Onion /Irani samosa

Ingredients :
Onion – 1 large sliced long
Curry leave  - fistful chopped
Chili powder  - 1 tsp
Rice flakes/Poha – 2 tbsps
Salt to taste
Ground nuts – 2 tbsps Dry roasted(optional)
Samosa/spring roll pastry sheets –
Oil for deep fry


Steps:

• Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.
• If you are adding ground nuts, dry roast and then add.
• Thaw the samosa sheets to room temperature (keep them out of refrigerator at least 30 min before mixing the ingredients)
• Take one sheet and Place a tablespoon full of mix on it and roll accordingly to form a samosa shape .

• Repeat the same for the remaining.
• Heat oil in a pan and roast samosas under medium heat
• Drain them on a tissue paper and enjoy with hot chai.

Phirni

Ingredients

Basmati rice – 4 tbsp
Milk -1 ltr full cream
Sugar – 6 tbsp
Kesar /saffron – few strands
Rose flavor – 2 drops
Red food color – 1 drop

For The Garnish

A few chopped almonds (badam)
A few chopped pistachio



Steps:

• Soak the rice in water for about 1 hour.
• Dry rice on an absorbent kitchen towel and blend in a mixer to a coarse powder. (Phirni texture depends on how good you grind your rice)
• Add ½ cup of cold milk and mix well to make a paste. Keep aside.
• Boil the rest of the milk and stir in the rice paste.,Cook for about 15 minutes on a slow flame, while stirring continuously.
• Add the sugar and boil on low flame for a few minutes.
• Dry roast the saffron strands in a small pan for 10 seconds. Add 1 tbsp of milk and keep aside
• Take 1/4th of the mixture separately and add rose flavor and food color and mix
• Add the saffron milk to the remaining ¾ the  mixture
• Pour it into container you would like to serve by layers
• I have first poured rose flavored mixture and then the saffron mixture
• Let it cool and refrigerate for 2 hrs before serving .
• Garnish with almonds and pistachios and serve chilled.

Dry fruit laddu

Ingredients:

• Dates – 15
• Almonds – 15
• Cashews – 10
• Pistachio – 10
• Raisins - 10
• Ghee- 2 tbsps

Steps:

• Fry all dry fruits separately in ghee
• chop them into small pieces alternately you can coarse grind them as well
• Grind the dates in a blender to paste
• Mix the chopped dry fruits and dates mixture and make small sized balls
• Soak few pistachios and remove skin .Chop them to fine pieces

Roll these balls in the pistachio powder and serve.

Apple & Pineapple fresh juice combo

Ingredients

• Apple -1(peel, de-seed and cut into pieces)
• Pineapple – 3 slices
• Sugar – 1tbsp

Steps:

• Mix all the ingredients and blend in a  juicer
• Using a strainer ,strain all the juice
• Serve chilled with  ice-cubes added

Dried Apricot Jam

Ingredients:

• Dried apricots – 15
• Cinnamon stick- ½ inch
• Sugar  1/3rd cup
• Lemon juice- 1 tbsp

Steps :

• Soak Apricots overnight in water .By next morning these apricots will be soft and 3 times the size
• Take a sauce pan and transfer the apricots along with the soaked water and boil
• Add cinnamon stick while boiling
• Boil until apricots are soft and can be mashed with a spoon
• Remove the cinnamon stick and mash apricots.
• Add sugar and let it dissolve
• Boil and mash until you get Jam consistency
• Add lemon juice and turn off heat
• Let it cool till room temperature and refrigerate in a dry container

Enjoy break-fast with home made jam

Fruit Juice Popsicles

I have been longing for mango Popsicle since the start of summer .Here is what I have  done to satisfy my craving ;)

Ingredients: 

• Any juice of your choice

I used Peel fresh orange/mango 

Steps:

• Fill the juice of your choice into Popsicle molds leaving  a little space on the top of the mold as the juice volume increases when it solidifies
• Keep it in the freezer  for 6 hrs (I always leave it overnight and enjoy next day afternoon)
• To demold run tap water for  half min over the molds or immerse mold in the water
• Take out and enjoy immediately

Carrot Rotti

Akki Rotti is Karnataka a recipe usually made with rice flour . I have added carrots to this for a healthy variation.

