Spanish Omlette- Makes your Sunday special..

Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Serves:2

Ingredients:

Potato - 1 medium (diced into thin-medium slices)

Tomato - 1 small (diced into square pieces )

Onion - 1 small (diced into square pieces )

Capcicum -1 small (diced in to square pieces)

Oil - 1 tbspn(for cooking)

Eggs - 2

Salt - to taste

Black pepper - to taste

Green chilli -1 small chopped finely (optional)

Green Corrinder - 10-12 leaves chopped

Note: Dice the vegetables little big.

Method:

1. Pour oil into the non-stick pan.

2. Shallow fry the potatoes on medium flame until they turn golden brown and get cooked or you can slightly cook the potatoes in water and then shallow fry them, to avoid more oil.

3. Sprinkle some salt over them.

4. Now add the onions and green chillies, stir little.

5. Add tomatoes and capsicum and allow them to cook little,keep the pan covered for few minutes,stir in-between. Make sure that the veges do not get over-cooked, they should retain their slight crunch and not be goeey.

6. Beat the eggs and pour them over the above cooked vegetables(keep the flame medium to low to avoid burning the egg). Sprinkle the pepper.

7. Finally add little bit of oil on the sides so that egg gets cooked properly, keep shaking the pan in-between, remember do not flip the omlette over other side. Cover for 2 mins.

8. Transfer the Omlette direcly into serving dish, garnish with chopped coriander.

Serving Suggestion: Serve the Omlette with brown tosted bread.
For cheese lover, you can add the grated cheese over it, certainly it would taste more yummier.

Janmashtmi Special- Dhapdi(made from Dry Coconut)

Janmashtami, the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna the eighth avatar (Incarnation) of Lord Vishnu.Janmashtami, the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna the eighth avatar (Incarnation) of Lord Vishnu.

This festival have always been special for me. Janmashtmi was the day when you get to see jhankiya( the people in my town dress up as various gods and goddess and in the evening whole family would go to see them) , the temples and whole market was decorated especially in colours of krishna.

The most special part was the special sweet which my mother would prepare for bhog to Ladoo Gopal(Baal roop of god Krishna).

Today, I am sharing my mothers recipe with you, which you can also prepare for this special day.

Prepration Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Serves: 15 pieces

Ingredients
Dry Coconut(Khopra)- 100 gms(Grated and then slightly roast in a pan)
Makhana(Fox nut)- 50 gms(Roasted slightly and grinded finely)
Dry fruit(As per choice) - 100 gms(Almonds, Cashews, Chironji roasted and chopped medium)
Sugar- 100 gms or 1 cup
Water- 150 gms or 1.5 cup

Method
1. Put sugar and water in deep pan on medium flame and keep stirring until a syrup
of little thick consistency is formed. The method to check consistency is take drop  of syrup between your thumb and first finger and press both fingers together and seperate them, you should get a single wire formed also called as 'ek taar ki chashni' in hindi language.

2. Now put all the roasted and chopped dry fruits in chashni and stir.

3. Add the grinded makhana and mix properly.

4. Finally add the Khopra or dry coconut into the mixture and mix evenly.All the sugar syrup will be absorbed.

5. Transfer the mixture in to a slightly greased 1/2 inch thick tray and spread it evenly to
    form a thick layer.

Allow it to cool slightly and cut the square pieces and your DHAPDI is ready for prasad.  

"Jai Shree Krishna"

Happy Friendship Day!

This one is dedicated to all my Friends!!

"You are the Best Gift which god has given me.. I Miss you & Love you all.."

-From Swati

This banana cake recipe is easy, using one egg.

Prepration Time: 20 mins
Cooking Time: 35 mins
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

Large banana- 1(well mashed)
Egg-  1
Vegetable Oil/Olive Oil/Melted Butter- 1/2 cup
All purpose flour(Maida)- 1 cup
Powdered Sugar- 1/2 cup
Baking powder- 1 tspn
Meetha Soda/Cooking soda- 1 pinch
Vanilla Essence - 6-7 drops
Milk - 1 tbsp
Nuts, optional

Method:

1. Sift flour with baking powder, meetha soda and keep aside.
2. Beat egg and powdered sugar bowl till light & fuffy.
3. Add vanilla essence and oil, mix properly.
4. Now add the mashed banana(I have used milk to mash the banana evenly).
5. Fold in flour a little at a time, don’t worry about the lumps, and mix gently in one direction only.     Do this till all the flour is used up, you should get a lumpy batter of a soft dropping consistency. Do not over mix.
6. Add the chopped nuts and pour the batter in a baking dish(I have used a silicon mould, so there   was no need for greasing)otherwise you can do a light greasing.
7. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 30 minutes.
8. After 30 minutes, just insert a knife into the cake carefully (as the baking mould is very hot) , if it comes out clean then it means that the cake is baked properly, otherwise you can put it again for 6-7 more minutes.

