Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and here goes my cake recipe which I prepared on Xmas.I used half wheat flour and half all purpose flour so that the cake gets a bit more healthy.I tried to include bananas so that my fussy kid can get the fruit through the cake..just a medium to feed fruits.A simple and yummy home made cake which am sure all of you will like.
Method- Beat the eggs together.Add sugar to the eggs and mix well. You can also blend the egg-sugar mixture. While blending chop the bananas and add to this mixture and blend. Mix the atta, maida,baking soda and baking powder. Start adding butter little by little and knead the dough simultaneously. Now add this dough to the egg-sugar-banana mix. Sprinkle some drops of vanilla and mix well so that the batter is consistent and smooth. Preheat the oven. Grease a baking dish and bake it in microwave(convection option) for 40min. If you are using a cake pan,grease the pan and bake it for around 40min. Yummy banana cake is ready :)
Dum aloo is a potato based dish which is a part of Kashmiri cuisine.In Bengal it is typically known as Aloor Dum and served as a hot accompaniment with pooris or luchis as they are called in bengali .The recipe I have posted below is obviously the bengali version which has certain differences with the kashmiri one.So please do give it a try..
Ingredients- potatoes onion ginger garlic tomato green chillies red chilly powder turmeric powder coriander powder cumin powder garam masala powder salt coriander leaves water oil
Method - Cut the potatoes into medium size cubes. Chop the onions,ginger,garlic,green chillies,tomatoes roughly. To prepare the garam masala, dry roast the following ingredients and then make a paste out of it - dhaniya,jeera,sukhi laal mirch,elaichi(choti and badi),dalchini,laung,kaali mirch,khuskhus.This powder remains good for many days or months when kept in an air-tight container. To reiterate the masala names in english - coriander seeds, cumin seeds, red chilly,cardamom,cinnamon,cloves,black pepper,poppy seeds. Now heat oil in a non-stick pan/kadhai. Put in the potato cubes and chopped onion and fry till light brown. Make a paste of the ginger and garlic which you chopped. Add the paste and fry. After 5min add the chopped tomatoes and gren chillies. Let it cook until the raw smell of ginger-garlic goes away. It will take about 5-7min on medium flame. Now add the salt,red chilly powder,haldi powder,dhaniya jeera powder. Let all the masalas cook for another 2-3min. Now add water and let the potatoes get cooked well. You can adjust the amount of water as per the amount of gravy you require. Once the potatoes are cooked, add finely chopped coriander leaves and the garam masala powder which we just prepared. Thats it..the garam masala aroma will make the magic:) Serve delicious aloo dum with phulkas/parathas/pooris.
This is a very famous breakfast/snack dish from South India.It is healthy no doubt as it contains the dals plus the fermentation process.Nowadays you get the ready made batter mix in the market but the taste of home made fermented batter has no match!So go ahead for these delicious home made uttapams..
Ingredients- rice(2cups) urad dal(1cup) chana dal(2tbspn) fenugreek seeds/methi(1tbspn) salt oil/ghee baking soda water for soaking,grinding veggies - onion,tomatoes,green chillies,coriander leaves.
Method - Wash and soak the rice and dals for 6-7hours. Grind the mixture to a fine paste by adding little water at a time. Keep the batter covered outside the fridge overnight for fermentation. Next day morning add salt and baking soda and mix well. Chop the onions,tomatoes,chillies and coriander leaves finely. Heat a non-stick tava. Drizzle one tspn of oil or ghee. Pour a laddle full of batter and let it spread(on its own). Add some chopped veggies over it and salt as per taste. Cover and cook. Serve hot uttapam with sambar and chutney of your choice :)
Coconut/nariyal as in hindi/narkel as in bengali/naal as in konkani is a fruit/nut which is used in every Indian and typical Goan homes in some form or the other.It has a lot of medicinal benefits but today I shall not go into those details and restrict my post to coconut ladoos.These ladoos are a hot favourite in our home and they just disappear in no time.A very good alternative to sweet if you dont want to have those ready-made sweets/mithais.These are a must-have ladoos in every bengali home during Durga Puja.They are called as "narkel narus" in bengali.We love to have it in any season..:)So here goes the recipe..
