Garlic-Pepper Chicken

This is really easy & quick to make. #Busy people food really! hahaha....

It's something refreshing and crunchy & healthy too ( Since you can cook it in very less oil).

Friends this is really yummy! My family complimented me a lot on this and even compared it to tandoori chicken.

You can have it as a starter or with roti or parathas!

Ingredients:-

750 grams of chicken

300 grams of curd

20 - 25 garlic pods made into a paste

1 tsp of Kashmiri lal chilly powder to get red colour( optional)

Pepper powder- 2 tbsp

Garam masala: (2-3 bay leaves; 4-5 green cardamoms; 1 inch cinnamon stick and 1 tsp of Shahjeera)

2 tablespoons of fresh cream

Salt and sugar according to your taste.

Procedure:-

-Marinate the chicken overnight with curd, garlic paste, chilli powder and salt.. 

-Put only 1 tbsp of sunflower oil in pan 

-Add the bay leaf and other garam masalas I mentioned above

-Crush these whole spices a bit to get a nice flavour.

-When these spices starts spluttering in the oil add the marinated chicken and cook it on a low flame till it gets dried.

-It will take around 30 mins. Now add the dairy cream and pepper powder and cook it for another 5 mins. 

-I've garnished it with pista on the top! Yaay Pistachio !

                                   

~ENJOY~

PS:
-"shahjeera"-Black cumin seeds

Kesar Mango kulfi

Yes You can make Kulfi at Home!! 
What is kulfi? 
-It's an indian version of ice cream ;)   Wikipedia:"Kulfi"
I've made it a few times But this is my first time trying mango flavoured kulfi.

Ingredients:-

1. 500 ml of full cream milk.

2. 1/4 th cup of milk powder

3. 1/4 th cup of condensed milk

4. 1/4 th cup of sugar

5. 1 cup of Mango pulp

6. 1/2 tsp of cardamom powder

7. 1 tbsp of corn flour

8. I piece of bread slice

9. Few pistachios
10.Little kesar for garnishing
11.Kulfi mould (any pot or bowl is ok if you don't have a mould)

PROCEDURE:-

1st step: In a small bowl mix cornflour, milk powder,and bread slice with 5 tsp of lukewarm milk and prepare a smooth mixture, take into account so that no lumps are formed. Keep it aside for future use.

2nd step: Now start boling further the rest amount of milk....keep it in sim until the consistency become quite thick....The amount will become almost 250 ml. Stir it continuously so that the thick milk doesn't get stuck in the bottom of the vessel...

 3rd step: Now add sugar, condensed milk and the mixture you have prepared and kept aside.

4th step: Stirring it continuously add the pistachio and cardamom powder.....
Now turn of the gas. Keep it beneath the fan to cool.

5th step: When the mixture is absolutely cold.....add the mango pulp and put it in the blender....it should be churned nicely to get a smooth texture...

6th step: Now pour the mixture into several moulds garnish with pistachios and kesar ....

7th step: Now put it in the freezer to set properly.

     Next day.... seve it by taking it out from the mould.

~Enjoy~

STEAMED SWEET YOGURT (MISHTI DOI)

Mishti dahi is a delicacy for all the Bengalis.

 I have been outside Kolkata for the last 22 years and people living outside Kolkata...who've tasted it once keep craving for it. 

Around two weeks back a good friend of mine, gave me a really easy recipe for this dessert & I decided to give it go today but with few alterations of mine...& it was a great success. So dear friends...please do try it...its just delicious :)

These are the ingredients I have used...400gms of curd, 1 tin of milkmaid, 1 glass of evaporated milk, powdered sugar and a pinch of saffron ,bowl of Cashew Nuts

 This is the Hung Curd I prepared...

Procedure:-
-Prepare hung curd from 400gms of  yogurt.
-Mix the powdered sugar with this hung curd.
-Take a bowl and mix the sweetened hung curd, milk and condensed milk.
-Take another bowl and coat it with butter and pour the whole mixture...
-Cover it with a cling film and place it  inside the pressure cooker without the whistle.
-Close the lid of the cooker and steam it for half an hour.
-Lastly...cool it and put it in d refrigerator for 3 to4 hrs before serving.
-Garnish with some pistachio , cashew nut and saffron.

The end product should look like this...In Bengali we also call it BHAPA DOI !!

इस तरह दिखना चाहिए (hahaha)!!

