SWEET HEARTS ! yummy recipe:)

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY !

Here is a simple sweet recipe for sweet little heart shape bites

What you need

Silicone heart shaped mould

Some bland biscuits

Dry fruits chopped(optional)

Icing cream with added sugar(homemade here with strawberry pink color and vanilla flavor)

 

 Crush the biscuits with rolling pin or in pestle-mortar

 

 Mix the icing cream with the biscuit crumbs.

Proportions are adjustable.

Put as much biscuit crumbs as need to be able to be scooped up in spoon firmly.

Here I have filled and pressed tightly the mix into the moulds.

Refrigerate till firm.

 

 Just pop out the Sweet Hearts and Enjoy!

 

 They just melt in your mouth!

Oh! So Delicious!

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GOOD FOOD to WARM SOUL!

Hi! Hope everybody is excited about up coming festive season and holidays!

Today I have a simple yet flavorful dish for all of you..

Cook and enjoy to with your dear ones..

 

Humble ingredients:

One medium size fresh cabbage

One medium to big onion

One big tomato

Green chillies to your taste

Half an inch ginger

Turmeric power 1/2tsp

Indian garam masala powder 1/2tsp

(I prefer it homemade my style: roast and grind equal amounts of green cardamom, clove and cinnamon. You can store it in a small air tight bottle.)

Roasted cumin powder 1/2tsp

Salt to taste

If you like extra heat, you can add pepper or red chilli powder as per your taste

Sugar 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds 1/2 tsp

Oil 2tbs

A frying pan to cook

 Cut the cabbage radially, as seen in the above pic with a little of its inner stem so that the architecture is not lost. Each wedge should be about an inch thick in the middle.

Cut onion and tomato also into strips.

Jul lien or make thin strips of ginger or may be grate it

Cut the chilli into thin long strips.

Method:

 Heat the pan and let the oil heat up.

Add Cumin seeds and chill in the oil

As the cumin fries, add in the onions and fry till translucent

Now add the ginger and fry for couple of more minutes.

Lower the flame medium to low heat and carefully place the cabbage wedges neatly over the onions. Sprinkle salt, turmeric and cumin powder over it and let it cook.

After about 4 to 5 min using a spatula or flat spoon turn over the cabbages. Add tomatoes and cook till all the cabbage is cooked.

Add roasted cumin powder, garam masala and sugar.

Gently stir and remove from heat.

Serve hot with your choice of bread.

I learnt this recipe from a very dear and senior friend Sushmita. She is an excellent cook, does lovely needle work and a wonderful friend.

To friendship and festivities..

Enjoy!

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Easy Delicious VEGETARIAN MAYONNAISE WITHOUT EGG!

With festive season round the corner, holidays afore and house full of dear ones; a homemaker needs quick fixes, store supplies and yet present delicious food.

Here i have for you a very easy and simple Mayonnaise recipe WITHOUT EGGS.

I made it tasting a bit at a time and adding ingredients

So here is what I did

 

Ingredients

• Refined white flour (maida)           3 tablespoons
• Butter                                          50 grams
• Milk                                             2 and 1/2 cups
• Salt                                             1 generous pinch
• Sugar                                           2 tablespoons
• White vinegar                               3 tablespoons

Method

Take a heavy bottom utensil and let the butter soften in it. Mix it or rather mash it well with the flour to make a smooth paste.

Now put the utensil on medium flame. Don't fry the flour to brown shade. Instead if you want white mayonnaise start adding milk to it little a time and continuously keep whisking the bubbling boiling mix. Once the all the milk is used up and you feel the consistency is right, take the utensil away from the heat.

Let it cool down

Gradually add in salt, sugar and vinegar to it and mix well

Taste it and you can improvise upon it as per your own taste.

