Enjoy Cooking

Ginger Chutney (Allum Pacchadi): Andhra style

2015-01-22T19:43:00.002+05:30

Ginger Chutney (Allum Pacchadi): courtesy my friend Nameeta Reddy

Ingredients: (all approximate)

Ginger – peeled, washed and sliced

Tamarind – de-seeded, cleaned and soaked

Jaggery, Jeera, coriander seeds, dry Red chilies (Qty as in pic below), Salt to taste

Oil – 1 Tb spoon for roasting, 3-4 Tb spoons for seasoning - While seasoning a little more oil will help preserve the chutney

Salt to taste, Heeng, mustard seeds

Procedure:

1. Dry roast the red chilies for for abt 2-3 mins, add a spoon of Oil, lower the heat and add Ginger. Stir in between and roast for abt 4-5 mins. Some thin slices of Ginger my turn brown on edges. Add the coriander seeds, jeera & curry leave and stir for another 3-4 mins on low heat. Switch off the heat and let the roasted mixture cool.

2. Grind the roasted mix + tamarind pulp + jaggery into a fine paste. The strong smell & taste of ginger should be balanced by jeera, coriander and should have a balance of sour, sweetness and hot.

Seasoning: Heat 4 Tb spoons of oil in a pan to a medium level. Add mustard and heeng. Add the Paste to it and stir to fold in the oil. Lower the heat and cook the chutney until water is evaporated. Cool and store in a bottle. Keep in fridge and it will last for more than a month.

Enjoy it with Vada, Dosa, Idli, Paratha , Rice (with ghee) and sandwich.

Coriander Chutney- Andhra style

2015-01-22T19:41:00.000+05:30

Coriander Chutney: courtesy Nameeta Reddy

Ingredients: (all approximate)

Coriander Bunch – washed and remove only thick stems

Tamarind – de-seeded, cleaned and soaked

Green Chilies

Jaggery (Qty as in pic below), Salt to taste

Seasoning: Mustard seeds, Urad daal (1 Tb Spoon), Heeng, green curry leaves (I have dried, you can use fresh too)

Oil (4-5 Tb spoon depending on the quantity of green chili) – While seasoning a little more oil will help preserve the chutney.

Procedure:

1. Soak the de-seeded tamarind in warm water until it is soft.

2. Take a shallow pan and heat on high. Once heated lower the heat and add 1 Tb spoon of oil to it. Add the green chilies and close the lid. Turn off heat after 1 min. Stir or shake the chilies so that they do not burn. Let it cool.

3. Grind the Tamarind, green chilies, salt and jaggery to a fine paste. Add coriander and grind. Stems should all grind well, leaves can be coarse or fine. The taste should be tangy, sweet, balanced salt and hot.

Seasoning: Heat 5 Tb spoons of oil in a pan to a medium level. Add mustard, daal and curry leaves and heeng. Shake to avoid burning of daal but it should get roasted. Add the Paste to it and stir to fold in the oil. Lower the heat and cook the chutney until water is evaporated. Cool and store in a bottle. Keep in fridge and it will last for more than a month.

Enjoy it with Vada, Dosa, Idli, Paratha , Rice (with ghee) and sandwich.

Green Chili Chutney (Pachhi Mirpkayalu pachaddi)

2015-01-22T19:38:00.002+05:30

Green Chili Chutney (Pachhi Mirpkayalu pachaddi)- Andhra style chutney with the courtesy of my friend Nameeta Reddy

Ingredients: (all approximate)

Green chilies – washed and stems removed

Tamarind – a ball 1.5 times size of a lemon (lemon size that of Indian Lemon)

Salt to taste

Seasoning: Mustard seeds, Urad daal (1 Tb Spoon), Heeng, green curry leaves (I have dried, you can use fresh too)

Oil (2-3 Tb spoon depending on the quantity of green chili) – While seasoning a little more oil will help preserve the chutney

Procedure:

1. Soak the de-seeded tamarind in warm water until it is soft.

3. In a mixer take the tamarind and grind to a fine paste. Add chilies & Salt and grind to a coarse paste now.

Seasoning: Heat 2-3 Tb spoons of oil in a shallow pan to a medium level. Add mustard, daal and curry leaves and heeng. Shake to avoid burning of daal but it should get roasted. Add the Paste to it and stir to fold in the oil. Lower the heat and cook the chutney until water is evaporated. Cool and store in a bottle. Keep in fridge and it will last for more than a month.

