The classic tea time lemon & almond pound cake

The blog that I have been following since last one year is "Archana's Kitchen" for all her easy to make recipes and the very colloquial ways of explaining them. This time when I saw her video of lemon pound cake, I did not wait much to experiment it in my kitchen. The one she made was eggless whereas I used eggs and a little change in the measurement of ingredients as per my family size.

Ingredients:

All Purpose Flour: 2 cups
Sugar: 1 1/2 cups
Butter: 1/2 cup softened (room temp). You can use unsalted butter as per the original recipe.
Baking Powder: 1 1/2 tsp
Eggs: 3 (original recipe was eggless. Egg replacer was flax meal)
Pinch of 4salt
Milk: 1/2 cup
Vanilla Essence: 1tsp
Lemon Juice: 1/4 cup
Almond powder: 1/2 cup (non roasted almond ground into powder)


Method:

Preheat the oven at 180 degree Celsius.

In a mixing bowl, take the butter and sugar and mix them either with a hand blender or with your hands using spatula till the mixture is smooth & fluffy. Now beat the eggs into it so that all the ingredients combine well.. Add baking powder, salt, almond powder and give it a nice stir. Now add the lemon juice and milk and mix nicely. Add the flour & vanilla essence into the mixture and mix it by cut and fold method.

Grease the cake tin/mould with some oil and dust some flour. Now pour the mixture into it and bake for 30-35 minutes at 180 degree Celsius or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted. Mine took exactly 40 minutes.

Once baked , let it cool and enjoy with your cup of tea/coffee. My little girl carried this to school even in her lunch box today along with aloo parantha. I intentionally packed two medium sized portions so that she can share with her friend. As expected she did not, saying it was so yummy I ate it all by myself. Well this was an added story of my happiness related to this beautiful cake. Do try it in your kitchen , I  am sure you will be happy with the outcome.

My new experiment with coffee cake

I am normally quite good at making tea as my husband says , few friends too and most importantly my mother-in-law. But very bad at making coffee. That's why I always prefer to sip a cup of cappuccino in CCD/Starbucks whenever we go out. I have been noticing one full coffee bottle in my kitchen cupboard for last few days which I bought but never opened it. Yesterday I suddenly had a craving for coffee cake and I thought to bake it at home only without following any particular recipe. No eggs in the fridge as well coz I normally do not keep eggs from Wednesday onwards as we eat vegetarian food on Thursdays. So I replace the eggs with yogurt. The cake was very delicious , soft, gooey and that little bitterness of the coffee and its aroma /flavour. Wow!! heavenly.

Try this coffee cake once at your home and do send in your feedback too which will keep me going :)

Ingredients:

Flour: 1 cup
Sugar: 1/2 cup
Oil: 3-4 tbsp
Vanilla Essence: 1 tsp
Baking Powder: 1/2 tsp
Baking Soda: A pinch
Yogurt: 3/4 cup
Milk: 1/2 cup
Coffee Powder: 5 tsp
Cocoa powder: 1 tbsp.

Method:

Preheat the oven at 180 degree Celsius.

In a mixing bowl, sieve the flour, baking powder & baking soda. In another bowl , add sugar, oil , milk, yogurt, vanilla essence and beat them well. Now into the dry mix, add the cocoa powder & coffee powder and mix them. Fold in this dry mixture into the wet mix and keep aside.

Grease the cake tin/mould with oil with the help of a brush or with your hands. Pour the mixture into the mould/tin and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Once the cake is baked, keep it on a cooling rack. Cut into pieces and keep in refrigerator in a air-tight container and keep enjoying with your cuppa.

My version of Simple healthy grilled chicken salad

Time for some healthy food! Sometimes I like to have soups, sprouts & salad in my dinner (of course for the husband and little girl I cook a proper meal) as these make me and my tummy feel so light and good.
Last night I thought of having a bowl of non-veg salad with available ingredients at home. Perfect way to end your day with a balanced and healthy diet

Ingredients:

Boneless Chicken Breast piece: 200 gms
Garlic paste: 2 tbsp.
Red, yellow & green capsicum : Half of each cut into cubes
Mushrooms: 9-10 roughly chopped
Salt to taste
Balsamic Vinegar: 1 tbsp.
Soya Sauce: 1 tbsp.
Black pepper powder: 2tsp
Crushed black pepper: 1/2 tsp
Olive oil: 2 tbsp

Method:

Wash the chicken fillets properly. Marinate with salt, 1 tsp pepper powder, crushed pepper, 1 tbsp. garlic paste, 1/2 tbsp. of balsamic vinegar, 1/2 tbsp. of soya sauce, 1 tbsp. of oil and keep in the refrigerator for 20-25 minutes.

