Friday, December 02, 2011

The best and easiest Chocolate EVER !!! (Homemade chocolate)


After so many trials and errors,many just discarded ,The PERFECT recipe !! This is simple Super .Try it and pls, pls let me know .

Ingredients:
Cocoa Powder       ThreeTablespoons
Sugar                        One cup
Milk Powder            One and a half cups
Butter                       Hundred Grams
Method:
In a heavy bottomed pan, take sugar and half cup water. Heat it on a low flame.Sieve together cocoa powder and milk powder . Make a syrup of one-thread consistency. Add butter and then the powder mixture. Mix the ingredients thoroughly and immediately remove the pan from the stove. Pour the chocolate on a butter/ghee greased plate. Allow it to cool and then cut it into pieces.

Tip :Mix in some roasted nut and Raisins for fruit and nut chocolate .
      I've sprinkled caramelized Cashews n Raisins for 1 part and the rest 's plain chocolate.


And sorry guys none remained after the cutting process :) :) gone in a Jiffy :) :)


Sending it to these events
   
By Umm



By Julie

Can you handle the heat? Take part in the challenge....

By

Tea Time Treats Blogging Challenge

By  What Kate Baked and Lavender and Lovage

Recipe courtsy . Soumya Srinivasan

Monday, October 17, 2011

Hyderabad Veg biriyan




Hyderabad Veg biriyani (DUM biryani)
A vegetable biryani from the land of the Nawabs - Hyderabad. The biryani is light, aromatic and deliciously yum....
            Ingredients
  • The Rice:
  • 1 and half cup basmati rice
  • 2 green cardamoms
  • 2 black cardamoms
  • 2 cloves
  • 1 cinnamon of 1 inch
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 mace strands
  • 3 cups water
  • salt
  • The Vegetable Gravy:
  • 1/2 medium sized cauliflower, florets removed
  • 1 medium sized carrot, diced
  • 1 medium sized potato, cubed
  • 1 cup of chopped french beans
  • 1/2 cup frozen/fresh peas
  • 1 and half onion, finely sliced
  • 1 green chili, slit
  • 2 tbsp julienned ginger
  • 1 tbsp chopped garlic
  • 2 green cardamom
  • 2 black cardamoms
  • 2 cloves
  • 1 cinnamon of 1 inch
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 mace strands
  • 1oo gms whisked curd
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1/2 tsp red chili powder/cayenne pepper
  • 2 tbsp cashewnuts
  • 1 tbsp sultanas/raisins
  • 2 tbsp almonds, blanched, peeled and sliced
  • 3 tbsp ghee
  • salt
  • Herbs and Spices for the assembling:
  • 1/2 cup chopped coriander/cilantro leaves
  • 1/2 cup mint leaves
  • 100 gms whisked curd
  • a few saffron strands
  • 1 tbsp milk
Instructions :
  1. Cooking the Rice:
  2. Pick and clean the rice in running water. Soak the rice in water for 30 minutes.
  3. Now you can microwave or pressure cook the rice. You have to cook the rice till its 3/4th done. The rice should not be fully cooked but almost cooked.
  4. In a pressure cooker or a microwave cooker, add the pre-soaked rice, all the spices mentioned above, salt. Cook till the rice till is almost done. I microwaved the rice and cooked it for 9 minutes at full power. Fluff the rice and keep it separate.
  5. Traditionally biryani were made in clay pots, known as handis. If you have a clay pot, you could use it. I did not have a clay pot or handi. But I have a pressure cooker shaped like a handi, so I used it. If you have a handi shaped pot made up of aluminium, you could use it also.
  6. Making the Vegetable Gravy:
  7. Heat ghee in the handi.
  8. Add all whole garam masala: cardamoms, mace, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves. Fry the garam masala till they crackle.
  9. Now add the onions. Fry the onions till golden brown.
  10. Add the green chilli, ginger and garlic. Fry for a minute.
  11. Add the turmeric and red chili powder.
  12. Give the mixture a stir.
  13. Now add the vegetables and stir for a minute.
  14. Add the curd/yoghurt.
  15. Stir and then add 3/4 cup water plus salt. Stir the mixture well.
  16. If using a pressure cooker for cooking the veggies, then cover the cooker with a lid and pressure cook for 2 minutes.
  17. If not using a pressure cooker, then bring the entire vegetable mixture to a boil. Then simmer until the vegetables are cooked. Add the dry fruits – almonds, raisins and cashew nuts to the vegetable gravy.
  18. Check the salt. Add more if required.
  19. Assembling the Biryani and slow cooking it on Dum:
  20. Warm the milk. Add saffron to it. Let this saffron-milk mixture cool. Add the curd to this mixture and mix well.
  21. In the same handi with the cooked vegetables, sprinkle half each of saffron-flavored curd/yoghurt, mint and coriander leaves.
  22. Now spread half of the rice.
  23. Sprinkle the remaining saffron-flavored curd/yoghurt, mint and coriander leaves.
  24. Spread the remaining rice.
  25. Sprinkle rose water. This is optional and you could skip it.
  26. Place a moist cloth on top.
  27. Cover with a lid.
  28. Then seal with wheat flour dough or keep a heavy weight on the lid.
  29. This is one technique that you could use for dum cooking if you do not have the wheat flour dough.
  30. Place the sealed handi on the gas stove at low fire.
  31. Cook for 20-25 minutes more. If you think and feel, that you do not want the base to get burnt while cooking the biryani… there is a technique for avoiding this disaster.
  32. Right at the beginning, before dum cooking the biryani……. take a tava/griddle and heat it on medium flame. Now keep the sealed handi on the tava. Keep the flame to the lowest and cook for 20-25 minutes.
  33. For the first 15 minutes, I dum cooked the biryani on direct low flame and for the last 10 minutes, I placed the handi on the tava and cooked on a low flame.
  34. You could also preheat the oven to 190 degree celsius and then bake the biryani in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Please remember to use an oven proof utensil like the pyrex ones for baking in the oven. You will have to assemble the biryani as mentioned above in the oven proof utensil and then bake it.
  35. While serving, make sure you equally serve the vegetables as well as rice.
  36. Serve the yummy veg biryani with your choice of raita, onion-mint salad-kuchumber, mango pickle, roasted papad.
  37. Other accompaniments for this Hyderabad Veg Biryani would be Mirchon ka Salan…. the way the Biryani is traditionally served in Hyderabad.