Enjoy it with Vada, Dosa, Idli, Paratha or even Rice (with ghee). CAUTION: Eat in moderation as its very hot.

Peanut Chutney- Andhra style

2015-01-22T18:50:00.001+05:30

The Andhra chutney-

I have shared one peanut chutney of my style, here's another one shared by Nameeta ...

Peanut Chutney : 2 handfuls of raw peanuts (Erdnuss), roast them dry on a pan on medium heat stir at intervals so as to not let them burn. Turning slight brown on black patches during roasting is OK.

Let the Erdnuss cool slightly, the add Green chilli (Optional), curry leaves, salt and 1 tea spoon lemon juice and grind it in a blender/mixer. Add water while grinding.

Once done pour in the serving dish.

To season the chutney – Heat a small pan, add 1 spoon of oil. Once heated add mustard seeds and let them crackle. Switch off the heat and pour this hot seasoning in the chutney.

Green Daal Dosa (Pesarattu) – Traditional Andhra Dosa

2015-01-22T18:45:00.002+05:30

I have to thank my friend Nameeta for taking pains and sharing few recipes which I will post today. Nameeta is married in a Telugu family and brings to us authentic Telugu recipes.

A month ago I was in Hyderabad, and I was awed by Beerakaya pachdi- a chutney made from ridge gourd/turai. I could never imagine something made of turai can taste so good-I anyways have a great liking for chutneys. I have asked Nami to share its recipe also. I will share that , but here is Pesarattu, I never knew one needs to add rice powder in pesarattu and I presume that makes it different from Moong Daal cheela which I have earlier shared on my blog. Now I will try this...

You need-

Green Moong Daal (whole or broken) – 1 Cup

Raw Rice – 1 handful,

¼ inch raw ginger, peeled

¼ raw onion (if a small onion then ½)

Green Chillies – 2 (optional), salt to taste, oil (to be used while making the dosa)

Non Stick flat pan - for making the dosa.

Wash the daal and rice and soak for 3-4 hrs (best if done overnight).
Grind finely the soaked daal & rice along with Ginger, onion, green chilli and salt (as per taste) using either a blender or Mixer (Indian Mixer)
Stir the mixture once ground to make it consistent. Add water in case the batter is too thick.
Heat the flat non stick pan on medium heat. Add a few drops of oil, using kitchen towel to spread the oil on the pan to spread the oil evenly.
Pour 2 ladles of the ground batter and spread it like a crepe. Cook on medium heat only after a couple of minutes. Use a non stick or wooden spatula and try to turn the dosa (like turning an omlette). Once cooked fold in middle and serve with Coconut or Peanut Chutney.
Grated carrot garnishing on top of pesarattu tastes good.

Cinnamon swirl banana bread

2014-05-25T23:18:00.000+05:30

Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread

Ingredients

For the bread:

· 3 over-ripe bananas, smashed up

· 1/3 cup melted butter

· 3/4 cup sugar

· 1 egg, beaten

· 1 tsp vanilla

· 1 1/4 tsp baking powder

· dash of salt

· 1 1/2 cups flour

For the swirl:

· 2 Tbsp cup sugar

· 1 Tsp cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour a loaf pan.

2. Mix bananas, butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla together. Sprinkle baking powder and salt around on top of the banana mixture. Then gently stir in flour. Be careful not to over-mix!

3. In a small dish, mix together the 2 tbsp sugar and 1 tspn cinnamon.

4. Add 1/2 of the batter to the loaf pan and then sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture all over the batter in the pan. Add the rest of the batter.

