Masala Paapad

Whenever I go to restaurant I always order this particular dish. This is very easy to make at home. For any party this can help us as a crunchy starter.

Paapad could be easily found in any Indian stores.

Ingredients :
Paapad : 1-2 ( I used Lijjat Punjabi Masala Paapad)
Oil for deep fry/ Or a micriwave
Cucumber : 1/4 cup (finely Chopped)
Tomato : 1/4 cup (finely Chopped)
Onion : 1/4 cup (finely Chopped)
Pepper Powder : 1/2 tsp
Salt According to taste

Procedure :
1. In a bowl take all the veggies (Tomato, onion and cucumber). Apply salt and pepper powder to it.
2. Microwave the paapad for 1 minute. Or deep fry in oil.
3. Sprinkle the veggies on the paapad.

Avocado and Cucumber Sandwich

Just to increase my good cholesterol I am trying to eat a piece of Avocado everyday. I came across this recipe in Cook-joy. And I liked it as Avocado tastes just like butter.

Ingredients:
Bread Slices : 2
Avocado : 1/4 (Mash it)
Cucumber Slices : 8-9 (To cover the whole bread)
Pepper Powder : 1/4 tsp
Salt According to Taste

Procedure:
1. Apply the mashed Avocado onto the slice just like to apply butter.
2. Cover the slice with cucumber pieces.
3. Sprinkle pepper and salt on top.
4. Cover it with another slice of bread.

Chana Chaat

I saw this recipe in one of the food group. I could not resist and went and tried it instantly. A chaat that can be made instantly.

Ingredients:
Haldiram Chana Dal : 1/2 cup
Onion : 1 tbsp ( Finely chopped )
Tomato : 1 tbsp ( Finely chopped )
Coriander Leaves : 1/2 tbsp ( Finely chopped)
Lemon Juice : 1 tsp
Garlic Powder : 1/2 tsp
Tomato Ketchup : 1 tsp ( Or vary according to your taste) ( Optional )

Procedure :
Mix all the ingredients and eat it instantly.

Strawberry and Choco Chip Cake

I love baking. But I do not like to put frosting on my cake and often it looks so plain. But the frosting consumes a lot of butter. Plus the kitchen gets too messy.But I couldn't resist myself when I saw this recipe. A real beauty this cake is. Plus it can be frozen in the refrigerator for a month.

When serving cut a slice and microwave for 10 to 15 seconds and serve hot. Ideal combination for tea in the evening.

Ingredients:

All Purpose Flour : 1.5 cup

Baking Powder : 1 tsp (softened)

Salt :1/8 tsp

Unsalted Butter : 3 tbsp

Yogurt : 3 tbsp

Sugar : 1 cup or 3/4 cup or 1/2 cup (The choco chip gives sweetness of its own, so keep varying)

Egg :1

Milk :1/2 cup

Vanilla Extract : 1 tsp

Choco Chips : 1/2 cup + a little to sprinkle on top

Strawberries : Pieces to cover the whole cake (8-10)

Procedure:
1. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
2. In another bowl take sugar, butter and yogurt and beat it keeping it on high speed for 2 minutes till it turns fluffy.
3. Now the add the egg, and beat it again at a medium speed.
4. Add the milk and the vanilla extract and gently fold the sifted flour with it. Also fold the choco chips in the batter.
5. Now take a baking pan (I used a 9 inch pan spring foam pan), and apply butter on the sides and the bottom, so that its easy for us to remove the cake from the pan.
6. Pour the batter in the pan and press the strawberry pieces on the top till the whole pan is covered. (Cut the strawberry into small pieces). Fill the spaces on top of the cake with choco chips.
7. Preheat the oven to 350 Faranheit, and bake the cake for nearly 30 to 35 minutes. Please check if the cake is baked using the toothpick test.
8. Once its baked the top surface with turn into a golden brown color.

P.S : You can store this in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks. Cover it well using a cling film and keep it frozen,

Honey Toasted Almonds

Ingredients:
Almonds. : 1 cup
Sugar : 1/4 cup
Water : 2 tbsp
Honey : 2 tbsp
Oil : 2 tsp
Cinnamon Powder: 1/8 tsp ( optional )
Nutmeg Powder : 1/8 tsp ( optional )

Procedure:
1.Preheat oven to 350 faranheit and toast the almonds for 10-13 minutes.
2. In a pan heat add all the other ingredients and bring it to a boil.
3. Now add the toasted almonds in the boiling syrup; and cook till the syrup evaporates and the almonds are coated with the syrup.
4. Spread it on a baking sheet and allow it to cool.

