Saturday 26 September 2015

Dry Garlic chutney











Garlic chutney is made from fresh garlic, dry coconut, groundnuts and red chilies,
For vada pav, garlic chutney is must have ingredient.





Today we will learn how to make garlic chutney ...so friends here is recipe...


Ingredients Required:
Dry coconut powder - 1 cup 
1/4th cup sesame seeds
1 tbsp roasted peanuts
Kashmiri Red chilli powder - 2 tsp
Garlic cloves - 8 nos
Salt - as needed
sugar- 1tsp (optional)

Method:

Grind the above ingredients and make sure to keep it coarse.
Your chutney is ready to use..
Now add it to a airtight container. You can store upto 2 wks in a refrigerator.




Monday 21 September 2015

Bhel Puri


Bhel puri  is a savory Indian snack made out of puffed rice, papdi, sev, crunchy  veggies , tangy  sauces and addition of raw mango (finely chopped) in bhel puri enhances the flavor. My family  always love having this for snack or for dinner.. Healthy easy to prepare, perfect in taste and spice just  loved it..Just follow the recipe and make your own bhel Puri in few minutes...












Ingredients:

Puffed rice/ murmura - 2 cups ( for making the masala murmura u need 1-2 tblsp oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, handful curry leaves, asafoetida, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and 1tsp chilli powder, this procedure is completely optional but I bet u will love  after making bhel with these masala coated bhel))

Green chutney - 2 tsp
Tamarind and date chutney - 3-4 tbsp
Onion - 1/2 cup finely chopped
Tomato - 1/2 cup finely chopped
Coriander Leaves - 1/4 cup finely chopped
Lemon juice - as per requirement
Chaat masala - 1 tsp
madras mix mixture (Optional)
Roasted Peanuts  - 1/4th cup
raw mango- 2 tblsp finely chopped (If it is a mango season otherwise u can skip it)
Papdi - 8-10 nos broken roughly
Boiled potato (Optional) - 1 cup chopped into chunks
Sev - 1/2 cup

Method:

Heat 2 tblsp oil a big Kadhai or pan. Add mustard seeds when they starts crackling add the curry leaves, asafoetida, turmeric powder, chilli powder and immediately add bhel. Saute for 5-6 min on a low- medium flame till the masalas are well coated with the bhel. Now switch off the flame and let it cool completely.
 I Like my bhel in this way..The strong smell of asafoetida and the crispiness of bhel is just irresistible. 

Take a large bowl so that you shall be able to mix all the ingredients.

Add murmura , peanuts, papadi, madras mix, lemon juice,chaat masala ,chopped onions, tomatoes, raw mangoes and coriander leaves and mix well. 
 add diced boiled potatoes. Now add green chutney and tamarind chutney. Just remember, the tamarind chutney should be thick, not watery. Mix them well. Now sprinkle some sev on the top.
 
Serve immediately . Enjoy your homemade bhel Puri..Yummm....






How to make Paneer at home

PANEER is an indian cottage cheese prepare from milk. Super easy and simple to make..will be ready within 25-30 mins & you can make your own recipes from that. Do prepare it at home & you will never think of getting frozen one from store.  So here is the step by step recipe of homemade paneer.








Ingredients:

Milk- 1/2 gallon whole milk
1/4 cup vinegar

Method:

Pour the milk into a  saucepan and  Bring it to boil. when the milk starts boiling
Add the vinegar. Remove the milk from heat and stir in the vinegar. 

The milk starts begin to curdle immediately and  separate the curds and whey.
Now strain through a cheese cloth. Gather the cloth with curd, Now show it to the running cold water. Squeeze to remove the excess whey.

Take a large plate. On the top place a strainer. Now transfer the curds (still in the cheesecloth) to the strainer. Keep a heavy object on top of it. I kept a pressure cooker filled with water. Leave it to set for 20-25 min.


Take it out from the bundle and your paneer is ready. Cut it into cubes and use it. 



Wednesday 16 September 2015

Chocolate Pudding..


Just finished making this yummy chocolate pudding.. R U a bournvita Lover??? If yes then here is a super easy, delicious recipe for you all. Just 3 ingredients and you are done...









So friends here is the recipe/..
1/2 cup roughly crushed biscuits (Parle-G or Tiger mostly preferred)
1/3 cup bournvita
1/2 cup fresh grated coconut
Method:
Take a bowl. Mix coconut and crushed biscuit
together. Now add bournvita Mix well. keep it covered for at least 1 hour till the pudding becomes soft and you are done.











Dabeli



Dabeli or Kutchi dabeli is a snack food of India, originating in the Kutch or Kachchh region of Gujarat. It is a spicy snack made by mixing boiled potatoes with a dabeli masala, and putting the mixture between pav (burger bun) and served with chutneys made from tamarind, date, garlic, red chilies, etc. and garnished with pomegranate and roasted peanuts.