In a mixing bowl, take the chopped capsicums & mushrooms . Same marination as the chicken ones. Add remaining 1 tbsp. garlic paste, salt, 1/2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar, 1/2 tbsp. soya sauce, 1 tsp black pepper powder, 1 tbps oil and keep aside for 5 minutes. Heat a non-stick pan and stir fry these marinated veggies by tossing them continuously for about say 5-7 minutes. Transfer them to a bowl and keep aside.

Heat the grill pan (you can grill in your oven as well) and brush a very little olive oil on the pan. Take out the marinated chicken and grill them in  the pan till they get cook with golden brown marks of the grill pan on them. Once cooked, keep the chicken to get cool. Cut the chicken fillets into long strips /shreds and mix with the cooked veggies. Do check for the seasoning before serving.

Enjoy this power grilled chicken salad and feel happy & healthy .

If you prefer to have vegetarian version of this salad, use tofu or paneer instead of chicken following the same procedure.
 

My Crunchy oatmeal cookies

Cookies remind of Ma making nan-khatai in her  square shaped cake oven when we were kids. The house use to smell so good when she makes them. The soft melt in mouth nan-khatais from Ma's hand will always be there in our heart & mind. Though she doesn't bake them any more. I learnt from her to make them after my marriage and I use to make them once in a while as in those days I was little reluctant about baking . So today like after almost 5-6 years of gap, I decided to make some simple cookies at home. And I did it. Its crunchy and softy at the same time. My little girl liked it very much. From next time there will be no limitation of my own innovation into cookie baking.

Ingredients:

Maida/Flour: 1 cup
Oats: 3/4 cup roatsed
Sugar: 1/2 cup powdered sugar (you can take less sugar as per your taste/requirement)
Egg: 1
Butter: 3/4 cups softened
Vanilla Essence: 1 tsp
Pinch of salt
Baking soda: a pinch
Baking powder: 1/2 tsp
Cornflakes : 1 cup crushed


Method:

Preheat the oven at 180 degree Celsius.

Blend the sugar and butter properly and beat the egg into it. Add the vanilla essence and mix. In another bowl  mix flour, oats, salt, baking soda & baking powder. Now fold in the dry mix into the wet mixture of oil, egg & sugar and make dough.  Take the crushed cornflakes into a bowl/dish. Take spoonful of the mixture like small sized balls/small portions and roll on the corn flakes and flatten them gently with the palm of your hand. Grease the baking tray with oil or butter and keep them on the tray keeping some gap in between them to allow  room for baking. Bake these cookies for 25-30 minutes or till the cookies get that golden brown crust. Once baked , keep them on a cooling rack and keep in air-tight container and enjoy with your hot cup of tea/coffee and serve these crunchy cookies to your kids with their hot glass of milk.

 

Beetroot halwa

Beetroot is a vegetable which most of us  normally do not like to eat. We three in the family specially is just not comfortable eating this particular vegetable. I have been reading and watching this vegetable used in making halwa. So I thought to give it a try in my kitchen today. And the outcome is actually great. Very tasty & healthy one too. And the colour of beetroot gives an extra ordinary look to the halwa , no typical flavour of the beetroot exist any more.

Ingredients:

Beetroot: 1 medium sized grated
Milk: 1 1/2cup
Milk maid: 3 tbsp. (also depends on how sweetened you want your halwa to be)
Cardamom powder: 1/2 tsp
Ghee: 2-3 tbsp.

Method:

In a non-stick pan heat the ghee. Put the grated beetroot and stir very nicely for about 2-3 minutes. Add the cardamom powder and again mix and stir continuously for another 1 minute so that the beetroot gets cooked and release its strong essence/flavour . Now add the milk and mix properly and bring it to boil. Add the milk maid for the sweetness and the thick texture of the halwa. Mix properly and stir continuously till the halwa gets a little dry and attains a thick texture.

Serve the halwa hot or cold as per your choice and taste and garnish with almond & pista flakes before serving. A perfect evening snack or dessert during this monsoon.

 

Falafel - A middle eastern dish

I have been reading about falafel and its recipes for quite some time and was eager to make it in my kitchen. Finally it happened over last night dinner.

Falafel is a Lebanese deep fried balls or patties made from white chickpeas/kabuli chana.. They are usually stuffed in pita bread with tahini, hummus or a vegetable salad. Awesome snack/starter ,crunchy from outside and soft juicy from inside.