Avocado and Chocolate Mousse

Sunday mornings are very frustrating for me as my husband sleeps and I will be up early and have to sit all by myself the whole morning. So it leads me to google for recipes. And I got this recipe from one of the sites. I varied it a lot from the original recipe. Even Vegan's can try this out.

Ingredients :
Avocado : 1
Cocoa Powder : 1 tbsp
Milk : 1 tbsp/ Almond Milk
Agave Nectar : 1/4 cup or 1/2 cup

Garnishing :
Almond : 1/2 tsp
Mint Leaves

Procedure :
1. In a mixer blend all the ingredients and put this paste in the frosting decorating cone.
2. Squeeze it out in a bowl and freeze for 30 minutes.
3. Serve cold .

Mushroom and Spinach Omelette

Around 6 months back I saw a movie called "The 100 foot Journey". In that they say that Omelette is the most difficult thing to cook as a chef. Check out the trailer here. Now another thing that fascinated me was this Omelette prepared by my friend Reshma. I have prepared this Omelette with just egg whites and the whole egg. I really loved the Omelette prepared with egg white. They turned out fluffy and soft.

 

Ingredients:

Egg White : 3 eggs 

Button Mushroom ; 4-5

Spinach : 9-10 leaves

Salt : according to Taste

Pepper : according to Taste

Procedure:

1. Whisk the egg whites or the eggs add salt and pepper.

2. In a non stick pan saute the mushrooms and spinach leaves and once they are slightly cooked.

3. Add the whisked egg on top and cook on one side. You can add cheese if you desire in top or in the whisked egg.

Banana Bread

What do you make with left over Banana's? Then I got this very simple recipe from Simple Recipe's. And right now I am off to make another one. I pray for my banana's to go brown and mushy soon. I did not use a mixer to blend the banana's. I just mashed the banana's with a fork.

Ingredients:
Banana : 2-3 (Ripe and almost brown)
Melted Butter :1/3 cup
Granulated Sugar : 3/4 cup (Can reduce it to 1/2 cup or increase to one cup according to your desire of sweetness)
Instant Coffee Powder/ Expresso : 1 tbsp
Whisked Egg : 1
Vanilla Extract : 1 tsp
Baking Soda : 1 tsp
Salt: a pinch
All Purpose Flour : 1.5 cups

Garnishing :
Sliced Almonds : 1 tbsp (You can mix a little with the batter too)
Choco Chips : 1 tbsp (You can mix a little with the batter too)

Procedure :
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit.
2. In a bowl mash the banana's , mix with melted butter, sugar, egg, vanilla extract, baking soda, Coffee Powder and salt.
3. Mix in All Purpose Flour with it and pour it in your bread loaf pan.
4. Garnish with the sliced almonds and choco chips.
5. Bake for around 30-35 minutes. Insert a toothpick and check if it comes out clean. Mine took 40 minutes to bake. Please make sure to insert your toothpick in the center as the sides get baked soon.

Strawberry Frapuccino

This is the only drink that I ever order from Starbucks. I really loved the taste of the drink that I recreated. Now I don't have to run to the nearest Starbucks when I get the craving to have it.

Ingredients:
Strawberry : 8-10
Sugar : 1/4 cup (Can vary the sweetness depending on the strawberry)
Vanilla Essence : 1/2 tsp
Milk : 1 cup
Vanilla Ice Cream : 1/2 cup
                or
Low Fat Cream : 1/2 cup
Crushed Ice : 1/2 cup

Procedure:
1. Cut the strawberry into pieces and grind it with sugar and prepare the strawberry puree and keep aside.
2. Now in a blender mix ice cream/ low fat milk; milk; vanilla essence and mix in a blender to make it a little frothy.
3. Mix it with the strawberry puree.

Notes:
1. You can garnish with whipped cream on top.
2. I have made various batches of this. The color can vary depending on the number of strawberry that we use. If you want a pink color you could use more strawberries.
3. You can avoid ice cream and add whipping cream.

Carrot Coriander Soup

Ingredients:

Coriander Leaves : 4 tbsp

Carrot : 1/2 cup (Grated)+ A few cut thin slices

Pudina Leaves : 2 tbsp

Garlic : 4-5 pods finely chopped

Ginger : 1 inch finely chopped

Peppercorn : 2 tsp

Basil Leaves : 1 tsp (Chopped)

Thyme : 1 tsp (Chopped)

Rosemary : 1 tsp (Chopped)

Corn Flour : 1 tbsp mixed in 1/4 cup water

Spring Onion : 2 tbsp of thin slices

Lemon Juice : 1 tbsp to squeeze on the top at the end

Salt to Taste

Oil : 1 tsp

Procedure:

1. In a pan heat oil add chopped ginger and garlic and cook till the garlic turns slightly brown.

2. Add grated carrot and saute well. Add coriander leaves, mint leaves, basil, thyme, rosemary, peppercorns and add 2 cups of water and boil it.

