PANEER BHURJI (Scrambled Paneer)

Paneer Bhurji

Ingredients:

Paneer grated/crumbled - 400 gms
Onions - 2 medium chopped finely
Ginger -Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
Green Chilli - 4 nos slit
Tomatoes - 1 big
Thawed frozen Green Peas - 1/4 cup
Carrot - 1/2 of a medium chopped finally
Capsicum - 1/4 of a medium chopped finely
Coriander leaves - a handful chopped
Coriander Powder - 1.5 tsp
Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - .5 tsp
Garam masala - .5 tsp
Jeera - 2 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt

Preparation:
Heat Oil in a pan. Once hot add in jeera. Once it splutters add in the onions and saute till light pink. Then add in the ginger garlic paste  and saute till onions turn light brown in color. Add in the carrots and tomatoes and saute till tomatoes are cooked. Then add in capsicum and peas and saute for about 5 mins. Add in the masalas and saute for another 5-8 mins on slow - medium flame. Finally add in the grated paneer and mix thoroughly with ladle. Add in salt and cook on low flame for 7 mins. Add in the coriander leaves and add in slice of lemon as garnish. You can enjoy this Hot phulkas :)

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

 

PALAK PANEER

Palak Paneer

Ingredients:

Palak - 2 bunch
Paneer - 8-9 cubes
Green Chilli - 3 nos
Onion - 1 medium chopped finely
Tomato - 1 medium
Garlic - 2 cloves
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp
Methi Leaves dry - 1 tbsp
Milk/Cream - 3 tbsp
Salt

Preparation:

Clean palak well and discard stems. Now chop the leaves roughly and boil with just 3-4 tbsp water till leaves are cooked. Then drain and wash them in cold water to retain color. Once cool blend them to a puree with green chillies and keep aside.

Add butter/oil in a pan ad fry the paneer pieces slighly brown. Roughly about 2 mins on each side of paneer.

Now in a pan add butter/oil and add in the onions. Saute till transparent and then add garlic. Saute for a min or 2 and then add in tomatoes and saute till tomatoes are smashed well. Puree this mix in grinder by addind minimal water ( this puree stage is purely optional). In the same pan add the pureed mixed and once boiled add in the powders. Saute till raw smell of powders are gone. Then add in the methi leaves and saute for a min, Next add in the pureed palak with chilli and mix. Add in salt, milk/cream. Once boiled switch off and add in the paneer. Serve warm with roti.

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

Button Idli Sambar aka Mini idli dipped in sambar

Ingredients:

For Button idlis:
Idli rice - 1 cup
Urad dal - 1 cup

Preparation:
Soak the rice and urad dal in separate bowls for 6-8 hours. Grind them in a mixie or stone grinder with little water, The batter should be slightly thicker than dosa batter. Mix and keep them in warm place to ferment for a minimum of 8 hours. Add salt once fermented. Spoon them into idli moulds that is greased with oil. Steam them for 10 mins or till done. Spoon them out once little cold. Or you can dip spoon in cold water and take hot idles out :).

For Sambar:
Toor dal - 1.5 cup
Shallots/sambar onions - 10 nos sliced thinly
Tomato - 1large chopped finely
Tamarind -a small lemon size soaked in 1/4 cup water
Potato - 1 medium cut into small cubes
Carrot - 1medium cut  into small cubes
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Sambar powder - 2 tsp ( I used eastern)
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Coriander leaves - half handful
Salt to taste
Oil

To roast & grind:
Coconut grated - 2.25 tbsp
Chana dal - 2 tbsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1.25 tsp
Red chilly - 3 nos
Curry leaves - 7 leaves
Asafoetida - a pinch

Preparation:

Roast all the ingredients on low flame (under the grind ingredients). Then grind them in grinder when cooled.

Meanwhile pressure toor dal in almost 3 cups water till done. Then mash them nicely with back of the spoon. Keeping the dal to further boil, add in the vegetables.

Meanwhile, in a pan add a tsp of oil and to this add mustard seeds. Once seeds splutter, add in the onions and sauté. Once light, add in tomato and add a bit salt for faster cooking. Cook till tomato gets smashed. Then add in the turmeric powder, sambar powder. Sauté till oil starts leaving sides.

