Nan Katai ( Biscuits)

Nan Katai

Ingredients : 

1/3 cup of Rawa 

1/3 cup of all purpose flour( maida )

1/2 cup of Besan(gram flour)

1/4 tspn baking powder

1/4 tspn cardamom powder

2/3 cup of powdered sugar

1 stick (1/4 lb) butter

Cashewnuts / pistachio / almonds for garnishing

Mix all flours, baking powder,cardamom powder together.

In a separate pan mix butter(room temperature) and sugar.n mix it thoroughly untill soft and fluffy.It takes 5 mins to get this consistency.Then add above mix flour and knead a soft dough.Make 15 equal parts and roll it and press with palm lightly.garnish with nuts and place them on greased cookie sheet.

Preheat oven to 375 degree and bake the nankatai for 13 mins.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 min before removing them from sheet.

Store in airtight container.

IMP : Nankatai should not be disturbed when it is just done else it will fall apart .It should be allowed to cool down and become stiff.Also check in between when its baking.Just when it gets golden color, it is done.Believe me.I did it the first time and overbaked it.It will become good after it cools down.

Oh my God....believe me..its melting in my mouth .....yummy, easy and fast !! Njoy...

Ragda Pattis

Its one of my favourites.

For Pattis :
4 medium potato
half the amount of bread( the crushed quantities of potato and bread should be in 2:1 ratio)
Salt
turmeric powder
chilly powder

Mix the above together and mash it properly.It will be like dough.Make a ball in hand and press it gently to give the pattis shape.Shallow fry on low flame in less oil till brown and crispy.


For Ragda
White watana (Yellow peas) Soaked overnight and pressure cooked.
Oil
1 small Onion
ginger garlic paste 1/2 tspn
1 tomato
1/2 tspn red chilly powder
turmeric powder
Salt
 1/2 tspn Garam masala powder
1/2 tspn Cumin powder
1/2 tspn coriander powder

Heat oil in a pan and saute onion in it till fully cooked.Add Ginger garlic paste n mix.Add tomatoes and salt.Cover it and let it cook for 5 min.
Then add masala, cumin powder, coriander powder and Salt.
Mix well and add pressure cooked watana(peas) along with the water.Adjust the gravy according to your choice.I like a little more gravy so that its juicy to eat.

To serve : take pattis and add ragda on it.Garnish with tamarind - date chutney, chopped onion , coriander, thin shev.

Note : Tamarind - Date chutney is available in Indian store and also can be made as follows :

Soak Tamarind and dates( seedless) in water for about and hour.
Remove water from it and add 1 green chilly, jaggery to taste and salt .If you like mint then add few mint leaves.Also add lil ginger and crush it thoroughly in a mixie/blender.
Adjust water for its thickness.Use less tamarind and more dates.It tastes good.

Yummy....Isnt it?

Kothimbir(Coriander) Wadi

This is my mother in law's super fast and yummy recipe.

Ingredients :

Chick Pea flour (Besan)

Onion

Coriander

Cumin powder 

green chilly

salt 

turmeric powder

Wheat Flour 

Process : 

Mix besan onion and more kothimbir(coriander - cleaned , washed and chopped finely)

Add cumin powder and crushed green chilly according to taste.

Add salt and turmeric powder

Add wheat flour

The consistency of the batter should be not so thick and not very thin.Grease pot and pour this batter in it.Steam in pressure cooker for 10 mins.

Kothimbir wadi is ready.Now at the time of serving you can either deep fry it or shallow fry on griddle / Tawa with less oil.
For shallow fry, use low flame so that wadi gets cooked well and gets a nice brown color.

Khare Shankarpale (Baked)

Tea time Snack

Ingredients :

wheat flour (aata) - 1/2 cup

All purpose flour (maida) - 1/2 cup

Ghee - 1/4 cup

Ajwain - 1/2 teaspoon

Baking powder - 1 teaspoon

Salt as per taste( Beware : a lil more salt can make it salty so add salt sparingly)

Process : 

Sift the flours and baking powder together.Add ajwain and salt.Mix ghee and rub it so that it forms crumbs.Add cold water to make stiff dough.Let it rest for around half an hour.

Preheat the oven to 355 degree and roll the dough like roti and cut into diamond shape.

Grease the pan and put shankarpale on it.Bake for 15 min.Healthy and yummy snack is ready.