Ingredients:

Chickpeas: 1 cup (soaked overnight, washed & drained)
Spring onion/onion: 1 stalk finely chopped (one medium sized if you use onion)
Garlic: 5-6 cloves flattened and roughly chopped
Coriander leaves : 2-3 stalks
Mint leaves : half handful
Cumin powder: 1 tsp
Garam Masala: 1 tsp
Coriander powder: 1 tsp
Salt  to taste
Black pepper powder: 1 tsp
Red chilli powder: 1/2 tsp
Juice of one lime
APF/Maida: 2 tbsp.
Oil for deep frying


Method:

In a mixie grind the cooked chickpeas along with the coriander and mint leaves and make a smooth paste. Now add all other ingredients and blend it again till a smooth, light and fluffy mixture. This paste needs to be made without adding any water. Now transfer this mixture to a bowl and take medium sized balls and press gently between the palms of your hands and keep on a dish aside (You can fry them as balls also instead of giving patty shape). Similarly make rest of the patties/balls. Now heat the oil in a deep bottomed pan/kadhai and fry all the balls/patties , 4-5 at a time. Fry all of them and keep them on tissue paper to remove excess oil. Serve these falafels hot with yogurt dip/tahini sauce or stuffed in pita bread as snack or starter.

 

My deadly Dal fry total restaurant style

I am always thrilled by  the strong aroma and flavour of dal fry of  our Indian restaurants. Wonder how they make this so tasty that you can have it with your roti or rice simply and you actually do not need anything else. But somehow this was never been tried in my kitchen until few days back when I was thinking of not to cook dal that very night for dinner. It makes me sometimes very boring to have dal every day in lunch and dinner. Then suddenly it strike my mind..why not dal fry tonight. That's it !!I quickly searched in internet for a dal fry recipe and got back to my kitchen and did this small wonder. Its was very delicious with the strong aroma of the masalas used just the way I like -yes the restaurant style !!!

Ingredients:

Arhar Dal: 1 cup
 Onion: 1 medium sized finely chopped
Garlic: 1 tbsp. crushed and chopped
Ginger: 1 tsp finely chopped
Tomato: 1 medium sized finely chopped
Curry leaves: 10-12
Mustard seed: 6-7
Cumin seed: 1 tsp
Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Green chillies: 1-2 slits
Dry red chillies: 1-2
Kashmiri Chilli powder: 1tsp
Hing/asafoetida: 1/4 tsp
Ghee: 2-3 tbsp.
Garam Masala: 1tsp
Chopped fresh coriander for garnishing
Water as required


Method:

Wash the dal properly and cook them in a pressure cooker with sufficient amount of water upto 7-8 whistles, or cook until the dal is cooked completely and very soft. Once cooked , mash the dal with a spoon or with masher if you have it available at home. Keep aside.

In a pan heat ghee and add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Let them crackle and then add the onions and saute them till translucent and golden brown. Now add the ginger & garlic and saute them. Into this add the curry leaves, red & green chillies and mix. Immediately add the turmeric powder, hing/asafoetida and chilli powder and fry them for sometime and then add the tomatoes. Once the tomatoes started leaving the mixture put garam masala and give a nice stir.

Now to this mixture add the boiled mashed dal and mix well. You would notice that the dal got a very thick texture like a paste at this point of time as we have mashed the dal completely. Add sufficient water and some salt. Stir the dal nicely and let it simmer for 4-5 minutes till the dal gets a smooth and thick consistency. Now your dal fry is ready to be served . Transfer it to a bowl and garnish with the chopped coriander and enjoy with your roti/nan/rice.

 

Mango Smoothie

Before the king of fruits vanishes out from the market I quickly picked up few of nice ripe mangoes yesterday. As the little girl likes mango but this time she refused saying she got bored eating mangoes now. Then I thought of making some mango smoothies quickly. Smoothies are always tasty and filling as well.

Ingredients:

Mango: 2 ripe mangoes cut into pieces (you can take the mangoes as per your servings)
Milk:3/4 cup
Curd:1 cup
Sugar/Honey: 2 tbsp.
Ice cubes or you can use crushed ice
Cherries and tutti frutti for grnnishing

Method:

In a blender take mango cubes, milk, curd, sugar/honey and ice cubes/crushed ice and blend it for a minutes. If you find it not very smooth, you can give another round of blending. Now pour this chill smoothie into tall glasses. Garnish with tutti frutti and cherries and eat or drink this delicious smoothie . This mango smoothie goes so well with tutti frutti as you get the crunchiness in every sip or each spoon of this smoothie.

Is not that super easy to make? yes, in no time you can make this and serve your guests and family.

