fried lentil cakes. Also add in the whole green chilies.

Simmer for 5 minutes, covered with the lid to let the Dhokas soak up some of the gravy juices.
Dhokar Dalna is ready to serve with rice or chapati.

Ingredients:

For Dhoka / Lentil Cakes:

Chana Dal - 1 cup ( Cholar Daal / Split Bengal Gram Lentil )
Green Chilies - 2 medium size
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Asafetida / Hing - a pinch
Coriander Powder - 1/8 Tspoon
Red Chili Powder - a pinch
Turmeric powder - 1/4 Tspoon
Garam Masala - 1/8 Tspoon
Salt - to taste
Oil - 1 tblspoon for shallow frying

For Gravy of Dhokar Dalna:

Potato - 1 big
Oil - 1 tblspoon
Bay leaf - 1 big
Whole Garam Masala - 1 Tspoon
Cumin Seeds - 1/4 Tspoon
Tomato - 4 medium finely chopped
Ginger Paste - 1/2 tspoon or you can grate the ginger
Coriander Powder - 1 Tspoon
Red Chili Powder - 1/4 Tspoon
Turmeric powder - 1/4 Tspoon
Garam Masala - 1/4 Tspoon
Ghee - 1 Tspoon
Salt - to taste

Method for Dhoka:

Wash and soak Chana Dal/Bengal Gram for minimum 4 hours or overnight (for best results) .
Take the dal along with green chilies, salt, ginger and grind to a fine paste. Add little water (may be a tblspoon or so) as required for grinding.
In a non stick pan, heat oil. Now add the dal paste in the pan along with Hing, Turmeric powder, Coriander powder, Garam Masala, Salt and Red Chili powder and cook until the mix comes off the sides clean.
The dal should be cooked so that it is moist and soft but not runny or hard. Once it is cooked, transfer to a greased plate.
Apply oil on your hands and pat the paste into a flat cake, make sure the sides are tucked in. Make a 1 1/2 inch width cake.
The paste gets dried up fast, so you need to be quick in patting it down.
Once it cools down, cut into desired size and shape pieces.
Heat a Pan/Wok with oil and shallow fry Dhokas till golden brown on both sides.
Gently slide them into wok and don't flip over for the first few minutes. Fry in 4-5 at a time and drain them over a kitchen towel.

Method for Gravy:

First peel and chop the potatoes into thing long pieces.
Par Boil them for 7-9 minutes and then shallow fry them in the same pan that you used for frying the lentil cakes.
Take them out and keep them aside until they are ready to use.
Again heat 1 tblspoon of Oil in the same pan/wok.
Add in the cumin seeds, whole garam masala and a pinch of Hing.
Add tomatoes and grated ginger, saute till tomato is well cooked and soft.
Add in the Sugar.
In a cup mix the spices Turmeric powder, Coriander powder, Garam Masala, Salt and Red Chili powder with a tblspoon of water and make a paste.
Add this paste to the Pan/Wok and fry the masala with tomatoes at low heat.
Add the fried potatoes and about 1 and 1/2 cups of water.
Now cover and cook till the potatoes are soft.
Adjust the water and seasoning as per your choice of thickness and taste of gravy. Next add the ghee and mix everything .
Now gently add in the Dhokas/fried lentil cakes. Also add in the whole green chilies.
Simmer for 5 minutes, covered with the lid to let the Dhokas soak up some of the gravy juices.
Dhokar Dalna is ready to serve with rice or chapati.

Makhana Kaju Sabzi / Foxnuts and Cashewnuts in Creamy Spicy Gravy

noreply@blogger.com (Saumya Mishra) — Tue, 18 Aug 2015 04:49:00 +0000

This is one particular curry/sabzi, used to be in a menu, when something happens or someone very special visited our household. I remember so many occasions during my childhood, when this curry was made to serve in main course. Along with it many other side dishes were served and many variety of breads.

Days are gone but memories are still there and cherished. I love remembering my childhood days and the specialties I ate during those golden times. Learning from my mother how to cook those special dishes has always been the memorable moments of my life.

I've been busy moving back to India and settling down my kitchen all over again. It's like starting your household setup all over again after many years of marriage. Coming back to my own country has always been my dream and now it's livable. So Kitchen is starting to take shape and I cooked This special curry to start the cooking in the new kitchen.

So here is my recipe of Makhana Kaju Curry. Very rich, creamy and delicious curry to go with any kind of rice and chapati. Try it out and make your family go awe with it's taste. Leave your feedback in the comments section below. Until Next Time, Happy Cooking Friends...................... Saumya

Method of making Makhana Kaju Sabzi / Fox-nuts and Cashew-nuts in Creamy Spicy Gravy:

Wash the tomatoes and cut them into cubes, cut the green chilies and ginger piece roughly.

Grind tomatoes, green chilies, ginger pieces and soaked cashews to fine paste. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds and asafetida into it.

Now add the grind-ed paste to it. Roast it well.

Now add the dry spices, turmeric, coriander, red chili and garam masala into it.
Fry this over medium heat until the oil starts to appear on the sides and top of the masala.

While the gravy mix is cooking, roast the fox-nuts and cashews in another pan until they turn golden.

Stir the gravy mix in between to avoid it sticking on the pan. When the oil appears on top of the mix add one cup of water to it. Now add the salt and 1 tblspoon of fresh coriander and Kasuri methi , stir it well.

Let the gravy boil. after one boil add the roasted cashews and foxnuts into the gravy.

Cover the pan with a lid for 5 minutes to let the foxnuts soak the spices into it.

Take out the curry on a serving platter and garnish with freshly chopped coriander and some fresh cream.
One of the best curry/sabzi is ready to be served with Parantha and Rice.
This recipe will go for Meat Free Monday , Monthly Masala Link Party and Take a Bite Tuesday.

