Mixed Millet Crunchy Bites.

Having something crunchy for evening tea is awesome! This is favourite snack of my friend ,munching these crispy bites with her its yummy. Friends,Try this healthy snack recipe for your family and friends.

Ingredients:

To make the batter:
Mixed millet flour - 1/3 cup
Gram flour - 1/4 cup
Rice flour – 1 tsp
Big onion - 2
Asafoetida - 2 pinches
Finely chopped green chillies - 2
Curry leaves - few
Coriander leaves – few
Ginger - 1/2 inch piece
Hot oil - 1 tsp
Water – Very little
Salt – as needed
Cooking oil - to deep fry

Method:

1.Wash and slice big onions thinly.Wash and chop ginger,green chillies,curry leaves,coriander leaves & set aside.

2.In a wide bowl,take all the ingredients except cooking oil . Mix all the ingredients well without adding water.Onions will leave water while u mix.So mix everything together.

3.Heat oil to deep fry.Take a tsp of hot oil  and add to the flour, mix well.Then sprinkle few drops of water and make a dough.

4.Put a drop of batter & check the heat of oil.If the batter comes up immediately,oil is ready.Reduce the flame to medium high & pinch in a portion of batter and drop in the oil in a sprinkled manner. Cook till onions turn golden brown. Remove in a tissue and enjoy eating with hot tea/coffee.

Check out my other millet recipes here !

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Spicy Mushroom Briyani

This  is a special Briyani  for vegetarians, those who like to have something equivalent to non-veg  food.

Ingredients:(1 cup = 250 ml)

1 cup basmati rice
1.5 cups water
1/4 cup curd
200 to 250 gms button mushrooms
1/2 cup fresh green peas
1 medium onion finely chopped onion
1 medium tomato finely chopped tomatoes
1 or 2 green chilies, finely chopped
2 tsp ginger garlic paste
1/4 chopped mint leaves
1/4 chopped coriander leaves
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp coriander powder
2 to 3 tbsp oil
salt as required

whole spices:

3/4 tsp cumin seeds
3/4 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp poppy seeds
1 inch cinnamon
2 to 3 cloves
2 to 3 green cardamoms
2 to 3 strands of mace
1 small to medium bay leaf
1 star anise

For garnish:

Fried cashews

Instructions:

1.Soak rice in enough water for 30 mins. after 30 mins drain the rice and keep aside.

2.So when the rice is soaking, prep up the rest of the ingredients like chopping veggies etc.

3.Heat oil in a pressure pan  make sure that the bottom of the pan is thick, otherwise the rice can get browned or burned.

4.When the oil becomes hot, add all the whole spices - fennel, cumin,poppy, cloves, bay leaves, cinnamon, green cardamoms, star anise and mace.

5.Fry the spices till fragrant for a few seconds.Then add chopped onions and saute till translucent.

6.Next add ginger-garlic paste, green chilies, half of mint+coriander leaves, tomatoes
stir well. saute this mixture till the tomatoes soften.

7.Then add coriander powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder, red chili powder stir again very well so that the masalas or dry spice powders gets mixed evenly with the rest of the mixture.
add sliced mushrooms and peas. Stir again.
saute on a low to medium flame for 6 to 8 minutes. keep on stirring at intervals.
then add water.

8.Add the rice. add rest of the mint,coriander leaves. Stir season with salt. Check the taste of the stock and it should taste a bit salty.
cover the pan with a lid. on a medium flame.

9.Switch off after 1 whistle.

10.Open and garnish with fried cashews.

serve this mushroom biryani with onion-cucumber raita.

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Mughal's Kulfi/Qulfi

 Summer vacation have started. Enjoy! the summer with ur kids by making something chill to relish. The word chillness always remind us about ice creams(Desserts).kulfi is one of such desserts. It is lovable dessert of all age groups.

Kulfi is a popular frozen dairy dessert of asia .It is popular throughout places such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Burma (Myanmar), and the Middle East, andwidely available in Indian restaurants in Australia, Europe, East Asia and North America.

As popularly understood, kulfi has similarities to ice cream .But it is not whipped like western ice creams, resulting in a solid dense frozen dessert. It is similar to traditional custard-based ice cream.