Let the cake cool for 5-10 minutes before removing from mould. Remove from mould on wire rack.

Decorate it as per your choice & pamper your Friends with this special treat & a hot cup of coffee.

Wish you a Happy Friendship Day!

Custard Fruity Poha Pudding

Friends its time to pamper your sweet tooth again with this absolutely simple desert, which is very nutritious as its full with goodness of fresh fruits. I hope you will love it.

Custard Fruity Poha Pudding

Cooking Time: 15 mins
Preparation Time: 25 mins
Serves: 5

Ingredients:

Beaten rice (poha)- 1 cup
Milk- 3 cups
Custard powder - 2 tspn dissolved in 2 teaspoons cold milk
Sugar - 3 tbspn
Milkmaid - 2 tspn (optional or increase the quantity of sugar by 1 tbspn)
Mixed fruits (mango, banana, apples, pear or any seasonal fruit except citrus fruits )


Method:

1.Roast the poha in a non-stick pan till crisp.
2.Remove from the flame, cool and grind it coarsely. Keep aside.
3.Boil the milk and add the custard powder dissolved in cold milk.
4.Add sugar and stir continously until the sugar is dissolved.
5.Now add the poha while stirring continuously and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes.
6.Now mix the milkmaid evenly, you will have a mixture with thick consistency.
7.Remove from the flame, let it cool.

You can add dry fruits of your choice and serve it chilled or you can enjoy it with fresh fruits
as described below.

Serving suggestion:

1.Take a bowl and put a layer of sliced mango, then banana and keep layering other fruits
  one by one.Finally add the thick layer of poha firni, press little bit to make it even.

2.Cover the bowl with food foil and keep refrigerated for at least 20 mins.

3.Take out the bowl and invert it on a serving plate, tap slightly.

4.Decotrate it with the raspberry or any fruit jam of your choice.
 (Put up your creativity caps and serve it in your style)

Your sweet, fruity and super easy desert is ready to serve.One FINAL word from my husband-

"Yummyyyyyy...!!!"

Shahi Kheer (for PANEER lovers!)

Thank God its Friday and It gave me an opportunity to cook this yummy desert, this one is for my husband, as he is the one avid paneer lover, Indian cooking is incomplete without paneer and So, why not a desert to make your friday evening special. Enjoy!!...

Shahi Kheer

Cooking Time: 15 mins

Preparation Time: 15 mins

Serves: 3 

Ingredients:

 Paneer 50 gms (mashed) 

 Milk 1/2 litres

 Rice powder  2 tbsp

 Saffron (kesar)  a few strands

 Almonds 5

 Chironji 15-16

 Green cardamom powder  1/4 tspn

 Sugar  4 tspn

  

Method: 

1.  Soak almonds & chironji in luke warm water to blanch them and then chop the almonds finely.
2.  Boil milk in a deep pan and simmer till it reduces and thickens slightly.
3.  Mix rice powder in little water and add to milk, keep stirring to avoid any lumps.
4. Cook till the mixture thickens a little more. Add saffron and continue to cook.
5.  Add almonds, chironji and green cardamom powder and mix well.
6.  Add sugar and stir till sugar dissolves.
7.  Finally add paneer and mix. Take it off the heat and set aside to cool.

Serving Suggestion: Decorate it with some almonds slivers & chironji & serve chilled.

 I loved it over a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.I know you are salivating now after reading this recipe, so why wait ??, rush to kitchen and try your hands on it.

Almond Biscuits (Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye..)

Finally, I got some time to try my hands on a new receipe, I am sure you will defintely say "Yeah dil maange More.."

 

Preparation Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 15-20 mins
Serves: 8

Ingredients:

Plain flour (maida)- 1 cup
Almond (badam) - 1/4 cup (Cut them into small fine pieces)
Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
Powdered sugar - 1/4 cup
Lemon rind - 1/2 tsp
Softened butter - 1/4 cup
Condensed milk - 1/4 cup (Milkmaid)

Method:

1. Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add the vanilla essence, powdered sugar and lemon rind (to get the lemon rind just grate the yellow zest of the lemon peel, make sure that you do not grate the white part).
2. Rub the butter into the flour mixture till the mixture resembles bread crumbs.
3. Add the condensed milk and almonds slivers. Gently knead it into a dough.
4. Cover the dough in food foil and refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes.
5. Roll into a 12 mm. ( ½") thick sheet.
6. Cut out in the desired shape, I have used the biscuit cutters of different shapes. Re-roll the scraps and cut out more pieces.
7. Place them on a baking tray and bake in a pre-heated oven at 160°C (320°F) for 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove and cool on a wire rack.