Crush the tamarind in soaked water with fingers to remove the pulp from seeds. Then add the pulp paste to the dal mix. Now add the onion mix sautéd to the dal mixture. Stir. Finally add in the roasted powdered masala and stir nicely. Add salt per taste. The consistency of sambar should not be too thick. A little thin will be right. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Serving:
Serve in a bowl with mini idlis soaked in hot sambar.

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

PALAK KOFTA (Low Fat Version)

Palak Kofta

Ingredients:
Palak - 1 bunch

For the Kofta:
Potato boiled - 1 big
Paneer grated - 1/4 cup
Peas boiled - 1/4 cup
Green Chilli chopped veru finely - 3 nos
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp
Brown Bread slices - 2 nos
Low fat cream - As needed
Salt

For the Curry:
Butter - 2 tbsp + 1 tbsp
Cashew nutes - 8 whole
Onion sliced - 1 large
Ginger Garlic paste - 1.5 tsp
Tomato - 2 medium sliced
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 1/4 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1 1/4 tsp
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Kasuri Methi - a liberal pinch
Low Fat milk - 1 cup
Low fat cream - 1 tbsp

Preparation:

Cut the stems of the palak and chop finely the leaves. In a pan add about 2 tbsp water and add the chopped palak and boil till water gets evaporated. Drain well. I further chopped the palak and kept aside.

For the Koftas:
Smash the potato so that no lumps are formed. To this add all the ingredients, 1/4 cup of palak, except bread.

Cut the ends of the bread and soak the bread in the water and squeeze nicely. Then add to the potato mix.

Now make small round balls of the mix. Flatten the the balls lightly and add about less than 1/4 tsp of cream and then cover the flatten ball to form a ball again.

Add 1/4 tsp of oil into Unniappam Pan, add each balls into one hole and fry till golden brown. Alternatively you can make a paste of cornflour, salt and water to a thick paste. Dip each balls into the cornflour and deep fry till golden brown. Drain in a tissue to remove excess oil.

You can see the cream in the centre when kofta is cut

For the Curry:

In a pan, add 2 tbsp butter. First add the cashew nuts and fry till golden brown and remove. Then to the same oil, add sliced onions. When slightly pink in color add ginger garlic paste and fry till light golden color. Then to this add tomato and saute till tomato gets smashed nicely.

Add in the powders and saute till oil starts leaving the sides. Leave the mix to cool down. In a grinder add the onion-tomato mix and cashew nuts and grind to a paste. I added almost 1/2 cup of milk too the grinding stage.

In the same pan, add 1 tbsp butter and add the grinded mix and also remaining milk. While its coming to boil, add the very finely chopped remaining boiled palak to the mix and stir. Then add add kasuri methi and cream and stir. Switch off flame.

Serve the koftas topped with curry. It goes best with rotis and naans :)

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

Notes:
While adding boiled palak, squeeze once more the water out and add.
Kasuri Methi is purely optional.

CHOCOLATE NUTELLA COOKIES (Eggless)

Eggless Nutella Cookies - BHW

Another exciting wednesday for blog hopping came in and this time I was paired with one of my bloggy friend Priya :). I was so dleighted to know that I was paired with her as her blog as a treat to my eyes and i actually got confused what to make seeing all the wonderful dishes she have made. I was looking for simple recipe and as usual baking being my passion these days, these cookies were instant eye cather to me eyes. I did make changes to it and added extra few ingredients to it. I liked this biscuit coz unlike other biscuits it wasnt so sweet and for a family like mine, this was perfect :). Do find the link to the idea i got form her blog from here.

Ingredients:

All Purpose Flour - 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp
Cocoa Powder - 1/3 cup
Baking Powder - 1/2 tsp
Softened Butter - 1/4 cup
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Brown Sugar - 1/4 cup
Vanilla Essence - 1/2 tsp
Nutella - 8 tsp
Milk - 6 tsp

Preparation:

Pre-heat oven to 163C/325F

Sieve Flour, cocoa powder and baking powder and keep aside.

Now with a electric mixer beat sugars and butter till smooth. Add int he essence and nuteela and beat for another minute or so. Slowly add in the mixed flour and start folding in. Add milk in between and fold the whole mix into a soft dough. Refrigerate for 15-20 mins to make the dough hard.

