Banana Khowroos

Khowroos is a traditional dessert of Kokan, and I must admit that I dont know its western name or I dont even know if it has a western name !!!

The main ingredients here are eggs & coconut milk, & the addition of the banana is for extra flavour. Traditionally, it is cooked only using eggs & coconut milk. You can try making this by adding different or your favorite fruit.

If you are goin thru viral fever or a cold & runny nose, this acts as a comfort food when taken right off the flame, piping hot, with its warm sweet juice !!! :) :)

Ingredients :-

• 6 ripe bananas
• 6 eggs
• 300ml coconut milk
• 1 lt milk
• 3 tbsp custard powder
• sugar , as per your taste
• cardamom powder half tsp
• saffron, a pinch

Method :-

• Mix the first 3 ingredients in a blender till smooth. Keep it aside.
• Simultaneously, boil the milk with the custard powder. Then add sugar + cardamom + saffron. Also add the banana mixture.
• Cook on high flame, uncovered, till it becomes semi solid.
• Now, lower the flame, cover the utensil partially & cook till it turns very firm.
• At first, the batter will leave a lot of water, at this point, increase the flame & cook till most of the water is evaporated.
• This dish tastes yummy when it is chilled.

Many people have this delicacy with roti or it is also eaten jus like a dessert.

The banana flavour comes out really well, and is a treat for all banana lovers !

Happy Eating :)

Khatte Aloo

This is a very simple recipe & is cooked in very little time, tastes yummy & is my all time favorite !!

Ingredients :-

• half kg potatoes, boiled & cut in wedges
• handful of curry leaves
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp rai
• 7 crushed garlic
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• pinch turmeric
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 2 tbsp sweetened tamarind pulp
• salt to taste
• chopped coriander leaves, for garnishing

Method :-

• Heat oil in a pan. Add rai + cumin seeds + curry leaves. Once they splutter, add crushed garlic + ginger garlic paste + turmeric + chilli powder + cumin powder + salt + tamarind pulp.
• Cook nicely.
• Add in the boiled potato wedges. Cook till all potato wedges are coated properly. Mix gently, so as to not break the potato wedges.
• Sprinkle with the garnish & serve hot.

Happy Eating :)

Chicken Biryani

This recipe of chicken biryani is something which I used to make every weekend on my days off, and I would wait for weekends to sit & have a proper peaceful lunch of biryani with family. The best part was, in making the biryani. I would ask everyone to leave the kitchen, put on my headphones & while listening to my favorite songs, I would go about making the biryani which my family loved :) Really, there's nothing like preparing food with love for your loved ones... It's my ultimate stress buster !!!

So, here goes.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg chicken
• half kg rice
• 4 medium size onions
• 3 medium size tomatoes
• 3 green chillies, slit
• 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 big stick cinnamon
• 4 green cardamoms
• 1 black cardamom
• 4 cloves
• 4 black peppers
• 1 tsp zeera
• 7 curry leaves
• pinch turmeric
• 1 & half tbsp saunf powder
• 2 tsp red chilli powder
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• half cup yoghurt
• kewra essence
• saffron color
• cashewnuts, a handful
• half cup milk
• fried potato wedges

Method:

• Firstly, wash the rice & soak it in water.
• In a wide pan, put oil. Once the oil is hot enough, add all the spices (curry leaves+cinnamon+cardamoms+cloves+pepper+zeera). Once, you get their aromatic smell, add in the onions. Cook till the onions have fried nicely & you get nice golden color.
• Add the tomatoes + salt. Cook till the tomatoes have liquidised. Now add the ginger garlic paste & fry nicely till oil separates.
• Then add all the masalas & fry till the raw smell of the spices go away. Then add the curd.
• Now, add the washed chicken + slit geen chillies, give it a nice stir. Cover & cook till chicken is done. After chicken is done, add the fried pcs. of potatoes in the chicken.
• Now, boil the rice in salted water. In the water add 2 tbsp oil. This will prevent the rice from stickin to each other or clumping. One the rice is cooked halfway, drain the water from the rice.
• On the cooked chicken masala, spread the rice evenly. Sprinkle fried onions & fried cashews. Mix the kewra just 2 drops + orange color in the milk & spread this on top of the rice. Also add few tbspns of ghee on the rice.
• Cover very properly & cook till you get a nice steam in the pan, or till the rice is perfectly cooked & fluffy.

