Tuesday, September 19, 2006

CoCoNuT BaRfi

I always hated sweets, until I met my dear hubby who has a real bad sweet tooth. I love some " sweets ". Like " Baklawa " , " Coconut Barfi ". I just can't get my hooks off those piece of sweets.

Just a few months back , I tried making coconut barfi and it was a real flop !!!.
This recipe belongs to Shilpa from AayisRecipes . I saw this receipe on her blog and just culdnt resist myself from making it. And Hey, this time I made it...

All credit goes to Shilpa.

The best part of it for me was the aroma of freshly grated coconut getting mixed with the sugar syrup. And to add to it ,cardamom .....simply cool. Last but not the least, this sweet dish is real easy and real quick to be prepared for any occasion .

So herez the " CoCoNuT BaRfI "

Thursday, September 14, 2006

I marinated Chicken last Night

Ingredients:
1. chicken drumsticks(5)
2. Coriander
3. Garlic
4. Ginger
5. Turmeric
6. Red hot chilli powder
7. 2 tsp Lemon Juice
8. KC Masterpiece Steak Seasoning (1/2 pckt)
9. Salt


Finely grind in food processor.
>>>>>>>>> Garlic, Ginger, Coriander
In a mixing bowl , add chicken drumsticks , coat the chicken with the grinded paste , turmeric, Chilli powder, lemon juice and salt.
Cover, refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.






Preheat the oven till warm.
Remove chicken from bowl , place them separately on grill pouring excess marinade on top of all the drumsticks.
Sprinkle chicken with steak seasoning.
Grill, turning 20 to 25 minutes, or until cooked through.




Chicken Drumsticks are ready to eat.

Sunday, September 03, 2006

The Significance Of Tomatoes To A Healthy Diet

Here I go making Tomato Saar with White Rice.

Ingredients:
Tomatoes(ripe) 2
Grated coconut 21/2 tea spn
Red Onion 2 tea spn
Red Chilli Powder 1 tea spn
Turmeric 1 tea spn
Cumin seeds(Jeera) 1/2 tea spn
Fennel seeds(Jeera) 1/2 tea spn
Asafoetida a pinch
Coriander leaves
4 peppercorns
Oil 1/2 tea spn
Salt

Grind Altogether:
Coconut, red onion, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, peppercorns, chilli powder and turmeric powder.

Method:

  • Cut tomatoes in to medium pieces and put them in the pressure cook for about two whistles.
  • Let it cool and then peel off the skins and discard. Mash the boiled tomatoes with the fork.
  • Heat oil and add a pinch of Asafoetida .
  • Add the grinded masala and fry for sometime.
  • Add the tomatoe puree and 2 cups of water, let it boil with the lid half open .
  • Garnish with coriander leaves.

    Serve hot with white rice.


Tuesday, August 08, 2006

It's hot, It's Vada Pav !!!!!!

Every Mumbai-ite has his or her own favourite bhelpuri or vada pav wallah(local seller) who gets recommended for his tangy chutneys or spicy vadas when it comes to street - smart food. We will have n number of mumbai-ites talking about famous Anand Vada Pav, located right opposite Mithibai College, Vile Parle , Ashok Vada Pav, from near Kirti College, Dadar , M M Mithaiwala of Malad and list goes on..

My all time favorite place is , Dhiraj stall opp the Mithibai and NM College.Here you will find the best vada-pav on Mumbai’s streets. Not exaggerating. Simply dig into these heavily buttered snacks whenever you get a chance.:-)

For non mumbaikars couple of days after they enter mumbai zone, the snacks that they hear more often than anything else is VADA PAV!! avaialble from price range from Rs.3/ to Rs.5/Piece and value for money, even one pcs is very filling. The railway stations of mumbai alone consumes helluva vadapavs per day! So what is this vada pav??

Vadapav consists of vada (potato fritters) sliced between pav (a kind of bun) with dry red garlic chuttney smeared b/w the pav's. It has an amazing mouth watering look!!
Last time when I visited India, I came across a new Jumbo King stall ,a chain of restaurants that sells very tastey vadapavs. Give it a try..

So here we go on making Mumbaizzzz Burger...

This is my mummy's receipe, made by her when i was visiting her in NJ. Love you mamma...