Make small balls and place them on to a baking tray placed with baking paper. Flatten them with a bottom of a glass. Bake till slight cracks are formed and cookies are still soft. This wil take about 10 mins or so.

Cheers,
Neetz ;)


I would like to send this over for KIDS DELIGHT cevent onducted by Kavi and Srivalli and Valentines Event

                              Valentine fest serve with love

Bon Vivant Series

VERMICELLI BIRDS NEST

Birds Nest

Ingredients:

Potato - 250 gms
Onion - 1 medium chopped finely
Ginger-Garlic Paste - 1/2 tsp
Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
Amchur Powder - 1/2 tsp (dry mango powder)
White Pepper Powder - 1/4 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
Chaat Masala - 3/4 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp

Peas - a few, boiled

Vermicelli - broken into small pieces
Oil for frying

Batter:
All Purpose Flour - 3 tbsp
Corn Flour - 1.5 tbsp
Water
Salt

Preparation:
Boil the potatoes and mash them till no lumps are there.

Place the vermicelli on a plate.

Mix the ingredients for the batter without lumps. Make sure the consistency is slightly thick and not thin.

In a pan, add a 1/2 tsp oil and to this saute onion and ginger garlic paste. Saute till raw smell goes and add to the mashed potato. To this add all the powders and salt and mix nicely. Make small balls out of the lump.  Dip each ball in the batter making sure all the sides are coated with the batter. Then roll them with vermicelli. The more uneven the coating the better will be the look of the birds nest :). Place them on a plate and likewise complete the rest of the potato balls.
I felt the balls were kind off very soft so placed then in fridge for about 20 mins or so. Once the balls have been set make small hole imprint on top lightly and in a pan, deep fry the balls till the vermicelli turns light burned color. Place them on to tissue to remove the excess oil. Place the peas on top to represent the eggs of the birds and serve warm with ketchup :). You can also fry them as whole and place peas in between the potato balls before rolling them to a ball.

I would like to this over for the event Tea Time Snack

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

CUSTARD BISCUITS/YO-YO BISCUITS

CUSTARD BISCUITS / YO - YO BISCUITS

I have seen this recipe in many blogs long back. The name yo-yo itself is what made me attracted to trying out these biscuits. As the name sounds they look also yo-yo and easy to prepare :)..
Ingredients:
All Purpose Flour - 1.5 cups
Custard Powder - 1/2 cup
Butter - 220 gms
Icing Sugar - 1/2 cup


Preparation:
Sieve the flour and custard powder.

Whisk butter and sugar nicely. Add in batches the flour and mix till you get a soft dough. Make small balls from it and press lightly with a fork to form a cookie mark. Bake in a pre-heated oven @ 190C for 10 mins. Cool and store in an air-tight container.
I would like to send this over to JATW conducted by my dear friend Kavi :)

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

AVAL UNDA (Flatten Rice Balls)

Aval Unda

I had no idea how to make this or even heard of it. Recently during the Harvest festival in church, my father told me that he bought these. I asked him what was added in it and he said he thought the ingredients where so and so. Thats when i decided i should give a hand on this recipe and see how it will be :). I was surprised the outcome was awesome and definitely tasty!

Ingredients :

Aval (Brown flat beaten Rice) - 1 cup
Coconut grated - 1 cup
Sesame Seeds - 1/2 cup
Jaggery - 1 cup
Water - 1/4 cup
Cashew Nuts - 1/4 cup chopped roughly

Preparation:
Place pan over stove and once hot add in the flat rice and fry for 2-3 mins over low flame till the rice flakes are crispy. Make sure they dont change color. Remove the rice flakes. Then add in the sesame seeds and roast till nice aroma comes. It took me nealry 3- 4 mins. Remove from flame to cool.

Powder the rice flakes in a grinder. Optionally you can keep as it is or even half grind too. I preferred the grinded version.

Now in another pan. add in jaggery and 1/4 cup water and melt the jaggery. Once melted completely sieve for any impurities. Then to this add coconut and nuts. Mix properly. Mix in the sesame seeds and grinded aval powder and mix nicely. Once slightly cooled start making small balls with them and keep to cool completely. You can store them in an air - tight container for days :).

I would like to send this over for the event conducted by Julie :)

I would like to send this also over to Jingle all the way , a event conducted by kavi :)..

