rose drink

Gulab Sherbat (Rose Drink)

Gulab Sherbat (Rose Drink)

A refreshing rose drink, tastes best when served chilled.

Ingredients: 

1&1/2 Cups of Rose Petals

6 Cups Water

3 Cups sugar

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1Tsp Rose essence

1/2 Tsp rose colour

Directions: 

Wash rose petals mildly.

In a large vessel boil 1 cup water, add the rose petals turn off the flame cover and let it sit for about 5 hrs

In a large vessel take 5 cups water add sugar let it simmer on low heat till all the sugar is dissolved.

Add the rose essence and color at this stage and let it further simmer for few mins

Add lemon juice and then finally the fresh rose water

Mix well and set aside the mixture for cooling.

Once cool, store refrigerated in a glass bottle. To serve: Use just about 4 tbsp or 1/3 of the syrup in a glass and top it up with ice cold water.

Footnotes: 

This syrup can be stored refrigerated for up to 1 months

For rose milk or milkshake, do not add lemon in the syrup. The syrup may then be topped with ice cold milk and served chilled

tandoori mutton

Tandoori Mutton (Barbecued Indian Lamb Chops)(non veg.)

A twist to the usual Indian Tandoori dish. Meat lovers will love this meaty tandoori grilled lamb.

Ingredients: 

8 Lamb Chops

1 Tsp Red Chili Powder

1.5 Tbsp Tandoori Masala

Salt to taste

2 Tbsp Yogurt

1 Heaped Tsp garlic Paste

1 tsp Lemon juice (or vinegar)

1 tsp garam masala

Directions: 

Combine all marinade ingredients(Chili powder, salt, yogurt, garlic paste, garam masala,lemon juice & Tandoori masala) in a large bowl

Mix well and tip in the lamb chops

Use your hands to coat the chops well and evenly

Let the meat marinate for minimum 4 hours in the refrigerator. Cook on a charcoal grill for 15 minutes on both sides for well cooked meat.

Serve with thinly sliced red onions and a wedge of lemon

Footnotes: 

You may also add a little heavy cream to the marinade

While the meat cooks on grill you may brush it with a little butter on either sides to avoid drying out

aalo masala toast

Aloo Masala Toast (Vegetable Sandwich, Potato stuffing)

In Mumbai you get the masala sandwich with vegetables and loads of Chaat masala, but when you ask for masala vegetable sandwich the vendor adds an additional potato filling to the sandwich. This filling tastes great even without the vegetables. Here is a quick recipe of Masala Sandwich.

Ingredients: 

4 Potatoes Mashed

1 Tbsp Chaat Masala

1 Onion finely chopped

1 Tsp green chilies finely chopped

2 tbsp fresh chopped coriander

Pinch of Garam Masala

2 Tbsp Green Chutney ( See Recipe for green Chutney in the Chutney Recipes section)

4 slices of bread

Salt to taste

Butter to apply on the bread slices

Directions: 

In a Bowl mix all the ingredients above except for the butter, green chutney and bread.

Check for seasoning and adjust accordingly

Apply a little chutney and butter on the bread slices. Place 2 Tbsp of the potato mixture between the slices and spread evenly.

Place the sandwich in a griller/ toaster and apply a little butter on top of the sandwich. Cook for 2 minutes and serve hot with Ginger tea

sweet indian fudge

Peda (Sweet Indian Fudge)

Peda or Pedha is an all time famous and a favorite Mithai. Its easily available in all sweet shops, but try making it at home for your loved ones. Its an easy recipe plus you can control the sweetness of the Peda based on your preference. It is traditionally made with khoya/mava.

