Beetroot Cutlets

Beetroot Cutlets

Im sure all of you must have had cutlets some time or the other , but nothing like including beetroots in making cutlets.The taste is good and so is the colour. Ah!! the appetising colour came make even fussy children enjoy vegetable like beetroot more willingly.

Infact , the person who introduced me to cutlets other than potato, is a friend of mine who used to make these banana n sweetpotato ,they were healthy too , however they didnt look so colourful and my kido was only 2 years old then , he refused to eat it , thats where i thought, i need to work on this recepie to make sure my baby enjoys it and there came these beetroot cutlets.

Hope all of you will have some of these in your own kitchen soon too.

 

 

Ingredients:-

1. 1n 1/2cup grated beetroot.
2. 1cup  boiled potato.
3. 1/2 cup mixed boiled veges ( as per choice and availability, french beans, greenpeas, carrots,raw banana, sweetpotato).
4. 1/4 teaspoon red chilli powder.
5. pinch of garam masala.
6. pinch of salt.
7. pinch of hing.
8. pinch of chat masala powder
9. 1-2 slices of bread cut into small bits.
10. 3tablespoons cahew bits.
11. paste 2 spoons of Maida(all purpose flour) using very little water.
12. Samolina(rava)/ bread crumbs for coating.
13. Oil For frying.

 

Method:-

1. Mash ingredients from 1-3 very well.
2. Add all ingredients from 4 to 10 in the mashed mix and make it into a nice dough like ball.
3. Give cutlet shape , use cookie cutters if available.
4. Dip each piece in the maida paste until its coated well
5. Coat with Samolina or breadcrumbs.
6. Fry in hot oil until its golden in colour.
7. Serve hot with Sauce or corriander-mint chutney.  



Shahi Paneer Matar

Shahi Paneer Matar

This Is Another Dish you all will love to cook and to eat while your family goes Ga ga about it, a great hit recepie to serve while you have some guestsover for lunch or dinner.The combination of cottage cheese with capsicum gives a devine taste n unique flavorto the curry as there is a crunch and a softness , a perfect contrasting texture. This recepie was simply my own trial when i had exhauseted most of the vegetables at home . A great hit with my kids who enjoy  paneer any time.  Do try out and let me know how it turned out.

Ingredients:-

1. 2Spoons Oil
2. 1small packet Paneer(Frozen)
3. half cup frozen Peas(boiled Fresh Peas)
4. One Caspsicum chopped
5. Half cup Cashew Powdered
6. 2Big Onions
7. 1/2 Garlics (big)
8. Half inch ginger chopped
9. 1 Tomato
10. Few Corriander leaves
11. 1Green chili
12. Pinch of garam masala
13. 1/4 teaspoon haldi powder
14. 1teaspoon redchilli powder
15. Pinch of cardimom Powder
16. Few safron strands
17. 1spoon Cream (optional)
18. Salt
19. Kasuri Methi half spoon

Method:-

1. Heat Oil in a Non-stick kadai(Heavy bottom deep cooking pot).
2. Add the Chopped onions, fry them till transluent.
3. Add garlics n ginger continue frying till they go soft n change colour while u keep stiring.
4. Now add the chopped tomatoes N fry till they go soft .
5. Add 1 green chille.
6. Add chopped capsicum.
7. Puree this using a hand blender. 
8. A capsicum pieces n cook in gravy slightly
9. Microwave the paneer packet for couple of minutes, remove the water from panner.
10. Add the Paneer , peas to the gravy.
11. Give it a good boil and then add little water to adjust the consistancy while you add haldi, chilli powder, garam masala and cardimom powder and salt.
12. Add Cashew powder, mix well.
13. Add safron strands stir well.
14. Add Kasuri methi powder( switch off gass)
15. Add Cream to finish the gravy.
16. Serve hot with Roti or rice . 

ValVal

ValVal

Valval has been a favourite at my parents and also my in-laws place. A true delight with many elders in my family and also a good way to feed vegetables to kids. The Goodness of vegetable adds to the taste , flavour and colour to the otherwise off-white colour of coconut milk which forms the baise for the thin gravy dish. Valval has almost all vegtable except a few to its credit so its undoubtedly  very healthy too. A simple tasty treat , which can be prepaired on festive occassions as well , because its made without the use of Onions and garlis . Generally left over of fresh vegetables as is availabe is used to make this dish. Do try it out when u have lots of vegetables on hand in little quanties. The Addition of Cashewnut is very typical to this recepie too. 

