Cabbage Kofta Gravy (Bandhakhopir Kofta)

                                                                                     
Today I'm going to share a vegetarian delicacy called Cabbage kofta curry. In which koftas are made of shredded cabbage. Koftas are a great source of taste and it is a welcome change from a daily regular meals.


Ingredients:   
 3 Cups of Shredded Cabbage
 1 Cup of Grated Carrot
 1 tbsp of all purpose flour
 2-3 green chillies
 1 tsp of cumin seeds
 1 tsp of salt to sprinkle
 Oil to deep fry


Method:
Sprinkle little salt on a plate of shredded cabbage. Leave it for 10 ~ 15 minutes and then remove the excess water from the cabbage by squeezing with your hand. Now add the remaining ingredients (except oil) and make sure that the mixture is not watery ( if required, add 1 tsp of flour so that you are able to form a ball). Take a small portion of the mixture in your hand and make a small  round ball. Heat oil in a deep frying pan on medium heat. Deep fry the kofta balls till they turn golden brown. Place  the balls on a paper towel and keep aside.

                                                                          


To make the gravy we need:
 2 Big Tomatoes

 2 Onions

 6-7 Cashews

 2 tsp of Poppy seeds

 1" Cinnamon sticks 

 2 Cloves

 1 Black Cardamom

 2 Green Cardamom

 2-3 Pepper corns

 2 Onions

 2 tsp of Ginger -Garlic paste

 2 Green Chillies

 1 tsp of Coriander powder

 1 tsp of Haldi ( Turmeric) powder

 2 tsp of ginger garlic paste

 1 1/2 Cup of warm water

 Salt as per taste

 Cilantro for garnishing

Method : 

To make onion puree, heat a pan of water till it boils. Add onions and further heat it for 3-4 minutes. Drain out the water and puree in a blender.

Heat oil in a non - stick pan. Add onion puree and stir it for 5-6 minutes. In the meantime , blend together tomatoes, kaju, all garam masalas and green chillies. When the puree turns a little thick add the ginger garlic paste. When the oil begins to separate, add haldi, red chilli powder and saute for 1 minute. Now add the above tomato paste and fry on a low heat till it leaves oil from the side of pan. Add warm water, adjust salt and cover the lid for 3 ~ 4 minutes. After a while when the gravy becomes thick in consistency turn off the flame. Just before serving, spread kofta balls on a serving bowl and pour the gravy over the koftas. Heat it in a microwave or on a gas burner for 2 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve with rice or parothas.

                                                                                 

read more.. "Cabbage Kofta Gravy (Bandhakhopir Kofta)"

Besan Chilla (Chickpea flour Pancakes)

                                                                      
Besan chilla is superb source of protein with hardly any noticeable calories. this can be enjoyed as a breakfast or evening snacks.


Serves: 4, Preparation time: 10 minutes, Cooking time: 10 minutes


Ingredients:
2 cups Besan (chickpea flour)
1 Onion, finely chopped
1 Tomato, finely chopped
1 small Carrot, grated
2 Green chillies, chopped
1 tbsp Coriander leaves, chopped
1/2 tsp Red chilli powder
1/4 tsp Black pepper powder
1/2 tsp Garam masala
Salt to taste
Oil


Method:
Take a bowl add chickpea flour / besan, green chillies, garam masala, red chilli powder, pepper powder, salt and add water little by little to make a smooth batter. The batter's consistency should be like dosa and without any lumps. Heat a non-stick pan and spread 1/2 tsp oil on it and then wipe it off with a kitchen towel. This step will ensure that your chilla doesn't stick to the non-stick pan. Now before you start make sure heat is on low, then spread 1tbsp of batter in middle and quickly spread it evenly with the help of laddle. Spreading the batter should be neither too thick nor too thin. Now add chopped onion, tomatoes, coriander leaves and carrot. Press gently so that these ingredients stick to chilla. Now spread 2-3 tsp oil on top and across the sides. Cook for 2 minutes and then with as thin spatula flip it. Serve immediately with chutney or ketchup.