Ingredients: 

1 kg white Khoya or Khova

4 Cups Powdered Sugar

1/2 Tsp Cardamom Powder

Few sheets of vark or Silver Foil (Optional)

1 Tsp Kesar (Saffron)

2 Tbsp Warm Milk

Few Pistachios for Garnish

Directions: 

Grate Khoya into a thick pan

Add Half of the Powdered sugar to the pan and mix well

Place the pan on low heat and keep stirring to avoid the mixture to burn

Add Cardamom powder and let the mixture cook till it starts turning soft and gooey, this process should take about 10-15 minutes

Turn of heat and let the mixture cool down.

When completely cool add the remaining sugar and mix it with the khoya mixture well. While mixing rub it in between the palms and start making small rounds.

If you have a peda mould it will help. I have just made small even rounds.

To garnish, Place a small piece of silver vark on the peda (Optional)

And/Or Mix the Kesar in the warm milk, dip the mouth of an open bottle (very small) into the kesar mix and gently place on top of the peda to form a kesari orange ring. You may also use colour.

Place a pistachio in between the ring.

Serve cold or at room tempreture

Footnotes: 

Ricotta Cheese can be used instead of khoya.

You may add colour to the mixture based on your preference

Sugar amount can be adjusted to make pedas less sweet

potato fry

Aloo Bhaja (Potato Fry)

Aloo bhaja is a traditional every day Bengali dish. Its usually made by deep frying julienned potatoes, but I have given it a slight twist by finely slicing it. Its a great side to have with your regular dal chawal or khichadi

Ingredients: 

4 Potatoes

1 Tbsp Garlic Paste

1 Tsp salt (or to taste)

2 finely chopped green chilies

1/2 Tsp turmeric powder

2 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves (optional)

Mustard oil for shallow frying

Directions: 

Peel, wash and finely slice the potatoes. Soak them in water for 10 minutes

In a separate bowl mix all remaining ingredients.

Transfer the potatoes in the marinade and let them marinate for about 15 minutes

In a pan, heat 3 tbsp mustard oil. When hot, place the potatoes in the pan one by one keeping a little space between each think slice

Cook the potatoes on medium heat till they are well cooked and turn a nice golden color on both sides

Serve as a side dish with Dal Chawal or Khichadi. You can also serve it as a quick tea time snack

pav bhaji-mumbai special

Mumbai ki popular Sardar Pav Bhaji, is the most famous pav bhaji joint in the city. People queue here for over an hour just to order one plate pav bhaji. I have tried to recreate that taste in my kitchen.

Ingredients: 

1 Cup Very Finely Chopped Cauliflower or grated

4 Medium Potatoes boiled and mashed

1 Green capsicum finely chopped

2 Onions Finely Chopped

1 Carrots finely chopped

4 Tomatoes finely chopped

4 Tbsp Vegetable Oil

1 Tbsp Finely chopped Ginger

2 Tbsp Finely Chopped Garlic

1 Tsp Jeera

1/2 Tsp Hing

1 Tsp Turmeric powder

2 Tsp Kadipatta

2 Tsp Saunf (not powdered)

Salt to Taste

3-4 Tbsp Everest Pav Bhaji masala

4 Tbsp Amul Butter

1 Tsp Garam Masala

1 tsp Amul butter + pinch of chili powder for pav

2 Cups hot water (1 cup = 200ml)

Directions: 

Take Kadipatta, Ginger, Garlic and Saunf in a blender add a little water, just enough to blend smoothly. Blend to a smooth paste and keep aside

Heat oil, add Jeera, hing and the blended paste. Saute and add onions, tomatoes, turmeric powder, a little salt and continue to saute till the tomatoes soften completely

Add in the carrots and capsicum saute for about 5 minutes. Add cauliflower, potatoes, pav bhaji masala, salt to taste and let the vegetables cook on a low flame for 10 minutes

With a potato masher, mash all the vegetables add 2 cups hot water adjust seasoning accordingly and continue cooking for another 5 minutes.

Add garam masala mix and let it cook for another minute. Turn off the heat and add butter.

