Gajar ka halwa (Carrot yumminess)

My father in law loves this dessert so I told my husband to bring carrots from the supermarket. I have never tried making this before so really wanted to try it out. I looked up online and in my recipe books and saw many recipes but most of them used khoya (khowa) which I dint have on hand. well I was still determined so as soon as my hubby came home i asked him for carrots. He handed over a bags of baby carrots to me...I was like ...aaaaa..baby carrots ...really...I thought carrot halwa is made from nice big red carrots. well I still wanted to try it out...if it turns out bad i can blame the carrots lol. This dessert turned out amaaazzzingg. Unbelievably tasty and really easy to make. My husband loved it the most and he ate it in his unique style with puck cream (available in Arabic grocery stores). Do try this out , I highly recommend it.

Carrots -     1-1/2 bags of baby carrots or you can use the big red ones. Finely grate/shred them. I
                     used a food processor for this purpose.

Oil mix - 2 tbl spn oil + 5 tbl spn butter

Milk - 4 cups

sugar - 1-1/2 cups

water - 1 cup

cardamon powder 1/2 tsp

color - deep orange color


Procedure :

In a NON STICK pot add the oil mix. Add grated carrots and stir well on high flame. Now add milk and water and let boil till carrots soften. At this time you will see some oil oozing out Add sugar , cardamon powder and color and stir well for about 15 minutes. Serve warm.

Besan Murukul (Gram flour treats)

I made this for Iftar recently. These simple , crisp and yummy murukuls  made me miss my mom who lives in India so much more. These were her specialty and she would make them in large batches and store them in air tight containers for us to eat whenever we desire. This year when i visited India i picked up the gadget which makes these fab murukuls. My FIL best describes them as irresistible. Try them to believe.

Ingredients:

Besan (gram flour)  : 1 cup
Rice flour : 2 cups
Salt : 1 tsp to 1-1/2 tsp as per taste
Red chili powder  : 2 tsp
Turmeric powder : 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds : 1/2 tsp

Sesame seeds : 1/2 tsp
Butter 2 tbl spn
Oil to deep fry

Method :

In a clean plastic bowl mix  all the ingredients together.
Add water to make a thick consistency . This should almost be as thick as cookie dough.
Now fill the murukul gadget with this dough. I used the plate with medium sized holes. Heat oil in pan and deep fry the noodle like dough (from the gadget) until golden brown. You can make these in all different shapes and sizes. Remove and place on paper to absorb excess oil. Enjoy !!

Rating :4.5 / 5 big hit with my 2 yr old

Khalakand (An Indian dessert/sweet)

My Family visits India once every year. Usually my husband accompanies me and flies back in a few days and I stay and enjoy for a few more days(months..). When I come back the only
request I get is "Can you bring khalakand?". So Khalakand is hands down his favorite sweet... well that made it inevitable for me to try my hand at this lovely dessert. Its so simple yet so delicious and needless to say my husband finished it all. It was a hit! Now we can enjoy khalakand all months round yuhooo!!...Enjoy this everyone, its lovely.

Ingredients:
Khoya (khowa), crumbled - 2 cups
Whole Milk - 1 and 1/2 cup
Paneer ( I used store bought) - 1/4 cup
Powdered Sugar - 5 tbsp
Granulated Sugar - 1/4 cup
cardamom Powder - 1/4 tsp
Water 1/2 cup
Pinch of Nutmeg
few Chopped almonds

Method:




Bring the water to a boil in a non stick pan. Add milk and let it boil once. Turn the heat down. Add powdered sugar and stir continuously.Now add nutmeg, cardamon powder and granulated sugar.
stir for 10 minutes. Now add crumbled Khoya and paneer.Add the chopped almonds. keep stirring until the mixture thickens and starts leaving the pan.

Grease a pan with a little butter. Pour the above mixture and let cool completely. Refrigerate it for an hour. cut into square pieces and serve.



Note: This is not my own recipe. It has been adapted from recipes from various blogs.

Sending this recipe to Lets cook with cheese event

Coconut Laddus

khopre ke laddu

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Hello there, How is everyone doing? As most of you know that I am expecting and its become a little difficult for me to cook and blog. The other day I was
craving for a quick sweet treat. I browsed around to find this quick but immensely tasty Coconut laddu recipe. So lets get started...

