Beetroot

This is an easy and healthy recipe. I personally am not a huge fan of beetroots but it's really good for people who are anaemic (having a low Hb count, like me), So I make it for health reasons. Surprisingly the end product tastes pretty good. ^_^

Ingredients :

• Beetroot - 2 medium sized (cut into small pieces)
• Potato- 1 big (cut into small pieces)
• Frozen green peas- 100 grams
• Green chillies- 2-3
• 1 tsp of cumin seeds
• 1 pinch of hing (asafoetida)
• Garlic- 9-12 pods (finely chopped)
• 1 tsp of red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp of garam masala powder
• 1 Tsp of ghee for cooking

Procedure:

Take some ghee (clarified butter) in a nonstick pan. When its heated add the cumin seeds, when it starts spluttering add the asafoetida and green chilly. Then add the chopped garlic. When it starts to get little brown add the beets and potatoes. Cook it in medium flame adding the chilli powder. Cover the pan and cook it for almost half an hour  in low flame. If required you can add 2-3 tsp of water if the veggies seem too dry. Now open the lid and with the ladle feel the veggies. It should be properly boiled and should also be a little crunchy. (don't overcook it). Before turning off the flame add garam masala and mix it properly. Give 16 min standing time before serving. Sprinkle little coriander leaves from the top before serving. 

~ENJOY~

Chinese chili chicken

Hey everyone! This is my recipe for chili chicken, which is Chinese inspired. It's an all time favorite of my family, Whenever they're in a mood for something Chinese and there's chicken in the freezer, I go "It's time for some chili chicken". 

I've been making this since my high school days. It was the one of the first recipes I had learnt in my life. Before I got married the only thing I was really confident about in serving was my chili chicken and noodles. Hehehe. Hope You folks like it!

Ingredients:

• Boneless chicken-500 grams
• Eggs-2
• Corn Flour- 4 Tbsp
• Dark Soy sauce- 4 Tbsp
• Garlic-6-8 pods (chopped)
• Green chillies- 6 (thinly sliced)
• Spring Onions /Shallots -2 twigs
• Red Onion- 1 (chopped)
• Sugar- 1/2 tsp
• Vinegar- 1 tsp
• Oil- 2 Tbsp
• Tomato sauce- 2-3 Tbsp
• Capsicum (green bell peppers)- 2 medium sized 

                 

Procedure:

• Cut the chicken into medium sized chunks and keep it aside
• Beat the eggs in a bowl with corn starch, black pepper powder,salt and soy sauce. Beat them all together really well.
• Add the chicken pieces into the egg mix.
• Coat all the chicken pieces well with the mixture and keep it aside for least for 20 minutes .
• Heat sufficient oil in a pan and shallow fry the chicken, until they are golden brown.
• Heat some oil in another pan, & add the green chillies, chopped garlic and onion & saute them for 2 minutes, Then add soy sauce, tomato sauce, sugar and vinegar into the pan.
• Add the chicken to this mixture and cook for 5 minutes
• Lastly add the green onions and shallots from the top and give it a stir.

And It's Ready. 

~ENJOY~

Panch Mishali Tarka Dal

This is a type of  Indian lentil Soup, Also called "Panch Ratna Dal", "Panch-mel Dal" or "Panch Mishali Dal" which basically means 5 pulses/lentils (a dal made using 5 lentils) soup.

This dal has 5 types of pulses (lentils) in it. Masoor dal (red lentil), chana dal (Split bengal dal), urad dal (Vigna mungo), kali dal (split black gram) and mung dal (Split Green mungo beans) 

I soaked the lentils (dal) for almost 3-4 hours in lukewarm water. Then boiled it in a pressure cooker with salt, 2-tej pattas (bay leaf) and 1 chopped onion.

