Palak (Spinach) Pakoda and Egg Roll

Palak (Spinach) Pakoda

It been more than a month since I prepared this but due to all sort of logistic issues in moving out of hyderabad I got little busy and couldnt post the recipe even though I had clicked the photos. So today I am going to post all 5 recipes that were pending. New ones will come as and when I try them :)

Ingredients

1 Bunch of Palak

1/2 Cup Bason

1/2 Spoon Red Chilli Powder

1/4 Spoon Turmeric Powder

A Pinch of Jeera Powder

1/2 Spoon Corriander Powder

Salt to taste

Oil

Method

• Wash Palak leaves and keep aside.
• Mix bason, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, jeera powder, corriander powder and salt to taste with water to form a paste
• Heat oil in a pan
• When its slightly warm, add a spoon of oil into the bason paste.
• When oil is hot, dip the two palak leaves at a time in the bason paste and add it into the pan and fry the pakoda on the golden colour
• Repeat for remaining leaves

Notes

I used smalled leaves of palak and the pakodas turned out amazing. Especially the palak was crisp and tasty because of its freshness and tenderness.

Also I dipped two palak leaves at a time so that the pakoda has its taste and still not too much of spinach which wont get crisp.

Egg Roll

I never imagined that egg roll can mean so much to bengalis :) Recently when I went to Puja Pandals, I saw most people at roll stand than in pandals :) Earlier ajoy use to ask me for egg roll and I use to thing he would love parathas more than egg roll. Probably you can say I didnt understand the roll importance :) But after attending puja this year, the first thing I had made my mind to surprise some day with rolls. So today for breakfast when I had almost nothing left at home I prepared this and he indeed was pleasantly surprised :)

Ingredients

3 Spoon Heaps of Maida

1 Spoon Heaps of Wheat Flour

3 Eggs

1 Onion

2 Green Chillies

Hot and sweet Tomato Ketchup

Salt to taste

Oil

Method

• Mix maida and wheat flour with salt to taste and little oil and knead the dough. Keep aside for atleast half an hour
• In a small pan, add little oil around half spoon or little less and heat it.
• Add sliced onions and green chillies to it and cook them till onions lose their rawness and look light brown. Keep aside
• Make 3 balls out of the dough and roll them thin one by one.
• Heat tawa and transfer the rolled roti on to the tawa. Put little oil from sides
• When one side is almost done flip the roti and let the other side cook for a while.
• Break the egg directly onto the cooking roti and spread it all over the roti and let it cook for a minute or so.
• Flip it, add oil from sides and cook from the egged side till egg is cooked completely.
• On a plate keep a kitchen towel such that it covers the 2/3rd of the plate.
• Transfer the cooked egg roti on to this plate. Egg side on top.
• Spread the 1/3rd mixture of cooked onion and chilli in the middle as one line. Add single ketchup line to taste.
• Now roll the egg roti into the egg roll with the kitchen towel and close the napkin from the bottom.
• Repeat same process for remaining two rolls.

Notes

I didnt use complete wheat flour for roti as otherwise you tend to get wheat flour taste in the roll which I dont like in the roll. I didnt use complete maida because otherwise after cooking the rotis tend to get too hard. Hence this combination.

While rolling the roti, the best way to get perfect roll is to first put one side over the other such that mixture is covered and is tightly filled in from one side. and then roll it into the roll from same side.

Chutney For Medu Wada And Medu Wada

Chutney For Medu Wada

I read about this special chutney for the medu wada in the cookery book that I have and tried this. It tastes amazing with the wada obviously not as nice as sambar (wada sambar being my favourite). But I was in kind of wrapping up mode that time and hence didnt want to prepare sambar so this chutney made nice alternative.