Method - Grate the coconut. Adjust the amount of sweet as per your preference.Typically same amount of sugar/jaggery as the amount of grated coconut. Generally we use half sugar and half jaggery. This is how we love it in our house. You can use only sugar or only jaggery. Mix the mixture of coconut,sugar and jaggery with your hand well. You can also add some mashed sweets like kalakand or sandesh if you wish.This is optional. Now transfer this mixture into a kadai and put it on sim flame. Stir it continuously till a whole lump is formed. Remember this step is really important so that you can make perfect ladoos. Once done, remove the mixture from flame and make round ladoos. Thats it..lovely delicious ladoos are ready to be had anytime:)
With the onset of winter who would not love to have a bowl of healthy yummy hot soup!! This soup is really simple and easy to prepare.It can be done in a very short time.In the steps below I have fried the veggies in oil, but this step can be skipped and you can directly pressure cook.I have not included any spice/chillies in the preparation so that it can be comfortably served to kids with no worries..and my fellow simply loved it :P Ingredients- tomato (500gm) carrot (2medium) onion (1big) garlic (5-6cloves) salt oil butter black pepper powder water
Method - Roughly chop the onions and garlic cloves. Chop the tomatoes and carrots in cubes. Heat 1 table spoon oil in a non-stick pan. Fry the onion and garlic for 2min. Next put in the chopped tomatoes and carrots. Add salt as per taste. After another 5min, add sufficient water and transfer the stuff into a pressure cooker and cook till the veggies get soft. Once done, strain the soup with the help of a strainer. Now add the seasoning before serving. Add salt, butter and black pepper powder. Serve this yummy hot tomato-carrot soup with bread toast or sip it as is.. :)
This dish gives a lovely banana flavor to the typical malpuas.The preparation is simple, but frying takes time as you have to be patient to fry the malpuas one by one so that they get soft from inside and crispy from outside.The banana malpuas come out so delicious that you will worth the time spent on them.. :)
Ingredients- banana all purpose fluor/maida(1/4cup) wheat fluor/atta(1/2cup) sooji(1/2cup) sugar(1/4cup) salt freshly grated coconut milk fennel seeds/saunf black pepper oil/ghee for frying
Method - Mash a banana into a large bowl. Add atta,maida,sooji,pinch of salt,sugar,coconut to it. Mix well. Then add milk to make a consistent batter. The quantity of milk can vary, as you can add more as and when it gets soaked. The quantity of sugar can also be adjusted.The measure given here doesn't make it too sweet. Once the batter is ready add half table spoon saunf and 4-5 crushed black peppercorns. You must be wondering why black pepper in this sweet dish, but believe me it tastes amazing. Heat some oil in a kadhai. I mixed some 3-4table spoon ghee with the oil. Pour a laddle full of batter into the oil. Fry on medium heat on both sides till brownish. The above quantity made around 20-22 malpuas and got vanished in a couple of days :)
This is a very simple dish which can be had as a quick snack.The beauty of it is it requires bare minimum ingredients which are almost always part of your pantry(bread and potatoes).So please go ahead and try these bread rolls at home.. :)
Ingredients- potatoes onion ginger garlic bread green chillies turmeric/haldi powder red chilli/mirchi powder cumin/jeera powder coriander leaves/dhaniya patta salt bread slices water oil
Method - Boil the potatoes with skin till soft. Peel off the skin and mash them.Add salt. Make a paste of ginger and garlic. Chop the onions,green chillies and coriander leaves. Heat oil in a non stick pan. Put in the ginger and garlic. Fry for a while and then add chopped onions. Let it fry for sometime.Add the chillies. Add salt,haldi,red chilli and jeera powder. Mix well and add freshly chopped coriander leaves. Spread out this mixture on a plate to cool down. Take a slice of bread.Cut off the edges. Dip it lightly in water. Squeeze out the water from it as much as possible. Now take some potato mixture and place it in the center of the bread. Fold the edges of the bread to make a roll. Cover it as much as possible and give the shape. Heat oil for frying. Once the oil is hot, deep fry the roll into it. Fry it on a medium flame on both sides till light brown. Similarly make rolls out of other bread slices. Crispy bread rolls are ready to serve with ketchup and salad :)
Note-If you wish to have pure veg rolls, just avoid the onion and garlic in the above process.
