Recipes by Rashmi

SWEET AND SOUR PAPAYA DRINK

2008-05-14T12:41:00.000-07:00

Papaya is a healthy and nutritious fruit which is ignored by people. Papaya helps people who are suffering from constipation. It also provides relief from piles and has anti-cancer properties. It prevents urinary stones and helps to lower down the cholesterol level. I am sharing this papaya drink recipe, which can help to prevent constipation and piles. You can also enjoy this chilled papaya drink in summer.

INGREDIENTS:

Ripe papaya cube – 1 ½ cup
Lime juice – 4-5 tbsp
Black pepper – 1tsp
Rock salt – 1 tsp
Salt – ½ tsp
Sugar – 3-4 tbsp or Splenda (sugar free sweetener)– 3-4 tbsp
Chilled water - 1- 1 ½ cup
Crushed ice

METHOD:

Take a blender and put all ingredients except ice. Blend them into a smooth puree.
Now, take a glass and put some crushed ice. After that pour blended papaya mixture over crushed ice and chilled papaya drink is ready.

CHICKPEAS BURGER

2008-05-14T12:18:00.000-07:00

Here is another veggie burger recipe which my son loves.

Cooking Time: 15 min

Serves: 5

INGREDIENTS:

Boiled chickpeas – 1 ½ cup or chickpeas - 1 can
Boiled potatoes – 2(medium size)
Spring onions – 3-4(chopped)
Green chili – 1-2(chopped)(optional)
Ginger grated – 1 tbsp
Sesame seeds – 3-4 tbsp
All purpose flour (maida) – 2 tbsp
Coriander leaves – 2 tbsp
White pepper – 1tsp
Black pepper – 1tsp
Salt to taste
Lettuce leaves -2 (cut into small pieces)
Tomato ketchup
Mustard sauce
Onion dip (optional)
Burger buns – 5
Oil for greasing

METHOD:

Take a bowl and mix boiled chickpeas, potato, spring onion, green chili, ginger, all purpose flour, salt, black & white pepper. Make smooth dough and divide this dough in 5 equal portions. Now make 5 flat patties and wrap up in sesame seeds.
Now heat a flat greased pan and put 2-3 patties on heated pan in one time. Cook them on medium heat for 5-6 min or until bottom side gets golden brown. Now turn the other side and cook another 5-6 min or until this side also turns golden brown. Repeat this procedure for remaining portions.
Now heat the burger buns on pan. Now take bottom piece of bun and put onion dip prepared patty, lettuce, mustard sauce. Cover it with other half of the bun. Now, put some tomato ketchup on the top of burger. Chickpeas Burger is ready to serve.

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TAMARIND CHUTNEY

2008-05-07T16:02:00.001-07:00

Cooking time – 20-30 min

INGREDIENTS:

Tamarind pulp – 4 tbsp
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Fennel seeds – 1 tsp
Cardamom powder – 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Sugar – 4-5 tbsp
Jaggery pieces – 1-2 (1 inch)
Cooking oil – 1 tbsp
1 ½ -2 cup water

METHOD:

Mix tamarind pulp with water. Now heat a deep vessel with oil. Add cumin and fennel seeds. When they crackle, add tamarind water and keep stirring. Bring it to boil. Now reduce the heat to medium low heat and add salt and sugar. Mix them well. Let it cook for 10-15 min on medium low heat. After that add jaggery pieces and turn off the stove. Let it cool for 2-3 hr and mix them well. Tamarind chutney is ready.

We can store this chutney for 1-2 months in refrigerator. Use this chutney with kachori ,dahi vada, chaat etc.

chutney dips sauce tamarind imli

VEGETABLE NARGISI KOFTA

2008-05-07T15:40:00.000-07:00

Nargisi kofta is an exotic Awadhi dish (Uttar Pradesh in India). It’s not as difficult as it looks or sounds. It is very easy to prepare and we really don’t need too many ingredients for this dish. All these ingredients would be easily available in your kitchen. I prepare this NARGISI KOFTA with all kinds of vegetables or with chicken & eggs.

Cooking Time: 45 min

Serves: 4-5

INGRDIENTS:

For Kofta

Boiled vegetables (potato, cauliflower, green peas, carrots) – 1 ½ cup
Paneer ( grated) – 1/2cup
Grated ginger – 1 tbsp
Black pepper – 1 tbsp
White pepper – 1 tbsp
Maida (all purpose flour) – 3-4 tbsp
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

For Gravy

1 medium size boiled onion paste
3-4 tbsp tomato puree or 1 medium size tomato (chopped)
Canola/olive/vegetable oil – 2-3 tbsp
Bay leaves – 2
Ginger paste – 1 tbsp
Garlic paste – 1 tbsp
Red chili powder – 1tsp
Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
Coriander powder – 1 tbsp
Garam masala powder – 1tsp
Milk – ½ cup
Fresh cream – 2 tbsp
Salt to taste

METHOD:

For kofta

Take a bowl and mix all ingredients of kofta except oil. Make small kofta balls from this mixture.
Heat oil on high in deep frying pan and deep fry all koftas until they turn to golden brown. (While frying if you find balls are splattering then add little more maida into this mixture.) Drain all koftas on absorbent paper to absorb extra oil and keep them aside.