Easy Breezy melt in mouth brownies

I have baked brownies before also but this super easy brownie recipe is a big hit. I found this recipe from a friend's blog and I found it so easy to bake with available ingredients at home all the time  that I baked last night after 11pm

And the taste was heavenly ..gooey inside , crunchiness of the sugar in every bite! DO give this recipe a try at your home and write your feedback.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup oil
1 cup sugar
2 Eggs (Replace each egg with 1/4 cup of thick yogurt/curd to get eggless brownies)
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
1/3 cup Cocoa Powder
1/2 Flour/Maida
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Baking Powder

Grease a baking tin with oil/butter and keep aside. Preheat the oven (I use microwave oven) at 180 degree Celsius.
In mixing bowl, mix oil and sugar well. In another bowl beat eggs and mix vanilla essence to it and beat/mix with the oil & sugar mixture.
Mix and sift flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder in a bowl and add them to the above wet mixture and give them a nice mix.
Now transfer this mixture to the baking tin and bake for 30-35 minutes at 180 C or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Once baked, transfer to a cooling rack and cut into medium sized squares /cubes and enjoy with your cup of tea or coffee. I am sure your kids gonna love these brownies too. You can garnish with chocolate chips/cherries/cream frosting or at the time of baking put some nuts which will enhance the flavour and aroma of these gorgeous brownies.

Bilaahi Tengar Maasor jul (Fish with tangy tomato curry)

Masor Tenga (Tangy Fish Curry) is a light and tangy dish, and is one of Assam's signature preparations. The key ingredient in a tenga is the use of a souring agent which lends the dish a tart tangy taste. In this recipe nice red tomatoes are the souring agent .
 

Ingredients:
 
Rohu fish: 4 pieces
Nice red ripe tomatoes: 4-5 medium sized  (cut them into thin wedges)
Onion: 1 small grated
Garlic and Ginger grated : 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder : 1 tsp
Garam Masala: 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder: 1/2 tsp
Bay Leaf : 1
Dry red chilli: 1
Cumin seed: 1tsp
White Mustard Seed: 1 tsp
Mustard Oil: 4-5 tbsp.
Juice of 1 lime
Salt to taste
Fresh coriander leaves for garnishing
Water required for curry



Method:
Rub the fish pieces with the 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder and 1/2 tsp salt and marinate with a dash of lime for 5 minutes. Heat the oil in a deep bottomed pan and fry these fish pieces. Reserve the oil.
 
For the curry:
In the same oil, add the bay leaf, red chilli, white mustard seed and cumin seed. Once the seeds start to splutter, add the onions, ginger & garlic.  Now add the 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and a pinch of salt, cumin powder and mix them. Now add the tomatoes and stir well.. Cook the tomatoes covered with a lid in low flame till the tomatoes are cooked and mushy. Now pour some water and bring the curry to a boil. Add the fish and garam masala powder and stir continuously till the curry gets a little thicken. Now add 1/2 tsp of lime juice and mix.
Add chopped coriander and simmer for a few seconds. Transfer to a bowl and serve hot with rice.

 

Boiled fish curry - Assamese Style

This dish is again I have learnt from my mother. Even now whenever I visit Assam , I request her specially to cook this for me.

 

This dish is a speciality of Assam as well as Bengal where the fish need not to be fried to make the curry. This dish has a great flavour with lots of onion , garlic, ginger ,crushed pepper..Usually this is made with Ilish fish but other fishes like rohu also goes well.

 

Ingredients:

 

Rohu Fish: 3 pieces

Grated Onion : 1 big sized

Grated ginger: 2 tsp

Grated garlic : 2tsp

Crushed black pepper: 1 tsp

Black pepper corn: 5-6

Salt to taste

Green Chillies: 2-3 (Slits in between)

Mustard oil : 3 tbsp.

Water as required

 

 Method:

 

Clean and wash the fish pieces properly. In a mixing bowl add onion, ginger , garlic, crushed pepper, pepper corn, salt, chillies and the fish pieces and mix well so that all the ingredients coat the fish pieces. Now to this pour the mustard oil and mix. Transfer this mixture to a pressure cooker and add water (limited quanity of water is required to boil this else the curry will be very runny which we do not want it to attain). Pressure cook upto 3 whistles. Let the cooker release its pressure on its own.

 

Transfer this boiled fish curry to a hot kadhai /pan and bring it to boil for about 2 minutes and put the flame off . Transfer this curry to a serving bowl and throw in the remaining slits of chillies into the curry and serve hot with rice

 

Masoor dal vada with curry leaves gravy

This is one of my mother's hit recipes at home. We used to have a big curry leaf tree in the backyard. She used to pluck them fresh and make this dish out of it. Sometimes in place of these vadas, she would put fish - xingi maas ( Stinging catfish) , which is actually a very healthy dish.