                                                      

read more.. "Besan Chilla (Chickpea flour Pancakes)"

Nutella filled Gulab Jamun

                                                                           


Traditional Indian dessert called Gulab Jamun does not require any introduction to us Indians, however for others,it is an Indian milk product rolled into a ball together with some flour and then deep fried. It is then put into a sugar syrup flavoured with cardamom seeds and rosewater. Gulab jamun is consumed in my house with or without any occasion. However, in this recipe I have taken the liberty to add nutella as a filling as I am a big fan of nutella based sweets. As an improvisation, I put a layer of vanilla ice cream below the gulab jamun. So the combination was piping hot gulab jamun on top of a cold ice cream. I am happy to report to you that the taste was too good. My dear blogger friends, I hope that you too would prepare this dish and give me your feedback of the final outcome. 

                                                                  
Ingredients:
1 cup Khoya/ Mawa, grated
1/2 cup All purpose flour
1/2 tsp Baking soda
1 1/2 tbsp warm Milk
1/4 tsp Cardamomr powder
Oil or Ghee for deep frying


For filling:
1-2 tbsp Nutella
6-7 Cashews , broken


For syrup:
2 cups Sugar
1 1/2 cups water
3-4 Cardamom pods
1 tbsp Rose water


For decoration:
Silver varakh (Silver foil)
A few saffron strands
3-4 Almonds, blanched
5-6 Pistachios


Method:
To make syrup- Add water, cardamoms and sugar in a vessel and heat this on low flame till you get single thread consistency ( you can check by testing the syrup in between your thumb and forefinger if single thread appears it's done). Cover the vessel with a lid and leave little space for letting  the air to pass. When the syrup is slightly warm add rose water and saffron strands.


To make Jamuns- Sift flour and baking powder in a big vessel add khoya, cardamom powder and make a soft dough by adding little milk at a time. The dough should be soft, covered with a damp cloth and kept aside for 10-15 minutes.
Divide the dough into equal parts and roll gently into your palms to make a smooth ball. Pour a tsp of nutella in between, put 2-3 broken pieces of cashews and carefully seal the ball without making any cracks. 

                                                           
While filling nutella grease your palms with little ghee (this will ensure smooth jamuns without the cracks). Simultaneously heat ghee/ oil in a flat bottom pan. Once the oil is hot, simmer to low flame and slide the jamuns into the oil. Do not add more than 2-3 jamuns at a time. After few seconds gently shake the pan to rotate the balls. This will ensure that jamuns are frying evenly, not just from bottom. after few seconds the jamuns will float on top of oil. Once you see that jamun turns golden brown and swollen, take these out from the pan and keep this aside in a plate for 2 minutes. Fry the rest of the jamuns on low flame so that they are cooked from inside and nice color from outside.
Transfer the syrup in a broad pan and dip the jamuns so that each jamun peice can soak syrup and can swell after soaking. Wile serving apply silver varakh and sprinkle the chopped nuts. Enjoy these delicious, mouthwatering indian sweet with a slice of ice-cream or just simply itself being piping hot. Consume it on the same day or keep this in refrigerator for 2-3 days.


User Comments & Tips:
 Frying the jamuns in low heat will ensure that they are cooked evenly.
While sliding the jamuns in ghee, constant stirring will ensure that jamuns are not darkened from bottom only.

can you see yummy nutella filling ?;-)

                                                                 

read more.. "Nutella filled Gulab Jamun"

Bengali Style Fish Curry With Vegetables / Rui Macher Jhol Aloo Beans Diye

                                                                  
This simple and light fish curry is very easy to prepare and basically a no frills dish. With very few spices this can be made in zippy.


Serves: 3-4, Cooking Time: 20 minutes


Ingredients:
6-7 pieces of Rui (rohu)/ katla fish
1 Potato
7-8 French beans
2 Green onion, finely chopped
1 Onion (big and ground to paste)
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tsp Cumin powder
1 tsp Red chilly powder
1/4 tsp tsp Onion seeds/ Kalonji / Kalo jire
2-3 Green chillies (slit in half)
2 tbsp Mustard oil
1 1/2 cup of Water
Salt to taste
Few coriander leaves, chopped (optional)


Method:
Wash the fish pieces. Pat dry with paper towel, marinate with turmeric, salt and red chilly powder for 10-12 minutes. Wash and peel off potato, cut into long and thin strips. Wash french beans and trim from both the ends. Now cut them into 1 1/2 inch, sprinkle some salt and chilli powder on both the vegetables. Take a broad frying pan and heat mustard oil till smoking point, reduce the heat and gently lower the fish into the oil. Fry fish pieces on both the sides till it is light brown. Now very carefully without breaking the fish pieces place them on paper to soak extra oil and keep aside. Fry potatoes and beans till they are light brown.

