Soya-granules sesame crunchy fritters

So, there is no excuse nor a reason to justify the absence! Just that I am back ..for now. I am just in a very nonchalant kinda mood.. so my ability to dramatize the trivialities has taken a backseat;) sigh..
There is a lot to feel and express though, but let’s shout out a  ‘halt’ to all that jazz for now. Shall we…

So..when summer heat hits in with occasional monsoon showers, your brains rather senses go all confused.

Nevertheless, the craving to gulp down something filling yet snacky crunchy light, helped me invent these super simple soya balls…a sure-shot hit with the kid inside you!

I fried them up while listening to the amazing soundtracks of “Once”… a beautifully made movie, about love and music and melancholy! Give it a go. To the movie, the songs and the recipe..I meant !

Soya-granules sesame crunchy fritters 

Take about a cup of Soya (Boiled as per instructions) (I like Nutrela), a cup of not-overboiled potato chunks, and run them through your processor briefly. Coarse is good!

Add a tsp of chaat masala or just salt, 2 tbsp garlic seasoning powder , 2 tbsp finely chopped green chillies/red chilly powder .

Make them into firm balls with your palms.

Now, separately crush 2 tbsp sesame seeds, 2 tbsp poppy seeds, one slice of bread in the grinder.

Coat the balls between your hands gently, with this sesame mix.

They would look lovely already.

Let them sit in the fridge for 15 minutes.

Now, in a deep bottomed pan, pour 2 cups of groudnut oil or any good for deep-frying oil, and let it get hot.

Test with a small portion of the balls. Once it swims up successfully you are ready to go.

Pop the balls in one by one.. and wait till they get crispy golden brown… Be careful not to burn them.

Place them in a kitchen towel and serve hot with ketchup or mint dip of your choice..

A quirky healthy nutty inclusion to any party or occasion..!

Equally scrumptious with chai!

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On an entirely different note.. for the Game of Thrones lovers in you here is a link to a super-cute musical video..

http://time.com/3889619/peter-dinklage-coldplay-game-thrones-musical/?iid=obnetwork

‘by the window’ strawberry shake

pink strawberry evenings

 

Long walks and window shopping.

Narrow lanes. And clatter of evening traffic.

Vendors’ shout. Riot of street colours.

And there sat these these glamourous strawberries beckoning to be turned to something smooth and sexy.

And this afternoon while experimenting with the camera, depth of field..focus, defocus, colour enhancements, I craved for an instant strawberry shake/ smoothie to be sipped at ease sitting by the window.

Easy peasy recipe follows:

Take couple of medium sized strawberries – 10 to 12 units

Vanilla and strawberry essence : 2 drops each

Sugar: 1 tbsp (to cut through the sourness of the naughty strawberries)

Cold milk : 1 big glass

Condensed milk: 2 tbsp

Apple and banana: half an apple and half a banana. Cut into 4 to 5 tiny pieces each.

Blender.

Mix them all and give a nice foamy blend. Taste to test the sweetness you want and relish with a loved one or if alone just indulge in memories of loved ones and beautiful thoughts!

 

 

My Version of Basic No-oven Eggless Cake. Slightly spiced. Nutty. Crusty yet moist!

Nutty. Crusty yet moist!

The cake batter before baking

Golden crust. Nutty. Spiced.

My Version of Basic No-oven Eggless Cake. Slightly spiced. Nutty. Crusty yet moist!

My Version of Basic No-oven Eggless Cake. Slightly spiced. Nutty. Crusty yet moist!

#MerryChristmas Sprinkle love and garnish with compassion

Sweet memories of Nostalgia and childhood

So, its Christmas today. Wasn’t particularly chirpy. Rather depressing. I am just trying to distract myself from some disturbing thoughts.

So thought of baking a cake. Turned out absolutely fantastic. Had tried in the past, couple of times with great disastrous results.

And wait, this was baked in a cooker (pressure cooker) and tasted no different than.. infact better than… a convection oven/ microwave version. Though its perfect for an oven too.

You got to trust my recipe because I am a novice. Hence would give detailed basic recipe with in-hand experience tips.

Thanks for host of recipes available online on basic sponge cakes. I have added my twist to suit my taste for a nutty crusty moist non-creamy feel to my mouth.

Great for beginners!

