Fish Masala

Fish Masala, is an accidental recipe that came out great. I try to always put some variation in everyday dishes. This recipe is very simple and quite flavorful dish that fills the pallet with amazing flavors. 

Ingredients:

16 Oz Salmon crumbled

½ Cup Curd

1 tbsp Minced Ginger

1 tbsp Minced Garlic

1 tsp Red Chili Powder
1 tbsp Chili Sauce
1 tbsp Tomato Ketchup/ Hot and sweet Maggie Sauce

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Coriander Powder

1 big Onion Sliced
1 Cup Green Bell Pepper Sliced

2 tbsp Oil 

½ tsp Garam Masala

Cilantro Leaves for garnish

Process:

1) In a bowl marinate fish with Curd, Garam Masala, Ginger, Garlic, Salt, Coriander powder, Ketchup, Chili Sauce. Let the marinate rest for an hour at least.

2) In a pan, heat the oil on medium flame and once hot add in the marinated fish.

3) Cook covered on medium high flame till fish cooks and liquid evaporated to becomes a bit dry.Stir in between to prevent from sticking at the bottom.

4) Add in sliced onions and bell pepper. Stir well and cook for another 5 minutes.

5) Once done, garnish with Cilantro...Enjoy with Chapatis, Parathas or Naan.

Thanks Giving Holiday Time:)

I feel quite lucky to visit Julia Child Kitchen in "National Museum of American History" in Washington DC and enjoyed every bit i spent there.

As i got spark for cooking eventually after i got married. But the thought of writing a blog i perceived after watching a movie "Julie and Julia". This is my favorite movie from which i got moved and inspired. Since then it was my dream to visit Julia Child kitchen. This kitchen is the part of movie when Julie visited the same museum and offered Butter Brick to Juila Child.

I was delighted and thrilled to visit the same. If you are associated to cooking somewhere, you would love this museum in Washington DC.

Below sharing the wall with cooking associated people..loved the moment.

                                                       Lovely julia Child

Medu Vada

Medu Vada, is a south indian tifin recipe (Breakfast Recipe). Its soft fluffy and flavorful fried snack. This goes great at breakfast time or tea time. This medu vada goes great with Alam Pachadi i.e posted on my blog.

Ingredients:

1 Cup Soaked Udad Dal
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Chopped Ginger
1 tbsp Green Chili Chopped
1 Medium Onion Chopped
1 tbsp Chopped Curry Leaves

1 tsp Cumin Seeds
Water as Required

1 tbsp Cilantro Chopped
Oil to Deep Fry

Process:

1)  Soak udad dal for atleast 3-4 hours or overnight for best results. Then put it in the blender and blend the same to make fine paste. Use least amount of water just enough to grind dal.

2) The best trick to make the vada's fluffy is whisk the batter with hands for at least 10-15 minutes. This is to fill the batter with air. To check whether the batter is ready, take a bowl with water and drop a batter in water. If the batter drop starts floating over water then the batter is ready to make vada's.

3) Add in green chili, onions, coriander, curry leaves, cumin seeds, ginger, salt and mix well.

4) Preheat oil to fry vada's. Take some water in a bowl and then dip fingers in water and take some batter on your finger tips now with the help of thumb make a well in batter over your fingers and slide the batter in hot oil. Fry vada's in medium low flame to make sure they are cooked through out.

5) Fry them till vada's turn golden brown. Serve with Coconut Chutney or Alam Pachadi (Refer my blog for the same).

Enjoy! 

Bharwa Kachori

Bharwa Kachori, is a great idea to make kachori with a healthy twist. I created this recipe to consume my leftover sprouts. Fortunately this came out to be a wonderful recipe. And from now on i would be making this sprouts specially for kachori. I hope you all would like this and prepare for your loved once. Please don't forget to share your views  Try this one with "Matar panner" dish posted on the blog.  The combination is an exotic meal and best way to make guests happy:)

Ingredients:

Serving 10-12 Puri's

2 Cup Wheat Flour

1 tsp Salt
½ tsp Red Chili Flakes
½ tsp Fennel Seeds Powder
½ tsp Onion Seeds
2 tsp Oil

1 tsp Coriander Powder

Water to Kneed Dough

Oil to Deep Fry

Filling:

1 tsp Chopped Ginger
1 tsp Green Chili Paste
1 tsp Coriander Powder
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 tsp Salt
1 tbsp Cilantro Chopped
1 Cup Sprouts Cooked
1 tsp Oil

Process:

1) Take a skittle heat up a tsp of oil. Now add in cumin seeds, ginger and stir for a minute. Add in cooked sprouts, coriander powder, cilantro, green chili paste and cook for 5 minutes. Stir and mash continuously till we get a dry mixture.