Ingredients :

dessicated coconut (dry) - 3 cups
Sweetened condensed milk - 1 small can (14 0z)
Mixed nuts ( I used almonds, pistachios, cashews and raisins) - 1/2 cup chopped finely

Method :

In a nonstick pan slightly roast dessicated coconut. Now add all the mixed nuts and slowly add the condensed milk little by little , mixing constantly.
This will form a consistency where you can make laddus. Let this mixture sit for a few minutes and start making laddus with still warm mixture. Roll these in some extra dessicated coconut. Keep the laddus in fridge for an hour ( Although I doubt you will be able to resist them for so long).
Enjoy!!

Papdi Chaat - Street food

Papdi Chaat
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There are many version of Papdi Chaat. Papdi is crispy rectangles of flavored dough. There are no specific ingredients to it as well. Many people like sev or green chutneys etc in it. This is how I made it and you can add anything to it as in the end all that matters is to make food which satisfies our cravings right?

(NOTE: I have used chole from my previous recipes)

Ingredients for Papdi :

All purpose flour (maida or plain flour) - 1 cup
semolina flour (sooji) 1/4 cup
oil 2 tablespoons
salt 1/2 teaspoon
water to knead.



Method for papdi:

Mix all ingredients except water. Now slowly add water and knead like chapati/roti dough.Take small portions and roll them out. Now cut them into rectangles (see pictures to understand better).Heat oil for deep frying. Now add these rectangles one by one and deep fry them till golden brown.Remove on a paper napkin so that oil is absorbed and these rectangles become crisp. Keep aside


Chole:

Follow the recipe here for chole (Masala chick peas). Make the chole a little bit loose in consistency.

Other ingredients:
Red Onion : 1 chopped
Coriander leaves : handful
sour cream - 3 tblsp
tomatoes - 1 finely chopped
I also used Aalu from my recent cajun style potatoes. (Optional).

Method:
Take a serving bowl. add chole. Now add all other ingredients like red onions,coriander ,sour cream,tomatoes etc.crumble the papdi a little and add on top. What else? Just dig in now!! Enjoy!

Cajun style Potatoes

Quick and Delicious Crispy Potatoes
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I love Potatoes...seriously. Fries, chips ...who does not like them?. Here is another style of potatoes with a Indian twist. They are crisp and very flavourful.Can be made in 10-15 minutes. Ideal for parties or even for a quick snack.

A quick shout out to Seema (smani) who personally called me and appreciated my blog. Thank you Smani!

I am sending this entry to Four events.


1. To Srivalli For her Kids Delight! Event
2. To Nithya and Pavitra fom Garnish the Dish Event
3. To EC for her WYF:Light Food Event
4. To Priya and Sunita for there Think Spice - Think Coriander Event.

Ingredients :
Potatoes : 500 gms(1 pound) cut into cubes
Coriander Powder : 1-1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Dried red chillies - 2
Mustard seeds (Rai) - 1/2 tsp
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Red Chili Powder - 3/4 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 3/4 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 8-10 leaves
Coriander Leaves - handful
oil - 3-4 tblspn

Method:
Heat 3 tblsp oil in a nonstick pan. Add cumin seeds and mustard seeds. Saute a little. Add dried red chillies broken into half and ginger garlic paste. Add coriander powder and red chili powder. Saute well. Now add the microwaved potatoes ,salt and curry leaves. Do NOT add water. Fry the potatoes they get crisp.If its gets dry add a little more oil. Garnish with Coriander Leaves.Hmm yummy!!. I have decorated the dish using a tomato rose and capsicum , the red and the green gives a nice pop of color.

Family Rating : 8.5

Pakodi

Extra Crispy Pakodi (Spinach or Cabbage fritters)___________________________________________________________________________
Come Rainy , dull ,depressing and gloomy weather , the heart desires something hot and delicious.Pakodies are a big hit in my house and my husband loves these to the extent that he learnt how to make them.Come iftar time and the question lingering in my mind is "what do we make today" and there comes the voice of my husband...Pakodies!!!
The pictures are of the pakodies made by my dearest hubby. Enjoy!.



Ingredients :
Besan: 1 cup
onion : 1 big sliced
Ginger garlic paste : 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli Powder : 1 tsp
Salt : 1tsp
turmeric powder : 1/4 tsp
Spinach or Cabbage - 2 cups chopped like we slice onions. (not too thin), You can use any vegetable you like.
Oil to deep fry



Method:
In a blender/grinder add besan, Red chili powder , turmeric , ginger garlic paste and salt. Now add half of the onions. Grind well for 5 mins. The onion releases water which makes the besan into paste. The paste should be of the consistancy of tooth paste or else add some more onions and grind. Now remove this paste in a dish and add palak.Add all the remaining onions.We are being extra careful not to add any water. Adding water decreases the crispness of the pakodies.
Now Heat oil to deep fry pakodies. Now using your fingers slowly release these spinach or cabbage slices coated with besan into the oil. fry till light brown.Remove on a napkin so that the oil is absorbed and you are left with crisp pakodies. These are ideal for when guests drop in or you feel like having a quick snack.