5. Bake for 50-60 minutes, I used preheated microwave oven in convection mode for 55 mins.

Chhole Bhature

2014-04-06T20:25:00.000+05:30

Chhole Bhature
Making chhole bhature at home is more exciting as it has very less oil and is not at all heavy. My folks just love home made chhole bhature more than anything else.
Chhole
You need
Kabuli chana- 1.5 cup
Onions - 2 sized
Tomatoes- 2
Ginger- 1"
garlic cloves- 4-5
green chilli- 1
posto seeds (Khus khus)- 1 tspn
black pepper balls- 10-12
tea bag- 1
cashew nuts- 7-8 make paste or grind them
chhole masala- 3 tbspn
tamarind paste- 1 tspn
oil 4-5 tb spn
Rai (mustard seeds)- 1tspn
zeera (cumin seeds) - 1 tspn
salt to taste

Soak kabuli chane for 5-6 hours. Add salt, hang tea bag from the sides (or add 1/2 tspn tea -optional to give black colour to chhole) and pressure cook on high flame for three whistles and slow flame for 15-20 mins. After it cools down, take off the tea bag.
make a paste of onion, ginger, garlic, green chilly, khus khus, black pepper balls.
Make paste of tomatoes
Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds and onion paste. Cook till it is light brown in colour , add tomato paste and cook till the gravy starts leaving the sides of the pan.
Add chhole masala, cashew nut paste, tamarind paste, salt for the gravy and cook for 4-5 mins on slow flame.
Take out 1/2 cup cooked chhole and mesh them.
Add chhole, and meshed chhole to the gravy and add water if required to get the desired consistency. Cook 7-10 mins or till you get desired consistency.
Garnish with chopped green coriander, slit green chilly.

Bhature-

Maida- 4 cups

soozi (semolina)- 1/2 cup

curd - 1/2 cup

salt 1 tspn

sugar 1 tspn

curd- 1/2 cup

Baking powder- 1 tspn

Mix all these ingredients well, and knead the dough with warm water. Take 1-2 tbspn oil in hands and knead the dough, coating it with oil. Keep the dough for 3-4 hours in warm place.

Take 1" balls of dough and roll them into 6" bhaturas using oil, and deep fry them in very hot oil on high flame.

Serve hot with chhole and sirka onion rings. To make onion rings slice two onions in thin slices, separate the rings, add 2-3 tspn vinegar, and salt keep it for 1 hr.

Cinnamon rolls

2014-03-16T22:45:00.000+05:30

http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/microwave-caramel-sauce/

http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/caramel-apple-cinnamon-rolls-recipe/

http://picky-palate.com/2012/06/11/perfect-cinnamon-rolls/

Puttu with kadala kurry

2014-03-15T23:50:00.001+05:30

Puttu with Kadala curry ( Kadala curry is ideally made with brown chana but I used kabuli chana)

This recipe is from Kerala, and all in my family love south Indian food. We had puttu with kadala curry in Kadmat island, Lakshadweep for the first time and my folks just loved it...Puttu is a popular breakfast in Kerala and people in Lakshadweep cherish kerala cuisine especially the seafood. Since last two months I had been trying to source puttu kudam (puttu maker) in Delhi and finally managed to get it from a local street vendor. Then began my search for puttu and kadala curry recipes.....sifted a couple of blogs before I decided to make it in my way.....drawing something from each of them ..but I largely followed this source-(http://www.sharmispassions.com/2011/08/kuzha-puttu-kadala-curry.html)

While kadala kurry is made with brown chana or kadala, I decided to use kabuli chane as I had puttu with white kabuli chole in Lakshwadeep and we liked it that way, infact I was a little wary if my folks will cherish brown chana...you can use either...

To make puttu you need-
Rice rava- 3 cups
grated coconut - 1 cup
curd- 1/2 cup (nowhere it was mentioned to use curd but I used it and it came out well)
salt to taste

To make puttu, add curd (optional) and very little water till the flour resembles breadcrumbs...when you tighten it in your fist, it should take shape.
Let the flour soak for 30 mins to one hour and if you find the flour too dry, sprinkle some water. I added a little more water in the first go and had the right thing after an hour.

Let water boil in puttu maker (or cooker, if you use the one used over cooker), and fix the lower perforated disc well. Add alternate layers of grated coconut (1/4 inch) and puttu flour (11/2 inch) till the rim (leave an inch from top).

Steam the puttus for ten minutes and when it is cooked push it using a wooden stick from the bottom on the serving dish.

