Veggie Dip!!

Mix Sour Cream n Mayonise in 1:1 ratio.Add Spinach and any other veggie(cucumber.tomatoes,capsicum....) if u like,i usually add only spinach.Add Salt,Pepper and Italian seasoning.Ur Dip is Ready to serve with Crackers!!!

Mexican Rice!

Ingredients:
Parboiled rice/Basmati rice - 1 Cup(Boiled)
Onion - 1(sliced)
Tomato - 1(sliced)
Capsicum - 1(sliced)
Minced Garlic - 1 tsp
Vinegar - 1/4 tsp
Soya sauce - 1/4 tsp
Rajma bean - 1 Cup(Boiled with salt)
Oil - 3 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Heat oil in a kadai.
2. Add minced garlic, fry for 2 minutes, then add onions.
3. Add tomatoes once the onions turn golden colour.
4. Add the chilli powder,capsicum and boiled rajma along with little water, vinegar and soya sauce.
5. Saute for 10 minutes till the gravy thickens.
6. Mix the gravy thoroughly with rice without breaking it.
U can topped it with some Cheddar cheese.

Mexican Rice is ready to use!

Rasmalai!!!

Cheese Dumpling in Milk..Simple and easy to made...

Ingredients

1 can of rasgullas/rasmalai
1 can evaporated milk
2 tablespoons chopped pistachios
Pinch of cardamon powder
1/4 tsp crushed saffron
Sugar/rasgulla syrup

Method
1. Drain the sugar syrup from the rasgullas and set it aside.
2. In a Microwavable bowl add Milk,Sugar(acc to ur taste or u can use the rasgulla syrup too)and crushed Saffron
3. Put the milk in the microwave on HIGH for 3 minutes.
4. While the milk is heating, squeeze the rasgullas.Gently press them between ur palm and then put them in hot water.Let it be in hot water for 5-10 min
5. Dunk the rasgullas in the hot milk, along with powdered cardamoms.
6. Top with the nuts, and keep it in freeze for at least 1 hr and then Serve.

Diwali Diya's

Happy Diwali!!!


Diya's made by me on Diwali by Play Dough!

BreadStick!

Here i come up with some easy version of Bread Stick!




1 Pizza Crust Mix
1/2 cup melted butter or margarine
Parmesan
garlic salt (optional)


Preheat oven to 425 degrees, grease a cookie sheet
Mix Pizza Crust Mix & warm tap water. Set aside to rise, in a warm place, about 5 minutes. Knead on floured surface 4 or 5 times until dough becomes easy to handle and springy. Divide dough into 24 balls & roll each ball into 4 inch oblong roll. Twist each roll & place on prepared cookie sheet. Drizzle with melted butter & sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, garlic salt or other seasonings. Bake 15-20 minutes.

Cheese Garlic Bread!!

Ohh I lovee these Cheese Garlic Bread!!

INGREDIENTS
1 16-ounce loaf of Italian bread or French bread
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 large cloves of garlic, smashed and minced
1 heaping tablespoon of freshly chopped parsley or Italian seasoning
1/4 cup freshly grated Mozzarella cheese (optional)

Method
1 Preheat oven to 350°F.
2 Cut the bread in 1 inch slices. Mix the butter, garlic, and parsley together in a small bowl. Spread butter mixture over the bread slices. Place on a sturdy baking pan (one that can handle high temperatures, not a cookie sheet) and heat in the oven for 10 minutes.
3 Remove pan from oven. Sprinkle Mozzarella cheese over bread.Return to oven on the highest rack. Broil on high heat for 2-3 minutes until the edges of the bread begin to toast and the cheese bubbles. Watch very carefully while broiling. The bread can easily go from un-toasted to burnt.
4 Remove from oven, let cool a minute. Remove from pan. Serve immediately.

Kesar Kulfi Topped with Falooda!!

Kulfi or Qulfi is a popular flavoured frozen dessert found in the Indian subcontinent made with milk. In taste, texture and preparation, it shares commonalities with ice cream.
Unlike other ice-cream, kulfi takes a very long time to melt. It comes in various flavours, including pistachio, malai, mango, cardamom (elaichi), saffron (kesar), the more traditional flavours, as well as newer variations like apple, orange, peanut, and avocado.

Here i m With Kesar Kulfi!!



Ingredients:

Sweetened Condensed Milk - 14 oz
Evaporated Milk - 12 oz
Heavy Whipping Cream - 16 oz
Bread 2 pc
Saffron (Kesar) - 1 big pinch
Sugar - 1 tsp
Cashews, Pistachios, Almonds - 1/2 cup, coarsely ground
1 packet falooda sev
4 to 6 tablespoons rooafzah syrup (available in any Indian food store)
Chopped nuts, for garnish

Method:

With a mortar and pestal, grind together Sugar and Saffron.
In a large mixing bowl, combine Sweetened Condensed Milk, Evaporated Milk, Heavy Whipping Cream
Using an electric hand blender (or by hand), gently mix all ingredients together until frothy.
Cut the Brown sides of bread n sock in 2-3 tbs of milk.Mash it and add it to the Mixture
Add in Saffron and Sugar mixture and Nuts. Mix well.
Pour mixture into kulfi molds or u can use the simple ice tray covered it with aluminum foil
Freeze Kulfi for at least 4 - 6 hours, preferably overnight.

For Falooda:
Boil the noodles or falooda sev in water for about 15 minutes. Drain the water and Immediately transfer the noodles to an ice bath to cool.