Kulfi likely originated in the Mughal Empire, which ruled India in the 16th to 18th centuries. It was prepared in royal kitchens using ice brought in from the Himalayas.

Traditionally in India, kulfi is sold by vendors called kulfiwalas, who keep the kulfi frozen by placing the moulds inside a large earthenware pot called a matka,filled with ice and salt. It is served on a leaf or frozen onto a stick. It can be garnished with pistachios, cashews, cardamom, and similar items.

Ingredients:

1/2 litre full cream milk
1 tblsp Cornflour
2 tblsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Elaichi powder
1 -2 tblsp khoya/mawa
1/2 tblsp pista , thinly sliced
1/2 tblsp badam, finely sliced

How to make kulfi:

Put the milk into a wide, heavy pan and bring to boil over high heat, stiring constantly. Use full cream milk otherwise the kulfi will be less creamy.

Now lower the heat and cook the milk, stirring constantly, until it has thickened. (This will take about 10-15 minutes). Scrap the sides of the pan constantly to avoid scalding.

In 1/4 cup cold water mix cornflour and make sure no lumps are formed. Add this to the milk. Stir constantly otherwise it will start sticking on the base of the pan and you will get burnt taste.

Now add the sugar, nuts and cardamom powder and grated khoya. Stir well till the khoya gets evenly dissolved. Switch off the fire and allow it to cool.

Once at room temperature, pour the mixture into kulfi moulds and let it freeze until set, about 6 hours.

To serve, remove the kulfi from the moulds by running a sharp knife around the edges of the kulfi. Slip each kulfi on to a dessert plate, cut across into 3-4 slices, garnish with chopped pista and badam and serve.

Note: 1. If you want you can use popsicle moulds or you can use small earthen matkis to make matka kulfi.
2. To take out kulfi with ease hold the mould under running water for half a minute. It will come out quickly.
3. If you want you can soak the almonds over night and them grind them into a fine paste before adding to the mixture.
4. For khoya preparation refer my khoya making recipie.

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Unsweetened Khoya/Mawa

khoya is dried evaporated milk solids. The milk is slowly simmered in a large kadai.Khoya forms a base of almost all sweets. khoya is also added to certain north Indian curries like navarathna kurma.

So I decided to post the recepie of preparing khoya ,before posting certain recepies.My recepies like milk Peda and Gujiya are made of khoya/Mawa.

U can save time by, buying it in stores. But remember one thing home mades are always best and free from preservatives.

The pan to be used for making khoya, should be thick bottomed or an overall thick pan or kadai. This is so that the milk does not get burned or browned from the bottom. if this happens, then whatever effort you have put, goes waste,so be attentive.

The pan has to be deep too, so that the milk does not fall out.I used my large non stick kadai to make the khoya. Non stick works very well when making products like khoya.

The milk has to be fresh and full fat milk. whole milk gives better results. Depending on the quality and fat content, the khoya yield may vary.This khoya stays good for about 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.

Ingredient:

1 litre whole fat milk

Method:

1.Pour the milk in a large thick bottomed pan without adding water and place the pan on the stove top.

2.When milk start to boil, lower the flame and simmer the milk.

3.When you see milk solids gathering scrape them from the sides and add to the milk.The milk will continue to reduce and thicken as its being simmered on a low flame.

4.Continue to simmer and stir.Towards the end when the milk has reduced much (as u see in the picture) at this point continuously stir. if you don't then the reduced milk will get browned or burnt. the bubbles are due to moisture in the milk.

5.When you see no bubbles in the reduced milk, its time to switch off the flame. It took me 1 hour overall.

6.With a spatula, scrape the milk solids from the sides and add these to the bowl. cover the bowl and let the khoya cool at room temperature. then you can refrigerate it.

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Raw Mango Mor Kuzlambu/Pulissery

Pulissery or mor kuzlambu is mildly spiced yogurt base South Indian curry, mostly served with steamed rice as side. Mor kuzhambu can be made with variety of vegetables like ladies finger and  ash guard or steamed parpu urundai made of channa dhal. Here I have used raw mango.

It tastes good in night,if make in afternoon.U can add urad vada to it.