Egg Puffs

Egg Puffs (Quick and Easy)
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I remember that one fine day my dad came home and said - you know Now we have two new bakeries down the road?. That evening my whole family had puffs. Oh how scrumptious they were!.That was my first time eating puffs.
Now I am a big fan of any kind of puffs be it curry puffs or egg puffs or kheema puffs. However I have developed my own versions of them according to my tastes. They are the most easiest to make (where you get puff pastry LOL). Enjoy!!


Ingredients:
Eggs -3 (Makes 6 puffs)
Puff pastry sheet - 1 (Has three slabs)

Masala Ingredients :

Redchilli powder
Salt
Dhania powder (Coriander powder)
Zeera powder (Cumin powder)
Black pepper powder.



Method:
Boil eggs well. Cut them into longer halfs. Take a pan and put 1 tsp of oil. Now place the eggs yolk side up on medium flame. Sprinkle one pinch of each of the masala ingredients on each egg half.(Refer Picture). Now turn them and let cook for like a minute. Remove from heat and let them cool off.

Keep the puff pastry out for thawing. After done. Cut each slab into half. place one egg half from above , Yolk side down on each part. Now make fold and make a rectangle. seal with a wet hand.


Heat oven to 400F. Take an aluminum foil and lightly spray butter so that the puffs don't stick. Now place the puff pastry rectangles on it and bake for like 15 minutes. They will puff of and the edges will slightly brown. The egg puffs are ready to devour.

Pav Bhaji (Divine!!)

Pav Bhaji
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When we were in college , we made frequent visits to chaat places. This dish would always make it to the first round of orders (I know! we always have 3-4 rounds of orders) . It was every ones favorite.
This is another entry to Mona from Zaiqa.net for her Ramzan collection. Usually in ramzan we grab pav (Indian bread) from Indian stores and make Bhaji (The gravy which goes with it) at home.
Its not difficult to make Pav if you have time at hand. Its quite a filling dish and not for the health conscious at all :). Enjoy.

For Bhaji:


Ingredients:
Tomatoes - 3
Potatoes (boiled,peeled,minced) - 2 big ones
Onion - 1
Green chillies - 2
Mixed vegetables - 1 cup
Red Chili powder - 1-1/2 tsp
Haldi (turmeric powder) - 1/4 tsp
salt - 1 to 1-1/2 tsp (depending on your taste)
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
Butter - 100 gms
cumin seeds - 1tsp
Everest chaat or chole or pav bhaji masala - 1tsp (completely optional)
Garam masala powder - 1tsp

Kothmir (corriander leaves) - 1/2 bunch
Lemon - 2

Method:
Mince together onion,mixed vegetables,green chillies and tomatoes. Keep it coarse (donot make a fine paste).
Heat half of the butter in a pan. Add cumin seeds and saute.Now add ginger and garlic paste and saute till a little brown.Add the chole masala if you like. Now add onion and veg paste to it. Also add the minced potatoes.Stirr well. Add 1tsp salt and turmeric. let this mixture cook for 10 mins. Cook till very soft, constantly stirring, and adding water and mashing from time to time. When almost cooked and well mashed, add some more butter, Red chilli powder, garam masala, Juice of one lemon and more salt if you like. You can add some red colour if you want to bring some color to the dish. Garnish with kothmir and lemon wedges

For Pav:
Ingredients:(Makes around 18-20 small size pavs)


maida(allpurpose flour) - 7 cups
Salt - 1tsp
sugar - 1tsp
warm water - 3-1/2 cups
yeast( Dry , Quick rise) - 7gms

Egg - 1 beaten(optional)

Method:

mix together salt,sugar,warm water and yeast. let it sit for 5 mins. Now add this mixture to maida and knead like you are going to make rotis. cover and keep this mixture aside for 45 minutes. This will rise to double its size. Now prepare a baking tray. Apply some butter and sprinkle some maida so that the pav does not stick. Now make good size balls and place them slightly touching each other. you can coat the top of each ball using the egg mixture. This gives a good color to the pavs.Bake at 400F for 20-25 mins. Remove and apply butter on top. You can also apply butter inside the pav by cutting it into half. Enjoy this freshly made pav. Divine!!