Ingredients:

Makhana / Phool Makhana/ Fox-nuts - 1 cup
Kaju/ Cashew-nuts - 15 nos
Oil - 2 tspoon to roast nuts
Onion - 1 small diced
Tomatoes - 4 medium diced
Green chilies - 2 chopped roughly
Cashew nut - 10 nos (soaked for 30 minutes to an hour)
Coriander - 2 tblspoon freshly chopped
Oil - 2 tblspoon
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Kasuri Methi - 1 tspoon
Asafetidaa - 1 pinch
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tspoon
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tspoon
Red chili powder - 1/4 tspoon
Coriander powder - 1 tspoon
Garam Masala - 1/4 tspoon
Salt - to taste
Water - 1 cup to adjust the gravy thickness

Method:

Wash the tomatoes and cut them into cubes, cut the green chilies and ginger piece roughly.
Grind tomatoes, green chilies, ginger pieces and soaked cashews to fine paste. Keep aside.
Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds and asafetida into it.
Now add the grind-ed paste to it. Roast it well.
Now add the dry spices, turmeric, coriander, red chili and garam masala into it.
Fry this over medium heat until the oil starts to appear on the sides and top of the masala.
While the gravy mix is cooking, roast the fox-nuts and cashews in another pan until they turn golden.
Stir the gravy mix in between to avoid it sticking on the pan. When the oil appears on top of the mix add one cup of water to it. Now add the salt and 1 tblspoon of fresh coriander and Kasuri methi , stir it well.
Let the gravy boil. after one boil add the roasted cashews and foxnuts into the gravy.
Cover the pan with a lid for 5 minutes to let the foxnuts soak the spices into it.
Take out the curry on a serving platter and garnish with freshly chopped coriander and some fresh cream.
One of the best curry/sabzi is ready to be served with Parantha and Rice.
This recipe will serve somewhat 4-5 people, depending onto the portion size you choose.

Baked Mix Veggie Pakoda

noreply@blogger.com (Saumya Mishra) — Fri, 17 Jul 2015 18:05:00 +0000

Pakodas are the all time favorite snack in most of the families. To make them a tiny bit healthy I prefer to Bake them. I preferably bake the pakodas, for all my dishes needs pakodas, be it the Kadhi, Kofte, or Snack time pakodas.

In Rainy season, Pakodas and Masala Chai is the best evening snack. Everyone in my family knows if it rains, they are gonna get a lot many variety of pakodas for snack with their choice of Drinks. I, sometimes fry them and most of the times bake them.

This rainy day, the treat was mix veggie pakodas with coffee and masala tea. You can use your choice of mix veggies, spices and gramflour. mixed well and baked to perfection. Chai is ready, Balcony table is set with light music on Radio, life is a blessing. Try these baked veggie pakodas in your kitchen and set the environment like this. Family will adore it and you will too. This recipe will participate in Meat Free Monday link up at Tinned Tomatoes. Until Next Time......................... Happy Cooking Friends, Saumya

Ingredients:

Mix Veggie - 2 cups (Par boiled)
Gram Flour - 1 - 1/2 cups
Salt - To taste
Garam Masala - 1/2 tspoon
Red Chili Powder - 1/4 tspoon
Baking Soda - 1/4 tspoon
Lemon Juice - 2 tspoon
Green Chili - 2 finely chopped
Coriander - 1/4 cup finely chopped
Water - for adjusting the batter
Oil - 1 tspoon (optional)

Method:

Par boil the mix veggies in microwave for 5-7 minutes, use the big bowl.
Preheat the oven to 200c and line a baking sheet with nonstick paper.
I used the frozen veggies, mix of Carrot, Peas, Beans, Corn, Onion and peppers.
In the same bowl add the gramflour, garam masala, red chili powder, green chili, coriander and salt. Mix well.

Add the oil if using at this stage.
If the veggies have less water add few spoons of water to adjust the batter consistency. The batter should be on thick side not runny.
If you feel the batter is runny add few tspoon of gramflour.
Now add the baking soda and lemon juice, mix very well.
At this point batter will start to bee fluffy.
Scoop the desired size on the baking tray.

Bake the pakodas on 200c for 12-15 minutes or until golden on top.

Serve these baked mix veggie pakodas with condiments and masala chai. I hope more and more viewers will love this recipe as this is going to part of Meat Free Monday at Tinned Tomatoes.

Thali Menu - 7

noreply@blogger.com (Saumya Mishra) — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 11:51:00 +0000

Thali (Hindi: थाली) is an Indian meal made up of a selection of various dishes. Thali dishes vary from region to region in South, North East and west India and are usually served in small bowls, called katori, which are placed on a round tray, the actual thali; often a steel plat made with multiple compartments is used. Typical dishes include rice, dal, vegetables, roti, papad, yoghurt, small amounts of chutney or pickle, and a sweet dish to top it off.

Thalis are sometimes referred to by the regional characteristic of the dishes they contain. For example one may encounter Punjabi thali, Rajasthani thali, Gujarati thali and Maharashtrian thali. In many parts of India, the bread and the rice portions are not served together in the thali. Typically, the bread is offered first with rice being served afterwards, often in a separate bowl or dish.

This Thali Menu -7 has Gajar ke Kofte, Baingan Ka Bharta, Boondi Raita, Rice and Roti.

Happy Cooking...Until next time, Saumya

Recipe Links:

Baingan Bharta
Gajar Ke Kofte

Baked Gajar Ke Kofte / Baked Carrot Dumplings in Spiced Gravy

noreply@blogger.com (Saumya Mishra) — Mon, 13 Jul 2015 13:15:00 +0000

I love experimenting in my kitchen, specially with Kadhi and Kofte. As many as vegetables you can cook and has less moisture can be best for experimenting in these dishes. Up to now I've made several kind of Koftas but didn't get chance to click every time but few of them I've posted here.

This time while thinking to make Koftas, I saw leftover grated carrot (after making carrot muffins). I thought to use it for Kofta dumplings. So this recipe calls for goodness of carrots. As everyone knows, Carrots are awesome source of vitamin A and C, so why not use it in more new ways to feed our kids.