For Gravy

Now heat a vessel with oil and add bay leaves. After that add onion, ginger and garlic paste. Reduce the heat to medium and fry this mixture until it turns translucent and oil starts to separate.
Now add red chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and salt in this mixture. Mix well and cook it for another 5 min on medium heat
Add milk and little water into this mixture to make gravy. Bring it to boil on high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low. Add fresh cream and garam masala powder. Mix it well and cover this vessel with a lid. Cook this gravy for another 3-4 min on medium low heat. Now turn off the stove.
Add koftas into this prepared Gravy and serve hot with rice or chapatti. (Remember one thing; add koftas to gravy only 5-6min before serving otherwise kofta would break.)

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CORIANDER/CILANTRO MINT CHUTNEY

2008-04-22T09:01:00.000-07:00

Here is the coriander mint chutney recipe. It goes well with any veg or non-veg snacks. We can serve it with stuffed parathas.

Preparation time – 10 min

INGREDIENTS:

Coriander/Cilantro leaves – 2 bunches
Green chilies – 4-5
Ginger piece (about 1”)
Mint leaves – 1 cup
Salt to taste
Lime juice – 4-5 tbsp
Mustard oil – 1 tbsp

METHOD:

Wash carefully all coriander & mint leaves under running water. Chop all leaves, chilies & ginger and place all these ingredients in processor. Add salt in it and grind them to make a smooth paste. If required then add little water and make a smooth paste. Now place this chutney in bowl and add lime juice & mustard oil. Mix them well and serve with kebabs, samosa, fritters, cheela etc.

We can store this chutney for 7-8 days in refrigerator. Keep this chutney in air tight container or bottle and store for a week.

chutney dips sauce cilantro mint dhaniya coriander

DAHI VADA (BLACK GRAM LENTIL FRITTER IN YOGURT)

2008-04-22T08:56:00.000-07:00

Dahi vada is a kind of chat which is prepared by soaked Urad daal (black gram) fritter in thick spicy yogurt. This is a very famous dish in all over India and each part of India has its own taste & recipe. In North India we serve this dish by garnishing with tamarind chutney and in Southern part, it is seasoned with mustard seeds, chilies & curry leaves. During Holi in North India this is a very popular snacks.

Serves: 3-4

INGREDIENTS:

For Vada

1 cup black gram lentil (urad dal) soaked in water for 2-3 hr
2” piece of ginger
Black pepper -7-8
Salt to taste
Raisins
Oil for deep frying

For Dahi mixture

Yogurt (curd) – 2 cup
Chat masala -2-3 tbsp
Rock salt -1-2tbsp
Tamarind chutney – 5-6 tbsp
Roasted cumin seeds powder – 2-3 tbsp
Red chili powder – 2 tsp

METHOD:

Grind soaked black gram lentil (urad daal) with ginger & black pepper in a food processor by using little water and make smooth paste. Now mix salt to taste.
Now heat deep frying pan with oil. Make small round shaped vadas from the paste you made in the last step. Deep fry them in hot oil until vada turns to golden brown. Drain all vadas on absorbent paper and keep them aside to cool on room temperature.
After cooling vada , add these vadas in hot water for 2-3 min. Take them out from water and squeeze extra water from vadas. Now take one raisin and stuff in center of vada by pressing it with your finger. Repeat this procedure for remaining vadas. Keep them aside.
Now blend the yogurt (curd) with rock salt to taste and little water.
Place all vadas in shallow serving dish and pour blended yogurt mixture over vadas. Keep this dish in refrigerator for 1-2 hr to soak vadas in yogurt mixture and get chilled.
Take out chilled and soaked vada from refrigerator. Now sprinkle red chilli powder, roasted cumin powder over vadas and add little tamarind chutney on each vada.
Serve chilled dahi vada in snacks, starter or as side dish.

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PEARL SAGO PUDDING (SABUDANA KHEER)

2008-04-13T16:09:00.000-07:00

There is always a debate on whether pearl sago is heathy for diabetic people. Some say it’s good for them while others say it gives lots of carbohydrates which is not healthy for people having diabetes. So this is not good for diabetic people.

Let’s don’t indulge in this controversy. My mom says pearl sago is good for growing age of children and specially new moms. They need more & more energy and sago is good source of energy. 100 gm of pearl sago yields 100 calories, including approx 94 gm carbohydrate and very less amount of protein, fiber, fat.

Sago is kind of dry fruit and in India this is especially used during festive occasion like Navratri, Janamashtami…. Some other dishes prepared using sago are PEARL SAGO KHICHADI, PEARL SAGO PUDDING etc. Sago kheer/pudding is served to patients to help recover faster by gaining energy. The kheer/pudding is also served in dessert.

We were celebrating Navratri festival last week and used to prepare pearl sago pudding/sabudana kheer twice a day. This prompted me to share the recipe of this pudding.

Cooking Time: 30 min

Serves: 3-4

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup of pearl sago
½ -1 cup of sugar/sugar free (SPLENDA)
3 cup of whole milk
Cardamom powder – 1 tsp
Pinch of saffron
Chopped nuts (cashew, almonds, pistachio)

METHOD:

Wash the pearl sago and drain out all the water. Keep them aside for 1 hr to set.
Now heat milk in heavy bottomed vessel until it reaches to boiling state . Reduce the heat and add washed pearl sago. Mix them well and keep stirring otherwise sago will stick to the bottom surface. Continue cooking on medium heat until sago turns soft and translucent.
Add sugar/sugar free and chopped nuts. Mix them well and turn off the heat. Pearl sago pudding is ready, but serve chilled pudding. (Remember one thing while cooking this pudding should not be very thick otherwise pudding would be hard and sticky after 2-3 hours of cooking of this pudding.)

