Shahi Parantha (Madakku Chappathi)

We call it Madakku Chappathi in our place (Kerala); but in a program hosted by Saeed Jaffrey ,he named it as Shahi Parantha long ago. Saw the cd of the program some 10 years ago. Now when I googled for the exact name of this , I could see lots of varieties of Shahi Paranthas that I got confused myself; one with meat filling , one with ajwain, one again with khamir......lots more. So better stick with Madakku Chappathi...:))
Anyways..Paranthas means lots of oil,ghee & calorie :( ...but wat to do...they r so yummy that i forget all ma diets wen having it...& used to have it straight from the tava...i think that's the better way of eating those...!!

This can be made thin or thick, according to your taste. My mom makes thin and I loves it a bit thick.Both are tasty though.

Ingredients:

White Flour /Maida 2 cups
Whole wheat flour/Atta 1 cup
Salt
Water required to form the dough
Ghee

Method:

You can use any combination of flour to make the dough. either only whole wheat flour or add both the flours equally ; depends on your taste & how health concious you are.

Prepare the dough using the above ingredients except the ghee.

Make balls of equal size with this dough.

Roll on to a normal roti.

Spread ghee & dust flour on top

Now fold from all the four sides of the roti until it turns to a square shaped one;just like the picture below:

Now , again flatten it to a square shaped roti .

Heat griddle & cook chappathi on it until crispy. You can brush oil if u wish. Once it is cooked, you can see the layers inside gets separated easily.

Orange Cookies

The very thought of baking cookies makes ma kids happier than anything else. I think most of the kids are the same. This one is so simple and no chance of going wrong anywhere. Any amateurs like me can try this.

Recipe Courtesy: Essentials of Baking

Ingredients:

Butter 4 oz (115g), at room temperature

Sugar 7 oz (200g)

egg yolks 2

Fresh Orange juice 1 tbsp

Grated rind of 1 large orange

Plain Flour 7 oz (200g)

Cornflour 1 tbsp

Salt 1/2 tsp

Baking powder 1 tsp

Method:

With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 

1.Add the yolks, orange juice and rind, and continue beating to blend. Set aside.

2.In another bowl, sift together the flour, cornflour, salt and baking powder. Add to the butter mixture and stir until it forms a dough.

3.Wrap the dough in greaseproof paper and refrigerate for 2 hours. 

4.Preheat the oven to 375F/190C/Gas 5. Grease 2 baking sheets.

5.Roll spoonfuls of the dough into balls and place 1-2 in (2.5-5cm)apart on the prepared sheets. 

6.Press down with a fork to flatten. 

 

7.Bake until golden brown, 8-10 minutes. With a metal palette knife transfer to a rack to cool.

Penne in Thousand Island

Penne and crunchy vegetables tossed in a rich creamy dressing.

Recipe Courtesy: Sanjeev Kapoor

Ingredients:


Penne, boiled 1 cup
Thousand Island dressing 1/2 cup
Olive oil 1 tbsp
Green capsicum, seeded,small triangles 1/2 medium
Onion, quartered 1 medium
Carrot, large pieces, blanched 1 medium
Broccoli, separated into small florets, blanched 1/4 small
French beans, large diagonal pieces, blanched 3-4
Cherry tomatoes, halved 10-12
Stuffed olives 4-5

Method:


Apply oil on boiled pasta and place in a large mixing bowl. Add green capsicum, onion, carrot, broccoli, French beans, cherry tomatoes and stuffed olives. Add Thousand Island dressing, toss lightly and serve chilled.




Posting this to Only salad Event by Pratibha & Pari

Vanilla/Chocolate cupcakes

These cupcakes are sweet and buttery & can be used as a basic recipe with any frosting like fresh strawberry frosting, chocolate or vanilla frosting. You can use this recipe to create fun monster cupcakes for Halloween too. I don't remember the source of the recipe as I've been baking this for so long; and was quite a bit over confident while baking too that I didn't check the exact measurement in the recipe & did mistake for vanilla cupcakes. I used more butter that it turned a bit crispy on the top; but it was fine...the inner texture was okay & the taste was awesome. You can try the chocolate cupcakes with the same recipe; just reduce the flour to 1 1/4 cup & add 1/2 cup of cocoa powder.  