Another yummy snack was pending for long time to be tried in my kitchen until recently. Opportunity arrived when my turn came for our society afternoon tea party (weekly summer event for get-together). Me and another friend prepared around 40-45 dabeli for the entire gal gang and it was a hit that afternoon. Sadly summer time is getting over and we will miss our party till next year..but Dabeli would be tried many times till then I am sure :)













Ingredients


For The Dabeli Masala
2 red chillis
1 tsp coriander  seeds
1/2" stick cinnamon, 2 cloves  
1/2 tsp cumin seeds

For The Filling
3 medium size potatoes boiled and mashed 
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
a pinch of asafoetida
1 tblsp dabeli masala
3 tbsp dates and tamarind chutney
2 tbsp oil
salt to taste

for garlic chutney

2-3 red chillies soaked in water
8-10 cloves of garlic
1 tblsp oil
1tblsp lemon juice
salt as per taste

Other Ingredients
5 dabei/ burger buns
butter or for cooking

To Serve
1 onion  chopped
1/2 cup spicy roasted peanuts
1/2 cup chopped coriander
1/2 cup grated coconut
1/2 cup thin  sev
1/2 cup fresh pomegranate
 fresh garlic chutney as required
 sweet tamarind dates chutney as required

Method 

1st step is to prepare the dabeli masala
Roast all the ingredients given above for dabeli masala in a pan for 2 to 3 minutes. let it cool and Grind it to a fine powder in a blender.

For the filling

Heat the oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds. When they started spluttering, add  asafoetida, mix dabeli masala and dates tamarind chutney together and add it to the oil. Saute for 10-15 sec. Add mashed potato, salt as per the taste and ½ cup of water and mix well.

Remove from the fire, add the 2 tablespoons of tamarind dates chutney and mix well. Keep aside.


Now to prepare garlic chutney..
grind red chilli and garlic together to a fine paste. add salt and lemon juice mix well. keep aside.
Now take a big flat bowl. Place the potato mixture first. Then add the roasted peanuts and mix well. Add coconuts, pomegranate seeds and chopped coriander leaves on top.








How to proceed

Slice the burger buns into halves horizontally and cook the buns in a pan using a little butter/ oil. Apply tamarind dates chutney to lower half of the bun and garlic chutney to the upper half of the bun.







Place a portion of the potato filling on the lower half of each bun.
Top with the chopped onion, sev, if u want u can sprinkle some pomegranate seeds. Sandwich it with the top halves of the burger buns.








NB: I have used store bought peanuts. But if u want to prepare it at home here is the recipe. Heat 1 tblsp oil in a pan add asafoetida and then peanuts,  fry till they get slight brown in colour. now switch off the flame add red chilli powder and salt to taste. your roasted peanut is ready.

Homemade hot Chilli OIl















Chili oil can be easily prepared at home and enjoyed with stir fry noodles and rice, kung pao chicken and oriental soups. You can drizzle a bit in with hummus or mix with stir fried veggies to give it a bit of a kick.

1/4 cup whole dry red chilli
1 cup vegetable oil/ canola oil/ peanut oil

Method:

Dry roast the red chilies and let it cool completely. don't over roast it otherwise it will turn bitter.
Grind the roasted red chilies but keep it coarse.
Heat oil in a saucepan oil should be hot. Now put grinded chilies in to a bowl Pour hot oil into it.
Let cool completely .After the chili oil has cooled down completely, you can transfer to a lidded container and store at room temperature in a cool place.
The chili oil tastes better and more flavorful the longer it sits and has a chance to infuse.



Kung Pao Chicken



MY family love Kung Pao chicken.  So thought of giving a try at home.  Good thing in this recipe is you don't need to fry the chicken, U just need to marinate the chicken pieces  and  stir fry it . The recipe  calls for no. of veggies, roasted peanuts, water chestnut (I didn't have so i couldn't add) add some spices and sauces. I have  used homemade chilli oil
 in it. This is  Kung Pao chicken.So juicy and flavorful. Absolutely delicious! Goes very well with plain rice or noodles....


Ingredients
1 pound chicken breast, cut into chunks
3/4 cup diced color bell pepper
2 scallions chopped 
2 Tbsp cornstarch
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes 
3-4 Tbsp peanut oil/ refined oil
1 tsp homemade chilli oil  ( homemade-hot-chilli-oil )

3-4 dried red chili 
2 tablespoons garlic, chopped (approx 2 garlic cloves)
2/3 cup dry roasted peanuts

For the marinade:

salt to taste
1tblsp ginger garlic paste
1 Tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tblsp vinegar


For the sauce:
1 tblsp cornstarch with 1/4th cup of water
1-2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 tsp distilled white vinegar
1 Tbsp dark soy sauce
1/2 cup water/ chicken stock


Directions

In a small bowl, mix the chicken with the marinade ingredients, and set aside for 1 hour.
sprinkle 2 tblsp cornstarch and mix well.Heat a wok with 1 tblsp of oil  and pan fry the marinated chicken at high flame for 2-3 min.

Heat the oil in a wok over high heat, and when the oil is hot, add the Dry red chilies, chopped garlic, scallions. Now add colored bell peppers and saute for a minute.
Now add the fried chicken pieces and roasted peanuts and mix well.




Take a bowl add the sauce ingredients and mix well. 

Add the sauce to the chicken, salt to taste. stir-fry for 1 minute.sprinkle some scallion,freshly ground black pepper to taste, dried red pepper flakes and  Stir to combine.

 serve hot over rice or noodles..