YUMMY CARAMEL HALWA...easy sweet dish for this diwali

hi everyone...
                       
Halwa... an indian sweet dish which is easy to cook and can be made in just short time.We have all made this at some point or other at our homes.In India there are varied range of hawas from carrot halwa to lauki halwa,kaju halwa and dry fruit halwa. and etc...

When i was kid my mom used to make one Caramel Halwa for us.It used to be tasty and yummy and also tasted like Moong Dal halwa.Made from Semolina and Ghee,it is made by caramelising sugar.One thing i should tell you is that this is a tricky dish to be made because semolina tends to crystalise and if you don't keep stirring and patience on during its making the end product will not be as desired.

So guys don't give up if you can't make it at first attempt coz this dish is worth giving a try.I recently made it on my Mom- in- Law's visit and she was more than happy to eat it.....the first question she asked me was "is it moong dal halwa?".....So here's the recipe for halwa which you and your family will find yummy..
                        
Ingredients

1 cup semolina (rava)
1 cup sugar
1 cup desi ghee
2 cups milk
1/2 cup mixed nuts
1/4 tsp cardamom (elaichi) powder

Method

1.Soak 1 cup semolina in 2 cups of milk (romm temperature) & keep it aside.
2.Put 1 cup desi ghee in a thick bottomed kadhai & add 1 cup sugar to it.

                                       
3.Keep stirring.
4.Firstly sugar will turn to crystals & then melt.

                                      
5.Let the colour of sugar turn to golden brown.

                                         
6.Add the soaked semolina (in one go) to the sugar and ghee; keep stirring till it is of uniform consistency (approx 5 minutes).

                                       
7.Add chopped dry fruits, elachi powder.

                                        
8.Serve hot!
     ps: this is dish where you have to forget about your calorie conciousness.more the ghee more the halwa is gooey and soft.enjoy it and run an exta mile in your next jogging session....coz seriously it's worth it.
i am sorry that i could not click the end product pic coz i made it just 15 mins before serving lunch and once served no one waited to hold on for the snap......

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PANEER RECIPE:capsicum touch

Image by stukinha via Flickr

CAPSICUM with a dash of PANEER: PANEER – SHIMLAMIRCH subzi :


Hi and a very good day ahead guys. It’s been a bit of gap that I have posted any recipes. The reason is that my mom-in –law has come to stay with us for couple of weeks. It’s a belief that rarely does daughter in laws get along with mom in laws. But ours is an exception. Both of us share a good understandings and common likings. That makes everything easier.


Since she is here I like to make dishes of her choice and taste. She likes to eat capsicum vegetable so i decided to make it for her. usually I make capsicum with gram flour(besan) or potataoes.but since mom in law is having her doses of ayurvedic medicines she cannot have either potatoes or besan.Hence I tried to make paneer and capsicum combination.


When the subzi was ready, she loved it and hubby dear also enjoyed it. Well it was like well done bahu!!...


So here is the easy and tasty paneer capsicum recipe.


Paneer shimla mirch(capsicum) subzi:


Ingredients:


1) Green capsicums medium size 2 no.


2) paneer (cottage cheese) 250 gms


3) onion big size 2 no. grinded to paste and one small onion chopped


4) ginger garlic paste 2tspn


5) tomato big 1 no. finely chopped


6) red chilly powder 2tspn


7) turmeric powder 1tspn


8) garam masala 1tspn


9) tandoori masala 1tspn


10) tomato ketchup 2 tspn


11) salt according to taste


12) Oil 2 tblspn.


13) Coriander for garnishing


14) Sugar 2tspn


Method:


1) Take pan and heat oil in it. Put the tomatoes in it and fry till it leaves all the juices.


2) Now add the chopped onion till translucent.


3) Add the onion paste and ginger garlic paste. Keep stirring at low flame.


4) Add the chilly powder, turmeric powder, garam masala, tandoori powder to it and keep cooking till leaves oil.


5) Now add sugar and add few drops of water. Keep stirring.


6) Next add the tomato ketchup and salt and keep frying for few more mins.


7) Now add the chopped capsicum and cover the pan and let the capsicum cook till tnder.


8) Cut the paneer into ½”inch cubes and add to the cooked capsicum and cover it for few mins.


