I heard about these sweet potato shankarpalis few days back but had never tasted them.So thought of giving it a try as I thought it would be definitely tasty since we like the normal sweet shankarpalis. And yes they turned out just perfect - crispy shankarpalis :)
Ingredients- mashed sweet potato (1 cup) all purpose flour/maida(1.5 cup) powdered sugar(slightly less than 1/2 cup) salt(a pinch) ghee(1 tbspn) Oil for deep frying
Method - Boil the sweet potatoes and mash them.The mashed quantity I used was 1 cup. Add maida,sugar,salt and ghee to it and knead into a dough.Sweetness can be varied as per your taste. Make small balls out of this dough. Roll each ball into a small roti with the help of a rolling pin . Cut into diamond shaped shankarpalis with the help of a pizza cutter.(You can refer to the pic posted in "Shankarpali") Heat oil and deep fry the shankarpalis on a medium flame till brown.They will get crispy once they cool. Store in an air-tight container. Crispy shankarpalis are ready :-)
Caramel pudding is a nice variation to the normal pudding...with the flavour of caramalised sugar.This requires very little effort and tastes divine :) So try out this version and am sure it will be a family favourite.
Method - Heat the milk and let it cool. Whisk(beat) 4 eggs in a bowl well. Mix the eggs and milk well and add vanilla essence. Add sugar(12 tbspn) to the milk-egg mix.Sweetness can be varied as per your choice. To make the caramel - Heat a container/vessel in which you will make the pudding.Add 2 tbspn of sugar to it.The sugar will caramalize as it heats. Once the sugar turns brownish,remove it from the flame and add the milk-egg mixture to it. Take a pressure cooker, add some water to it. Place a stand in the cooker and place the pudding container over this stand. Close the pudding container. Now pressure cook this for about 20-25 min without the weight(whistle). Check and see if pudding is done with the help of a knife and then let it cool and refrigerate.
Chicken tikka is famous all over the world.It is traditionally made by baking chicken pieces using skewers in a tandoor-which is a clay-based oven.In some places it is also grilled over red hot coal...I made these tikkas in our microwave with grill option and it was simply delicious :)
Ingredients - boneless chicken (200gm) lemon juice(2-3 tspns) red chilly powder(1-2 tspns) salt curd(1 tspn) ginger-garlic paste turmeric powder coriander powder cumin powder garam masala powder oil
Method - Wash and chop the chicken to small pieces. Mix together lemon juice,red chilly powder and salt. Apply this first marinade to the chicken. Now mix the following ingredients to make the second marinade : oil(1tspn),curd,ginger-garlic paste,turmeric powder,red chilly powder,coriander powder,cumin powder,garam masala powder and salt.Apply it to the chicken. Refrigerate it for 5-6 hours or overnight. Preheat the microwave to 180deg. Sprinkle some oil on the chicken. Grease the grill stand with oil.Keep the chicken on the stand. Set the grill option for 10min. Turn the chicken pieces on the other side,sprinkle oil and again grill for 10min. Serve the grilled tikkas with onion rings and lemon wedges :-)
Plantains are raw bananas which are unsweet.They have a high nutritional value as they are low in saturated fat and cholesterol.They are also a rich source of iron.Making tikkis/cutlets out of them is a very easy and simple way of including them in your diet..
Ingredients - plantain/raw banana(1) potato(1 medium) onion(1 medium) green chillies(3-4) salt fresh coriander leaves oil for shallow frying
Method - Pressure cook or microwave the banana and potato with a pinch of salt. Chop the onion and green chillies finely. Mash the cooked banana-potato and mix well. Add the chopped onion,chillies,coriander leaves and salt to the above mixture. Make small tikkis. Heat oil on a non-stick pan. Shallow fry the tikkis till golden brown. Serve hot with ketchup or chutney :-)
Pancakes are actually made out of all purpose flour,but I used wheat flour for a healthier version.This is one such breakfast/snack item which is very easy,healthy and tasty.Pancakes are usually served with maple syrup..since I didnt have one we had it with honey and it was simply delicious :)
Ingredients - all purpose flour/maida(1 cup) wheat flour/atta(1 cup) baking powder(1.5 tspn) powdered sugar(1.5 cups) milk(2 cups) eggs(2) melted butter(2 tspns) vanilla essence(few drops) pinch of salt honey(for serving)
Method - Mix together the dry ingredients - maida,atta,baking powder,salt and sugar. Beat the eggs well in a bowl and then add milk and butter. Now pour this milk-egg mixture into the above flour. Mix well so that there are no lumps. Grease a non-stick pan with some oil/butter. Take a laddle full of batter and pour on the pan. Let it spread on its own. Pancakes are supposed to be a bit thick. Drizzle some honey over the pancakes and serve hot :-)
I tried making aloo parathas once and it was a fiasco..in the sense the stuffing came out and it was a total mess :) So this time I corrected my mistakes and decided to give it another try and it was a success.They were just perfect aloo parathas with loads of stuffing..
Ingredients - potatoes(2 big) onion(1 medium) green chillies(3-4) turmeric powder fresh coriander leaves salt oil wheat flour/atta water for kneading ghee(optional)
Method - Pressure cook the potatoes or microwave them till soft. Chop the onion and green chillies fine. Heat oil in a non-stick pan. Add the onion and green chillies and saute. After a minute add the mashed potatoes,turmeric powder and salt as per taste. Add finely chopped coriander leaves and cook this stuffing for sometime till all the moisture is gone and it becomes dry. I cooked it for approx 15 min. Spread it aside on a plate and let it cool. Take the wheat flour in a plate.Add salt and 1 tspn of oil to it. Now start adding water little by little to make a dough. The dough should not be very soft. Make balls out of this dough and the stuffing mixture. Roll 1 ball of the flour into a small roti. Place the stuffing ball in the center.Seal the edges of the roti. Now slowly roll it to form a paratha. Heat a tawa and fry the parathas with ghee or oil. Serve hot parathas with curd/pickle/tomato ketchup :-)
I had once tried making macaroni in an Indian style. It wasn't bad but sumhow it was not upto the mark.Actually I feel that pasta is something which tastes yummy if prepared in an Italian way :)So we tried this one with olive oil and oregano seasoning..very few ingredients and yet it was amazing..
Ingredients - macaroni pasta garlic cloves(10-12) baby tomatoes(2) red chilly paste chilly flakes seasoning salt olive oil
Method - Cook the pasta in hot boiling water and then drain it and run it under cold running water so that it does not stick. Mash the garlic cloves. If you are using baby tomatoes there is no need to chop them.Incase normal size tomatoes are used then chop them roughly.(Do not finely chop) Make a fine paste of dry red chillies with minimum water. Heat olive oil in a non-stick pan. Add the mashed garlic.Saute it for about 2 min. Put in the tomatoes and the chilly paste. Add the cooked pasta,salt,dry red chilly flakes and seasoning. The seasoning consist of oregano,garlic,thyme etc..and is easily available in the market. Cover and cook for about 2-3min. Delicious macaroni with red chilly sauce is ready to serve :-)