Ingredients :

Serving size - 4
6-8 medium sizedboiled potatoes
2 cups gram flour (besan)
oil for frying
1 pinch baking Soda
Amul butter
salt
pav

Masala

1 small piece ginger
4-5 flakes garlic4-5 (or more)
green chilies(seedles)
1/2 cup coriander leaves (chopped)

For tempering

1 tea spoon turmeric powder
curry leaves
1 teaspoon mustard seeds(optional)
2 teaspoon oil

Method :

1. Grind ginger, garlic and green chilies together into a paste.
2. Peel and smash potatoes with a fork (or simply use hands). Do not smash completely. Let some small chunks remain.
3. Add ginger, garlic and green chili paste, coriander leaves, and salt to the potatoes.
4. Then take 2 teaspoons oil in a kadai. Add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add turmeric powder and curry leaves.Pour this tempering on the mashed potatoes and mix gently.
5. Make small balls of mashed potato mixture.Flatten the balls slightly.
6. Add some salt, turmeric powder(optional) to the gram flour. Add water gradually and keep mixing with a spoon. Remove lumps if any. The batter should not be too watery or too thick.
7. Heat some oil in a pan. To check if oil is properly heated, drop some batter in the oil. If the batter immediately turns soild and float on the surface of the oil, the oil is ready.
8. Now dip each ball in the batter, letting the excess batter drip off and slowly add to the hot oil. Do not overcrowd the pan, else the temperature of the oil reduces which in turn slows down the frying process. Like this, deep fry all the vadas until golden. Remove on a paper towel and drain. Batata Vadas are ready.
9. For Vada Pav, split Pav keeping the base intact & spread amul butter,garlic chutney or green chutney on the inner surfaces of it. Place the vada in it. Serve hot.

Note :
1. Instead of adding whole curry leaves,grind them along with the ginger- garlic paste to bring out their flavor.
2. Remove the seeds from the green chillies completely for a better taste.

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Grilling Time

Quick, Easy -N- Fast Grilled Chicken with Red Onions


Just a month back I was visiting my Sister and Mom at New Jersey.
And one fine evening, we two sisters thought of having a grilled chicken. It was summer time and not that hot though so we racked up the bbq. Here we go on grilling :



chicken chunks
Half cup yoghurt well beaten
1 teaspoon(s) each of garam masala or Bedekar Malvani Masala or Bedekar Sunday Masala
cumin Powder
crushed Pepper
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
ginger and garlic pastes
2 tablespoon(s) lemon juice
2 tablespoon(s) olive oil to moisten
salt to taste
finely cut red onions
lemon wedges and finely chopped coriander leaves for garnishing

Marinate the chicken chunks by applying a mixture of red chilli powder,malvani masala, half of the lemon juice and salt to them and keep aside for about an hour. Whisk the yoghurt in a bowl and combine the rest of the ingredients. Mix well. Rub this marinade well into the chicken chunks and refrigerate for at least few hours.

Grill the chicken for about 12-15 minutes or till the chicken is almost done.

Serve hot with: Green pudina(Mint) Chutney

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Cabbage Paratha

Ingredients

1. 1/4 Cabbage
2. Shredded Carrot
3. Salt
4. 3-4 cups Wheat Flour
5. Any Garam Masala 1 tsp.
6. GheeGreen Chillies
7. Coriander

Method

1. Shred the cabbage (with sharp knife,) finely.
2. Put it in a larg bowl along with shredded carrots, Sprinkle some salt over it and keep aside.
3. Chop chillies and coriander very fine and add to cabbage. Put garam masala, wheat flour, add little warm water and knead well. (Try to use less water, as cabbage will leave some juice.) You can add more flour if necessery.
4. Heat tava, roll out paratha of kneaded flour, use ghee for rosting. Rost well. Eat with pickle, dahi.

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Bell Pepper Rice


















Ingredients
1 cup long grain (basmati) rice
Bell peppers
salt
ghee or oil
whole garam masala
4 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
3 green cardamoms
4 crushed black peppercorns
3 bayleaves

Method

1. Wash rice and drain. Set aside for 1/2 an hour.
2. Chop bell peppers (Green,Red,Yellow,Orange)into vertical pieces.
3. Heat ghee or oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Add all the whole garam masala ingredients and let them pop.Meanwhile boil 2 cups water in a separate pan.
4. Next add rice to the pan and fry for 2 minutes. Saute chopped bell peppers with the rice.
5. Pour boiling water over the rice. Add salt, crushed pepper and mix.
6. When half of the water is soaked in the rice, cover and cook further over low heat till rice is tender.
7. Add 1 tsp ghee and mix gently taking care not to break the grains.