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STUFFED CHEESE RICE FRITTER (RICE PAKAURA)

2008-04-04T13:27:00.000-07:00

Sometime it’s really too hard to consume left over food. If you had thrown party, then I am sure you faced this situation that lots of cooked rice or any other foods left over. Last weekend it’s happened to me. Lots of cooked rice was left in my fridge. I was very confuse, what to do with that rice…… because we really did not want to have that rice again. I thought so much but couldn’t find the right solution and coincidentally by that time my favorite cookery programme was telecasting on TV. In that show chef was talking and preparing this fritter with left over rice. I liked this idea and adapted this recipe from that show. I made some changes and prepare this delicious fritter.If you are in hurry and have to prepare something for your guests then you can try this dish.

Servings: 3-4

Cooking time: 15min

INGREDIENTS:

Pre-cooked rice -1 ½ -2 cup
Boiled potatoes (peeled & grated) – 2
Green chilies chopped - 2-3 (according to your taste)
Onion (chopped) – 2-3 tbsp
Crushed white pepper - 2 tsp
Coriander leaves (cilantro) chopped – 2 tbsp
Cheese cube – 10-12 small pieces (about 1/4”)
Ginger (grated) – 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Oil for deep fry
Bread crumbs

METHOD:

Take all ingredients except oil and cheese cubes in a large bowl. Mix them well and knead soft dough.
Now divide this dough in 10-12 equal portions. Take one portion of dough and stuff cheese cube. After that, with the help of greased hand make round ball of this stuffed dough. Repeat this procedure for left portions of dough.
Spread the bread crumbs in shallow dish and roll the stuffed cheese rice balls in bread crumbs. Shake off any excess bread crumbs.
Now heat deep frying pan with oil on smoking point. Reduce the heat and deep fry all stuffed cheese rice ball until they turn to light brown in two batches. Try to avoid crowding the frying pan with fritters.
Take out the fritters on paper towel to absorb the excess oil of these fritters. Serve with any sauce and hot ginger tea.

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SWEET OMELET

2008-04-03T09:20:00.000-07:00

This is my husband's creation and I give him full credit for that. He is diabetic but cannot resist sweets. One morning he asked me to add sugar in the omelet instead of salt. First I laughed at the idea but just for fun I actually tried making a sweet omelet. It was not bad. In fact it was quite good. Even my 2 1/2 year old son liked it.

Cooking time: 10 min

Servings: 2

INGREDIENTS:
1. Eggs – 2 or ½ cup egg white
2. Almonds – 2-3 (chopped)
3. Cashew nuts – 2-3 ( chopped)
4. Raisins – 5-6
5. All purpose flour – 1 tbsp
6. Whole milk – 1-2 tbsp
7. Coco powder – 1 ½ tsp(optional)
8. Sugar/Splenda (sugar free)/brown sugar – 1-2 tbsp
9. Cinnamon powder - ½ tsp
10. Oil for greasing
11. Honey - 1-2 tbsp(optional)

METHOD:
1. Take a bowl and break eggs in it. Add milk, all purpose flour, coco powder, and sugar & cinnamon powder and make smooth batter. Keep it aside.
2. Now heat a flat pan and grease with oil. After that pour half of batter on heated pan and spread smoothly in 6-7 inches diameter. Sprinkle chopped nuts and cooks it on medium heat for 2-3 min or until bottom side turns light brown. Turn to other side and cook for 2 more minutes or until it gets cooked.
3. Sweet omelet is ready to serve. If you want eat this omelet with honey then pour 1 tbsp of honey over prepared omelet. We can serve this omelet in breakfast.

egg sweet nuts omelet splenda

PAPADI(HOME MADE CRACKER)

2008-04-03T07:54:00.000-07:00

Papadi is small round shaped crispy salty famous snacks of India. We prepare these snacks on the festive occasion of Holi or Diwali. It is also sold by roadside hockers.We can use these Papadis as evening snacks or we can prepare spicy chat with them.

Time: 20-25 min

INGREDIENTS:

1. 2 cup wheat flour
2. 3-4 tbsp ghee / vegetable oil
3. 1tbsp ajwain
4. Oil for deep fry
5. Salt to taste
6. Water

METHOD:

Take a bowl and mix all ingredients except oil (for deep frying) together. Now add little-little water at a time and make firm & stiff dough.
Now make 50-60 balls from this dough and roll them out in round shape papadi about 2” diameter. After rolling the balls, prick the papadi’s with fork all over. Remember one thing papadi should be very thin.
Now heat oil in deep frying pan. Add 4-5 Papadis in hot oil and deep fry them till they turn to crispy & golden brown. Take them out from oil and place on paper towel to absorb extra oil. Serve these papadi as snacks with hot tea or use in Papadis chat.

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QUICK VEGGIE RICE (TAHARI)

2008-03-26T08:45:00.000-07:00

This recipe is specially for bachelors. Quick veggie rice can be made without much effort. As we know cooking can be a painful job for bachelors but there are some quick, healthy, tasty & easy recipes for them. For example, rice poha, bread poha, veggie rice etc. I am going to share recipe of QUICK VEGGIE RICE, which is very popular in north India. This dish is known by the name of TAHARI.