Ingrdients :

• Rice flour- 2 cups
• Carrot – 1 big( grated)
• ¼ inch ginger –grated
• Coriander – 5 stems chopped
• Cumin- ½ tsp
• Green chili -2 chopped
• Salt
• Ghee – 3 spoons(optional)
• Oil – for Tava fry

Steps to prepare:

• Mix all the ingredients to a chapatti dough consistency
• Make 6 – 8 small sized balls
• Take a spoon of oil and spread it on the plastic cover and pat the ball to With your palms, slowly start tapping the dough until it forms a thin circle around .(same method used for puran poli/holige)
• Transfer this onto tava(Alternately you can pat this directly on a cold tava as well)
• *You can add oil or water to your finger tips while doing this.
• Let it cook in medium heat until all sides are done.(cover it with a lid for 1 min)
• Reverse and cook for a minute or two.( no need to cover with lid)
• Take out from tava and spread 1/2tsp of ghee 

Serve Carrot rotti with chutney/curry

Thin Crust Pizza

I always love the Indian versions of pizza we get in pizza hut and  especially Panneer theekha makhani. Since we dont have options here... I tried  replicating its taste with my own sauce

Ingredients

• Tortilla wraps : 2
• Mozzarella cheese (I used Pizza plus)
• Tomato sauce (See below)
• Toppings: capsicum, onion, olives and pineapple/panneer
• Butter to grease

For Sauce:

• Olive oil:2 tbsps
• Garlic pods -2 (grated)
• Red chili (Kashmiri) -1 (cut into small pieces)
• Tomato :you can use homemade tomato puree or canned  -1/2 cup
• Alteration: Prego traditional Pasta sauce
• Salt
• Chili powder/dhaniya powder

Steps: for sauce

• Heat pan and add oil
• Add garlic once fried add red chilies
• Add  tomato sauce I used home made tomato puree.
• Add salt,chili powder and let it boil until sauce leaves oil.turn off keep it aside

•    This sauce will stay for 4 days when stored in fridge

Steps for pizza

• Grease your baking tray with butter
• Place the wrap on it
• Spread the sauce and mozzarella cheese
• Spread the toppings and sprinkle generous amount of mozzarella cheese
• *Cheese and toppings are always up-to your interest how much to add.
• Bake/Grill  it for 15 min. I always use the Grill option

Enjoy use pizza with ketchup and chili flakes

Vegetable Jalfrezi

Ingredients:

• Oil - 2 1/2 tbsp
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Onion -  2 medium sized onions
• Ginger garlic paste - 2 teaspoons
• Tomato puree - 30 ml or 1/3 cup
• Tomato ketchup - 1 tbsp
• Red Chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Coriander powder - 2 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
• Kasuri methi - 1 tbsp

Veggies

• (Carrots(1),potatoes(1),capsicum(2) you can also add baby corn and paneer )  cut all the vegetables lengthwise into strips. I have boiled carrot strips in Oven for 2 min as they usually take a longer time to cook than others

Steps:

• Heat oil in a pan add cumin seeds and when it splutters,
• Add onions and saute until onions are transparent.
• Add all powders (chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder)
• Add tomato ketchup + tomato puree + ginger garlic paste and saute for a few more minutes.
• Saute until mixture starts leaving oil
• Now add veggies (except capsicum)
• Add 30 ml of water, simmer and close it with a lid.Once the vegetables are 3/4 th done, add capsicum
• Cook on low flame for 3 minutes.
• Crush kasuri methi between your palms and sprinkle all over the curry.(You can dry fry the leaves first and then crush)

Serve with Chapati

I have used green and yellow colored capsicum for a colorful recipe

Watermelon Lemonade

 

Ingredients :


For 2 Glass of Juice
Half the watermelon (football sized )
sugar -2 tablespoons
salt - 1/2 teaspoon
Lemon juice - 1 qty (squeezed juice )


Steps :

Mix all the ingredients and blend in a  juicer 
Using a strainer ,strain all the juice
Serve chilled with  ice-cubes added

Kova or Mewa Jamoon

 Ingredients :

For sugar syrup : Prepare syrup first

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

Sugar syrup same as how u make for normal Jamoons

For Jamoons:
1 cup kova (grated and room temperature )
3/4 cup Maida/Plain Floor
pinch of soda

Steps to Prepare

• Mix above with 2 spoons of warm milk and little bit of sugar syrup
• keep aside for 1/2 hr
• Then  roll them to balls or desired shape and fry  until golden brown
• Immerse them in sugar syrup for an hour or more
• Serve them as it is or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream

Khara/Masala biscuits

"Khara Biscuits are one such variation who usually don't prefer sweeter version of biscuits and for those who has to keep up their sugar levels in check"

Ingredients:

Butter - 3/4 cup (room temp)
Plain Flour -1 cup
Salt - to taste
Sugar - 1 teaspoon
Cumin- 1/2 teaspoon
Green chilies -3(crushed)
Curry leaves - crushed
Baking soda -pinch
Curd - 3 to 4 teaspoons

Steps to Prepare:

•  Mix butter & sugar first and then curd and stir .
• Add all other ingredients in a bowl and stir in slowly into the butter mixture
•   At this time mixture appears as breadcrumbs and kneads it like a chapatti dough using curd (1 teaspoon or more).
•   Roll the dough in form of chapatti with a rolling pin between plastic sheets (easy rolling)
• Cut into desired shape and size and bake them at 320oF for 15 to 20 min (timing depends on oven used hence check while baking)

·         Store in a dry airtight container