To serve, slit the pav in center half way. On a tawa or pan, heat 1 tsp Amul butter, add a pinch of chili powder and place the slit side down and toast the pav for about half a minute on both sides

Serve hot with more butter, chopped onion and lemon wedge as garnish.

Footnotes: 

You may add chili powder for a spicy bhaji

For cheese Pav bhaji, grate and add Amul cheese cubes on top of the bhaji just before serving

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chestnut floor cake

Singhare ki barfi ( Chestnut flour cake)

Singhare ki barfi is a sweet dish prepared during fasting. This recipe is especially convenient for specially for working women who cannot have outside food during fasting . This is an easy recipe as you can prepare it before and carry it along with you unlike other fasting foods.

Ingredients: 

Singhare ka atta ( chestnut flour) – 100 grams

Ghee – 100 grams

Sugar – 150 grams

Water – 200 ml

Cashew – 2 tablespoon ( cut into half)

Dry coconut – 2 tablespoon ( cut in pieces)

Raisins – 2 tablespoon

Cardamom powder – ½ tablespoon.

Directions: 

Heat ghee in a karahi and pour the Singhare ka atta. Fry the atta on low heat for about 10 minutes .

Then add sugar, cashew, coconut, raisins and cardamom powder and saute for another 2-3 minutes. Add the water and mix thoroughly . Cook on high flame till the atta starts leaving the sides of the karahi.

Grease a plate with some ghee and pour the moisture when it is still hot. Level the mixture and let it cool. Cut the mixture in squares or any other shape and serve.

Rice balls Ingredients: Boiled rice- 5 cups Gram flour-2 cups 2 medium size chopped onion 2 tbsp. finely chopped mint leaves 1/2 tbsp. turmeric powder salt as per taste sugar 1 tbsp. red chili powder-2 tbsp. Oil for deep frying Directions: Mix all ingredients expect oil. Heat a pan and add oil for deep frying. Form small balls from prepared rice mixture. Deep fry this balls. Serve with tomato sauce,dips or curd and make a good breakfast

oats soup

OATS SOUP- healthy and yummy



         Oats soup is one of the most easiest way of getting oats into your daily diet. It is simple to make with very few ingredients and can be served as a healthy meal with a slice of bread or as a satisfying appetizer. This soup is suited for people of all ages and for ailing patients.

Ingredients
Oats - 1 cup
Onion - 1/2 (finely chopped)
Green Chilly - 1 (finely chopped)
Garlic - 1 clove (minced)
Salt - to taste
Pepper powder - a pinch
Water- 1 cup
Milk - 1 cup
Oil - 2 tsp
Cilantro - for garnish

Method
1. Heat oil in a pan and saute the onions, green chilly and garlic till they begin to sweat.
2. Now add the oats and fry along with it for 2 minutes.
3. Add salt and water and let it come to a boil.
4. Now add the milk and pepper powder to it and bring to a boil.
5. Garnish the rich and creamy oats soup with cilantro or green onions. Serve piping hot with a slice of bread.

Variations
    - You can add some finely chopped vegetables to the soup like carrots, green peas, etc.
    - You can also add a pinch of garam masala or cumin powder to make the soup more flavourful.

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masala biscuit

MASALA BISCUIT- indian tadka


Ingredients
All purpose flour (Maida) - 2 cups
Butter/Ghee - 3/4 cup (at room temp.)
Chilly powder - 1 tsp
Ginger - 1" piece (minced)
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Green/Dry red Chillies - 1 or 2 (minced)
Curry leaves - 2 strands (minced)
Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp
Asaefoetida - a pinch
Salt - 1/2 tsp ( or to taste)
Sugar - 2 tsp

  

Method
1. Mix all the above ingredients together in a bowl to get a nice dough like chappatti dough.
2. If the dough is not moist enough add 2-3 tblsp of curd.
3. Grease an aluminium foil and roll out the dough into a big circle 1 "thick.
4. Using a cookie cutter or any bottle lid, cut out into desired cookie shapes.
5. Place the cut out cookies on a greased baking dish and bake it for 15 - 20 minutes in an oven preheated to 325 degrees F.
6. Cool and store in air tight containers and enjoy for many days.