Ingredients:

1 cup of mango
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
salt to taste
1 cup yogurt/curd(slightly sour) whisked well

For coconut paste:

1/2 cup freshly grated coconut
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon black pepper corns
1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1/2 coriander seeds
2 red chillies
1 inch ginger

For Seasoning:

1 teaspoon oil+ 1 tsp to saute
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
2 dry red chillies
5 to 6 curry leaves

Method :

Cook the raw mango in water along with salt and turmeric powder on medium heat till the vegetables pieces turn soft. Keep this aside.

Next step is the make the coconut paste; for this grind the coconut, cumin, fenugreek,red chilli and black pepper to a fine paste adding very little water.

Whish the yogurt with little coriander leaves.

In a heavy bottomed sauce pan
add a spoon of oil ,add in the ground paste saute till raw smell goes. Then add cooked mango, whisked yogurt and any additional salt to taste.

Turn the heat to high and give the mixture a brisk boil. Once it comes to a brisk boil, turn off the heat and season it.

Heat a teaspoon of oil on medium heat; add in the mustard seeds,red chilli,cumin and curry leaves.  Allow them to crackle. Add this seasoning to the above pulissery (moor kuzlambu).

Tender Coconut And Banana Smoothie

Tender coconut , always a refreshing drink.
The water of tender coconut, technically the liquid endosperm, is the most nutritious wholesome beverage that the nature has provided for the people of the tropics to fight the sultry heat. It has caloric value of 17.4 per 100gm.
"It is unctuous, sweet, increasing semen, promoting digestion and clearing the urinary path," says Ayurveda on tender coconut water (TWC).

Bananas are an excellent source of vitamin B6 and contain moderate amounts of vitamin C, manganese and dietary fiber.

Just imagine of combining both of them together wow! It is a excellent summer drink.I tried it.

Ingredients for Smoothie:

1 banana
Tender flesh of 1 coconut
1 tsp sugar (or more/ less as per your taste and ripeness of the bananas)
250 ml cup milk
A few pinches of cinnamon powder or mango essence .

Method :

I blended the coconut with its water,banana, sugar and milk in a blender till smooth. Poured it into a glass. And added little mango essence and gave a stir while drinking to enjoy the  yummy mango flavour.

Momos Chutney

MOMOS CHUTNEY

Taste momos with this hot street chutney.Enjoy the hot treat!
 


Ingredients:

Dry Red Chillies or Kashmiri Chillies – 4
Tomatoes-2
Water – 1 cup
Salt – to taste
Sugar – 1/2 tsp

Method:
1. Put the Tomatoes and the Dry Red Chillies in a saucepan and add Water.
2. Cover and allow it to come to a boil.
3. Remove the cover, allow it to boil for another 8-10 minutes.
4. The Red Chillies should be soft, the Tomatoes cooked and their peel be easily removed.
5. Once done, pour into a sieve or a colander.
6. Allow the Tomatoes to cool down so they are easy to handle.
7. Remove the peels from the Tomatoes and transfer it with red chillies to a blender.
8. Add Salt and a bit of Sugar and blend to a smooth paste.
Serve it with hot momos.

To prepare momos refer my momo recepie. Thank u for visiting my blog.

Vegetable Momos

Vegetable Momos

The orgin of momo in Nepal is uncertain.Newar merchants brought the recipe and the name momo from Lhasa, Tibet where they were a traditional delicacy for centuries. They modified the seasonings of the dish with available ingredients, using water buffalo and kept the same name.

Basically, there are three types of momo, steamed, fried and pan-fried. Momo is usually served with a dipping sauce (locally called chutney/achhar), normally made with tomato as the base ingredient.

U can stuff momos with anything as u like,here I hav stuffed it with and vegetables. I cooked momos by spreading lettuce on the steamer.Lettuce is good source of vitamin A and Potassium.

Why we use lettuce to cook momos?

Lettuce is most often used for salads. Lettuce is a good source of vitamin A and potassium, which are eaten either raw or cooked. As well as a minor source for several other vitamins and nutrients. Despite its beneficial properties,contaminated lettuce is often a source of bacterial, viral and parasitic outbreaks in humans, including E. coli and Salmonella. In addition to its main use as a leafy green, it has also gathered religious and medicinal significance over centuries of human consumption.