Happy Eating :)

Been away from my blog for a pretty long time, and I must say that I feel pretty empty inside :(

Because of Eid, its been a few very busy & tiring days. Now that everything's over, I can start blogging again :)

I came across a very interesting fact -

" We all know that food can lead us to living happy & healthy lives, but did you know that coconut water can potentially save your life ?? In emergencies, coconut water can be used as a substitute for Blood Plasma. Because, coconut water (and not coconut milk),  is sterile & has an ideal pH level. Coconut water is liquid endosperm - it surrounds the embryo & provides nutrition. "

Well, thats one fact useful that I dint know :) :)

Happy Drinking !!!

Calzones

Calzones are made from pizza dough & stuffed with meats, cheeses & vegetables. It is like a folded pizza in the shape of a half-moon & made from bread dough.

I had fun making calzones but enjoyed the most when the family loved it :)

I used the recipe for a pizza base, slathered it with the traditional pizza sauce. Added a filling of chicken (you can make any type of filling you want) & then added lots of cheese. Folded it over & baked it !!

For the pizza dough, you need :

• 2cups flour
• 1tbsp yeast
• 1tsp sugar
• half cup warm milk
• one forth cup oil

Mix all the above very well till the dough is soft. Cover & keep aside for 3hrs atleast.

For the Pizza Sauce :

• 4 medium tomatoes
• 1 onion 
• 2tbsp olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic
• oregano + rosemary + thyme

Place all the above in a pan & cook till tomatoes are soft & sauce-like texture is obtained.

Now, make 10 portions of the dough. Take one portion of the dough & roll it in a small roti.

Spread the sauce, in the centre of the roti. Spread the chicken filling in half of the sauce area. Sprinkle cheese on top of the chicken filling. Fold the roti so that you get a half moon. Now bake all the calzones in the oven till the dough is cooked & you get a nice color on top of the calzones.

It is a really yummy & cheesy delicacy & you will enjoy it for sure !!

Happy Eating :)

Rasogulla

This is my ever favorite sweet & I can have as many as I wish :) :)

It is made from milk which is split by adding few drops of lemon or vinegar. In my case, when I boiled the milk, it split on its own so rather than wasting the entire stuff, what better way to use it for rasgulla !!!

1.5 lites of split milk gives you 28 rasgullas.

Firstly, to make the sugar syrup, you will need :

• 4cups water
• 2 and half cups sugar
• 3 cardamom pods

Boil the water alongwith the sugar + cardamom pods till the sugar is dissolved compltly & you get a nice smell of the cardamom.

Now for making the balls, hang the split milk in a muslin cloth till it is drained of all the excess water. This will take a good amount of time, like 6-7hrs.

Now, in this dried split milk add 1tsp of plain flour & mix properly. When it is mixed properly, make small balls & add them to the sugar syrup. Cook it in the syrup for 20minutes. You can check if it is cooked by removing one ball & cutting it open. If the center is firm then your rasgullahs are cooked. Cool it in the fridge & have it chilled.

A very refreshing dessert & your family will love it !!

Happy Eating :)  

  

Moong Dal Pakodas

This is one is for my veggie friends again !

For a die-hard non-veg like me, this was a tasty snack, so I am sure the veggies would also like it.

For this recipe also, I am thankful to my mom-in-law :)

Ingredients :

• 1 cup moong dal, soaked in water
• 1 small onion
• 3 chillies
• 1 tsp zeera

Chop all the above in a mixie to a fine paste, not a very thin batter.