Tips
      - If you do not have a cookie cutter, make small balls out of the dough and flatten it with hand like a cutlet.

chana pasta

CHANA PASTA- a unique indo italian dish

 
 This is a pasta dish that I usually make with leftover channa masala (chole). This can be made from scratch too by making the channa masala first and then tossing in the cooked pasta. It is delicious and can be served for dinner, brunch or evening snack.

Ingrdients
Channa Masala (Chole) - 2 cups
Pasta - 2 cups
Salt - as needed
Chilly Powder - 1/2 tsp
Cilantro - for garnish

Method
1. Cook and drain the pasta as per the package instructions. Any shape of pasta could be used. Different pastas have different cooking times.
2. Heat the channa masala gravy with little extra salt and chilly powder. This is to flavour the pasta. If you do not have leftover channa masala, you can make it from scratch.
3. Toss the cooked pasta with the gravy and mix it nicely.
4. Finally toss in the finely chopped cilantro and serve hot.

Tips
        - The other pasta dishes that can be made with leftover gravies are :-
Bainghan (Eggplant/ Brinjal) Pasta - made with leftover bainghan ka bartha or ennai kathrikai.
Chicken Pasta - with left over pepper chicken or other chicken masalas.
Mushroom Pasta - with leftover mushroom masala.

chana masala

CHANA MASALA- a mouthwatering punjabi dish


Ingredients 
Chik peas(channa) - 2 cups
Onions - 2 small/ 1 large (finely chopped/ pureed)
Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tblsp
Tomatoes - 2 medium (pureed)
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Whole Garam Masala - (bay leaf - 1, cinnamon sticks – 2, Cloves - 2)
Red Chilly Powder - 2 tsp(or to taste)
Coriander powder – 1 tsp
Cumin powder – 1 tsp
Kasoori Methi - 1 tsp (optional)
Amchur Powder(dry mango powder) – 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 2 tblsp
cilantro - for garnish

  

Method
1. Soak the chik peas for 5-6 hours or overnight. Drain the soaking water.
2. Pressure cook the chik peas until they are tender (app. 2 cooker whistles). Overcooking will make it mushy.
3. Heat oil in a vessel over medium heat. Temper cumin seeds, bay leaf, cloves and cinnamon.
4. Saute onions, stirring frequently, until they are translucent.
5. Add ginger- garlic paste, and saute until the raw smell vanishes.
6. Add the tomato puree, chilly powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, kasoori methi, amchur powder, turmeric powder and salt and saute until a thick paste is formed.
7. Now add the chik peas along with the water in which it was cooked and let it simmer for 7 minutes. (Water can be added as per the requirement).
8. Garnish with cilantro and finely chopped onions. Serve with chappattis or bread.

Tips
     - A Tblsp of lemon juice and 1/2 tsp of chaat masala can be added at the end to enhance the flavour.
     - Store bought channa masala can be added instead of the dry ingrediants which will be equally flavourful.
     - Add a tea bag along with the chikpeas while pressure cooking it. This will give a nice dark colour to the channa masala.

instant egg cury

INSTANT EGG CURRY- an easy to make egg curry (non veg.)