Ingredients:

For Dough:
2 cups maida
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder

For Filling:
1 cup carrots - grated
1 cup cabbage - grated
1 bell pepper- grated
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 garam powder
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup onion - finely chopped
1 tsp garlic - chopped
1 tsp Soya sauce (optional)
1/4 tsp vinegar
Water to knead the dough

To steam:
Lettuce to cook momo (optional).

Method:
1.Mix the maida, salt and baking powder and knead to a stiff dough with water.
2. Mix all ingredients in a bowl.
3.Take mold as shown in picture.
4.Fill it with the vegetables.Prepare the momos .
5.Otherwise Roll the dough thin (translucent) and cut into 4"-5" rounds.
6.Bring edges together to cover the filling. Twist to seal and fill the rest in the same way.
(For this method refer my egg momos Recepie).
Steam for about 10 minutes and serve with soya sauce and chilli sauce.

Egg Momos

Egg Momos

U can stuff momos with anything as u like,here I hav stuffed it with whole egg and vegetables. For plain vegetable momos,u can refer my veg momos recepie.In which, I have cooked momos with lettuce.

Ingredients:

For Dough:
2 cups maida
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
Water to knead

For Filling: 
1 cup carrots - grated
1 cup cabbage - grated
1 bell pepper- grated
1or 2 whole egg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 garam powder
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup onion - finely chopped
1 tsp garlic - chopped
1 tsp Soya sauce (optional)
1/4 tsp vinegar

To steam:
Lettuce to cook Momos (optional).

Method:
1.Mix the maida, salt and baking powder and knead to a stiff dough with water.
2.Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.
3.Roll the dough thin (translucent) and cut into 4"-5" rounds.
4.Take a round, wet edges and place some filling in the center.
5.Bring edges together to cover the filling. Twist to seal and fill the rest in the same way.
Steam for about 10 minutes and serve with soya sauce and chilli sauce.

Ridge Gourd Peel Chutney

Ridge gourd biologically named as Luffa anguiculata is called as peerkangai in tamil and Torai in hindi.

Ridge gourd is low in saturated fat and cholesterol, high in dietary fibre, vitamin C, riboflavin, zinc, thiamin, iron, magnesium and manganese. It has blood-purifying properties. It contains insulin-like peptides, alkaloids and charantin, all of which act together to lower blood and urine sugar levels without increasing blood insulin levels. It has high beta crotene that is good for eyes. Cellulose in ridge gourd helps to overcome constipation so is good for stomach. It helps to purify, restore and nourish liver as its an antidote for alcohol intoxication. It also aids weight lose.

It is used in skin care treatment against eczema, psoriasis also aids in curing piles. A glass of ridge gourd juice in the morning can help to strengthen your immune system against any infection.

Ingredients for chutney:

1cup finely chopped ridge gourd peel
5-6 shallots
4 tsp any refined oil
2 tsp channa dal
2 tsp urad dal
2-3 whole dry red chilli
1/2 tsp tamarind
2 tsp fresh chopped coconut
1 flake big garlic
1 inch ginger piece
salt to taste

To Temper:
Few curry leaves
1 tsp mustard

Method:
1.Heat 2 tsp of oil in a non-stick kadai, add the ridge gourd peels and shallots,saute on a medium flame by adding salt for 4 minutes. Remove and keep aside.
2. Again add 1 tsp oil and fry one by one ,except tamarind and keep aside till it comes to room temperature.
3. Grind the dhal first then ginger garlic,red chilli, coconut,tamarind and finally add peels and shallots .Add required amount of water to grind.
4.For the tempering, heat the remaining 1 tsp of oil in the same kadhai and add the mustard seeds and curry leaves.
5.Pour the tempering over the chutney and mix well.
Serve it with hot Idlies or as side dish for curd rice and sambar rice.

MUSK MELON /CANTALOUPE JUICE

Its a tasty thirst quencher for summer. After a long working hours am tired and felt like drinking something what I love.

Ingredients:

1 full musk melon
2 tsp sarsaparilla (Nannari syrup)
Ice cold water
Sugar not needed, syrup contains sugar. If u want more sugar u can add.

Method:

1.cut it into halves ,clean the seeds.
2.scrap it with spoon,drop in mixer.
3.Add syrup and ice cold water.
4. Run it 1 min .

Now enjoy the juice!