 

Ingredients:-  

1. 1 potato ,washed, Pealed n cut into dice
2. 1 carrot ,washed, pealed n cut into dice
3. half manglore cucumber(magge/Saute kai) pealed n chopped
4. 1/4 of an Ashgourd and pumpkin, pealed n cut into big cubes
5. 1/2 cup cubed yam(suran)
6. 1/2 cup tenter cashew halved
7. half cup string beans , cleaned n cut into one inch pieces
8. few strings of french beans cut into small pieces.
9. 1green chilli slit
10. Salt to taste
11. 1 spoon oil
12. 1 can coconut milk (tined) or 2 cups thick coconut milk from ready to use powder( alternatively use freshly made coconut milk)

For seasoning:-

1. 1/2 teaspoon Mustard seeds
2. 1/2 teaspoon jeera
3. 2 red chillies whole
4. few springs of curry leaves

 

Method:-

1. Pressure cook ingredients from 1-9 in a cooker until 3 whistles and 5 mins slow.
2. Heat 1 spoon oil add the seasoning ingredients one by one and let it splutter.
3. Now add the vegetables and salt.
4. Give it a quick mix and add the coconut milk .
5. Keep on flame for just 1 min till it gets warm and remove from flame( not to boil too much once the coconut milk is added .
6. Serve hot with steamed rice and relish.

Mango-Kesar-Cashew Pedas

Mango-Kesar-Cashew Pedas

 Mango pedas, were actually a by product of the mango kesar cashew burfis . Infact after the dough became warm it was not easy to spread out and make burfi shapes thats when ,Mango pedas  idea sprang up .With the corner pieces and dough which was left over from making theMango Burfi I managed to kneed into a dough and then press then roll them into flattened disks and press them into pedas. The touch of professional pedas did come only when they got their designer look from a mould press.The deep yellowish-orange colour of the safron n mango combination was real treat to the eye adding to the beauty of the Pedas.the Taste was anyways awesome as said by dearest hubby and children . In fact ,a  few of which i did share with our dear friends the Gupta family just to get a feed back from their kids too. Must say the response i got from Sunita was over whelming.Please do try out this recepie and experience the joy of home made pedas.

Ingredients:-

1. 1cup Alphanso Mango Pulp
2. 1Cup Milk
3. 1Cup Paneer(cheena)
4. 1/2cup sugar
5. 1 spoon ghee , n some more to grease your palm
6. Pinch of safron
7. Pinch of cardimom powder
8. 1/2 cup Cashew nuts coursly chopped
9. cahewnuts for garnish

Method:- 

1. Grind ingredients from 1- 4 , into a smooth paste.
2. Heat 1 spoon ghee in a deep non stick pot.
3. Pour all the ground paste.
4. Keep flame on low to medium high and keep stiring with a wodden or sillicon spatula continuesly.
5. Add safron once it starts to bubble.
6. keep stiring until it begins to reduce in volume
7. Continue the process until it forms a thick mixture , we are not done yet
8. Now add the cardimom powder and cashew bits and continue to stir.
9. You can stitch off once you reach a Dough consistancy.
10. Grease your palm and roll small balls of dough while it is still warm.
11. Press into desired moulds to get lovely shapes. ( you can use fancy hair clips, jelly/chocolate moulds, bottle caps, back of a pen or pencil , etc to make the designs as per your imiganation)
12. Serve.
13. Stays good for upto 3 days without refrigration and upto 5 days with refrigration.

Mango-Kesar-Cashew Burfi

Mango-Kesar-Cashew Burfi

Mango burfi!!! a sheer delight that brings a smile on my son Mihir's face and a twinkle in Mohit's eye. It isn't a great idea to feed kids the store bought burfi , that too just because they love to eat it . Also unlike in india , we do not get speciality sweets in every shop near the house , to cater to the demand of kids according to their moodsThen there was a class party for my son at school and he told it to me the previous day about a home made sweetfor 25 kids. So , here came this trial into picture. Began with a  quick search of the recepie over the net,youtube, with friends,etc... Until i was convinced it will come out fine (i mean just fine , not like a halva consistancy nor any that awesome to begin with), I never wanted to lay my hands on this . From what i had heard , from friends , the stiring process could be very tedious(which i agree undoubtedly) , nevertheless, i was determined to try it out once atleast. the Final motivation came from the fact that ready to use Alphonso pulp was available in the store(which i picked up instantly when i sighted it). All the hard work followed as soon as this tin was home , while kids were aspleep . One more reason i will never forget the making of this burfi was , the joy of making the burfi was almost making me loose interest in life , when my younger son son woke up midway making me carry him in my arm, while i was still relentlesly stiring the mix for the next 25 mins. All is well that ends well , finally the mango burfi was ready and cooling away . when kids were waiting to get a taste (i mean polish the dish till hearts content). I quickly took a few clicks giving them a go ahead to munch on a few of them (i really ment a few this time) as we had to keep aside for the cass party too. Also, made few mango pedas with the corner pieces and dough which was left over from making the burfi(will Post it next), Few of which i did share with our dear friends the Gupta family just to get a feed back from their kids too. Must say the response i got from Sunita was over whelming.