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

POTATO KIBBEH

Potato Kibbeh

Potato kibbeh is basically a middle eastern dish with potato and carmellized onions sometimes stuffed with meat (chicken, lamb). I would prefer to make this dish veg and then serve with non-veg to go with it. I surely would make this several times as its very healthy and filling too.

Recipe Source : Discover Lebanon

Ingredients:
Potato - 1 large boiled and mashed ( roughly about 1 cup)
Wheat Bulgar - 1/2 cup
Garlic Powder - 2 tsp
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil - 2 -3 tbsp

Walnuts - 1 large handful
Onion - 1 medium chopped finely

Preparation:

Roast the walnuts in 180C pre-heated oven for about 55-7 mins till nuts turn slightly brown in color.
Roast the onions in 1 tsp of oil in a pan till lightly brown color.
Wash the bulgar and blend it in a processor.
Mix the mash potato, blended bulgar, garlic, salt and pepper.
Divide the mix into two parts. Place one part into the baking dish. Layer the onions and walnuts on top. Then layer with the second potato mix. Cut over the top into squares roughly and pour the olive oil so that it sweeps between the cuts.

Bake in pre-heated oven at 10C for 40 mins. You will see it will turn lightly brown in color.

Serve warm as it is or you can have with tuna (which i had and it tasted superb) or with cooked chicken mince.

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

Notes :
You can add variations like cashew nuts, raisins or even cooked meat instead of walnut areas.

BANANA FRITTERS (Pazham Pori)

Banana Fritters/Ettakka appam/ Pazham pori

Ingredients:
Ripe Plantains (Ethakka) - 3 numbers
Maida - 5 tbsp
Rice Flour - 2 tbsp
Cardamom Powder - 1/4 tsp
Jeera Powder - a large pinch
Turmeric Powder - a pinch
Sugar - 1 tsp *
Salt - a pinch
Water just enough for making the batter
Oil/Ghee for frying

Preparation:
Mix the flours, powders, sugar and salt. Add water little by little till you get a thick flowing batter. Make sure the batter is not very thick or very thin. When you dip the spoon and take out, the batter should flow slowly from the spoon.
Remove skin and cut the plaintains into half. Then cut each half vertically into 3. If you want thick ones you can cut into 2. I prefer the thinner version.

If you are not into calorie counting feel free to use ghee for frying to enhance the flavour. I used oil. Pour in oil in a pan and once hot, add in the dipped plantains(banana) and fry till both sides are light brown color. Serve warm with tea/coffee.

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

Notes:
Add in sugar quantity in accordance tot he sweetness of the plantains. If its nicely ripe and sweet and in very less sugar.

Eggless Vanilla Sponge cake-STEP BY STEP PICS

Eggless Vanilla Sponge Cake - Step by Step Intructions

I refer to many books on ccoking that i can get my hands on. I love baking everythig that I can and thats when i came across nita mehtas recipe cookbook on eggless ones. This is one of the basic ones and superly easy and yummy too. If you ask me whether I will make this again. Yes! a thousand times more.

Ingredients:
All purpose Flour - 1.5 cups
Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp
Baking Powder - 1.25 tsp
Castor Sugar - 3/4 cup
Curd - 1 cup (Use thick curd)
Oil - 1/2 cup
Vanilla Essence - 1.5 tsp
Milk - for brushing the top of bread

Preparation:
In a bowl beat sugar and curd till sugar gets dissoved. Then to this add baking powder and baking soda and whisk gently.Add in cooking oil and essence and whisk again.

My kitchen has less lighting effect. Thats why the pics looks dark :(

 Leave the mixture aside for 5-10 mins. You will see bubbles lightly forming on top. Then add in the flour slowly at a time and whisk till you get a thick creamy batter. Pour to a cake pan either placed with baking paper or greased with oil all over. I used a loaf one.

  Baked cake as soon as it is out of oven.

Pre-heat the oven initally to 200C and when you are ready to put in the batter adjust the thermo to 180C and put int the cake pan. Bake for 30 - 40 mins till the toothpick test come out clean.

After 25 mins take out the pan and brush the top with milk and put in back into oven till cake is done.