Family rating - 8.5

Frankies (yeaaahhh)

Frankie (fast Chicken rolls)
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I will be posting a few things I made in the past couple of days. These are inspired by vahchef.
He is an amazing chef and I love making his dishes. First in line is Frankie.
We used to eat frankie in hyderabad at eatstreet. Its more of a snack .....street food which is very filling.
It turned out very good, My bro-inlaw suggested that I can now shift this dish in regular menu :) , he must like it a lot.

It is pretty much similar to chefs recipe with a few differences...

Ingredients:

For dough:

Maida - 3 cups
Wheat flour - 3/4 cup
Salt - 1tsp
oil - 2 tblspn

While making rotis
2 beaten eggs

For gravy:

Chicken - 1 pound
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp (1.1/2 tsp if you eat it spicy)
turmeric (haldi) - 1/4 tsp
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
onion chopped - 1 big
Coriander powder (dhania) - 1 tsp
Cumin powder (zeera powder) - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
lemon - 1
oil - 3 tblspn
Tomatoes - 2
Bell peppers - 1 chopped
Coriander leaves - handful

Method:

Prepare the dough by mixing maida,wheat flour,salt, oil and water. The should be the same consistency as used to roll out rotis.Let it sit for 10-15 mins.

Take a pan add oil, cumin seeds, ginger and garlic paste and chopped onions and cook till onions are light brown. Now add turmeric, chopped tomatoes,bell pepper chopped, Red chill powder,coriander powder
,cumin powder. Add chicken and a little water. cover and let cook till chicken is well cooked. Now add chaat masala (optional) , lemon juice and coriander leaves,

Now take the dough and make a thin roti and apply oil and spread all over, then sprinkle maida fold it and make it round and press in center and let it rest for 10min,

After 10min role it again into a roti. Now cook on both sides like normal roti in a pan and then apply beaten egg as much as required on one side and flip over. let cook for few seconds.

To assemble the frankie....add the chicken gravy. Garnish with onions and bell peppers. fold and serve hot. Delicious!

Tasty dahi wade

Dahi wade/vade
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Soo good to eat on a hot day. This is often made in Ramadan during iftar.I often make wadas in advance and freeze them. I am submitting this recipe to Mona from Zaiqa.net for the Ramazan recipe collection. I am sure everyone will love it.

Ingredients:

curd (yogurt) : 5-6 tbl spoons(or as much as you like :)

Red chilli powder : 1/2 tsp

salt : 1 tsp

green chillies : 1 or 2

wadas - 7-8 small sized ones (recipe also listed on the blog)

For tempering:

Zeera (cumin seeds) - 1tsp

rai (mustard seeds) - 1/2 tsp

dry red chillies - 3-4 nos.

Method:

Put curd,Red chilli powder,salt,green chillies and one cup waterin a blender and blend well.soak wadas in warm salted (1 tsp salt) for 10 mins.Now squeeze water from the wadas and put them in a bowl.Add curd mixture to it.



Now heat 3 tblsp oil in a pan. Add zeera,mustard seeds anddry red chillies. saute for 3-4 mins.Add this to the wada-curd.Finish off with kothmir (coriander leaves). This will be eaten up faster than you think :)

Family Rating : 8.5

Crispy vadas/Wadas

Crispy vadas/Wadas
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Wadas are a staple in South Indian households.
This is something I can eat anytime of the day. I love love wadas. These are awsome
with tomato ketchup or sambhar.Here is the goto recipe I use.

Ingredients:

urad dal (white pulses) : 2 and 1/2 cup
Rice flour or rice : 1/2 cup
green chillies : 2 big
Kothmir (corriander leaves) : 3 tbl spoons
salt : 1tsp
zeera powder (cumin powder) : 1/4 tsp
curry leaves (4-5) (optional)

Method:

Soak urad dal and rice (if not using already powdered) for
3-4 hours. After this put this in a grinder and grind to a
fine paste. use only very little water. Put green chillies
,salt,kothmir,zeera powder and grind again. Remove this mixture in a bowl and put finely cut
curry leaves(you can also add finely cut green chillies if you like a little spice). This paste is fairly thick.To increase the crispyness add more rice flour(and water to maintain consistancy).

Heat good amount of oil in a pan (kadai). This is for deep frying
vadas. Now scoop the vada batter and fry in the kadai. Fry till light
brown on both sides. Your crispy yummy vadas/wadas are ready!!.

Awsome Zebra Cake (Marble cake)

Zebra Cake
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I was browsing as usual the other day when I came across thisawsome blog from Deeba, http://www.passionateaboutbaking.com/2008/05/check-out-my-stripesim-zebra-cake.html. She is Amazing and makes mouth watering goodies.I made Zebra cake from her blog and this is how it turned out. Please Visit her blog for the recipe.