Ingredients

1/2 Coconut

1/4 Cup Chana Daal

6 Green Chillies

1 Bunch Corriander

1/2 Cup Curd

1/2 Spoon Mustard

1/2 Spoon Udid Daal

A pinch of Asafoetida

1 Spoon of Oil

Salt to taste

Method

• Grate coconut and grind it in mixie with green chillies, corriander leaves, chana daal(one used in chivadas) and salt.
• In this mixture mix curd
• In a small pan heat the oil and let mustard and udid daal splutter in it. Also add Asafoetida.
• Mix this oil into the chutney and serve.

Notes

I used coconut water itself while grinding coconut so that it tastes nice and i dont need to add sugar.

You can also add Red Chillies into the oil for even better taste but i didnt have it so had to skip that.

Medu Wada

Medu wada is my all time favourite and if you know that guests are coming in the evening even by afternoon this is something you can try. This time I really managed to get real crisp and nice medu wada with little help from the book.

Ingredients

2 Cup Udid Daal

2 Green Chillies

4 Spoon Coconut Pieces

1 Onion

Salt to taste

Oil

Method

• Wash and soak the udid daal for around 5-6 hours.
• Once daal is soaked enough, remove the excess water and grind to fine paste.
• Add Salt, finely chopped green chillies, finely chopped onion and coconut pieces and mix well.
• Heat oil in a pan and fry the wadas on low flame.

Notes

Fry the wadas immediately after grinding the daal so that wadas are not oily.

When you put the wada in the hot oil it should float instantly, otherwise add little water to the mixture and loosen the mixture and mix really well.

One can also add little ginger but i prefer non gingery flavour for the wadas.

Bday Chocolate Cake And Garam Masala

Bday Chocolate Cake

I was always fascinated by chocolate icings these bakers have. I always fancied to become as good with it as they are.. And my impression about this was its some art. But actually if you have little patience and know a knack it can be very easy too :) and that's what I found out when I tried this cake. Check this out.

PS: Now I had written this in January when I baked this for my mom but due to busy schedule with moving etc I just couldn't post it. So here it comes.. More on their way :)

 

Ingredients

7 Spoon Butter

1 Cup Castor Sugar

3 Eggs

Salt to taste

1/2 Cup Maida

300g Chocolate

8 Spoon Coco Powder

Method

• Boil water in a small pot and keep a glass bowl over it. Add 100g of chocolate and melt it completely. Add 4 Spoon coco powder and keep aside
• In another bowl mix 6 spoon butter and 1/2 cup of castor sugar till its fluffy
• Add the melted chocolate and beat.
• Separate the egg whites and egg yolks
• Add egg yolks one at a time into the choco-butter mixture and beat well.
• Sieve Maida and keep aside
• Beat the egg whites with salt to taste separately till it is stiff
• In earlier choco mixture add a spoonful for egg white and spoonful of maida, fold in well. Repeat till all maida and egg whites are accommodated in the choco mixture.
• Preheat oven at 180C/350F
• Grease the cake tin and pour the above mixture into it
• Bake the cake at 180C/350F for 45 min
• Keep aside for cooling overnight
• Next day, Heat water in a pot and keep a glass bowl over it. Melt remaining butter and chocolate together in it and keep aside.
• In a pan, add remaining sugar and 1/2 cup of water and bring it to boil.
• Bring the heat to lowest possible and mix in the chocolate-butter mixture as well as remaining coco powder and cook.
• Take out a drop of mixture and test if it thickens after cooling. If so icing is ready
• Pour the chocolate icing in the center of the cake and spread it across the cake to cover it fully.
• Decorate with white butter icing and choco chips/flakes

Notes

Yes you read it right this doesn't need baking soda or powder :)

I had my mom by my side when I tried this so with her patience and suggestions I needed 4 spoon of coca for 200gm chocolate so I guess that should help but if you still seem to run into issues like the mixture isn't thickening then add some more coca or if it thickens too fast and is too hard add little more warm water. The mixture after cooling should be of icing consistency and should not flow or thicken more than that.

