Mathia- spicy Puri

Mathia is a spicy purioriginally hails from Punjab ( I think so :) or Gujarat?? Actually this is how my Mom makes it ,but she doesn't know which part of India it belongs to. I tried to google it and ended up in confusion. Some have it as a snack; some others with sabji (vegetable side dish); But we have it for breakfast or dinner just like we do eat puris alonwith any curries,bajis etc. A slightly flavored puri with an appealing shape and so is loved by the kids.

Ingredients:

Maida/White flour 3 cup
Yoghurt 1/4 cup
Cumin/jeera powder 3/4 tsp
Pepper 1/2 tsp
Salt

Method:

Make dough with the ingredients mentioned above. 

Make equal balls out of it and roll it into circle like puris.

Then fold it into semi circle; Fold again into a triangle shape. Roll again in such a way that the shape remain intact. 

Deep fry in oil just like you do for puris. Some don't like to puff it up like puris. In such a case, you can prick the puris with fork once it is flattened and before frying.

Almond Mocha Cake frosted with Mocha Mousse

This one post as you all can see is something I wanted to post since last Christmas; the decor was done based on that ; but because of some  or the other reason,this post kept on lagging. This cake is spongy, soft and coffee flavoured cake. The sponge recipe is taken from Khana Pakana.com whereas the mousse recipe is from Betty Crocker's Official website. The crunchiness of almonds and the strong flavor of coffee makes this  a delicious and rich cake.

Ingredients: 

Butter 4 oz

Eggs 2 ,separated

Caster Sugar 1 cup

Flour 1 cup

Almonds ground 1/2 cup

Sour cream 1/2 cup

Warm water 1/4 cup

Baking powder (heaped) 1 tsp

Vanilla essence 1 tsp

Coffee 1 tsp

Flaked Almonds (roasted for decor) 2 tbsp or more

Cocoa powder 2 tbsp

Method:

1. Grease an 8 inch pan well. Dissolve coffee in water and blend with cocoa powder.

2.Beat butter, caster sugar and vanilla essence till light and fluffy.

3.Add in egg yolk at a time and beat.

4. Also add in sour cream and ground almonds.

5.Sift together flour and baking powder and add to the butter and sugar mixture also mix in the coffee and cocoa mixture.

6. Beat egg white till stiff. Fold this carefully into mixture. Pour this into the greased pan.

7.Bake on 180 C for 40 mts.

8.Remove, cool completely.

9.Then spread with the filling of your choice and sprinkle with toasted almonds.

Mocha Filling:

Ingredients

3/4  cup whipping cream

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

          1/3 cup  cold brewed coffee

          

          1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (6 oz)

2 teaspoons vanilla

• To make mousse, in 2-quart saucepan, mix 1/4 cup of the whipping cream, the granulated sugar and 1/3 cup coffee. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved and mixture simmers; remove from heat. Stir in chocolate chips with whisk until chips are melted. Stir in 2 teaspoons vanilla. Pour into large bowl; cool to room temperature, about 10 minutes.
• In chilled medium bowl, beat remaining 1/2 cup whipping cream on high speed just until soft peaks form. Fold whipped cream into chocolate mixture. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.

Trim off rounded top of one cake layer. Cut each cake layer horizontally to make 2 layers. (To cut, mark side of cake with toothpicks and cut with long, thin knife.) Place 1 layer, cut side up, on serving plate; spread with one-third of the mousse. Repeat with second and third layers. Top with fourth layer, cut side down. Spread topping over side and top of cake. Cover; refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving. Store covered in refrigerator.

Mughlai Chicken & Mince Pulao

Mughlai Chicken pulao is one delicious and aromatic recipe savoured by each and every member of my family. I was in search of easy made chicken recipes that I got stuck in this wonderful place 'indian food forever'. There are so lots of authentic recipes , wanted to try all; but tried this one ; not once but thrice till now. 'A pulao packed in spices and aroma' thats how I define this dish.

Ingredients:

1 Chicken
1 kg Minced Mutton (optional)
2 cups Clarified Butter (Ghee)
4 big sized Onion  minced
1/4 kg Curd
1/2 kg Rice
1/2 tsp Saffron
Few Sliced and fried Almond
4 Bay Leaf
1 " long piece Cinnamon
10 Cloves
10 Cardamoms
18 Pepper corns
3 pods Garlic
1 " long piece Ginger
1 tsp Red Chili Powder
2 tsp Coriander Seeds Powder
1 tsp Cumin Seed Powder
1/4 tsp Turmeric 

Method

• First grind garlic, ginger, chiili powder, coriander, turmeric and cumin powder to a fine paste.
• Now heat 4 tblsp of ghee and fry 2 onions till brown.
• Add half the whole spices and then add chicken and mince meat and let it brown.
• Add ground spices and fry for a few minutes along with chicken and mince.
• Add 2 cups of hot water, cover and cook till chicken is tender.
• Beat the curd with saffron and add to chicken.
• Cook uncovered for 10 minutes.
• Remove from flame and keep aside.
• Now heat the remaining ghee and fry bay leaves and remaining whole spices.
• Add onions and brown them well.
• Add rice and fry till brown.
• Add enough water to cook rice and also 1 tsp of salt.
• Spread a layer of rice on a flat serving dish and then another layer of meat.
• Repeat with one more layer of each.
• Garnish with almonds.