Chole Bhature

Chole Bhature

Chole Bhatura

Bhatura :

2 cup maida
baking powder less than half spoon
salt to taste
sugar 1 tspn
1/4 cup sooji
3/4 cup of buttermilk
2 tbspn hot oil
mix with water or milk...make it tight.
Rest for 2 hour covered

roll it even on all sides...
after you put bhatura in hot oil...press it with spoon so that it puffs up.Oil should be really hot else your bhatura wont puff up like a balloon.
Due to small size of kadai (Wok) I was able to make small bhaturas.If you have a big wok then use it with 3/4   filled oil.

Chole :
1/2 cup Chick peas soaked in water over night
1 medium onion
1 tomato
1 tspn ginger garlic paste
salt to taste
4 green chilly
coriander
cummin seeds
whole gram masala cardamom cinamom bayleaf clove mace
chana masala powder(see the tip below)
oil
lime

Boil Chana with moderate quantity of water and little pepper powder and crushed garlic.keep it aside.

In hot oil add whole masala then cumin seeds..then onion
add salt to onion
make it brown
add turmeric n gingergarlic paste
then add chopped tomatoes
then chillies
after its cooked add chana masala
use slow flame to cook it nicely
add water from chick peas.Mix well.Then add the chick peas.
lil lemon juice
garnish with coriander



Tip :Chana masala can be made at home like -
cardamom cinamom n cloves chilly powder jeera coriander powder turmeric
amchur powder n pomogranate powder
Mix all the above in same quantity.

Tomato Basil Pasta

Pasta

Ingredients
Quarter pound Penne Pasta
Garlic
Basil
Tomato -4
Olive Oil
Chilly flakes
Pepper
Oregano / Italian garnishing mix

Procedure :
Bring Water to rolling boil in a big deep pan.Add salt to it so that it becomes salty.Also add 1 spoon of oilve oil to it so that pasta remains intact.Add pasta and bring it to boil again.It takes 19 minutes for wheat pasta and 15 minutes for regular pasta.

In a Skillet add little oilve oil,add crushed garlic , basil, red chilly flakes and fry for a while.Then add 3 cut tomotoes and fry for 2 mins.Add 1 Tomoto puree to it.Stir for a minute.
Remove the sauce from the pan.
Take some oil in a pan and Stir in some garlic and chilly flakes and drained pasta.Give it a toss for couple of times.
While serving add the pasta to the sauce made above.
Serve it hot with Parmesan Cheese and Garlic bread.

Egg Biryani

Egg Biryani

Wash Basmati Rice and keep it aside for 45 min.

4 boiled egg
Heat oil
Add whole garam masala - bay leaf , 1 cinnamom , 2 cardamom ,4 cloves.
Add jeera,onion and salt.
Add cashew nuts,finely chopped chily,coriander leaves,mint leaves,ginger garlic paste n mix well
Add 3 tbspn yogurt(stir it constantly else it will curdle)
Add biryani masala.(see the tip below)

We need 3 portions of water to 2 portions of rice....Generally we add double the amount of water but here for the rice to

become perfect take it in 2:3 proportion.
Add the water to the above mix and bring it to boil.To boiling water add rice.Add salt accordingly
cover wid lid
Bring mixture to boil , and reduce the flame to medium.


once rice is ready add butter on top...add boiled egg on top...
Remove some rice n put it on top
add saffron color(opitional)

Tip : If you dont have biryani masala or you dont like readymade masala, prepare it as follows -
Equal quantities of cinnamom powder,cardamom powder, clove powder,jeera(cumin) powder
Double the amount of coriander powder.
1 spoon of kasuri methi crushed.
Few pinches of dry ginger powder.
1 Tspn Amchur powder.
Little Turmeric powder
1 Tspn Chilly powder.

Your biryani masala is ready :)

Chicken Tikka

Tikka :

Clean the chicken and Cut it in small 1 inch cubes.Marinate it with Salt ,chilly powder, turmeric and lime juice or vinegar.

Take bamboo skewers and place this chicken cubes on it alternate with onions ,small tomatoes ,capsicum( red /yellow/green) as shown in the picture.
Let it rest for around 5 hours.

Preheat the oven at 360 degree and bake this for 40 minutes depending on the oven.
Just before placing this in the oven, spray it with oil thoroughly and spinkle with chat masala.

Serve hot with onion slices and lemon.