Ingredients
Eggs - 6 (Hard Boiled/ Raw)
Red Chilly Powder - 1 tsp
Corriander Powder - 2 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Garam Masala Powder - 1/2 tsp
Cilantro - for garnish
Salt - to taste
Oil - 2 tblsp

List I
Fried Onions (store bought) - 1/2 cup
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
Tomato - 2

List II
Grated Coconut - 1/2 cup
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
Poppy seeds (kus kus) - 1 tsp
Cashew nuts - 5

Pic 1 - Egg Kurma with hard boiled egg

Method
1. First of all, grind all the ingredients under 'List I' and keep it aside.
2. Similarly, grind the ingredients under 'List II' and set aside.
3. You can make this kurma in two ways - (i) Hard Boil the eggs and add it to the gravy.
(ii) Break a raw egg into the gravy and cook it.
     The recipe is the same for both the kurmas.
4. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan/kadai and add the ground paste of 'List I'.
5. Saute for 2 minutes on medium high flame and then add the dry spice powders.
6. Next add the ground paste of 'List II', about 2 cups of water and required salt.
7. Boil this for about 7-8 minutes till everything is cooked and oil separates.
8. Add the egg at this stage and simmer for 4-5 minutes.
        - If you are adding hard boiled eggs, make few slits for the gravy to be absorbed (Pic 1).
        - If using raw egg, break open the egg and gently add to the simmering gravy for the egg to get poached.(Pic 2).
9. Garnish with cilantro and serve with pulao, chappatti or dosa.

chicken vindaloo

CHICKEN VINDALOO- indo goan curry(non veg.)


Ingredients
Chicken - 1 lb (cut into chunks)
Potatoes -  2 (cut into big chunks) - optional
Coconut milk - 1 cup
Salt - as needed
Oil - 1 tblsp

To Grind
Fried Onions (Birista) - 1 cup
Vineger - 1 or 2 tsp
Ginger - 1.5 " piece
Garlic -6-8 cloves
Dry red Chillies - 5-8 (or use chilly powder as needed)
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp
Corriander seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon stick - 1 small piece
Cloves - 3

 

Method
1. You can use store bought fried onions for this recipe. If not, slice the onions and deep fry
in oil till it turns crispy and brown in colour.
2. Grind together all the ingredients under 'to grind' adding water as needed to make a very
smooth paste.
3. Mix this paste with the chicken and let it marinate for atleast half an hour.
4. Heat oil in a pan and add the marinated chicken along with the masala (marinade).
5. Add the coconut milk, potatoes and required salt to this. Add more water if you want more gravy.
6. Cover and cook till the chicken is done and oil seperates from the gravy.
7. The fried onions and the red chillies give a bright red colour to the gravy. So it does not
need any garnishing. Serve with rice.

potato stew

  POTATO STEW- an indian coconut based curry

Ingredients
Potato – 3 (peeled and cubed)
Onion – 1 big (sliced)
Green Chilly – 4-5 ((cut lengthwise)
Ginger – 1” piece (finely chopped)
Thin Coconut Milk – 1 cup
Thick coconut milk – 1 cup
Water – as needed
Curry leaves – 2 springs
Salt – as needed
Coconut Oil – 1 tblsp

  

Method
1. Take the thin coconut milk in a pan (or a pressure cooker) and add the potatoes, onion, green chillies and ginger into it.
2. Add required salt, some more water and turn on the stove.
3. Boil the potatoes till it turns soft and mushy. (If using pressure cooker, cook for 2 whistles.)
4. Open the lid, reduce the flame and add the thick coconut milk.
5. Let it just heat through for about 2 minutes.
6. Add the coconut oil and curry leaves to the stew and switch off.
7. Keep the pan covered for few minutes so that the flavours of the oil and curry leaves can be induced into the stew.

Serving Suggestions
    - This stew is traditionally served with aapam and idiyappam.
    - This also tastes very good with sandwich bread, chappatti, poori, puttu or white rice.
    - It can also be had as a simple potato soup with some toasted bread.

Variations
    - Spicy food lovers can add some whole garam masala (1 cinnamon, 2 cardomom, 3 cloves, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder and 1//2 tsp fennel powder) while cooking the stew. This add the flavour of all the spices to the stew.
    - Add some more vegetables to the stew like carrots, green peas, cauliflower, beans etc to the stew and you have 'Mixed Vegetable Stew'.