Murg-e.Mumtaz

Masterchef contestant Zebi Zubair has always been my favourite since the first season. I haven't seen any series after that. Her sewaiyan recipe was a hit and i remember how tears rolled out of Akshay's eyes after tasting that. That's one great honour for any chef and for me it's more than the masterchef title. This recipe is one of her delicacies. Murg-e-mumtaz is a rich and creamy gravy which could be served with rotis,paranthas,rice or nan. It's so delicious that your kids would ask for more. A kids-friendly recipe-I must say.

Ingredients

 Chicken pieces       1 kg

 Onions                   2 medium fine sliced
 Ginger paste           1tbsp
Garlic paste             1tbsp
Fried Onion Paste    4tbsp
Almond Paste         1/2 cup
Red Chilli Powder    1tsp
Turmeric Powder     1/2tsp
Coriander Powder    1tbsp
Poppy Seeds          2tbsp
Green Cardamoms  4
Cloves                   4
Cinnamon stick      1 inch 
Mace                     1 inch 
Nutmeg (Jaifal)       1 pinch 
Yogurt                    1 cup 
fresh Cream            2tbsp
Oil/Ghee                 1cup
Salt to taste

Ingredients for Tadka
Garlic,chopped        1 tbsp
Bay Leaves             4
Green Chillies          4,chopped and deseeded
Green Cardamoms   2

Method

1.Wash the Chicken pieces. Add yoghurt & keep aside to marinate for 30 minutes.

2.Make a paste of Ginger, Garlic, all Garam Masala, Red Chilli, Turmeric & Coriander powder and poppy seeds.

3.Heat Oil/Ghee in a pan & fry Chopped garlic, Chopped Green Chilli, Green Cardamom & Bay Leaves for 5-8 minutes.

4.Add chopped onions and fry till golden brown.

5.Now add Chicken pieces and keep frying. Mix the paste and fry while adding fried onion & almond paste. Add the cream and bhuno it till oil is separated.

6.Prepare thick gravy by adding 2 cups of water & Salt into the Chicken.

7.Garnish with fried Onions and Serve Hot!

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Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Friends just happen, don't they? When I had stepped into a new school, a new country and completely new world years ago, soon after my 10th, I could hardly make friends there except a few. I didn't want to shift my school, leave my old friends; couldn't think of the fact that they were all together and I was the only one who got separated from them. Nevertheless, I had pretty much decent experience in The Model School(TMS),Abu Dhabi. Teachers were friendly, students were much more competitive than I saw in India,which helped me to study like never before.

As I've said earlier , I couldn't make friends there other than 1 or 2.  Might be because of my introvert nature or that I was not so happy leaving my best buddies back home. Many years later when FB started ruling our social lives, a few of TMSians met through our school group. Some where my juniors ,some seniors and ofcourse from the same batch too. We chatted almost daily for hours and hours. There were days when we chatted till  morning. And that was before my baby, though.lol.There were 13 of us who were active and finallly our friendship grew to new heights. Now,we meet once a while, chat daily and share our sorrows and happiness with one another. We belong to different batches from the same school, some of us didn't know or meet each other those school days, but today we turn to best of the friends. Friends just happen.I'm so lucky to have them around me and blessed to have met them. I love them, madly;but never told them . This post is dedicating to my 'Pals' and our friendship. Cheers!!

 

Recipe time: Nothing is more inviting than a gorgeous looking coffee cake with a surprise hidden inside served along with tea or coffee..Ooh laa laa.. you can't stop eating this vanilla goodness with the crunchy streusel on top and middle of the cake. It's even better the next day ;if we have the patience to let it stay a day for its flavor to get blended with each other.

Ingredients:

Courtesy: Ina Garten

Unsalted butter               12 tbsp ( 1 1/2 sticks) ,at room temperature

Granulated Sugar           1 1/2 cups

Eggs                               3 extra-large, at room temperature

Vanilla extract                1 1/2tsp

Sour Cream                    1 1/4 (Click here)

Cake flour                      2 1/2 cups (Click here)

Baking powder              2tsp

Baking soda                   1/2 tsp

Salt                                 1/2 tsp

For the Streusel:

Brown Sugar                  1/4cup,packed

All purpose flour            1/2 cup

Cinnamon powder          1 1/2 tsp

Salt                                 1/4tsp

Cold unsalted butter       3tbsp, cut into pieces

Walnuts/Almonds          3/4 cup chopped (optional)

         

Method:

1.Preheat oven to 170C. 