Ingredients:

Masoor dal soaked in water: 1/2 cup
Curry leaves: 1 cup
Grated medium sized onion : 1 (divide into half)
Ginger & garlic paste: 2 tbsp.
Chopped green chillies: 2 pcs
Chopped Fresh coriander: 2 tbsp.
Salt to taste
Red chilli powder: 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder: 1tsp
Coriander powder: 1 tsp
Cumin powder:1 tsp
Besan: 1 tbsp.
Oil for deep frying & for the curry

Method:

Make a thick paste of the masoor dal in a mixer adding a small amount of water. Add half of the grated onion, 1 tsp of ginger and garlic paste, salt, green chillies, chopped coriander and besan and mix well. Now in a deep bottomed pan heat oil. With the help of a spoon take the mixture portion by portion like small balls and deep fry them and keep aside .

For the gravy:

Grind the curry leaves in a grinder with little water. Strain the puree and keep aside. We will use only the juice of the puree not the pulp else it will give a bitter taste. Heat oil in a pan. Add the remaining onion, ginger &garlic, coriander powder, cumin powder, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt and stir. Now pour in the juice of curry leaves and mix well. Cook by covering with a lid and bring it to boil. Now add the fried vadas into this gravy. Cook by stirring the gravy until it thickens. Once it attains the required thickness put the flame off and transfer this to a serving bowl. Garnish with fresh curry leaves and serve hot.

 

Tangy & teekha Tomato Rice

This is a spicy and tangy rice preparation best served with papads and coconut pachadi. Also is best suited to pack in the lunch box, for kids and elders alike! This has become a favourite dish of the family in weekdays. Variation that I do sometimes is by putting less chillies so that the little girl can enjoy to the fullest.

The recipe of this tomato rice is by Tarla Dalal which I searched and found in internet. Perfect for this monsoon season .

Ingredients:

For The Masala

2 tsp coconut oil or any other refined oil
6 whole dry Kashmiri red chillies , broken into pieces
2 tsp coriander (dhania) seeds
1 tbsp chana dal (split Bengal gram)
1 tsp urad dal (split black lentils)
1/2 tsp asafoetida (hing)
2 tbsp grated dry coconut

Other Ingredients3/4 cup tomato pulp
1/2 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
salt to taste
1 tbsp coconut oil or any other refined oil
2 tsp ghee
1 tsp mustard seeds ( rai / sarson)
3 tbsp peanuts
6 to 7 curry leaves (kadi patta)
2 tsp finely chopped green chillies
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 1/2 cups cooked rice

Method
For the masala

1. Heat the oil in a small pan, add all the ingredients and sauté on a medium flame for 4 to 5 minutes or till the flavour releases, while stirring continuously. Keep aside.
2. When cool, blend in a mixer to a fine powder. Keep aside.

Rest of the method:

1. Combine the tomato pulp, turmeric powder and salt, mix well and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes or till the mixture thickens, while stirring continuously.
2. Add the prepared masala, mix well and simmer for a minute. Keep aside.
3. Heat the oil and ghee in a kadhai and add the mustard seeds.
4. When the seeds crackle, add the peanuts and curry leaves and sauté on a slow flame till the peanuts turn light brown in colour while stirring continuously.
5. Add the green chillies and onions, mix well and sauté on a medium flame for 4 to 5 minutes, while stirring continuously.
6. Add the cooked tomato pulp, rice and salt if required, mix gently and cook on a slow flame for another 2 minutes. Serve hot.

Assamese Delicacy "koldil'or logot murgi manxo" (banana flower cooked with chicken)

A top favourite dish of Assam , quite unique and very tasty.. Goes well with rice/roti

1. Chicken with bone - 400 gms
2. Banana Flower - 1 pc
3. Onion - 2medium sized
4. Ginger garlic paste - 2tsp each
5. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
6. salt to taste
7. Bay leaf - 2-3pcs
8. Dry red chilli - 2pcs
9. Coriander powder - 1tsp
10.Jeera powder - 1tsp
11.Crushed black pepper - 1 tsp
12.Garam masala - 1tsp
13.Chopped coriander leaf for garnishing
Procedure:
1. Cut the chicken into small pieces, make the pieces really small ,wash properly and keep aside.
2. Now grate the banana flower in a grater after peeling off the outer not so soft layers until u find a off white part of the flower.
3. Immediately after grating, soak them in tap water with little bit of salt for sometime so that the colour of the grated flower does not get changed to black after coming in contact with air
4. Now in a deep pan heat one small bowl mustard oil .
5. Add the bay leaves, dry red chillies and let them crackle.
6. Add the onions, ginger garlic paste and stir them properly until the colour turns to golden brown.
7. Now add all the dry masalas - coriander, jeera, 1/2 tsp of crushed black pepper, turmeric, salt to taste and keep stirring them until the masala leaves the oil.
8. its time to add the chicken pieces now and mix well with all the masalas. Now keep the flame in medium heat and cover the chicken with lid. Keep stirring in between in every 3-4 mins.
9. Once the chicken is half cooked, strain and squeeze the grated plantain/Banana flower to remove extra water and mash them nicely using your hand to avoid any lumps to get form out of it and mix with the chicken and stir continuously until it mixes well with the chicken and rest of the masalas.
10.Cover with lid and keep stirring in between in low flame so that it wont get stick to  the pan and burn.
11.Cook them for next 10-15 minutes checking and stirring in between. Once it is cooked, add the garam masala powder, remaining 1/2 tsp of crushed black pepper and give them a nice mix.
12.Remove from flame after another 3-4 mins.
13.Transfer to a bowl and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