Masala Dosa With Sambar and Chutney

Dosa -

Mix 3 cups of rice and 1 cup os white urad dal.Wash it thoroughly and add 1 spoon of methi seeds.
Let the mixture soak in water for 1 night.Grind the mixture next day with lil water.
Rest it for 8 hours so that it ferments and gives a nice sour flavour .Whenever you want to make dosas,take some mixture in a separate bowl and add salt to it.Now spread 1 cup of this mixture on a nonstick pan and spray lil oil.and let it cook till it is crispy brown in color.


Sambar

use deep pan
pour oil ..
Make tadka - mustard seeds, jeera and methi seeds
add hing, turmeric, oinons
To this add the following -
green chilly
curry leaves
mix vegs like - drumstick bean carrots
saute them then add tomatoes and tamarind juice..
add water
lil salt..
let it boil and then add sambar masala and add lil coconut milk
add sugar/jagary 1 tbsppon
Let the vegs cook 3/4 and then add cooked daal.



Coconut chutney

1 cup fresh grated coconut ( Or take half cup fresh and half cup dessicated coconut )
1/2 cup dalia
3-4 cahewnuts
jeera
1 inch chopped ginger
1 cup coriander
8 - 9  curry leaves
5 -6 small chopped green chilly
Salt
Tamarind 1cm piece
Grind all the above with very little water.

Tadka -
lil urad dal
mustard seeds
red chilly whole
hing powder

Give tadka to the chutney.


Potato masala

2 small potatoes boiled and peeled.
2 sliced onions
4-5 cashewnuts cut into halves
chopped ginger
coriander
salt
turmeric
chana dal and urad dal for tadka
red chilly
mustard seeds,jeera
hing
green chilly chopped
curry leaves
green peas optionals

MAke tadka with mustard seeds, jeera,hing,urad daal and chana daal.Add red whole chilly and cashewnuts.Add onions and saute

them.Add ginger,curry leaves and green chillies.Add turmeric and saute them.To this add chopped potatos ( boiled and peeled)
Add green peas if you like and cook it for 5 mins.Add salt.Add lil water if its dry.

Banana Walnut Bread

Banana Walnut Bread 

Ingredients : 

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup sugar 

3/4 cup canola oil / ghee

2 medium size eggs

1 n 1/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp cinnamon powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 over ripe banana

walnuts

Procedure : 

Sift Flour and baking powder,salt n cinnamon powder together for 2 times.

Mix sugar and oil/ghee in a mixing bowl till it becomes homogenuous.Add vanilla extract to it.

In a separate bowl,beat eggs for around 15 mins.

Add this mixture to sugar and oil/ghee n mix lightly.

Divide all purpose flour in 3 parts and mix them one by one.

Mix it well.Add walnuts and mix well.Keep aside few walnuts for decoration.

Pour this mixture in a greased  bread / cake pan.Decorate it with the remaining walnuts.

Preheat oven at 375 degrees for 15 mins.

Bake the cake for 45 min depending on your oven.

Cake is ready when toothpick inserted in it comes out clean.

Remove the pan from oven and keep it for 10 mins.Then remove the cake from pan on a grill.Cut the cake after 5 mins.

Spaghetti Sauce

Spaghetti Sauce  : Ultimate fast recipe

Ingredients
Half pound Spaghetti
Garlic
Basil
Tomato -3
Olive Oil

Procedure :
Bring Water to rolling boil in a big deep pan.Add salt to it so that it becomes salty.Add spaghetti and bring it to boil again.It takes 12 minutes.

In a Skillet add little oilve oil,add crushed garlic , basil, red chilly flakes and fry for a while.Then add 2 cut tomotoes and fry for 2 mins.Add 1 Tomoto puree to it.Sitr for a minute.
Drain the spaghetti and add it to the sauce made above.
Serve it hot with Parmesan Cheese and Garlic bread.

Sponge Cake

This is my moms recipe.Simple and Easy to make.

Ingredients :

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup canola oil
3 medium size eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract

Sift Flour and baking powder together for 2 times.
Mix sugar and oil in a mixing bowl till it becomes homogenuous.Add vanilla extract to it.
In a separate bowl,beat eggs for around 15 mins.
Add this mixture to sugar and oil n mix lightly.
Divide all purpose flour in 3 parts and mix them one by one.
Mix it well.

Pour this mixture in a greased cake pan.
Preheat oven at 375 degrees for 15 mins.
Bake the cake for 20 - 25 min depending on your oven.
Cake is ready when toothpick inserted in it comes out clean.
Remove the pan from oven and keep it for 5 mins.Then remove the cake from pan on a grill.Cut the cake after 10 mins.