Strawberry Lassi

Well, on one of our trip to Hampi, we went to a very famous place to have lunch.There we ordered their famous "Coconut Lassi".I must say it taste divine.I cannot forget the taste.Since then I have become a big big fan of lassi.Then after a month on our trip to Gokarna we tasted various lassi like Mango and lime lassi,Banana Lassi,Strawberry Lassi and many more.I could say that we can experiment with lassi and i am sure all will taste good.

Ingredients:
Yogurt-1 Cup
Sugar-
Ice Cubes-2 nos
Strawberry-5-6 Nos chopped

Method:
In a blender put all the ingredients together and blend in for around 30 seconds in high speed.
Pour the lassi into the glass and top it with thin strawberry slices and serve.

Pindi Chole

I have made this recipe several times.Its a common dish but the addition of tea water to the normal chickpeas is the twist.My husband prefers this dish over chole masala.Last night when i made this, I wanted to make Bhature too but my very health conscious husband refused to have bhature and hence I landed up making Phulkas.

Ingredients:

Kabuli Chana(Chickpeas)-1 cup

Onion Paste-6 Tbsps

Tomato Puree-4 Tbsps

Ginger-garlic paste-1 Tbsp

Red Chilli Whole-1

Mustard Oil-3-4 Tbsps

Chole Masala-1 Tbsp

Garam masala-1 tsp

Chilli powder-a-2 Tsps

Dhania powder-1 tsp

Amchur Powder-1 tsp

Chopped Coriander-For garnish

Green Chilli Slit-For garnish

Salt-As per taste

Water-1 Cup

Method

1.Boil the Chana in enough tea decoction or else you can just put 3 tea bags(unflavored) with water.

2.In the heated kadhai add oil and then the whole red chilli and then add the onion paste,ginger-garlic paste and tomato puree.Bhuno these all for couple of minutes in low heat till the oil separates.

3.Add all the dry masalas and fry for less than a minute.

4.Add the boiled chick peas and then add one cup of water.Content of water is  discretionary.I wanted it to be little thick so added just a cup.Let it boil for couple of minutes and finally season with salt.

5.Garnish with coriander and serve with poori,bhature or hot phulkas.

Vegetable Fried Rice

Last Friday I was terribly suffering from back pain.I could hardly sit in the office and some how managed the day.While coming back home I picked half a kilo of chicken and thought of preparing stuffed parathas and chilly chicken gravy.But when I came back home I don't know what happened to me.I landed up making too many dishes dedicated to my husband.
By the time my husband came back from office he had Stir fry vegetables,Vegetable fried rice,Tawa chicken dry and Vegetable balls in hot garlic sauce lined up on the table.I have already posted Chinese Egg Fried Rice recipe.Hence i am not putting step wise pictures.

Also recently I bought a Chinese wok.So was excited to cook something in it.Im posting a picture of how a chinese wok look like:

Source:Google

Whats Needed:
Any Cooked Rice-1 Cup
Shredded Carrot-1/4 Cup
Shredded Beans-1/4 Cup
Shredded Cabbage-1/4 Cup
Shredded colored Capsicums-1/4 Cup
Soy sauce-1 Tbsp
Oyster sauce-1 tbsp(Optional)
Chilli Sauce-1 Tbsp
Vinegar-1 tsp
Crushed Garlic-1 Tbsp
Olive Oil-1 tbsp
Salt-As per taste
Pepper Powder-As per taste

How To:
1.Heat the wok on high.Once it is super hot add oil and add crushed garlic.saute for a minute.
2.Add all the shredded vegetables and sauces.do not over cook the veggies.Let it be crunchy.
3.Then add the rice and toss for a couple of minutes and finally add the salt and the pepper.
4.Garnish with spring onions.

Note:
1.Cook the rice 10-12 hours in advance.i cooked the rice in the morning and kept it open in the fridge.You can use one day old rice too.
2.Never add salt to the vegetables.the veggies start to leave water.Hence add it at the end.
3.There are so many sauces available.You can use Black bean sauce,fish sauce.Anything and everything will do.

Happy Cooking!!!

Green Dosa

This was prepared by couple of days back for breakfast.I have heard a lot about this recipe as its super healty and hence famous.I was apprehensive of trying it out as I thought the batter will stick to the tawa and dosa won't be proper in shape.But i was completely wrong.It turned out really well(No soda added to it).A must try and it i am sure it will be a superhit.You can add grated carrot too in the recipe.

Whats Needed:

Dry peas-1/4 Cup

Urad Dal(split)-1\4 Cup

Rice-1/4 Cup

Green Moong-1\4 Cup

Moong Dal-1/4 Cup

Chopped Coriander-1Tbsp

Chopped green Chillies-1 Tsp

Chopped Onions-2Tbsps

Salt-as per taste
Oil-For drizzling

How To:

1.Soak all the dals and rice overnight with enough water.

2.Grind it to a fine paste with required amount of water.The consistency should be same like normal dosa batter.

3.Add chopped coriander,onions,chillies and salt.

4.Heat tthe tawa and add a spoon ful of batter and make the dosa.add little oil on the edges.

5.Once cooked on bottom flip it and keep it for another one minute.