To assemble:
Set out icecream bowl. To each, add kulfi ,a quarter of the noodles, 1 tablespoon rooafzah,(Rooafzah is very sweet, so you don't need any additional sugar.) Top off with 2 tbs of rabri and pour a little rooafzah along the sides. Garnish with chopped nuts.

Minestrone Soup!

Hope u will enjoy it!

Ingredients:
1 small Onion, finely chopped
1-2 Flakes of Garlic, finely chopped
2-3 large Tomatoes, finely chopped
1 Green Pepper, chopped into bite sized cubes
(u can use more veggie of ur choice like carrot,french beans,spinach)
1 cup Pasta (any,i used macaroni)
1½ cups or 1 can cooked Kidney Beans/Rajma, drained and washed
1 tbsp Tomato Paste/½ cup Tomato Puree (adjust acc to taste)
1 tsp Red Chilli Flakes (Adjust acc to taste)
1 tsp Mixed Dried Herbs/Italian Seasoning (Adjust acc to taste)
5-6 cups Vegetable Stock/2 cubes of Vegetable Stock (Optional, can use just plain Water)
1 tbsp Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
Parmesan Cheese

Method:
Heat oil in a pan and add chopped Garlic and Onions. Saute it for 1-2 minutes on a medium flame.
Now add dried Mixed Herbs or Italian Seasonings, crushed Chilli Flakes and mix well.
Mix in chopped tomatoes and sauté till it becomes pulpy, approx 1-2 mins.
Add vegetable stock or water, carrot, beans, red kidney beans, peppers, french beans, pasta and mix well. Cook on a medium flame till pasta is cooked well for about 5-10 minutes.(u can cook paste before n add it i do that)
Mix tomato puree (if using), spinach and salt and pepper to taste. Adjust the seasoning and cook for another 2-3 minutes.Top with some dried Parmesan cheese.
Serve hot with bread Stick...

Brushetta with Tomato n Basil

Bruschetta (pron. brus'ket'ta in English, /bɾu'sketta/ in Italian) is a food whose origin dates to at least the 15th century from central Italy.
In Italian, bruschetta is pronounced [brusˈket:a], though in English-speaking countries it is commonly pronounced /brəˈʃɛtə/.




Ingredients:
1 loaf Hard Crust Bread
8-10 Cloves garlic
4 tbs Butter
3 Roma tomatoes
5-6 basil Leaves/Italian seasoning
1 tbs Olive oil
Salt n Pepper

Cut the bread loaf diagonally into half-inch thick slices.Peel,wash and finely chop garlic.mix half of it with butter and italian seasoning and spread well on the slices.toast the slice in the oven till crisp.

Wash ,halves,DE seed and finally chop tomatoes.Wash and cut basil leaves into stripes.Keep some for garnish.

In a bowl mix together chopped tomatoes,basil strips,olive oil,remaining half of garlic,salt n pepper.Rest the mixture for about half an hour.

Spread the mixture over the toasted garlic bread and serve with strips basil.

Tomato Rose

An important part of any cooked dish is presentation
There are two secrets to food carving: product and practice. Having the sharpest paring knives and the best looking produce to begin the task will result in the best carvings. And, like all crafts, practice makes perfect – experiment and try a few carvings – you’ll only get better with each try.

This is my First attempt which turns out really good!!

Wanna Try???? Go here

I made rose leaves from cabbage ....but spinach leaves will give it a better look..

Veggie Sub with a Twist!

Ingredients:

1 bell peppers-sliced
1 portabello mushroom - sliced
1 red onion - sliced
1 tomato cut in rounds
1 Cucumber cut in rounds
Mozzarella cheese - sliced/grated
Sub bread
Veggie Patti(1 per sub)
Mayonnaise
Ranch


For Marination
3 garlic cloves - grated
3 table spoons extra virgin olive oil
2 table spoon white vinegar
1 tbs Italian Seasoning
salt and pepper

Make the marination mixture by adding the garlic, olive oil, vinegar,salt,pepper and Italian seasoning in a small bowl and whisking well.
Take Vegetable (bell Pepper,onion ,mushroom or any other veggie of ur choice) in a bowl and add half of the marination mixture.
In another bowl add cucumber,tomato and rest of the mixture.

Leave the veggies for at least half an hour.After that saute the sliced veggie until soft/crunchy

Bake the Veggie patti as per packet instruction and cut them into half so that they can adjust with the size of bread

Cut the Bread in half. On the bottom half of the bread pile up the patti,Mayo,round veggie(cucumber n tomato),Ranch,vegetables and lay the mozzarella cheese over the top and put into the oven until the cheeses have melted together.

Take out and enjoy warm!

I m Sending this as my entry for EC WYF-"Salad/Starters/Soups Event as a Snack

Masala Corn

Back in Noida,India,I used to love eating these so called "American Corns"..dont know why they called it so.Earlier i used to thought may be in America these corns are popular,but i didnt seen these anywhere here...Dont Know!!




Well as i love these so thought of trying it with all the ingredients i remember the "thela wala" used to use
1 cup sweet corn
1 tbs Butter
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp chat masala
1/2 tsp Black pepper
1/4 tsp Black Salt

Take 2 cup of water in a Microwave safe bowl and add Corns n keep it in MV for 4 min.
Take out n drain.(If U have microwave steamer u can steam the corn using that).
Mix all the above ingredients n serve.

Note:U can adjust all ingredients according to ur taste.

Lauki ke kofta

Lauki(Doodhi) Ke Kofte

Lauki (Latin Lagenaria siceraria) belongs to the curcubitaceae family and is also known as bottle gourd. These gourds contain moderate amounts of Vitamins C and B complex and a few proteins. Their high water content makes them cooling and lubricating.