2) Take a bowl, Add in Flour, Salt, Red Chili Paste, Fennel seeds, Onion seeds, Oil and mix well. Kneed with water to make a medium hard consistency.  Let the dough rest for half an hour.

3) Preheat oil to fry Puri's. Take equal sized lemon size ball of dough and roll them in a round shape with the help of little oil. Put some sprouts filling in the middle and wrap the sprouts mixture with rolled puri edges. Roll kachori little bit with rolling pin.

4) Once the oil is hot, put kachori one by one in the hot oil. While frying to make them fluff up you need to press kachori a bit with spatula on medium slow flame. 

5) Serve with Potato Curry, Panner Curry.

Enjoy!

Tip:

1) Filling should not be too much, as it can break kachori and that would fill oil in there while frying.

Fruitcake Cookies

Fruitcake Cookies, These cookies are full of nuts and fruit cake flavor but in the form of cookies. these are soft yet crunchy cookies. I have prepared these cookies with grape juice but as traditional fruitcake, you can make these with rum or sherry. These are very simple and quick cookies. Try this and let me know if you liked.

                   Ingredients:

1/2 Cup dried figs
1/4 Cup raisins
1 tbs honey
2 tbs Grape Juice
1 tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice1/2 Cup chopped Walnuts 
Kosher salt
2 sticks/1 Cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 egg
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

Process:

**Tools Used: Hand Mixer, Spatula, Whisk, Bowl, Cookie Pan.

1)  Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease the cookie pan with butter and cover the bottom with butter paper.

2) Take a big bowl, add in nuts, dry fruits and grape juice. mix well and store for few hours or over night.

3)  Cream together butter, refined sugar, brown sugar, grounded clove till mixture turns lite and fluffy. Add in egg and beat well incorporated.

4)  Add in all purpose flour and salt. Mix well until incorporated. Don't over mix the dough.  At last fold in dry fruit and nut mixture in the dough. Roll the dough in parchment paper and let it rest for an hour at least in refrigerator. 

5)   Cut and spread cookies into 2 to 3 inch circles about 1/2-inch thick. Bake them for 20-25 minutes until light golden. Let them cool.

Enjoy!!

Tips:

1) Don't over mix the batter.

2) This Cookie dough can be stored in deep fridger for later use. I have rolled the dough in parchment paper and stored the same.

3) Use nuts of your choice.

Bengali FIsh

Bengali Fish, is a fish recipe i learnt from my aunt. She is Bengali and for her its a daily thing to make. Would like to dedicate this to her as i have learnt from her. Its very simple and flavorful dish. This is best served with plain rice.

Ingredients:

1lb Big Chunks of Fish

1 Sliced Onion

2-3 Green Chili Chopped
1 tbsp Panch Puran Seeds
(i.e Cumin, Fenugreek, Onion, Fennel, Mustard Seeds)

1 tsp Red Chili Powder

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Coriander Powder
1 tsp Turmeric Powder

2 tbsp Mustard Oil

Cilantro Leaves for garnish

Process:

1)  In a pan, heat the oil on medium flame and once hot then add in fish chunks one or two at a time and shallow fry them from both sides.

2) Remove fish pieces from oil,then in the same oil add in Panch Puran. Stir for few seconds, then add in Onions. Stir till that turns glossy, then add in red chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and stir well.

3)  Add in a cup of water and fish chunks. Let it boil till water reduces to half or less as preferred  

4) Once done, garnish with Cilantro...Enjoy with Rice.

Enjoy!