Garam Masala

First of all this is not my experiment but its my mom's expertee. When everybody asks me about garam masala I use to tell that its my mom's speciality. So now that I am in pune I actually got the chance to see how this is prepared and wrote the recipe. Obviously this needs more patience than what one thinks of and quite lengthy process but the result i guarantee to be awesome :) So here is the recipe for for all interested parties :)

Ingredients

500g Corriander Seeds

50g Cumin Seeds

50g Fennel Seeds or Saunf

40g Poppy Seeds

20g Bay Leaves

10g Star Anise

10g Black Cardamom

10g Mace or Jayapatri

10g Naak Kesar

10g Cinnamon

10g Black Pepper

10g Cloves

5g Turmeric Stick

1/2 Nutmeg

1cm Asafoetida Block

20g Stone Flower or Dagad Phool

20g Caraway Seeds or Shahi Jeera

Oil

Method

• Heat Pan and add 1/2 Spoon of oil. Roast Jayapatri in this oil on low flame till reddish in color. Transfer to the mixie.
• In same pan add 2 drops of oil and Naak Kesar. Roast it for around 3 min on low flame till it becomes little bigger. Transfer to mixie.
• In same pan add 2 drops of oil and roast Stone Flower in it on low flame for around 3 minutes. Transfer it to the mixie
• Add 2 drops on oil in the same pan and roast Cloves on low flame for 3-4 minutes till they get little bigger. Transfer to the mixie.
• Add 2 drops of oil in same pan and roast black pepper on low flame for around 4 minutes. Transfer to the mixie
• In same pan add 2 more drops of oil and roast cinnamons on low flame till they turn dark brown in colour. Transfer to the mixie
• Add 2 drops of oil and roast Saunf on low flame till it becomes light brown in color. Transfer to the mixie.
• Break nutmeg into small pieces and roast it on low flame for 2 minutes in same pan with 1 drop of oil. Transfer it to the mixie
• Break Asafoetida block into small pieces and roast it on low flame in the same pan with 1 drop of oil till it turns white in color. Transfer it to the mixie
• Break Turmeric stick into the small pieces and roast it on low flame in 1 drop of oil till reddish in color. Transfer to the mixie.
• In same pan roast the bay leaves on low flame in 2 drop oil for 3 minutes. Transfer the contents to the mixie
• Roast Star Anise on low flame with 2 drop of oil for 2 minutes and transfer to the mixie.
• Roast Black Cardamom with 2 drop of oil on low flame till it turns little bigger and dark brown in color. Transfer to the mixe.
• In same pan roast the Jeera with 1 drop of oil on medium flame till it turns brown in color. Transfer the contents to the mixie.
• Roast Shahi Jeera on low flame with 1 drop of oil for around 2 minutes. Transfer it to the mixie
• Roast the Poppy Seeds with 1 drop of oil for 1 minute on low flame. Transfer to the mixie
• Grind all the contents transferred till now to fine powder.
• Sieve the powder and transfer the non so fine powder to the mixie
• Grind again and sieve the contents. transfer the contents which didnot pass through sieve into mixie.
• Roast half of the Corriander seeds with 2 spoon of oil on medium flame. When the seeds start spluttering turn the flame to low and roast for another minute. Transfer the half of them to mixie and Grind
• Sieve the masala again and transfer the not so fine contents to the mixie.
• Add remaining of roasted corriander seeds to mixie and again grind.
• Sieve the contents through and again grind the not so fine contents. Sieve again. Transfer the contents that did not get sieved into the mixie
• Roast remaining corriander seeds in 2 drops of oil on medium flame till they splutter. Turn the flame to low and roast for another minute. Transfer half of them to the mixie and Grind.
• Sieve the masala again and transfer the not so fine contents to the mixie.
• Add remaining of roasted corriander seeds to mixie and again grind.
• Sieve the contents through and again grind the not so fine contents. Sieve again.
• Mix well all the sieved contents and masala is ready.

Notes

Use exact given qunatities of oil for the best results as if you exceed oil quantity it becomes difficult to grind the spices.