Gravy :










Hyderabadi DUM Biryani Ready served with Papad
These photos  are taken step by step during the making,pls check the pictures for any doubts about the DUM process 

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Indian style pasta

Ingredients
Shell Pasta - 1 cup
Onion - 1 cut into small pieces
Tomato-2 ripe , cut (puree is also good 1/2 cup)
Ginger & Garlic paste - 1 Tsp
Cheese -Mozarella -2 tbsp
Chilly-3 slit into 2
salt to taste
oil to fry

Method:
Making Pasta
Boil 3 cups of water.
When it comes to a boil add paste n reduce flame ,let it simmer for 10 min ,add salt (1 tsp) & oil(2 sp) to the water .
Filter the cooked pasta and keep aside.
Cooking Instructions
Heat 2 tsp oil in kadai .
Add onion fry till golden brown.
Add the ginger/garlic paste.Add chillies.Stir.
Add tomatoes.
Keep stirring till the tomatoes are blended well with the onion
Onion,tomato,g&g paste ,& chilles
Cheese cut in cubes
Now add the cooked Pasta & salt and blend well .
Sprinkle the cheese on top n stir slightly.
Pasta Ready
Pasta is Ready ...........Kids'll Love this !!!

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Banana Fritters/ Ethakka Appam /Pazham pori

Banana Fritters/ Ethakka Appam /Pazham pori



Mommy ,Mommy snacks pls !!Well :) if you are lazy as I am Banana fritters is your choice .It is very healthy  and tasty and easy to make too .




Ingredients :

Ripened Banana /Nendrapazham : 1 large
All Purpose Flour /Maida : 3/4 cup
Rice flour : 2 tbsp
Milk : 2 tsp
Turmeric powder : a pinch
Sugar : 2 tsp (adjust accordingly to the sweetness of plantain)
Salt : a pinch (just to adjust the sweetness)
Baking Powder : a pinch (optional)
Coconut Oil for frying(coconut oil for the traditional taste,any oil will do)

Method :

1. Peel the banana skin and cut into two lengthwise.Take one piece and cut into thin slices lengthwise.
2. Mix the remaining ingredients except oil together with enough water and make it into a smooth batter. The batter should be in a medium thick consistency, care should be taken not to form lumps
3. Now heat a shallow frying pan and pour oil.
4. Dip the banana pieces thoroughly in the batter .
5. Fry the bananas in batches of 2 ,turn it over till crisp and golden brown color ..
6. Fritters are ready
7. Enjoy :)

Sent to event:

Priya’s place.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Best Ever Microwave Chocolate Cake




Ingredients:
All Purpose Flour / Maida - 1 cup / 8 oz
Castor Sugar / Powdered Sugar - 1 cup / 8 oz
Butter- 2 tbsp's
Egg's - 2
Unsweetened Coco Powder - 1/2 cup / 4 oz (or any cocoa flavored health drink powder)
Oil - 1/3 cup / 3 oz
Baking Powder - 1 tsp
Coffee Powder - 2 tsp's(optional)
Vanilla Essence - 5 ml
Salt - a pinch


Method:

Mix All purpose flour and Baking Powder and salt. Sieve them for atleast 3 time's. This is to combine the baking powder evenly along with the flour. Mix Coco Powder and Coffee powder with the flour and keep aside. [Let me call it all as Flour Mix.]

Beat the 2 egg's for atleast 2 minutes and set aside. Beat the Sugar and Butter, add whisked egg's and Oil to sugar and Butter Mix. keep beating all for 3 minute's atleast. add vanilla essence and mix well.

Now keep adding the Flour Mix little my little to the Egg mix, Mix them well with a Spatula.
If the Mix is so thick, add few drop's of warm milk to make the flour egg mix little thin.

Grease a 3 inch Microwave safe bowl with Butter and Line it with a Baking Sheet. Pour the Flour Egg Mix to the Bowl and level the top by the spatula.

Microwave the cake on High [900 W] for about 3 minute's. To check whether the cake is cooked or not, insert a knife and ensure it comes out clean without any sticky, when pulled out.

Now Pre-Heat the Microwave oven up to 220C, and put the cake for about 2 to 3 minutes for the top of the cake to get slightly browned. Remove it from the Microwave and Let the cake cool
for about 5 - 7 minute's. Dust some Powdered Sugar upon the Cake if desired.

This was taken from Lavi's blog .