Aloo ka paratha

Hi guys!!

Presenting the most amazing dish on this earth – ‘Good old aloo ka paratha” 😀

I so love it and so does my family. Actually I don’t know of anyone who wouldn’t like it. I love to have it with a big dollop of home-made butter and ‘mom-made’ nimbu ka achaar – YUM!

I have tweaked my mom’s recipe for my liking and this one is super simple to make using everyday ingredients. Not in a mood to write anything more:p so let’s head straight to the ingredients: (Sharing the recipe for the stuffing)

• 3 medium sized mashed boiled potatoes
• 2 green chilies grated
• 1/2 inch ginger – grated
• chopped coriander
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• 1 tsp jeera
• 1 tsp sauf
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp black pepper powder
• juice of half lemon
• salt to taste

Method:

• To make the stuffing for parathas – Mix together mashed potatoes, ginger, green chilies, red chili powder, jeera, sauf, garam masala, black pepper powder, salt, chopped coriander and lemon juice.
• You can also add chopped onions and garlic to enhance the taste
• For a better texture, potatoes can be grated instead of mashing them.
• Lemon juice can be substituted with 1/2 tsp of aamchoor powder.
• Serve hot with curd/achaar/butter

Tomato Soup

Hey there!

This time I am sharing an amazing soup recipe with you all. Something that I would have almost twice a week for dinner. Its healthy and tasty at the same time 😉 I have tweaked the regular tomato recipe in accordance with my likes. Have added veggies and pasta to it so that it becomes more stuffy of a soup ( helps me keep my weight in check :p)

I have tried to click some pictures for this soup (my first time :-S)so that the process becomes clear. It indeed is a time consuming recipe but super easy to make.

Some of the inrgedients for tomato soup

Let’s check the ingredients out:

• 1-2 tbsp extra virgin oil
• 1 tsp mixed Italian seasoning
• 2 cloves chopped garlic
• 1 cup tomato juice (canned or fresh)
• 500 ml vegetable stock
• 5 medium sized tomatoes – diced
• 1/2 cup each – chopped onion and capsicum (optional)
• chopped coriander (optional)
• 1/2 cup boiled pasta (optional)
• 1/4 cup fresh cream (optional)
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Method:

• In a large pot, heat 1 tbsp oil. Add garlic and tomatoes. Stir well.
• Add Italian seasoning, tomato juice and the stock.

Boiling tomato juice, stock, chopped tomatoes together

• Boil for about 20-25 minutes or till the tomatoes are tender
• Cool down and grind well using a hand blender or food processor.
• Strain and keep aside.
• In a saucepan heat 1/2 tbsp of oil. Stir-fry chopped capsicum and onion till tender. Add this to the strained soup.
• Add salt and pepper to taste. Add in the boiled pasta and chopped coriander. Boil for another 5-7 minutes.
• Add fresh cream if you like or skip this step completely.
• Serve hot.

Notes:

• You can skip the garlic if you don’t like it.
• You can also skip using the chopped onion, capsicum and boiled pasta and have the soup without these.
• If the tomatoes are tart then always add in the fresh cream to stabilize the taste.
• You can also add in some spinach along with chopped tomatoes but the soup would turn out a little greenish in color.

Tomato soup 🙂

Winter Salad

Hi guys

Wishing you all a very happy 2013! I hope you guys had a great new year bash.

I have been so tied up with cakes and then went out for this vacation so didn’t really get time to post anything.

This post is really special for me. I am going to share the recipe of my very favorite winter salad with you all. It really gets me in the feel of winters. :p Its one scrumptious and healthy salad which I eagerly wait to have every winters. My mother makes it for me and that’s where I got the recipe from. Trust me, its a “to-die-for” recipe and very very easy to make. Its loaded with carrots and peanuts (actually these are the core and only ingredients) along with a few (regularly used) spices and herbs. The taste is sweet and tangy at the same time because of the carrots and lemon with a crunch added because of the nuts. You can go for variations and use whatever you have in hands, its that easy 😉

Winter Salad

Let’s check the ingredients out:

• 1 tbsp oil
• 3-4 curry leaves (optional)
• 1/2 tsp raaii seeds (mustard seeds)
• 3 whole cups Shredded carrots
• 2 Finely chopped green chillies
• 3/4 cup Toasted peanuts (you can substitute cashews with peanuts but reduce the amount to 1/2 cup. You can skip this step if you don’t like nuts)
• 1 Lemon
• Finely chopped coriander (optional)
•  Salt to taste

Method:

• Heat oil in a pan. Add raaii seeds to it. Let them crackle.
• Add in the green chillies and peanuts.
• Add in the shredded carrots and toss them well.
• Cook them till slightly tender. (No need to cook them completely) I would never cook the carrots completely as I like the freshness.
• Add in salt and 1/2 a lemon. (Depends on your taste. You can add more lemon if you want)
• Add coriander and serve warm. You can store it in fridge if you want, but I like it warm.

Hope you like this amazing salad. Thanks for stopping by 🙂

Mutter paneer :)

Hi guys

I am incredibly bad at writing but still I am going to continue doing this because I want to share my recipes with you all 🙂 So I made this gorgeous Indian dish called “mutter paneer” (peas and cottage cheese) day before and I think this is the recipe I want to be sharing today. It turned out really well. 😉 What I love about this dish is the smooth gravy and an amazing blend of paneer and mutter, its sweet and spicy at the same time which adds up to its flavor and richness..