To make kadala curry-

Brown chana (1 1/2 cups) or kabuli chana (white chick peas)- 1 1/4 cup (soak overnight for 8 hrs)

Add salt and water to kabuli chana and pressure cook it for four whistles on high flame and ten minutes on low flame.

For curry take-

Shalots 8-9 or one large onion

tomatoes- 2 medium (make a paste)

Dry red chilly- 2 nos

ginger paste- 1 tspn (you can use garlic also)

garam masala- 1 tspn

grated coconut- 1/2 cup

coriander seeds- 1 tbspn

cloves- 2

cinnamon- 1 inch piece

coriander powder- 1 tbspn

red chilly powder- 1 tspn

turmeric- 1 tspn

mustard seeds- 1 tspn

heeng (asofoetida)- pinch

oil- 3-4 tbspn

Heat one tbspn oil and add garlic paste, 4-5 shallots cut into half (or slices of half medium sized onion), stir for a minute or two. Add coriander seeds, cloves, cinnamon and roast all till onions are pink. Add grated coconut and roast for 2-3 mins.

Add garam masala and take off the flame. Grind it in mixer with some water.

For tempering- heat 3 tbspns oil, add mustard seeds, asofoetida, curry leaves and 4-5 shallots (onion). Cook till golden brown and then add tomato paste. Cook till the paste leaves oil and then add coriander powder, chilly powder and turmeric powder. Saute for a minute, add the coconut paste prepared above and salt , mix well and cook for 1-2 minutes.

Add boiled chana and mix well and cook for 10 mins till required consistency.

Serve with hot puttu.

Garlic buns

2014-03-14T17:58:00.000+05:30

I was always tempted by the pins related to breads and wondered if I could make bread in my convection microwave. One day while looking for microwave cooking I stumbled upon this blog ... http://www.cakesandmore.in/2013/03/how-to-use-convection-microwave-for_7.html and yay! now I had to try something ...I decided to try garlic buns given here...
http://www.cakesandmore.in/2013/03/how-to-use-convection-microwave-for_7.html (similar other recipes on my pinterest board - http://www.pinterest.com/deepalisharma/tasty-bites/)

The picture of the garlic pull apart buns was too tempting to have a try at it and recipe also seemed easy, but ugghhh yeast, how to get that particular gloripan yeast..well I looked for the yeast packet I had bought some time back with the idea of making home baked fresh bread..and it was some wonder yeast..but this was not letting my spirits down! Any ways..I decided I will go ahead with whatever I have..and here is what I did...

What I used for bread-
Maida (plain flour)- 3 cups
warm water- 1 cup
dry active yeast- 1 tbspn
salt 1 tspn
sugar 2 tspns
olive oil 2 tbspns
1 egg + 1 tspn milk for basting the buns before baking
sesame seeds- 1 1/2 tbspn

For the filling I mixed 5-6 large cloves of crushed garlics in 50 gms salted butter, added 3tbspns chopped coriander, 1/2 tspn chilli flakes and 1/2 tspn pepper.
Working-

So I went by the recipe step by step..it was my first chance, even if I decided to experiment with some other yeast- warmed water for half a minute in microwave, added sugar and then yeast.
Since it was pretty cold in Delhi , I kept this mixture in preheated microwave (4 mins convection at 180 deg centigrade) for 30 mins till the mixture got frothy. I found this idea of using preheated oven for frothing yeast and poofing dough to be too good.
To the mixture I added maida and salt and mixed well. Added olive oil and kneaded it for 5 mins.
I kept the dough in a glass bowl, covered it with cling film and placed it back in my preheated oven for around 2 hours till the dough doubled in size. It took too long for me- may be it was too cold or the yeast, so the time may vary for you. Keep a watch on the dough.
When the dough was ready I first made the filling by mixing all the ingredients.
I took out the dough and knocked down to remove locked air. I dusted the table top with plain flour and rolled the dough into less than half an inch thickness sheet (oval).
Applied little more than half of the garlic filling on the sheet and rolled the sheet from one end to another (smaller side).
Using a thread I cut around eight no. 1"long rolls and placed them in a round pan.
I then applied the leftover garlic mixture on top and sprinkled sesame seeds on top.
Covered the pan with cling foil and kept in in preheated oven for poofing again for around two hours till the buns doubled in size.
Preheated the oven at convection for ten minutes again .
Applied the egg basting and kept the buns for baking for 35 mins on convection at 180 degree Centigrade.
The freshly baked buns smelled so good and tasted yummy..