Chocolate Fudge- Yummy to Tummy!!

This recipe is dedicated to my Best Friend!

Preparation Time: 10 mins

Cooking Time: Zero

Serves: 8

Ingredients

Condensed Milk - 250 gms
Marie Biscuits - 15 pieces
Drinking Chocolate - 3 tbsp
Cocoa Powder - 3 tbsp
Milk - 1/4 cup

Walnut - 250gms
Rum soaked raisins - 50 gms(optional)
Roasted Almonds & Cashews 6-12 pieces(optional)

Decoration

Grated white chocolate

Method

1. Powder Marie Biscuits.
2. Grind walnuts,cashews & almonds coarsly.
3. Sieve cocoa powder & drinking chocolate powder.
4. Mix condensed milk,powdered biscuits,powder dry fruits, raisins, cocoa powder & chocolate powder.
5. Add some milk if the mixture seems too dry,you should get the mixture of thick consistency.
6. Pour the mixture in a plate & allow it to set in fridge for 30 mins.

Now, decorate the fudge with grated white chocolate.Cut into pieces and serve.

Tip: You can add any dry fruits as per your choice, roast them a little bit for the crunchy flavour.You can add crushed wafer biscuits to the mixture too.

Semolina Fruit Muffins(Eggless)

I have tried the below recipe and it turned out to be very tasty muffins.Same recipe can be replicated for Cake too. So, its time to wear your chef cap and rush to the kitchen!!

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Serves: 6

Ingredients

1 cup Semolina(Suji)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup plain flour (maida)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup curd(dahi)
1/4 tsp soda bi-carb
1/4 cup melted butter/Olive oil/vegetable oil
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk approx
1/2 tsp green cardomom powder
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Dressing (As per choice):

1/2 tbsp riped mango cut pieces
1/2 tbsp blueberry Jam
1/2 tbsp plum pieces
1/2 tbsp mixed fruit jam
1/2 tbsp pine nuts
1/2 tbsp cashew nuts


Method

1.Sieve all the three flour, baking powder and soda together. Keep aside.
2.In a seperate bowl beat together the curd,powdered sugar,vanilla essence and oil until sugar is dissolved.
3.Now add the dry ingredients to this mixture, ensure that no lumps are formed.
4.Add milk and Beat with an electric beater at medium speed for 5 mins.
5.Dust the muffin moulds with little bit of icicng sugar.
6.Pour the batter in the moulds(only half fill them).
7.Now as per choice add cut fruit peices or 1/2 tbsp of jam or sprinkle pine nuts and cashew nuts on top.(Mix the dressing little bit with the help of spoon).
8.Microwave on pre-heated oven at 180 degree celcius for 20-25 minutes.
9.Remove from the microwave, cool slightly and unmould.

The semolina muffins appear little white even though they are cooked evenly, thus you can add little bit of kesar or yellow color in the mixture.

My Creation!!!



The most special moments in our life are the ones, when parents give you a warm hug...Isn’t it?



Love- By Swati

Lychee - On the ROCKS!!

Summer is special in India, because it brings some of the most relished fruits like Mangoes, Litchyees, Strawberries, Jamun and the list is long.

Litchyees which are known for their numerous health benefits is my personal favorite, the soft pulp melts in your mouth and you get lost in its sweetness. So, here is my recipe of a very simple and refreshing drink.

Preparation Time: 5 mins
Serves: 2

Ingredients

1. Lychee pulp(approximately 12 Litchyees)
2. 1/2 tsp Lemon Juice
3. 200 ml Water
4. 2 tsp Sugar
5. 1/2 tsp Rock Salt(also called Black Salt)
6. 60 ml Vodka (optional)
7. 3-4 Mint Leaves
8. Crushed Ice

Method

1. Put all the ingredients(except Vodka & chrushed Ice) in the mixer and blend until smooth (Sieve the mixture if needed).
2. Pour 30 ml of vodka in each glass and add crushed ice.
3. Now add the blended mixture and stir once.

Your rocking Lychee drink is ready for a gulp!! :)

Vada Pav with a Twist

As promised in the last post, I present you the Vada Pav recipe but with a little twist, the recipe looks lengthy as it includes the method to prepare chutneys(Coriander & Tamarind) too, but  actually it is very simple to make.