Ingredients for tarka/ Chaunk (Tempering) :

• 3 tomatoes 
• 2 onions 
• 7-8 garlic pods
• 1 tsp of turmeric powder
• 1 Tsp of chilly powder
• 2 tsp of cumin seeds 
• A pinch of asafoetida 
• 1 tsp of garam masala powder 
• 3 tsp of ghee or refined butter

Procedure:

In a kadai (or) pan pour 2 tsp of ghee. When it's hot add cumin seeds and hing (asafoetida) when the seeds starts spluttering add the 2 chopped onions and cook till it gets deep brown then add the garlic pieces, turmeric and chilly powder. Cook it for 1 min and add the tomato pieces along with required amount of salt. Cook till it melts . Now add the boiled dal and mix properly. If the consistency is too thick add some warm water . Let the dal come to the boiling point. Lastly add 1 tsp of ghee and a spoon of garam masala from top. Boil for another 2 minutes and turn off the stove. Garnish with coriander leaves on top. 

Enjoy it with roti or naan.

PS: What is dal? (Indian Lentil Soup) >>Wikipedia

Vegetable Cutlets

During chilly evenings with pouring rain and a pleasant breeze, Winter evenings with Hot steaming tea....watching the sunset, This is a snack that will lift up your spirits & accompany your tea :) Eat them while hot along with your tea! Hope you try this out this winter! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 beetroots (the bulbs) 
• 4 medium sized carrots 
• 1 big potato
• 100 grams of green peas
• 1 tsp of turmeric powder
• 2 tsp of chilli powder
• 1 onion
• 4-5 pods of garlic
• few twigs of coriander leaves
• Bhaja (fried) masala ( powdered spices of dried red chilly, bay leaf,coriander,cinnamon,cumin seeds)
• 1 tsp of clarified butter or ghee
• Besan (chickpea flour)or gram flour
• Breadcrumbs 
• Oil to fry 

Recipe:

• Boil the vegetables first.
• Mash the boiled vegetables nicely while adding salt, chilly powder, and turmeric powder to the mash.
• Take 1 tsp of oil in a pan and fry chopped onion and garlic. Now saute  the mashed veggies for 2-3 minutes and add 2 tsp of bhaja masala(See above) and a spoonful of clarified butter from top & give it a good stir.
• Let this mixture cool down for sometime.
• Meanwhile prepare a batter with chickpea flour (besan) and salt and water.
• Take a separate plate and spread out the breadcrumbs over the plate.
• Take little portions from the mixture which you prepared earlier and make small round shaped balls and flatten it out in your palms into cutlet shapes (like above)
• Keep these flattened cutlets in the refrigerator for an hour.
• Heat some oil in a pan.
• Dip the cutlet in the batter and roll it in the breadcrumbs and fry them in medium flame.

P.S.:  In absence of breadcrumbs you can roll it in semolina also.

Serve it with sauce of your choice 

Tomato Rice

Hi friends, How are you all, with the onset of winter. Now you'll find tomatoes in abundance everywhere. In the southern part of India, tomato rice is a rice preparation that is seen very often in packed lunches. Eating tomatoes is very good as it is rich in vitamin C which is great for hair and skin. Here in the south we find rice cooked in many interesting ways with tamarind, lemons, cabbage, carrots, beetroot. The basic spices for all these rice dishes remain the same but only the main ingredient used is different.

Today I'm going to share with you all my "tomato rice" recipe!

Ingredients:

The spices I've used

• 
  

• 400 gms of long grain rice
• 1 Tsp of red chilly powder
• 1 tsp of garam masala 
• 100 gms of onions (thinly sliced)
• 300 gms of tomatoes (chopped) 
• 1 Tsp of cumin seeds
• 1 tsp of mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp of aesofotida (hing)
• Salt to taste
• 2 Tsp of oil
• 10-12 curry leaves 
• 2 dry red chilly
• 2 tsp of baked Chana dal ( Futana)
• 2 Tsp of peanuts 
• 1 tsp of raisins
• Cashew nuts ( optional)

Procedure:

1.Boil the rice and keep it aside. Spread nicely so that it does not get sticky.

2.Fry the peanuts and keep it aside.

3.Heat some oil in a pan and once the oil is hot add the cumin seeds, mustard seeds, dried red chillies, asafoetida, curry leaves into the oil.

4. Now add the chopped onions into the same pan and fly till golden brown.

5.Then add the chopped tomatoes and cook in high flame for 2-3 minutes.

