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Chủ Nhật, 26 tháng 2, 2012

Coconut Daal/Lentils simmered in spicy creamy coconut sauce

aal or lentils is the ultimate comfort food for us Indians. Something we eat almost every day with either rice or roti or homemade flat bread. In keeping with the theme, I try to include it in some way or form in atleast one meal each day in our household. It is especially important for vegetarians as lentils provide a very good and oftentimes the only substantial source of protein. So I often look for different ways to incorporate them in our daily diet. So a few days ago when one of my dear readers mentioned that they had coconut daal in some restaurant and wondered if I knew how to make it, I got a pleasant reminder of a long forgotten recipe - another addition to my list of daal recipes.
Lentils come in different varieties and there are endless possibilities for how you can cook them. A little change in the seasonings and spices will allow you to create a completely new dish with new flavors. This is a simple, rustic recipe with simple subtle flavors of creamy coconut and the seasoning of mild spices and curry leaves. A comfort food which when eaten with rice and stir fried veggies, makes you all warm 'n fuzzy.
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Thứ Năm, 23 tháng 2, 2012

Sweet Paan & Chocolate Paan

Sweet Paan is something I've enjoyed as a teenager and till date I ♥ it...:D excellent mouth freshener and works superb for digestion . after a heavy meal paan is an excellent dessert with very less calories...I've tasted almost 13 different paan varieties till now with out fail i will always order for some chocolate paan and some sweet paan every time we dine out. follow the steps and prepare paan yourself its very easy...:)
Ingredients:
10 to 15 Betel Leafs(Vethalai)
5 Tbsp Gulkand
2 Tsp Sweet Saunf
Pan lime/Choona
2 Tbsp Sweetened Betel Nut
1/4 Tsp Cardamom Powder
1/4 Cup Colored Sweetened Shredded Coconut (if you cant find this you can use desiccated coconut)
5 Cloves
Cherry and Tutti fruity
2 Tbsp Chocolate chips
1 Tbsp Chocolate noodles
  • Before preparing paan we need to rinse the betel leafs thoroughly once in salt water and twice in regular normal water.
  • In a large bowl of water spreed the betel leafs and allow to rest for 1 hour before preparing paan.
  •  Spread a tea towel on a flat surface take a betel leaf out of the water place it on the towel and pat gently to remove excess water.  
  •  Fold the leaf....using a pair of scissors gently cut the steam till the middle.


  •  Place the leaf on the plate shiny side of the leaf must face down.
  • Take little bit of  lime/choona using finger tip spreed all over the betel leaf.  

  •  Take the betel leaf in you hand to form a cone please follow the photo diagram and fold the leaf to a cone shape this is exactly like forming a samosa.


  •  Once you form the cone add little bit of the betel nuts.
  • Add 4 to 5  sauf / sweet fennel seeds.
  • Add sweetened coconut.
  •  Add little gulkand.
  •  Add little bit cherry.
  •  Add one clove and a pinch of cardamom powder.
  •  Finally fold the top layer of the paan.

  •  Place a cherry  on the fold.
  •  pierce the cheery and pan with a toothpick  just to hold everything together. 
Serve with love...enjoy...:)
  • To prepare chocolate paan follow the same steps to cut the betel leaf and form into a cone once the choona is applied add betel nut, gulkand, sauf, coconut and the chocochips and choconoodles seal the top fold using a cherry and serve...:)
Its so much fun when we prepare paan at home i enjoy preparing paan during festivals and special occasions at home since we dont eat much sweets at home we treat our selfs with paan sometimes...
Taj Pan Shop is located in shivajinagar Bangalore its right in front of taj hotel from my child hood days nothing has changed much myself and dad always take a break from our routine and head towards shivajinagar to see something new and we would always stop at taj pan shop and order for a sweet paan its fun just to stand there eating paan and soak up all the live activity and head back home with cheerful memories.
Mubarak the pan shop owner a cheerful guy  always with a smile welcomes his customers my boss always used to tell by default paan shop guys implement six sigma true to his words they can cater 15 orders all at once with very less errors with in a matter of  few seconds  as I stood for my order mubarak handled 20 customers with 20 different paan orders...god bless him...:)

I want to conclude my journey with a pan order from mubarak's shop and my recipe demo in English do post your comments and let me know if you would like to see similar posts...enjoy...:)

