Tandoori aloo chaat

First chilly evening here in Delhi, what could be better than having a tempting bowl of tandoori aloo chaat to enjoy this cold winter evening. Potato is such a versatile vegetable, you can make hasselback potatoes, baked potatoes or potato cups, stuffed potatoes or relish some simple tandoori chaat.

Ingredients:
10-12 baby potatoes

For marination:

• 2 tbsp hung curd
• 1 tbsp gram flour/besan
• 1 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves/kasuri methi
• 1/2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp kashmiri red chilli powder
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp oil

Other ingredients:

• 1/4 th cup roasted peanuts
• 1/2 tbsp chaat masala powder
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 green chillies chopped finely
• Some chopped fresh coriander leaves

To serve:
Mint coriander dip

Preparation time: 3-4 hours
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Yields: 2 servings

Directions:

• Wash potatoes thoroughly and boil for 6-7 minutes in 2 cups of water.
• Peel and prick potatoes using a fork, keep aside.
• In a mixing bowl put all the ingredients mentioned for marination, mix them well.
• Now add the potatoes in the marination and mix well using your hands.
• Keep the bowl in refrigeration for at least 3-4 hours.
• Pre-heat the oven for 10 minutes.
• Line the baking tray with aluminium foil, brush the foil with little oil.
• Place the marinated potatoes in the tray and bake for 35-40 minutes at 180 degree C

For serving:
Put the potatoes in a serving dish, add roasted peanuts, chopped green chillies, sprinkle some chaat masala and lemon juice and garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve hot with mint coriander dip.

Puran poli with katachi amti

Puran poli is a sweet flat maharashtrian bread made usually during festivals or any auspicious occasion. I first had puran poli two years back in bangalore when my friend Madhuri sent me lunch box with Puran poli, katachi amti and batata bhaji on the occasion of Ganesha Chaturthi!
My Family enjoyed the meal, and I tried making puran poli the very next day using her recipe. 

Ingredients:
For outer covering/poli

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tbsp ghee/clarified butter
• water to knead

For stuffing/ puran

• 3/4th cup skinless bengal gram/channa dal
• 3/4th cup grated jaggery
• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg powder
• 4 cups water

Directions:

• Wash dal thoroughly under running water and soak for 30-40 minutes.
• Pressure cook dal with 3 cups of water for 3-4 whistles, dal should be well cooked but not mushy, once the pressure is released drain the dal and save the stock/water for later use.
• Mash dal with a potato masher.
• In a non stick pan add mashed dal and grated jaggery, cook on low flame, stirring it continuously, in some time this mixture will start to thicken up.
• Continue to stir the mixture, add cardamom powder, nutmeg powder, when the mixture starts leaving the sides switch off the flame, keep aside and allow the mixture to cool a bit.
• Once is stuffing mixture comes at a room temperature, strain the mixture using a steel strainer.
• Mean time, prepare the dough, In a mixing bowl add wheat flour, pinch of salt and clarified butter, mix everything using the tips of your fingers.
• Add water to knead a soft pliable dough, cover with a wet muslin cloth and keep aside for 15-20 minutes.
• Divide the dough and stuffing mixture into equal lemon sized balls.
• Dust the surface with little flour, take one portion of the dough and roll into 3 inch diameter circle, put the stuffing ball in the center and fold the edges, make sure the edges are sealed well.
• Flatten it with your palms and roll it gently and gently from all sides
• Heat an iron/non stick skillet.
• Place the poli on heated skillet and cook from both sides using clarified butter.
• Serve hot.
  

Katachi Amti
Katachi amti is a seasoned dal water served usually with puran poli or rice.
Ingredients:

• 2 cup chana dal stock
• 2 tbsp Ghee
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 2 Bay Leafs
• 1/2 inch stick cinnamon
• 2 Cloves
• 1 tsp Goda Masala (see recipe here)
• Few Curry Leaves
• A pinch of Hing
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 4 tbsp tamarind Pulp
• 1 tbsp jaggery
• 2 tbsp desiccated coconut
  

Directions:

• Dry roast coconut in a pan till it gets light golden color, keep aside.
• Take water from dal in a pan, add red chilli powder, salt, goda masala, bay leaf, cinnamon stick and clove to it.
• Put that pan on medium heat and bring it to a boil.
• Now add dry roasted coconut, tamarind pulp and jaggery to the boiled dal water and cook on medium heat for 15-20 minutes.
• Meanwhile prepare the tempering.
• Heat ghee in a pan, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, hing, turmeric powder and curry leafs to it and pour this tampering over the amti.
• Serve hot with Puran poli or rice.
  

Katachi amti recipe adapted from Madhurasrecipe

Goda Masala

Goda Masala is a special aromatic spice blend used majorly in Maharashthrian cuisine giving the food a unique flavour!