An Assamese delicacy "Khar diya maati dail" (Black lentils with alkali -soda bicarbonate)

A traditional meal in Assam starts with a khar (alkali or soda bicarbonate) which remains unknown to most of the Indians. The cuisine of  Assam/North East is different from that of the other parts of the country in a sense that it is very light, uses minimum spices.  Khar is one of the delicacies that people in Assam relish.

Ingredients:
1. Black gram dal (1/2 cup)
2. Peeled Raw papaya (ideal quantity 4 pcs)
3. Peeled Bottle gourd (ideal quantity 4 pcs)
4. Onion - 2 tbsp
5. Ginger garlic paste 1tsp each
6. Soda bicarbonate - 1tsp
7. Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
8. Coriander powder 1/2 tsp
9. Dry red chilli - 1or 2 pcs
10. Bay leaf - 2pcs
12. salt to taste
13. coriander & mint leaves for garnishing
14. Mustard oil for tempering
15. Panch phuron 1/2 tsp

Procedure:
1. Soak the dal overnight. Next morning wash them properly and strain.
2. Cut the papaya and bottle gourd into medium sized cubes
3. Pressure cook the same along with the dal with sufficient amount of water up to 2-3 whistles.
4. Once the dal and vegetables are cooked, heat mustard oil (3-4 tsp) in a deep pan .
5. Now add the panch phuron, bay leaves and dry red chillies and allow them to crackle.
6. Add thinly sliced onions into it and stir them until the onions get soft and light brown.
7. Now add the ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder , salt, coriander powder and give them a nice mix for about a min or so.
8. Time to add the pressure cooked dal and the veggies into it, stir  and bring them to boil.
9. Add soda bicarbonate and stir well. The colour of the dal will change immediately to brownish black after adding the soda.
Allow the dal to boil for another 3-4 minutes and then put the gas off.
10.Transfer the dal to a bowl and garnish with chopped coriander and mint leaves  and serve hot.

Mind-blowing Dal makhani

Don't we enjoy the spicy piping hot Dal Makhani in those road side dhabas!! I miss that taste so much since I left Assam post my marriage & Delhi  as we hardly get a chance to drop by any dhaba and enjoy  this speciality of the Punjabi dhabas. Few days back only it came to my mind to try this dal makhani at home with rice. It was a Friday night and I quickly arranged whatever little ingredients required for making the dal. Few searching on the google and some own ideas and the Dal Makhani is ready.

Ingredients:

Whole Black Gram: 1/2 cup
Rajma: 2 tbsp
Tomato: 2 medium sized pureed
Ginger & Garlic crushed and chopped: 2 tsp
Onion: 1 big onion grated
Bay leaf: 2
Red dry chillies: 2
Red chilli powder: 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Garam Masala: 1 tsp
Green Chillies :1 Slit (optional)
Cumin Seeds: 1 tsp
Fresh Coriander chopped: 2 tbsp.
Fresh Cream: 3 tbsp
Butter: 3 tbsp 
Oil: 1tsp

Method:

Wash and soak the black dal and rajma overnight in sufficient amount of water. Next morning drain the water and pressure cook black dal and rajma in three cups of water with salt for 3-4 whistles. In case its not cooked within mentioned whistles then cook on low heat till the rajma becomes totally soft and keep aside.

  Heat 2 tbsp butter and oil in a pan. Add bay leaf, red dry chillies & cumin seeds. Once  they start spluttering add ginger, garlic and onion and sauté till golden. Add slit green chillies, tomato puree and sauté on high heat. Add the red chilli powder and sauté till the tomatoes are cooked. Now  add the cooked dal and rajma along with the cooking liquour. Add some water if the mixture is too thick. Add garam masala powder and check for the seasoning and give it a nice stir. Now add the fresh cream and the remaining 1 tbsp of butter for that extra glaze and stir and simmer on low heat till the dal gets a thick texture and becomes soft. Now remove from gas and transfer to a bowl and sprinkle the chopped coriander and few onion rings and serve hot.
 

