Posts by OCS | Saute Fry N Bake

Misal pav

Preparation time : 30 minutes
Cooking time : 15 minutes
Serves : 5 members

Description

Though me being a great foodie and my life revolves around food , there are so many authentic Indian recipes that I am not aware of. The mighty misal pav is one dish. A few months back , a fellow gym mate of mine mentioned about it as she is from Mumbai. I didn’t know head or tail of what this dish might be like. She explained to me in detail with both of us walking in the treadmill. The garnishing with farsha ( mixture) excited me. Gave it a try the next day for breakfast with my friends recipe. Awesome taste with layers of textures was tasty and a new addition to my breakfast menu’s at home.

Ingredients for the misal

Ingredients	Quantity
Green gram sprouts	1 and a 1/2 cups
Onion	2 chopped
Tomato	1 chopped
Ginger and garlic paste	1/4 teaspoon
Salt	to taste
Oil	1 tablespoon
Coriander leaves	few chopped
Buns	4
Butter	2 tablespoons ( optional )

Ingredients to grind

Ingredients	Quantity
Turmeric powder	1/4 teaspoon
Red chilly powder	1 teaspoon
Coriander powder	1 tablespoon
Gram masala powder	1/4 teaspoon
Black cardamom	1
Cloves	2
Green cardamom	1
Cinnamon	1/8 inch piece
Bay leaf	1
Star anise	1 small
Coconut grated	1 tablespoon
Sesame seeds	1/2 teaspoon
Cumin seeds	1/2 teaspoon
Pepper corns	1/4 teaspoon
Stone flower	1/4 teaspoon
Ajwain	a pinch

Garnishing ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Onion	1 chopped
Coriander leaves	few chopped
Mixture	1 cup
Lime wedges	few

Method

Boil the green gram sprouts with salt to taste and enough water to cooked well.
Grind all the ingredients together under the to grind section along with little water to a smooth paste.
Heat oil, add onions and sauté to translucent. Top with ginger and garlic paste and sauté to crisp.
Add the tomato and sauté to juicy and until oil separates. Top with the ground masala paste and sauté until raw smell vanishes. Pour the boiled green gram with water in it. Mix well and cook further for five minutes.
Once the raw smell has gone and it gets to a gravy consistency, garnish with chopped coriander leaves and remove from heat.

How to serve

Garnish the cooked misal with a garnish of chopped onions, chopped coriander leaves and mixture. Squeeze a lemon wedge over and serve with butter toasted hot buns.

Spring roll sheet baskets

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Preparation time : 2 minutes
Cooking time : 4-5 minutes for each batch
Serves : 8 members

Description

Edible basket’s and nest’s made to entertain for appetisers always interest’s me as it’s easy to pull of with no high end technique required giving a final product that always had your guests and loved ones with a surprise element. I come across this recipe in a foodie group in face book that was so easy and yet innovative. The process was so similar to the potato baskets once I tried making and it ended up a utter flop show. Me being a bit nervous about this , went ahead and gave it a try. I tried by pressing the spring roll sheets in the wire mesh strainer with a pastel as demanded in the recipe but that did not work out for me. So the next basket I tried the same using a round steel spatula. The results were pitch perfect. Stored these baskets in an air tight container and served them in style. The crispy exterior and the spicy mince filling was a match made in heaven. I did share a few with my neighbour. I get a phone call immediately with a recipe please which means this snack idea is for keeps.

Ingredients for the baskets

Ingredients	Quantity
Steel tea strainer	1
Round medium sized steel ladle	1

Equipment’s needed

Equipments	Quantity
Steel tea strainer	1
Round medium sized steel ladle	1

Method for baskets

Cut each spring roll sheet into four equal squares. Place three squares diagonally in a cross cross pattern one over the other.
Place the three stacked up spring roll cross cross sheets into a steel strainer. Press down with the steel ladle. Insert it into hot oil and deep fry to golden and crispy . Drain and store in airtight containers.

How to serve

with filling of your choice like chat, mixed fruits, salad, desserts, ice cream or any savoury filling ( here I have filled it with savoury mince meat filling ). Let your imagination rule and flaunt with any filling of your choice.