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

Notes :
-The original recipe asks for 1 cup of sugar. I reduced the sugar as we all are having less sweet tooth ;)
-You can use any vegetable oil and i used canola one.

I would like to send this over to the event Bake with your heart. yet another superb event coducted by Khushi. Thank u dear for conducting events like these for cookholics like us :D.
I would like to send this over for the event  Christmas Delicacy conducted by Julie. 

EGGLESS SOFT AND CHEWY CASHEW COOKIES

Eggless Cashew Cookies

Ingredients:
Cashew Coarsely grounded - 1/2 cup (take whole cashew in accordance to that before grounding)
All Purpose Flour - 1 cup
Cardamom Powder - a large pinch
Softened Butter - 1/3 cup
Castor Sugar - 3/4 cup (adjust the sweetness accordng to your needs)
Baking Powder - 1/4 tsp
Milk - 2-3 tbsp

Preparation:

Pre-heat the oven at 180C/ 375F. Place the measured whole nuts on the baking tray and bake for 10 mins till nuts are roasted. They will turn lightly brown in color. Keep it cool and ground coarsely.

Sieve the baking powder and flour.

In a bowl add in the butter and sugar. Beat till soft. Then add in the grounded nuts,cardamom, mixed flour and start to bind. If the binding gets hard and tough, add in tbsp of milk and see if you need more for binding to make a dough. Add only tbsp by tbsp if required. Bind to a dough and then keep it in fridge to set for 20 mins.

In a baking tray with a parchment paper, make small balls and flatten them slightly and place them on the tray with a 1 inch gap between each. Bake in a pre-heated oven for 10-12 minutes or till side turn slightly brown in color. Wait for the cookies to cool completely to thicken and enjoy with a cup of hot tea :)

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

Softened Butter - 150 grams
Castor Sugar - 130 grams
Brown Sugar - 160 grams
Peanut Butter - 100 grams
All Purpose Flour - 300 grams
Baking Powder - 3 grams
Vanilla Extract - 1 tsp ( optional)
Egg - 1/2 or alteranatively for veg - 2 tbsp milk

Preparation:
Sieve the flour and baking powder.

In a bowl add in the butter and castor sugar. Beat till sugar almost dissolves and butter becomes fluffy. Then to this add brown sugar and beat again. Then add in the peanut butter and egg/milk and beat again till soft. Add in vailla extract and mix. Then add in the mixed flour and make a dough. Keep in fridge to set for 20-25 mins. Then make small balls from the dough, flatten them slightly and place it on baking tray placed with parchment paper. Bake in a pre-heated oven for 20 - 25 mins. Cool the biscuits. Best for kids to have as evening snacks or for tiffins.

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

RAGADA PATTIES - CHAAT MELA

Ragada Patties

Ingredients:


For the Aloo Tikkis/Patties :
Potato- 3 numbers boiled and mashed
Wheat bread - 2 slices crumbled ( you can use white bread)
Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Chaat masala -  1 tsp
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Amchoor powder (Dry Mango Powder) - 1/2 tsp
Salt
Oil - 3-4 tbsp for shallow frying


For Ragada/Choley (Chick pea curry) :
Chickpea / Chana - 1 cup ( soaked overnight and boiled)
Ginger -garlic paste - 1/2 tbsp
Onions - 2 med chopped finely
Tomato - 1 medium chopped
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Amchoor Powder - 1 tsp
Coriander leaves - 2 tsp
Salt
Oil - 3 tbsp

Preparation :

For Aloo Tikkis (potato cutlets) :
Mash potato nicely and add in all the ingredients and m ix properly. Then make small flat balls and shallow fry till golden brown in color and keep aside.

For Ragada:
Add in oil. Whe hot add in ginger garlic paste and saute. Then add int he onions and cook till onions turn transparent and then add in all the powders and cook till masala starts to leave the sides. Then add in the tomatoes and cook till tomatoes turn mushy. Then add in the drained cooked chickpeas, salt and little water. Cook on low flame till water is almost dried up. Garnish with coriander leaves.