A MUST TRY if you want to try something in breads...

Paneer sandwiches- tasty bhi healthy bhi

2013-05-21T17:40:00.002+05:30

One of the quickest and easiest recipes which my folks enjoy and eat fondly. I prefer to make cottage cheese or paneer at home for fresh paneer tastes much better. I plan to make it for dinner tonight, I am writing the recipe in advance and shall add the pics later.
To make paneer- boil 1 ltr half creme or full creme milk. Add 2 tbspn white vinegar while boiling and stir so that the paneer separates from water. Filter it in a mesh strainer and wash it with cold water. Break the lumps into small flakes.
To this paneer, add :

1 large chopped onion
2 green chillies- finely chopped
1/5 cup chopped coriander
1 tspn -sugar
salt to taste
1 tspn- black pepper powder

Layer bread slices with butter and roast them over hot skillet to make them crispy (Alternately you can toast them medium brown in electric toaster and apply butter). Layer the paneer mixture on one slice. Top it with sliced olives ( can use some jalepeno slices) and cover it with other bread slice. Cut in two pieces and serve with tomato sauce.

(Or you can make simply these sandwiches in sandwich maker/grill).

Quick and easy cake

2013-05-18T21:41:00.000+05:30

The other day I was looking for a quick bake cake recipe and Google landed me on this site
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/simple-white-cake/
Lemme tell you it was not only simple and easy but very good one..I am putting down the recipe here-

Take-
Maida (white flour)- 1.5 cups
white butter- 0.5 cup
sugar (powdered)- 1 cup
Eggs- 2
Vanilla essence- 2 tspn
Baking powder - 1.75 tspn
warm milk - 0.5 cup
Raisins, chopped nuts 0.25 cup
I used microwave in convection mode to bake the cake. Before starting preparation, I started the microwave to preheat in convection mode at 180 degree C for ten minutes AND it takes only ten mins to prepare the batter. here you go-
Mix the flour, baking powder
Beat the sugar in butter and add eggs one by one. Add the flour mixture alternately with milk alternately a small amount at a time and keep beating. Add essence in the end, mix well.
I added raisins and chopped nuts to this batter.
Prepare the dish by greasing it with melted butter or ghee and dust it with some more flour.
Pour the batter and put it on convection cooking mode in microwave at 180 deg C for 1 hour.

Aloo Petis

2013-04-14T22:47:00.000+05:30

Aloo Petis
Aloo petis is one of the famous items in Indore. While arrowroot is used as binder for making petis, I have used sindage ka atta (water chestnut flour) so that it can be used in fasts.

Take 6 medium sized boiled potatoes, 5-6 heaped singade ka atta, one cup grated coconut, half cup mixture of chopped raisins and cashew nut, one tea spoon garam masala, two green chillies chopped, some chopped coriander leaves, one tea spoon sugar, salt and oil to deep fry.

Mesh potatoes very well, add singade ka atta, salt and mix well. It should be a smooth dough. Divide it in six parts ( singade ka atta can be replaced by arrowroot).
To make the filling mix grated coconut, raisins and cashews, garam masala, sugar, chillies, coriander leaves and salt.
Grease your palm with oil and take a part of the potato mesh. Flatten it at the centre, place two spoons of filling in it and roll it into a ball very carefully. Make six such balls.
Gently fry these balls in very hot oil.
Serve with green chutney and imli chutney (tamarind chutney).

Pyaz ke paranthe

2012-09-24T08:09:00.002+05:30

Coming back after a long gap. I was too occupied with family and work and couldn't find time to jot down recipes. So here's the next item- pyaz ke parathe any time you want in the breakfast or dinner.
Take for dough:
2 cups wheat flour (atta),
1/2 cup white flour (maida)
1/2 cup semolina coarse (soozi)
1tspn carom seeds (ajwain)
ginger grated: 1 tspn
finely chopped chillies- 2
onion finely chopped- 1 cup
garam masala: 1 tspn
salt as taste
1tbspn: oil for moin

Mix all of the above ingredients and knead with water. Make thick parathas and serve hot with curd and achaar.