Also Fry the spices in same order for the best results as this is the oder that maximises the aroma and will retain it in the masala.

You can use the Not sieved through contents in the non veg gravies or when you would be grinding masala with wet contents.

The above ingredients make around 3/4Kg of masala

Garden Salad and Idli

Garden Salad

This was salad that I did impromptu with all the ingredients I had at home. The result tasted good and lettuce too this time was quite good.

 

Ingredients

1 Cup chopped Lettuce

1/2 Cup Pineapple

1/2 Cup Mango

1 Boiled Potato

1 Tomato

1 Fresh Red Chilli

1/2 Spoon Oregano

1/4 Cup Pickled Cucumber

2 Spoon Vinegar

Salt to taste

Method

• Add chopped lettuce to the bowl
• Add chopped pineapple and mango in it.
• Add finely chopped tomato in it.
• Remove the cover from boiled potato and add the small cubes in the bowl
• Add finely sliced red chilli in it
• Cut the pickled cucumber into small pieces and add in it.
• Add Salt to taste, oregano and vinegar
• Mix well and serve.

Notes

I had cut all the stuff and added to the bowl and then around half an hour before dinner I mixed in oregano and stuff well. I thought otherwise all the flavors might get mixed in each other and wont taste as good as I would like :) and that proved right because the next day in lunch box it didn't taste as good as it was for dinner :)

 Idli

I have seen quite a few people buy the readymade dosa or idli batter. But I guess I dont like the taste. There is nothing as good as compared to home made stuff. And Idli is something very very easy to prepare. You just need to plan a day ahead thats all it takes. Rest is easy.

Ingredients

1 Cup Udid Daal

2 Cup Idli Rawa

Salt to taste

Oil

Method

• Soak Udid Daal and Idli Rawa for atleast 8 hours.
• Strain the water from the Udid Daal and grind it in the mixie to fine paste.
• Strain water from the idli rawa and grind it to fine paste too.
• Mix rawa paste and udid daal paste well and keep aside for atleast 8 hours
• In the morning, mix in salt really well
• Heat the water in a cooker - without lid
• Grease the idli pan and add the idli mixture in there.
• When the water in the cooker starts to boil put the idli stand into the cooker and cook for around 10-12 minutes on high flame with lid closed but no whistle.
• Open the cooker and let the idlis cool down a little. Separate idlis from the pan and serve with chutney/sambar

Notes

Here since everything is AC and we maintain low temperature, I did keep the mixture on top of hot water container at night. That works perfectly well.

Dont forget to remove the cooker lid immeidately after idli is done so that the vapour doesnt cool down inside the idli making it moist

Pineapple Muramba And Aalu Gobi

Pineapple Muramba 

Almost a month back I got the big pineapple from costco. I just remembered mom's pineapple muramba and thought of giving it a shot. Called up mom and asked for recipe.. And it turned out that it was quite easy to make it and hence prepared that night immediately :)

Ingredients

5 Cups Fresh cut Pineapple

3 Cup Water

1.5 Cup Sugar

Method

• Mix pineapple pieces with water such that it barely submerges pineapple
• Cook the mixture over medium flame keeping a lid till pineapple are cooked.
• Strain the mixture and separate out pineapple and water
• In same water mix the sugar and bring to boil
• With constant stirring keep heating water over medium flame till it becomes 1 string consistency syrup
• Now add pineapple pieces and boil once again
• Let it cool down and refrigerate in the fridge

Notes

The muramba needs to be stored in fridge and it would stay for few months.