Cooking time – 15 min

Serves – 2-3

INGREDIENTS:

Basmati rice – 1 ½ cup ( soaked in water for at least ½ hr but not necessary)
Butter/ghee/olive oil – 2 tbsp
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Frozen green peas - ¼ cup
Grated /thin sliced carrot - ¼ cup
Potatoes – 2 ( peeled & cut into bite size)
Cauliflower florets – 4-5
Salt to taste
Garam masla – 1 tsp
Water – 2 ¾ -3 cup
½ red onion (sliced )

METHOD:

Drain the water from soaked rice in colander and let it be in it for 10-15 min. If you are in a hurry then only wash the rice with water 2-3 time. Now heat a pressure cooker with butter /ghee /oil. Add cumin seeds, when they crackle, add sliced onion and fry them on medium heat for2-3 min. Now add green peas, carrot, potatoes, cauliflower florets & salt and mix them well. Stir occasionally and cook for another 2-3 min on medium heat.
After that add washed rice in cooker and mix well. Keep stirring for another 1-2 min otherwise rice will stick to the bottom. Now add water & garam masala and mix it well. Close the pressure cooker tightly with its cover. Increase the heat to high and cook till first whistle comes. Turn off the heat and let it cool. After 10-15 min uncover the cooker and serve hot veggie rice with salted yogurt or raita.

If you don't have a pressure cooker then you can prepare this rice in any other vessel. After adding water & garam masala, bring it to boil. Now reduce the heat to medium and cook till water evaporates. Turn off the heat and cover it with lid. Let it set and cool 10-15 min .Veggie rice is ready to be served.
veggie rice rice fried rice bachelors tahari

CHICKEN BIRYANI

2008-03-24T19:44:00.000-07:00

Biryani is derived from persian word 'Birian' which means fried or roasted. Basically this dish is south Asian dish made from mixture of spices, rice,meat or vegetables and curd. There is 20-30 kind of Biryani and each kind has its own taste. In India chicken biryani is very famous rice dish. We can find this dish every restaurant and parties. Its preparation took long time but finally when you have this Biryani you could realize its worth.
Servings: 4
Cooking Time: 45-60 min
INGERDIENTS:
1. Boneless chicken -1lb ( cut into bite size )
2. 1 cup non-fat yogurt
3. Ginger paste – 1tbsp
4. Garlic paste – 1tbsp
5. Cloves -3-4
6. Green cardamom – 4
7. Cinnamon stick – 1 ( about 1”)
8. Bay leaf – 1
9. Cumin seeds – 1tsp
10. Coriander powder – 2 tbsp
11. Cumin powder - ½ tbsp
12. Turmeric powder -1 tsp
13. A pinch of saffron ( soaked in water)
14. Garam masala – 1tsp
15. Red chili powder – 1tbsp
16. 1 large onion ( roughly chopped)
17. 1 large tomato (chopped)
18. 1 medium size red onion ( cut into thin slices)
19. 4 tbsp butter/ ghee/ olive oil
20. 4-5 tbsp olive oil
21. 10 cashew nuts
22. 8-10 raisins
23. 8-10 almonds
24. 2 cups white basmati rice ( soaked in water for 1 hr)
25. Salt to taste
26. 2 boiled egg ( cut into halves )
METHOD:
1. Drain water from soaked rice in a colander and let it be in it for 20 minutes. Now place the rice in a heavy bottomed vessel with 3 ½ cups of water, 1/2 tbsp of salt and few drops of oil. Cover it and bring to boil over high heat. Uncover it and cook without stirring on medium heat for about 7-8 min or until rice becomes just tender (take a few grains and chew them. Are they cooked??). Remember, rice should not be overcooked otherwise rice grains won't remain separated from each other. Turn off the stove and cover with lid.
2. Take a bowl and place boneless chicken, yogurt, cumin powder, bay leaf, garam masala powder, 2 cardamom pods, 2 cloves and garlic-ginger paste in it. Mix them well and keep this bowl in refrigerator for marinating the chicken.
3. After that, heat a pan with 3 tbsp of olive oil. Add cumin seeds, 2 cardamom pods, 2 cloves and cinnamon stick. When they crackle, add coarsely chopped onion and salt. Fry on medium heat until onions turn translucent. Now add chopped tomato and fry for another 2-3 min on medium heat. After that, add marinated chicken, turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder and mix well. Fry them for 4-5 min on medium high heat and stir occasionally. Add 1 cup of water and cook till chicken pieces get cooked.
4. Again heat a pan with butter/ghee/oil. Add cashews, dry grapes & almonds and fry them for 1 min on medium heat. Now add red onion slices and sauté them till they turn to golden brown. Remove this pan from heat.
5. After that, take a heavy bottomed pot. Spread a layer of nuts and onion mixture (1/3 of the mixture prepared in the previous step) in it. Now, spread a layer of cooked rice (1/3 of total rice) over it and sprinkle saffron water. After that, spread 1/3 of chicken mixture prepared in 3rd step. Repeat this procedure for rest of the nuts & onion mixture, rice, saffron water and chicken mixture.
6. Cover the pot with lid and cook on low heat for 25-30 min or until steam starts coming out of the lid. Turn off the stove. Place this chicken biryani in serving bowl and place the boiled egg halves on rice & serve with raita.

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RASGULLA (CHEESE BALL IN SYRUP)

2008-03-19T09:44:00.000-07:00

Rasgulla is a traditional Bengali sweet dish, but it was invented in Puri, a temple city in Orissa, India. It is very soft, spongy cottage cheese ball cooked in sugar syrup.