VEGETARIAN MAYONNAISE IS READY

Note: While the utensil is on flame keep whisking continuously to avoid lumps in your mayonnaise

Variations

This is a very interesting part. You can make any kind of spread or dip with this basic mayonnaise by adding a little twist, such as:

1. Add a little tomato sauce as per your taste or wish for colour to get a pinkish tangy mayo
2. Add a little mustard paste or kasundi to get the heat of mustard
3. Add melted cheese of your choice
4. Add assorted fine chopped herbs
5. Add assorted fine sliced/chopped vegetables and/or fruits (the picture given bellow has pomegranates, lettuce leaves and pink onion chopped)
6. Add a crushed garlic clove for a little Mediterranean taste
7. Go non-vegetarian by adding shredded boiled chicken or mashed boiled egg or fish. Go grab your sandwich
8. and many more from your imagination  

Advantages
It stays well if kept in refrigerator in an air tight container  for a week or more
It has far less calories than egg mayonnaise or fresh cream

It has longer shelf life than egg mayonnaise

I tried this in number of occasions with friends and family, and they loved it

Now you try it

You will surely love it

Enjoy!

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SPICY JIMIKAND OR YAM :O

 

This is a very spicy and mouth watering dish made of  JIMIKAND or YAM.

It can be eaten mixed with hot steamed rice, parathas or spread on any bread.

Ingredients:

Jimikand or yam  500grams

Tamarind  soak an inch big ball in half a cup of water, then extract the pulp and sieve Yellow mustard powder  2-3 tsp soaked in half a cup of water
Black mustard seeds 1/2 tsp
Salt      to taste
Sugar or jagerry  1 tsp(only enough to balance the acid of tamarind)
Turmeric powder  1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder to taste
Oil       3 tbs (preferably mustard oil)

Method:

Peel the outer layer of jimikand or yam. Cut the yam into finger thick chunks roughly. Boil or pressure cook it till done. Mash and keep aside.

In a pan heat the oil. Put the mustard seeds and let it crackle. Put the mashed  yam  and sauté. Put salt, sugar/jaggerry and chilli powder. Keep stirring well till the mash is well mixed with spices.
Add the tamarind pulp and sauté more till you reach the right consistency you want. Note tamarind needs little cooking. Check the seasoning.
Now add mustard powder solution, mix and remove from fire.

 

Its salty, SOUR and HOT!

Its lip smacking!
Its taste bud tingling!
Its mouth refreshing!
Just enjoy!!!

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CHICKEN LOAF

Hi! This lovely young lady, Ishita is my friend's daughter, and she taught me to make chicken loaf. No other chicken loaf but a microwaved chicken loaf, all done in 20 minutes.
Thank you Ishita!

Microwave time 20 minutes

Standing time 10 minutes

Makes a loaf 1 inch thick and 10 inches circle

Ingredients

500gms chicken mince

2 bread slices

1/2 cup milk

2 eggs beaten

1 tbs chopped fresh parsley leaves

1 tbs chopped fresh coriander leaves

1 big green capsicum chopped

2 medium onions chopped

2 tsp garlic chopped

2 tsp ginger chopped

 

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp chilly flakes

1 tsp powdered black pepper or to your taste

salt to your taste

 

Method

Cut the hard edges of the bread, soak them in milk, squeeze the extra milk out, and put the bread in chicken mince. Discard the left over milk.

Add in all the ingredients and mix well.

 Grease a deep 10 inches diameter microwavable dish with very little butter. Pour the mix and flatten and smoothen the top.

Microwave at high for 20 minutes uncovered and then switch off the microwave.

Allow standing time 10 minutes before taking it out of the microwave.

Serve hot or cold

Soft

Aromatic

Yummy

Actually very basic, hence can be used to make many other dishes

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PURAN PLEASURES !

SHUBH NAV VARSH!

शुभ नव वर्ष !

Shubh nav varsh! Happy new year to all!

In this new year I tried a new sweet dish inspired by Chef Vikas Khanna from his show in Fox Traveler. This dish originally is Puran poli of Maharashtra, BUT WITH A TASTY TWIST...
PURAN PLEASURES  just for you...

 

As you see the dish comprises of three cocktail sized samosa look alikes on a plate, hence, thus follows

The ingredients:

Maida(refined wheat flour): Calculate as 1 heaped teaspoon per samosa, so 3 heaped teaspoons per plate

Refined oil/ Ghee/ Clarified butter for moin and frying

Salt 1 pinch

Water

Channa dal(split dehusked black gram): Calculate as 1 teaspoon per samosa, so 3  teaspoons per plate  Soak for 4 hrs.