6.Now add the chilli powder, turmeric powder and garam masala powder.

7.Lower the flame and cook for almost half an hour till oil separates. The tomato mixture will reduce and look like in the picture below.

6. Now add the boiled rice  and chana dal (futana) (or) you can even add cashew nuts to the mixture and mix it properly.

Garnish with raisins and serve with curd or papad (nachos/tortilla chips)

ENJOY~

Sweet Coconut Balls(laddu) -Narkol Nadu

Coconut laddus are made during many auspicious occasions. We celebrate Diwali, The Festival of Lights by worshipping Goddess Kali. Many different types of sweets are offered to the goddess on this day and these sweet coconut balls are one of the most common & important of the sweets that is defenitely offered by every bengali. Here is the recipe for how to make these sweet coconut balls at home!~

This is Goddess Kali. 

Ingredients:

• 3 coconuts (medium sized)-grated/shaved
• 400 grams of sugar 
• 3-4 cardamoms-finely powdered 

Procedure:

• Take a non-stick pan and put in all the grated coconut, sugar and powdered cardamom into the pan. Mix it well so that all the sugar gets mixed properly.
• Stir it continuously while on medium flame.
• Never cook this on high flame or else it will get burnt in the bottom due to the sugar.
• It takes almost 30-35 minutes until the consistency of the mixture becomes sticky. Once you get a sticky mixture, turn off the heat and remove the pan.
• Now you have to make the balls out of this mixture, by taking the mix in small amounts into your hand while hot and giving them a round shape by moulding the mix in between your palms.
• As a precautionary measure keep a bowl of water and keep on dipping your palm continuously so that you don't get blisters due to the hot coconut mixture.

This sweet has lot of calories but trust me it's so yummy that you will keep asking for more!

~ENJOY!~

Handvo -Gujarati savoury cake(Shortcut way)

What is Handvo? 

It is a Gujarati  baked dish made from various pulses, sesame and spices. It is a part of the Gujarati cuisine. It is often made with a bottle gourd filling, though a lot of other vegetables can be added. Sometimes crushed peanuts are also added.

You will find Handvo recipes everywhere that are really tiresome and have a very lengthy process involving a LOT of ingredients. Generally rice and dal are soaked then grinded and so on and so forth... But this recipe is really simple yet very tasty & also very easy to make.

A lot of people don't like bottle gourd . Friends you will see that all the Handvo recipe has grated bottle gourd in it.

But HERE I have using grated carrots and frozen peas instead of bottle gourd which became a big hit amongst my family. My husband  who is born and brought up in Gujrat doesn't like the traditional handvo with bottle gourd, .But he really loved this version ( without bottle gourd)and thoroughly enjoyed it to my surprise ;)

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup green peas (frozen Safal )
• 1 cup grated carrot
• One onion (chopped finely)
• Green chillies-6 (finely chopped)
• Garlic pods- 5-6 (cut into small pieces)
• Semolina (Sooji) - 1 cup
• Curd- 1 cup (if required can use some more)
• A pinch of baking soda

For tempering:-

• White sesame seeds
• Mustard seeds
• Little cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp of aesofotida (Hing)
• Curry leaves chopped finely.

Procedure:-

1.Mix all the ingredients and prepare a batter like we do for pancakes. Add salt according to your taste. The batter should not be too thick or too thin like buttermilk.

2. Place a pan over the stove and add 2 Tsp of oil. When the oil heats up add cumin, mustard seeds and curry leaves. When these start spluttering in the oil add the sesame seeds & fry for 1 min .

3.Now pour the full batter into the pan (like in the picture below) Cover it with a lid. Let it cook on low flame until the bottom as well as the sides of the cake start getting golden brown and crispy.

4.This takes around 15 mins. Cooking it slowly is very important otherwise the inside will remain uncooked and raw. Check upon it in every 5 minutes so that bottom doesn't get burnt.

5.Now flip it upside down and let it cook again, covering it with a lid. While turning it over I have spread some sesame seeds. Cook till the other side gets brown and crispy. If required add few drops of oil on the other the side.