Then add the below ingredients in the batter -

• salt
• turmeric powder
• red chilli powder
• roughly chopped onion
• chopped coriander leaves
• 2 tbsp gram flour
• half tsp baking powder

Mix properly & deep fry . 

Serve with green chutney.

Happy Eating :)

Savory Muffins

When I first got the recipe, I thot that the muffins would turn out fluffy & lite just like a sweet muffin. But was I wrong!!! All the time, while my muffins were baking, I was anxious, why were my muffins not rising ?!?!?! But then, the savory muffins dont rise much. so, dont panic when you bake your savory muffins.

This recipe was given to me by Shab & Iam so ever thankful to her. Infact she is the one, who introduced the Great White Sauce to me, which I so eagerly use in many of my recipes.

Well, here is the recipe of Savory muffins.

Ingredients :

• 1cup cooked chicken white
• 1cup grated cheddar cheese
• half cup maida
• 2tsp baking pdr
• 1 green pepper, cubed
• 1 tomato, cubed
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 beaten egg
• half tsp zeera (cumin) pdr
• half tsp crushed garlic
• half tsp chillies
• chopped coriander leaves

Method :

• Mix all together nicely.
• Place by spoon in well-greased muffin tray.
• Bake for 15-20 mins till golden brown.

Fruit Custard with Cake

Today, Iam posting a very easy & a hassle free recipe. Made this the oder day for iftaar as wanted something sweet to eat but was feeling too lazy to make.
So, I made some custard. Cut some assortment of fruits & added it to the custard. then arranged a layer of vanilla cake on the base of the tray, poured the fruit custard over it & then again topped it with cake. 

But although it looks easy, there are a few things to keep in mind.

Like, always add fruits to the custard after the custard has come down to room temperature. 

Do not make the custard very runny as normally, after adding fruits, the fruits will leave der juices makin the custard thin.

While arranging the cake at the bottom, moist the cake either with a sugar syrup or with sweet lemon syrup so that the cake is moist & juice.

Happy Eating :) 

Tiramisu

Tiramisu is an italian cake & dessert. It is made of ladyfingers which is basically a sponge cake cut in long strips, dipped in coffee & layered with a whipped mixture of egg yolks & mascarpone cheese. Since, I dint get mascarpone cheese, I used paneer or cottage cheese which is as good as mascarpone cheese. And, Tiramisu means "Pick Me Up" so go ahead make it & dig in !!

You need :

• 2pkts ladyfingers
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup espresso or instant dark coffee mixed in 1/4th cup water
• 4 tsp sugar
• 1 cup mascarpone cheese or soft cottage cheese
• unsweetened cocoa powder

Method :

• Separate egg yolks & whites.
• Add half sugar of mentioned quantity in yolks & mix well. Add cheese & mix again.
• In another bowl, mix white vigorously alongwith sugar tillit doubles in size & forms soft peaks.
• Fold the egg whites gently in the yolk & cheese mixture.
• In a deep pan, place lady fingers soaked in coffee (dont soak for a long time)
• Over the cake layer, spread the cheese mixture then sprinkle cocoa powder. Repeat the same for a second layer. 
• Cover & refrigerate for 2-3 hrs.

Happy Eating :)

RasMalai

As promised, recipe of rasmalai :)

You need :

• 1 lit milk
• 10 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp pista
• 4-5 elaichi (or you can use elaichi pdr)

Boil all the above on low flame.

For the balls :-

• 1 cup milk powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp maida

Mix all the above together & make small balls. Add the balls in boiling milk. (Make the balls very small because they will double in size in the boiling milk)

Cook for 10-12 minutes & it will be ready .

:)

Finally !!