Serves-4

INGREDIENTS:
1. Whole milk-4 cup
2. White vinegar-3-4 tbsp
3. Cotton cloth or muslin
4. Sugar-1/2 cup
5. Water-1 ½ cup
6. Cardamom powder-1/2 tsp

METHOD
1. Boil the milk in a heavy bottomed vessel on medium heat and keep stirring otherwise milk will stick to the bottom. When milk starts to boil, reduce the heat and add vinegar one by one tbsp and keep stirring. Within 1-2 minutes, you can see small curds floating on top. Wait till these curds get bigger. Wait for 3-4 min and turn off the heat & let it stand for 20 min.
2. After that take a colander wrapped with cotton cloth or muslin. Pour all curdle milk in this wrapped colander over your kitchen sink. Collect the curds and discard the whey.
3. Keep the curds in cotton cloth, tie a knot and hang it over the sink. Let it drip for 1-2 hr. Now open the knot. Paneer is ready. You can use it to make any other paneer dish too.
4. Now we have to knead this paneer in to a soft dough. You can kneed with your hand or can use a processor. Make a soft dough of paneer and cardamom powder.
5. Now make 10 small paneer balls with your palms. If required, grease your palm with little oil.

6. Heat a deep vessel with ½ cup of sugar and 1 ½ cup of water. When this syrup starts to boil, add paneer balls one by one. Cook them on high heat for 5-6 min. Now cover the vessel and cook them on medium low heat for 7-8 min. Turn off the heat and let it stand for 30 min.

7. Now place the all rasgullas with syrup in a bowl and keep them in refrigerator for 1-2 hr. Serve chilled rasgullas as a dessert.

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MATAR PANEER (INDIAN CHEESE WITH PEAS)

2008-03-19T09:24:00.000-07:00

This dish is very common and popular in India. Basically this dish is very rich and high in calories. People use ghee /butter and purchased paneer for this dish but I use vegetable oil and home made paneer (from low fat milk) for less calories. I enjoy this curry with tandoori roti and raita.
Cooking Time: 20-25 min
Serves: 4
INGREDIENTS:
1. 1 cup of fresh peas /frozen peas
2. 1 ½ cup of paneer cubes
3. ½ cup of milk
4. 7-8 cashews’ paste (soaked in milk& blend into paste)
5. 1 medium onion (roughly chopped)
6. 2 medium tomatoes/1 cup tomato puree
7. 1 ½ tbsp ginger garlic paste
8. 1tsp turmeric powder
9. 1tsp cumin powder
10.1tbsp coriander powder
11. 1 tsp chili powder
12. 4 tbsp olive oil / clarify butter( ghee)
13. Salt to taste
14. 1 tsp cumin seeds
15. 1-2 bay leaf

METHOD:
1. Take a blender and blend roughly chopped onion into paste. If you are using fresh tomatoes then blend tomatoes separately into puree.
2. Heat oil/butter in a deep pan and fry paneer cubes until they turn to light brown. Drain on paper towel & set them aside.
3. In remaining oil, add cumin seeds & bay leaf. When they crackle, add onion paste & ginger garlic paste and fry them on medium heat until they turn to translucent. Now add tomato puree and all spices (cumin, turmeric. chili, coriander powder) & salt. Keep stirring and cook this mixture on medium heat for 5-6 min or till oil starts to separate from mixture.
4. Now add milk & cashews’ paste and mix them well. At last add fried paneer cubes and mix them well in gravy. If required then add little water and cook another 5 min on low heat. Turnoff the stove and sprinkle chopped coriander leaves on this dish.
5. Serve prepared Matar paneer with naan, paratthas or chapaties.

MUNG DAL KACHORI

2008-03-10T18:15:00.000-07:00

Kachori is a very famous, spicy & mouthwatering north Indian snack or breakfast. It is a flatten puffed bread stuffed with yellow lentil (mung). Last weekend we decided to enjoy our evening with a movie at home. Also, I prepared mung dal kachori and served with chutney. It was a great treat as everyone enjoyed very much.

Cooking Time - 30 min

Preparation Time – 15-20 min

INGREDIENTS :

For dough:

1. 1 ½ cup wheat flour

2. 1 cup sooji

3. 1 cup of ghee /oil

4. 1 tbsp salt

5. 1 tsp baking powder

For filling :

1. 1/2 cup mung dal ( soaked in water for 2-3 hr )

2. 2-3 green chilies

3. ½ “ of ginger piece

4. Salt to taste

5. 1 tsp onion seeds

6. Pinch of asafoetida

7. 1 tsp turmeric powder

8. 1 tsp red chili powder

9. 1 tsp dried mango powder

10. 1 tsp cumin seeds

11. 1-1 ½ tbsp olive oil/ canola oil

12. 2 tbsp gram flour

For frying :

1. 2 cup ghee / canola oil

METHOD:

For dough :

1. Take flour, sooji, salt & baking powder in big bowl. Add oil /ghee into it. Use required water and knead to make a firm dough. Keep aside for 15-30 min and cover with wet cloth.

For filling :

1. Grind soaked dal in processor with green chili, ginger & salt.

2. Now heat a frying pan with oil. Add asafoetida and cumin seeds. When they crackle, add mung dal's mixture and keep stirring till they get cooked ( If mung dal mixture does not stick to the pan then it means mixture is cooked ).

3. Now add turmeric, red chili powder, gram flour, dried mango powder & onion seeds and saute for 6-8 min on medium heat. Turn off the stove and let the mixture cool.

For kachoris :

1. Divide the dough into small ball-sized portion and roll into balls between your palm till they are smooth and without cracks.

2. Roll a ball into 3”-4” circle and keep 1-2 tbsp of moong dal's mixture in center. Gather the edges and seal. Now again roll it like 4”-5” of circle. Make all kachoris in the same way. Keep them aside for 15-20 min.