Dahi Kabab

This was sounding little weird to me when I first heard about dahi kabab on a TV show. Out of excitement , I typed the recipe in short in my mobile phone and saved it. But never bothered to open it out and try my hands on this recipe until recently one day I found lot of yoghurt lying inside my refrigerator and did not want to have it with roti which is a regular meal for me - roti with dahi :(
Sharing this recipe with you which comes out quite tasty and melt in mouth experience. A good snack during the summer season.

Ingredients:

Hung curd: 1/2 cup

Grated Paneer : 1cup

Besan : 4-5 tbsp.

Corn flour: 2 tbsp.

Garam Masala: 1tsp

Fried onions: 1/3 cup

Chilli powder: 1tsp

Coriander leaves chopped: 1 tbsp

Few chopped chillies: 1 or 2(optional)

Salt as per taste

Chopped cashews: 2 tbsp

Raisins: 2 tbsp

Bread crumbs for rolling the kababs

Oil for shallow frying

Method:

In a mixing bowl, take paneer, hung curd, besan, corn flour, salt, Garam masala, chilli powder, chopped coriander, chopped chillies, chopped cashews, raisins and mix well. After mixing all the ingredients check if they are binding enough to make small portions/balls out of it. If not you can add some more besan or some bread crumbs to this but not too much. Add the fried onions and mix well. Now take small portions and gently press between your palms to give the shape of a kabab and make kababs out of the whole mixture. Spread the bread crumbs in a dish and roll the kababs one by one on the bread crumbs and keep aside on a plate. Keep these kababs in refrigerator for about 10-15 minutes to set.

Take a frying pan and heat oil for shallow frying the kabab. After 15 minutes, take the kababs out of the refrigerator and fry them on both sides till they reach golden brown colour. Serve these fried kababs hot with mayonnaise,tomato ketchup & mustard sauce dip or any green chutney.

Paneer Butter Masala

The method of preparing Paneer Butter Masala is just the same as Chicken butter masala. Varies only the marination time & overall cooking time. So here it goes

Ingredients:

1. Take 200 gms of fresh Paneer
2. Kashmiri Mirch - 2tsp
3. 1 Lime juice
4. Tomatoes - 8-10 nos.
5. Butter - 2tbsp
6. Ilaichi - 3
7. Mace/Javitri - 1gm
8. Ginger Garlic Paste - 2tsp
9. Hung Curd - 1/2cup
10. Garam Masala - 1 tsp
11.Salt to taste
12. Kasoori Methi - 1/2 tsp
13. Honey - 1tsp
14. 2 tbsp. cream
15. Coriander twig & fresh cream for garnishing



Cut the Paneer into medium sized cubes . Marinate the Paneer with salt, 1tsp Kashmiri mirch, 1 lime juice, hung curd, ginger garlic paste-1 tsp each, 1/2 tsp garam masala. Mix well and keep this in refrigerator for 10-15 minutes

 

For the gravy:

Roughly cut the tomatoes into cubes and then blend them with little bit of water in it to make a nice puree. In a hot deep pan put 1tbsp of butter. Do not let the butter to get burn. Add immediately the ilaichi, 1gm mace (javitri), ginger garlic paste 1tsp each and stir. Now pour the pureed tomatoes, add salt to taste, 1tsp kashmiri mirch powder. Mix well and let it cook for 7-10 minutes covering with lid.


After 10-15 minutes of marination, take out the Paneer from the refrigerator and cook the pieces in normal pan/grilled pan/tawa whichever is available with you with little oil. Cook them till they are golden brown.

Now back to the gravy - Into the gravy add 1/2tsp kasoori methi, 1tsp honey, 1tbsp butter and give it a mix. By this time the gravy should have been cooked properly. Finish with 2 tbsp fresh cream and 1/2 tsp Garam Masala..Give a nice stir and you will be noticing the body and thickness the gravy gets after pouring the cream.  Now add the Paneer pieces into the gravy, stir and cook for another 4-5 mins. Transfer the Paneer Butter Masala into a bowl and garnish with fresh cream and a fresh coriander twig.

Corn & Cheese Drumstick fry

As a child we the two sisters and one brother always had the craving for the leg piece when father use to bring chicken that too specially on sundays. And as the brother is the youngest so he was the lucky one always , other piece either being given to me  some sundays and sometimes the big sister. I remember these small incidents when I see myself serving this leg piece to my daughter now. This time I thought to do something else with the drumsticks other than the regular chicken curry. Very crunchy crispy drumstick fry & easy to make. Liked very much by all in the family ,especially the little one. Why do not you try this for your kids in these rainy days, I am sure they too enjoy eating drumstick. I saw this recipe in a food channel and picked up immediately.