Finally I got the hang of rasmalai !! :) :)


It was just last year that I was fascinated by the idea of trying out Desi sweets & what better than Rasmalai since he likes it so much... So, here I was all geared up with a good recipe & excited to try it & impress .... But a lesson learnt ! Evrything aint easy as it looks... The first time I made an attempt it turned out , well, lets say nt like a rasmalai but sumthin like a barfi of some sort. To start with the vessel i used was too small for 20rasmalais so they all squashed against each other & what I got was a big lump of cooked milk powder :S And and , it also turned out jus too sweet, even for my sweet tooth !!! We cud jus have 2tspns of it at a time :(


Then, I decided that may be I am nt that good with desi sweets...


But then , today, I decided , why not try again..... So, again, after a year, all ready with a new improvised recipe & wise after learnin from my previous mistake, used a much wider vessel, cooked rasmalai. And guess what, it turned out jus alrite for him to compliment me :) :) :) 


Recipe soon coming !!


Moral of the story :- NEVER SAY, I CANT DO IT !!! ;)

Wrong ! Wrong !! Wrong !!!

Today was definitely, by far, not my day in the kitchen !!! Firstly, while making chutney, the mixie lid decides to fly mid-flite & splatter chutney EVERYWHERE !!!! The cleaning took a huge chunk of my time :S And then, theres something called as a foil-cut other than a paper-cut, about which I learned today, and HOW  :( :( 


I just hate when I have such kinda days where every possible thing goes wrong :S :S :S


Fingers crossed for tomorrow :) :) 

Pasta Bake

With three elements to this dish, its a whole meal in itself ... at first you mite find it a bit too lengthy but after seeing your efforts being praised, its worth all d hard work ;)

Chicken Mince :

• 500gm chicken mince
• 1tbsp oil
• 1 green chilli sliced
• 1tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1tsp chilli powder
• half tsp coriander + cumin seed powder
• half tsp turmeric
• salt to taste

Method:

• Braise green chillies + ginger garlic paste in oil.
• Add mince + spices. Braise well, lower the heat & cook till done

Potato Mash :

• 2 large potatoes
• 1tbsp butter
• half tsp ground white pepper 
• 2tbsp lemon juice
• salt

Method :

• Boil potatoes until soft. Peel & mash.
• Mix with butter + salt +pepper + lemon juice.

Sauce :

• 3 medium tomatoes chopped
• 1tbsp oil
• 1 green chilli sliced
• 2 cloves garlic sliced
• 1tsp chilli powder
• salt to taste

Method :

• Braise green chilli + garlic in oil.
• Add tomatoes + spices. Cook till tomato softens & water evaporates.

Other than the above , you will need :

• 125gm spaghetti, boiled
• 2 cups grated cheese
• coriander leaves to garnish

To arrange -

• Pat mash evenly over base of well greased oven dish
• Mix mince + sauce together & spread over mash.
• Arrange spaghetti over mince mixture.
• Top with cheese.
• Bake at 180C for 30mins or until heated thru & cheese melts.
• Serve hot !!

Happy Eating :)

Chocoreo Mousse

For all chocolate & oreo lovers , this wud be the ultimate heavenly treat !!!! Its jus too chocolaty & yummm......

You need :

• 1 sachet Dream whip powder
• 80gm crushed oreo biscuits
• 200g dark cadbury chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 30g unsalted butter
• half cup milk
• 1tsp vanilla essence
• 1tsp gelatine
• 1tbsp cold water
• 1 sachet dream whip toppin prepared to serve

Method :

• Melt chocolate in a heat proof bowl over simmering water. Remove from heat, add butter & stir until smooth.
• Beat together dream whip powder + milk + vanilla essence until thick & creamy. Fold in the melted chocolate.
• Soften the gelatine in the cold water & then dissolve over hot water or in the microwave on low setting. Stir gently thru the chocolate mixture. Fold thru, the crushed oreos.
• Divide the mixture amongst 6 espresso cups & chill until set. Garnish with dreamwhip toppin to serve .