Note The Ingredients

All Purpose Flour (Maida) : 1/2 cup

Whole Wheat Flour (Aata) : 1/4th cup

Semolina (Suji/rawa) : 1/8th cup

Milk : 1/4th cup

Condensed Milk : 1/2 cup

Ghee/Clarified Butter : 1/2 cup

Curd/Yoghurt : 1/2 cup

Sugar/ powdered sugar  : 1/4th cup

Salt : a small pinch

Baking Powder : 1 1/2 tsp

Baking Soda : 1/2 tsp

Cocoa Powder : 3 tsp

Vanilla Essence: 1/2 tsp

Lemon zest : 1/2 tsp

Garam masala/ or just cinnamon powder : Just a pinch

Almonds, Raisins, Cashews : 1/2 cup

Cake Garnish Sprinkles: Optional : 2 tsp

1. Take a big bowl. Sieve into it the all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, semolina, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder all together

2. In another bowl, mix/lightly whisk the milk, condensed milk, yoghurt/curd, vanilla essence, lemon zest. Keep aside.

3. Melt the clarified butter/ghee separately

4. Now, blend/whisk the sugar into the melted clarified butter/ ghee well. Keep aside

5. In to the big bowl of dry ingredients (i.e. the mix in point no.1)… add the mix from point no. 4 ( clarified butter + sugar) and mix from point no. 2 (milk, condensed milk, yoghurt/curd, vanilla essence, lemon zest )

6. Whisk/fold  it all together. Never over whisk or over blend a cake mix. The bubbles and the fluffiness are good.

7. The batter shouldn’t be runny. It should be thick yet velvety. (not too tight when you try to run a whisk through it)

8. Taste this batter to check if you want more sweetness

9. Top it up with the nuts and raisins

10. Sprinkle pinch of Garam Masala or Cinnamon powder

Baking/Cooking method

1. Take a container that fits inside an aluminum cooker

2. Grease this entire container with clarified butter by applying it with a greasing brush or hand

3. Add 1 tbsp semolina/flour to it and dust/coat the entire container for a dry layer. This helps the cake come out easily once ready. Tap out the excess.

4. Add the cake batter mix into this container gently with a flat ladle/spoon

5. Remove the circular rubber/ gasket  and the whistle lid from the pressure cooker

Aluminum Pressure Cooker

6. Add one to two cups of salt in the bottom of the cooker

7. Close the lid and let heat for 5 to 6 minutes. (Just like we need to preheat too when baking in an oven)

8. Now open the lid

9. On this base of the salt carefully keep a small steel bowl or some kind of separator

10. Carefully place the container with batter on top of the separator

11. Close the lid

12. Heat on high  for 5 minutes.  Then lower the heat

13. Relax. Set an alarm of 40 minutes

14. After 40 minutes check by carefully opening the lid

15. The cake should have risen by now with a beautiful brown crust and aroma

16. Insert a fork. It should come out clean. If not cook for few more minutes.

17. Let cool slightly once ready.

18. Take the container out and invert/flip it upside out down into a big flat plate by tapping to unmould . Flip again on a different plate so that the garnished top is visible.

19. Garnish the top with sprinklers

20. Go eat!

Important Tips

1. You can use the same recipe and bake in an oven as well.

• You can bake in a pre-heated oven at 180ºc (360ºf) for 30 minutes

2. You can vary the amount of cocoa powder depending on how chocolaty you want it

3. You can add more of all purpose flour if you do not have semolina. Semolina adds crispiness though

4. If you do not have condensed milk, replace with full cream milk

5. Almonds add great nutty flavour. You can add or decrease the nuts as per your wish. Don’t go overboard though else it will get too rich too handle! Atleast I like my cake simpler.

6. Greasing the container and coating it with flour is important to help the final cake come out of it beautifully and avoid sticking it to the container

7. Powdered sugar is recommended however I used simple sugar and it was just fine

8. never over-beat a cake mixture batter

9. Pre-prep is crucial while baking. Measure accurately and proportionately to avoid disasters and wastage. You can always vary the ingredients once the batter is ready before baking it

10. Though strongly recommended to use the same, however if you do not have clarified butter, replace it with unsalted butter or oil if you want. Don’t compromise on the quantity of fat though for this cake

11. Don’t add water to pressure cooker. Salt at the base helps create a oven like environment.

12. Let the cake container not stick to the sides of the cooker

instant crispy crumbly bread snack

crispy crumbly bread snack

When you want to create something delectable in a jiffy, yet satisfy that craving for something snacky and spicy here is a solution.

For this Dry Bread Upma Dish

Take four to five white bread slices

Tear them into medium-sized square pieces with hand

Heat a pan. Add 2 tsp butter and 1/2 tsp oil. Once hot temper with 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds. Wait till they crackle. Add curry leaves,and a cup of sliced onions. Saute till soft.