Ingredients

Koftas
500 gms lauki peeled and grated
2 table spoons besan / gram flour
2-3 green chillies
Little grated ginger
Salt to taste
1 tea spoon red chilli powder
Finely chopped few coriander leaves

Ingredients for gravy

2 medium sized onions finely chopped
2 medium sized tomatoes grated / puree
1 small capsicum chopped
2 green chillies
Little grated ginger
2-3 flakes garlic
Few chopped coriander leaves
salt to taste
1 tea spoon red chilli powder
1/2 tea spoon turmeric powder
2 tea spoon coriander powder
1 tea spoon garam masala
2 sticks dalchini / cinnamon
3-4 bay leaves / tej patta
1 big cardomom / badi elaichi crushed
3-4 cloves
oil for frying and cooking
water that is extracted from lauki and kept aside


Method for kofta

Grate the lauki and squeeze out water from it completely.
Store the water in a bowl separately.
To this grated lauki add grated ginger, chopped green chillies, chopped coriander leaves, salt, red chilli powder and mix well.
Now add besan to bind and make round or oval balls.
You can apply oil to your palm before making balls to avoid koftas sticking on your hands.
Then deep fry these koftas simultaneously to golden brown colours. The size of koftas can vary according to the liking of every individual.

Method For Gravy

Heat 3-4 table spoons of oil in a heavy bottom vessel.
Put dalchini, crushed elaichi, tej patta, cloves let it splutter in oil then add green chillies, garlic, ginger, onions and cover the vessel for few minutes on medium flame, keep stirring in between and cook till onions turn brown in colour
Now add tomatoes, salt and turmeric, red chilli, jeera, coriander powders and mix well.
Now again cover the vessel.
Keep stirring at intervals and check if the gravy is even and well blended.Now add chopped capsicum and again cover the vessel for few min
You can add the extracted water from lauki now and let the gravy boil.
Sprinkle garam masala.
Now since the gravy is ready switch of the gas.
The gravy should neither be too thick nor too thin but medium.
At the time of serving heat the gravy, transfer in serving dish add the koftas now and garnish with coriander leaves.
Do not add the kofta before serving as it will absorb all the gravy.

My First Award!!!!!

EC of Simple Indian Food have passed on this 'Wylde Woman Award' to me.




Thank you so much EC for considering me worthy of this Award. It gives me a lot of motivation to keep my blog alive with lotss of new post
Thank u So much!!!

The rules of this award are:
1.You can give it to one or one hundred or any number in between - it's up to you. Make sure you link to their site in your post


2. Link back to this blog site http://tammyvitale.typepad.com/ Tammy can go visit all these wonderful men and women and remember the Purpose of the Award: To send love and acknowledgment to men and women, who brighten your day, teach you new things and live their lives fully with generosity and joy.

Passing this on to

KIRAN

North Indian Kadhi

Kadhi (Hindi: कढी) is a traditional North Indian dish like soup that is eaten with rice and roti. It is prepared by mixing chickpea flour (besan), yoghurt and water and cooked over medium heat. North indian style kadhi is usually spicy and also contains fried chickpea flour and vegetable balls pakoras



Ingredients

For the Sauce:
• 2 cups extra-mature or 'khatta' natural yoghurt
• approximately 4 cups water
• 4 tbs. gram flour or besan
• 1 tbs. cooking oil
• 1/2 tsp. fenugreek or methi seeds (too many will make kadhi bitter)
• A pinch of asafoetida or hing powder
• 12-15 curry leaves or Kadhi patta
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt, adjust to taste
• 1/2 tsp. chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 4-5 small, dry red chillies

For Dumplings or Pakore:
• 2 cup gram flour or besan, sifted to remove lumps
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• Water to make batter
• 2 cups oil for deep frying

For Tempering or Tarka:
• 1 1/2 tbs. ghee
• 1/2 tsp. chilli powder

Instructions

1. Making Kadhi Sauce:
2. Place yogurt in a bowl, add sifted besan and beat together, to make a smooth batter. Add salt, chilli, turmeric and water. Mix well.
3. Heat oil in a pan/preesure cooker(smthg deep) and add fenugreek seeds,whole red chilli,curry leaves and asafoetida powder. As soon as the cumin seeds begin to splutter or turn brown, add the yoghurt-besan mix.
4. Bring to boil, stirring frequently, until it stops trying to rise and boil over. Turn heat down to medium.
5. Let it simmer gently, until the sauce reaches a custard like consistency. Placing a heavy ladle in the pan helps to stop it from boiling over during simmering. Stirring from time to time also helps to keep it from boiling over.
6. Allow kadhi to cook on low heat for at least 1/2 hour.
7. While the Kadhi is cooking make the dumplings as follows.
8. Making Pakoras or dumplings:
9. Place all ingredients for dumplings in a bowl and make a batter with enough water. Beat it well. The trapped air is what will make them light and fluffy. Solid dumplings do not taste nice.
10. Heat oil to a medium heat (just beginning to smoke), in a wok or kadhai. When right temperature is reached, a drop of batter dropped in the oil should float sizzling to the top.
11. Drop dollops of the batter into the hot oil, either with a dessert spoon or with your fingers. Do this gently, from the side of the wok, to stop the oil from splashing on to your hands/face. Make as many at a time as can float without overlapping each other. Fry until golden brown. Keep aside.
12. When the sauce is ready, add pakoras/dumplings to the kadhi, stir and turn heat off.
13. Tempering: Before serving, heat the kadhi and place in a serving bowl.
14. Heat ghee in a large ladle or small pan. Add Chilli Powder.Pour it over the kadhi. Cover with a lid immediately. This will allow the flavours to infuse.
15. Serve with Rice or chapati.