Ingredients:
For dry roasting

• 1/2 cup Desiccated coconut
• 6 tbsp Sesame seeds

For roasting using oil 

• 2 Bay leaves 
• 8-10 Dried red chilies
• 1 tbsp Cumin seeds
• 3/4th cup Coriander seeds
• 1 stick Cinnamon 
• 5-6 Cloves
• 10-12 Black peppercorns

Other ingredients 

• 1 tsp Asafoetida
• 1/2 tsp salt 
• 1 tsp turmeric powder

Directions:
Dry roast coconut and sesame seeds till it gets golden brown.
Roast all the other spices one by one with few drops of oil. Keep the heat on low to medium. 
Let them cool completely and grind into fine powder. Store in fridge in clean airtight container.
Recipe adapted from Spiceupthecurry

Rasgulla

                                        
                                          Celebrations in my Kitchen!!

Celebrating 100th blog post with spongy and juicy Rasgullas!! Making this Benagli sweet at home was so easy, I never knew it till I tried a recipe posted by a member in a Facebook food group last year.

Trust me you'll never look for store bought ragullas once you try making them at home.

Ingredients:

• 1 liter Full cream/fat milk 
• 1.5 tbsp Lemon Juice
• 1/2 tbsp all purpose flour/ semolina
• Sugar - 2 cups
• 5 cups Water 
• Few drops of rose essence (optional)
  

Preparation Time : 30 mins
Cooking Time : 10-12 mins
Yields : 18 to 20 rasgullas

Directions:

• Take milk in a saucepan, let it come to a boil. 
• Once the milk is boiled, take it off the heat and let it sit for 2-3 mins.
• Next, add lemon juice and mix gently, the milk will to start curdle.
• Once the whey is separated from the milk and the milk solids have curdled completely, 
• Put the milk solids/chenna in a muslin cloth, and wash it under running water thoroughly to stop it from getting cooked further.
• Squeeze the chenna  with your hands to remove excess whey water, tie a knot and hang it over a tap or keep it under some heavy object and leave it to drain for 20-30 minutes.
• Now, take the chenna in a mixing bowl and knead it gently, with your palms till you get soft and little greasy chenna dough. 
• Add apf/semolina to the chenna to act as a binder, and knead for 1 or 2 minutes more.
• Divide the dough into 18-20 equal portions and make smooth crack-free balls from it.
• Now add sugar and water in a pressure cooker, cook till it comes to rolling boil. 
• Drop the balls into the sugar water and cover it with lid and whistle on and cook on full flame till one whistle and then turn the flame on lowest setting for 5 to 6 mins.
• Switch off the flame and let the pressure release on its own. 
• Open the lid and transfer the cooked rasgullas along with few drops of rose essence to a bowl and let it chill for 5 to 6 hours.
• Serve chilled.
  

Ram ladoo

Favourite street food of "Saadi Dilli" specially during winters, moong dal ladoo/fritters a.k.a Ram ladoo.

Crispy fried moong dal fritters, served with spicy tangy coriander chutney and shredded radish

Every time I see Ram ladoos sold by the thele walas/Street Vendors I used to get tempted to try them at home, and this time the 'thele wala bhaiya' was generous enough to share his recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Yellow moong dal.
• 1/4 cup channa Dal/bengal gram
• Salt to taste
• A pinch of asafoetida
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 Green chillies finely chopped
• 1 inch piece ginger chopped
• Oil to fry.

For garnishing:

• Grated radish and chopped radish leaves
• Coriander chilly chutney

Preparation time:4-5 hours

Cooking time:30 minutes

Yields: 30-40 ladoos

Directions:

• Wash and clean both the lentils and soak them for 4-5 hours. 
• Strain the water, and grind both the lentils without adding water to it.(consistency of the batter should be thick and pasty)
• Put the ground lentils in a mixing bowl, add salt, green chillies and ginger.
• Mix the ingredients well and add little water to it.
• Add baking powder and whisk the batter thoroughly using a wired whisk or mixing spoon for 5-6 minutes or till the batter is light and fluffy.
• Heat oil in a deep bottomed pan to fry the ladoos.
• Drop the batter in hot oil using a spoon and fry on medium heat till they turn  golden in colour.
• Drain on an absorbent paper.

For serving:

• Arrange the Ram ladoos in a serving bowl, top it with some grated radish and radish leaves.
• Pour  coriander chutney and sprinkle some chaat masala over the ladoos.
• Serve hot with cutting chai :)
  

Diwali Collection

Looking for last minute Diwali sweet and savoury treats...
Here is a list of some traditional and fusion Diwali treats for you 

Sweets: (click on the name for detailed recipe)
Kesari Karachi Halwa
Instant paneer peda
Poha ladoo
Kiwi Phirni
Motichoor ladoo
caramel filled cupcakes
No bake nutella cookies
Kashmiri Kahwa Truffles
Red velvet double deckers
Til mava ladoo
Nutella Fantasy
Mocha cookies
Apple basundi
Rose chocolate barks
Earl grey and orange tea cup cakes

Savouries
Dahi wada
Baked urad dal kachori
Fig and flax seed crackers
Oats and rosemary crackers
Mac and cheese croquettes
Hung curd and bell pepper kebabas
Stuffed mushrooms
Bhakarwadi
Raj kachori
Rava chakli
Cheesy party poppers
Tikha sev
Veg cheese bombs
Hare peeley moti ki tikki

Wishing you all a very happy Diwali and a prosperous New Year!!