2.For the streusel, place the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and butter in a bowl and pinch together with your fingers until it forms a crumble. Mix in the walnuts, if desired.

3.Beat the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer for 4 -5 minutes until light and fluffy.

4.Add the eggs 1 at a time. Then add vanilla and sour cream. Mix well.

                      

5.In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 

6.With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Finish stirring with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

7.Spoon half the batter into the pan and spread it out with a knife. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup streusel. Spoon the rest of the batter in the pan, spread it out, and scatter the remaining streusel on top. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

8.Let cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Carefully transfer the cake, streusel side up, onto a serving plate.

Linking this to Nayna's Valentine Event

Vardhini's BAke fest event co hosted by Priyas Versatile recipes

Achari Gobi(Pickled Cauliflower)-Potluck Party

Few days ago, I came across a Gobi recipe that was so good in appearance, spicy and the recipe was also fantastic. I decided to try it soon and what happend next was I forgot about its whereabouts and the blog where I had seen that . I searched and searched everywhere, but there was no much time as kids would reach anytime soon. So decided to  google for the recipe. When I don't have time I stick to Sanjeev Kapoor's recipe which gives me a bit of confidence and then adjust the recipe to my taste buds.This time I had to add chilli and coriander powder which was not there in his recipe. The dish was overall finger licking good and now I got a dish which I could serve to my dad. He always complain us that we fry cauliflower everytime. lol. whether it was Cauliflower Delight, Manchurian,Bajji or Aloo Gobi. He is a health freak.

I'm taking this dish to Potluck Party-Cyber Style hosted by Jagruti this time. I have been on this group since a few months ago -a naughty member I must say. I participated in just 2 or 3 events cos of  ups and downs in my personal life. But from hereon I'm planning to participate everymonth and for that I'm scheduling this post a few days prior to the event. I don't want to miss it.

Ingredients:

Cauliflower      1 medium

Onion               1 medium

Mustard oil        2 tbsp

Mustard seed     1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds      1/2 tsp

Fenugreek seeds/Methi dana/uluva  1/4 tsp

Fennel seeds/saunf/perumjeerakam  1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds,roasted & crushed       1tsp

Onion seeds/kalonji                          1/4tsp

Asafoetida/ kaayam/hing                  1/4tsp

Turmeric powder                              1/2tsp

Salt                                                    1tsp or to taste

Green chillies                                    2 or more

Ginger paste                                      1 tsp

Garlic paste                                       1tsp

Yogurt                                              3/4 cup

Red Chilli powder                            1tsp

Coriander powder                            1tsp

Coriander leaves for garnishing

Method:

1. Heat mustard oil a non-stick pan upto its smoking point. Take it out of flame, cool slightly and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds, crushed cumin seeds, onion seeds and asafoetida and bring it back to flame. Saute till the seeds splutter. 

2. Add onion and sauté till translucent. 

3. Add cauliflower florets, turmeric powder and salt. 

4. Chop green chilies and add. Sprinkle some water and toss to mix well. 

5. Cover and cook on medium heat for a minute. 

6. Add ginger paste, garlic paste and yogurt. Add red chilli powder and coriander powder (if using) now. Mix well. Cover and cook till cauliflower is done. Cauliflower should be dry and covered well in masalas and hence, the flavor. 

7. Serve hot, garnished with coriander sprigs.

Linking this to Motions & Emotions originally hosted by Gayathri

Valentine Event

Naan on Tawa-No yeast No egg

Dark and cloudy mornings, temperature below 15C (Europeans,please don't laugh), a deep silence in the air, we peeping through the window every five minutes to check whether it's raining and then it drizzles by evening and we call it rain !  I blog too much about climate.Don't I? Sometimes I think we Middle easterners are crazy; trying to capture clouds almost everyday, updating in social media, going to kitchen for some coffee or mugcakes early morning, spicy chaats in everning-- this climate is going to make me fat. Help!! I can't stop eating!!. Fasting is the best way out or a temporary escape ; but the thought of no coffee mornings keeps me away from fasting. I shall wake up early for that or ready to face +2 kgs this season :(

Naan need no introduction and is one of the most liked Indian bread worldwide. Different varieties depending on the toppings used are available these days . Kalonji(onion seeds), garlic, butter, mint, italian herbs, cheese etc. are a few among them. You can see varieties like Peshawari Naan, Afghani Naan etc. outside India . This is Zebi Zubair's recipe.Naans are usually cooked in Tandoor, but could be baked in oven or even Tawa too. It takes its own time in Tawa as we could cook only one at a time; but believe me gals, it's worth it! There's no compromise in taste. 