Ingredients:

For Vanilla Cupcakes:

Butter 8 tbsp (room temperature) / 113g

1 3/4 cup flour

2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4cup sugar
2 large eggs ( room temperature)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup whole milk
 

Method:
Preheat oven at 170 C

Sift together flour, cocoa powder,bking powder, & salt.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy ,about 4 minutes. 

Mix in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down sides of bowl as needed, until well blended. 

Mix in vanilla.Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with milk in two batches, beating until combined after each.

 Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin tins. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until tops spring back when lightly touched, about 15-20 minutes. Let cool in tins on wire racks.

For chocolate Cupcakes:

Reduce flour by 1/2 cup & add 1/2 cup cocoa powder.

That is; Flour 1 1/4 cup & Cocoa powder 1/2 cup. Rest all ingredients & procedures r the same

Sending this to Bake off Event  & Anyone can cook Event

Mocha Cupcakes

Love cupcakes/muffins in any form; may be becos I luv to bake ma kids' favorites ,like any other MOM. They just drool over it. Won't get much time usually to decorate the topping as they don't leave anything behind for that. They don't need the topping too..they luv to have it hot ..!!

Recipe Courtesy: 'Friday' Weekly


Among the  16 different types of cupcakes/muffins which I know, coffee flavoured ones are ma all time favorites...like cappuccino cup cakes, tiramisu, mocha cup cakes....Now this one is a hot favourite at Kitsch; the richness of mocha is complemented by the creaminess of chocolate topping to give a sinfully delicious treat. This recipe was published in 'Friday' weekly on last friday ;I couldn't resist by the luk of it that i made this the same day.

Ingredients: (Serves 12) 

Unsalted Butter 90gm
Castor Sugar 1/2 cup
Vanilla essence 1/2 tsp
Eggs 2
Self raising flour 1 cup
Cocoa powder 15g
Instant granulated coffee 1 tsp
Hot water 1 tbsp

For the icing:( I took abt 2/3rd of the below ingredients as we don't like too mch topping on the cakes)

Unsalted butter 1 1/2 cups
Icing sugar 1 3/4
Dark chocolate 50 gm

Method

Dissolve instant coffe in 2 tbsp hot water and set aside to cool.

In a mixing bowl cream butter, sugar and vanilla essence and add eggs slowly.

Mix in sifted flour and cocoa powder.

Finally add the dissolved coffee and mix well. Spoon batter evenly into muffin cup lined trays. Try to fill the cups equally so that they are baked evenly-abt 3/4 of the cups.

Bake at 170-180C for 15-18mts.

For the Icing:

Melt chocolate and set aside to cool a little in a bain-marie or microwave(High for 1 min.).
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Then mix in the melted chocolate.
Spread chocolate icing evenly over cooked cupcakes before serving.


Posting this  to Bookmarked recipes-Every Tuesday Event  & also to Bake-off Event hosted by Versatile Kitchen

 

Patlican (Aubergine)Kabab

I've been introduced to this recipe during ma last vacation to Turkey. Kabab which is spelled ther as 'Kebap' ,  is a famous dish over ther. They used to call Shawarmas as Kebap too; may be becos grilled chicken is used for that ....I donno....:))
Well ,eggplant or aubergines are also seen in most of their dishes. The first dish I had from ther was Patlican Kabab & we all jst luvd it.
The picture below is clicked from the restaurant; the meatball is not that visible cos of the huge size of the eggplants.

I made it for the first time now, so wasn't that perfect; but shall try again  to achieve perfection & ll update the pic too...bt still, it was yummy!!
Got this recipe from Yogurtland.com ... The flavor was fine; though not much spices used. But it was a bit dry for me...next time I'll use oil to brush on top  in between grilling.

Ingredients

• 500gr (1.1 lbs) ground mutton, medium fat
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbs ground black pepper (reduce if you do not like spicy)
• 1 tsp pepper paste (can be found in local Turkish, Middle Eastern stores, or online)
• 1/2 onion (when chopped in small pieces, about 1/2 cups)
• about a quarter bunch of fresh parsley (when chopped, about 1/2 cups)
• 3 – 4 long japanese eggplants, cut in 1/2 inch width

Method

1. Chop the onion and the parsley fine, mix in all the ingredients. The more you knead the mix, the better it is. Take about a walnut size piece, make a ball around the skewer. Place a piece of eggplant. Alternate.
2. While preparing the other skewers, make sure to rest the ones that has meat & eggplants on a tray/baking dish so that the meatballs do not touch — this will help retain their shape. Similarly, try to cook them without having the meat and the eggplant touching the grill
3. As the skewers are cooked, you can put them in a big enough pot/baking dish with its lid on to help them get softer as the other skewers are still on the fire, cooking.