Some information about Kofta, they are introduced in India by in decades ago in Mughal era. It's shaped like meatballs, sometimes coated and sometimes not then deep fried in the oil. Indian and surrounding countries Koftas are served in a spicy gravy, as the dry version is often known as Kebab.

Lets see the recipe and some pictorial about making "Baked Gajar Ke Kofte". I baked the Kofta dumplings instead of frying them, so the curry is on healthier side of Indian food. So here is the recipe for you all to try. I would love hear your take on this recipe. Until next time...............Happy Cooking friends, Saumya

Ingredients:

For Koftas:

Grated Carrot - 1 cup grated
Gramflour - 4 tblspoon
Salt - To taste
Amchoor - 1/2 tspoon
Garam Masala - 1/2 tspoon
Red Chilli Powder - 1/4 tspoon
Baking Soda - 1/8 tspoon
Coriander - 1 tblspoon chopped
Water - for making batter

For Kofta Gravy:

Cumin Seeds - 1/4 tspoon
Asafetida/Hing - 1 pinch
Onions - 2 finely chopped
Garlic - 4 cloves finely chopped
Ginger - 1/2 inch finely chopped
Tomatoes - 2 large finely chopped
Brown Sugar - 1 tspoon
Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Amchoor powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Coriander powder - 1 teaspoon
Garam masala - 1/2 teaspoon
Red Chili Powder - 1/4 tspoon
Kitchen King Masala - 2 tspoon (Optional)
Salt - to taste
Oil - 1 tblspoon for tempering
Water - 2 cup or as per your choice of thickness
Coriander - 2 tblspoon finely chopped

Method:

For Kofta balls:

Mix everything listed under Kofta ingredients, except water in a bowl.

Pre-heat the oven at 200c and line a baking tray with parchment paper and grease with 3-4 drops of oil.
With the help of water mix the ingredients and form a thick batter.

Scoop the batter of desired size on the baking sheet.

Bake it on preheated oven for 15-17 minutes or until the dumplings are puffed and golden.
Do not keep the batter for long time after mixing else dumplings will not puff and result in flat and stiff.
Once baked keep the dumplings in a serving bowl.

For Kofta Gravy:

Warm 1 tblspoon oil heavy bottom pan.
Add all the cumin and hing to it. Add chopped garlic and ginger in it.

Once garlic starts to turn golden, add chopped onion and sugar into it. Sugar will help with breaking the acid of gravy and caramelising the onions.

When Onions starts to turn brown and you smell the caramelised sugar, add in the tomatoes and salt into it. Mix well.

After 2-3 minutes of mixing the tomatoes add the spices, turmeric, coriander, amchoor, red chili, garam masala and kitchen king. Mix well.

Add 2 cup of water and mix well. Cover the pan and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes on medium flame.
After 20 minutes, gravy will be cooked thoroughly and thicken a bit.

Pour the gravy over the dumplings in the bowl.

Garnish it with fresh coriander and serve hot with choice of Roti, Chapati or Paratha and rice.
These Koftas go very well in any dinner or lunch menu party. This can also be a part of your festive Thali food.

Baingan Bharta / Aubergine in Spiced Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Saumya Mishra) — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 10:51:00 +0000

Baingan Bharta is yet another delicious dish from Punjabi cuisine. My family , specially my Husband loves eating Baingan Bharta. We cook Baingan Bharta in two styles without Fry Tadka (Like Raw Chutney mix) and with Tadka.

This time I made by roasting the tadka with oven roasted Aubergine/Brinjal. Baingan bharta is largely made in North India and served with Roti, Chapati and Paratha. Raw onion slices and green chutney is the best companions of Baingan Bharta. I do not use awful lot of Spices, as with subtle taste of spices will bring out the smoky and roast aroma of brinjal very well. With just enough spices and oil makes this recipe awesome in taste.

We normally eat Baingan Bharta with Some kind of Kofte, Dal Makhani or Tadka Daal. This dish can be served in Lunch or dinner. I love to eat this in breakfast , if there is any leftover from dinner. Here I'm writing my way / my version of Baingan Bharta recipe. Have a go onto this simple recipe and wow your family with the awesome taste and aroma of this dish.

Ingredients:

Brinjals -1 kg / 2 large (Also known as Eggplants and Aubergine)
Onions -3 medium diced
Ginger -1 inch piece finely chopped
Garlic -5-7 cloves finely chopped
Green chillies -2 finely chopped
Tomatoes -4 medium finely chopped
Oil -2 tbspoons
Asafetida -2 pinch
Cumin seeds -1 tspoon
Turmeric -1 tspoon
Coriander Powder -2 tspoon
Red chilli powder -1/2 tspoon
Garam Masala -1 tspoon
Amchoor - 1/2 tspoon
Salt -to taste
Fresh coriander -4 tbspoon chopped

Method:

Wash, dry and prick eggplants. Roast them over open flame or in a tandoor or in preheated oven until the skin starts to burn and separate or peel off.

Eggplants will start to shrink when they starts to cook from inside. At this point, I add diced onions and peeled garlic cloves and roasted them in oven for 5 more minutes.

Now let them cool down. You can cool them by dipping them in water as well, which I avoid to do.
Now remove the skin and mash the pulp completely.
In a blender, blend together roasted onion, garlic, ginger and tomatoes. It should not be smooth puree, just blend it for few pulse to keep it coarse.

Heat oil in a kadai or fry pan. Add cumin seeds and asafetida to it.
As cumin starts to crackle, add the coarse mixture of onion, ginger, garlic and tomatoes.
Add finely chopped green chillies and cook for a minute.

Now add the mashed roasted eggplants. Mix well.

Now add all dry spices turmeric, coriander powder, red chili powder, amchoor, salt and mix very well.

Cook for 10-12 minutes over medium heat. Cover the pan while cooking it.