 ~ENJOY~

Pabda Maach er Tel Jhal (Bengali Fish)

Pabda fish is a delicacy in Indian culture.....  Wikipedia: Pabda maach (Pabda ompok)

We Bengalis use 2 terms for fish curries...."jhol" and "jhal" !!

"Jhal" is prepared with a paste of mustard seeds. And "jhol" is made with cumin seeds and ginger paste (not too spicy) or we can also make it very spicy with onions, garlic, & tomatoes etc.... 

This curry is tasty & a bit spicy but you don't have to cut any vegetable for this...no onion, no tomatoes...nothing :-D It is called "Pabda-maach-er-jhal"

What you will  need is.
1/2 tsp of kalonji (nigella seeds) , 2 green chillies, 1 tsp of haldi (turmeric) powder; 1 tsp of chilli powder; Salt according to taste and some sugar-very little (optional).

Procedure:-
Coat the pabda fishes with salt, turmeric and chilly powder.
Heat some oil in a pan and fry the pabda fishes that we just coated.

Note: The oil should be really hot for frying or else the fishes might break while frying.

Keep the fishes aside.
If there isn't enough oil in the pan add some more mustard oil in the pan and heat it. Add the kalonji and green chilly.
When the seeds starts spluttering in the oil add the turmeric and chilly powder along with salt & stir them for a few seconds and add water.
Stir it well and let it boil for sometime.
Then add the fried fish to it and boil for another 5 mins.
I added 1 small spoon of sugar but it's optional...garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve with hot steaming rice. It's Yummmmmy.

~Enjoy~

Stuffed ladies finger (Masala bhindi)

Hi everybody! This is my recipe for "spicy ladies finger"....hahaha I know it sounds kind of sexy :-P

Here's what I did:

First: Dry roast the following masalas (spices).... 

White til (white sesame seeds)-1 tbsp

 Peanuts

Some fenugreek seeds,

Coriander seeds,

Cumin seeds,

Cardamom- 5-6

An inch of cinnamon bark,

Cloves

Little asafoetida (a pinch)

Dry mango powder- 1 tsp

Dry red chillies (4-5)

Saunf (fennel seeds)- 1tsp

Black pepper

To the spices now add turmeric powder, salt & sugar 

Now grind all the spices that we just roasted in a grinder....Mix it with 2 tsp of  white oil and keep it aside The stuffing for the ladies finger (bhindi)  is ready now.

  

Now slit the bhindi ( ladies finger) like it's shown in the picture (from the centre vertically)  and  fill it with the stuffing of spices you have just prepared...

Then Take a pan & put some oil and start frying the stuffed ladies fingers in batches...

Cook it in slow flame so that it does not get burned and gets fried properly from all sides ( I fried them in shallow oil)

I cooked this batch of bhindi in the microwave to give you a demo that if you are too health conscious u can cook it in the microwave also. Brush the utensil (plate) with a little oil and micro it for 10 mins in High.

I would definitely say that the fried ones tasted better.

Creamy Egg Curry

This is a delicious dish that I learnt from a school friend of mine,

And I realised OMG it's so easy to make and so tasty too...So my dear friends please do try it out as it hardly takes any time...And we all love quick cooking....don't we?

Ingredients

• 5 boiled eggs- cut it into halfs, 
• 3 onions (ground into a paste)
• 5-6 green chillies - made into a paste,
• 1 tsp of ginger & garlic paste,
• 1 tsp of cumin powder,
• 1 tsp of white pepper powder,
• 1 tsp of garam masala powder,
• 1 cup of milk,
• Dried fenugreek leaves (fried/roasted) -Kasuri methi
• 4-5 pistachios.

Procedure:-

Take refined oil in a pan.

Fry the onion and chilli paste till brown, Then add 1 tsp of ginger garlic paste to it and fry it further till the oil separates and is seen on the top.

Then turn off the heat & add a cup of milk and stir well so that no lumps are formed. (temperature should be lower)

Once the milk is dissolved then turn on the heat and cook in low flame from now on.

Now add the cumin powder, pepper powder and garam masala powder. Cook it for 5 minutes

Then put the eggs into the pan upside down and let it simmer for another 5 minutes. We need all the spices to be taken up by the eggs.

Now open the lid and turn all the eggs upside down again so the yolk side is up ( sunny side up) 

At this point of time you can add some warm water (if you want more gravy)

Add salt & Sugar according to your taste.

Throughout the cooking time stir the dish very carefully so that the eggs don't break!!
Garnish it with fried fenugreek leaves and some pista on the top before serving. You can also use coriander leaves instead of fenugreek leaves if you like.