Ingredients:

Maida/All purpose flour    4 cups
Baking Powder                 2tsp
Salt                                    1tsp
Sugar                                 1tbsp
Ghee                                  4tbsp
Yogurt                               1 cup
Milk (warm)                       3/4cup
Kalonji/Onion seeds          2 tbsp
Coriander leaves                few
Butter for brushing on top
Dry mint leaves (optional) 2tbsp

Method:

1. Mix curd, milk and sugar together.

2. Sift flour ,baking powder and salt together. Make a well in the centre and pour the milk mixture to it.

3. Incorporate well and make a dough adding ghee in between. You can add more milk or water if needed, but little at a time. Take care as maida requires little water than whole meal flour.

4. Let it rest for 2-4 hours. It will rise, but won't double as no yeast is used here.

5. Punch down the dough and make balls out of it. You can make balls of your required size.

6. Now roll into thick paranthas . Usually Naans are rolled into sort of balloon or oval shape. Stretch from one side after rolling, to give the shape.

7. Immerse your fingers in a bowl of water and imprint on the rolled naan as shown in the picture.

8. Place Naan on a hot tawa, water side down.

9. Sprinkle kalonji,garlic or dry mint (choose your favourite or a mix of all three) and press mildly on top to fix it there.

for the first time, I made a mistake to sprinkle kalonji as soon as I rolled, which was a mistake ,as then it would be impossible to place water side down on the pan.

10. Now either

     -you could wait till bubbles appear on the pan and then, transfer into a wire rack(wired spatula or the like) upside down and cook on fire.

OR 

     - after few seconds transfer to the wire racks and let the bubbles appear there on the direct fire.
I found the second option better as more bubbles appeared that way.

I used my microwave grill. You can use grilled spatulas or anything similar to this which can do the same purpose.

11. Cook neatly and carefully turning both sides . Let not burn too much. Check frequently and keep those sides on fire which is not browned. Grill on medium flame as too much flame might brown naans on top but uncooked inside. Use tong spatulas for that. You can master within 1 or 2 naans ;)

12. Brush with oil or butter on top and sprinkle coriander leaves. Serve hot .

Notes:

You can either mix the toppings like kalonji or dry mint while preparing dough or sprinkle on top.

Linking this to Motions & Emotions originally hosted by Gayathri

Valentine Event

Recipe of the week

Tawa Paneer Masala

Atlast updated Recipe Index which was pending since last Ramadan or so. Sometimes life goes on in such a fast pace that you don't find time for such easy-veesy things. In my case, it's not 'sometimes' , but 'always'. I really miss those days when I sit for hours infront of fb and chat with friends. That was the time when I started my blog on one side and was giving MBA exams on the other. Nowadays I could find time only to Whatsapp. How I wish blogging would've been that easy! sigh!!

But this recipe defenitely is. You can make it in 15 minutes or so just like that. I don't think I've ever made any delicious recipe in such a short time. Hats off to Masterchef participant Zebi Zubair for this recipe.You must try this out .It's that easy and delicious.

Ingredients:

Ghee                                2tbsp

Ajwain/Carom seeds       1/4 tsp

Onion ,chopped               3/4 cup

Cottage Cheese/Paneer       300g

Coriander leaves for garnishing

Gravy:

Tomato                               4 small/ 300g

Cloves                                3

Cardamom                         3

Butter                                1 1/2 tbsp

Cream                               3 tbsp

Red chilli powder             1/2 tsp

Honey                              1/2 tsp

Ginger-Garlic paste          1 tbsp

Green Chillies                  2

Method:

1.Blanch tomatoes . ie; Slit on top of tomatoes and pop into boiling water . Boil for a few minutes until its peel come out slightly on top.( 1 or 2 minutes). Take it out and wash in cold water . Peel it off immediately.

2.Take all the Gravy ingredients including blanched tomatoes in a blender and make paste of it.

3.Cook this paste for two boils and switch off.

4. Heat ghee in another pan and fry onions and ajwain in it for few minutes till onion turns light brown.

5. Add paneer pieces, boiled paste , garam masala and salt. Cook till the gravy turns thick and paneer pieces are well coated.

6. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot in tawa.