Stir in between these 10-12 minutes for few times, so that it doesn't stick and start to burn.
When Bhartha is cooked it will leave all the oil to the sides and this will look like thick mash.
Add about 3 tblspoon of chopped coriander in it and mix.

Baingan Bharta is ready to serve.
Garnish it with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot. Bhartha can be a good company for Tadka daal or dal makhani with hot roti for lunch.

Punjabi Bhatura

noreply@blogger.com (Saumya Mishra) — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 10:33:00 +0000

As the name says, this is a hearty food. Punjabi food is spicy, tangy and delicious. Chole Bhature is the best known combination of Punjabi cuisine. We often eat Chole Bhature , because my family is a big fan of this dish, even friends come over for the chole bhature party.

Bhatura/Bhature, is made another form of fried bread made from plain flour/maida or sometimes 50:50 ratio of wheat flour and Maida. I make it each way. Some people add semolina in it to get the crunchy texture, but that makes Bhatura to soak a lot of oil, which noone in my family likes.

This recipe of Bhatura is my mom's recipe and tried and tested by me several times. So I totally trust this recipe. My mum keeps the dough to ferment overnight and then knead it again to active the gluten of the flour. Thats what I've learned from her and use her way of making Soft, fluffy and delicious Bhaturas.

Few ingredients, less hassle recipe is the best recipe for me. You also try this recipe at home and leave your feedback in comments below. I would love to hear from you. Until next time............... Happy Cooking Friends, Saumya

Ingredients:

Maida/Plain Flour - 1-1/2 cups
Salt - to taste / 1 tspoon
Oil/Butter - 1 tblspoon + for deep frying
Yogurt - 1/3 cup
Baking Powder - 1/2 tspoon
Baking Soda - 1/4 tspoon
Warm Water - 1/2 cup to as required

Method:

In a mixing bowl, take the yoghurt, baking powder, baking soda, 1 tblspoon oil, salt and flour.
Mix well, with the help of water form a soft smooth and pliable dough.

If the yogurt is thick and has it's water/whey in it, probably you don't need all the water.
If the yogurt is thick, then to thin the batter, add more water.

Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and set it aside in a warm place for atleast 3-4 hours to get the fermentation. if the weather is too cold, keep the dough overnight..
The 4 hours later/next day you will see the dough will be more than double in size and has bubbles in it.
Punch and Knead the dough again to make it smooth.

Divide it into 8-10 balls (depending on the size of Bhatura you like) and roll them into 5-6 inch discs.

Heat oil or ghee in heavy Karahi/Pan and deep fry the bhaturas, same way as Poori or Kachori.

Bhaturas are the best companion of Punjabi Chole. Serve them Hot with Chole, Raita, Salad and Chutney.

Whole Wheat Sesame Seed Crackers

noreply@blogger.com (Saumya Mishra) — Tue, 07 Jul 2015 12:13:00 +0000

Since I have figured that baking is not "Complicated" , I've become a fan of baking. Cookies and crackers are another step towards my baking journey. I nowadays try to make new recipes of cookies and crackers. I choose to make them in little quantity, so that I get another chance of making new flavour of them.

I use to buy sesame seed cracker from shops, as I do LOVE them with my tea. So thought to try baking them myself and with wheat flour. Aim was to get right crunch and flavour. So tried my hands on this recipe and thankful to say that I got almost there.

I still feel it needs a bit of tweaking, which I need to figure out. I'll update the changes, once I'll perfect the taste I want. Kids and family was happy with the way I made them, as they liked the subtle flavour of black pepper and seeds.

Very easy and quick recipe for any teatime gathering. You can top them with different topping of cheese, condiments or dips. Try the recipe in your kitchen and leave your feedback in the comments below..............Until next time, Happy Cooking Friends, Saumya

Ingredients:

Wheat Flour - 1 cup
Baking Soda - 1/4 tspoon
Baking Powder - 1/2 tspoon
Salt - 1 tspoon or to taste
Sesame Seeds - 2 tblspoon
Poppy Seeds - 1 tspoon
Black Pepper - 1 tspoon
Butter - 2 tblspoon
Milk - 4 tblspoon

Method:

In a deep bowl, Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a bowl, then mix in the sesame seeds, poppy seeds and black pepper.

Using your fingertips, rub in the butter until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Or in the Stand mixer use the paddle attachment and ad the but, now mix on low speed until it looks like crumbs.

Make a well in the centre, then add cold milk.
Now mix it with your hands to make it a smooth dough. Don’t overmix.

Chill the dough for 15 minutes in the fridge.
Meanwhile Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line 2 baking tray with parchment paper.
Roll the dough into 1-2mm thick circle. Prick it all over and cut the choice of shapes out of it.

Place them on the baking sheets. Repeat until all the dough is used.

Bake the crackers for 20-30 minutes or until lightly golden.
Once starts to turn golden take them out from oven and move on to a wire rack to cool down completely.

You can serve the crackers with various toppings or plain with your choice of Tea-Coffee.

Coconut and Mix Berries Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Saumya Mishra) — Mon, 06 Jul 2015 03:00:00 +0000

Cookies are the best mate for teatime, specially the evening tea. For me cookies are anytime friend, even when I'm not in mood for breakfast or dinner. Adding some berries and coconut makes them more delish. I always keep some berry mix in my pantry to make such little goodies to pamper my family.

This berry mix has cranberries, golden raisin, black raisin, inca berries, cherries, blueberries, and bing cherries. Mix of sweet and sour taste of berries gave the cookies different taste. The subtle earthy taste of coconut is liked by almost everyone.

My family enjoys these cookies with their tea and coffee. Kids love them as a snack with their flavoured milk. Easy and quick recipe for them makes it hassle free. You can use any berries you have at home. I used wheat flour to make these cookies but it can be replaced with APF/Maida.

