Throw in everything

Its a very gloomy evening and I am so full with lunch but now I am feeling hungry again!!!!. As the name goes this salad is literally a game its like a party. You just have to throw in ingredients that u catch hold of. But u need to keep in mind not to overpower the flavor and keep it light fresh and simple.  The idea behind this was to come with a salad that has the crunch the zing the tang and sweetness. With minimalistic ingredients heres presenting to you  Throw in everything salad. All you need is :

Ingredients :

1. Tomato : 1 cup finely sliced
2. Onion : 1 ( roasted whole and the finely sliced)
3. Garlic : 2-3 ( roasted and then mashed)
4. Vinegar : 1/2 tsp
5. Salt and pepper to taste
6. Gherkins : 4-5
7. Chives, mint and basil : 1/3 cup.
8. Date molasses : 1 Tbsp
9. Olive Oil : 1 Tbsp
10. French baguette : 1 cup

Method :
1. In a bowl mix in vinegar olive oil salt and pepper date molasses and garlic and make a dressing.
2. Add the roasted onion tomato and gherkins toss.
3. Pop in chunks of baguettes and drizzle some more olive oil.  Serve immediately :)

Grow Your Own Herbs.

Lets look into a new topic today. Growing your own little garden is such a wonderful feeling.  I have been growing my small garden with the most essential herbs that we need all the time in a kitchen. So whenever you are out of coriander all you gotta do is hop skip and jump and get freshly plucked herbs.
And its way too easy to grow one.
Lets begin with Coriander.
All you need is :

1. medium sized clay pot or a plastic pot.
2. Soil. Depending upon the size of the pot
3. Coriander seeds. 1 Tbsp
4. Water.

Method.

Day 1

1. You will have to soak the seed in water overnight.

Day 2

2. Drain the seeds.  Fill the pot with soil. Drop these seeds randomly.  Again fill in a thin layer of soil and water them.

You will have to keep this in a warm and sunny place where the plants gets enough sun.

Too much of sun may cause harm  therefore place the pot accordingly.

Make sure the plant is watered every day.
On the 3rd week, you'll be able to see small buds.

And by the 5th week you'll have lovely baby coriander.

Bread sticks and Buns

Ingredients :

1. Fresh  yeast 21/2 tsp
2. Water (luke warm) 1/2 cup + 1/2 cup
3. 2 tbsp oil 
4.1/4  tsp Sugar
5.1tbsp  Salt
6. Flour 2 cups
7. Cumin/Sesame 1/2 tsp

Method
1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C
2. Place yeast, water, sugar in a mixing bowl.
3. When becomes frothy, add flour, salt,oil and rest of the water.4. Mix till it comes together.
5. Using  the palms of your hand, knead the dough for 5-8 minutes till smooth and elastic
6. Roll thinly using your hands. Also make small buns.
7. Place them on baking tray and let it rest in a warm place for 20 minutes.
8.Sprinkle the seeds.
9. Bake for about 15-20 mins. until golden brown.

Butter Fried Garlic-Lemon Beans

Today I have a very special guest coming for dinner.  Mom and I have a feast to prepare. I wanted something delicious fresh light entrée.  And I came up with Butter Fried Garlic - Lemon Beans. All you need is.

Ingredients :

1.  250 gm of fresh French Beans : blanched in hot water and then kept to cool in ice water
2. Garlic : finely chopped 10-12 cloves.
3. Fresh Lemon juice : 1 Tbsp
4. Salted Butter : 2 Tbsp
5. Salt and pepper to taste.

Method :
1. In a pan take butter and add chopped garlic and fry till garlic turns slightly golden. 
3. Turn off the heat add lemon juice beans salt and pepper and sauté for a minute.
4. Serve hot :)

Eggless Chocolate & Date Fudglets.

I never dared to make brownies/fudge before.  But I gathered guts and thought to myself that it is now or never. Got all the ingredients. Did a little research on the recipe. Added a few ingredients of my choice.  And voilà!  The result was excellent.  Though I had made a small batch so I'd like to call these fudglets cause they are small in size. :D. Nevertheless you can double the quantity to make bigger ones. All you need is.

Ingredients:
1. 100 gms of grated dark chocolate
2.  4 tbsps unsaltened butter
3. ½ cup castor sugar,
4. 1 Tbsp dates syrup
5. 1 Tbsp milk powder
6. ½ cup maida,
7. ½ tsp baking powder,
8. ½ tsp sodium bi-carbonate,
9. ½ cup of beaten curd.

10. vanilla seeds : 1-2 pods

Method:

1.Sift the flour, baking powder, sodium bi-carbonate. Keep it aside.
2.In a pan, boil a cup of water. In a bowl, have the grated chocolate and make it sit on the pan.
3. Make sure it doesn't get drowned.
4.In a bowl, add the butter and castor sugar and stir them, till the mixture gets creamy. Now add the melted chocolate and Dates syrup mix them.Add the beaten curd, milk powder and flour to the mixture slit the vanilla pods and add all the tiny goodness and mix well.
5.Grease a glass bowl with butter and pour the flour mixture and microwave it for 5 minutes.
6.Remove it and set this aside for five minutes. Preheat the convection grill mode for five minutes at 220°C and bake the fugdlets at 220°C for 2 minutes. Remove from the microwave and let it cool.
7. Cut it into small squares and enjoy :)

Kesar Elichi Rice Cake.