TIP: If u dont have Khaata yogurt then to give that taste to kadhi add 1 tsp of Citric Acid..it will give the same "Khaata" taste to kadhi

I m Sending this as my Entry for Curry Mela of Srivalli

Mint-Ginger Lemonade

A Perfect drink for hot Summers!!!



Ingredients:

For 2 Glass u need

Mint leaves - 8
Ginger - 1 piece
Sugar - 6 tbs
Juice of one Lemon
Black Salt ("kala namak" u can easily get it in any Indian store)
Chilled water



Method:

Crush mint leaves, ginger in 1/2 glass of water and bring it to a boil
Stain the water and place it in a large bowl
Add lemon juice ,salt and sugar.Stir well until the sugar get dissolved.Add Chilled water.
Put this mixture in a serving glass.Garnish with few mint leaves .
Its just refreshing on a hot summer day.

Tip:To decorate glass edge,make the edge wet with the help of water.In a bowl take sm good amount of sugar.Dip the edge of glass into it and put it in freeze foe 15-20 min..Take it out just before serving.



I m sending this as my entry for EC event AFAM Aug'08:Lemon

Mix Veg - North Indian Style

My Mom used to make this mix veg that too without onion n garlic and that taste awesome.Its lil sweet n salty in taste which makes it different from other recipes.I tried it with onion n garlic and it too turned awesome but yaa it doesnt have the taste of my mom hands....


Ingredients:
2 cups chopped mixed veggies (carrots, peas, beans, cauliflower etc.)
1 capsicum cut length wise
1 tomato chopped
1 onion cut length wise
1 cup cabbage chopped
1 tsp. ginger, finely grated
3-4 flakes garlic, crushed or grated
2-3 green chilli
1 Bunch Methi leaves(i use 2 block of frozen methi)
1 tbsp. coriander leaves
1 tsp. red chilli powder
1 tsp. coriander seed powder
1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
3-4 pinches asafoetida
salt to taste
1 1/2 tbs sugar
2 tbsp. Mustard oil(U can use any other oil too,but mustard oil gives it a good/diff taste)
1/2 tsp. each cumin, mustard seeds

Method:
Heat oil in pan/kadahi,put 1 tbs of salt and make it real hot
TIP:By making oil hot the mustard oil smell will go away and by adding salt it will give a nice colour to vegetable)
Add both the seeds.
Allow to splutter,add asafetida.
Add garlic, ginger, onions, cook till onions are transparent.
Add capsicum, chopped veggies, cabbage,Green chilli and methi leaves.
Stir, add all masalas and sugar,if needed add 1/2 cup of water though veggie will leave sm water so be careful while adding water(i never add it).

Cover lid, allow to cook.
When Done garnish with chopped coriander.
Serve hot with ur choice of bread.

Veggie Quesadilla!!

What is Quesadilla??
A quesadilla is a dish in Mexican cuisine or Tex-Mex, which involves cooking ingredients, most importantly cheese, inside a corn or wheat tortilla or a wrapping of masa (cornmeal dough)). The word comes from Spanish, and literally means "little cheesy thing" (from queso, or "cheese", + ada, an adjectival suffix, + illa, a diminutive suffix).
[keh-sah-DEE-yah] A flour tortilla filled with a savory mixture, then folded in half to form a half-moon shape. The filling can include shredded cheese, cooked meat, refried beans or a combination of items. After the tortilla is filled and folded, it's toasted under a broiler or fried. Quesadillas are usually cut into strips before being served, often as an appetizer

As filling can be of any choice,being a vegetarian i choose to make Veg Quesadilla!!!
Ingredients
Large flour tortillas
Grated cheese - either mild or sharp cheddar, or Monterey Jack
Olive oil

Veggie:(Use whatever available in ur Kitchen)
I prefer:
1 Onion Cubed
2 Mushrooms Cubed
1 Green pepper(or/and any other colour pepper) cubed
1 Clove garlic
Green onions
1-2 Green chili
Salt
Black Pepper
pinch of oregano



Directions:
Heat a pan,add 1 tbs spoon of oil stir fry the veggie until soft(not completely it should be crunchy),add salt,pepper n oregano.Keep aside.
Sprinkle 2 tablespoons cheese over one half of a tortilla. Place Veggie mixture, barely overlapping, on top of cheese. Then sprinkle 2 more tablespoons of cheese on top of the veggies and fold the tortilla in half.Try to press the open side with the help of fork. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

Heat tawa over medium-high heat,sprinkle 1 tbs of oil and cook quesadilla until the cheese melts and the tortillas are golden brown on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
Serve hot with Sour Cream or Ur choice of salsa..

Aloo-Methi Pakoda

So what does one do on a evening after it rains?
Yes.....craving for 1 cup of tea with some pakoda..
Yesterday it was raining here and i feel like eating sm pakoda.So thought of trying this Methi pakoda n they turned awesome
Here i go with the recipe...


Ingredients:
2 Potato-Boiled
Besan - 2/3 cup
Methi-2 block[i used the frozen one] else u can use 1 bunch of fresh Methi
Green chilli-2-3
Anardana-1 tbsp(if u dont have it then use 1tbs of Amchur Powder)
Rice Flour-1 tbs(optional it will make the pakoa crispier)
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tbsp
Dhania Powder - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste.