6. Once done take it out and slice it like a cake or pizza and serve with green chutney.

~ENJOY~

Misal Pav (Maharashtrian snack)

Around a month back I went for a trip to Maharashtra to see the Ashtavinayaka. I traveled to many remote villages of maharashtra and saw wonderful scenery & also really enjoyed marathi cuisine :)

I noticed they use a lot of onions in their dishes as onions are readily available. They also use a lot of spices especially red chilly. Their food is delicious and simple with not too many ingredients. They use whatever is locally available to make really tasty food & that impressed me a lot. 

Even the simplest food can taste so delicious! I never imagined!

This is one of the things that I tried out there & i recreated it at home. "MISAL PAV" 

This can also be served for evening tea.

                            

1st step: Making the Gravy:

First we will make a paste out of the following spices which will be the key ingredient of the gravy.

• Heat 2 Tsp oil in the pan.
• Add 1 tsp of ginger paste, 1 tsp of garlic paste and 2 small onions(chopped nicely)
• Saute them till the onions are golden brown.
• Add 1 chopped tomato and 3/4th cup of grated coconut to the pan. Mix well and saute for few minutes.
• Allow the mixture to cool down and then grind it into a smooth paste (in a mixer-grinder)

The Gravy:

Heat 3 tbsp of oil, add the paste we made above, & saute for 2

minutes 

Then add salt, 1-tbsp of red chilly powder, 1 tsp of ready-made garam masala powder, 1-tsp of turmeric powder, 1-tsp of cumin powder, 1-tsp of coriander powder, 1-tbsp of clove and cinnamon powder and Mix it properly.

Add a glass of water. Cook the mixture till the oil starts to seperate.

2nd Step: Preparing the "Usal" (the lentils which will be the main ingredient of Misal pav)

• Heat oil in a pan
• Add 1-tsp of ginger & garlic paste and half tsp of hing (aesofotida )
• Then add the boiled green mung sprouts (1 and a half cup) also known as mungo beans.
• Then add salt,  1-tsp turmeric, 1-tsp of limejuice , 1-tsp of cinnamon and clove powder, 1-tsp of garam masala.
• Add some water and cook for 10 mins.  Keep this Usal ready.

 3 rd and final stage:

1.Take a bowl and pour the Usal  (sprouts mixture) into it.

2.Then add some chopped onion and farsan (or) chewda to the  usal.

3. Finally add the gravy on it and serve with chopped coriander from the top.

Serve this with pav (bun bread) and chopped onions!!

~ENJOY~

PS: Many people add boiled potato along with green sprouts...but I like my Misal pav without potatoes.

Biscuit Cakes!

Today I would like to share with you two types of scrumptuous cakes which you can make in 5 minutes.

First one is OREO CAKE!~

Ingredients:-

• 19 Oreo biscuits
• 240 ml of milk
• 1 tsp of baking powder
• 3 tsp of sugar 
• Little butter for greasing the dish
• Cadbury Gems(or any colorful candy) for decorating the cake

Procedure:-

• Blend the Oreo biscuits together with 240 ml of milk and baking powder in a Mixer.
• Grease the Microwave bowl well with butter and pour the mixture into the bowl.
• Microwave the bowl with the mixture on high for 5 minutes.
• Then let it rest for 30 min. (standing time is very important before unmolding the cake.
• Your yummy oreo cake is ready!! You can decorate as you wish.

Second one is BOURBON CAKE!~

I made this cake in urgency as the cake that I had ordered that day had problems, & I had guests coming over, So this is what came to mind...& It was really easy to make 

Ingredients:-

• One full packet of Bourbon biscuit (not the small one)
• I glass of milk (300 ml)
• Half a packet of Eno salt
• 5 Tsp of sugar
• Almonds and cashew nuts for garnishing.

Procedure:-

• Blend the biscuits, milk and sugar properly into a fine paste. Add half a packet of Eno and give it a nice stir (PS: I have added a pinch of baking powder but it's optional)
• Grease the microwave cake bowl properly with butter and slowly add the mixture into the bowl.
• Microwave on high for 7-8 mins. 
• Standing time 20 mins.
• Decorate as you like. (As you wish)

The cake is ready!!~Bourbon biscuits are not that sweet so if you want you can add more sugar into the cake mix.