Mango falooda

Mango falooda

Preparation time : 2 hours
Cooking time : 10 minutes
Serves : 2 to 3 members

Description:

Every month we have a kitty get together here at my place where it’s hosted in different restaurant’s. We ladies , chit chat , have fun and get to be our own selves in the kitty. All our diets are sure thrown into the bin and we hog like gluttons. Once on one such kitty , we all had a mango falooda and the entire gang went bonkers over them. I did save it to my must try Recipe list in mind. At home , the third batch of ripe mangoes arrive from our orchid. With a lot of distribution done to family and friends this time I wanted to make good use of the last third batch in hand. The mango falooda kindled me saying ” hello , I am being saved in your mind for long. Let me out and give a try “. I went through a lot of recipes in the world wide net and came up with one that I thought might be apt for me. Gave it a try and my , my it was so divine oozing with deliciousness. The different layers of flavours and textures is what excites you with a mouth full. Once in a while it’s good to treat yourself as life is to be enjoyed in a thankful way for natures abundance of its sweet ripe mangoes.

Ingredients for the seviyan(vermeil)

Ingredients	Quantity
Cornflour	1/2 cup
Water	1 and 1/2cups
Salt	a pinch
Sugar	2 teaspoons
Yellow food colouring	a pinch
Ice water	1 bottle
Ice cubes	1 tray
Oil	to grease

Method for seviyan

Dilute the cornflour in water making sure no lumps are formed. Add in salt , sugar and yellow food colour. Mix well.
Heat this cornflour mix in medium heat continuously stirring all the way to get a gooey mass of no lump sticky mix.
Grease an iddiappam press with oil. Add the gooey cornflour mix when hot and press the mix into a bowl of ice water mixed with ice cubes. You get thin yellow strands of vermicelli. Keep them in the refrigerator with the bowl of ice water until needed to be used.

Notes

This seviyan can be saved in the refrigerator for three days in ice water and used.

Other ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Basil seeds	4 tablespoons
Almond gum	1 teaspoon
Ripe Mangoes	4
Milk	1 and a 1/2 cups
Sugar	to taste
Mango jelly	1 /2 packet

Method

Soak basil seeds and almond gum separately in a bowl of water for one hour to bloom .
Prepare Mango jelly according to packet instructions and let it set in the freezer.
peel and chop two ripe mangoes Into tiny squares and keep aside. Peel , chop and purée the remaining two ripe mangoes with sugar to taste with out adding water. Keep aside the mango purée.
Heat the milk and reduce it to half its amount. Cool completely. Add sugar to taste and mix to dissolve. Keep aside.

How to serve

Chill two tall glasses for five minutes in a freezer.
Add 2 tablespoons of soaked basil seeds to the bottom. Top with 3 tablespoons of mango purée gently.
Add 1 tablespoon of soaked almond gum over the mango purée. Pour 1/2 of the milk gently making sure the layers do not get disturbed.
Top with half of the chopped ripe mango pieces.
squeeze out the ice water from the seviyan. Add 1 tablespoon into the milk gently.
Top with cut jelly mango cubes. Garnish with basil seeds and a spring of mint. Chill and serve when needed.

Eggless Almond cookies

Preparation time : 35 minutes
Cooking time : 25 minutes
Serves : 6 members

Description:

Some how cookies are not of much interest to me but I am pushed to bake cookies once in a while having a head over heels in love with cookie son of mine. As a kid , he used to always finish off an entire packet of biscuits. My mother – in – law used to crib about this to me always. Once I left him with her and went for a wedding. The minute I was back home , she was like ” now , I know why you give him the entire packet of biscuits to eat. He is a super hyper active kid. Very difficult to handle. ” I just smiled and felt happy that she got to know the fact. He does love his cookies and biscuits like before but now he knows it’s not good to gobble up so much at once. I get to see the long lost child like smile on his face when ever a fresh batch of cookies are baked at home. In fact I bake cookies just to see that million dollar smile on his face . That’s what a mother needs the most , to see the long lost delighted kid in your child.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Butter	170 grams
icing sugar	110 grams
salt	1/4 teaspoon
plain flour	200 grams
cornflour	80 grams
toasted almond flakes	100 grams
Sunflower Oil	a little if the dough is too dry

Method:

Cream butter with icing sugar till creamy.
Add in flour, cornflour then the roasted almond flakes.
Slowly pour in oil to form into a dough.
Chill in the fridge for 30 mins. then roll into 1 cm thick. cut into squares with a sharp knife. Place the cut squares over a butter paper lined baking tray with 1/4 inch gap between each cookie.
Bake in a preheated oven at 170 degrees Celsius for about 25 minutes until cooked and lightly brown.
Remove from oven and leave to cool on a wire rack for twenty minutes.store in cookie containers. Keeps well for ten days.