3. Now heat a deep pan with oil on smoking point. After that add 1-2 kachori to the heated oil and fry them till they turn to golden brown. Remove the kachoris from oil and drain on paper towel to remove the excess oil. Serve hot kachoris with tamarind / coriander chutney or potato curry.

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PITA BREAD PIZZA

2007-10-07T14:18:00.000-07:00

Pita bread is ideal for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, appetizers and even desserts. It makes the perfect pizza crust. Last week I tried this bread for a home made pizza.

Cooking Time – 10-15 min

Serves – 2

INGERDIENTS:

8 inch flat pita bread – 1
5-6 thin slices of bell pepper/capsicum
5-6 thin slices of mushroom
1-2 tbsp grated carrot
4-5 olives (diced)
2 tbsp of hummus
2-3 tbsp of salsa
2 tbsp of cheddar cheese

METHOD:

Preheat an oven at 370 degree for 10 min.
Meanwhile take a pita bread and spread over hummus & salsa. Place all thin sliced vegetable and diced olives. At last sprinkle grated cheddar cheese.
Now place this bread in greased baking tray and place this tray in a preheated oven. Bake this bread for 12-15 min or until cheese melts and pita bread has reached desired crispiness. Turn off the oven and take it out. Cut into 4-5 pieces and serve hot.

pizza pita snack home made cheese baked

MUSHROOM PUFFS

2007-09-15T20:25:00.000-07:00

Serves : 2-3

Cooking Time : 30-35 min

INGREDIENTS:-

whole button mushroom-6
eggs-3 OR 1/2 cup egg white
1 spoon chopped onion
1 spoon grated carrot
1 spoon green peas
1 spoon corn
1 spoon grated cheese
1 spoon grated tofu
thin capsicum slices-6
¼ teaspoon black pepper
salt to taste
1 spoon olive oil/ Pam spray

METHOD:

Wash mushrooms under running water. Wipe with paper towel softly. Now take a knife and separate the stem from mushroom cap. It looks small bowls. Keep them aside.
Heat a pan and grease with oil or Pam spray. Add chopped onion, carrot, green peas, corn, tofu
and saute for 2min. Remove the pan from heat. Take a bowl and beat all eggs. Add salt to taste and black pepper. Pour this mixture in mushroom caps. After that keep one capsicum slice on each cap and sprinkle some of grated cheese.
Preheat an oven at 375 degree. Take a baking tray and wrap it with foil paper. Grease with oil or spray. Place the stuffed Mushroom caps in that tray and bake for 15 min. After baking it we should broil it further 5-10 min. Now remove the mushroom cap from oven. It is ready to serve.
Enjoy the Mushroom puffs as starter or as evening snacks. Serve it with any kind of drinks.

mushroom eggs cuisine recipe puffs snacks mushroom recipe

GARLIC PANEER ROLL

2007-09-15T20:09:00.000-07:00

Paneer/ Indian Cottage Cheese is a great option for vegetarian people. In India party or special family dinner can not be complete without paneer dishes. I prepare many dishes of paneer like shahi paneer, malai kofta, palak paneer, rasgulla, paneer tikka etc. I just tried this Garlic paneer roll with garlic herb tortilla and paneer. Its not like paneer tikka roll but it's taste is really good. Paneer tikka roll is traditional Indian dish but this one is my experiment.

Cooking time – 15 min

Serves – 2

INGREDIENTS:

2 zesty garlic herb tortilla/plain tortilla
1-2 tbsp coriander/cilantro chutney
3 tbsp olive oil
8-10 paneer pieces (in 1” size)
2 baby corn (cut in lengthwise)
1 mushroom (cut in thin slices)
Garlic salt to taste
seasoning salt to taste (optional)
White pepper powder – 1tsp

METHOD:

For roll filling, heat a pan with 2 tbsp oil. Now add cut baby corn & mushroom slices and saute them for 2 min on medium high heat. After that add paneer pieces and fry on medium heat for 2 more minutes. Sprinkle garlic salt, seasoning salt & white pepper powder and mix them well. Turn off the stove and mix cilantro chutney in paneer mixture. Keep it aside.
Now heat a pan and heat all tortillas on this pan. Place heated tortilla on plain surface and keep ½ of paneer mixture in the mid of tortilla. Make a roll like in the picture.
Now heat a pan with ½ tbsp of oil or pam spray and fry these prepared rolls each side until they get light brown. Cut into 2 pieces of roll and serve hot with tomato sauce or tamarind chutney.

indian cuisine recipe recipes paneer paneer roll cheese cottage cheese garlic

SPICY BREAD CHAAT

2007-09-15T19:50:00.000-07:00

In India chaat is a very famous snack. I make various kind of chats like samosa, tikki, spinach chat etc. Bread chat is one of them. It is a bit spicy but irrest. Fat free croutans are easily available in grocery stores which you can use to make this chaat. You can buy ready made tamarind chutney from Indian grocery store but I prefer to use home made tamarind chutney.