Method:
Mash the potatoes in a bowl(dont mash it completly)
Mix all the above ingredients.
Heat oil in a heavy frying pan.
Drop spoonfuls of batter into the oil.
Deep Fry the pakoras until golden in color.
When cooked, drain the excess oil on a sheet of brown paper or paper towels.
Serve hot with chutney.

I am sending this as my entry for RedChillies Herb Mania fenugreek

Dahi Vada

My Favorite Yummmy Lentil Dumpling in Yogurt sauce

Ingredients:
For the Dumplings:
1 cup moong dal (yellow lentils), washed
1/4 cup urad dal(white lentils)(Basically i take 1:4 ratio)
1 green chile
1 inch (2.5 cm) piece peeled fresh ginger
Pinch of asafetida
Salt to taste
Oil for deep-frying
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
Garnish: 2 Tablespoons tamarind chutney

For the Yogurt Sauce:
2 cups fat-free plain yogurt
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt


Preparation:
Soak both the dal (lentils) in water atleast for about 6 hours(i usually soak it in night). Drain the dal.

In a food processor/blender, grind together the dal, green chile, ginger, asafetida. if necessary add a tablespoon of water to make the blending easier, (try to avoid adding water). Place the mixture in a bowladd lil salt and whisk as much as u can,this will make the dumplings softer and fluffier.The more u whisk more softer it will be.
TIP:Way to check that it whisk well is drop a lil mixture in the bowl of water if it comes up fully then its done and if its still half in water n half out of water u need to whisk it more

Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat. Drop a teaspoon of the dal mixture into the oil; if it rises to the top immediately, the oil is ready. Working in batches and not crowding the dumplings, place a tablespoon of the dal mixture in the oil and fry, turning, until golden brown, about 1 minute. Drain the dumplings on paper towels. Repeat until all the dal mixture is used up.

Soak the dumplings in a bowl of hot water for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the yogurt sauce. In a medium bowl, whisk together the yogurt, water, salt until smooth.

Drain the dumplings. Squeeze each one between the palms of your hands to remove excess water. Do not squeeze too much

In a small skillet over medium heat, toast the cumin seeds, stirring frequently, untl fragrant and dark brown it will take about 1 minute.

In a serving dish, arrange the dumplings in rows. Pour the yogurt sauce over the dumplings. Garnish with the cumin seeds, and the tamarind chutney.Recipe for tamarind chutney is here...
Serve it in a chat party or serve with main course..

Besan ke Ladoo

Laddoo can be made from many different ingredients, besan ones are probably the most popular and most commonly home-made laddoo in India. Besan is a flour made from small, black chick peas.




Ingredients

2 cup gram flour or besan (laddoo gram flour/besan is granular, not smooth, like the usual besan
1 Cup ghee
2 Cup castor sugar
Nuts Chopped(almonds, cashew nuts, pistachio-any or all) adjust to taste


Pocedure
1. Heat ghee in a heavy bottomed wok or kadhai.
2. Add gram flour or besan.
3. Fry on medium heat, stirring constantly, until besan changes colour to reddish brown and emits the roast aroma. Ghee also separates from the besan at this stage. Do not be in a hurry. Besan must be properly fry-roasted on medium fire.
4. Now add sugar and mix thoroughly.
5. Add Nuts and mix thoroughly.
6. Take the pan off the fire and let it cool, enough to be able handle the mix in your palms.
7. Take approximately 1-2 tbs. of the prepared mix in one hand.
8. Squeeze and roll it between the palm and fingers of that hand, to make it into small but firm ball. Squeezing is necessary to make the laddoo compact enough to hold together. Continue until all laddoos are made.
9. Place on a tray until completely cool.
10. Store in an air tight boxes.

Vada Pav/Batata Vada

The most popular street-food of Mumbai – potato vadas served sandwiched in pavs and served with a spicy chutney


Ingredients

Potatoes, boiled and mashed 6 large
Garlic paste 1 tablespoon
Green chilli paste 1 1/2 teaspoons
Turmeric powder 1/2 teaspoon
Asafoetida a pinch
Lemon juice 1 tablespoon
Fresh coriander leaves, chopped 1/4 bunch
Salt
Pav 8
Gram flour (besan) 1 1/4 cups
Soda bicarbonate a small pinch
Red chilli powder 2 1/2 teaspoons
Oil 1 tablespoon + to deep fry
Dry coconut (khopra), grated 3 tablespoons
Garlic 4-6 cloves
Boondi 1/2 cup


Method


For red chutney, grind together in a mixer, grated coconut, two tablespoons of red chilli powder and garlic. Heat oil in a pan and add this mixture to it and sauté for a minute, add the gram flour crumbs and mix well and remove from the heat. Season with salt. Set aside to cool.

In a bowl, mix mashed potatoes, garlic paste, green chilli paste, one forth teaspoon turmeric powder, asafoetida, lemon juice, chopped coriander leaves and salt.

Make eight equal sized balls of the above mixture. Set aside.

Take gram flour in a bowl, add soda bicarbonate, remaining turmeric powder, half a teaspoon of red chilli powder and salt. Heat one-tablespoon oil and add it to the gram flour mixture. Add just sufficient water to make a coating consistency batter. Rest it for fifteen minutes.

Heat sufficient oil in a kadai. Dip the potato mixture balls in the batter and deep fry in hot oil till golden brown in colour. Remove and place on an absorbent paper.

Slit Pavs horizontally not slicing it completely, spread the red chutney on the inner sides of the pav and stuff it with hot vadas. Serve hot.

Pyaz ka paratha

Ingredients:
2 Cup Whole Wheat Flour,

1 large red Onions,

1 tsp Red chilli,

1 tsp Coriander powder,

1 tsp Cumin,

1 tsp Garam Masala,

Salt as per taste,

3 small pieces of Green Chilli,

Coriander leaves,chopped

Ghee,

Butter or Curd.