Try the recipe and leave your feedback in comments below. I'm sure they will trun out to be a hit for you as well like for me. Until Next Time......................Happy Cooking Friends, Saumya

Ingredients:

Wheat Flour - 1 cup
Mix Berries - 1/2 cup
Desiccated Coconut - 1/4 cup (Fine)
Granulated Sugar - 1/2 cup
Butter - 3 tblspoon (Semi Soft)
Baking Powder - 1/2 tspoon
Baking Soda - 1/4 tspoon
Salt - a pinch
Milk - 1/4 cup to as required
Vanilla Extract - 1 tspoon (This can be any extract of your choice)

Method:

Line a baking tray with non-stick paper/mat.
In a stand mixer / mixing bowl, Sift flour, baking powder, Baking Soda and Salt.
Add in the Sugar, Fine desiccated Coconut and Butter.

Start mixing on low speed / rub it with hands.
Once the flour starts to look like crumble add in the berries, mix well.
Now add the milk and gently for the shape of dough. Do not knead it like Chapati dough.

Make small balls out of dough and flatten them a little.
Place them all on baking tray and chill for 30 minutes.

Pre heat the oven on 180c and bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes or until the sides starts to get a little golden.
You can keep them a little more (only 2 more minutes) , if you want a bit crunchy cookies.
Once baked to your choice of crunch take them out on cooling rack to cool them completely.
These cookies go very well with evening tea , coffee and milkshake.
These are my favourite cookies for reading time tea.
Kids will also love the sourness of berries and sweetness of coconut.

Wholewheat Banana Orange Almond Loaf

noreply@blogger.com (Saumya Mishra) — Sun, 05 Jul 2015 10:02:00 +0000

Cake, Cupcakes, Pastries, Muffins, Cookies!!!!! Thats whats in my mind nowadays. How strange is that ? When you want to stay away from Carb you just think about Carb but Carb. I'm on to mission of baking cookies and cakes with wholewheat. I just want to finish everything in my pantry and want to shop again. It's like spring cleaning of my pantry. Whatever I see as a leftover packs, I feel like making/baking something with that, Specially nuts and berries.

Once I read somewhere that women who eat whole wheat weigh less and that stuck in my mind. Whole grains, if used intelligently in the diet, helps in lot many everyday problems in women's health. Improvement in Metabolism, Prevention from Type-2 diabetes, Prevents gallstones, Relief Chronic Inflammation, Helps in prevention in breast cancer and what not. Women should thankful to Wheat/Wheat Flour/Whole Wheat grains, as they are really helpful for their well-being.

Nuts, specially Almonds have always been known for their goodness of good fat and brain development. They help in lowering your cholesterol, reduce the risk of heart disease, Prevents your body from cardiovascular diseases and what not. If eaten with it's skin, you increase the benefits of Almonds for rejuvenating your skin health. Some research says, Almonds help you maintain your weight loss as well, as Almonds good fat helps release the energy from body and keeps you going for long time.

I, as you all know, am a big fan of whole grains, nuts and berries. So to finish my left over almonds and mix berries, I chose to make some whole wheat almond loaf for teatime. I was left with ripe bananas, Almonds, and 1 orange on the worksurface. So here goes my hands and brain to start the recipe and bake a delicious eggless loaf to with evening tea. Recipe of this loaf is very easy and can be made with everyday ingredients in your kitchen. Try your hands on this recipe and enjoy a wholesome delicious and healthy Cake with your choice of drinks.......................... Until next time, Happy Cooking friends, Saumya

Ingredients:

Wheat Flour - 1-1/2 cups
Ripe Bananas - 3 medium
Orange Juice - 1/4 cup
Brown Sugar - 1/4 cup
Oil - 1/4 cup
Baking Powder - 1 tspoon
Baking Soda - 1/2 tspoon
Orange Essence - 1 tspoon
Salt - a pinch
Chopped Almonds - 1 cup
Mixed Berries - 1/4 cup (optional)

Method:

Preheat your oven to 180. Grease a loaf pan with butter and keep aside.
Peel and mash the bananas with a fork or you can use a blender. Blend in the orange juice with bananas.
Mix in the Essence, Oil and Sugar in the banana and orange puree.
Add in the dried mix berries. This is an optional step, I just saw them and added them.
Sieve the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in big mixing bowl, keep aside.
Coat 3/4 cup of Almonds in the flour mixture.
This ensures that the Almonds do not sink to the bottom of the pan while baking.
We will use the remaining almonds for garnish.
Fold in the coated Almonds with flour mixture.
Now gently mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients with the help of a spatula, making sure not to over mix.
Pour the batter in the greased pan and give it a gentle shake/ tap on work surface to take out any air bubbles.
Garnish with the remaining almonds on top of the Loaf.
Bake the loaf for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted at the center on the bread comes out clean.
The cooking time depends on the oven temperature.
Let the loaf cool at the kitchen counter for 5 minutes in the pan and then place it on the cooling rack to cool completely before slicing.
This Loaf can be stored upto 3-4 days in an airtight container.

Leftover Vegetable Pulao and Cheese Patties

noreply@blogger.com (Saumya Mishra) — Fri, 03 Jul 2015 12:00:00 +0000

I quite "not throw" but use the leftover food most of the time, especially the dinner leftovers. Most of the dinner leftovers make very good Breakfast Dishes. I always look for the "leftover Rice and Chapati" to use in making something delicious for breakfast.

For instance, from one of the dinner recently, I was left with 1 and 1/2 cup of Vegetable Pulao. I was thinking it's not even a full portion for someone. So thats going to be converted into something else. Kept it carefully in the fridge and next morning i was up with a recipe in mind for a tasty breakfast.

I gathered all the ingredients, in my mind for this breakfast treat. Mixed it all up along with the leftover Pulao, shallow fry that and we have yummy, tasty, delicious Patties to go with Buns, Cookies and morning drinks for breakfast.

Here's presenting Leftover Vegetable Pulao and Cheese Patties. Kids simply loved eating them with out any fussy morning face, Hubby asked me to make them again whenever we have any leftover pulao and me so happy to see them having something they liked.