Kaima urundai nonbhu kanji

Preparation time : 25 minutes
Cooking time : 30 minutes
Serves : 4 members

Description

During ifthar time it’s nerve racking to decide a menu where you have to keep in mind not to repeat what you have already served previously to break your fast. Variety with taste is what counts here but the main course of an ifthar table in all Muslim homes in tamilnadu and Kerala is kanji. A rice porridge that’s made with a slight change of recipe through out each Muslim home and mosque’s in both the states. Well, I know to make just five different kanjis and I keep repeating them. Usually I break my head with new snack ideas but this time my focus has changed towards the mighty kanji. An idea just pops up in my mind with why not make a meat ball kanji and gave it a try. The idea was a smashing hit at home with surprised happy faces in the ifthar table. My mission accomplished letting way to share yet another new recipe with you all.

Ingredients for kaima urundai

Ingredients	Quantity
Mutton mince	1 /4 kg washed , drained and ground to a paste with out adding water
Green chillies	1 chopped
Coriander leaves	1 tablespoon chopped
Mint leaves	1 tablespoon chopped
Ginger	1/2 teaspoon grated
Garlic	1/2 teaspoon chopped
Egg	1
Salt	to taste
Thin coconut milk extract	2 cups

Method for kaima urundai

Mix all the ingredients together except for coconut milk extract. Make small size balls out of the mince mix.
Heat coconut milk extract with salt to taste in a wide mouthed vessel. When it boils add the mince balls/ kaima urundai and cook for eight minutes in medium heat. Remove from heat.

Ingredients for kanji

Ingredients	Quantity
Broken basmati rice	1 cup heaped
fenugreek seeds	1/4 teaspoon
cumin seeds	1/4 teaspoon
garlic flakes	2
small onions	6
green chillies	2 slit
coriander leaves chopped	1 teaspoon
mint leaves	1/2 teaspoon
thick coconut milk	1 cup
water	6 cups
salt	to taste
ghee	1 table spoon
mustard seeds	1/4 teaspoon
cinnamon	1
clove	1
cardamom	1
curry leaves	4
ginger garlic paste	1/4 teaspoon

Method for kanji

Pressure cook, washed rice, small onions, garlic flakes, green chillies, mint leaves, coriander leaves, fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds along with the water for 4 to 5 whistles.
Add salt to taste and coconut milk. Mix well adjust the consistency to a flowing thick porridge adding water if needed.
Bring to boil. Heat ghee in a pan, crackle the mustard seeds, add the cinnamon, clove, cardamom, cut small onions 4, curry leaves and ginger garlic paste.
Fry to brown and crisp and pour over the kanji. Add the cooked mince balls / kaima urundai along with the coconut milk extract. mix well gently making sure the mince balls / kaima urundai do not break. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve hot.

Khatta dhokla

Preparation time : 30 minutes + 6 hours of soaking + 8 hours to ferment
Cooking time : 10 minutes + 2 minutes for tempering
Serves : 8 members

Description

I have great amount of weakness towards dhokla’s. Serve it to me in any form and I cannot resist them. The steamed spongy square soothes you with sweet, sour and hotness all in one bite. Not to forget the mix of texture’s of soft, spongy and crisp of the tempering above it. This is just another version of the dhokla but made with rice and urad dal which gives you the same amount of yumminess. A real good healthy option to be had any time of day.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Rice	1 cup ( I used idli rice )
urad dal ( with out skin )	1/2 cup
Bengal dal	1/2 cup
Curd	1/2 cup
Green chillies	2
Ginger	1/4 inch piece
Asafoetida	1/4 teaspoon
Red chilly powder	a few pinches
Oil	1 tablespoon
Eno fruit salt	2 teaspoons

Ingredients for tempering

Ingredients	Quantity
Mustard seeds	1/2 teaspoon
Curry leaves	few
White sesame seeds	1/4 teaspoon
Coriander leaves	few chopped to garnish

Method

Soak rice, urad dal and Bengal gram dal separately in water for six hours. Drain the water and grind all together along with green chillies, ginger, curd and little water to a semi thick batter like idli batter consistency.
Add eno fruit salt and mix well. Keep covered for eight hours to ferment and double in size.
Add Asafoetida and oil to the fermented batter and mix well.
Grease a round vessel that has a flat base and high sides. Pour half of the fermented batter and sprinkle red chilly powder over. Pour 2 cups of water into a idli vessel.
Place the batter poured plate over the idli vessel steamer stand. Cover the batter plate with a lid. Then close the idli vessel with its lid. Steam for ten minutes. Remove from heat and cool for three minutes.
Heat oil to temper. Add the mustard seeds. Once they crackle, add curry leaves and white sesame seeds. Sauté for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and pour over the steamed khatta dhokla.
Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves. Cut into equal size squares and serve with coriander chutney.