Vada Pav Recipe (with a twist)

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

Pav Buns - 6

Tamrind chutney - See recipe below

Corriander chutney - See recipe below

For the Vadas:

• Boiled Potatoes - 2 medium sized (Mashed)
• Boiled Peas - 50 gms
• Boiled sweet corn - 50 gms
• Peanuts - 50 gms (Coarsly Grinded in mixer)
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Green chillies - 1/2 tsp chopped finely
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Onion - 1 medium sized chopped finely
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Coriander leaves - 2 tsp
• Red Chilly Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp
• Olive Oil - 1 tsp

 For Vada coating:

• Besan flour(Gram flour) - 1/2 cup
• Rava (Suji) – 2-3 tbsp
• Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Baking soda - a pinch
• Oil - to toast / deep fry

Method:

• Heat 1 tsp of oil in a non-stick pan on a medium flame and add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds, allow them to crackle and then add oninon and coarsly grounded peanuts. Keep Stirring till the onion and peanuts are golden brown in colour.
• Now add finely chopped green chillies, coriander leaves, boiled peas and corn. Mix evenly and press the peas slightly while stirring.
• Now add mashed potatoes and all the dry masala (Salt, red chilly powder,turmeric powder, garam masala) and mix well.
• Reduce flame for two minutes and remove the mixture from stove, allow it to cool for few minutes.
• Divide the mix into portions of size of a small ball. Smoothen by rolling between slightly greased palms.
• Heat the oil for deep frying on a medium flame.
• Meanwhile prepare the batter for coating the vadas,mix gram flour , suji, chilli powder,salt to taste and baking powder in a bowl and add some water to make smooth mixture, keep stirring for 5 mins.
• When the oil is hot, dip one potato ball at a time into the gram flour batter to coat well and then deep fry till golden. Drain on paper towels.
• Take one Pav bun (you can use wheat buns also), slit in half (not completely - leave one edge joined) and put a spoonful each of Tamarind Chutney on one side and coriander chutney on other side. Place a potato ball on the bun and fold over, pressing down gently.

Serving Suggestion:

Serve while the potato ball is still hot or You can also served them grilled like me with Green chutney and Tamrind sauce.

Coriander Chutney

This basic chutney is perfect for using as a dipping sauce with any kinds of snacks you love.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch fresh coriander (approximately 200 gms)
• 1/2 raw mango (peeled)
• 2 green chillie
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp of cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp of red chilli powder
• 1/2 cup of water

Method:

• Cut off roots from the coriander and pluck out very soft stems only. Wash them thoroughly with green chillies.
• Grind all the ingredients (washed coriander, chilli powder, salt, peeled and chopped raw mango, cumin seeds, sugar, water) into a smooth paste in a food processor.
• Chill and serve

Tamarind Chutney

This tangy chutney can be used as a dip or stir-in sauce for numerous snacks.

You can also make in large quantity and store it in a air-tight container (Keep it in Refrigerator)

Ingredients:

• 200 gms tamarind (remove seeds)
• 50 gms dates (pitted)
• 150 gms  jaggery or Sugar
• 2 cups water
• 1 tsp fennel (saunf)
• 1 tsp salt
• Red chili powder as per taste

Method 

• Put the tamarind,  chopped dates, jaggery and water in a saucepan and cook on a medium flame till the dates and  tamarind are soft.
• Turn off flame and allow the mixture to cool.
• Use a food processor or hand blender to blend mixture together into a smooth sauce.
• Put sauce back into the saucepan and onto a medium flame and add remaining spice ingredients.
• Bring the sauce to a boil and turn off.
• Allow to cool, then chill and serve.

Ohhh...Bombay to Aamchi Mumbai.. :)

I am a small town girl from Uttarakhand, as kids whenever we used to hear something about Mumbai on TV or from friends, it seemed to belong to another world.

My first visit happened to Mumbai on an school excursion, I was a student of 9th standard, In that 2 day visit, the first thing I was trying to do was to count the number of storeys of my hotel, I had never seen more then a 4 storey house in my town and I remember counting 27, thanked God that I did not get room on 27th floor :).

For sightseeing, we went to the most desired place for every kid, "Essel World" even as I write this word the line comes to my mind is "Essel world mein rahunga mein,ghar nahin jaaunga mein" and believe me I did not feel the same until I reached the place as the ferry route to the park is so dirty that we had to keep our nose covered all the time to avoid the stink.But, once you reach there, its worth every pain.

