Mango Lassi

MMMmmm mango Lassi...I think having mango lassi is almost everyone's favorite thing to have when it is mango season. chilled lassi in hot summer...:) Hav this after coming home from outside to enjoy  as it is best to beat the heat.

Ingredients:
1 large ripe mango, peled and cut into small pieces
1 cup plain yoghurt
3-4 tbsp sugar (depending on how sweet you want)
1 tblsp grated coconut fot garnishing
chopped pistachoes
½ cup chilled milk

Method:

Put all the ingredients in food processor and blend together. Adjust the consistency according to the verity of mango used. Pour in to a tall serving glass.Throw in some ice cubes. Garnish with grated coconut & chopped pistachoes. njooyyyy!!!!

Namak Para/ crispy small nimki

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp desi ghee/ butter
1 tsp nigella seeds/ carrom seeds (whatever u want to put)
salt to taste
water to knead the dough
enough oil for frying

Method

Take a big bowl. Mix ghee & Flour, nigella/ carom seeds.  Start mixing with your hands until it looks crumbled.
Add water as needed & a firm but smooth dough. Cover it with a damp cloth.
Let it rest for 10-15 minutes.

Make small lemon sized balls. Roll them in to 9” circles. Now cut into 1/2" strips lengthwise & then into 2" length across with the help of a pizza cutter or knife.

Heat oil to medium heat. Add the strips & fry them both sides on medium flame until golden in color.


 Don’t fry on high heat otherwise they will become soft. Cool & Store them in air-tight containers.

Enjoy with hot hot tea/ coffee.

Suji Kakara Pitha (Odisha Special)

Ingredients:

Suji (rawa ) -2 cups 
Water 4 cups
Sugar -1 ½  cup ( u can adjust sugar according to your taste)
cardamom- 5 pcs ( make powder)
Shredded fresh coconut- half a coconut
Freshly Grounded Black pepper- 1tsp
Refined Oil- for frying
Salt - a pinch


Method:

• In a bowl, mix properly the shredded coconut, half of Sugar, black pepper pwd.  and cardamom powder and mix well .Keep them aside.
• 
• Boil about  4 cups of water (double the amount of rawa))& add sugar, a pinch of salt to it. When  sugar dissolves, Add Rawa to it. Mix  them  fast to avoid any  lumps. Stir it Keep it on the flame for 2 min. Remove from flame and keep aside.
• 
• Let the dough cools down to room temperature. Then apply ltl oil in your palms. Kneed the dough till it becomes soft.
• Make small small balls from the dough & flatten them using your palms , 
• Make  a deep depression in between ( make it like a cup) using your fingers  & put  the coconut stuffing. 
• 
• Then Close it form all sides .Make the above balls into flat shape  with the help of  your palms.
• 
• Heat oil in a frying pan . When hot, drop these stuffed balls one by one & fry in a lower flame till they  turns golden brown from each side.
• 
•  Kakara pitha is ready and serve it hot or cool anyway u like it.

Delicious mango milk shake

Ingredients:

1 large mango, peeled, pitted and chopped
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup milk
whipped cream/ vanilla ice cream - 1cup
cardamon powder- 1/4 tsp


Directions:

Place all ingredients in a blender. 
Blend until smooth. Pour into 2 tall glasses.Serve it with a dollop of vanilla ice cream.

Pineapple Upside-down Cake

As I m a food blogger I love to bake & cook for all the occasions when they come..This time I really wanted to bake something new for my hubby’s bday. So thought why not Pineapple upside down loaf cake..always i was wondering to make this cake...never had this cake outside so was bit confused to make on my hubby’s bday..So 1st  tried with a LOAF cake adapted from Martha Stewart’s recipes & believe me the aroma of pineapples & freshly made caramel while baking is really awesome...yaahh.. my hubby also loved it..So after an Online search I came across this recipe...

INGREDIENTS:

Topping

3tblsp butter
½  cup brown sugar
1 small can Pineapple slices with juice
Batter:
1 ½ cup All purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick of unsalted butter (room tempr.)
Maraschino cherries (optional)
1 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup pineapple juice/ butter milk ( u can add whatever u want..I have added the pineapple juice.)
Some chunk of  pineapples

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a 9*5  loaf pan with butter & flour/ baking spray.
Take a bowl. Melt butter in the oven. Add  brown sugar over melted butter. Put in the microwave for another 30 sec. Stir until all melted well. 


Spread the brown sugar & butter mix to the coated pan. Arrange pineapple slices over brown sugar. Place cherry in centre of each pineapple slice. Reserve remaining pineapple slices and cherries for another use. 

Take a large bowl. Place softened 1 stick of butter and the white sugar. Using an electric beater beat together until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and mix in.
Add together all the rest of the dry ingredients and whisk. Add the dry dry ingredients to the prepared batter, mix well and add the pineapple juice. Mix just until combined. Using a spatula fold in the pineapple chunks in to batter.


When mixed, using a spatula to push the batter into the loaf pan over the pineapple. Place in a 350° oven for 35- 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out dry.