Gur/ Jaggery upto taste

Jaiphal grated 1 pinch

Green illaichi/cardamom: 2-3 crushed

Honey: to drizzle

Kheer

Method

1. First of all put the soaked dal in a Pressure cooker and cook to one whistle. The dal is cooked but retains its shape. Now remove all excess water. With the back of laddle mash the dal to a coarse mix. Add Jaiphal and illaichi. Add gur to taste. Mix and keep aside.

2. Take maida and one pinch salt. Add as much oil/ ghee/ butter so that on mixing the mixture resembles bread crumbs

 

3. In the picture bellow I took a fistful of the mixture and see it retains its form

 

4. Put as little as water as possible and make a dough. Make small balls of 1 inch diameter.

 

5. Using a roller pin flatten to a circle

 

6. With knife cut the circle into two halves

 

 

 

8. Pick one end fold, keeping the center of circle in mind, press at center to join

 

9. pick this shape up in your hand join the the two free ends(may use a drop of water as glue

 

10. See what I have here is a cone. Ensure joints are sealed well.

 

11. Hold the cone with open side up

 

12. Put the pooran or the dal mix made in first step

 

13. Press well and feeling should move till the very tip of cone. dip your finger in water and glide along the open edge of the cone

 

14. Now hold the joint and the opposite sides together

 

15. Seal the edges tightly

 

16. Make the "samosa" sit. Note that the joint line from the tip to the base frill is in middle, give a better look.

 

16. On a plate  align and sit three samosas together to make circle. This will give them shape.

 

17. Heat oil/ butter/ ghee in a deep kadai/ wok. Once the oil/ butter is hot, reduce the flame to minimum. Cook three or more samosas at a time, one side at a time on LOW FLAME till golden brown

 

18. Set them aside in sets of three

 

19. To Plate: On the plate pour some Kheer, place the set of three samosas, and dizzles a little honey

 

20 And its ready to serve...

 

Here is some alternatives

Pooran use your imaginations: Dry fruits pooran, pooran as in gujiyas...

Kheer: Might try condensed milk, sandesh with kheer

Honey: Sugar syrup 

or any combination , just ensure the combination of pooran + kheer + drizzle must have taste and flavours which enhance each other and NOT contradict. Flare your imagination say chocolate pooran+ vanilla custard + chocolate sauce/mapple syrup...

HAVE A SWEET NEW YEAR!

PAN COOKED CHICKEN WITH DILL AND PEPPER

Hi! just so late in posting this time :(. To compensate I bring out to you a recipe by me tried out recently and very successfully. Am not a great cook, but like to experiment and some do turn out very well. Worst part I forget what I did. My hubby always asks me to note the recipe down, me a lazy one, no sooner the food is eaten I forget to jot it down. This time I did it, and with pics.

Ingredients:
Chicken legs(upto thigh joint) with skin 2nos
Chicken wings(upto shoulder joint) with skin 2nos
Dill leaves (finely chopped) 2 tbs
Black pepper (freshly ground) 2 tbs
Salt 1 tbs
Garlic cloves 6nos
Butter 1" cube
Strings to tie

Method:

1. Mix the dill, pepper and salt together and keep aside

 

2. Clean and pat dry the chicken pieces and set aside

 

3. With your finger make space between the flesh and the skin

 

4. Now lift the skin with one hand and rub in the herb-spice mix onto flesh well with the other hand

 

5. Take 6 garlic cloves with skin on

 

6. Place the garlic clove on a flat surface and crush it under the flat part of knife with a blow of your wrist. Tuck in each piece of garlic under the skin on each side of chicken piece.

 

7. Try to cover the chicken pieces well with skin and then tie up with string

 

8. Heat up a shallow pan with lid. Place butter in it, when hot. Place the chicken pieces on it, cover and cook on low heat

 

9. After 5 min. check for cooking, and turn to other side. Again cover and cook. Cook till the skin is crispy brown and flesh is tender and white till the bone(check by poking in the sharp tip of knife into the flesh)

 

10. The skin becomes crispy and waffery, the flesh inside stays soft and full of lovely flavors of dill, pepper and butter.  Now cut off the cords of chicken and plate it up.

 

Viola its ready.

Believe me very tasty..

Um. m.. m...