Monday, December 21, 2015

Aloo paranthas-Stuffed Indian Flat Bread

Aloo paranthas ....served with a block of butter and a tall glass of thick lassi is everybody’s breakfast dream…isn’t it? Especially if it is in the authentic dhabha style…





I have always wanted to recreate the taste of aloo paratha’s I once had from Uncle Dev’s in Pune. My cousin Priya had taken me there and we feasted on some amazing paranthas, paneer and lassi ……





I was determined that I would make a post on parantha’s only if I would have the dhabha style recipe….if not The Dhabha style recipe somewhere close to it.


My travel through the net finally landed me with a wonderful recipe I have detailed below…..have a look…and recreate the flavours in your home kitchen





Well paranthas are usually stuffed with potatoes and is a favourite breakfast option especially in northern India….to be specific Punjab….

Ingredients


For the dough
Wheat flour-400 gms
Water-225-250 ml
Salt-1 tsp
Cumin seeds-1 tbsp
Red chilli powder-A pinch (optional)
Oil-1 tbsp or more

For the Filling
Potatoes-6(I took 3 small)
Onion-1 medium sized (I took 4 scallions instead)
Green chilli-6(I took 4)
Ginger garlic paste-2 tbsp(I took1/2 tsp)
Stuffed parantha masala (given below)
Coriander leaves-3 tbsp (I dint use)
Mint leaves-1 tbsp (optional) (I dint use)

Stuffed parantha masala
White pepper-8-10(I used ½ tsp pepper powder)
Ajjwain-1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds-1 tsp
Fennel seeds-1 tsp
Coriander seeds-1 tsp
Black salt-1/2 tsp
Cumin powder-1/2 tsp
Chaat masala-1 tsp
Red chilli powder-1/2 tsp
Garam masala-1 tsp

Ingredients
Put the potatoes in a pressure cooker and cook till 6 whistles. The potatoes should be soft enough to grate but not too soft that they easily mash.

While the potatoes are cooking, work on the dough. In a bowl, mix together the flour, salt, cumin seeds, oil and red chilli powder (in case using it). Make a well and add the water, and gradually knead in the flour into the water. Knead till you get a soft and elastic dough, but should not be sticky. Let rest for 15- 20 minutes, covered with a wet cloth.
Dry roast all the whole spices- white pepper, carom, coriander, fennel & cumin seeds on a skillet. Once roasted and you get a nice aroma, take them off the fire and grind them to a fine powder. Add the cumin powder, red chilli powder, chaat masala, garam masala and black salt and mix with the rest of the dry spice.

Finely mince the onion and green chillies.

Once the pressure drops, cool and peel the potatoes. Mash potatoes.

In a pan, heat 1 tbsp oil. Add the minced onions. Cook till translucent (and the onions should have left all their water). Add the green chillies and ginger-garlic paste. Add the spices and coriander-mint leaves. Add the grated potatoes and mix all together. Remove from fire.

For Assembling:

 Flour work surface and rolling pin.
Divide the stuffing and dough(golf sized) into 10 equal balls
Roll dough into 5 inch square. Oil the top.
Add stuffing, wrap the dough around it and roll without cracks
Cook one side for 1-2 minutes and flip
Add butter on the top side and cook. Flip
Cook the other side with butter and flip
Cook till golden brown.

Notes

The leftover dough can be refrigerated for 2-3 days.

Use more stuffing and less flour while rolling them

Try using a day old potatoes, by doing this, the potatoes have hardened after cooking, and they are not so fluffy when they are freshly cooked.

Another tip to roll the dough and avoid the filling from coming out is to keep the dough in the fridge for about an hour.  

Grate potatoes then boil and mash them to avoid lumps.





Thursday, November 19, 2015

Sweet Corn Veg Soup





 I always wanted to make Sweet Corn Veg soup at home.....I had this wonderful recipe in my bookmarked recipes for long....but the making part was always pending....








So today finally I geared up and got ready to make the soup.....and it tasted restaurant style and perfect....So another soup recipe for you then





The Sweet corn veg soup is really rich as it contains a lot of assorted vegetables like carrot and cabbage and corn too....now that adds one more soup to my list of wonderful soups to start with.