9) Add water according to the consistency of gravy that you would like and bring it to boil.


10) Remove from heat and garnish with coriander. Serve hot with rotis or paranthas.


Ps: you can also deep fry the paneer cubes before putting into the gravy but if you want to avoid those extra calories you can put them without frying as I did.

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INDIAN SWEETS...

Timeless traditional dishes…yummy kohadyache bonda.
                       



It has been festive time for last few months in Maharashtra.first after the month of saawan came Ganpati.festivites bring joys, warmth and along with them traditional sweets. Last week my hubby dear remembered one of his favorite childhood dishes –kohadyache bonda.Yes, they are my favorites too. I remember when my mom used to make them, I along with my elder brother used to finish them so fast.


This sweet preparation is specially made on the occasion of POLA festival with pumpkin (kohada).and thus it has a rustic touch and extremely traditional one. Since hubby dear reminded me of it I could not wait to make them. I called up my mom and asked her the recipie over phone and gave it a try. The end product did not my mom’s bonda but yes hubby loved it and it tasted too good to resist. So if you are waiting to try some authentic Indian sweet go for bonda..You will find it some what like doughnuts but without eggs and of course without a hole in it. So here’s the recipe for you.


Ingredients:
1) Pumpkin 250gms.


2) Whole wheat flour(atta)2 cups


3) Sugar 250 gms(you can change the amount according to your taste)


4)green cardamom 2-3 cloves powdered


5) khus- khus 1 tspn


6) A pinch of salt


7) Oil for deep frying


Method:


1) Peel and chop the pumpkin into small cubes.


2) Cook the chopped pumpkin without adding water in a pressure cooker. you can also cook the pumpkin without pressure cooker by adding very little water to it and covering it on low flame.


3) After being cooked quite soft, add sugar to it and keep on low flame. Sugar leaves the water of pumpkin. Keep stirring and cooking until all the water evaporates and tit become sticky paste. there should be no lumps of pumpkin in it.


4) Let the above mixture cool. Add cardamom powder and khus-khus to it.


5) Prepare a sticky dough of whole-wheat flour (atta) by adding water and pinch of salt.


6) Now take a little portion of pumpkin mixture and add little portion of the dough to it. You have to mix both of them get to a smooth consistency by using your hands. Both the mixture and dough should get mix into each other evenly.


7) Mix all the dough and mixture with the above process. A sticky consistency will be achieved. This part is most tricky as they should intermingle to form a sticky paste.


8) Now heat the oil in a wok and drop small balls of the above paste in it. Deep fry them till they turn quite deep golden brown. Deep frying should be done on medium and low flame as they should be cooked from inside very well.


9) Let the bondas cool and serve.




  ps: i wanted to add the pictures but some how the images were not uploading,i will post them as soon as it works.

NAAN-soft & homemade..without tandoor

Making of naan…


Good day to everyone out there…


It’s just another day and the festivities of ganesh utsav continue here in maharashtra.
Although during this period every other household in maharashtra cooks modaks,puran polis,shreekahnd puri etc..
its just me and hubby here. So wanted to make something for lunch and as I was planning for making chhole for the main curry dish the question as to avoid the yummy but full of calories bhaturas.incidently bhaturas are the traditional companion that go along with chhole in India. But I this time thought of making naan with it.


Naan is a kind of bread made in Punjab from flour and cooked in tandoor.but as I am a homebound cook and with the tandoor unavailable in my kitchen I made it in pan. They came out well. I deliberately avoided using convection mode of microwave as I didn’t have much time to experiment with its timings.






Recipe for naan-


Potato Dough Recipe


Potato is used to make the dough for Naan, resulting in a soft Naan


This is not Aloo Naan Recipe where the potato is used for filling. Here the boiled potato is mashed and kneaded to form the dough. The dough produces a soft Naan even without egg.