Khaja (Sweet Dish)-- Happy Diwali

Khaja, is a delicious and crispy sweet dish. I learnt this recipe from my friend Sridevi. I would like to dedicate this recipe to her and wanna thanks her for teaching me the same. This desert has amazing texture i.e crispy layering with full of sweetness from sugar syrup. So this is the perfect recipe to complete Diwali.
I wish all my friends a Happy Diwali...May this festival of lights bring more prosperity and happiness in everyone's lives.

Ingredients:

1 Cup All Purpose Flour/Maida
2 tbsp  warm Ghee/Butter
¼ tsp Salt
½ Cup Water
Pinch of Baking Soda
Pinch of Baking Powder
½ tsp Cardamom Powder
Oil to Deep Fry

 1 Cup Water
2 Cup Sugar

Process:

1) Take a big bowl, add in flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and oil. Rub well with your fingers. Kneed a smooth dough with the help of water. Cover and let the dough rest for half an hour.

2) For the Syrup heat up the water and sugar on medium flame to make syrup. Boil the syrup and let it reduce to half. Switch off the flame and let it rest covered to use it a bit warm.

3) Preheat oil till hot to fry. Divide the dough in three equal parts and roll the dough in a big and thin chapati. Apply ghee on one side of all chapati's then sprinkle dry flour over applied ghee. Now stack one chapati over another. 

4) Now roll the chapati stack from one end to another like we did for making pinwheels. Now cut an inch thick through out the roll. The roll will look like a big rope and we have to cut that an inch thick. 

5) Now take each part and roll once over each part a bit with help of rolling pin. Now fry them on medium low flame till they turn golden brown in color.

6) Once they are fried, Dip them in sugar syrup and coat them properly. Now they are ready...

Enjoy!

Healthy Puff Pastry (Tip)

Healthy Puff Pastry, I know its surprising to heard that puff pastry could be healthy. I tried this and loved that as its a bit less of guilt in eating this one but no less in flavor. I have many recipes posted on my blog that can be used as a filling like Spicy Aalu, Aalu Methi, Soya Matar, Egg Burji, Aalu Shimla Mirch, Paneer Bhurji, Chinese Tofu. Here's the Crispy and flaky Snack. Can be enjoyed with tea or coffee.

Ingredients:

1 Malaysian Parantha Plain

Any Leftover Dry Vegetable

1 tsp Ketcup

1 tsp Coriander Chutney

Process:

**Tools Used: Cookie Pan.

1) Preheat your oven to 350F. Grease baking pan with butter and line the bottom with butter paper. 

2) Take a Parantha and cut in half to make two Pastries. These have a lot less calories than Puff Pastry sheets.

3) Take a Bowl, mix in Ketchup and Coriander Chutney and apply over parantha pieces.

4) Spread Dry Veggie evenly all over the parantha pieces. Seal the end with the help of water/Milk.

5) Place them over baking sheet, Maintain some gaps. Bake for 15 minutes..Enjoy after 5 minutes!

Tips:

1) Move Parantha's from Frozen section to refrigerator section at least 1 hours prior from the making time. Keep in mind parantha's shouldn't be out for long time, else it will be difficult to handle.

2) Brush pastries with Milk/Egg Wash(beaten egg plus 1 tbsp milk) before baking.

3) Use any kind of filings as per desired like minced pork, tofu, shredded cooked chicken etc.

Halwa (My Style)

Halwa, i know i took allot of time to share our famous punjabi Halwa. This is the one recipe everybody in north India loves to have any day anytime. Today i would like to share this specially to all my friends who are there to support my work. And this recipe is my gesture to express my love to all my friends there. Here I want to mention that i mix three kinds of flour to have the best of them in one dish. Texture of semolina and aroma of gram flour creates wonder in this dish.

Ingredients:

¼ Cup Semolina (Rawa)
¼ Cup Wheat Flour
¼ Cup Gram Flour(Besan)

3/4 Cup Clarified Butter(Ghee)

3/4 Cup Sugar
½ tsp Cardamom Powder

½ Cup Chopped Almonds,Rasins

3 Cups Water

Grated Coconut for Garnish

Process:

1) Take a sauce pan and heat up water and sugar, let it comes to boil.