Ingredients

Vegetable stock-4cups
Carrots chopped-2 tbsp(small cubes)
Cabbage- 2 tbsp
Sweet corn kernels-2 tbsp
Cream style sweet corn-3  tbsp
Sugar-1/4-1/2 tsp
Beans-2 finely chopped(i dint use)
Cornflour-11/2 tbsp
Spring onion greens-1 stalk chopped
Pepper to taste(white pepper is used.I used black pepper)
Salt

Method

Bring to boil vegetable stock.Reduce flame.. Add carrots, cabbage, beans, corn kernels, cream style corn and allow to  cook well.
Add salt
Add pepper to a ladle of soup and mix well ,then pour it over the rest of the soup and mix well.
Mix cornflour in little water and pour.Stir well and cook.

Chop spring onion greens and add .give a good stir.Switch off flame.Serve hot

Notes

You can also parboil cabbage,carrots and beans and add  instead of adding directly to vegetable stock.


Sunday, June 7, 2015

Apple Crumble !!!

Well I heard a lot about crumbles and cobblers reading through the net and watching youtube and I certainly wanted to give it a try….









I decided to go with the easier version called crumble. I had apples sitting around and decided to make an Apple crumble…..So I browsed the net and landed on a cool recipe-Gordon Ramsay’s Apple crumble…..hmmmmm

What is a crumble?

The wikipedia says -A crumble, also known as a brown betty, is a dish of British origin that can be made in a sweet or savoury version, depending on ingredients used, although the sweet version is much more common. A sweet variety usually contains stewed fruit topped with a crumbly mixture of fat (usually butter), flour, and sugar. A savoury version uses meat, vegetables and a sauce for the filling, with cheese replacing sugar in the crumble mix. The crumble is baked in an oven until the topping is crisp. The dessert variety is often served with custard, cream or ice cream as a hearty, warm dessert after a meal. The savoury variety can be served with accompanying vegetables.



Cobbler,crumble,crisp or Brown Betty take any name ...have similar recipes....crumble being my choice....I decided to go ahead.....

So I chopped the apples stewed them and made a thick base....I did not want them too sweet so added less of sugar....Finally I topped my stewed fruits with the flour and a handful of oats and put the little crumble bowls to bake....

I was terribly excited though…..a new dish and a perfect recipe….Well...the end result was equally good and I added a new dessert to my list of loved desserts-

Whats more soothing than a spoonful of crispy cracky crumble with a large dollop of icecream...even sweetened fresh cream....Loved it!



Ingredients
Caster sugar-6 tbsp
Cinnamon powder-a pinch
Vanilla essence-1tsp
Apples-6(3scraped,3 cut into chunks)
Cranberries-3 tbsp,dried
Lemon zest- of 1 lemon
Lemon juice-of 1/2 lemon
Crumble topping
Plain flour-100gm
Damera sugar/brown sugar-2 tbsp
Chilled butter- 50 gm
Cinnamon powder-1 pinch
Oats-4 tbsp

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6.

Heat a small hob-proof baking dish, add the caster sugar and heat for about 5 minutes until it caramelises. Add the cinnamon, vanilla seeds and grated apples and cook for 1–2 minutes. Stir in the apple chunks, then mix in the cranberries, lemon zest and juice. Remove from the heat and set aside.Swirl the dish not stir.You need not peel the skin of the apples as it adds flavour to the dish.

To make the topping, place the flour, sugar, butter and cinnamon in a bowl and rub together with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the granola and mix until fully incorporated.Scatter the crumble topping over the fruit and heat the dish again on the hob. Once the apple mixture is bubbling, transfer to the preheated oven and bake for 12–14 minutes until the topping is a deep golden colour. Remove and serve warm.
















Thursday, April 9, 2015

Nutella Whitechocolate Mascarpone Cheesecake

Making a cheesecake and eating it was always on my to do list. Today I ticked  against the word cheesecake in my ``To Do'' cooking list and wrote ‘’Done’’ against it.Finally.