PS:-
Bourbon biscuits>>

~ENJOY!!~

Chicken Curry

"Chicken Curry" is a dish seen almost too often in Indian cuisine & everybody has their own style of making chicken curry. I have 2 styles that my family likes & I'm going to share both of these styles with you all :)

Both the styles use almost the same ingredients.

This is the Bengali-style chicken curry:

Procedure:-

I have coated 1 kg chicken (with bones) with salt, turmeric powder and chilly powder.
Then take a pressure cooker and heat around 3 tsp of refined oil.
Once the oil heats up add onions- pasted (around 3 big onions) and 2 Tbsp of ginger & garlic paste.

Fry until they are brown & then add 1 tsp of turmeric powder, 2 tsp of Kashmiri lal (red-chilly powder) & a fine paste of 4 tomatoes.

While frying these add the marinated chicken to the paste and fry for another 10 minutes.

Then add a tsp of sugar and a Tbsp of garam masala and 2 tsp of ghee (clarified butter) to the chicken.

Now add the salt according to your taste and add 2 cups of water and put on the lid and wait for 2 whistles. 

Give it a standing time of 15 minutes and serve hot with white rice.

This is Spicy Indian Chicken:

Procedure:-

This chicken dish has less curry. 

Coat the chicken pieces as above and then fry the chicken pieces and keep it aside. 
Here we do not make a paste from onions and tomatoes, The onions and tomatoes are chopped into small pieces.
Then take some oil in a a pan /wok then fry the chopped onions, garlic & ginger.
Next add the chopped tomatoes and other masalas (spices as used above). 
Here I have used 2 Tbsp of chicken ready-made masala instead of garam masala powder.
Then add the fried chicken to it and cook till all the water gets dried up. 
This is cooked in medium flame in an open wok/pan so that the  chicken gets cooked properly from inside. 
Before serving you can add a Tsp of ghee or butter for additional flavor. This chicken recipe is enjoyed with roti and paratha (flat bread)

PS:-
The "Ready Made Chicken Masala" I used is this. It is a good spice mix which adds to the taste. You can buy it in any grocery store and even online.

Butter Naan (flat bread)

Indian "Butter Naan", is a flat bread variety. It tastes great with tandoori chicken/ other chicken dishes But some people eat the bread just like that too. But Indians usually eat it accompanied with a side dish (vegetarian/ non vegetarian). I ate this along with Tandoori chicken. You can find that recipe in my blog as well.

Butter Naan recipe:-

Ingredients:

• All purpose flour(maida)-2 cups
• Baking powder-1 tsp
• Salt-1tsp
• Sugar-1 tsp
• Yogurt-1/4th cup
• Grated ginger-3 tbsp
• Coriander leaves-1/4th cup
• Black sesame seeds-1 tbsp
• Water for kneading
• Butter
• 0il-2tsp

Procedure:

1st: Take a bowl & add flour, baking soda, salt and sugar.

Then add curd, ginger paste and coriander leaves and water if required. Knead the flour by adding 2tsp of oil to make a soft and sticky dough . Cover it with a wet cloth, and keep it for 4-5hrs.

2nd: Take a handful of dough and apply dry flour on a wooden board and roll it into a ball. Flatten it out by applying pressure on the dough ball using your hands, then sprinkle some black sesame seeds on it. Roll it out into an approximately round shape using a Rolling pin.

3rd: Now heat a nonstick pan and put the round shaped flattened out dough on the heated pan. Cook it without any oil. After 1 side puffs up flip the naan over.

Once it get slightly golden spots remove it from the pan.

4th: Now place it on a wire rack and place it directly on the flame (like below). Keep the flame on medium to low heat (take care not to burn the naan) flip it over and cook on both sides.

5th: Once you see brown spots on the naan, remove it from the burner. Now apply butter on both sides & serve hot!

~ENJOY~