Parsi keema Pattie

Preparation time : 20 minutes
Cooking time : 5 minutes for each batch .
Serves : 6 members

Description

This keema Pattie is very different from the various number of parties I make at home . This recipe is chef Sanjeev kapoor’s which I had taken note of many years ago. I tried the recipe religiously as his in my first attempt. His recipe demanded raw mince to be used and then fried but I didn’t like it much as the mince meat remained a bit raw as the crust of the Pattie was a dipping of egg. The crust got burnt when I tried to cook the Pattie further and when I got the crust golden the mince was raw. So on my next trial I made a few changes to my liking, this time used cooked mince instead. The results were just wow. There after, my take on the recipe remained. I always have my way of changing recipes to my convenience and it always works perfectly. I am sure a lot of you might change this given recipe to your convenience too. Well, that’s how new recipes are born and the world of recipes and cooking keeps us going on and on inspiring us more and more which is more wide and knowledgeable than an ocean.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Mutton mince	1/2 kg
Bread slice	5
Ginger and garlic paste	1/2 teaspoon each
Green chillies	2 chopped
Red chilly powder	1/2 teaspoon
Coriander powder	1/4 teaspoon
Cumin powder	1/4 teaspoon
Turmeric powder	1/4 teaspoon
Coriander leaves	2 tablespoons chopped
Mint leaves	2 tablespoons chopped
Bread crumbs	1 cup
Eggs	4
Salt + pepper powder	to taste
Oil	to shallow fry

Method

Pressure cook mutton mince adding ginger + garlic paste and salt to taste with out adding water for one whistle. Once cooked, reduce the water by boiling further until the mince is dry. Remove from heat and cool completely.
Soak bread slices one at a time in a cup of water for ten seconds and squeeze out the water. Mix squeezed bread, cooked mutton mince, chopped green chillies, chopped coriander leaves + mint leaves, cumin powder, red chilly powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and salt to taste together. Keep the mixture in the refrigerator for three hours.
Make lemon size even balls out of the mixture in the refrigerator. Roll over bread crumbs. Shape the balls to round 1/4 inch thick patties and place in the refrigerator for another 1/2 an hour.
Beat eggs with salt + pepper powder to taste along with 2 tablespoons of water. Heat oil to shallow fry. Dip each Pattie into the beaten egg mix and drop into hot oil. Shallow fry to golden on both sides to crisp. Drain and serve hot with tomato sauce.

Arabic mehrabi mint tea

Preparation time : 2 minutes
Cooking time : 7 minutes
Serves : 5 members

Description

A refreshing tea that’s made in such a simple way. The flavour of the mint leaves sure does enlighten your taste buds letting way to an endless craving for more such tea. Mint tea is one of the most traditional teas in North Africa and prepared with mint leaves and sugar. Originally introduced by English merchants, the tea has spread in popularity throughout Africa, France, and other neighbouring countries. Known to be invigorating and lively, the fresh mint used to prepare This tea helps cleanse the palate after meals, and is great for lethargic days.
Also well-known for its medicinal properties, mint tea is used commonly for getting over colds, sore throats, sinus congestion, and gastric ulcers. With high antioxidants and vitamins, mint helps boost immunity and health. Seasonal allergies can also be treated by drinking cups of mint tea due to rosmarinic acid, an anti-inflammatory agent found in mint. Minor aches and pains can be made better by the aspirin-like properties in mentha, even when consumed as a tea. Well, do you need any more reasons to try this tea recipe?

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Green tea	5 tablespoons
Hot Water	5 cups
Sugar	4 tablespoons
Mint leaves	one bunch

Method

Add the green tea leaves with hot water and keep covered for two minutes. Add sugar and mint leaves. Keep closed with a lid for another five minutes. Strain the tea. Garnish with fresh mint leaves and serve hot.

Hyderabad Haleem

Preparation time : 45 minutes
Cooking time : 1 hour
Serves : 6 members

Description

We are invited for lunch to my father – in – law’s friends home. They served us a light brown gooey mass of sticky thing. All of us at the table looked at each other not knowing what it was or how to eat it. A good sprinkle of crispy fried onions, fresh chopped coriander leaves and a squeeze of lime juice was done and followed with start your meal. We all with a million doubts took our first mouth full. It just sledded into our tummies. Then they explained to us that the dish was Haleem and it’s made with mutton and whole wheat grains. In those days of no access to internet, I made sure to get the recipe from them. My head did spin a bit as the procedure and pain in making this was so long and time time consuming. I tried it out once and after that its become a must at home ever since. Here I have simplified the recipe to the maximum and shared it with you all. These age old authentic recipes are a sure must try and it’s always best when home made with love.