                                                                                    
Now if you find that oil in the frying pan has turned little brown color you can transfer the fried oil in a bowl and replace with fresh mustard oil to make a nice looking gravy or else you may have to sacrifice with the blackish looking fish gravy at the end.
Heat oil thoroughly and add onion seeds and 2 green chillies and saute for 1 minute. Add onion paste and fry till it turns light brown. Add turmeric powder, cumin and chilly powder. Fry for a minute and do no let the masala burn. Now add 1 1/2 cup of water, fried veggies and adjust the salt. cover and let this cook for 5-6 minutes.

                                                                            
 Gently slide in the fried fish pieces to the gravy, rest of the green chillies, green onions and cover it again for 2-3 minutes. Remove from flame. Add coriander leaves and cover the lid again. Serve this simple, light on stomach fish curry with piping hot rice. Enjoy your meal and do let me know how you felt after relishing it.

                                                                  

read more.. "Bengali Style Fish Curry With Vegetables / Rui Macher Jhol Aloo Beans Diye"

Cardamom Cookies

 

                                                                     
Taking this opportunity, I would also like to inform that last week me, my son and hubby had gone to visit Aero India 2011( International Airshow) at Yelahanka Airforce base, Bangalore. Asia's biggest air show in Bangalore came to an end this weekend. Fearing a full packed house during weekend we decided to show on a weekday. Needless to say that my little one was thrilled to sit in the cockpit which was open for public display. 
We had a great time watching many wonderful aircrafts and helicopters both in airborne and static mode for the entire day. Leaving you with a few of those moments in this show. Hope you like them and try to be in Bangalore for the next Air Show scheduled at year 2013

Coming back to today's recipe, I love making these cookies simply for the unique flavor. these are best to enjoyed with tea or coffee. For me it's divine and tastes best with my cup of milk early in the morning. Immediately after baking these cookies, for a period my kitchen fills up with the aroma of cardamom. 

Yields: 24 approximately, Baking Time: 20-25 minutes


Ingredients:
2 cups All purpose flour
3/4 cup Sugar (granulated) 
1 tsp Baking powder
1/2 cup Unsalted butter (at room temperature)
1 tsp freshly ground Cardamom seeds
1/2 tsp Cardamom powder (for decorating)
1 tsp Cardamom essence
1 Egg
1/4 tsp Salt
5-6 Almonds, blanched


Method:
Sift the flour, baking powder and slat into a bowl. Slice the butter into small chunks and place it in mixing bowl. Turn on the hand blender on low speed and mix till the butter becomes smooth . Add sugar and run it on low speed in between to stop and scrape the bottom and sides of mixing bowl. Continue doing this till you get creamy and light texture. Add cardamom essence and grounded cardamom seeds. Beat egg in a separate bowl and keep aside. 
Now add flour little by little in the butter mixture along with the egg liquid to knead a smooth dough with your hand. The dough should be neither too dry nor sticky. Wrap the dough in a cling film and keep it in refrigerator for 25 minutes. Pre-heat oven to 350 Degree Celsius. Take out dough from fridge and pluck lemon size dough and roll them into 2 inch ball between your hands and press it lightly when you place it on baking tray. Press a piece of sliced blanched almond in center and sprinkle little cardamom powder and bake for 20-25 minutes. Keep and eye on the color of the cookies as the time taken to bake varies as per the heating capacity of your oven. Enjoy these flavorful cookies with strong cuppa milk or tea.

Have a close look here......

                                                                          

read more.. "Cardamom Cookies"

Custard & Strawberry Trifle

                                                                       
This simple trifle is a delicious dessert dish made from strawberry flavor custard, cake and strawberry sauce. I made this last weekend for my guests and believe me it looked so beautiful layered in glass. As per my guests comments I scored full points for decoration and presenting a simple trifle for dessert

                                 Happy Valentine's Day to all my readers....                


Ingredients:
1 packet of Custard (strawberry flavor)
1 ltr Milk
1 packet of Britania Strawberry flavor cake
Some jelly cubes for decoration
Chocolate wafers for decoration


Method:
Pour milk in a heavy container and let it boil. Add sugar and mix well. Stir continuously on low flame till the milk thickens. In a small cup add custard powder with normal temperature of 1/2 cup milk. Gradually add the paste to boiling milk and stir well. When the mixture becomes thick, stitch off the flame and transfer it to a plate to cool off quickly. Peel off the skin on top before you transfer the custard in serving glasses and keep it in fridge.