Add 2-3 split long green chillies and stir for few seconds.

Now add the pieces of bread and stir dry till slightly brown or crispy. Add turmeric powder , 1/2 tsp sugar, salt to taste, and some black pepper.

Stir and add finely chopped fresh coriander leaves and some red chilly powder to garnish. Don;t forget to squeeze in juice of half a lemon for the tangy sweet flavour.

Awesome when paired with ginger tea and a view of sunset!

Participated in the interactive forum Fiesta Friday hosted at http://thenovicegardener.wordpress.com/

Charred tomato, green chillies Smitten, Gingery-Skinned-Potatoes

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Rustic old ways. Memories. Earthen. So real. And so inspiring.

When baskety mornings weave unreal dreams. And the thoughts enough to fill the day with shimmery senses.

When the sunlight playing hide n seek in the early morning hours, lure you to wake up to reality mixed with bitter, sweet hopes..waves of emotions that almost give you a headache, a hangover…that can only be cured as the day passes by with assuring and reassuring moments as the clock ticks by…

Now, coming back to the post..if you want to taste something real different and comforting.. this is the simple recipe to go for.

Charring has such a rusticness and burst of flavours  attached to it. Isn’t it? Never tried. Its never too late!

For this recipe take two big fresh tomatoes and put them over fire. Place it over your gastop directly which is the easiest  to do in an ordinary town kitchen.

Till the pulp goes all charred and charcolish. Aah.. the words itself now blend with the aroma that fills up the room.

Do the same with three to four green chillies. The green chillies should have heat in them to add to the flavours.

Green chilies and tomatoes..charred make for an impactful flavour together.

Parellel, parboil few potatoes with their skins on and some salt sprinkled while boiling them!

Once  the tomatoes and green chillies are ready.. heat a pan and drizzle some mustard oil till smoky!

Mustard oil adds to the real punch of flavours too here!

Add lots of grated ginger (about 2 tbsp) and stir fry on high heat with lotsa chopped coriander leaves.

Stir till they almost turn brownish. Add the tomatoes and mash them with a masher.

And chopped charred green chillies. Lower heat and stir for few secs.

Add the potatoes and mix them up well. Let the potatoes be stirred for atleast 2 to 3 minutes till it almost gets that roasted texture. Add some turmeric powder and salt. Throw in just a pinch of sugar.

Stir and then add very little water. Cover and let cook in slowly for another 10 minutes.

Squeeze some lemon on top.

The goodness of these charred veggies will beg for you to have these with your loved ones amidst a lot of greenery and love and conversations of fond memories! So, have it with steamed rice sprinkled with mustard oil (blissful combination of rice and raw mustard oil) and bites of raw diced onions sprinkled with some salt, lemon and raw chilly powder. Assuring you an unsophisticatedly lovely, charry, smoky, earthy, rustic, heavenly experience!

Do let me know!

Crispy leftover lentil rice jeera (cumin) fritters

 

 

 

 

Invention is always a challenge….Or discovering something that’s experimental and stimulating to the mind and taste buds as well.. Just not with food but with anything don’t we like to wonder if its worth the effort and experimentation and the investment, Well I say sometimes let things be for the joy of it… And if it brings joy to the heart, the returns come to you naturally.. Let the process be fun…no matter what the outcome.

With leftovers sometimes you just want to reheat and have them because else by then they get boring and mundane..

And Leftovers are common. But creatively churning out something that’s worth eating the next day too.. is quite a challenge…

I had left over Dry Spicy Khichdi/ an Indian preparation made from rice and lentils (dal).

Khichdi is commonly considered to be a comfort food, and was the inspiration for the Anglo-Indian dish kedgeree. Khichri is also thought to be the inspiration for the popular Egyptian dish, kushari.

In India Khichdi is usually prepared atleast once a week (Just a guess). An absolute comfort food.
If you are new to this, you must try and have it hot with the family with some pickle of your choice.

A quick recipe of Khichdi would be:

In a pressure cooker, temper in two tsp of hot refined oil, some chopped onions, cumin seeds, mustard seeds and green chillies. Add one cup of lentil (moong/ tuar),one cup of regular rice and three cups of water. Add two pinch of turmeric powder, 1/4th tbsp of red chilly powder, two tbsp or more tomato puree or chopped tomatoes, salt and let pressure cook with two whistles or till rice and lentile are just cooked. Garnish with chopped coriander.

 

So, since I had these leftovers, I ended up whipping these fritters/ snackers that would go perfect with you cuppa tea or coffee.. Click on the link to get a ginger tea recipe done the Indian way.