This recipe goes to Healing Food Event hosted by Siri & co-hosted by Seasonedndressed.blogspot.com

Mutabbel

Mutabbel is a Lebanese dip prepared using aubergines/brinjal/eggplants , combined with Tahini paste and a few other seasonings. Its similar to Hummus or Baba Ganouj. Aubergines are baked or grilled over an open flame and then made paste of it. It s usually eaten as a dip with pita bread or Kubboos or added in other dishes. It has got an earthy light brown colour.I didn't ever know that eggplants have got lots of healing properties till I read about the Siri's Healing Food Event; co-hosted by  Kavita  . So this recipe goes to their event too.

Ingredients:

Eggplants 200 gm

Tahini paste 2 tbsp**

Lime juice 1-2 tbsp

Garlic 2 cloves

Salt to taste

Pomegranate seeds to garnish

Olive oil to garnish 4 tbsp or more


Method:

1.Cook the eggplants either by boiling or on stove top.I prefer to cook on an open flame which gives the authentic flavor of the dish 

If grilling on open flame:

Pierce the eggplants on all the sides & cover it individually using aluminum foil . Don't peel it.Hold the stem of it and cook on an open flame by turning occasionally till it gets cooked nicely. You can burn it a little to get a smoky flavor..

If using microwave:

Cook on HIGH for 10 min. in a covered dish by sprinkling little water over it.

2.Now put this in a bowl of cold water and peel it off.

3.Mash it using a potato masher, a fork or a food processor. Add tahini paste, garlic paste,salt & lime juice to it. Mix nicely. If you are using food-processor or grinder, just pulse it for a few seconds; don't make fine paste of it like hummos.

4.Garnish with olive oil & pomegranate seeds.

**Tahini Paste (could be bought from any supermarkets or made at home)

Ingredients:

• 5 cups sesame seeds
• 1 1/2 cups olive oil or vegetable oil

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 170C. Toast sesame seeds for 5-10 minutes, tossing the seeds frequently with a spatula. Do not allow to brown. Cool for 20 minutes.

Pour sesame seeds into food processor and add oil. Blend for 2 minutes. Check for consistency. The goal is a thick, yet pourable texture. Add more oil and blend until desired consistency.

Link this to Dish it Out co-hosted by Spicy Treats

Seekh Kabab

Recipe again frm another fb friend of mine....Fatii Naz...she's also frm Pakistan & Masha Allah -a great cook...Me,being born & brought up in middle-east , was always fascinated by different cuisines from all parts of the world. Pakistani cuisine is one of ma favorites. Their Kababs and other non-veg spicy dishes are awesome. This recipe is also spicy; but you can make variations according to your spice level. I had made this some 2 weeks before; didn't post it then. Now ,  thought of posting it, when I saw Cooking with Caraway seeds Event by Priya 

Ingredients

1/2 kg Beef cubes/ or Kheema
1 M Onion , finely chopped
4-5 Green chiilies chopped
2tsp dhania/coriander  powder
1tsp red chilli powder
1tsp ginger garlic paste
1/2 tsp kala zeera/caraway seeds/shah jeera
1tsp garam masala powder
1/2 tsp jifal javaerti ka powder /nutmeg-mace powder
1/2 tsp meat tendrizer
2tb ghee
salt 1tsp 

Method:

Wash and drain the beef/mutton nicely. Make sure that no water remains in it. If you are using kheema/mince, then you may use a strainer and then press nicely with your palm to drain the excess water in it.

Mix all the ingredients and mince all together in food processor including ghee. If you are using kheema then you may mince other ingredients first & then add mince and mix well.

Mix coriander leaves, finely chopped green chillies and marinate for a few hours.

Then first smoke. Just fire up the coal then take  couple of onion's shell/layer or a piece of aluminium foil and put it on top of meat mixture; then put the burning coal on top of onion shell/foil. Pour few drops of oil or a tsp of ghee on top of it and then cover. Keep it closed for 5-10 mts.This is how I smoke the kabab's meat and anything which requires smoky flavour. 

Now its time to shape. You can shape it in the wooden (grill) sticks or shape it with your palms just like your fingers. I used stick for a few, but my pan is small that i couldn't fry it properly; so I removed the sticks and then fried without them.