Chicken Dum Briyani

Even though variety of Briyani's available. There is a special  place for chicken briyani. Follow the method given below and enjoy the taste.

Ingredients for marinating the chicken:

1 /2 kg of Chicken 

1 tbsp of ginger garlic paste

1 tsp of coriander powdeR

1 cup of curd with one lemon juice

1 tsp biriyani masala (2 cardamom,1 in cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ( fenugreek, 3 clove. Dry roast all these, fry them without oil, make them powder.)

A pinch of salt
Mix all of the above ingredients and let the chicken marinate for 2-4 hours in refrigerator, the more the better.

Ingredients to prepare Briyani:

4 cloves

1 cinnamon stick

6 green Cardamoms

2 bay leaves

1/2 tsp Fennel

1 maze

1 tsp Coriander powder

1 tsp red Chili powder 

1 tbsp Gram Masala Powder

5-6 tsp of chopped fresh mint

2-3 chopped green Chilies

2 tomatoes ground into paste Fresh coriander leaves

1/4 kg basmati rice

1 cup milk, cream, or yoghurt

About 4 medium size onions for fried onion

Oil for deep frying 

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

1/2 cup of milk

A few strands of Saffron 

Ghee about 6-7 tbsp 

Cashew nuts ( a few or as many as you want)

Raisins and almonds are optional

Salt to taste

Method:

1.While the chicken is marinating, slice the onions very thin. You can use a food processor for this or a slicer. Now heat oil and fry these sliced onions in batches. The heat should be medium. Definitely not high, otherwise the onions will get burned. Stir the onions continuously for uniform browning. When they become light brown, drain them on kitchen paper. Keep them aside. They will get nice crispy as they cool down.

2. To Cook the Chicken ,take a deep, wide mouth vessel and heat 3-4 tablespoons of oil in it. In this add the bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon, cardamoms, little bit of shahi jeera and allow to crackle.

3. Now add a tablespoon of ginger garlic paste and stir a little. Now tip out all the marinated chicken and the marinade. Cook on a high flame so that the water gets evaporated quickly. Add the chopped tomatoes, mint, green chilies, all dry powders(coriander, chili), and salt. Cook till the chicken is cooked and the gravy (masala) is not watery. Add one third of the fried onions. Mix well and keep aside.

4.Parboiling the rice is one of the most important part of cooking a biryani. The rice needs to be parboiled. Meaning, it should be three fourth cooked. The rest of it gets cooked on dum (when we layer the chicken and rice, seal it and put on a very slow fire). Take a big deep wide mouth vessel, add lots of water (at least 10 times more than rice). Add ample salt (this is very important because the rice needs to be salty when cooked). Also add a cinnamon stick, a couple of green cardamoms, a few cloves for flavouring the rice. Now boil all this for a few minutes on a high flame .

5. Take a few grains of rice (use a clean spoon to take some out of the boiling water), break a grain, if it breaks into 3 parts easily, your rice is done. Strain the rice and spread it on a clean surface (a tray or something), so that it cools faster. If you want to pick out the whole spices which you added, you can do that now. Or else just let them be.

6.Keep all these ready,now that the rice and chicken are cooked. Fried onions are ready. You just need to get a few more things organized, so that the layering can be done.

7.Chop the coriander leaves. Boil the milk and add crushed saffron in it. Give it a stir.

8. Fry the cashew nuts till golden brown.

Layering the Biryani:

1.Take a heavy bottom vessel,
take some melted ghee and grease the bottom of the pan with it.

2.Then put a layer of rice, then a layer of chicken followed by a layer of fried onions,  then a layer of chopped coriander. Repeat and finish off with the rice layer. Lastly, sprinkle the leftover fried onions (if any), cashews and other nuts. Pour the saffron milk on top. Also pour some ghee down the sides of the pan and some on top of the rice. It will trickle down with the heat.

3. Seal the lid by sticking it with some chapati dough or simply fix a big foil before placing the lid. The idea is to restrict the steam from escaping. Ideally place this vessel on top of another flat pan(this is dum) .so that the bottom of the pan doesn't come in direct contact with the heat source.

4.Let it be in dum for 1/2 hour.

Now open the lid and enjoy the awesome flavor. Serve it with onion cucumber Raita.