How to serve Ragada Patties:

Yoghurt - 1/4 cup
Tamarind Chutney - 1/4 cup
Green Chutney - 1/4 cup
Onion - 1 chopped finely (optional)
Chaat masala - just for sprinkling

In a bowl/plate, place 2 patties, then pour on top yoghurt and and chutney's on top. Sprinkle liberal amount of onion and chaat masala. Best served as evening snack with a cup of masala chai :)

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

GREEN CHUTNEY FOR SANDWHICHES, CHAAT & DATES-TAMARIND CHUTNEY FOR CHAAT

Green Chutney

Ingredients:
For green chutney:
Coriander Leaves - 1 cup
Mint Leaves - 1 cup
Ginger - 2 tsp chopped
Green Chillies - 3-4
Tamarind - half of lime size (seeds removed)
Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Salt

Preparation :
Blend all the ingredients add little water till smaooth and store in a air-tight container. It can be stored for 2 weeks if kept in refrigerator.


Tamarind Chutney:

Ingredients:
Tamarind - 1/2 cup (pitted)
Dates paste - 1/2 cup or 1 cup pitted dates
Jaggery - 1 cup
Roasted cumin Powder - 1 tsp
Chilli Powder - 2 tsp
Rock Salt
Water - 3 cups

Preparation:

Melt the jaggery with little water and sieve for any impurities. Together with sieved jaggery syrup, add in the all the ingredients and cook till the chutney thickens. You will knwo the chutnies are ready when the chutney coats over a dipped spoon. Let it cool down completely and then run the whole mix in a blender. Store in an air tight container for later use.

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

APPLE BURFI (Diwali Special)

Apple Burfi

Ingredients :
Red Apple - 4 nos grated with skin
Apple juice - 1 cup
Mawa/Khoya - 1 cup grated
Sugar - 3 tbsp
Lemon Juice - 1/2 lemon
Ghee - 1 tbsp

Almonds, Pistas, Nuts - 8 nos each chopped

In a small rectangular tray, rub ghee all over and spread the chopped nuts evenly and keep aside.

In a pan/kadai, add in 1 tbsp ghee and when the ghee gets hot add in the grated apple (no water should be added). Cook till the apple gets dry. To the cooked apple add in the sugar and apple juice and cook till the mixture gets thick. Then add in the mawa/khoya and cook again till the mawa gets cooked. You will know the mawa gets cooked once it startes to leave the sides of the pan. Transfer this to the nuts greased pan and press and cool for some time. I kept it in fridge overnight and then cut into squares. Flip and serve.

Recipe  Courtesy : Food based channel

Cheers,
Neetz;)

WHEAT SANDWHICH BREAD LOAF

 Wheat bread

I have been planning to make wheat bread for a healthier diet and finally i managed to make today and i was so glad when i sliced the bread it was so much looking perfect and the taste was awesome!!!

Ingredients:

Wheat Flour - 2.5 heaped cups
All purpose Flour - 1 cup ( you can use whole wheat instead)
Warm Water - 1.5 cup
Oil - 4 tbsp
Sugar - 1/3 cup ( i used half white and half brown sugar)
Dry Yeast - 1.5 tsp
Salt - 1.5 tsp

Preparation :

Add in a bowl the suagr, warm water and yeast and keep it in warm place for 10 mins till the mixture turn frothy on top. By 10 mins your can smell the yeast in the whole kitchen. Add the salt and oil to the mix.

In the a big bowl mix both the flours nicely and then add the yeast water and knead to a dough. its gonna be a messy job with your hands. If the dough is too sticky use oil on your hands and knead for 10 mins or more till you get the dough like an elastic (This is very important for the bread to come out nicely). Rub oil all over the dough and keep this dough covered with a cling film in a bowl and keep it in warm place for 1 hour till the dough doubles in size. fter 1 hour, on a well foured surfce, gently punch down the dough to release the air trapped inside and gently knead again for a min. Shape the dough like a loaf and keep it in bread pan and covered for another 45 mins to double in size.

Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F . Brush milk on top of the bread and then spray water inside the heated oven to create a moisture and put in the bread pan. Bake for 30 mins. By now the whole house will be smelling with awesome smell of baked bread. I felt i was in bakery store ;).

The pic shows as soon ,after the baking was done

Then roughly cover with aluminum foil and bake further for 10 mins and allow the bread to cool on rack itself. To know if the bread is done, tap at the bottom and it will sound hollow.

Let the bread cool down completely before slicing it and enjoy!