I had made Paneer Butter Masala and there was a big packet of Amul cream left .The shop I visited did not have the usual small packet so I had to settle with the big one.So I explored my options on how to put the cream to good use.That’s when the idea of making Mascarpone cheese hit me.












But what would I do with the Mascarpone cheese? I had already made Tiramisu two times earlier and I was in no mood to make it again….How about a cheesecake?
I could easily substitute Mascarpone for the cream cheese…..I had a big jar of nutella sitting in my pantry ….So I happily picked it up and made a Nutella Cheesecake…..of course  topped with creamy White chocolate Mascarpone Mousse….



Here goes the recipe-:


Ingredients

For base

Glucose/marie biscuits-200 gms
Melted butter-100 gms
Sugar-2 tbsp

For Mascarpone cheese

Fresh cream-500m l(Amul)
Lime juice-Of 2 small lemons

For White chocholate and Nutella layers

Whip cream-2 cups or more
White chocolate-1 cup
Nutella-1 cup
Mascarpone cheese-2 cups
Gelatin-11/2 tbsp each for Nutella and White chocolate layers
Sugar-7 tsp

Method

For Mascarpone Cheese
Bring to boil 1 inch of water in a wide bottomed pan.Reduce flame to medium till water is  barely simmering.Take a non stick/heat resistant vessel with fresh cream and place inside the wide bottomed pan.
Heat cream for 15 minutes at 190F stirring often.
Add lime juice and stir continuously till cream curdles ie: the cream thickens like a well done cream anglaise and coats the back of your wooden spoon thickly.You will also see a few clear whey streaks when you stir.
Allow the mixture to cool for 20 minutes. Transfer onto a dampened cheesecloth  placed over a vessel.You can use rubberbands to hold the cheesecloth around the top of the vessel. Once completely cooled cover with cling film and refrigerate overnight or for 24 hrs.



For the Cheesecake
Crush the biscuits.Melt butter.Add biscuits .Stir till biscuit gets slightly crunchy.
Add sugar and mix.
Spread  into a spring form tin  and press with a spoon to set.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Whip cream and sugar to stiff peaks
Fold in the mascarpone cheese.
Divide  batter into two

Take first portion and stir in nutella. Fold well.
Bloom gelatin and double boil it to melt the gelatin.
Add into the nutella mixed portion
Spread over biscuit crust.Refrigerate till set(for 3-4 hrs)

Melt white chocholate using double boiling method.
Mix to second half portion of mascarpone cream mix set aside.
Bloom gelatin and melt using double boiling method.
Add gelatin and fold into the white chocolate cream mixture.

Spread over set nutella layer.Refrigerate till set(overnight)
Garnish with almond praline.|Serve cold.

Friday, January 23, 2015

Mozzarella Sticks



I had some amazing mozzarella sticks from  Mac Donald’s once, long back….Now I guess they have discontinued it…..slump….but my craving to eat them…what do I do about that?very simple solution,learn to make it.





When I made mozzarella sticks at home the first time it was an absolute fiasco…the cheese melted and burned and I cried puddles….I stashed away the recipe and decided not to look at it again.Then the craving to eat them returned and I decided to give them a second chance…..and guess what it worked this time….this time I froze the mozerella sticks overnight before frying them….that tip worked….u can see the result and the recipe below..





Crispy and  cheezzy melt in the mouth mozarella sticks.....here for you....

Ingredients

Mozerella cheese-cut into strips(long cut)
All purpose flour-1/2 cup
Corn flour-1/8 cup (I used 1/4 cup )
Bread crumbs- 1 cup
Egg -1
Milk/water-1 tbsp
Garlic salt/salt-1/2 tsp
Italion seasoning-as per your choice

Method

Mix the all purpose flour and cornflour
Mix  bread crumbs,garlic salt and seasoning
Add milk/water to eggs and mix well.
Take the mozzarella strips(at room temperature) and coat it well with all purpose flour cornflour mix.
Dip into egg milk mix. Then coat with bread crumbs
Freeze overnight(I did for 2 days).
Next day take oil in a non stick pan and fry the mozzarella sticks till golden brown at medium flame.

Serve hot with a sauce of your choice.