Let the cake cool in the pan. Remove from pan & transfer the cake to the wire rack to cool completely.

Leftover Idli Upma

MMM idli Upma a perfect breakfast...looks interesting!!! isn't it?? Bored from regular idli chutney??? Then don’t worry..here is a nice way to use your leftover idlis....U can add veggies as per your choice.. To make this used: 




Ingredients:

6-7 left over idlis, cut in to pieces or crumbled (as per your choice how u want to eat)
1 small capsicum- thinly sliced
1 small carrot- thinly sliced/ thinly grated
1 medium size onion- finely chopped
5-6 curry leaves
Grated ginger- 1tsp
1tsp red chilli powder
2-3 dry red chillies
1 tblsp peanuts- optional
2 green chilli- chopped
Pinch of turmeric powder
pinch of asafoetida 
salt to taste
1 tsp cumin & mustard seeds
1 tsp white skin less urad dal
Lemon juice- 1tblsp
Freshly Grated coconut- 1tbsp
chopped coriander leaves/ grated coconut for garnish
2 tbsp oil


Method:

•  Heat oil in a pan, add asafoetida, dry red chillies, add cumin/ mustard seeds and let them splutter. 
• Add urad dal and let it turn red. Add curry leaves, peanuts. Add grated ginger, chopped onions  & green chillies and sauté for a min. or two.
•  Add sliced capsicum & carrots. Sauté for 2 mins. 
• Then add turmeric pwd & red chilli powder. Mix well. 
• Add the crumbled idlis and combine. Adjust salt. Mix well. Sprinkle water & cover with a lid. let it cook for 2-3 mins. 
• 
• Add the lemon juice & little bit grated coconut. Mix well. Now switch off the flame. Garnish with freshly grated coconut & coriander leaves. (I sprinkled some idli podi to the upma before I dig in..)

Daal Dhokli

 Daal Dhokli is a delicious Gujurati dish . I like to try something different always. This time when I was searching for a different daal recipe , I found this  from internet & tried. I never had this recipe before..so before trying I was thinking how will it turn out ? will my husband like this ?? so many questions were there.. But I tried this & it turned out really good . My husband just loved it & told me to make again. The aroma of dhokli & desi ghee tempering...OMG u ll feel like having them right away.





INGREDIENTS:
FOR DHOKLI:
1 cup whole wheat flour/ normal chapathi dough
2 tbsp oil
Salt to taste
½ tsp chilli powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
Water to knead the dough

FOR DAAL :
1 cup toor daal (split yellow pigeon peas)
2 medium size tomatoes
A handful peanuts (I like to put roasted one)
green peas- 1/2 cup
1 green chilli, chopped
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tbsp cumin coriander seed powder
 lemon juice- 2tblsp ( traditionally kokum is used for daal but i didn’t have in my kitchen)
2-3 tbsp jaggery  (u can add or reduce as per your taste)
¼ tsp asafoetida
Salt as per taste

For tempering
½  tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp ajwain/ carom seeds(Optional)
1 inch long cinnamon stick
A handful curry leaves
2-3 whole red chili
2-3 tblsp desi ghee
Fresh grated coconut – 1tblsp
Chopped coriander leaves for garnishing

METHOD: 

Clean and wash daal and add about 2 cups of water, tomatoes, grated ginger & salt  . Pressure cook for about 3 to 4 whistles until cooked. Keep aside. 

Take a big bowl to make the  Dhokli dough, mix all the ingredients and knead a hard dough using water (the dough should not be too soft like chapatti dough it should be little bit hard). Cover and set aside.

Take a deep vessel/ kadai. Put the cooked daal in to it. Add about 2 cups of of water and mix well to form a paste. Switch on the flame to cook the daal. When daal will start boiling add  turmeric powder, red chilli powder, cumin coriander  powder, jaggery, salt, chopped green chilli & green peas, peanuts to it. Cover the daal & cook on medium flame . 
Simultaneously make dhokli to add in the daal. Devide the Dhokli dough into lemon size balls. Dust the balls with chapatti flour & Roll each balls into thin chapattis. Cut each chapatti into squares using pizza cutter/ knife. 


Gently add the cut dhoklis to boiling daal. Cover & boil the daal for another 10 minutes. Stir occasionally otherwise dhoklis will stick to the bottom. If your daal will be too much thick then add 1-2 cups of water & boil. Your daal dhokli is now ready. 
for tempering take a small tadka pan and heat desi ghee. Once oil is hot, add in red chiilies, cinnamon, mustard / cumin seeds, carom seeds. Let the seeds splutter. Then add in curry leaves. Once the tempering is ready switch off the flame add ½ tsp of red chilli powder mix (make sure not to burn the chilli powder) & immediately pour the tempering to the prepared daal dhokli. Mix well. Add freshly grated coconut & chopped coriander leaves for garnishing. Cover and let it rest for about 10-15 minutes before serving. Enjoy hot with steamed rice/ chapatti.