You can fry it in ghee or grill in oven. 

Priya's Event

Butter Chicken (The best)

Now you guys might be thinking 'Butter chicken is after all butter chicken...whats 'the best' in it'..now I'll tell you....I had tried so many varieties of butter chicken; from the easiest to the toughest recipes, but I donno why but I loved this variety which was recommended to me by one of ma fb friends  from Lahore; Lubna Khawar. This is her own recipe & i loved the flavor of kalonji, the smoking effect and the overall result.

I couldn't get the best of the pix as ma kids were really hungry by the time...& wen ma hubby asked whether they were hungry, u know wat ma daughter answered?? 'No use Papa...we r gonna get to eat nly after the fotosession....'((The Blog Effect!!)) & u can c the gravy ws too hot that the cream on the top melted...:(

Here goes the recipe...The only change I 've made is that I used chicken with bones & reduced the amount of tomatoes in it.

Ingredients

Chicken boneless 1 kg...(cut them in long stripes) I used with bones

2 medium size onions + 3 cloves garlic...
4 big size tomotoes ( I used 3)

6 big size tomotoes( I used 4) + 4 green chillies)chillies should be of a kind which are not much spicy.... 

 Shan tandoori masala....

Butter 250 gm...

Fresh cream 1 packet...250gm

Kalonji/Karinjeerakam/Onion seeds....1 tsp

Black pepper (freshly ground) half teaspoon..

Crushed red chilly flakes 1 table spoon(it could be 1 tsp as well as per taste)

Roasted cumin powder....1 tsp....

Red Food Color

Method:

1.boil onions & garlic together and make a puree of both and set aside .

2.Make a puree of tomatoes after boiling and peeling them.

3.Remove the seeds of green chillies & make a puree of 4 tomatoes & the chillies.

4.Put 2 table spoons of desi ghee in a karahi....add butter in it and get it melted....

5.Now add boneless chicken and fry a little untill the smell gone in high flame...

6.After frying it for a while...add the puree of boiled onions and garlic cloves..fry them again a little....

7.Then add all spices including (cumin ,black pepper,red chilli flakes, and kalonji)

8.After a few seconds when the aroma of the spices get into chicken, add the puree of tomotoes and green chilies that we have made...
(plz make sure that u dont get the spices burnt,otw it will give a bitter taste in the recipe)....

9.Then again cook it on medium heat untill the oil separates out and add 2 table spoons of shan tandoori masala in the gravy and cook again..dont let the gravy dried out...

10.When the masala gives out oil , add the puree of boiled tomatoes that we have already made ,cook them till the oil comes up

11.Add 400 gm cream in that but dont turn by spoon too much... ( I used only 250 gms..may be becos I've used less tomatoes than the original recipe). Add red color to adjust the d color of the gravy (optional)

12.Dum it with a burning hot coal by putting foil paper on butter chicken....put 1 tsp of desi ghee on burning coal and immediately cover it so that the smoke that came out of the coal shoud not go in the air...it should merge with the butter chicken to give it a smoky aroma...dum it by switching off the flame....for 10 minutes,,,,

KFC (Kachuss Fried Chicken)

 
It was before 3 years that my hubby downloaded a book of secret recipes for me...since then KFC chicken fry & coleslaw has found its own place on ma dinner table. I can't assure you that this is the exact thing, but 70-80% similar to the original one..the flavor came out really well....delicious & crispy ones too...

Ingredients:
Salt 2 tbsp(for marination) Flour 2 cup Pepper 1 tbsp
 Paprika 2 tbsp
Garlic salt 1 tsp ( i uses normal garlic powder instead of this)
Mustard 1 tbsp,Ground
 French thyme 1 tbsp,Ground
Sweet basil leaves/Tulsi 1 tbsp
Oregano 1 tsp,Ground
 Jamaica ginger 1 tbsp,Ground ( i uses normal ginger powder)Rosemary 1 tbspChicken bouillon 1 tbspMSG (Ajinomotto) 1 tspSoyabean Oil for deep frying ( Plesed don't substitute this oil)
Method:

Cut the chicken into big  pieces as you see in KFC. You can retain the skin if required.Marinate chicken in salted(2 tbsp) warm water for a minimum of 2 hrs.
Now dry the chicken pieces nicely using a strainer & then using paper towel.
Beat egg in milk and keep aside.
Mix all  the other ingredients in a food processor along with salt.
Now dip the chicken pieces in the flour mixture then in the milk & then again coat with the flour mixture nicely that all sides are coated evenly. 
Now fry in a deep fryer or in a deep bottomed vessel one at a time. Turn the chicken occasionally. If you fry it all together, the outer coating will stick to each other which may disturb its coating. And if you use a flat dish for frying , it won't be that crispier .
There is another addition to this....you can either bake this after frying to make it extra crispy or you can have it after frying alone. It's up to you. If you are baking, fry for 4 minutes only in medium-high heat; or else , fry in low heat so that the chicken is cooked properly.