Step 1

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Boneless mutton	1 kg
Green chillies	15
Ginger paste	1 tablespoon
Turmeric powder	1/2 teaspoon
Cinnamon	1 inch stick
Cloves	4
Cardamom	4
Cumin seeds	1/2 teaspoon
Pepper corns	6
Salt	to taste
Water	2 cups

Method

Mix all the above mentioned ingredients together in a pressure cooker. Pressure cook until the meat is tender and breaks down. Cool completely.

Step 2

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Broken wheat	150 grams
Urad dal ( skin removed )	1 tablespoon
Thoovar dal	1 tablespoon
Masoor dal	1 tablespoon
Bengal gram dal	1 tablespoon
Water	4 cups

Method

Mix all the ingredients together and pressure cook until well cooked and mushy. Cool completely.

Step 3

Method

Grind the cooled mutton to get a gooey mass of meat. Keep aside.
Grind the cooled broken wheat mixture to a smooth gooey paste. Keep aside.

Step 4

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Oil	3 tablespoons + to deep fry
Onion	3 sliced + 6 sliced
Ginger and garlic paste	1 tablespoon
Coriander leaves	1 cup
Mint leaves	1 cup
Green chillies	6 slit
Pepper powder	1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder	1/2 teaspoon
Hung curd	1 cup
Ghee	6 tablespoons

Method

Heat oil to deep fry. Deep fry the 6 sliced onions in hot oil until crisp and deep golden brown in colour. Drain and keep aside.
Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a heavy bottomed wide mouthed vessel. Add 3 sliced onions and sauté to golden brown in colour.
Add ginger and garlic paste and sauté to crisp. Top with coriander leaves, green chillies, mint leaves and curd. Sauté for a minute.
Top with turmeric powder, pepper powder, salt to taste, ground mutton and ground broken wheat. Mix well.
Top with ghee and lower the heat. Keep stirring making sure not to burn the bottom by stirring once a while for 15 minutes.
Add half of the deep friend onions and mix well. Remove from heat.

Step 5

Garnishing ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Coriander leaves	few chopped
Deep fried crispy onions	Few
Lemon wedges	Few

Method

Pour required amount of haleem into a bowl. Garnish with fried onions, chopped coriander leaves and lemon wedges. Serve hot.

Notes

Authenticity mutton is used to make haleem but you can do the same with chicken too.

Half and half pudding

Preparation time : 30 minutes + setting time of six hours
Cooking time : 30 seconds
Serves : 5 members

Description

Desserts are the most liked course of a meal by adults and children. When you have a dessert that’s home made and looks top notch it’s always bonus while entertaining guests at home. I some how always had this myth with in my self that desserts and puddings that looked high end were rocket science and it’s not my cup of tea but as I started to experiment on them. I got to know how a few tricks are just enough to make a normal jelly and milk pudding looking out of the world. Well, that’s what I have done here with this half and half pudding. As I served this pudding to my loved ones , I could see each of their faces bloom with a warm smile with a surprise element oozing out of their eyes. The best compliment ever, leaving my heart pumped with pride and joy.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Raspberry jelly	1 packet
Mixed fruits ( apples , pears , bananas , strawberries )	1 cup chopped
Milk	1/2 litre
Sugar	3 tablespoons
Gelatin	2 and 1/2 teaspoon
Vanilla essence	1 teaspoon

Method

Prepare jelly according to packet instructions and keep aside. Take two tall glasses. Pour 4 tablespoons of jelly mix into the tall glasses.
Place it in a slightly slanting manner in the freezer to set for ten minutes. Once set, top with 2 tablespoons of chopped fruits and pour 4 tablespoons of jelly mix over the fruits.
Replace it in the freezer in a slightly slanting manner again for another ten minute to set.
Add 2 tablespoons of water to the gelatin and soak in a microwave safe vessel. Mix milk, sugar and vanilla essence together.
Microwave the soaked gelatin for 30 seconds to dissolve. Cool to room temperature and add to the milk mixture.
Pour the milk mixture over the set jelly fruit later up to 3/4 full of each glass. Place in the freezer straight to set for about 30 minutes. Serve chilled.