Chowmein

Chowmein is a Chinese dish. It is favorite among children and is liked by everyone. It is very simple to cook. It is usually served with variety of sauces including tomato, chilli, and vinegar. It goes well with manchurian as side dish. 

Ingredients: 

• 1 packet veg noodles
• finely sliced onions
• 2 green chillis
• 2 tbsp soya sauce
• 1 tbsp vinegar
• 1 tsp black pepper powder
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp of  cooking oil
• Water as required to boil the noodles. 

Procedure : 

1. Take a deep bottomed container.
2. Pour water as required in the container.
3. Add 1tsp of oil and a pinch of salt to the water. This will avoid noodles from sticking to the container.
4. Now add noodles in the water.
5. Boil noodles for 5-6 minutes, do not overcook.
6. Now drain the water and keep aside in a separate plate.
7. Take a fry pan and heat it on medium flame.
8. Pour oil in the pan and heat it.
9. Add sliced onion and green chilli and fry for 20-40 seconds.
10. Add salt and pepper and stir for 1 minute.
11. Now add boiled noodles and mix well.
12. Then add vinegar and soya sauce to the noodles and stir well.
13. Now serve the hot chowmein.

 

Swadishta Ras Malai at Home

Ras Malai is a sweet desert usually prepared on special occasions and which is generally served after meal. The name ras malai comes from two parts in Hindi : ‘ras’ means Juicy and ‘malai’ means cream. Rasmalai is soaked in rich saffron flavored creamy milk .

I am going to prepare this rasmalai in 2 simple steps:

1. Preparing rasgulla.
2. Preparing creamy flavored saffron milk.

Ingredients:

For Rasgulla:

• Milk – ½ ltr
• Vinegar – 2-3 tbsp
• Maida – 1tsp
• Sugar – 1cup
• Water – ½ cup

For creamy flavored saffron milk:

• Milk – 1/2 ltr
• Sugar – 6 tbsp
• Green Cardamom (elaichi)– 3
• Kesar (saffron threads) – 4-5
• Almonds  ( crushed )– 10 pieces

Method to prepare Rasgulla:

1. First take a heavy bottomed pan and heat it on medium flame.
2. Pour milk in the pan and boil the milk.
3. As the milk comes to boil, add vinegar slowly to the milk and stir the milk continuously.
4. The milk fat (chena/paneer) will start separating from the whey, then turn off the flame.
5. Now, drain the whey using a strainer line with muslin cloth.
6. Wrap the paneer in a muslin cloth, rinse under cold water and squeeze it well.
7. When all the water is squeezed, then wrap the paneer under a heavy pan about an hour.
8. When the paneer is ready, place it on a dry and clean surface and knead the paneer till it becomes smooth and soft.
9. Add the maida to the kneaded paneer and make soft dough.
10. Divide the dough into equal parts and roll them in smooth balls.
11. Now mix the sugar and water in a pressure cooker on medium heat and bring it to boil.
12. Add paneer balls to the syrup of sugar and water.
13. Close the pressure cooker, after the pressure cooker starts steaming; cook it for about 7-8 minutes.
14. Turn off the heat and wait a few minutes till the steam is released.
15. Take out the balls from the syrup and keep it aside.
16. Our Rasgulla is ready. 

Method to prepare creamy flavored saffron milk:

1. Take a deep bottomed pan and heat it on medium flame.
2. Pour the milk in the pan and bring it to boil.
3. When the milk is boiled, add the sugar, saffron threads and cardamom to the milk.
4. Stir continuously the milk and cook it for 10-15 minutes.
5. Turn off the heat and then add the Rasgulla to the creamy flavored saffron milk.
6. Garnish with crushed almonds and cool it in the refrigerator.
7. Serve the rasmalai chilled.

Khasta Puri

Puri is one of the most common breads in our India. It is usually served at the time of breakfast with bhaji. Puri is also served with Halwa & Kheer as prashad in pujas.

Ingredients :

• Maida flour – 250 gm
• Ghee – 2-3 tbsp
• Cooking oil – 500 gm
• Water (as required) to knead

Procedure:

1. First take a round shaped bowl.
2. Pour flour and ghee in the bowl and mix well.
3. Add water little by little and knead to smooth dough.
4. Now make the small balls of the dough.
5. Dip the ball in the flour and give shape like small roti.
6. Now take a deep fry pan and heat it on high flame.
7. Pour the cooking oil to the pan and heat the oil for sometime.
8. Now fry the puris one by one.
9. Serve hot with bhaji, halwa, or kheer.

Palak (Spinach) Puri

Palak puri tastes awesome & very different from the regular plain puri. It suits with any type of gravy or raita.

Ingredients :

• 2 cups of wheat flour
• 4 bundles of fresh spinach (palak)
• 2-3 tsp of butter
• 1 tsp of ginger paste
• 1 tsp of green chilli paste
• 1 tsp of cumin seed ( crushed )
• ½ cup plain curd
• Salt to taste
• Cooking oil – 500 gm
• Water as per requirement.

Procedure:

1. First boil the spinach leaves in the water for about 3 minutes.
2. Now remove the spinach leaves from the water and make the paste of  boiled spinach.
3. Then, mix the paste with wheat flour and add crushed cumin seeds, plain curd, butter, ginger-green chilli paste and salt.
4. Make a soft smooth dough by mixing all the ingredients and some water as per requirement.
5. Now divide the dough into equal sized balls and roll them each in a flat round disc of 5 inch diameter.
6. Heat the oil in a kadai and fry each of the puris on both sides.
7. Serve hot (spinach) palak puri with any type of gravy or raita.