Try this quick, simple and easy recipe in your kitchen and see your family members face lighting with joy and mouth singing praises for you. Let me know your feedback in the comments below.................... Until Next Time, Happy Cooking Friends, Saumya

Ingredients:

Leftover Vegetable Pulao - 1 - 1/2 cup
Gram Flour - 3 tblspoon
Grated Cheese - 2 tblspoon
Desiccated Coconut - 1 tblspoon
Salt - to taste / optional
Red Chili Flakes - to taste / optional
Lemon Juice - 1 tblspoon
Oil - 2 tblspoon to shallow fry

Method:

In a heavy bottom pan, dry roast the gram flour for 3-4 minutes.
Tip over the roasted gramflour into the Pulao bowl.
Now add cheese, salt, chili flakes, lemon juice and coconut into the same bowl.
Mix well with your hand to give it a texture of loose dough. Refer the picture.

Divide the Pulao dough into 8-9 equal pieces with greased hands.
Heat a heavy bottom pan on medium heat.
Grease your hands again and shape the dough balls into patties.
Shallow Fry the Patties , 4-5 at a time, giving them space to cook properly.
Fry them until golden from both sides, flipping carefully in between.
Once all of them are done, Patties are ready to be served, as a starter, light lunch with salad, tea-time snack or breakfast as we did.
You can also sandwich them with buns, baps or Pav with Chutneys, Condiments or sauces.
Enjoy the light, crunchy and filling patties.

Notes:
You can also use Oats powder, but I was run out it so used gram flour.

You can replace Cheese with crumbled Paneer.

Coconut is totally optional.

Spices are also optional, if the Pulao is spiced and floured extremely hot.

Chinese Chili Soya Mushroom

noreply@blogger.com (Saumya Mishra) — Wed, 01 Jul 2015 21:56:00 +0000

Chinese vegetarian food or say Indian style chinese food has always been my weakness. I LOVE eating Chinese food, Noodles, Fried rice, Manchurian, Chilli Paneer and what not. The smell of Garlic, Ginger, Onion fried with soy sauce and vinegar just makes me go crazy. On top if it has Capsicum and Mushroom, I just can't stop eating like manic.

Anyways, I can write a diary on my love of Chinese food :D So today was one of the day when try to meet everyone's demands for the dinner made me feel like eating something spicy, mushroomy and chinese. Son wanted Mango smoothie, Daughter wanted Biryani and I wanted Chinese food.

So here goes mum in the Kitchen with all the weapons (Kitchen gadgets and utensils) to satisfy the demands of the day. Soya & Vegetable Biryani, Mango Smoothie with tooti-frooti of top and most favorite of Mum "Chinese Chili Soya Mushroom".

I ate Chili Mushroom a lot of time in many many restaurants around London, especially the buffet restaurants. Paneer Chili will cost a lot , I understand that, so the Mushroom Chili. Thats reason, I think makes the restaurateurs choose Mushroom Chili in the menu. BUT to be honest, I'm happy with this choice, First it's tasty, Second it's less fatty and Third I love it.

So here is my version of Chinese Chili Mushroom, with goodness of Soya Chunks and some gravy to help with Biryani. I can't recommend enough the dish to try into your Kitchen. You can make it dry for snack or tea time accompaniment. Simply use thin slices for Mushroom and fully drained soya chunks. I'm sure family and you will love eating this dish just like mine did......................Until Next Time, Happy Cooking Friends, Saumya

This recipe is also participating in Meat Free Monday round up at Tinned Tomatoes. Have a look there for more yummy and delicious vegetarian recipes from other bloggers.

Ingredients:

Mushroom - 6 medium cut into 4 pieces
Soya Chunks - 1 cup Large Chunks
Capsicum - 2 cups Julienne mixed colour
Onion - 2 large Julienne
Spring onions - 1/4 cup green part to garnish
Garlic - 5 cloves
Ginger - 1 inch
Soya Sauce - 2 tbsp
Rice Vinegar - 1 tblspoon
Corn flour - 2 tbsp
Chili flakes - 1 tblspoon
Salt - to taste
Oil - 1 tblspoon

Method:

Wash and cut the Capsicums (Green, Orange, Yellow and Red) in Julienne, keep aside.
Wash and boil Soya Chunks or 5 minutes, drain and keep aside in a sieve to drain the water completely.
Wash and cut the mushrooms in 4 pieces, keep aside.
Cut the onions in thin julienne, make garlic and ginger paste, keep aside.
Heat the oil in pan, add Onions into it, fry until golden.
Add in the Ginger Garlic puree/paste into it. Fry until the raw smell goes away.
Add in the Mushroom and Soya chunks. Fry on high flame for few minutes to dry the moisture in the mushroom and soya chunks.
In a small bowl, mix soy sauce, cornflour, vinegar, salt and chilli flakes. Mix well with 1/4 cup of water.
Add this mixture in the pan, Cover it and let it cook for about 5-10 minutes.
Adjust the water for thin/thick gravy as per choice.
Now turn the flame to high and mix it well for few minutes.
Finally give it a good stir and garnish with spring onions, Onion slices or herbs.
Serve hot as a starter or as a side-dish in lunch or dinner menu.

This recipe is also participating in Meat Free Monday round up at Tinned Tomatoes. Have a look there for more yummy and delicious vegetarian recipes from other bloggers.

Tofu,Veggie & Cheese Topped Bell Peppers

noreply@blogger.com (Saumya Mishra) — Mon, 29 Jun 2015 10:59:00 +0000

When it's the season for good vegetables and fruits, it makes me feel out of the world. I get many more different fruits and veggies for experiments in my Kitchen. I, even my family loves eating our veggies. I often make stuffed veggies and bake them.