3. Boil it so that the quantity is reduced by 1/4th. (Can avoid this step if using vegetable stock).

4. Now filter the water into another bowl and grind the rest of the mass.

5. Now heat the filtered water, add the corn flour paste and the grinded mass; along with chopped carrot slices and slices of the roots of the spring onion as well as salt.

6. Boil it till we get a thick quantity and finally squeeze the lemon juice on top; serve it hot.

Pepper Idli

I often try to make different recipes with leftover idli. And this time I wanted to spice it up to a notch. So tried this Pepper Idli. I remember eating this at some restaurant. You can actually even prepare this with fresh Idli's. But let the Idli's cool down a little.

Ingredients:
Smallor mini Idli's/ Idli cut into small Cubes : 8-10
Onion :1
Whole Pepper Corn : 1 tbsp
Fennel Seeds : 1 tsp
Oil : 1 tbsp
Garlic : 4-5 cloves
Curry Leaves : 5- 8 leaves
Coriander Leaves : 1 tbsp (Chopped leaves)

Procedure :
1. Dry Roast pepper corns and fennel seeds; once it cools down using a pestle and mortar powder it.
2. On the same tawa heat oil and temper with curry leaves and chopped garlic.
3. Add onions and cook till it turns slightly brown in color. Add salt too.
4. Now add the chopped idli and cook it for 2 minutes.
5. Once the idli's turn a little crispy add the coarse pepper and fennel powder.
6. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Gobi Masala

This is a recipe that I adapted from Veg Recipes of India. It came out really good.

Ingredients :

Cauliflower : 1 medium Sized (Cut the florets into medium sized pieces)

Onion :1 (Finely chopped)

Ginger Garlic Paste : 1 tbsp

Tomato : 2

Cashewnuts : 15 (Soak in hot water for 30 minutes)

Oil : 1 tbsp

Bay Leaf : 1

Cumin Seeds : 1 tsp

Yogurt/ Thick Curd : 1/2 cup

Kasuri Methi : 1 tbsp (Crush with your palms)

Fresh cream / Milk : 1/4 cup

Salt according to taste

Spice Powders :

Coriander Powder : 1.5 tsp

Chilli Powder : 1.5 tsp

Garam Masala : 1 tsp

Turmeric Powder : 1/4 tsp

Procedure :

1. Boil the cauliflower florets in 3 cups of water for 15 to 20 minutes. On a non- stick deep bottomed tawa put the drained cauliflower florets and cook till it turns brown in color and keep them aside. This will take 10- 15 minutes. Cook them on a low flame.

2. In the same heat oil add bay leaf and cumin seeds and once they start sizzling add finely chopped onion and cook till they turn slightly brown in color.

3. Add ginger garlic paste. Make a paste of Tomato and cashew in a blender and add them into the tawa. 

4. Once the paste comes to a boil add all the spice powders. Once the oil starts floating on top add the whisked yogurt. 

5. Add around 1 cup water and let it come to a boil.

6. Finally add fresh cream, salt according to taste and crushed Kasuri Methi. (If adding milk add 1/2 cup of milk).

Quinoa Dosa

I mother in law makes this dosa but with little amount of rice in it. This is another riceless dosa.

Ingredients:
Urad Dal : 1 cup
Red Quinoa : 2 cups
Fenugreek Seeds : 1/2 tsp
Salt according to Taste
Oil : to sprinkle on the dosa

Procedure:
1. Soak the Urad dal along with fenugreek seeds and Raagi separately for 5-6 hours.
2. Grind them into a smooth paste using a mixer grinder and ferment for 4 to 5 hours. (Add salt before or after fermentation).
3. Using a ladle spread the batter on a tawa and pour 1/2 tsp oil on top of it.
4. When one side is cooked; flip and cook on the other side.
5. Serve with Sambhar/ Chutney.

Apricot Cookies (Eggless)

I had bought a lot of apricot's from Costco. I was hoping to make Khubani ka Meetha actually. But for making Khubani you need another kind of Apricot which are dark brown in color. Never the less the Khubani tasted more like Apricot halwa.

I came across this recipe in Sinfully Spicy Blog.