 

Ingredients:-

1. 1cup Alphanso Mango Pulp
2. 1Cup Milk
3. 1Cup Paneer(cheena)
4. 1/2cup sugar
5. 1 spoon ghee , n some more to grease the dish
6. Pinch of safron
7. Pinch of cardimom powder
8. 1/2 cup Cashew nuts coursly chopped
9. cahewnuts for garnish

Method:-

1. Keep a greased dish ready
2. Grind ingredients from 1- 4 , into a smooth paste.
3. Heat 1 spoon ghee in a deep non stick pot
4. Pour all the ground paste
5. Keep flame on low to medium high and keep stiring with a wodden or sillicon spatula continuesly
6. Add safron once it starts to bubble
7. keep stiring until it begins to reduce in volume
8. Continue the process until it forms a thick mixture , we are not done yet
9. Now add the cardimom powder and cashew bits  and continue to stir.
10. You can stitch off once you reach a Dough consistancy.
11. Transfere into the greased dish and garnish with cashew halfs
12. Wait for it to cool completely, before you can cut it.
13. Cut into diamond shaped pieces and serve.
14. Stays good for upto 3 days without refrigration  and upto 5 days with refrigration.
     





Garlic Butter naan

Garlic Butter Naan

 

We all enjoy eating hot Garlic breads when we go to resturants, don't we!!! .. So this time I thought why not give it a try in my own kitchen, and what could have been better than eating them at home with my family over the dinner table getting compliments from my dear once that it is one of the best home made nans ever!!!... ( felt like i won a trophy for a moment... hehe... ). The first try of making garlic nan has been a very exiting and at the same time very anxious too experience ,begining with gathering all the ingredients , to ensure that all measures are perfect and how the dough will rise , will the bread  come well , etc,etc ,etc.... Must say at this time, that it was byond my own imagination and as perfect as i could dream for a first try....( scope for perfection can only improve). Hope the you will like this recepie and try it  in your own kitchen with full confidence that it will turn out well.

Do give your suggestions and share your experience too.

 



Ingredients

• 1cup warm water
• 1 table spoon (2flakes) crushed chopped garlic
• 1teaspoon dry active yeast
• 1/4 spoon salt
• 1/4 spoon sugar
• 1cup self rising flour/plain flour with baking powder n baking soda (sevied)
• 1cup whole wheat flour(seived)
• 1 pinch kalongi
• 1whole garlic grated
• few springs corriender leaves chopped
• 1 spoon white sesmee seeds/ till
• 1no. egg
• 2table spoons milk
• 1/2 cup curds
• 2 spoons butter

Cooking Directions

1. Activate Dry yeast in 1 cup luke warm water( not hot)let it rest for 10 mins until it becomes frothy .
2. Mix to disolve n add salt sugar,egg, milk, curd, kalongi, seived flour and crushed minced garlic to form a dry but soft dough,
3. kneed well add ghee n kneed more for aproximately 10 mins or so .
4. Put cling film n let it rest in a cool dark place for about 2 hrs . It will rise and become double in size .
5. Now Punch the dough back to remove the air. kneed for 5 more mins.
6. Pre heat oven at 230 degrees,
7. Roll the naan in oval or tringle shape, press down the grated garlic, corriender leaves n sesmee seeds . Now wet your hands n lift the naan apply water on the lower side n place it on the grill rack . Brush water on top .
8.  Let it grill for 6-8 mins at 230 degrees . Serve hot . Apply butter on top.
   
   
   
    

Palak Patrado

Palak Patrado:-

 

Having seen that my mum made regular patrado make atleast once a week in my childhood, I have developed a liking for this tasty konkani Amchi delicious side dish . However when i first came to middle east , I hardly knew how to make Patroda (the cleaning of the colcossa leaves, which leaves to buy , etc) the rest of the procedure was also not as motivating enough to simply give it a try( i mean the time consuming part of it).Soon , i would wait for holidays and when i go to india , enjoy this lovely home cooked patrados till heart content. Infact, if i tell you that i even packed some and got along so that even hubby doesn't miss it. Until , I made a trip to dubai along with my parents for a wedding (a big fat konkani wedding)and this is where I had this Palak Patrado for the very first time. Trust me this was a instant likes from all of us , and the result was obvious . Palak Patrado as and when the cravings creeped in. Now , it has definately made its rank over the love for regular patrado.

 

Ingredients:-

1. 4Big bunches of Spinach(Palak)
2. 5-6 Red Chillies
3. Pinch of hing
4. 1cup toor dal
5. 1cup rice
6. 1spoon coconut(optional)
7. A small ball of tamarind
8. Salt to taste

Method:-

1. Wash ,clean the spinach leaves (prefreably use Big leaves).
2. Dry roast red chillies in a spoon of oil .
3. Grind Ingredients 3 to 8 into a fine paste along with the chilles.
4. Apply the ground paste on the wrong side(back) each spinach leaf while you place them overlapping each of these using about 10-12 leaves in each roll .
5. Then Fold it begining with sides first , fold about an inch from both sides, then carefully fold the side of the stems tuccking them well into a tight roll as shown in the picture.
6. Carefully place them in a vessel and the steam cook in a cooker or steamer for about  12-15 mins.
7. Remove from steamer and let it cool slightly .
8. Cut it into round pieces.
9. Serve hot goes well with dal rice.

Do try this manglorian delicasy . Hope you like it . Happy cooking.