Thứ Hai, 20 tháng 2, 2012

Palak paneer/Saag paneer

Palak Paneer is one of my all time favorite Indian curries. It is a hearty, wholesome, comforting dish loved by all in my family too. Sometimes also known as Saag Paneer, it is an all time classic. The homemade cheese or paneer is slowly simmered in a very aromatic  and creamy curried spinach or saag/palak - an omnipresent dish in almost every menu of Indians restaurants all over the world. It is served with a basket of buttery naans. You break a piece of the bread, use it to scoop up the gravy and savor the mild yet authoritative burst of flavor, taste and texture.
The combination of spinach and cheese is a power pack. With the protein of the cheese and calcium, iron, vitamins of spinach, this dish besides being a treat to the eye and taste buds, is really good for you. If your kids get a liking for it - like mine did - it is also a great way to put some spinach in them.
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Fried Ice cream

I had to make this after visiting my friends blog post. I remember having fried ice cream in mumbai my very close friend Mary Fernandez made some when dad and myself were at mumbai last year i gave her a call last week to get her recipe it was so simple and we had some leftover ice cream its bit of time consuming process but worth all efforts...:)

Method:

  •   Scoop out your choice of  flavor ice cream on a tray and freeze it for and hour.
P.S line the tray or plate with parchment paper  as you see in the pic the ice cream melts and its tough to handle if the tray is not lined with foil or paper.
  • Take 1 cup of corn flakes add to mixer jar and grind. reserve the powdered corn flakes in a bowl.
  • Take the frozen scooped icecream and roll out in corn flakes powder line it on  the tray and freeze again for and hour.

  • In a bowl mix 2-3 tbsp of corn flour with little bit of water dip the frozen icecream in the corn starch and roll out again in the corn flakes. line the ice cream on a tray and freeze the coated icecream for 2 hours.
  • Freezing the icecream helps the coating set properly and its easy to fry.
  • Heat enough oil in a wok to fry the icecream.
  • Oil must be really hot and fuming place it on medium flame and fry the icecream till light golden in color and serve right away.
I did serve my fried ice cream with some fruits i love. chopped up one apple, 2 figs, 5 strawberry, 1/2 cup of grapes added 3 tbsp of honey with few drops of honey and covered it with a foil and refrigerated the fruits prior.
 After frying my ice cream i scooped up some fruits and bit of the honey sauce and served right away...we enjoyed...try it your self and enjoy...:)
Video Demo in English...Enjoy...:)

Hi Friends...I had to delete my fried ice cream video and reupload the video due to technical issues in video streaming...do watch my new upload and enjoy...:)

Thứ Ba, 14 tháng 2, 2012

Methi Paratha

Methi (fenugreek) is a wonder herb its very good for health when consumed more methi can help the skin glow its good for diabetic people adds good flavor to food do try few home based beauty tips I've tried myself 
  • Take half bunch of methi wash atleast 3 times add the methi leafs to blender and grind while grinding add vinegar about 3 to 4 tbsp grind to smooth paste apply to your scalp and hair allow to soak for 1 hour then rinse your hair you will find no dandruff the very next day i make it a point to apply once a week even henna can be mixed with this paste sometimes i also add lime or yogurt.
  • Take fist full of methi and grind in a mixer add honey and yogurt while grinding to a smooth paste apply to skin I promise you will see the glow in 3 weeks it works wonders for my skin no acne blemishes and dark spots...friends please try these tips and pass on to your friends and family its very useful. 
1 Bunch Methi Leafs (finely chopped)
1 Onion (finely chopped)
1 Tbsp Chilly Powder
1 Tbsp Cumin Powder
3-4 Tbsp Tomato Ketchup
2 Cups Wheat flour
1 Cup Maida
(Instead of wheat flour and maida multi grain flour can be used)
Salt to taste
3 Tbsp Oil + for frying paratha
  • If you dont like chilly powder add green chilly paste or black pepper.
  • Instead of cumin chatmasala can be added.

  • Mom always surprises me with her cooking she told me adding ketchup reduces the bitter content in the fenugreek leafs let me tell you she makes wonderful yummy parathas always and people who have tasted methi paratha in my home always take her recipe but they will still come back and ask her to prepare...thats why i call her YUMMY MOMMY...your the best...:*
Method:
  • Add one tbsp oil in a wok on medium flame fry the onion till transparent and add to the flour.
  • In the same wok add 2 tbsp oil and fry the methi till it wilts-down add the chilly powder and cumin powder and fry a bit add tomato ketchup and fry add very little salt and fry the fenugreek leafs and add to the flour. 
  • Add salt to the flour mix all the ingredients adding water knead the dough to a soft consistency and allow the dough to rest for 30minutes before preparing.
  • The dough can be prepared ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for best results.
  • Take a medium size dough ball and dip into extra flour and roll out to desired shape.
  • Heat a pan or skillet and fry the paratha till well done add butter and frying the paratha is your choice i will vouch for butter because butter makes everything better...serve hot paratha with yogurt and tomato pickle...enjoy..:)
Please Click Here for tomato pickle recipe...:)


Do watch my video recipe demo in english...enjoy...:)