 

Homemade Fried Fish

Fish fry is a tempting dish and very popular among non vegetarians. Fish is considered to be a very healthy and rich of protein. There are many varieties of fish in the market such as rohu, katla, ghingi, etc. It can be cooked in different styles depending upon the variety of fish and taste. Here, I have written the recipe of my style of preparing fish fry with Mackerel.

Ingredients :

• Fish – 3 small fishes of same size
• Turmeric powder – 1tsp
• Salt (to your taste)
• Wheat flour 4 tbsp
• Water as per requirment
• Red chilli powder (to your taste)
• Curry leaves – 7-9 leaves
• Cooking oil – 250 gm

Procedure :

1. First wash the Pan-dressed fish (completely cleaned).
2. Take a round shaped vessel and put the fish into it.
3. Now add turmeric powder, salt, wheat flour, red chilli, curry leaves to the fish in the vessel.
4. Add some water to make paste.
5. Keep it aside to marinate for atleast ½ an hour as shown in the picture below.

 

 

     6.  After ½ an hour, take a deep bottomed fry pan.

     7.  Pour cooking oil into the pan and heat it on medium flame.

     8.  Keep the marinated pieces of fish one by one in the pan.

     9.  When the fish is fried, take it out of the pan.

     10. Serve hot as a side dish with steamed rice.

 

 

  

Matar paneer special

Matar Paneer  is a north Indian dish of Paneer and Matar  in a  onion and tomato based gravy. It is usually served with an Indian bread like roti, naan, parathe and also with rice. This post will explain the secrets of mouth-watering dish. 

Arrange the following ingredients before starting the actual preparation:

Ingredients:

  For marination:

• Paneer – 250 gm
• Matar – 400 gm
• Curd – ¾ cup
• Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
• Black pepper powder – ½ tsp
• Jeera Powder – ½ tsp
• Cooking oil to fry

 

 

  For gravy:

• Onion – 2 medium size
• Tomato – 2 small size
• Ginger paste – 1 tsp
• Garlic paste – 1 ½ tsp
• Black mustard (rai) – ½ tsp
• Black peppercorn – 6-7
• Cinnamon – ½ inch
• Salt to taste
• Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
• Red chilli powder – ½ tsp
• Garam masala – 1 tsp
• Coriander powder – ½ tsp
• Cooking oil – 2 tbsp
• Water as required

 

Procedure :

  For marination:

 

1. First take a medium sized round shaped glass bowl.
2. Cut the paneer in any shape of small size and keep the paneer pieces in the bowl.
3. Now add curd ,blackpepper powder, jeera powder and turmeric powder in bowl.
4. Mix well and keep it aside for ½ an hour.
5. After  ½  an hour ,take a non-stick kadhai and heat it on a medium flame.
6. Now pour oil in the kadhai and heat it.
7. When the oil gets heated, add marinated pieces of paneer in the kadhai.
8. Fry all the pieces of paneer and keep in another bowl.
9. Now fry all the matar and keep in a clean bowl. 

  For gravy:

1. First cut the onion and tomato in the small pieces and keep it in a mixture jar.
2. Add ginger and garlic paste in the jar and grind together.
3. Take a non stick kadhai and heat it on a medium flame.
4. Pour the oil in the kadhai and heat it.
5. When the oil gets heated, add rai to the oil.
6. When its start crackling, add black peppercorn and cinnamon to it.
7. Now add the paste of (onion, tomato, ginger and garlic) to the oil in the kadhai.
8. Fry for 5 minutes and add salt and all the masala mentioned above.
9. Fry till the oil seperates from the masala.
10. Now add water as required to the masala and boil for 6-7 minutes.
11. Lastly add the fried matar and paneer to the gravy.
12. Mix well and serve hot with any Indian bread.

Besan ki Lajawab Sabji

 

Ø Ingredients :

 

·     Besan ( Gram flour )-1 cup

·     Yellow mustard seed ( paste) – 1 tbsp

·     Black mustard seed (rai ) – ¼ tsp

·     Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

·     Red chili powder – ½ tsp

·     Mustard oil - 3 tbsp

·     Tomato - 2 chopped

·     Fenugreek leaves – ½ tsp

·     Garlic paste – 1 ½ tbsp

·     Salt to taste

·     Water

 

Ø Procedure : 

1.   First take a round shape bowl and pour besan into it.

2.   Add salt, turmeric powder, ½ tbsp of garlic paste to the besan.

3.   Mix well the mixture and make batter by adding water.

4.   Take a non-stick frying pan and heat it.

5.   Spread a little oil into the pan.

6.   Pour about 2 tbsp of batter and spread evenly like pancake.

7.   When one side is done, fold it into 3 layers cut it into 3 or 4 pieces.

8.   Cook for some more time and then remove it from pan.

9.   Repeat the same process for rest of the batter.

10.Take a non-stick kadhai and heat it on medium flame.

11. Pour oil in the kadhai.

12. Add rai to it, when crackling begins add mustard paste, garlic paste, red chilli powder, tomato and salt.

13. Add fenugreek leaves also to the masala.

14. Fry till oil seperates from the masala.

15. Pour enough water according to you to the masala.

16. Allow the gravy to boil.

17. Now gently add the pieces to the boiling masala.

18. Remove from heat and serve with hot plain rice.