Serve hot with chutney of your choice.

Pressure Cooker Cake

Many of my colleagues have asked me for a pressure cooker cake recipe.I was apprehensive to suggest them one since I haven't tried on my own.I remember my mom preparing the basic vanilla cake in the pressure cooker before we bought the OTG.She used to prepare jack fruit and suji (rawa) cake too.Oh!those were the days!The smell of freshly bake cake used to drive all of us crazy.While making this cake i went crazy for sand.I searched for a construction site but didn't find any.Anyhow,I am happy with my daring try and now on I can suggest this recipe for the first time users.This cake won't be as spongy as a baked one but it has got its own taste and texture.

Ingredients:
Plain flour-1 cup
Sugar-1 cup
Eggs-3
Vanilla Essence-1 Tbsp

Method:
1.Grease an aluminium cake tin with butter or oil.Since my pressure cooker was small I could not used any of my cake tins and hence used a steel one.
2.Beat the three eggs till they are fluffy and pale in color.This will take around 5 mins with and electric beater on high speed.
3.Then add sugar and beat for couple of minutes till the sugar dissolves.

4.Now add the entire flour and vanilla essence and beat for another one min till all the flour is mixed well.

5.Now pour the batter in the greased cake tin.
6.Keep an the cooker plate on the base of the cooker and light the gas stove in the medium mode.thats kind of pre heating.

7.Once the cooker is moderately hot,place the cake tin and close the lid.Keep the gas on low and cook it for 40-50 mins.

Keep checking after 30mins.Do not use the gasket and the whistle.Here is the slice of the cake.I drizzled some ready made chocolate sauce just to give an effect.

Notes:

1.Always use an old pressure cooker if possible.

2.Do not use the whistle and the gasket.

3.Do not pour water in the cooker.We are not steaming instead use sand.

4.Always use an aluminium cake tin.

Chaklis

I made this on Diwali.Was lying as a draft since a month.When I bought the Chakli making machine,my husband in fact asked me not to proceed with making so many chaklis and insist on buying the ready made ones.But I stood by my decision and made around 50 chaklis.And I must admit the next morning when my maid had one(Second person to taste after my hubby),she complimented me.

What's Needed:
Gram dal(split)-1 Cup
Split Urad Dal-1/2 Cup
Rice Powder-1/2 Cup
Melted Butter-3 Tbsps
Chilli Powder-1 Tbsp
Cumin/Jeera-2 Tbsps
Salt-as per taste
Oil-for Frying

How To:
1.Dry roast the chana and urad dal and let it cool.

2.Grind it to a very fine powder and sieve it once.

 3.Melt the butter.

 4.To theabove  dal flour,add chilli powder,cumin seeds,butter and rice flour.

 5.With sufficient water,knead well to make a soft dough.I used normal water at room temperature.

6.Now put little dough at a time in the chakli maker and make spirals as shown below.The size of each chakli depends on the number of spirals.

 7.Fry the chaklis in deep hot oil.

 Let it cool and then ready to be stored in the container.

Notes:
1.The quantity of chana dal and rice flour varies with recipes.I have seen recipes where the ratio of rice flour to chana dal flour is 3:0.25
2.The oil used for frying should be hot enough.Keep the heat low or in medium.
3.Color can be used to give it a darker shade.

Milk Sponge cake

When I made this cake for the first time I and my husband just finished it on the same day with breakfast and evening chai.Then a week before I made this cake and did a chocolate ganache frosting and it was a hit among my colleagues.Then I decided to take up an informal baking class to two of my colleagues and she insisted on preparing this cake with butter cream frosting. I'm a big fan of Divya and her blog.So this recipe is dedicated to her.

Source:Here

Ingredients:

Plain Flour-1 Cup

Eggs-3 Nos

Sugar-1 Cup

Luke warm milk-1/2 Cup

Baking Powder-1 tsp

Salt-1/4 Tsp

Vanilla Essence-1 Tsp

Butter Cream frosting:

Unsalted Butter-1/2 Cup

Icing Sugar-1 cup

Vanilla Essence-1 tsp

Milk-1-2 tbsp(optional)

Dairy milk-1 packet(for chocolate curls)

Method:

1.Sift the flour,baking powder and salt through a sieve a couple of times.

2.Beat the three eggs till pale in color and frothy.Once done add sugar little by little till all of it dissolves.

3.Now switch to a wooden spatula/spoon.Add flour little a time and mix it in a one direction movement(clockwise).

4.Finally add the milk and the vanilla essence and give it a final stir till well coated.

5.Now transfer to a baking dish and bake it in a pre heated oven at 180c for 25-30mins or till a fork inserted in the middle comes out clean.

6.This is how the sponge cake will look like and believe me it will be ultra soft.

Method for frosting:

Mix butter,icing sugar till smooth in consistency.If required add milk and finally vanilla essence.Coat it well on top of the cake.Grate the diary milk bar to make curl out of it.

A slice of my milky sponge cake with butter cream frosting and chocolate curls.

Notes:
1.Always preheat the oven.
2.Sift the dry ingredients at least twice.
3.Once you start adding the flour do not use the whisker  or electric beater.