Ingredients for Strawberry Sauce:
3 cups fresh Strawberry
1/4 cup White sugar (granulated)
1/2 cup Water
3-4 tsp Cornflour


Method:
Take a pan, slightly thaw strawberries and add water. Cook this on low flame for 10-12 minutes. Mix cornflour with little amount of water and pour this mixture in pan. Stir continuously till the mixture thick. Remove from heat and let it cool down. Make puree of this and keep chilled till serving time.


To Arrange Trifle:
Take out the glasses from fridge. Cut the cake slices into bite size and arrange it above custard layer. Now drizzle the strawberry sauce generously over the cake. Drop some jelly cubes on top  cover the glasses with cling warp and put it back in refrigerator until chilled. Remove the cling wrap just before you serve your family members or guests this and bask in the glory of compliments showered on you.

Sending this trifle to the following events: 
Ally's - Delicious Desserts, 

Best Western Dessert Event at Priya's of Now Serving 

                            , Smita's Cooking with Fruits

                    
and finally to Veggie/ Fruit of the Month at Pari's place,started by Priya                                                                        


                                                                    

read more.. "Custard & Strawberry Trifle"

Pan Fry Paneer Tikka

                                                                         
As the name suggests this famous mouthwatering starter is fried in pan. As compared to my earlier post Paneer Tikka in OTG this you can make even if you do not have an OTG. Takes little time to prepare and a sure hit if served in evening parties.


Ingredients:
For the Marinade:
250 gm Paneer (cottage cheese)
2 tbsp Hung Curd
2 tbsp Besan
5-6 Garlic cloves
1" Ginger
1/4 Garam masala podwer
1 tsp Red chilli powder
1/4 tsp Black pepper powder
3 Green chillies
1 tsp Salt
6-7 Orange color drops (this gives restaurant type look)


For garnishing:
Lemon
Chat masala


Method:
Cut the paneer into thick long cubes. Make a paste of ginger, garlic and green chilli. Mix together the hung curd, ginger-gralic paste and all the ingredients of marinade. Mix them gently so that the paneer is well coated with the marinated masala. Keep this in fridge for an hour.
Take a deep frying pan, heat oil and fry 3-4 pieces of paneer at a time till they are golden brown on both sides. Place these on a paper towel. Sprinkle chat masala and lemon drops on paneer tikka. Put on toothpicks and serve hot with onion / capsicum rings or with green chutney.

                                                                            

                                                                                 

read more.. "Pan Fry Paneer Tikka"

Mushroom Soup | How to Make Mushroom Soup

 I love to making this simple, quick and light on tummy kind of soup. Mushrooms are awesome in soup. So try this soup with your choice of bread.
                                                             
Serves: 4, Cooking time: 25 minutes


Ingredients:
250 gm Mushroom (I have used white buttons here)
2 Onions, finely chopped
6-8 Garlic cloves, crushed
1" Ginger, finely chopped
2 tsp Butter + extra butter for garnishing
4 tsp Cornflour
1 Tomato, chopped finely
1/2 tsp Black pepper Powder
2 tsp Vinegar
1/2 tsp Lemon juice
4 Cups of water
4 tsp Flax seed powder
Salt to taste


Method:
Clean the mushrooms with a damp cloth and chop them finely. Keep aside. In a wok heat butter and fry onions, garlic and ginger and cook till they are soft. Do not let this mixture turn brown. Now add chopped mushrooms. Fry this on high flame for 2 minutes. Now reduce the heat, add tomato and fry for 2 minutes. Add 4 cups of water, add salt and bring to a boil. Let it cook for another 10 minutes after the boil comes. Mix cornflour in 1/2 cup of water and dilute well. Add cornflour paste and cook stirring till it boils. Add vinegar and black pepper powder. Simmer for 2 minutes. Serve hot in bowl topped with butter, flax seed powder and lemon juice.

                           can you see the chopped mushrooms have deposited themselves at the bottom surface of cup ? ;-)                                  


Hamaree Rasoi hit 200 + followers last month ! Wow what else can make me happy  :-) I mean what a great start of this new year ......Speaking of appreciation I should thank 3 of my blogger friends who have shared 'One Lovely blog Award'.  Shanavi has shared one more award with me : 'Stylish Blogger award'. I want to thank Dipika, Shanavi and Ambreen from the bottom of my heart. Each of them has a unique style. So friends do visit their blogs for incredible bites. 