~Enjoy~ 

PS:-
 Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) that I used:

If you have any queries,  please leave a comment here or on my Facebook page.

Pakistani Chicken Curry

Hello everyone ! 

This is a recipe that I learnt from my aunt long time ago when we were in Lucknow....she was from Lahore and had some authentic dishes up her sleeve.We had learnt so much from her. I dedicate this dish in her memory. Love you Salima aunty! <3

Procedure:-

1st step: Marinate  500 gms of chicken with hung curd-100 gms, 1 tbsp of ginger garlic paste, little turmeric powder, Kashmiri lal powder- 2 tbsp, salt and sugar... 

2nd step: Make a paste of garlic (10-15 pods), 10 cashews, 1 tsp of melon seeds, 10 pistachios, 2 tsp of poppy seeds....keep it aside for future use.

3rd step: Marinate the chicken for 5 hrs or overnight and keep it in the fridge.

4th step: In a pan I added ghee. You can use refined butter too. Then add whole garam masala ( black cumin seeds, cinnamon, green cardamom, black cardamom,clove & bay leaf,).

When they start spluttering add 3 medium sized onions which are finely ground into a paste, when it's almost done add the marinated chicken into it. Add salt and sugar according to your taste. Now fry it very well and cover it with a lid and let it cook in medium flame for almost 20 mins...no need to add water.

Now take off the lid and add the paste that we made in the first step.

If required add some Kashmiri lal powder for a reddish colour & cook till the oil starts separating.

~Enjoy~

Turn off the gas/heat and add 2 tsps of  fresh dairy cream from the top to give it the ultimate taste!!

Enjoy with naan (white flat bread)..
Hope you all will like this! 

PS:
Naan-Indian flat bread  What is naan? <<Check it out!

Paneer (cottage cheese/Tofu) & Peas Curry

This dish is popularly known as "matar paneer" (or) tofu with green peas!

Main ingredients are.....

1) Paneer or cottage cheese- 400 gms
2) Green peas or matar-150 gms
3) Tomato puree one small packet
4) onion -one big
5) ginger & garlic paste 2 tsp
6)1 tsp of garam masala powder
7) I tsp of ghee and white oil to cook.

Procedure:

First grind the onions in the mixer and keep it aside...if you are using fresh tomato then grind 5 tomatoes to a paste and keep it aside.
Then put some oil in the pan and add 1 tbsp of cumin seeds and a pinch of asafoetida..when smell starts coming add d onion paste and fry till golden brown..then add the ginger garlic paste and tomato puree and fry it further till the oil starts coming up (on the top of the pan)

Whirling the pan.....add 1 tsp each of turmeric powder and chilly powder ( preferably kashmiri mirchi for adding the colour) ......
Fry for them all together for 1 min and add the green peas to the pan.
Then add 2 cups of water...let it boil and let the consistency become a bit thicker...
When it's a bit thicker then add the cottage cheese (paneer/tofu) pieces...let the curry and the paneer boil for another 1 min...before putting the whole thing in the serving dish add garam masala and ghee from top and stir well...add sugar and salt according to your taste buds.

Tips....(Optional) you can also fry the paneer or cottage cheese before adding them to the tomato paste...garnishing with coriander leaves.

                                                                  ~Enjoy~

PS:-

This is the kashmiri mirch i used-

This is paneer:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paneer

This is garam masala:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garam_masala

Chaal Potol( rice parwar)

                                  What is this dish about? ....Potol/parwal- Trichosanthes dioica

These are the main ingredients of this dish.you have to cut it into half and fry it properly and keep it aside.

        

                  

Other ingredients which are required .... Handful of gobindobhog rice or small grain rice, 2 onions, one big tomato, bay leaf, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves.,haldi(turmeric) and Mirchi powder according to your taste , little cashew and raisin, & white oil and 1 tsp of ghee.

Procedure.....fry the rice and potol and keep it aside. Then in oil add 2 bay leafs and fry the onions brown add haldi powder , 1 tsp of chilly powder and 1 tsp each of dhania(corriender) and jeera (cumin)powder. Then add the tomato pieces and fry further. Then addsome sugar   and   Salt accordingly . When the paste is almost done add the fried rice and add 2 cups of boiled water. Cover the pan. When almost done add the fried parwal   and cook further till it gets little dried up. Lastly add all d grinded garammasala with 1 tsp of ghee. From top add fried cashew and raisins.

It should look like this... Enjoy this with rice , nun or roti😀