Ingredients
Dough

1. Potato : 1 Medium size
2. Active Dry Yeast: 1 teaspoon
3. White Table Sugar: 1 teaspoon
4. Warm Water : ½ Cup
5. Dahi (Yogurt): ¼ Cup
6. Melted Ghee: 1 Tablespoon
7. Salt: 1 teaspoon
8. Un-bleached All-purpose flour: 2 Cups (8½ oz by weight)
9. White Whole Wheat Flour: 1½ Cup (7½ oz by weight)


Cooking


Melted butter for : ¼ Cup
Four for dusting and rolling

Method
Dough


1. Boil potato so it is fully cooked. Let it cool to room temperature. Mash it with fork. It should be totally mashed (no chunks). Set it aside

2. Add sugar and yeast to warm water. Let stand 10 minutes. Add yogurt, and ghee. Mix. Add mashed potato. Mix again to smooth.


3. Mix all the ingredients including the mixture made in step (2) i.e. yeast+ water+sugar


Curd+ghee in a bowl. Keep mixing till the dough will start to come lose off the bowl surface.

4. Dust a surface with flour for kneading. Transfer the dough to the floured surface. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes till it looks smooth and shiny.


5. Gather up the dough into a ball. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with a damp cloth, and let stand for 1 to 2 hours till it doubles in volume. The dough should not be raised in a hot place, the rapid rise will result in yeasty odor. The dough should not be raised in a cold area as it will take too long to rise.


6. Remove the dough from the bowl place it on floured work surface. Divide it into six portions. Roll each portion to form a ball. Keep the dough balls covered to prevent from drying. Let the covered dough rest for 30 minutes.






Making naans:


Usually the naans are made by patting the balls of dough between hands, but not being a pro I made them by using both my hands and rolling pin.

For cooking the naan


1) I heated nonstick pan on high flame,then put the rolled out naan in the pan.


2) Then I covered the pan for 1to 2 mins on low flame.


3) I flipped the side of naan and repeated the covering of pan.


4) When nicely cooked on both the sides I applied butter to one side and served hot.






Hope you find this varied recipe of naan easy to make at home. Please tell if there is another way of baking them without the use of tandoor…

Catch you guys soon. Happy cooking till then.

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QUICK SNACK BITES FROM LEFTOVERS

Dal kachori…in a few minutes…




Leftovers…it’s a always question that how to use the leftovers as that they are not wasted and still can be eaten with little variation done to the original product.


In Indian household dal is one of the basic part of meal and somehow it always remains in the stock of leftovers. Yesterday I too had leftover dal from the lunch and somehow I did not want to convert it into same old dal fry. so after scratching the head for few mins I came up with the idea of making kachoris.and yes I didn’t have to take much effort as I was not planning for a delicacy but making it out of whatever resources I had.


Ingredients:


Leftover dal


1 onion finely chopped


Aamchur powder 2tspn


1 or 2Green chilies finely chopped


Salt and red chilly powder according to taste.


Whole-wheat(atta) dough


Oil to shallow fry or deep fry


Method:


1) Take a pan and add the aamchur powder, onion, green chillies, red chili powder and salt to left over dal and keep it on slow flame so that it converts into thick paste. Stir time to time to avoid sticking to the bottom of pan.


2) You can make the thick dough from whole wheat or flour whatever you prefer by mixing water to .as I said that I made it with resources available, I had some dough in refrigerator and I used the same.


3) Divide the dough into small balls preferably into small size than a ping pong ball.


4) Now fill the dal mixture it these ball and press them to make round and flat kachoris.


5) I shallow fried the kachories on anon stick tava till crispy and golden brown on both the sides. The flame of stove should be kept low to bring the crispness. If you are not worried about the calories then deep fry them till golden brown.


6) Serve hot with ketchup or corander chutney.


Thus enjoy the leftover with a little variation.My hubby dear really enjoyed the evening snack after the tiring day at office. He especially liked the filling. So try it and let me know your comments..

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VEG MANCHURIAN...for a great start to a meal

Hi everyone...thanks for giving response to my facebook page...Its a slow start but I believe that soon I will have more people connected to my blog...Well the rains are not giving it up here in India.The other day it was raining cats and dogs and in such weather you bound feel like satisfying your appetite with something hot and spicy.


Since i decided to make veg fried rice for the dinner, Icould not resist the idea of having veg manchurian for the starter or side dish..coz of its hot and spicy flavors.It was a good choice and really enjoyed the meal.I am sharing the recipe here.Just try it and add the spice to your meal...