You can use left over steamed rice too and play with flavours by adding more spices to the fritters dough

The ingredients used in this recipe have a lot character and Indianess ! By that I mean, they all together add to the final recipe and taste!

To make this mathri kind of fritters or snackers,

Take a quarter plate or a big cup of khichdi.
Add 1 and half cup of sieved maida/all purpose flour.
Throw in 1/4th cup of fine semolina and 1/4th cup of sieved rice flour. And one tbsp of gram flour.
Add dry ingredients like, 2 tbsp jeera/cumin seeds, one tsp ajwain/ carom seeds, one tsp turmeric powder, one tbsp red chilly powder, some dry fenugreek/kasuri methi if you have. Add a pinch of baking soda and a pinch of castor sugar.

 

Now add two big onions chopped very very finely and a tbsp of chopped garlic. These added an interesting dimension indeed since the touch of onions added a sweet and crunchy taste/texture.

 

Knead it into a pastry kind of crumble. Do not over knead. Not soft but slightly firm. Add flour as per your judgement here keeping in mind that you would need to roll them and cut into pieces later.

 

Take tiny batches of these kneaded dough and spread on flat surface with a rolling pin. Not too thick. Maintain medium thickness.

Pierce all over.

Cut into pieces of your desired shape.

 

In a deep bottomed pan, heat sufficient oil for deep frying.

Once smoky hot, add these bits and let fry till crisp. Golden brown. Place them in paper towel so excess oil gets absorbed.

 

Let them stand for about 20 minutes.

Enjoy them crisp with a cuppta tea!!

 

Good to keep in mind:

You can also make soft round  flatbreads /parathas  with them if you do not want to deep fry

Cumin seeds add great taste so add as per your whim

Since these have onions and left overs its better not to store them beyond a day. Have them fresh once slightly cooled.

 

 

Instant Basil pesto & red chilly Zucchini, Bellpeppers Veg

Watching the sunlight seep in secretly and undeclared into the kitchen can fill ones heart to brim.

Also a trip to the greens and sunsets to the town outskirts, had added a craving for something green and unique!

The idea popped up for some Sunshine and smiles and colours. And something instant.

I was a fan of basil pesto from the day I had Pasta in basil pesto with garnish of pinenuts and cherry tomatoes.

I had ordered these ready made pestos after confirming their quality just for such a Situation! 😉

Basil Pesto and red chilly dip. The ancient Romans ate a paste called moretum, which was made by crushing cheese, garlic and herbs together.Basil, the main ingredient of modern pesto, likely originated in India and was first domesticated there. (Source: wikipedia)

Red Chilly Dip ingredients!

Pesto is traditionally prepared in a marble mortar with a wooden pestle. First, garlic and pine nuts are placed in the mortar and reduced to a cream,then the washed and dried basil leaves are added with coarse salt and ground to a creamy consistency. Only then is a mix of Parmigiano-Reggiano and Pecorino added. To help incorporate the cheese a little extra-virgin olive oil is added. In a tight jar (or simply in an air-tight plastic container), covered by a layer of extra-virgin olive oil, pesto can last in the refrigerator up to a week, and can be frozen for later use. (Source: wikipedia)

This recipe is good for a different menu in the middle of the week and a fresh change to the taste palate. NOT MUNDANE. No NO!

1) To prepare these unique yummies cut one zucchini, two yellow and red bell peppers and one small cauliflower into square half cubes.

2) Add one tbsp oil (olive/sesame or refined) into a preheated pan

3)Once smoky hot, add the zucchinis. Stir on high heat for 30 secs.

4)Now add the bellpeppers and cauliflower florets. Stir on high heat for another minute

5)Reduce heat, cover for a minute

6) Remove the lid to add two tbsp of basil pesto and two tbsp of red chilly dip with a dollop of tomato ketchup or puree

7)Stir to let it all cuddle up well with each other with sprinkle of salt and black pepper

7)Add chopped fresh parsley and cover for another minute with a squeeze of lemon on top

And that’s ready to serve !

Serve with raw onions and lemon and flat bread or rice of your choice

The zucchini, also known as a courgette, has origins which can be traced back more than 9,000 years to Mexico. Zucchini is a type of summer squash. They’re available in green and yellow varieties. Both have soft, succulent flesh. Zucchini is an excellent source of vitamin C, and provides some beta carotene and folate. Select firm zucchini with glossy skin. Store in an sealed plastic bag in the crisper for up to three days. (Source: taste.com.au)

Participated in an interactive forum Fiesta Friday hosted at http://thenovicegardener.wordpress.com/