The other palces which our teachers could manage to take us were Gateway of India, Juhu Iscon Temple,Hanging Garden, Taraporewala Aquarium (Marine Drive) and the famous Juhu Beach (we all kids kept on singing the song "Chowpatty jayenge Bhel-Puri khayenge"), once we were there, Juhu beach is another sad storey, as it is all dirty because of ignorance of the visitors and local stalls vendors who litter at any and every place, even though we took a good bath in the sea water(No body can stop kids).

After,7 years I again got a chance to be the part of this mysterious city, now for job, so it was going to be a longer one along with my husband, I was very skeptical that how will I adjust? and match the speed of a city which never sleeps!!!..

Now, after 8 months, I have fallen in love with this place, with all its negatives but more positives the city embraces everyone with open heart.

In my next post I will share with you the symbolic recipe of city...Vada Pav but with a twist!! ;)

Super Easy Quick Bake Biscuit-Cocoa-Cake

The idea behind this recipe was to utilize the broken biscuits as tea-biscuits are very brittle, thus I tried out this new recipe and it turned out to be a perfect sponge Chocolate Cake, moreover I have not used any butter or eggs and it takes only 5 mins to prepare and serve.
Thus, that makes it perfect choice for kitty parties, picnics or even after dinner desert (As, I ate it like that :))
So friends, rush to your kitchen and try out this super easy, delicious and quick cake recipe.

Quick Bake Biscuit-Cocoa-Cake

Preparation: 5 mins

Cooking: 5 mins
Serves: 6

Ingredients

Marie Biscuits – 12
Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – 1 ½ tbsp
Chocolate Powder/ Chocolate Bournvita – 1 ½  tbsp
Powdered Sugar - 4 tbsp
Vanilla Essence - 1/2 tsp
Warm Milk – 3/4 cup

Almonds (Coarsely Grinded)
Fruit Salt (Unflavored Eno)

Method

1.    Grind the biscuits finely in the mixer. 

2.    Sift all the dry ingredients except fruit salt i.e. (Biscuit powder, cocoa powder, chocolate powder, powdered sugar) together.

3.    Add almonds, milk and vanilla essence to the mixture and blend it properly, do not over mix.If you feel that the mixture is too dry then just add little more milk.

4.    Add fruit salt and mix it evenly.

5.    Now, put the mixture in a greased baking bowl (or you can use butter paper) and put it in pre-heated oven at microwave mode (which we generally use for re-heating our food) for 5 minutes.

6.    After 5 minutes, just insert a knife into the cake carefully (as the cake bowl is very hot), if it comes out clean then it means that the cake is baked properly, otherwise you can put it again for 1-2 minutes.

Let the cake cool for 5 minutes before removing from bowl.

Decorate it with some white chocolate and gems. You can also serve it hot with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.

Enjoy your eggless and no butter perfectly sponge chocolate cake. 

Simply Delicious Banana & Jam Cake

My recipe to make a very easy and delicious Banana Jam cake in microwave (use Convection Mode), you can enjoy it with a cup of tea or coffee or add a scoop of your favorite ice cream and  it is just Yummy!

I personally like it with coffee.

 Simply Delicious Banana & Jam Cake



Preparation: 20 minutes

Cooking: 30 minutes
Serves: 6

Ingredients

1/3 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

1 cup plain flour (Maida) also called all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/3 cup milk

1 banana- pureed

1 egg

1/2 cup mixed fruit jam or any jam of your choice

3/4 tsp baking powder

Method

 1. Sift both flours with baking powder and keep aside.

2. Beat egg till fluffy.

3. Beat butter, milk, sugar and vanilla essence in a separate bowl till light & fuffy.

4. Add beaten egg and mix properly.

5. Fold in flour a little at a time, don’t worry about the lumps, and mix gently in one direction only. Do this till all the flour is used up, you should get a lumpy batter of a soft dropping consistency. Do not over mix.

6. Pour half of the mixture into a greased baking tin; I have used butter paper to avoid oil and spread the jam evenly on the batter and then pour rest of the batter to cover it.

7. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 30 minutes.

8. After 30 minutes, just insert a knife into the cake carefully (as the cake tin is very hot) , if it comes out clean then it means that the cake is baked properly, otherwise you can put it again for 6-7 more minutes.

Let the cake cool for 5-10 minutes before removing from tin. Remove from tin on wire rack.

Tips

I have decorated the cake with halved cashew nuts and topped it with a strawberry, to add some texture I have grated the chocolate any (milk chocolate) over it.

Just use your creativity, to make it look lovely and taste yummier!!

Hey friends

My blog title seems to be amusing.. right??.. Guess ..its my name SWATI  :)