Method :-


Knead the whole wheat flour,salt with the help of some water.

In a bowl combine the chopped onions,chopped coriander leaves, red chilli, garam masala,coriander powder,chopped green chilli and mix them well.
Add Salt just before making the paratha as onionstend to leave water.


Make small portions of the dough and with the help of
unkneaded whole wheat flour roll out into round shape
chapati.

Stuff the rounded dough with the mixture of onions
in the center and then reshape it into small ball.

Again roll out the dough filled with the mixture with the help of dry flour.As onion leaves water so u have to be lil bit careful and use more dry flour.



Cook it on medium fire. After cooking for about 1-2 min
Put some ghee on the tava. Cook it till the paratha
is red.

When it is red put it down on a dish. Serve it hot with coriander chutney or butter or curd.

Bread Upma!

A Perfect Tea Time Snacks!!

Ingredients
Bread - 6-8 Slices
Onion(big) - 1 finely chopped
Chillies - 3 finely chopped
Tomato - 1 finely chopped
Mustard Seeds - 2 tsp
Curry Leaves - 5-6 cut into small
Ghee - for frying and roasting bread
Coriander Powder- 1 tsp
Lime Juice - 1 tbs
Red Chilli Powder - to taste
Salt - to taste


Method

Cut bread slice into cubes.
Roast the bread cubes using ghee and keep aside.


Pour ghee in a tawa, add Mustard Seeds and curry leaves.
Add finely chopped onions and fry till golden brown.
Add chillies and tomatoes.
Add salt,Coriander Pwd,Chilli pwd.
Fry till there is no water content in the mixture.
Add the bread cubes to the mixture.
Mix well till the mixture gets mixed with the bread cubes.
Add Salt.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Malai Kofta!!

One of the Most Famous North Indian Recipe!!





Ingredients
For Koftas
Few Chopped cashew,pista ,raisin and almonds (use whichever nuts are available in ur Kitchen)
1 cup grated boiled potato
2 chopped chilli
Coriander leaves chopped
1/4 cup paneer grated
Salt to taste
Chat Masala-Acc to taste
2 Bread Slice
Oil for Frying

For Gravy
2 number onion
2 number tomato
2 tbsp coriander pdr
1/2 cup cream
1 tsp garam masala
2 Green Eliachi
1 piece Cinnamon
1 Black Elaici
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp red chilli pdr
Salt to taste
1 pinch turmeric

For Koftas
Mash the potatoes and Bread Slices (make them lil wet) . The resulting dough should be firm. Season with salt. Make this dough into balls.
In other bowl mix the nuts,paneer,coriander,green chilli,salt n Chat masala.Put 1 tsp of the mixture in the center of each ball. Roll into perfect rounds.Heat the oil on a medium flame. Deep fry these rounds till pale golden in colour.Drain on paper towels and keep aside.
For the gravy,
First heat the 2 tbsps of oil in a deep pan and fry the onions till light brown.
Add toamtoes,ginger/garlic paste,and rest of the masalas and fry for few min.Grind into a paste.Heat oil in a wok/pan,put whole gram masala(elaichi,cinnamon)·Put this paste back into the pan and fry till the oil begins to separate from the masala.Add 1 cup of warm water (the sauce for this dish is meant to be thick so do not add too much water) to this masala to form a sauce/gravy. Mix well. Season with salt.Bring the sauce/gravy to a boil and then reduce the fire to a simmer.Add cream , If you don’t have cream add little milk and mix fast with out curdling and add finely grated paneer that will give good creamy texture·Gently add the kofas to this sauce/gravy and stop cooking .Turn off the fire and sprinkle the garam masala and chopped coriander all over the top of the dish. (Add kofta before serving as if kofta will be in gravy for too long they will absorb all the gravy)

Mathri!!

A Tea Time Snack.

Ingredients

• 2 cups plain white flour
• 1/2 cup cooking oil
• 2-3 level tsp. salt, to taste
• 1 1/2 tsp. carom seeds(Ajwain)
• Oil for deep frying



Instructions

1. Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix, like a pastry mix.
2. Make a VERY firm dough by adding a small amount of water at a time. I add only a tablespoon at a time.
3. Divide dough into Very small balls and roll them out to a thickness of 1/2 cm or 5 mm on a board. If the dough is of right consistency, no dusting with flour will be required.
4. Stab each circle with a fork a few times. This stops them from fluffing up during the frying process. If they fluff up, they will get soggy when cool.
5. Heat oil to medium, a mathari dropped in oil should fizz and rise to the top slowly. Oil must not be too hot or the matharis will get soggy when cool. The trick is to cook them very slowly on medium heat. They should be hard like a biscuit when done.
6. Take out and place on an absorbent paper.
7. Cool and store in airtight jars.