Good side dish to eat with chappati/paratha

I dont like too much of sugar syrup and hence the above recipe gives very less sugar syrup mixed pineapple muramba.. If you like you can add another cup of water + 1/2 cup of sugar to get traditional version which has more liquid

Aalu Gobi

Ajoy loves gobi so we always have it at home. This time I thought of trying something different that the usual preparations and end up preparing this dish

Ingredients

2 Potatoes

1 Gobi

1/2 Spoon Mustard

1 Spoon Jeera

1 Spoon Jeera Powder

1 Spoon Corriander Powder

1 Spoon Red Chilli Powder

1/2 Spoon Garam Masala

1/4 Spoon Turmeric Powder

1/4 Spoon Powdered Sugar

Corriander Leaves for garnishing

Salt to taste

Oil

Method

• Peel the potatoes and cut them in cubic shapes
• Separate out the florets of medium size from the gobi
• Heat oil in a pan and let the mustard and Jeera splutter in the oil.
• Add potato pieces and gobi florets in the oil and cook on medium flame with constant stirring.
• After 5 minutes add turmeric powder and keep cooking
• When the potato and gobi is almost done, add corriander powder, jeera powder, red chilli powder, garam masala, powdered sugar and salt. Mix well and cook till completely done
• Garnish with finely chopped corriander leaves

Notes

This simple dish gives different flavour than the tomato gravy kind of gobi preparation. The vegetable is quite dry and goes well with phulkas or parathas.

Pumpkin Almond Cup Cakes and Carrot Paratha

Pumpkin Almond Cup Cakes

Few days back I made 'Khatakhata' - a special mixed vegetable dish from konkani cuisine. It needs pumpkin and I looked for it through all grocery stores, super markets, indian stores but every one said its out of season. But Wholes food had canned pumpkin and I thought of giving it a try. But when I opened the can I found that it was mashed one and not cubed ones. So I couldnt use that in the khatkhata. (Yes recipe will come for it when I cook it next time as this time I forgot to take pics). Then I was looking for all pumpkin recipes that can use puree of Pumpkin and found that cupcakes use them. So finally after reading lot I came up with this my version. Once it started baking it spread so much of aroma that I just couldnt wait for them to get ready. What a nice way to eat Pumpkin :)

Ingredients

2 cup Pumpkin Puree

3 Cup Maida

1 Cup Butter

1.5 Cup Brown Sugar

1/2 Cup Castor Sugar

2 Spoon Baking Powder

1/2 Spoon Baking Soda

1/2 Cup Milk

1/2 Spoon Cinnamon Powder

1/2 Spoon Cloves Powder

1/2 Spoon Nutmeg Powder

1/4 Cup Almond Sliced

1/2 Spoon Pistachio Essence

2 Eggs

Method

• Sieve through Maida, baking powder, baking soda few times.
• Mix Nutmeg powder, cinnamon powder and cloves powder. Keep aside
• In a bowl, beat butter, brown sugar and castor sugar together untill mixture is fluffy and sugar is completely mixed
• Add in each egg at a time and beat them into the mixture.
• Now add the sieved maida-bakingpowder mixture little at a time till completely accomodated. Stir with a spatula and dont use blender here.
• Add milk and mix well. Mixture will thin down a little
• Add pumkin puree and pistacheo essence and mix gently using the spatula
• Mix in the almonds except few to decorate in the batter.
• Preheat the oven to 350F/180C
• Grease the cup cake trays and fill in the mixture upto 3/4th level in each cup
• Garnish with remaining almonds
• Bake in the oven on 350F/180C for 20 minutes. Knife inserted should come out clean.

Notes
If you are using fresh pumkin, just steam the pumkin and then mash it in mixie. I guess that should work too.
Made around 16 medium sized cup cakes

Carrot Paratha

I was thinking about something new yet simple for dinner yesterday. I thought of parathas as ajoy loves it.. But then I didnt want to cook something that we always eat.. So came up with this idea. Turned quite nice.