Mushroom Peas Curry (Instant)

2012-05-14T22:08:00.002+05:30

Another recipe for Toshini darling who called from Germany and asked me to put down the recipe for Mushroom Peas curry using maggi bhuna masala.
Take- 100 gms button mushroom.
Peas- 1 cup
Sugar- 2 tspn
Pepper powder- 1 tspn
Maggi bhuna masala- 1 packet
1" Cinnamon,
2-3 brown cardamom (badi elaichi);
1 tspn shahi paneer masala
Milk- 1 cup
Creme- 1 tbspn
Butter 2 tbspn

Cut each mushroom into four pieces and microwave it covered with half cup water for 4 mins. Remove from oven, strain.
Microwave peas covered with half cup water, 1/2 tspn sugar and 1/2 tspn white salt for 4 mins. Remove from oven and strain.
Heat 1 tb spn butter in thick bottom pan, and saute mushrooms for 3-4 minutes till they dry. Add 1/2 tspn pepper and 1/2 tspn sugar and mix well. Remove from fire. Take out from pan.
In the same pan, heat another 1 tb spn butter and saute peas for 2-3 mins till they dry. Add 1/2 tspn pepper and 1/2 tspn sugar and mix. Remove from fire.
- Heat bhuna masala in a thick bottom pan.
- Add cinnamon and brown cardamom and mix.
- Add shahi paneer masala and mix.
- Add milk, mix well and bring to boil.
- Add creme/malai and mix well.
- Slide the mushrooms and peas in curry, mix well and cook covered on slow flame for 8-10 mins.
- Serve hot.

Shahi Paneer (instant)

2012-05-06T14:23:00.002+05:30

I taught this to Toshini before leaving for Germany so that she can serve her host family with an Indian recipe. It had to be quick and easy for a novice. I am sharing this for all those who like the quick way to go.

Makes for 3-4 people.
Take: 1 packet Maggi bhuna masala, 1" Cinnamon, 2-3 brown cardamom (badi elaichi); 1 tspn shahi paneer masala,1 tb spn tomato sauce, 1 3/4 cup milk, 2 tb spn creme/ malai, 1 tspn sugar, 150 gms diced cottage cheese (paneer).

Heat bhuna masala in a thick bottom pan.
Add cinnamon and brown cardamom and mix.
Add shahi paneer masala, tomato sauce and mix.
Add milk, mix well and bring to boil.
Add creme/malai and mix well.
Slide the paneer slices in curry, mix well and cook covered on slow flame for 8-10 mins.
Serve hot.

(in case you want to make fresh gravy, grind one large onion with 1 " ginger shoot and saute it in 4 tbspn cooking oil. When golden brown, add paste of two medium sized tomatoes and saute well (Bhuno). Use 3 t spn shahi paneer masala instead of one in this case. To add more taste to the gravy, add 2-3 tb spn white gravy paste ) .

Club sandwich

2012-04-05T00:16:00.001+05:30

Makes 4 sandwiches
You need- Thin slices of one cucumber (with peel), paneer (cottage cheese- 50 gms) and twelve slices of brown or multigrain bread.
For filling- take 1/2 cup each of finely chopped capsicum, cabbage and carrot. Add half a cup of mayonnaise or Russian salad dressing, 1 tspn pepper, salt to taste and mix well.
Roast three slices of bread on toaster or skillet (for one sandwich) and apply butter on one side.Remove the edges.
Take one bread put a layer of paneer slices on buttered side. Top it with second layer of cucumber slices. Place another slice of bread over it with buttered side down. Put a layer of veggie filling over this and cover it with the third slice of bread (buttered side down) and serve with ketchup.

Mordhan ka Halwa

2012-02-20T16:33:00.002+05:30

Today is mahashivratri and tried this new sweet recipe for fast.

You need:
1 cup mordhan
1 cup milk
1 cup warm water
1 cup sugar
half cup ghee
15-20 raisins
4-5 cashew nuts chopped
8-almonds chopped
Seeds of one cardamon grounded.