2) Meanwhile heat up clarified butter in a skittle. One that's hot add in Semolina, Wheat flour, Gram flour. Stir continuously on low flame till the color of flour mixture turns brown.

3) Now add in water and sugar boiling mixture into flour mixture slowly. Stir rigorously to protect lumps to be formed and the consistency you like. Then add in nuts and cardamom powder at last and mix well.

4) Garnish with nuts and coconut...Enjoy!

Spicy Aalu

Spicy Aalu, is really a flavorful dish with the crunch of onions. I loved this potato dish i learnt from my aunt. This is a spicy potato dish with immense flavors. Here is a another version of potato with a twist. Can be enjoyed with Tortilla, Indian Chapati.

Ingredients:

Serving: 2 Person

2 Big Thin Sliced Pealed Potato 

1 Sliced Medium Onion

1 Whole Red Chili and Green Chili
1 tsp Turmuric Powder
1 tbsp Coriander Powder

1 tsp Dry Mango Powder
1 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Fenugreek Seeds
1 tsp Onion Seeds
1 tsp Fennel Seeds

3 tbsp Oil

½ tsp Salt

Process:

1) Heat the Oil in large skillet on medium high heat. Add in Red Chili, Green Chili, Fenugreek Seeds, Onion Seeds, Fennel Seeds and stir a bit.

2) Add in Sliced Potatoes, stir on medium high heat with lid. Then add in onions, salt, red chili powder, sugar, dry mango powder.

3) Stir till onions becomes translucent and potato are cooked. Its an easy and quick dish.

4) Serve hot..Enjoy!

Bedmi Puri

Bedami Puri, this would be the most flavorful and crispy puri's i made. These are made from socked udad dal and many more spices. Try this one with "Matar panner" dish posted on the blog.  The combination is an exotic meal and best way to make guests happy:)

Ingredients:

Serving 10-12 Puri's

2 Cup Wheat Flour

½ Cup Soaked Udad Dal
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Chopped Ginger
½ tsp Red Chili Flakes
½ tsp Fennel Seeds Powder
½ tsp Onion Seeds
2 tsp Oil
1 tsp Green Chili Paste

2 tsp Coriander Powder

1 tsp Cumin Seeds
Water to Kneed Dough

1 tbsp Cilantro Chopped
Oil to Deep Fry

Process:

1)  Soak Udad dal for 2-3 hours. Then put it in the blender with green chili and ginger, blend the same to coarse.

2) Take a bowl, Add in flour and oil, mix well with hands then add in Udat dal mixture, Cumin seeds, Coriander powder, Salt, Red Chili Powder, Fennel seeds, Onion seeds and mix well. Kneed with water to make a medium hard consistency. Let the dough rest for half an hour.

3) Preheat oil to fry Puri's. Take equal sized lemon size ball of dough and roll them in a round shape with the help of little oil. Once the oil is hot, put puri's one by one in the hot oil. While frying to make them fluff up you need to press puri's a bit with spatula. 

4) Serve with Potato Curry, Panner Curry.

Enjoy! 

Aachari Bhindi(Okra)

Aachari Bhindi, is really a flavorful dish with the crunch of onions. I love okra since my childhood..and my mother used to make this specially for me quite frequently. Here is a another version of bhindi with a aachari twist. Can be enjoyed with Tortilla, Indian Chapati.

Ingredients:

Serving: 2 Person

1 lb Roughly Chopped Okra

1 Sliced Medium Onion

1 tsp Red Chili Powder
1 tbsp Coriander Powder

1 tsp Dry Mango Powder
1 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Fenugreek Seeds
1 tsp Onion Seeds
1 tsp Fennel Seeds

3 tbsp Oil

½ tsp Salt

Process:

1) Heat the Oil in large skillet on medium high heat. Add in Fenugreek Seeds, Onion Seeds, Fennel Seeds and stir a bit.

2) Add in Okra and continously stir on medium high heat till okra turns soft and glossy. Then add in onions, salt, red chili powder, sugar, dry mango powder.

3) Stir till onions becomes translucent.

4) Cook okra for 5 minutes with lid on medium low flame till all the spices are combined well with okra and onions.

5) Serve hot..Enjoy!