Ingredients
1.5 Potato
2 Cup Grated Carrots
2.5 Cup Wheat Flour
1 Spoon Red Chilli Powder
3/4 Spoon Corriander Powder
1/4 Spoon Carom Seeds
1/2 Lemon
Salt to taste
Oil
Ghee

Method

• Mix wheat flour, salt to taste and 2 spoons of oil.
• Add water to it and make the dough. It shouldnt be too loose or too tight.
• Add another couple of spoon of oil and knead well and keep aside for half an hour atleast.
• Cook potatoes in the pressure cooker and let them cool
• Mash the potatoes and mix with carrots
• Add red chilli powder, salt, corriander powder, carom seeds and lemon juice. Mix well.
• Prepare the balls of small lemon size out of this mixture
• Make same size balls from the dough and prepare the cup shape.
• Stuff the carrot ball in the cup shape dough and close the ball. Roll the paratha
• On medium flame, heat the tawa and cook the paratha from both sides till brown. Spread few drops of oil while its cooking.
• When completely done apply few drops of ghee and serve with pickle and/or curd

Notes
I prefer to use only few drops of ghee at the end of cooking of paratha but if you like you can fry them in ghee itself.

Tawa Paneer And Brinjal Paratha

Tawa Paneer 

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

I had been so bored eating same type of gravies and all I thought that I have to try something different with paneer this time. Would have loved to make palak paneer but then I didnt have spinach and i was too tired with cycling and too engrossed in DMG - Abhi - Nikki Scenes that I decided to make my own tawa paneer recipe. Well I didnt even look on net for recipes nor did i check in some of the books I have. Just went through adding whatever I felt like. Result was awesome :) So here I am sharing with you my own Tawa Paneer

Ingredients

200g Paneer Block

1 Onion

2 Tomato

4-5 Sweet Peppers

1/4 Spoon Turmeric Powder

1 Spoon Red Chilli Powder

1/4 Spoon Jeera Powder

1/4 Spoon Corriander Powder

1/4 Spoon Aamchur Powder

Salt to taste

Oil

Method

• Cut the paneer into squared pieces, onions and tomatoes into the medium sized pieces
• Slice the sweet peppers
• On a tawa add some oil and shallow fry paneer pieces on high heat but till light brown in colour. Keep aside
• In same oil add chopped onion and cook till light brown in colour. Separate from oil and keep aside
• Cook sweet peppers in same oil and keep aside
• In same oil, add tomato pieces and cook till almost done.
• Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, jeera powder, corriander powder and Aamchur Powder and saute for 2-3 minutes
• Add paneer pieces, onion, sweet peppers and salt to taste.
• Mix well and cook for another 4-5 minutes and serve warm

Notes

I didnt want to add any fancy items in there nor i wanted to add more spices etc to make sure it is not too spicy. Well I loved the taste as it was it had perfect combination of mild spices with the soft paneer.

I used nonstick tawa with sides to it - that helped me in managing it while mixing well :)

Brinjal Paratha

These days I end up making parathas too often. Simple reason being, then you dont need to cook other 3-4 items and also ajoy loves parathas. So its good for me too and for him too.. especially on busy weekdays. So here is something I came up with Brinjal. I had tried this lot of times but I think yesterday was the best one with perfect combinations :) Hence its finally making its way out here :)

Ingredients

1 Medium Sized Brinjal

2 Cup Wheat Flour

1 Spoon Red Chilli Powder

1/4 Spoon Turmeric Powder

1/4 Spoon Jeera Powder

1/4 Spoon Corriander Powder

2-3 Spoon Corriander Leaves

Salt to taste

Oil

Method

• Broil the brinjal in the oven at 500F for 25minutes. Let it cool down
• Remove the cover and smash the brinjal.
• Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, jeera powder, corriander powder, finely chopped corriander leaves and salt to taste.
• Add wheat flour and make the dough out of it.
• Apply a spoon of oil and knead well and keep aside for 20-30 minutes.
• Make lemon sized balls and roll the 3 fold parathas and cook them on the tawa.
• Serve hot with curd and pickle

Notes

You can roast the brinjal the way we do it for Bharata on the stove. Or you can bake them in the oven but I found that broiling functionality in ovens here is much better than baking when you need the item to be cooked without it oozing out its juices. The last few times I baked the brinjal it oozed lot of juice and then I had to add too much of wheat flour and the parathas lacked the brinjal taste in them.