Serves:2

Preparation time: 10 min

INGREDIENTS:

Croutans/fried bread pieces – 20
½ tortilla (cut into small pieces) deep fried
Chat masala – 2 tsp
Roasted cumin powder – 2 tsp
Boiled chickpeas/canned chickpeas / chickpeas curry ( chana masala ) – 1 cup
½ red medium size onion (chopped)
1-2 green chilies (chopped)
2 tbsp tamarind chutney/tomato sauce
Mint leaves – 4-5
Chopped coriander leaves – 1 tbsp
Chopped tomato – 1-2 tbsp
Boiled & peeled potato – 2 (sliced)
Salt to taste
Beaten & salted yogurt - ½ cup

METHOD:

If you do not have croutans then you can use deep fried bread pieces.
Soak the dry chickpeas in water for 5-6 hr and after that boil in pressure cooker with salt and water. Drain the chickpeas in colander. You can also use canned chickpeas.
Cut the boiled and peeled potato in thin slices.
Now take a bowl or snacks plate and spread half of potato slices & half of boiled chickpeas. Pour salted yogurt over them. Sprinkle cumin powder, spread half of croutans, chopped onion, green chili and coriander leaves. Now pour 1 tbsp of tamarind chutney and add some of deep fried tortilla pieces. At last sprinkle 1 tsp of chat masala. Mouthwatering bread chat is ready to serve.

chaat bread croutans traditional indian cuisine dish recipe recipes bread chaat

MANGO KULFI

2007-09-15T19:34:00.000-07:00

Kulfi is traditional Indian ice cream. It is very easy to make that we don't even need electric ice cream maker to make it. Traditional kulfi is made in earthenware cones but we can make it in our home freezer too. In India , still traditional kulfi sellers come door to door with their traditional earthenware pot of kulfi on hand carts. Whenever I go to my parents place in summer, i enjoy my most of evening with traditional kulfi ( matka kulfi ). My favorite is mango kulfi.

INGREDIENTS:

1 tbsp unflavored gelatin
4-5 tbsp hot water
2 ripe mango's pulp
½ liter whole milk
½ cup milk powder
¼ cup sugar / SPLENDA ( sugar free )
1 tsp cardamom powder
Handful chopped nuts ( almonds + pistachios )
15-20 raisins

METHOD:

Take a bowl with hot water and add gelatin. Allow to dissolve it in water.
Now take milk & milk powder in a deep heavy bottomed vessel. Mix them well and bring to boil. Add sugar or sugar free ( SPLENDA) in that vessel. Now reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 10-12 min or until mixture gets thick. After that turn off the heat and let it cool for approx 1 hr.
Now add dissolved gelatin, mango pulp and cardamom powder in the mixture. Mix them well and transfer this mixture in a freezer container.
Place this container in freezer until mixture is half frozen. Remove this mixture from freezer and blend in blender or processor until it becomes smooth. Now repack in individual molds or bowl and freeze again until half frozen but, still smooth & creamy. Mango kulfi is ready. Garnish with chopped nuts & raisins and serve chilled.

mango kulfi icecream dessert sweet dish indian traditional indian

KALAKAND (MILK CAKE)

2007-08-25T22:55:00.000-07:00

Kalakand is a very famous Indian sweet dish. On the festive and joyful occasion of Raksha-bandhan, I prepare kalakand at home for my sweet younger brother. This is my favorite and my brother's too. This year Raksha-bandhan is on 28th August and my brother won't be with me at that time. Don't worry..this recipe is for him only :)

Cooking time – 20 min

INGERDIENTS:

Whole milk -1 liter
Home made paneer – 500 gm
Sugar / Splenda sugar free - ½ cup
Chopped nuts - ½ cup ( Almonds, Pistachio )
Cardamom powder – 1 tsp
Butter / ghee for greasing

METHOD:

Turn on the stove and boil milk in a heavy bottomed vessel. Meanwhile, mash paneer with your hand. When milk comes to a boil add mashed paneer and keep stirring. Reduce the heat to medium and stir till liquid evaporates and the mixture thickens.
Add sugar /Splenda sugar free & cardamom powder in this mixture and mix well. Keep stirring till excess liquid evaporates. Now it should look like semi-solid mixture. Remove this mixture from heat.
Take a plate/tray and grease with butter/ghee and spread all chopped nuts. Now spread this hot semi-solid mixture in the greased plate/tray. Let it cool for 2-3 hr. Cut into burfi or desired shape and serve this Kalakand as dessert.

kalakand milkcake sweet indian recipe recipes dessert cake

VEGGIE SOY BURGER

2007-08-18T17:43:00.000-07:00

I adapted this recipe from one of my favorite cookery shows. Soy products are very healthy and nutritious. This recipe is made from soy chunks. I also love soy chunk curry & pulav but I never thought about this soy burger. Thanks to the cookery show for this easy, delicious and healthy dish.

Cooking time – 20 min

Serves – 4

INGREDIENTS

Burger buns – 4
Soy chunks – 20-25
Milk - ½ cup
2 tbsp grated carrot
2 tbsp green peas
2 tbsp cut corn
2 tbsp red onion (chopped)
1 tsp ginger (chopped)
2 tbsp all purpose flour
2-3 green chilies
Olive oil – 2-3 tbsp
Ranch (salad dressing) – 3-4 tbsp
Tomato sauce – 3-4 tbsp
lettuce leaves
4 slices of tomato
4 slices of red onion
Salt to taste

METHOD

Soak soy chunks in hot milk for ½ hr. After that take a processor and add soy chunks, carrot, green peas, corn, chopped onion, green chilies, ginger, salt & grind them .Take this mixture in a bowl and add all purpose flour. Make a smooth dough.
Divide this dough in 4 equal portion and make 4 flat patties.
Now heat a flat greased pan and put patties and cook them on medium high heat for 7-8 min or until bottom side gets golden brown. Now turn the other side and cook for another 7-8 min or until this side also gets golden brown.
Now heat the burger buns on a pan. Now take bottom piece of bun and put ranch, prepared patty, tomato slice, onion slice, lettuce, tomato sauce. Cover it with the other half of the bun. Veggie soy burger is ready to serve.

soy burger breakfast patty veggie vegetarian healthy

CHICKPEAS CURRY

2007-08-18T17:15:00.000-07:00

Chickpeas are also known as garbanzo beans. It is a good source of cholesterol lowering fiber and protein. Its high fiber content prevents blood sugar level from rising too rapidly after taking meals and hence, a very good diet for diabetic people. Chickpeas is a very popular ingredient in middle eastern and Indian dishes such as hummus, falafel and Chana masala. Chana masala is a very popular dish in north India. You can find this dish in every restaurant's menu. It is very easy cook so lets give it a try.