Give it a try and also give me a feedback 🙂

Here are the ingredients:

1. 1 cup (standard cup) peas – slightly boiled
2. 150 gms paneer (cottage cheese) – diced into cubes
3. 1 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)
4. 1/8 tsp heeng
5. 1 tej patta (bay leaf)
6. 1 moti elaichi (black cardamom)
7. 1 hari elaichi (green cardamom)
8. 1 tsp black pepper
9. 1/4 tsp garam masala
10. 1 and 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
11. 2 tsp dry coriander powder
12. 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
13. Salt to taste
14. 1/4 cup cream
15. oil
16. salt to taste

For the gravy:

Grind together 2 onions, 2 tomatoes, 2 green chillies, 1/2 inch ginger and 1 clove garlic

Method:

• Deep fry the paneer pieces till golden brown and put them in lukewarm water till the gravy gets ready
• Now in a large skillet heat 4 tbsp of oil (increase the quantity if needed)
• Add jeera and heeng and let it crackle. Add bay leaf and moti elaichi. (crush it slightly before dropping in the oil)
• Add in the gravy. Now drop in hari elaichi (we need this to give that sweet elachi flavour to the gravy). Let it cook on low heat. Keep stirring in between. This would take about 10-12 minutes
• When you see oil oozing out from the sides of the gravy, its an indication that the gravy is ready.
• Add in all the dry spices. Mix well. Add about 1/2 a cup of water. (You can add more or less to get desired consistency in the gravy)
• Add in the peas. Mix well and let it cook for 5 minutes.
• Add the paneer and boil it well while stirring in between.
• Give it a nice boil, add in the cream and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Tips:

• You can adjust the measurements as per your need.
• If you like it dry then cut on the water and if you like it a little runny then use more water.
• Besides, you can also add a tsp of sugar if you like it sweeter.
• Be a little patient with the gravy 🙂

Thanks 🙂 Happy cooking 🙂

Focaccia Bread

Now that I am baker it becomes important for me to share some baking recipes with you all. Making breads and specially working with yeast can be painful sometimes but the trick is to follow the recipe carefully and make sure everything you are using is in proportion, then you won’t fail 🙂 I have made this bread several times and trust me its really good. Its whole wheat based, which adds up to the charm 😉

I usually like to have it with light butter or toasted. Although I gorge on a few pieces as soon as its out of the oven :p This bread goes really well with sandwiches.

Now let’s see what goes in this bread:

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup all purpose flour (maida)
2. 1 cup whole-wheat flour
3. 1 tsp sugar
4. 1 tbsp dry yeast
5. salt to taste
6. 1 cup lukewarm water
7. 2 tbsp olive oil
8. 1 tsp black pepper
9. 1 tsp oregano
10. 1 tsp dried basil leaves
    

    Focaccia Bread 🙂

11. 2-3 tbsp extra olive oil

Method:

• Mix together all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, salt, dry yeast, black pepper, oregano, basil leaves in a large bowl
• Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and add 2 tbsp olive oil and gradually add the water and mix well
• Transfer the dough on to a surface which is dusted with some flour.
• Continue kneading the dough for about 7-10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
• You can add in flour in between  if you find the dough sticky.
• Shape the dough into a nice ball.
• Grease a large bowl with some olive oil. Make sure you are using a large bowl as this dough needs enough space to rise.
• Place the dough ball in it and spread the oil generously over it (about a spoonful)
• Cover with cling wrap and let the bowl sit in a preferably warm place for about two hours ( I keep it in the microwave)
• After 2 hours, lightly punch the risen dough and again, lightly knead it and let it sit for about 10 minutes.
• Pre-heat the oven at 200 degree Celsius for 10 minutes.
• Now on a dusted surface, knead the dough 7-8 times to release the air.
• Shape it carefully in to a loaf and place in a greased baking tin (loaf) .. Neatly tuck the sides and smooth-en the top with your hands.
• Bake for about 20-25 minutes or more till the top turns golden brown
• As soon as you take the bread out of the oven, brush it with some butter.

If you have any queries, you can drop in an email at ankitajain88@hotmail.com

Also, I would love to hear from you about my recipes. I am really bad at writing so your feedback can be of great help to me.

Thanks for stopping by :))

 

 

Bruschetta

Hi guys!

I was wondering which recipe to put up for you all next and thought of sharing another easy one – Bruschetta  – An Italian antipasto.

I am madly in love with this one! Its healthy and delicious at the same time. 😉

I make it for myself often so this recipe won’t fail (its tried and tested :D)

Here are the ingredients:

• 3 medium sized tomatoes
• 1 clove of garlic (grated)
• 1/4 tsp dried basil leaves
• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• salt to taste
• 4 Slices of Italian bread / french loaf / regular brown or white bread

Method:

• Roughly chop the tomatoes.
• Add grated garlic, pepper, basil and olive oil to the tomatoes (Skip the salt here).
• Mix well.
• Toast the bread in a grill pan or toaster.
• Add salt to the mixture now.
• Place the mixture over the bread and serve quickly before it turns soggy.

Tips:

– You can top this with some grated cheese and grill it further.

– Salt is added at a later stage so that the tomatoes don’t give out water

Hot chocolate

I think this is the best recipe to share with you all!

Hot chocolate is an all time favorite of mine.. So easy and quick to make..

Here are the ingredients:

1/2 cup chopped chocolate of your choice (I use milk chocolate but dark chocolate can also be used)

2 glasses of full fat milk

sugar to taste

Chocolate chips and whipped cream for garnish

Method:

Heat the milk till its warm

Add in the chocolate (as much or as less you like)

Stir well using a whisk. ( I am more comfortable with a whisk, you can use a spoon if you want)

Give it a boil.

Pour it in a mug and top with whipped cream and chocolate chips. (optional)

About me (:

Hi

I am Ankita, a home baker based at Bhopal and a crazy food fanatic.

I am here to share my experiments in kitchen and loads on baking 🙂

 

 

 

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