Layered Rice

Ingredients

2 cups Rice basmati
2 cups Mixed vegetables sliced flat and broad as - (potato, onion, capsicum , french beans, carrots, cauliflower or capsicum as per choice)
1 Tomato chopped
2 tablespoons Ghee
1/2 teaspoon Dalchini - (cinnamon) - lavang (clove) powder
1/2 teaspoon Garam masala
1/2 teaspoon Turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon Dhania powder
Salt to taste
Lemon juice to taste
1/2 teaspoon Ginger-garlic grated or paste
2 tablespoons Curds
1 teaspoon Mixed cummin & mustard seeds

Recipe Instructions
Boil rice till grains separate.
Cool in a big plate.
Heat ghee in a heavy saucepan.
Add cummin/mustard seeds, ginger-garlic paste and cinnamon/clove powder.
Fry for a minute. Add all other masalas, and tomato, fry for another
minute.Add all vegetables and curds, cover and cook till vegetable are
tender.
In a transparent casserole spread half the rice. Wet hand and press down
lightly
Now transfer the vegetables onto the rice and spread evenly. Save 1
tablespoon for topping.
Add the remaining rice and press down as before.
Spread the tablespoon leftover masala in the centre of the rice. Cover
with foil.
Bake for 15 minutes before serving.
Garnish with coriander and french fries (optional)

Mint-Coriander Chutney

Ingredients:
1 bunch fresh mint
1 bunch fresh coriander
6-8 cloves garlic
1" piece of ginger
2 green chillies
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsps lime juice

Method:
Cut off roots from both mint and coriander, peel garlic and ginger and remove stalks from green chillies. Wash all these ingredients thoroughly.
Grind these and all the remaining ingredients into a smooth paste in a food processor.
Chill and serve

Home made Gol Gappe(Pani Poori)

Yummy!!!!


Oh man i miss street food in US..Back in India when ever we used to go to pani Poori shop they always ask "Aatte ke cahaye ki Sooji ke" and i love those atte one.We got them here also in Indian store.One day i thought of making them at home,searched so many site for the recipe but didnt get it ,all i got is the recipe for Sooji one.Finally my mom give me the recipe and here i go with it...................



1:4 ratio of sooji:wheat flour usually i take 1/2 cup of flour which gives me almost 50 pcs of poori
pinch of cooking soda
Water
1 tsp of oil
Oil for Deep frying

1. Mix flour, Cooking Soda, salt , oil and knead well to make dough, leave it bit stiffer than normal.
2. Cover it with a wet towel and let it stand for 20 minutes.
3. Now Take a golf size ball and roll it as thin as possible and cut into small-small round with the help of cutter or any lid.
5. Remember to put the circles under a damp cloth as soon as you roll them(this is very imp).
6. Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan or karahi on high
7. Fry One poori at a time and as soon as u put it in pan turn it over and fry them till golden brown.
8. Take them out and put them on kitchen paper towel, to get rid of the extra oil.
9. Let them completely cool down before you put them into an airtight container.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


SERVING THE PANI POORI

Tap the Poori at the center lightly to make a hole in it.

Add about 1/2 teaspoon of the potatoes and 1/2 teaspoon of the boiled Moong/chole.

Dip the filled Poori into the chilled pani puri water and serve.

You can add the above ingredients into the Poori according to your taste.

Pani(Pani Poori)

For the pani

1 1/2 cups chopped mint leaves
1 tablespoon chopped coriander
1/3 cup tamarind (imli)
2tsp Red Chilli Powder
25 mm. (1") piece ginger
4 to 5 green chillies
1 teaspoon roasted cumin seed (jeera) powder
1 1/2 teaspoons black salt (sanchal)
salt to taste

For making spicy water or Pani



1. Soak the tamarind pulup in one cup of warm water for one hour.
2. Strain the tamarind residue out to get thick tamarind water. While straining in the strainder mash the tamarind with the help of a spoon.
3. Put mint leaves, chopped coriander, ginger, chilliesred chilli powder and dry roasted cumin seed.
4.Add a little water and mix to a smooth consistency using a blender.
5. Put this thick paste into a jug and add fill the jug with water. ( Add the water slowly and taste the mixture and if you want to dilute more then add water.)
6. Add salt and black rock salt to taste. ( Black Salt or Kala Namak is an important ingredient in this )
7. Put it in the fridge to cool down.

Kathi Roll

Kathi Roll also called as Frankie,Wraps........

I called it as Kathi Roll..as when i ate it for the first time i eat it with word "Kathi Roll"

Well For the First Time My Sister Made it for me...That Time she was in Calcutta and its quite famous there.N i just loveedd it

So here goes the recipe

Ingredients

For The Dough

1 Cup All Purpose Flour

2 tsp Curd

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp oil

1tsp salt

Water to knead the dough

For The Filling

2 Boiled Potatoes

1 Sliced Onion

4-5Green Chili

Lemon Juice as per taste

1 tsp Mustard Seeds

1 tsp Cumin seeds

2 tsp Coriander Powder

1 tsp Chili powder

1 1/2 tspAmchur Powder

Salt to taste

Coriander leaves

Oil

Dough Making:

Make the Dough by adding all the ingredients and adding water little by little.make a smooth dough.keep it aside and let it ferment for 2-4 hrs

For the filling :

1) Add 1tbs oil in a kadahi/pan.

2) Add mustard and Cumin seeds when they splutter add Onions.

3) Fry till translucent

4) Add coriander powder,chilli powder,salt and Mashed potatoes

5) Fry a bit then add amachur powder

6) Add Coriander Leaves

How to Proceed:

Take a golf size ball of dough.Roll it as big as u can like a paratha .

Heat the Tawa.Put some oil on it and then put the paratha.Turn it over after a min or so paint the top surface with about 1/4 teaspoon oil. Flip and paint the second side. Continue to flip the paratha frequently, pressing with a spatula on any unbrowned areas until browned all over on both sides.

Put potato filling in between .Put green chilli over according to ur taste and then add lemon juice to it almost 2/3 tbs.Wrap the sides of paratha and Kathi roll is ready to eat.U can serves it with mint/coriander chutney.

Gond Burfi!!