Ingredients:

Chicken  Drumstick: 3 pieces (quantities would change as per your requirement/servings)
Fresh Corn: 1/2 cup
Garlic: 3 tbsp.
Long/Cloves: 3-4
Parmesan Cheese: 1/2 cup
Bread Crumbs: 1 cup
Salt to taste
Few Fresh Parsley
Maida/flour: 1 cup
Egg: 2
Oil for deep frying

Method:

Make nice slits on the drumsticks and keep aside. Make a thick paste of corn, cloves, garlic with required amount of water in a mixer . Now marinate the drumstick with this paste and some salt and keep in refrigerator for about half an hour.

In a plate/dish take bread crumbs, grated parmesan cheese, chopped parsley and mix and keep aside. In another plate take maida/flour and mix a pinch of salt to it and keep aside again.
Now in bowl break the two eggs and beat well.
Take out the drumsticks from refrigerator. Roll the drumsticks one by one first on the bed of flour & salt mixture . Then dip them in the beaten eggs and finally roll on to the bed of bread crumbs/cheese/parsley and keep the aside on a plate.

Heat the oil in a deep bottomed pan . Deep fry these drumsticks in low to medium heat  till golden brown for the crispy crunchy taste. Keep these fried drumsticks on a tissue paper to extract the excess oil . Serve hot on a bed of salad and with any dip of your choice. Enjoy
 

Sweet Snack Shakarpara

Shakarpara is a popular sweet snack in Maharashtra & Gujarat. The only dish of Maharashtra I learnt so far since we have shifted to Mumbai. As people say this is generally made during the festivals like Diwali. But why to wait for Diwali to come when it comes to food and with ingredients available all the time and season at home. I made these shakarpara today evening when I found all my snacks containers empty at home. So I quickly decided to make this sweet snack before the hubby landed at home from office and have with his cup of tea. Serve this as evening snacks to your kids as this snack is rich in carbohydrates which is an instant source of energy. Yes it does look like the same as our kata neemki

Ingredients:

White Flour/Maida: 1 cup
Semolina (Rava): 1/2 cup
Ghee: 2 tbsp.
Powdered sugar: 1/2 cup
Pinch of salt
Oil for frying
water as required to make sugar syrup


Method:

In a saucepan, add sugar and water and make a thin syrup.
In another bowl, add maida, semolina, salt, ghee. Now with the sugar syrup made , knead into a soft dough. Cover the dough and keep aside to rest for about 10-15 minutes.

After 10-15 minutes, make small balls of the dough like we take to make rotis. Roll these balls into thin roti. Cut the roti into diamond shapes with the help of a knife. Do the same for the rest of the balls.

Now heat oil in a deep bottomed pan. Deep fry these pieces till golden brown and keep in  tissue paper to strain the extra oil. Fry all the Shakarparas and keep them to cool. Once cool these become crispy and crunchy. Store them in air-tight container and enjoy this sweet snack with your evening tea and serve your  kids with their hot glass of milk.




   

Yours madly muffins -- my super healthy style muffins with carrot & oats

Lets indulge our kids today with some muffins ..adding some healthy twist without letting them know what they are eating exactly. This is one of my favourite recipe that I like to bake for my girl.. Super healthy Carrot & Oats muffins.

Ingredients:

White flour (Maida): 1 cup
Roasted Oats: 5 tbsp
pinch of salt
Baking powder: 2 tsp
Baking soda: 1/2 tsp
Brown Sugar: 1/2 cup (you can use white normal sugar also)
Veg oil: 1 tbsp.
Yogurt: 3 tbsp.
Milk: 3/4 cup
Vanilla Essence: 1 tsp
Grated Carrot: 1 pc
Cinnamon powder: 1 pinch


Method:

Sieve the maida, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon powder in a large mixing bowl. Add the cinnamon powder. In the meantime, preheat the oven at 180 degree Celsius. Dry roast the oats in a pan and keep aside to get cool.

In another bowl, add the yogurt, oil, milk, vanilla essence, sugar and mix them  very well. Add the grated carrots into this mixture and blend very nicely. Now pour this mixture into the dry ingredients. Now add the roasted oats into this and again give a nice mix. This batter need not be very smooth and running . You will be amazed by the aroma and flavour of the grated carrots and cinnamon powder while mixing all these ingredients. That's heavenly I bet !! And the cinnamon powder will balance the flavour/taste of carrots so nicely that the kids would hardly get to make any guess that you have made them eat vegetable in their muffin.


Now get the muffin moulds ready . I use silicon moulds for baking so no greasing etc. is required. If you are using aluminium moulds/tin, then grease and line them with oil/butter and some dry maida. Fill the moulds with the batter with the help of a big spoon and arrange them in a baking tray.

Now these will go into  the oven for 35 minutes at 180 degree Celsius in convection mode of microwave. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the muffin comes out clean.
Enjoy these delicious muffins with your cuppa and serve your kids with their glass of milk.

Happy baking!!