Ingredients:




2 cups Grated Cabbage


2 cups Grated Carrots


1 Chopped Spring Onion


2 Chopped Green Chilies


3-4 Crushed Garlic Flakes


2 tbsp Corn Starch or Flour


Oil for deep frying


1 tbsp Soya Sauce


Salt to taste


1 tsp Pepper Powder


1 tsp Sugar


A pinch of ajinomoto


2 tbsp oil










Preparation of vegetarian manchurian :


Mix grated cabbage and carrots and squeeze the water out from them.


Now in a bowl take the squeezed cabbage and carrots and mix 1 tbsp. corn starch and add few chopped chilies and little salt to it.

Make small balls (like koftas) of the mixture .


Heat the oil in a kadhai / wok and deep fry the balls till golden brown, drain and keep aside.

                                          


Now in a separate pan heat 2 tbsp oil.


Sauté garlic, green chilies and spring onions.


Add water, salt, pepper powder, ajinomoto, sugar and soya sauce. Bring it to a boil.


Mix 1 tbsp corn four with half of a cup of cold water and stir into it. Gently add the fried balls to the gravy.

                                          


Cook the vegetable manchurian for 3-4 minutes and serve hot garnished with chopped coriander.

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making paper dosa...its easy....

Dosa...i guess every indian foodie has an expereince with this dish of south india sometime or the other in his or her life.
its tasty,simple and nutritous,and one thing for sure 7 out of 10 indian housewives,no matter to which part of country do they belong,have tried this recipe at home.the restaurant version of dosa have always grabbed the attention of children and they sometimes do get disappointed when homemade doasas do not turn out to be so crispy.

for your crispy dosa..i am bringing you the recipie of Paper dosai..and going by my own experience they do come out like the ones you get at restaurant...
just try them ,you are going to love them....


Paper Dosai


Ingredients


» 1 Cup (Boiled) Rice(Puzhungal Rice)


» 2 Cups Raw Rice(Pacharisi)


» 3/4 Cup Urad Dal


» A Handful Of Cooked Rice


» 2 Tablespoons Of Aval(Poha)


» 1 Teaspoon Venthayam(Methi Seeds)


» Salt To Taste


Method


Wash all the ingredients except the cooked rice and salt.


Soak them in water for atleast 5 hours.


Add the cooked rice and grind to a smooth paste with the required amount of water.


Add the required salt. Cover and keep aside for at least 10 hours to ferment.


Then mix the batter thoroughly.


Take a laddle full of batter and spread on a MEDIUM HOT tawa to a thin layer quickly.


Rest is the same as you do for any ordinary dosa.






When spreading the batter if by chance you see that some parts of the spread area of


the dosai is thick do not try to respread it to be thin.


This will spoil the crispy nature of the dosai.


Puzhungal Rice:
you can make this rice easily at home.
 
take the raw rice as it is.pour two cups of water in pressure cooker.
 
then place the container of measured raw rice in the cooker without washing or adding water to the rice.
 
close the cooker and place the wistle on it.
 
bring to steam till the wistle blows for once.
 
remove from gas and open the cooker.
 
take out the rice and follow the next procedure of dosai recipe.

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hot egg biryani....

hi...its raining awsome here at nagpur..and weather has become beautiful,like chilling...
in such weather it feels great to have something delicious and hot to gorge on...so i have come up with one of my simple and easy recipe of egg biryani.its easy to cook and tastes awesome.just try it and i am sure  you will love it.

EGG BIRYANI :

INGREDIENTS:

Basmati Rice - 1 cup


Eggs - 4 nos
Onions medium size- 2 no. cut length wise
Tomatoes big - 1 no. cut lengthwise
Ginger garlic Paste - 1 tbspn
Green Cardamom - 2-4 nos

Whole Black pepper- 1 tspn

Bay leaf - 2 nos

Pudina - ½ small bunch

Coriander - ½ small bunch
Yogurt - ¼ cup

Salt and

Chili powder - according to taste
Dhania powder- 1 tbspn
Tandoori Masala powder- 2 tbspn

Lemon juice - 1 tbspn

Oil - 2 tbspn

Saffron - optional
Method:


1) Boil four eggs

2) Marinate the onions with ginger garlic paste and

yogurt with tandoori masala for at least 45 mins.