My kids are also good with the veggies, it's just I need to make the veggies a bit attractive for them to enjoy. I enjoy feeding my kids home-made dishes, just to ease my heart and mind. Well, well, well, Who doesn't. Lets come to the Dish we are going to see in today's post.

Sometimes, in the season I buy Bells peppers in plenty, wash, deseed and cut them to freeze for making my job easy in the Kitchen. This time me and hubby both bought big packs of bell peppers and even after doing my regular freezing, there was a lot of them left.

If you guys remember, I made some tofu stuffed Buns few days back. I was left with half pack tofu in the fridge, which I needed to finish ASAP. So thats the oppertunity for me. I made "Tofu,Veggie & Cheese Topped Bell Peppers". My kids are a BIG BIG fan of dairy products and still don't know much difference between Indian Cottage Cheese (Paneer) and Tofu. They love eating both in same manner, they simply love both of these dairy products.

Very easy to assemble and healthy because of less oil and light cheese. Goodness of Tofu and Veggies, let your mind to peace as well. Try the recipe in your Kitchen, I'm sure your family will love them just as mine did.....................Until Next Time, happy cooking friends, Saumya

Ingredients:

Mix Bell Peppers - 4 Wash, de-seeded and cut into half
Tofu - 1/2 cup crumbled
Mix Veggies - 1/2 cup (par-boiled)
Grated Cheese - 4 tblspaoon
Coriander - 2 tblspoon freshly chopped
Lemon Juice - 1/2 tspoon
Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tspoon
Garlic Powder - 1/4 tspoon
Salt - to taste
Oil/Butter - 1 tblspoon

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200c. Grease a roasting tray with cooking spray.
Wash, de-seed the bell peppers and Cut into half. I used 3 green peppers and 1 red pepper.
In a bowl, mix crumbled tofu, veggies, 2 tblspoon cheese, red chilli powder, garlic powder, salt, freshly chopped coriander and lemon juice. Mix well and keep aside.
Run a little butter in and out on each half of the peppers.
Spoon the filling into each greased bell peppers. I used 2 tblspoon of filling, because the bell peppers I used was relatively small in size.
Press the filling firmly into the bell peppers to avoid spilling it everywhere.
Place them all on the roasting tray.
Sprinkle rest of 3 tblspoon of grated cheese generously on each bell pepper.
Spray some cooking oil on to them. This step is totally optional.
Bake the peppers in preheated oven at 200c for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese on top starts to turn golden.

Once baked, Serve the bell peppers hot with Soup, Salad and Toasted bread.
My family loves to eat them this way, how does yours?????

Mango, Pineapple and Cranberry Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (Saumya Mishra) — Fri, 26 Jun 2015 09:41:00 +0000

I prefer making muffins and cupcakes, over loaf and big round cakes. I've noticed that eggless cakes/muffins taste better if consumed atleast 10 hours later. Not sure about the reason but it's my personal observation. I normally bake the cakes /muffins/loafs/cupcakes in the morning and they taste amazing by evening. The texture changes and sweetness enhances.

I often wondered about the difference in Cupcakes and Muffins. If you are a foodie, you might know that English Muffins and American Muffins are different. In America Muffins are made just like cupcakes. In UK, there is a flat bread type, made on griddle, is called Muffin. American Muffins are good in a way everyone gets their own individual size of cake. Muffins can be made sweet or savory. We usually make savory muffins for breakfast.

As it is a season of exotic fruits, I thought to make muffins with those exotic fruits. I found 2 packs of Mango and Pineapple bites, leftover in Kids Snack Pantry, Some dried cranberries left from cereal drawer. You all must be knowing by now that I'm a big fan of baking with whole-wheat flour.

So assembling all the ingredients and heating the oven helped me make these deliciously sounding Muffins. We were planning a short getaway from home, so made few more for holiday. Easy peasy recipe as always, try them and you will pat yourself on the back for good job. Drop your feedback in the comments below.............Until next time, Happy Cooking Friends, Saumya

Ingredients:

Whole Wheat Flour - 1 cup
Corn Flour - 1 tblspoon
Baking Powder - 1 tspoon
Baking Soda - 1/2 tspoon
Muscovado Sugar - 1/4 cup
Oil - 1/4 cup
Yogurt - 2/4 cup
Lemon Juice - 1 tspoon
Orange Extract - 1 tspoon
Dried Mango bites - 2 tblspoon
Dried Pineapple cubes - 2 tblspoon
Dried Cranberries - 4 tblspoon
Water - 2-4 tblspoon (depending on flour/thickness of batter)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180c and line the tray with 10 muffin liners.
In a deep mixing bowl, Mix Sugar, Yogurt, Oil and Orange extract, until the sugar is totally dissolve.

Sift Flour, Baking Soda and Baking powder into yogurt & sugar mixture.

Add in the cornflour, mix dry and wet ingredients well to avoid any lumps.

Now add int the dried fruits, if you find them very big in size, chop them before adding in.

At this time I added 2 tblspoon of water and 1 tspoon of lemon juice into the batter.
Adding water loosened the batter a bit and lemon juice made air bubbles into it.
Do not keep the batter for later baking.
Pour in the batter into muffin liners and bake them for about 15 minutes or until they are golden on top and skewer comes out clean.
Leave them to cool for 5 minutes in the tray and then take them out on cooling rack to cool completely.

Muffins are ready to be served with choice of drinks. These are excellent treats for kids as their after school snack.

Baked Moong Daal Kachori / Baked Mung lentil Stuffed Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Saumya Mishra) — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 14:12:00 +0000

Kachoris are all time favourite item in my house. We can eat them in ay meal time, be it breakfast, lunch, brunch, teatime or dinner. We eat them with tea, shakes, make like chaat or as and how we want to eat them. At the same time I need to keep an eye on everyone's oil intake and health. Afterall healthy family is a happy family.

This time when everyone demanded for Kachori I baked them. To my surprise family loved them and ate them until only 2 left for me. I'm ok with that, just because they enjoyed it. How satisfy you feel, when you see your family smiling while eating.