Ginger Chicken (Indian Version)

We always had ginger chicken ,chinese version, from restaurants. I don't remember the original source of this recipe as this was something I scribbled in my diary long ago; about 12 years back. This was a favourite recipe then. But still didn't cook this for years since then and now thanks to this blog that I'm back with all my favourite recipes.

This gravy is called ginger chicken as ginger is used as the main ingredient here. And don't panic with the quantity; use as much as specified; You are gonna enjoy this for sure.

Ingredients:

Marinade:
Chicken 1/2 kg
Chilli powder 2 tsp Ginger garlic paste


First masala:


Ginger 50 gms
Garlic 25 gms
Green Chillies 2

Second Masala:

Tomatoes 2
Cashew 5-6
Onion 150 gms
Dry Coconut Powder 2 tbsp
Garam Masala 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder 1 tsp


Method:

Marinate chicken in the marinade ingredients and half cook them until water gets evaporated. You can fry or grill them also. Thats completely upto u.
Make a paste of the 'first masala' ingredients.
Fry onions till it turns brown. Make a paste of these along with other ingredients listed under second masala.
Heat 2-3 tbsp of oil in a pan and add first masala paste. Saute for a few seconds and then add second masala paste. Cook until the masala leaves the sides of the pan.
Add chicken to this. Cook till chicken is cooked well. You can add water if you need.

Home Made Spinach & Ricotta Ravioli

Pasta is something that you can crave for in any lazy morning. Shop bought pastas have always been my family's favourite since years; but never had the guts to try out home made pastas. Always heard that it is really tough and time consuming to make pastas at home. But for Indians who roll out rotis and especially for us who hails from  Malabar, its not a tedious task to roll out pasta dough. I felt the same as rolling out for Irachi Ada or Irachi Pathiri. Buying Pasta Machine makes your task easier. But the confusion, whether I will use it in regular basis , led me to use rolling pin for the same.

This pasta can either be served with white sauce or thyme butter. 

Ingredients:

All purpose flour/ Pasta flour 50gm

Semolina flour 50gm

pinch of salt

Eggs 1

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1-2 tbsp cold water

Olive oil 1/2 tbsp

Garlic - 1 clove, chopped

Spinach- 130gms

Ricotta- 125 gms

Zest of 1/2 a lemon

Ground nutmeg- a pinch

Grated parmesan- 2 tbsp

salt and freshly ground pepper

1 and 1/2tbsp butter

Fresh thyme- 5 sprigs

freshly grated pepper

grated parmesan, to serve

Method:

Sift together the pasta flour and semolina flour, add pinch of salt.

 Make a well in the middle, add the eggs and olive oil and start mixing with a fork to incorporate the eggs and flour mixture. 

When the dough begins to come together, start kneading the dough with both hands, pouring in a little bit of water until soft and smooth. It takes about 10 minutes. The dough should be elastic and not sticky. Wrap it in plastic wrap and let rest for about 30 minutes.

Filling:

In the meantime, prepare the filling. Heat oil in a pan, add the garlic and saute for a minute. Add the spinach and cook for 2-3 minutes just until wilted. Transfer it to a colander and let cool slightly, then squeeze out any excess liquid. Roughly chop the spinach. In a medium bowl, mix the ricotta, lemon zest, nutmeg, cheese and spinach, add salt and pepper to taste.

Cut the dough in half and start rolling it with your rolling pin/pasta machine. Each time you run the dough through, fold it and run it through again on the same thickness setting. Roll it until it's paper thin. 

Place the pasta sheet on a floured surface and spoon the spinach mixture on top, making sure there is at least a 3cm space around each spoonful. Lightly wet the dough around the filling. 

Place the second sheet of pasta over the filling, press the dough down gently with your fingers to seal the dough around the filling. Cut out the individual ravioli pieces with a pasta wheel/zigzag cutter and place on a floured surface. Repeat with the remaining pasta sheets and filling.

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Add a tablespoon of oil, reduce the heat and gently cook the ravioli in batches for 4-5 minutes. Remove from the water, drain and keep warm.

For the thyme butter, melt the butter in a pan, add the thyme and fry for less than one minute. Remove from the heat and add some freshly grated pepper.

Serve the ravioli on a warmed plate, pour over some thyme butter and sprinkle with the parmesan.

Ravioli in white sauce:

Add 1 tbsp of butter in a hot pan. Saute a tbsp of white flour in it for a few seconds until it slightly turn into brown or till the raw smell disappears. Pour in 1 glass of milk . Mix thoroughly so that no lumps remains. Add half a tsp of dry basil and a pinch of oregano. Once it is thickened, switch off the flame and mix in the raviolis. Serve hot.