Keep aside some of the onions without marinating them.


3) Cook rice separately and cool

4) Heat a fry pan with oil, add the unmarinated onions and fry till
they turn golden brown.

5) Add tomatoes , salt, and fry till it leaves all juices. Add mint and coriander leaves and cook nicely
6) Pour in the marinated mixture and mix with chili and dhania

powder.

7) Mix in lemon juice & fry till moisture is absorbed.
8) Add saffron, rice and and mix gently.

9) Peel and cut the eggs into halves. set the egg halves

in between rice layer by layer.


10) Cover it tightly and let it sit for few minutes before serving.

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narkoler naru...nariyal ladoos

Narkoler Naru (Coconut Laddu/ Nariyal ke laddu)

...these laddoos are my favorites since childhood.A bengali recipe and very easy to cook.
Nariyal ka Laddu


Ingredients:






1. Coconut Powder – 2 cups


2. Mawa (Khowa) – 1 /2cup


3. Sugar – 10tsp


4. Cardamom Powder – 3pinches


5. Milk – 1 /4th cup



Method:






1. Mix the sugar with coconut powder.


2. Heat a kadhai. Put the coconut with sugar mixture and stir continuously on low flame.


3. Add khowa and stir.


4. Soon khowa, sugar and coconut powder will slightly melt.


5. Add milk and stir gently and add cardamom powder.


6. Stir continuously till excess milk evaporates and it turns sticky.While hot, make ladoos in the palm of your hand

recipe for hara bhara kebab

Hi everyone… I know being new at blogging may sometimes be disappointing.But I guess I will soon be able to get readers and know the art and skill of blogging soon…



Well, last week it was my birthday and I had a great time, got loads of wishes and lavish gift from hubby dear. Also in the evening we had the dinner at one of my favorite place; Reds. We had all my favorite dishes. And the Hara Bhara kebabs we ordered were awesome. There I decided that I will be trying my hand at very soon at this nawabi delicacy soon.




And yesterday only I charted out the menu for the dinner with the Hara Bhara kebab


as starter. Here I am sharing the recipe with you. Although I got bit experimental by adding chana dal to it. But the end product was delicious. Hope the art of cooking kebabs had been developed by nawabs in India. An excellent kebab is one which is crispy


Yet it melts in mouth as soon as you have the bite. Basically a non veg culinary but it has it own vegetarian additions these days, one of them is Hara Bhara kebab.






Ingredients:

1 cup chana dal (soaked for at least 2 hours)


100 grams palak(spinach)

2 to 3 medium sized boiled potatoes

½ cup Green peas boiled


Green chilies 2-4
Ginger grated 1 ½ tbspn
Coriander ½ bunches
Cinnamon ½ stick
Clove 2-3 nos
Chili powder 2tspn

Turmeric powder 1tspn
Garam masal 1tspn
Salt according to taste

Corn flour for binding
Oil for deep frying




Method:




1) Take a fry pan and add two tspn of oil.


2) Add the cloves, cinnamon and cumin seeds till they splutter.


3) Add the soaked chana dal and stir.


4) Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt and garam masala powder.


5) Pour sufficient water and cover it to cook.


6) You can cook it in pressure cooker also.


7) Put the cooked chana dal on stove to become thick in consistency. it should be paste like. Mash the thick dal so as to remove any lumps. it should be smooth thick paste. Let it cool and set aside.


8) Blanch the spinach in boiling water with salt and dip in cold water. Chop it finely. Keep aside.


9) In a large bowl take the boiled potatoes, boiled peas, chopped coriander, chopped green chilles,salt,choped spinach, and the above cooked chana dal.

10) Mix the above to form smooth dough.

11) Add corn flour for binding.


12) Divide in small equal portions and make small balls .press in the center to give a flat shape.


13) Heat oil in a wok or kadhai and deep fry the kebabs till golden brown. You can also shallow fry them or cook them in microwave in combo mode i.e., grill and microwave for 3 to 5 mins on both the sides.


14) Garnish with shredded cabbage and carrot and serve hot with coriander and curd dip.


Hope you guys try it and like it too.bye for now till i bring you something lovely again.

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