A twist on the usual Kesar bhat.

Ingredients :
Broken basmati rice : 1 cup.
Milk : 2 cup.
Milk powder : 4 Tbsp.
Elichi powder : 2 Tbsp.
Saffron : 6-7 strands.
Sugar : 1cup.
Coconut : 2 Tbsp ( shredded)
Ghee : for greasing

Method :

1. Soak the rice in milk for minimum 30 mins.
2. After soaking add milk powder and make sure there are no lumps.
3. Add elichi powder,  kesar, sugar and coconut.
4. Take your cake tin and grease it with ghee and add the mixture.
5. In a pressure cooker add water water let it simmer and the put your cake tin and cover it with foil/plate and then put the pressure cooker lid.
6. Cook it for 20 mins. Later remove the lid and foil and let the cake cool on the rack.
7. Now flip the cake in the plate and serve warm or cold.

You can also make a variation by using coconut milk instead of normal Milk. And also tou can add your favorite nuts.
Enjoy!

Rajma Corn Masala

Rajma or kidney beans are certainly very healthy with loads of magnesium and potassium. Rajma chawal being one of most widely loved combination I thought of trying something new and exciting and giving the usual taste a different twist. And so I came up with Rajma Corn Masala. Simple name and even more simple recipe.  All you need is :

Ingredients :

1. Rajma/ kidney beans : 250 gm ( soaked overnight and then cooked in pressure cooker)
2. Garlic Cloves : 5-7 ( mashed with the back of your knife)
3.  Corn : 1/2 cup ( boiled)
4. Green chilli : 1-2
5. Tomato : 1 cup
6. Tabasco : 1 Tbsp
7 . Jeera: 1/2 tsp
8. Kitchen king masala : 1 Tbsp
9. Kasuri methi : 1 / 2 tsp
10. Dahi : 1 Tbsp
11. Red chilli powder : 1tsp
12. Salt and pepper to taste
13. Oil : 1 Tbsp.

Method :

1. In a kadhai heat oil and jeera, garlic and fry till the garlic turns slightly golden brown and then mix in green chillies. Now add the tomato and fry till the oil separates.
2. Add the kitchen king masala, red chilli powder, salt and pepper. Add tad little water to avoid the masala from burning. Now add in rajma and corn.
3. Mix for 2-3 mins on a very low flame. And tabasco and roasted kasuri methi.
4. Add dahi mix well. And switch of the gas.
5. Garnish with lemon wedge and serve with hot hot chapatis.

I used tabasco in this recipe because I wanted to add in that tanginess and that real spice kick.
Rajma in any form tastes amazing.  Do try this recipe.

Fast food made with past food.

Sunny evening time and I need something chatakdar masaledar tasty. I open the fridge.  All I can see is upma made for breakfast staring at me and saying please finish me. And then aloo mash made for paratha filling and stale bread. :(
And then I had to put my thinking cap and all I could think of was jhatpat tikki/ cutlets.
Weird combination but I tell you I was flabbergasted by the taste. It turned out to be marvellous. Next time I am going to tell mom to make upma in large quantity than usual. So all you need is :

Ingredients:
Homemade upma: at least a cup full.
Mashed aloo : 1 cup
Pohe soaked : 1 cup
Bread crumbs : 3 Tbs
Garlic paste : 1/2 tsp
Kitchen king masala : 1 Tbsp
Green chillies : 5-6
Garlic Cloves : 3-4
Red chilli powder : 1/2 tsp
Salt and pepper to taste
Oil : for shallow frying.

Method :

1. Ok so usually upma already has onion in it but if u still want some more you can surely add 1 finely chopped onion.  In a large bowl take upma aloo bread crumbs.  Mix it with your hands.
2. Soak the pohe and add it to the mix.
3. Now add the masala, red chilli powder, green chillies,  salt and pepper, garlic. And mix well.
4. Give them the shape you desire amd keep aside.
5. Take a non stick pan drizzle over some oil and fry the tikki till its golden brown on both the sides.
6. Serve it with pudinewali chutney or tomato sauce or have as it is.

So now you know!!! Playing with food and making something delicious out of it is really fun and your mom will also not scold :D

Cheats Sour Cream

This is a really easy peasy quick recipe for sour cream. I've got the best substitute for sour cream and all you need is just 2 ingredients. Goes really well with baked potatoes or nachos. So here goes. All you need is :

Note: This recipe is for 1 cup of Sour cream.

Ingredients:

Paneer/ cottage cheese - 1 cup
Vinegar / lime juice -  1 tablespoon.

Method:

1. In a blender blend the cottage cheese/paneer till it turns into a fine smooth paste.
2. Add the Vinegar/lime juice and again blend to a smooth texture.
3. Voilà!!! Your sour cream is ready to eat.

Isn't it an interesting fast and easy cheats recipe.
Hope you all love it!!!