I also made one batch to take them with us on our Caravan Holiday. Very handy snack, when you do not have extended kitchen gadgets just like your own kitchen. Made some muffins and cookies as well for that holiday. Will post the muffin recipe soon.

The recipe is also not very complicated, I would not say very easy but still easy to make. Baking will also reduce the work of frying and less heating of you kitchen in these hot summer days. So try this recipe and this time bake the Kachoris instead of frying. I'm sure you will love them. Let me know your feedback on these baked kachoris by commenting below........Until Next Time, Happy Cooking Friends, Saumya

This recipe will also represent the blog at this Month's Monthly Masala Party at WhitBit's Indian Kitchen. Visit the link and see more Indian recipes and spread the love.

Ingredients:

For the Dough:
Whole Wheat Flour - 1 cup
Plain Flour - 1/2 cup
Semolina - 1/2 cup
Cornflour - 1 tblspoon
Amchoor - 1/2 tspoon
Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tspoon
Salt - to taste - 1 tspoon
Butter/Oil - 2 tblspoon
Yogurt - 1 tblspoon
Water - as required

For The Stuffing:
Moon Daal/Mung Lentil - 1 cup washed and soaked overnight
Carom Seeds/Ajwain - 1 tspoon
Turmeric - 1/4 tspoon
Coriander Powder - 2 tspoon
Amchoor - 1/2 tspoon
Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tspoon
Garam Masala - 1/2 tspoon
Salt - to taste
Oil - 2 tblspoon

Method:

Wash and soak the Moong Dal overnight.
Pressure cook the daal with just 1/2 cup of water for 2 whistles, just to soften it.
Take it out from the pressure cooker and keep aside.
Meanwhile lets prepare the dough for the Kachori.
Mix all the dry ingredients listed under "For the Dough" except water, in a deep mixing bowl/stand mixer.

Add Butter and Yogurt and Knead it to a stiff dough with the help of water.

Keep the dough aside, covered with a damp cloth.

Now in a pan/karahi, heat 1 tblspoon of oil, when warm ass carom seeds into it.
When seeds start to crackle, add the Cooked daal and all the dry spices, Turmeric, Coriander powder, Amchoor, Garam Masala, Red Chili powder and salt.

Start mixing the daal in the pan with spices and oil.

Keep mixing and pressing the Daal to make it in to the mushy texture. Keep mixing and roasting until it becomes dry and starts to leave the pan from all sides.

You can roast the Daal as much as you like to make it crispy or keep it soft.
Once roasted and mixed, take the daal out on a plate and let it cool down.
Pre heat the oven to 200c. Prepare a baking tray with nonstick paper/mat.
Divide the Dough into equal portion of 18-20 balls, and shape them into balls, depending on the size you like.
I made 18 dough balls out of this quantity.
Spread balls into round discs, place a portion of cooked daal mixture, pinch the edges together and seal into a round.
Brush the kachoris with oil and place them on the lined baking tray.
Put tray in the preheated oven and bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.
Do not over cook the Kachoris if the don't look very dark brown, as they will keep cooking with the heat inside them, just like other baking items.
Take the Kachoris out from oven once golden and keep them on cooling rack to let them cool a bit.
Serve the Kachoris with choice of Chutneys and Dips.

This recipe will also represent the blog at this Month's Monthly Masala Party at WhitBit's Indian Kitchen. Visit the link and see more Indian recipes and spread the love.

Nutella Leaf Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Saumya Mishra) — Tue, 23 Jun 2015 10:30:00 +0000

Hurry!!!! This is the 200th post of my blog and I'm so excited to share this with you all. You are all who made it possible, encouraging me to cook and post more recipes. I want to thank you all for all the love and encouragement, you have shown for my blog.

Lets celebrate with something simple but everyone's favourite. COOKIES!!!!! Yes, Cookies and that too made with NUTELLA!!!! Ha ha ha , I know I get all excited talking about nutella. This is something I can eat all day long, but at the same time I'm very health conscious. So little bit at a time, that's what made me think of something I can eat within the limit but has pure taste of nutella.

Idea is to make Nutella cookies without so many stuff going in there. No oil, no sugar and no butter. Crispy and crunchy cookies. So just with 4 ingredients, I made these yumtastic cookies for evening tea. I'm now waiting for my darling daughter to come back from school and we can share our evening tea with these Nutella Leaf cookies.

Does the name sounds good. I love it, but you can shape them as you want and name them accordingly. Easiest recipe and yummiest cookies, is the theme of 200th post, so Thanks once again for all the love and encouragement. Presenting "Nutella Leaf Cookies". Try your hands on them and drop a comment with your feedback........Until Next Time, Happy Cooking Friends, Saumya

Ingredients:

Self Raising Flour - 1 cup
Nutella - 1/3 cup
Milk - 1 tblspoon
Nuts - 1 tblspoon (Mixed / Hazelnut) Ground

Method:

Line a baking sheet with baking mat/parchment.
In a stand mixer/Bowl, combine the Nutella & flour until it's like crumbs.
With the mixer running, add the milk and nuts.
Take it out from mixer, and combine it to form dough.
This dough will give you 30 cookies.
I made 16 cookies and freeze rest of the dough.
Divide the dough into equal parts depending on the size.
The simple way to make cookies is to roll it out on a board and cut out the desired shapes from cookie cutter.
I wanted a bit of adventure so I made 16 equal portions of dough.
Shaped and Carved them like leaves.
Place all the cut/shaped cookies on the lined baking tray.

Preheat the oven to 180c. While oven is heating keep the cookie tray in the fridge.
Bake these Nutella cuties in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, until crisp and just beginning to colour. Remove from the oven and transfer to wire racks to cool. Sorry about the lighting on the picture. It's a dull day.

Cookies are ready to serve with evening tea or as a snack for kids.
You can also sandwich them with Chocolate sauce, Nutella or Vanilla Buttercream.