Roast mordhan in ghee over slow flame for 10-15 minutes till the mordhan seeds swell. Add milk and water and stir well. Add sugar and mix well. Cook covered for 10 minutes stirring in between. Add cashews, raisins and half of almonds and cook covered for another 2 minutes.
Mix cardamon powder and transfer in serving dish. Garnish it with grated almonds and serve hot.
You can also add half a cup of bhuna khoya to make it rich.

banana-gauva with dates

2012-01-19T20:37:00.000+05:30

Take:
Three bananas, one large ripe guava, 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds and 10-15 deseeded dates.
Chop the fruits and dates. Add pomegranate seeds. Add one tea spoon lemon juice, 1/2 tspn pepper, 1/2 tspn black salt, and 1/2 tspn chat masala. Mix all the ingredients well and serve.

Lauki nu thepale

2011-11-09T19:40:00.000+05:30

I tried this today for the breakfast. Thepale is a nutritious and tasty Gujrati bread that is made using different fillings like methi, jowar, etc. This one uses bottle guard or lauki and is a good breakfast, tiffin for kids.

Take:
2 cups of wheat flour
3/4 cup- grated lauki (drain water out )
curd- 1/2 cup
salt to taste
ajwain- 1 tspn
garam masala- 1 tspn
kasuri methi- 1 tbspn (optional)

Mix all the ingredients and knead the dough using additional water if required.
Roll them in 10" thepalas and cook them on medium hot skillet using oil on both sides.
Serve hot with green chutney and curd.

Fried baby potatoes

2011-11-08T00:05:00.002+05:30

I wanted to use the leftover marinade as I personally do not prefer wasting anything. This idea came to my mind and I attempted this one...it turned out awesome.
I took around 400gms baby potatoes, washed them clean to remove all the coated mud. Then I boiled them in salted water in pressure cooker. (I also trued using baby corn, capsicum, mushroom along with boiled veggies, they turned out good. just microwave the these veggies for a minute before throwing them in pan with fried potatoes.)
I chopped the boiled potatoes into half longitudinally, and deep fried them in 5-6 tbspn vegetable oil over high flame (2-3 turns) till they are crispy brown. Potatoes absorb very little oil when fried in very hot oil. I didnt peel the potatoes.
To fry I took very little oil-1 tspn, heated it, added the fried potatoes, pepper (2 tspn), 1 tspn (chat masala), 1 tspn black salt and tossed the potatoes to mix the masala. I then added around 1 cup of left over marinade on high flame and tossed the potatoes to coat them with marinade. The potatoes tasted yum when hot.

Barbecue veggies

2011-11-07T15:04:00.002+05:30

Its chill in the evenings (in Delhi) and a long week end was the right time to have season's first barbecue last evening.. had an awesome time, three of us together with our favourite things. I had set up a traditional coal grill apart from the electric BBQ grill and the traditional one proved better..plan to do some more this season. Here's the marinade that I had put together-
Medium sized onion: 2 nos
garlic cloves- 7-8
ginger shoot- 1" piece
green chillies -2 nos
curd- 2 cups
salt to taste
kitchen king or tandoori masala- 4 tspn
red chilly powder- 2 tspn

Grind onion, garlic, ginger and green chillies, add it to the beaten curd. Add kitchen king/tandoori masala, red chilly powder and salt.
Take all veggies u wish - baby potatoes (parboiled), capsicum green, red, yellow (1" pieces), baby tomatoes, paneer(cottage cheese) 1" cubes; onion, button mushrooms and baby corns. Pour the marinade over the veggies and let them marinade for 4-6 hrs before taking them to BBQ.

Makke ke parathe

2011-10-21T11:26:00.001+05:30

Wish you all a very Happy Diwali. It looks so festive in Delhi and now I am heading for Indore tomorrow, more excited to go back home on Diwali after three years.
Sorry for being away for long. I bring you something very easy to make and very good for winters.

Take 5 cups of maize flour (makke ka atta)
Finely chopped onions (1 1/2 cups or less as you prefer)
Chopped green chillies- 2 long ones
chopped coriander leaves- a bunch
Coriander powder- 2 tspn, garam masala- 1 tspn; salt to taste.