Kesari Karachi Halwa

Diwali is almost here, it is my favourite time of the year, everything looks so cheerful and festive.

It is the time to indulge wth the sweet and savoury treats diwali brings :)

I love to hog on chakli, chaat, dahi vada, khachori, ladoo, pedas and so many other goodies.

Karachi Halwa was in my to do list since last year and Diwali is just the perfect time to try this.

So let's make this easy and fuss free diwali mithai

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Corn flour
• 1 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1 cup plus 1 1/2 cup Water
• 2 tbsp Ghee
• 1/4 th cupfinely chopped cashew nuts
• A pinch of Cardamom powder
• 10-15 strands saffron dissolved in 2 tbsp water ( you can use food colour also)

Preparation time : 5 minutes
Cooking time : 8-10 minutes
Final time : 2- 3 hours
Yields: 10-12 pieces

Directions:

• In a mixing bowl add cornflour, 1 1/2 cups of water and whisk it well to avoid lumps.
• Next, add saffron strands and mix well. Keep aside.
• In a heavy bottomed pan boil sugar and 1 cup of water till the sugar completely dissolves and become slightly thick.
• Add the cornflour mixture, keep stirring to avoid lumps while adding. 
• Cook on medium heat.
• The mixture will start to thicken and form glossy texture, keep stirring until you see the halwa texture.
• Now add ghee and cardamom powder.
• Once it is thick and comes together and starts to leave the sides of the pan add cashew nuts and switch off the flame.
• Transfer the mixture to a greased dish..
• Let it  set for at least 2-3 hours and cut into squares.

Enjoy!
Adapted from Polka Puffs

Instant Paneer Peda

Deepawali is just around the corner and its time for indulge, enjoy sweets ignoring calories and guilt.
Since there is lot more to this festival than spending time in preparing sweets, I'm here sharing with you easy and quick no cook, hassle free Peda with a few easily available ingredients.

Ingredients:

• 200 gms. cottage cheese.
• 2-3 tbsp. gulkand/ rose preserve.
• 1/2 cup desiccated coconut.
• 1/2 cup milk powder.
• 1/2 cup or little less powdered sugar 
• 1/4 th cup chopped cashews
• A handful of  for silvered almonds for garnishing.
  

Preparation time: 2 minutes
Total Time : 5 minutes
Yields : 6 pedas

Directions:

• Take all in ingredients, except the nuts in a mixing bowl.
• Knead everything to make a soft dough. 
• Divide the mixture into six equal portions.
• Grease your hands, take one portion from the dough, flatten it with your hands and place chopped cashews in the centre.
• Gently shape them into pedas.
• Garnish with silvered almonds. 
• Your pillowy soft cheat pedas are ready.

Enjoy!!

Dahi vada

This popular north indian chaat needs no introduction. My mom makes the best dahi vadas, they are so light, soft and fluffy that i used to forget the count of vadas I have gulped.
Today I'm sharing the evergreen dahi vadas using my mom's recipe.
Ingredients:

• 3/4 th cup skinless urad dal
• 1/4 th cup skinless moong dal
• 1/2 inch piece ginger
• 2-3 chopped green chillies
• Black pepper powder to taste
• Salt to taste
• A pinch of asafoetida
• Oil to deep fry

Toppings:

• 3 cups beaten curd
• Tamarind chutney
• Coriander chutneys
• 1 tsp Red chilli powder
• 1 tsp Roasted cumin powder
• 1 tsp Chaat Masala

Garnishing:

• Chopped coriander leaves
• Pomegranate seeds

Preparation time: 20 mins
Cooking time: 30 mins
Yields : 15-20 medium size vadas

Directions:

• Soak both the lentils separately for at least 7-8 hours in enough water.
• Drain the water and transfer the lentils to a wet grinder.
• Add green chillies, ginger and asafoetida and grind the lentils to a smooth paste using little water, the consistency of the batter should be little thick.
• Transfer the ground batter to a big mixing bowl.
• Stir the batter vigorously for 3-4 minutes using a mixing spoon to make it light and fluffy.
• Add salt and carom seeds and mix well.
• Heat oil to deep fry the vadas in a deep heavy bottom pan.
• Drop the batter in hot oil using a spoon and fry on medium heat till they turn light golden in colour.
• Drain on an absorbent paper.
• Soak the vadas in lukewarm water for 10-12 minutes.
• Press each vada gently between your palms to remove the water.
• Arrange the vadas in a serving platter.
• Pour beaten curd over the vadas, top it with some tamarind chutney and green chutney.
• Sprinkle roasted cumin powder, red chilli powder, salt and chat masala over the vadas.
• Garnish with fresh coriander leaves, some pomegranate seeds and serve immediately.