Cooking time – 20-25 min

Serves – 4

INGREDIENTS

Chickpeas – 2 cups (soaked in water for 5-6 hr) / 2 small cans
Onion – 1 ½ medium size ( finely chopped)
Tomato – 2 medium size (pureed)
Garlic paste – 1 tbsp
Ginger paste – 1 tbsp
Bay leaf – 2
Clove – 2-3
Cardamom – 2
Cinnamon stick – 1
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Red chili powder – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
Coriander powder – 1 ½ tbsp
Cumin powder - ½ tbsp
Yogurt (beaten) - ½ cup
Kashmiri chili powder / paprika – 1 tsp
Olive oil / vegetable oil – 3 tbsp
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves / cilantro leaves (chopped) – 1 tbsp

METHOD

Soak the chickpeas for 5-6 hr in water. Cook in a pressure cooker till chickpeas get tender (3-4 whistles). Do not discard the water. If you are using chickpea cans then you don't need to soak and cook but discard the liquid.
Now heat a heavy bottomed vessel with oil & add cumin seeds, bay leaves, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon stick. When they crackle, add finely chopped onion, ginger, garlic paste and salt. Fry on medium heat till onions turn translucent. Now add tomato puree and all spices (chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder) and keep stirring. Cook this mixture on medium heat for 5-6 min.
Now add yogurt and pressure cooked chickpeas with water or canned chickpeas. Mix them well and cover this vessel .If you are using can then add ½ cup of water. Cook for 10-12 min on medium low heat or until it gets nicely cooked. Turn off the stove. Chana masla is ready to serve. Serve with rice, roti, naan or parantthas.

chole chana chana masala chick peas garbanzo beans recipe indian spicy

ACHARI CHICKEN

2007-08-12T12:16:00.000-07:00

Here is a chicken recipe, flavored with garlic, ginger, lime juice, mustard oil, chili and onion seeds. Last year when we were in India, a cooking competition was organized in my husband's office and this dish was appreciated by all. I could not ask for the ingredients which left me guessing all the time. After some googling and a bit reverse engineering, I finally tried it and it turned out pretty well. It is an excellent side dish which you can serve with rice, roti, naan, tortilla etc.

Cooking Time – 30 min

Serves – 4-5

INGREDIENTS:

Boneless chicken – 1 lb (cut into bite size )
Green banana pepper – 2-3
1 medium sized onion ( cut into thin slices)
1 large tomato ( chopped )
1 tbsp garlic paste
1 tbsp ginger paste
4 tbsp yogurt
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp red chili powder
½ tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp mustard seeds
2-3 tbsp lime juice
½ onion seeds
½ ajwain/carom seeds
Salt to taste
Olive oil/ mustard oil – 3-4 tbsp

METHOD:

Heat a deep pan with oil and cumin seeds. When cumin seeds start crackling, add onion slices and fry them till they turn to light brown.
Now add chopped tomato and cook them until they turn into puree. After that add chicken pieces, yogurt, ginger garlic paste, salt, chili powder and mix well. Cover the pan with lid and cook on medium heat till chicken is half done.
On a separate pan, roast mustard seeds,fennel seeds & fenugreek seeds together until they turn to light brown.
Take 1 tbsp of this roasted mixture and keep it aside. Grind rest of mixture. Now add onion seeds and carom seeds in the ground mixture.
Now add turmeric powder & lime juice in ground mixture and make a paste. Stuff this paste in banana pepper and keep it aside. Keep some paste aside.
Add remaining paste and roasted mixture to the chicken and cook for 5 min on medium low heat. After that, place the stuffed banana pepper on chicken and cook another 5-7 min on low heat. Hot, sour and spicy Achari chicken is ready to serve.

chicken achar pickle non-veg pepper banana pepper indian cuisine recipe recipes

MANGO LASSI

2007-08-07T18:50:00.001-07:00

Lassi is on of the traditional north Indian beverages. Last summer, I visited my mother's place in India. We have a mango farm there and in summer we really got bored eating mangoes. My father, who can not survive a single day without lassi in summer, suggested me to make lassi with ripe mango. Mother and me tried this lassi and we loved it.

Servings – 3-4

INGREDIENTS:

Ripe mangoes – 2-3
Non-fat yogurt – 2 cups
2-3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cardamom powder
3-4 chopped cashew nuts
3-4 chopped almonds
1 tbsp rosewater
Crushed ice

METHOD

Peel and cut the mangoes into small pieces. Take a blender and put all cut mangoes, yogurt, sugar, cardamom powder, rose water and blend them well.
Now take a glass filled with some crushed ice and pour blended mango pulp over crushed ice.
Garnish with chopped nuts and serve chilled.

dessert drink lassi summer mango curd yogurt