If baking, bake in 350 F oven for 45 minutes covered in foil.

Soured Cream Crumble Cake

Ingredients: 

Butter 4 oz (115g)

Caster sugar 4 1/2 oz (125g)

Eggs 3 (at room temperature)

Plain Flour 7 1/2 oz (215g)

Bicarbonate of Soda 1 tsp

Baking powder 1 tsp

Soured cream/ Hung curd 8 fl oz (250ml)

For the topping

Dark brown sugar 8 oz ( 225g)

Ground cinnamon 2 tsp

Walnuts ,finely chopped 4 oz (115 g)

Cold butter 2 oz ( 55g) ,cut into pieces

Method:

Preheat a 350F/ 180C /GAs 4 oven. Line the bottom of a 9 in (23cm) square cake tin with greaseproof paper and grease.

For the topping, place the brown sugar, cinnamon and walnuts in a bowl. Mix with your fingertips , then add the butter and continue working with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

To make the cake, cream the butter with an electric mixer until soft. Add the sugar and continue beating until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

In another bowl, sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder together 3 times.

Fold the dry ingredients into the butter mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the soured cream. Fold until blended after each addition.

Pour half of the batter into the prepared tin and sprinkle over half of the walnut crumb topping mixture.

Pour the remaining batter on top and sprinkle over the remaining walnut crumb mixture.

Bake until browned, 60-70 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes, then turn out and cool on rack.

Verdict: Next time I would reduce the amount of both the sugars a bit as I don't lik ma cakes so sweet.

Basic Sponge Cake (for the beginners) & a Tip

 This time, thought of sharing the basic recipe of Sponge Cake which is used as a base for many other recipes lik Pound cake tiramisu. Hope it would help the beginners. This tastes similar to Muttappola (Kumsu) which is common in Malabar region. We used to bake Muttappola in pressure cookers in low flame, back in home. Only a slight difference is there between these two recipes. We use cardamom for flavoring Kumsu.

Ingredients

Makes one 9-inch-square cake

• Unsalted butter, for pan
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
• 1/2 cup cornstarch/cornflour
• 4 large eggs, separated
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup sugar
• Pinch of salt

 1.Heat oven to 350 degrees/170C.Butter a 9-inch-square baking pan. Line pan with parchment paper, and butter again.
Flour the pan, and set aside.

2.In a small bowl, sift together flour and cornstarch; set aside.

3.In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg yolks, vanilla, and 1/2 cup sugar on high speed until thick and pale, about 5 minutes.

4.Transfer the egg-yolk mixture to a large bowl. Wash and dry the mixer bowl and the whisk attachment.

5.Combine egg whites and salt in the mixer bowl, and beat on medium speed until whites hold soft peaks, about 1 1/2 minutes.

6.With mixer running, slowly add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Continue beating until stiff and glossy, about 1 minute

7.Fold the egg-white mixture into the egg-yolk mixture.

8.In three additions, fold the reserved flour mixture into this new mixture.

9.Transfer the batter to prepared pan, and smooth the top with an offset spatula.

10.Bake until a cake tester inserted into middle comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes (took 35mts for me). Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool; turn out cake, and wrap it in plastic wrap until ready to use. The tester came out clean n the pic; bt had to bake 3 mts more to brown it on the top.

 

How To Cut a Wax paper perfectly for your Round Cake tin easily

I don't know how many of you may know this...bt thot to share for those who are beginners in baking field.

1. Cut a square shaped wax paper. Fold into half .

2.Fold again into a square.

3. Now, fold into a triangle as shown in the picture.

4.Now, fold from one edge of the triangle to the other to form another triangle.

5.Keep the pointed edge in the center of the base of your cake tin  & cut from the edge of the base in curves.

Unfold the paper; you will get a perfect circle wax paper for your cake tin.

Linking this to Anyone can Cook event

o