One day while browsing the net i came across mamta kitchen whose recipes somehow give me the flavour of North India.I tried lots of recipe from her site.One of which is Gond Burfi,back in india my mom used to make it for us.I tried it with lil diff. version from the original.

Ingredients

50 gm. gond or edible gum resin. It is sold in Indian shops in 100 gm. packets
3-4 tbs. ghee or clarified butter for deep frying (you may need more if gum swells up a lot and absorbs it)
25 gm. makhana, dry roasted
25 gm. blanched and chopped almonds*
25 gm. blanched pistachio nuts*
1 cup desiccated coconut
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
A greased flat tray or plate (heat resistant)
A wire spatula or a fine slotted spatula, to lift gum out of the ghee. If you do not have this, a wire tea strainer can be used.

Procedure

Grease a flat tray. Keep aside. Make sure that the gum resin is dry and not sticky. Coarsely grind it by placing it between 2 layers of a tea towel and gently pounding with a rolling pin or a meat tenderiser. It should be of a thick, granular consistency, not powdered. Heat ghee in a wok or karahi. Make sure that the ghee is not too hot. Gum burns very quickly. Deep-fry gum resin on medium heat, stirring it up all the time, to ensure that every single piece is fried. It fluffs up to almost double the size very quickly, within seconds. Lift it out of the ghee quickly, as soon as it fluffs up. Otherwise, it will burn and get bitter. Keep aside to cool. Dry roast Makhana in a hot wok or karahi. Mix with almonds and pistachios , keep aside. Dry fry the coconut on medium heat, until coconut aroma rises and it turns very lightly brown. Keep aside on a plate. Boil the water and add sugar. Continue boiling (see instructions below) and make syrup of one wire consistency. Add gum resin/ nut mix and coconut to the syrup and stir quickly to mix everything well. Turn out on to the greased tray. Flatten with the back of the spoon. I do it with wetted fingers, but you have to be careful not to burn yourself. Allow to cool. Cut into square or diamond shapes using a sharp knife. Pizza cutter is good for this. Store in an airtight tin or box.

Making syrup

Measure the sugar and water in a clean pan. There should be no fat in the pan or syrup may not set. Boil on medium heat. Stir initially to dissolve the sugar but you do not need to stir it all the time. If any scum forms on the top, add a spoon of milk to the syrup. This will help to precipitate the dirt which you can lift out with a tea strainer. There are two signs of 1 string consistency: (1) When you lift a spoon out of the boiling syrup, the syrup falls in drops. (2) When a drop is stretched between two fingers, it makes a single wire. You must make sure that this stage is reached. Otherwise, your burfi will not set. Don't boil it further once this stage is reached, or your burfi will set too hard.

I am sending this as my entry for Paajaka Sweet Series:Chikki and laddu

Dum Paneer Kali Mirch!!

Being a fan of Paneer i keep on searching paneer recipe from here n there.This time when i went to india i bought some Sanjeev Kapoor CookBooks from there i got this recipe of Dum Panner Kali Mirch!.Though the Chef suggests cooking this dish in a small earthen pot, I tried making it on gas range itself and it turned out really good.

So here goes the recipe

Cottage Cheese - 500 gms.

Onions - 2 medium size

Ginger - 2 inch piece

Garlic pods - 5-6

Green chillies - 2-3

Coriander/Cilantro - 7-8 springs

chopped Mint/Pudina - 3-4 sprigs chopped

Yogurt - 1/2 cup

Bay leaves - 2

Cloves - 4

Cinnamon sticks - 2 medium size

Green Cardamoms - 3

Coriander/Dhaniya powder - 1/2 tsp

Cumin powder - 3 pinches

Garam Masala powder - 1/2 tsp

Fresh Cream -4 tbs

Peppercorns - 1 tbs crushed

Salt - to taste

Procedure:

Cut the cottage cheese into cubes.Keep aside (U can also fry them in 1tbs of oil). Fry the onions until brown and grind into a fine paste along with ginger, garlic and green chillies. Heat 2 tbs oil in a skillet, Add bay leaves, cloves, cardamoms and cinnamon sticks. Add the ground paste. Mix well. Add whisked yogurt, coriander powder and garam masala powder. Add fresh cream and salt to taste. Add a cup of water and bring the gravy to a boil. Add paneer cubes and the chopped cilantro and mint,Cover it and let it cook for 10-15 min on Low-Med Temp. Sprinkle ground peppercorns on top. Serve Hot with Fried Rice/ Rotis.

Multani Paneer Tikka

I am a Big Fan of Paneer...Being a vegetarian ,Paneer is always special for me...So i usually keep on trying my hands on paneer


So here goes my one of the experiment with Paneer and also this is my entry for Monthly Mingle-Appetizers:6/9



Ingredients
500 gm cottage cheese
2 cups chopped white mushroom
2 cups chopped spring onions
2 chopped green chilli
2 tsp chopped ginger
3 tsp chopped coriander leaves
½ tsp garam masala
1 tsp white pepper powder
½ tsp yellow chilli powder
1 tsp Royal cumin
1/2 cup cornflour
salt to taste
oil to shallow fry

Directions
Slice paneer into long thin sheets and drain off excess water. For the stuffing, sauté spring onions and Mushrooms in a pan. Add seasoning. Allow the mixture to be absolutely dry then let it cool .Add chopped ginger, coriander leaves, green chillies. Mix all the ingredients well. Put the Mushroom mixture on the sliced paneer. Spread it evenly with a knife upto half the length of the sliced paneer and fold. Prepare a batter with corn flour and water neither too thick nor too lose. Dip the prepared paneer in this batter and shallow fry in a non stick pan till they are golden brown. Serve hot with mint chutney