Ingredients :
Butter : 1/2 cup (Keep out the butter so that it is very soft)
Sugar : 1/2 cup
Cinnamon Powder : 1/4 tsp
Salt : 1/8 tsp
Chickpea Flour/ Besan : 2/3 cup
All Purpose Flour/ Maida : 1/4 cup
Dried Apricots : 1/2 cup (Chopped into pieces)
Slivered Almonds : for Garnishing (Optional)
Baking Soda : 1/8 tsp

Procedure :
1. Preheat oven to 375 degree faranheit.
2. Sift all purpose flour, Chickpea flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
3. In another bowl whisk butter and sugar together (do not make it too fluffy).
4. Fold the sifted flour into butter and sugar mixture.
5. Divide the portion into gooseberry shaped balls and spread them on a cookie sheet.Garnish with silvered almonds if you prefer). Keep a little space between the cookies as it expands a little on cooking.
6. Bake the cookies for 10-15 minutes till they become slightly brown in color.

Matar Paneer Biryani

This is a royal dish I would say. Paneer is something that if consumed once in a while makes us wanna drool all over it. I used to have paneer on a regular basis; as a result I simply lost interest in having paneer. Over time I started to cook it just once in a month; and each time I drool over the pieces of paneer which makes me enjoy my food. In this particular recipe I cooked the rice with a combination of milk and water. This recipe is full of fat.

Ingredients :

For Rice :
Basmati Rice : 1 cup (Wash and Soak it in water for 30 minutes)
Cloves : 3
Cardamom : 3
Bay Leaf : 1
Cinnamon : 2 (1" stick)
Milk : 3/4 cup
Water : 3/4 cup
Ghee : 1 tsp
Salt According to Taste

For the Paneer Layer :
Paneer : 1/2 cup (Cubes of Paneer)
Green Peas (Fresh or Frozen) : 1/4 cup
Onion : 1/2 cup (Finely chopped)
Ginger Garlic Paste : 1 tbsp
Tomato Puree : 1/2 cup
Red Chilli Powder : 1 tsp
Garam Masala Powder : 1 tsp
Biryani Masala : 2 tsp ( I used Shaan Bombay Biryani Masala)
Pudina / Mint Leaves : 1/2 cup (Finely chopped)
Coriander Leaves : 1/2 cup (finely Chopped)
Salt according to Taste

For topping :
Onion : 1
Oil for Deep frying

Procedure :

For Rice :

1. Heat ghee in a cooker and add all the whole spices either in a cooker or tawa.
2. On a tawa and make sure to mix half of milk and half of water to cook the rice. But do not cook it completely. Only 80% of the rice should be cooked . Rest 20% can be cooked in microwave or in using "Dumm" style.
3. I cooked the rice in my rice cooker. Instead of adding 1:2 ratio reduced the quantity to 1:1.5. (Here 1.5 is a mixture of milk and water).
4. Once rice is cooked keep aside.


For Paneer Gravy :
1. In a tawa heat oil add onions and roast till it turns brown.
2. Add ginger garlic paste and add tomato puree and cook for 2 minutes or till it comes to a boil.
3. When you soak the rice marinate the paneer with chilli powder, garam masala, salt and biryani masala.
4. Add the marinated paneer in the boiling tomato puree. Also add chopped mint leaves and coriander leaves).
5. Add the green peas and cook for 2 minutes.

For Topping :
1. Cut the onions into thin slices and deep fry or in a microwave safe bowl add 1 tsp oil and a pinch of salt and microwave for 8 to 10 minutes. Keep checking every 2 minutes.

Layering the Biryani :
1. Grease the bowl if planning to bake it. If using dumm style lower the flame and cover the lid using chappati dough and cook for 10-15 minutes.
2. If using oven preheat for 350 degree Fahrenheit and cook for 15 minutes.
3. The bottom most later should be rice; topped with layer of paneer gravy and finally top with rice again and garnish with fried onions.

Brown Rice, Barley and Urad Dal Dosa

I have been trying to substitute for rice in Dosa's. I recently made Barley Dosa a few days back. So now I tried making brown rice dosa.

Ingredients :
Brown Rice : 1 cup
Barley : 1 cup
Urad Dal : 1 cup
Methi Seeds : 8 to 10 seeds
Salt according to Taste

Procedure :
1. Soak all the ingredients separately in water for 6 to 7 hours (Soak Urad dal and methi seeds together).
2. Grind all the ingredients to a smooth paste and put it in a deep bottomed pan; add salt; and fermenr for 7 to 8 hours.
3. Using a ladle pour the batter on a tawa. Once that side is cooked flip the dosa and cook for 20 seconds or so.
4. Serve it hot with chutney or sambar.