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

STUFFED MUSHROOM SNACK

Stuffed Mushroom Snack

Ingredients :

Large Mushrooms : - 6 nos

For the filling:
Onion - 1 no chopped
Garlic - 1 large chopped
Black Olives - 10 nos desseded and chopped
Parsley - few chopped
Grated Cheese - 2 tbsp
Butter - 2 tbsp
Salt
Olive Oil

For covering the filling :
Breadcrumbs - 4 tbsp
Grated Cheese - 2 tbsp
Butter - 1 tbsp
Oregano - 1/2 tbsp


Preparation:
Clean the mushrooms and then in a pan with sufficient water boil them for about 5 mins or till done.

Then carefully with a knife remove the stem from the base if the head ( without tearing the head) and keep aside. The chop finely the stem.

In a pan, add butter and saute onion and garlic. Once onions turn light pink color, add in the salt, parsley, cheese and olives. Cook for 1 min on low flame and switch off.

In a bowl. mix the breadcrumbs, butter and cheese.

Marinate the olives with olive oil inside out. Then stuff the olive filling first and then the breadcrumb mix on top and press lightly. Repeat this for all the rest of the mushrooms.

For Baking/ Grilling:

Put in a baking tray with parchment paper placed on top and then at 180C bake till the top layer of the stuffing ( breadcrumb mix) becomes light brown in color or you can grill for sometime till brown color appears.

For frying:

In a pan add a little butter (1 tbsp) and then fry the mushroom with the stuffed part facing down first and then reversing. It will take only few mins for this to be done.

I am sending this over for the event Sunday Special conducted by Roshan.

Cheers,
Neetz ;)


Note :
For healthier verison you can substitue olive oil for butter.
I used cheddar cheese rather than processed cheese.

PINEAPPLE JAM

Pineapple Jam

I have never ever in my life made a jam on my own. I ahve seen several times when my mom used to make. I decided i will see what the reuslt is after trying to make pineapple jam. You wont believe it!. the home-made jam is ten times better than the market bought one. and even more smoother :)..


Ingredients :


Pineapple - 1 chopped (deseeded and skin removed)
Sugar - 1/2 cup (adjust sweetness according to the pineapple's taste)
Cinnamon Powder - a pinch
Nutmeg Powder - a pinch


Preparation:

Clean pineapple well. Then once chopped, put into blender and blend roughly like 2-3 pulses. I kept few pieces inside as i love having fresh fruit pieces inside the jam. Then add in the puree and sugar in a pan and heat. Keep stirring still you get a thick consistency of a jam. Cool properly and store  in a sterlized bottle. (To sterliize, clean bottle properly with hot water and dry out and no water should remain inside the bottle)

How to test if the jam is done:
Keep a plate in a freezer for a min or so. Pour a big drop of jam onto the cold plate and with your finger mark a line between the jam. You will the jam wrinkles in between. Alternatively you can slant the plate and see if the jam runs down. If it doesnt run down that means its done.

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

NANKATHAI (EGGLESS VERSION)

Nankathai (Eggless version)

I always loved this when i was a kid itself. I used to get in bakery shops and i used to just eat non -stop...sigh :( gone are those the days where I can eat like that..
Yes, forget about the waistline part and make a enjoy a few of these ;) .. quick and easy way to prepare when you really need to get something to eat sweet in a jiffy :)

Ingredients:
All purpose Flour - 1.5 cup
Wheat Flour - 1/2 cup
Ghee - approx 1 cup
Sugar powdered - 1/2 cup
Cashew, Almonds, Pista - 1/3 cup roughly chopped (optional)
Baking Soda - 1/4 tsp

Preparation:
Put in all the flours, soda, sugar and the nuts mix. roughly mix with hand. Then slowly add in little by little ghee and keep mixing till you get a dough (a smaooth dough like a chappati dough). If the mix looks like crumbling add in a bit more spoonful of ghee.

In a pre-heated pan at 180C, place parchment paper on the baking tray. Make small balls of the dough and flatten them lightly and then place them on the tray. Bake for 8 - 9 mins approx and let it cool down completely to be stored in air-tight container.

I m sending this over for the event My Diwali My Way .

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

Note:
You can substitute the wheat flour to all purpose flour.
Wait the biscuits to cool down a bit to have a bite otherwise it might crumble.