Mix all the ingredients and knead the dough with warm water. Don't keep it for long after kneading, it is to be made immediately after kneading.
Make ten to twelve balls of dough.
Roll each ball into round parathas. My mom in law can make it with hand but lesser experienced like me prefer to use polythene sheets to roll parathas. To go my way, take two 10"*10" square pieces of thick polythene sheet. Grease them with cooking oil on one side. Keep one ball of dough on the greased side of plastic sheet and cover it with another one with the greased side down on ball. Use a rolling pin to roll the paratha with soft hands. Remove one sheet on top and carefully place the paratha on a hot greased skillet or tawa.
Turn sides when cooked oiling on both the sides with ghee or cooking oil.
Serve hot with Sarson ka saag or chutney.

Bharwan Karele (Stuffed bittergourd)

2011-08-14T12:02:00.000+05:30

I just love karele in all forms. This one is a very tasty recipe taught to me by Mrs Shrivastava, my colleague's wife who is an amazing cook. Use of methi dana and onion reduces the bitterness and imparts a unique sweet flavour to karele. Well try it and let me know how it turned out in your kitchen.
You need:
Chhote Karele (small/medium sized bittergourd) : 8-10
Chhote pyaz (Small onion) : 5-6
Tel (Cooking Oil): 3 tbspn
Rai (mustard seeds): 1 tspn

Baravan masala (stuffing)
Pyaz (onion): 1 large
lahsun (garlic cloves): 7-8
Adrak (Ginger): 1 " shoot
Hari mirch (green chilly)- 2-3

methi dana (fenugreek seeds): 12-15 seeds
saunf (aniseeds): 1 tspn
Dhania (coriander) powder: 1 tb spn
Lal mirch (Red chillly) powder: 1 tspn
Amchoor (dry mango) powder: 2 tspn
haldi (turmeric powder): 1 tspn
salt to taste (use lesser than what you would use in normal course as we rub salt on karele which makes them little salty).

Peel karele (bittergourd), slit on one side longiitudinally, remove hard seeds.
Keep the peel, chopp it finely.
Take 2-3 tspn salt and rub it on each of the karelas (bittergourd) and on peel. Keep for 1 hr. This helps to reduce the bitterness.
Peel the small onions, and put two slits half way from top crossing each other .
Grind onion, ginger, garlic, green chilly, fenugreek seeds and aniseeds. Add rest of the stuffing ingredients and mix well.
Wash karele and peel seperately.
Mix the peel in the stuffing/masala.
Fill all the karelas with the stuffing and tie them with thread so that the masala stays inside.
Heat oil in a large flat bottomed pan, add mustard seeds and gently place the karelas and small onions in it.
Cook it on slow flame for 30-45 mins stirring occassionally till karelas are cooked evenly.
Serve them with chopped green coriander garnishing. You can store these karelas for 2-3 days in refrigerator.

Eggless chocolate cake (in microwave)

2011-06-14T14:57:00.002+05:30

I have been making this recipe for long. It turns out best in a grill, even microwaving it makes a good cake but the cake turned out well in microwave convection cooking also. Sharing the recipe:

Missed to take a picture...
You need:
Maida (Flour)- 1.5 cups
Malai (Cream on top of boiled milk)- 1.5 cups
Milk powder- 3/4 cup
Powdered sugar- 1 cup
Baking powder- 1tspn
Baking soda- 1/2 tspn
cocoa powder- 3-4 tbspn
Warm milk- 3/4 cup
Ghee- 2 tspn
Vanilla essence- 5-6 drops
Chocolate sauce to decorate

Keep the microwave on convection preheating at 190 degrees centigrade for 10 minutes.
Mix flour, milk powder, soda, baking powder.
Beat sugar in malai using a hand mixer (or grinder).
Add the flour mixture in this paste. Keep adding small quantities of flour while beating. Add milk as and when required (you may need more than 3/4 cup of milk, check the consistency of dough, it should be of pouring consistency).
Add cocoa powder and mix well.
Add ghee, essence and mix well.
Grease a baking tray, dust it with flour.
Pour the batter in tin and convection cook it in preheated microwave at 190degrees centigrade for 1 hour.
Remove from microwave and after 10 minutes turn it upside down on the serving dish.
Decorate it with chocolate sauce.
The cake turns out well without cocoa powd