Shahi Toast Pudding

by Kavita Kuriyal Chandola !

Here is one more quick fix sweet delight!

Ingredients:

Slices of bread (toasted) - 6

Milkmaid - half a cup

Dry Desiccated coconut - 1/2 cup

Method : Toast bread slices in a toaster. Cut them in quarters. Dip each piece in condense milk and layer the dish. Sprinkle dry desiccated coconut generously. Repeat the same process. 

Dig in and enjoy !

Puffed Rice Yogurt Chaat

By Kavita Kuriyal Chandola

When hunger strikes, fix yourself a bowl of easily made healthy chaat ! 

Ingredients:

Puffed Rice -1 cups 

Yogurt - 2 cups

peanuts (pounded coarsely) -1/2 cup

Finely chop following ingredient together - 1 cup

Onion, Ginger,green chilies and Coriander leaves

Seasoning :

Salt -as per taste

Sugar - 1/2 teaspoon

Chat Masala (optional) - 1/2 teaspoon

Season yogurt and whisk it smooth. Add all the dry ingredients. Enjoy !!  

Sooji ka Halwa...

.... or sooji ka prasaad is an absolute classic and very easy to prepare sweet-dish! Here's my personal (and twisted) version of the recipe.

Sooji (Semolina) - 1/2 cup

Ghee- 1/3 cup

Sugar- 1/2 cup

Water- 1 1/4 cup

Small green Cardamom - 2/3

Saffron strands - few (optional)

Nuts (Almonds, Cashews, raisins) - optional

Salt - a pinch (optional)

Put water for boiling. Add saffron and crushed green cardamom. Once boiled, keep it aside.

Dry roast sooji in a non-stick heavy bottomed pan for a minute or two. Add ghee and roast it till it's golden brown. Keep stirring continuously. Add nuts and let them roast along sooji.

Turn the flames down/off and pour the boiled water very carefully to the mixture in the pan. It will splutter so cover it with a lid. Let the added water get absorbed in sooji. Next, on medium flames stir the halwa vigorously for a min or two. Now add sugar and keep stirring until everything mixes nicely together. Saffron mixture can also be added now. cook for 5-7 minutes. Turn the flames off. Cover it with a lid and let it sit and steam cook for 3-5 minutes. It's ready to dig in ! 

Variations :

1. Cloves (2 no) and a small cinnamon stick can be added to water to give halwa a distinct taste.

2. Along with sooji, a tablespoon each of whole wheat flour and besan flour can be added.

3. A pinch of salt can be added at the end to enhance sweet taste of halwa.

4. Salted Butter used in place of ghee gives halwa a rich taste.

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Tasty and Tangy ...

....Tawa-fried Sweet potato bites ! Why should you eat sweet potatoes? well, because its a unsung hero of fat-fighting diet which is also considered one of the wonder foods with loads of fiber and essential nutrients.There are number of ways to eat it, the easiest of them is the one I am sharing with you today.

Boiled Sweet Potatoes

For marination: 

Salt

Red chili flakes

black pepper

Assorted dried herbs(optional)

oil as per the preference

lemon juice.

Method. Prepare marinade with above ingredients and mix sliced boiled potatoes in it. Fry them in tawa. keep sprinkling oil and flipping them over until they are crisp and brown. Squeeze lemon just before serving.

Variations:

1. Add green chutney/tomato sauce before serving.

2. Add sev, chopped onion, tomoatoes, tamaring and green chutney.

3. Think of your own personal variation and enjoy !

Sweet Dalchini Parantha

Who hasn't eaten caramelized cheeni-parantha while growing up ? We sure did ! Here a slight variation to the original simple recipe. Sprinkling a dash of a spice along with sugar gives a simple twist and it tastes even more heavenly. 

Ingredients

Whole flour dough

Sugar 

Cinnamon powder 

Butter 

Roll a small dough ball in a thin chapati. Coat it with butter. Sprinkle dry flour, sugar and cinnamon powder. pleat the parantha horizontally from one end to another and turn it round. Flatten it gently first with fingers and then rolling pin. Cook on hot tawa with butter. Flip and let it cook till its crispy.  

Eat this tasty, flaky, crispy and filling dalchini parantha with a butter blob and wash it down with a steaming cup of  tea/coffee . 

Amla Chutney

Indian Gooseberry ( Amla ) has always been considered an excellent source of vitamin C.  It's better to have it in its fresh green form instead of preserving it by making pickles and murabba. To enjoy its seasonal presence, here is a recipe of amla chutney which can be prepared in a jiffy.

Ingredients:

Amla - 8 -10

Coriander - a bunch

Ginger - an inch

Green chillies - 3/4

Salt - as per taste

Roasted Cumin powder (optional )- 1 tsp

Sugar (optional)- 1/2

Remove the seeds from Amla. Put everything in a blender. 

Mixie it into a fine paste. Add water if required. 

Relish the chutney's super-sourness and enjoy its many health benefits too!

Let's welcome 2014..

..with our authentic pahadi Urad dal pakode, which are made on all auspicious celebrations ! Along with that let's make a quick Ice-cream-rasgulla sweet dish as well !

Ingredients :-

Split Black gram ( Urad dal )  -  250 gram

Turmeric powder ( Haldi ) - 1 tsp

Red Chilli powder (optional ) - 1 tsp

Salt  - as per taste

Asafoetida (Heeng) - 1tsp

Sesame seeds - 2 tbsp

Oil  - for frying

Method:-

Soak dal overnight. Grind it into the fine paste with as less water as possible. Add turmeric, salt, chilli powder and heeng to it . Mix well. Make small ball on wet palm and flatten it . Make a hole in the middle with index finger. Stick sesame seeds on top. Deep fry till golden brown.

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Icecream-rasgulla pudding

Ingredient :-

Vanilla Ice cream - 1/2 kg box

Rasgulla - 8/10

  Nuts - assorted finely chopped

Strawberry slices/ chocolate chips - optional

Creative variations - optional  /  plenty

Method

Squeeze sugar syrup from Rasgulla, cut them in halves with a knife and keep them aside. keep vanilla ice cream out for a while and let it melt. Layer a flatten dish with icecream. Top it with a layer of halved Rasgulla. Then goes in sprinkling of nuts and strawberry pieces. Repeat the layers and garnish it with nuts and chocoloate chips. Chill it for 4-5 hrs or overnight in chiller . Relish !