This chicken dish is very simple in the literal sense.There is no much hazard in the cooking process and gets done within no time actually :P It is cooked with very less oil, as the curd marination helps.So there is no much oil or masala,which in turn makes it very healthy too.Do give it a try..
Ingredients- chicken curd ginger garlic paste black pepper powder onion green chillies kasturi methi leaves salt oil
Method - Wash the chicken well and marinate it for 1-2 hours with the following -curd,ginger-garlic paste,salt and black pepper powder. I generally make fresh paste of ginger-garlic,but you can use the ready made ones also. Wash the methi leaves and soak them in water for around 15-20min. Heat little oil in a pan. Put in the chopped onion and chillies. Saute for a while. Add the marinated chicken. Adjust salt as per taste. Sprinkle in the methi leaves and let it cook till the chicken gets tender. Serve hot kasturi chicken with roti/phulkas :)
This dish is generally prepared with left over idlis.Whenever I prepare idlis I make a huge batch so that the first day we have it with sambhar and the next day is masala idly.. :)This is a very quick and delicious recipe..worth giving it a try.
Ingredients- idly onion tomato green chillies mustard seeds/sarson curry leaves/kadi patta sambhar masala/sambhar water salt coriander leaves oil
Method - Heat a non-stick pan and fry the left over idlis in some ghee. Once they turn light brown on both sides,chop them roughly into big cubes. Chop the onion, chillies and tomato finely. Heat oil in a non-stick pan. Add mustard seeds and curry leaves.Let them splutter. Add the chopped onion and chillies. Once onion gets fried add tomatoes. Let it cook for sometime.Add salt as per taste. Put in the fried idly pieces. Mix well. Add some sambar powder,sprinkle little water and cook. You can also add left over sambhar if there is any. Adjust the salt as per taste. Add freshly chopped coriander leaves. Delicious masala idly is ready to serve.
Rajma is a dish prepared with red kidney beans in a thick gravy.It is a famous delicacy from north India which is typically served with steamed rice.Kidney beans are a rich source of carbohydrate,protein and fat,hence making it very healthy among the lentils.
Ingredients- red kidney beans/razma-200gm onion-1big ginger garlic cloves tomato-2 green chillies garam masala-elaichi,dalchini,laung fresh coriander leaves salt oil
Method - Wash and soak the rajma in water for 10-12hours or overnight. Chop roughly onion,ginger,garlic,chillies and tomatoes. Puree the tomatoes to a fine paste. Separately make a paste of the following-onions,ginger,garlic,chillies and garam masala.Add little water if required. Heat oil in a non-stick kadhai. Add the onion paste and fry for sometime. After a while add the tomato paste. Once the oil separates out,add salt as per taste and also ass haldi,chilly,dhaniya jeera powder. Cook for another 5-7min. Add the soaked rajma and mix well. Finally transfer the rajma into a pressure cooker,add sufficient water and let it cook for 7-8 whistles till rajma is soft and mushy. Sprinkle with fresh coriander leaves. Serve hot rajma masala with steamed rice or phulkas.
I am back from a hiatus..was really occupied for the last few months with various issues and could not post in my blog.Really sorry for that..:( Coming to today's recipe..Dosas are really healthy and all of us love them.But many a times we dont attempt to prepare because of the long process..the fermentation part.Actually we forget to soak the ingredients and then its no more an option to have.. :) This happens with many of us.This dosa recipe does not require fermentation and it does not have rice in it.So it is a good breakfast option for people who do not want to have carbohydrates or otherwise.There are various types of dals in it which makes it a protein rich dosa.Here you go..
Method - Wash and soak all the dals for 7-8hours or overnight. Next day grind tha dals with some ginger and green chillies. Add some sooji/rava to it and salt a sper taste. Let the mixture stand for around 15min. Heat a non-stick pan. Drizzle some oil on it. Pour a laddle full of batter and make circular dosas. Cook on medium flame till light brown. Crispy dosas are ready to server with sambar/chutney.
