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Sunday, September 30, 2007

Almond Halwa:

Almond halwa or badam ka halwa is basically served in winter season in the breakfast with some sort of namkeen like poha. Also it is being given to mothers who has just delivered.

Ingredients:
20-25 almonds
¾ cup ghee
1 cup wheat flour
2 tsp cardamon powder
1 tbsp sliced almond to garnish
3 cup hot milk or hot water

Method:
1.Soak almonds overnight in the water.
2.Peel almonds and blench in the mixer.
3.Heat the ghee in the non stick pan and add the almond puree.
4.saute till turns pink and is cooked
5.Now add the wheat flour and saute till brown.
6.Add hot milk or hot water as desired and cook till it thickens and ghee separates. Keep stirring continuously.
7.Now add sugar and cardamon powder. Simmer for a while.
8.Garnish with sliced almonds and serve hot with namkeen.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Rajma chawal

Rajma chawal is one of my favourite dish....it is very nutritional and healthy....it tastes good....It is one of the favour from punjab........

Ingredients:
2 cups rajma (red kidney beans)
2 medium onion
2 big tomatoes
1 teaspoon jeera(cumin seeds)
2 teaspoon grated ginger
3 green chilly
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon dhania powder(coriander powder)
1/2 teaspoon haldi powder(turmeric powder)
3 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves
1 1/2 tea spoon black salt
salt according to taste

Method
1.Soak the rajma in overnight. Drain and discard the water. Keep aside.
2.Take 5 teacups of fresh water and pressure cook rajma for 3-4 whistle.
3.Make a gravy of tomato,onion,green chilly and 1 tablespoon of coriander leaves. Keep aside
4.Heat the oil in a non stick pan. Add the cumin seeds and allow to crackle.
5.Add the gravy and sauté for a few minutes till it separetes from oil . Add the grated ginger and sauté for a few more minutes.
6.Add the cooked rajma, along with turmeric powder, coriander powder and salt.
7.add the black salt and mix well. Simmer for a few minutes
8.garnish with coriander
9.Serve hot with plain rice.

Monday, September 10, 2007

Chaat Masala

Chaat Masala is used in almost every dish be it dahi vada, fruit dish, Pani Puri, bhel puri or dahi puri. You can top up your dish with chaat masala and relish it. There are the basic ingredients which are required to make chaat masala and are available in almost all houses. Easy to make and can be stored for 5-6 months. You can store this in an air tight container.

Ingredients:
1 cup roasted jeera
7-8 Kashmir chilli roasted
1 cup roasted coriander seeds
1 cup aamchoor powder
1 cup salt
3 tablespoons black salt
4 tablespoon kali mirch

Method:
1.Grind finely all the ingredients together in the mixer grinder.
2.Store in the airtight container.
3.use as required

Note: After roasting all the other ingredients except coriander seeds put the gas off and than roast the coriander seeds so they are lightly roasted and does not burn.

Papdi

This papdis are flat and crispy in nature. It is almost used in every chaat like bhel puri, Sev puri, or dahi puri. You can store this in an air tight container for a longer time. Some make Papdi by using only plain flour and some use a mix of plain flour and semolina flour to make it crispier. This is the best dish to welcome the unexpected guest.

Ingredients:
1 cup plain flour
2 table spoon semolina
2 teaspoon Ajwain (optinal)
1/2 tablespoon oil
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

Method:
1.Mix both the flour, salt, Ajwain, oil and add enough water to make stiff dough.
2.Knead well and roll out into a big thin chapatti. Now cut into almost 1 ½ inch of puris.
3.Prick it nicely so while deep frying it does not puff up.
4.Deep fry in hot oil on a medium flame until golden brown.
5.Store in an air tight container.

Papdi Chaat

Papdi chaat is a much known chaat in Delhi and Bangalore with lots of Papdi, curd, potato, chaat masala, green chutney, and imli ki chutney. Tossed together to make a wonderful Papdi chaat. It is a different way of dahi puri we can say.papdi is basically crispy by nature. It is made out of plain flour and a little bit of semolina is added to make it crispier. You can make it in good quantity to welcome your unexpected guest at any time. Papdi can be stored for a long time.

Ingredients:
50-60 Papdi
3 cups imli ki chutney
2 cups green chutney
2 medium potatoes boiled and grated
2 cup whisked curd
2 teaspoon chaat masala
2 teaspoon roasted jeera powder
2 teaspoon red chilli powder
Salt to taste

Method:
1.Take papdis in the bowl, now add imli khajur ki chutney, green chutney and salt and toss well.
2.Now put grated potatoes and curd.
3.Sprinkle chaat masala, jeera powder, and red chilli powder.
4.Garnish with coriander leaves if you want to and serve immediately.

Note: The reason to serve immediately is because with all chutneys and curd above the papdis. The papdis does not remain crispy for the longer period of time.You can add onion and tomatoes if you wish to.

Sunday, September 9, 2007

imli-Khajur ki chutney

It is the sweet and sour chutney used in any and all chaat dishes.This chutney can be stored in the refrigerator for almost a month time. You can also deep fridge this chutney and use as and when required for more than 4 months. But it is always good to make fresh things and even if you want to store it should not be done more than 45 days so that you can have a fresh taste of the chutneys.You can also store green chutney for the same period as imli khajur ki chutney. Also dry garlic chutney can be stored with out refrigerating for more than 90days.

Makes 3 cups.

Ingredients
2 cups dates (khajur),
1/4 cup tamarind (imli),
1 cup jaggery (gur),
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
a pinch asafoetida (hing)
salt to taste
Method
1.Wash the dates and tamarind and place them in a non stick pan.
2.Add the jaggery, and 4 cups of water and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes.
3.Now add red chilli powder, asafoetida and salt and mix it well.
4.Cool and make a puree by grinding in the mixer grinder.Now strain it.
5.Use as required.

Tip:You can add a little water while straining the chutney if required as it will be strained easily.

Dahi vada

One of the most popular dishes through out India is dahi vada. Dahi vadas can be made in different ways. You can also make stuffed dahi vadas by stuffing dry fruits. Stuffed dahi vadas are very much popular in marwaris.

One of the most popular and the common way is making dahi-vadas by using urad dal. There are people who use moong dal instead of urad dal....some use urad dal and moong dal in equal quantity....Also vadas are served with sweet dahi or plain dahi with some tadka. The best part of this dish is that you can have it any time of the day as a snack or either as a side dish to the main meal.

Makes 24 dahi vadas.
For the vadas
2 cup urad dal,
1/2" piece ginger
3 green chillies
a pinch soda bi-carb(optional)
salt to taste

For serving
6 cups beaten curds
5 tablespoons imli ki chutney
salt to taste
For garnishing
chilli powder
roasted jeera powder

For making the vadas
1.Soak urad dal for 6hrs.
2.Wash and drain the urad dal.
3. Grind together the urad dal, ginger, green chillies and salt in a grinder to a coarse paste.
4. Add the soda bi-carb to the urad dal paste and mix well till the batter is light and fluffy. Add a little water if required.
5. Wet your hands and take 2 tablespoons of the batter on your palm. Deep fry in hot oil on a slow flame till the vadas are golden brown.
6.Drain on absorbent paper if required(As after soaking them in hot water excess oil will come out anyways).

How to proceed
1.Soak the deep fried vadas in water for about 30 minutes.
2.Before serving, squeeze out the excess water.
3.Keep the vadas on a serving dish and top with curd.
4.Garnish with red chilli powder, jeera powder and salt and serve with imli khajur ki chutney.