Happy Eating :)

Garlic Rolls

Crisp on the outside, yet cloud-soft and buttery on the inside...these flavourful and aromatic beauties are THE best rolls to have with any meal. The rich buttery taste combined with the subtle garlic flavour and the burst of aroma from the fresh herbs used make having one of these babies a fantastic experience. You can sprinkle them with sesame seeds and dust a bit of black pepper powder on some for a spicy kick !!

For the dough you will need

4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup warm milk
2 tsp instant yeast
quarter tsp baking powder
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1 egg
2 tbsp melted butter 
4 tbsp oil
2 tbsp milk powder
quarter cup warm water (you might need a little more or less)

Garlic filling:

2 tbsp room temperature butter
2 tbsp freshly chopped coriander/parsley
pinch of salt
quarter tsp garlic paste or some finely chopped garlic
1-2 very finely chopped green chilli (optional)

TIP: If you want the garlic filling more 'potent' and garlicky, add more garlic. You can play around with the filling ingredients, using more or less butter, more or less herbs etc...as you prefer it. You can make extra garlic butter and save it for garlic bread or garlic toast. It stores beautifully in the fridge for up to a week.

Sieve the flour, then add milk powder, sugar, yeast and salt. Then add the oil and butter and the egg, and mix together. Now add all the milk. Start kneading together and gradually add the water a little at a time. You might not need it all, so add it sparingly until your dough is nice and soft. Knead for a good 8-10 minutes. The more you knead it the softer the rolls will be.

Touch a bit of oil with your fingertips and apply all over the ball of dough. Cover in a bowl and set aside for 40mins to an hour for it to double in size.

Divide the dough into two balls. Keep one ball covered whilst you are working on the other one. Dust some flour on your working surface and roll it out into a rectangular shape, about quarter inch thickness. Using the back of a spoon, apply your garlic filling all over the surface. Then roll up the dough from the longer side, like a swiss roll.

Cut the roll into about 8 pieces. Place them close to each other on a greased baking dish. Repeat with the other ball of dough.

Once all the rolls are done, brush the remaining garlic butter on the tops and cover loosely with cling film or a towel, let the rolls double in size. Then pre-heat your oven at 180 C. You can brush some egg on the rolls if you like, and you can sprinkle some sesame seeds for decorative purposes. I even dusted some black pepper powder on some. Bake for about 25 minutes or until golden on top.

When you remove the rolls, keep them covered under a kitchen towel for about 10 minutes to further soften them

Happy Eating :)

*** the pic above is not mine, but the garlic rolls turned out jus the way shown above ... only dint hav the time to click them ;)

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Meaning to bake this cake since a long time!! & finaly baked it a couple of days back for his birthday :) :) I tried Nigella's recipe & it turned out yummy :) :) I say, a must try !!!!

INGREDIENTS

·         Butter for greasing

·         2 tablespoons sugar

·         6 slices pineapple from a 425g can, plus 3 tablespoons of the juice

·         11 glace cherries

·         100g plain flour

·         1 teaspoon baking powder

·         1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

·         100g soft butter

·         100g caster sugar

·         2 eggs

METHOD

1.  Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6. Butter cake tin (neither loose-bottomed nor springform).

2.       Sprinkle the 2 tablespoons of sugar on top of the buttered base, and then arrange the pineapple slices to make a circular pattern.

3.       Fill each pineapple ring with a glace cherry, and then dot one in each of the spaces in between.

4.       Put the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, butter, caster sugar and eggs into a food processor and run the motor until the batter is smooth. Then pour in the 3 tablespoons of pineapple juice to thin it a little.

5.        Pour this mixture carefully over the cherry-studded pineapple rings; it will only just cover it, so spread it out gently.

6.       Bake for 30 minutes, then ease a spatula around the edge of the tin, place a plate on top and, with one deft - ha! - move, turn it upside-down.

You can have it chilled in the fridge but it tastes good when it is warm & served with vanilla ice cream .

Happy Eating :) :)