                         


Since I already posted these two awards last month so not restricting to pass on this award to my limited friends. So friends please feel free to pick these awards and post in your blog. 
Thank you once again girls !!!!!
Finally, let me express my sincere appreciation to all those friends who have spared some of their valuable time and visited my blog. I really appreciate their gesture.

read more.. "Mushroom Soup | How to Make Mushroom Soup"

Mixed Vegetables in Cream and Coconut Gravy

                                                                                        

Serves: 4, Preparation time: 40-45 minutes


Ingredients:
1 Carrot
100 gm French beans
10-12 Baby corns (cut in length wise into two halves)
1/4 cup Green bell pepper
1/4 cup Red bell pepper
!/4 cup Yellow bell pepper
6-7 Mushrooms
1/2 Green peas
10-12 Cauliflower florets
1 Onion, sliced
1 Tomato (pureed)
2 tsp Ginger paste
1" cinnamon stick
2 Cloves
2 Green cardamom
8-10 Cashewnuts (ground with little water to make a smooth paste)
2 tbsp Fresh cream
1 tsp Red chilli powder
2 tsp Coriander powder
1 tsp Garam masala
3 tbsp Coconut milk
Salt as per taste
1 1/2 tbsp Oil


Method:
Cut all the vegetable as per bite size pieces. While chopping try to maintain the same length of the vegetables. Heat oil in a wok and fry mushrooms on high flame. They become brown very quickly so fry for 2 minutes only and keep aside. Now fry cauliflower in the remaining oil till it's light pink. Keep aside. Fry carrots and baby corn together for a minute and keep aside. 

                                                                  

Add colored bell peppers and saute till they are half done. Keep aside.

                                                                                  

Now add cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and ginger paste. When it's aroma spreads , add onions and saute till transparent. Add red chilli powder, coriander and little salt. Add cashew paste and mix well with masala. When the mixture leaves oil then add tomato puree. Stir well and saute for 2 minutes. Add green peas and all fried vegetables toghether. Mix well. Add 1/2 cup of water, cover and cook on low heat till all the vegetables blend together (this will take about 5 minutes to thicken the gravy). 
Add coconut milk, garam masala and allow it to heat through, about 2 minutes. Apply salt and adjust according to taste. Add cream, stir well and remove from heat. Enjoy this creamy mixed vegetable with chappati or plain dosa.

                                                                        

read more.. "Mixed Vegetables in Cream and Coconut Gravy"

Salted Cumin Cookies

                                                                                 


Ever since I have made these cookies from here, it has been a regular process. I have made just one change that is : I have roasted cumin seeds, then grounded to powder and added 1 tsp extra cumin seeds just to sprinkle on top.

                                                                               


Serves: 15 cookies, Preparation time: 10 minutes + baking time (12-15)


Ingredients:
120 gm Unsalted butter, softened
2 tbsp powdered Sugar
1 tsp Salt
2 tsp cumin seeds + 1 tsp cumin seeds
1 Egg
200 gm All purpose flour
1/2 tsp Baking powder


Method:
Roast 2 tsp jeera till it is light brown and grind it into dry powder.
Beat butter and sugar till it becomes light and creamy. 

Sieve flour, salt and baking powder together twice. Beat an egg with an electric beater until it becomes light and fluffy. We are going to use just half of egg liquid now. Rest we need to brush on the cookies before baking. Now add half beaten egg and roasted jeera powder to the butter mixture.

                                                                            
 Mix well together. Add flour mixture to the butter mixture to make smooth dough (use your hands and mix to form a dough).
Cover with cling film and keep it in fridge for 20 minutes.

                                                     
Preheat oven at 180 Celsius. Line baking tray with butter paper. Dust the dough with some flour and roll out dough into 1/2 inch thick and prick the surface with a fork. Use a cookie cutter to shape them as per your design. Place these on butter paper tray and brush the remaining egg on top of cookies. Sprinkle a few cumin seeds on top.

                                                                                  


 And bake for 12-15 minutes or until they turn light brown. Cool these on a wire rack and later store in an air tight box. 

                                                              


Serve these at breakfast table or enjoy a lovely evening tea time.
                                                                   

                                                                                   

 Sending these addictive cookies to Aipi & Priya's Bookmarked Recipes

                                                    

                                                                       

read more.. "Salted Cumin Cookies"