Shammi Kebab Parathe-- Kale Chane Ke Parathe

Hello Dearies!!! I had posted Shammi Kebab recipe last week, which was much liked and appreciated by my friends. I had leftover mixture of the kebabs, which I used as a stuffing in this recipe. This makes for a good Kids School Lunch option also.

For the Stuffing;
You will need;
1 cup soaked and boiled black chana
1 boiled potato
1 tspn cayenne pepper powder
1 tspn Garam masala powder
1 tspn cumin powder
1 tspn coriander powder
1 tspn chat masala
2-3 crushed cloves of garlic
1/2 inch ginger grated
1 tsp Turmeric
salt to taste

Wash and Soak the kala chana in water for 5-7 hours. Boil the potatoes and the chana for 2 whistles and then 5 mins on low flame in a pressure cooker. Cool for 30 minutes.

In a bowl, mash the potato. In a mixer grind the boiled chana and mix in the potato mixture and add all the spices and mix well. 

For the Paratha Cover;

You will need;
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tspn salt
1 tbspn oil
water as needed to knead into a soft dough

In a bowl, mix the oil and salt and water and knead into a soft pliable dough. 

Making the parathas,

1. Make equal size balls of the cover and stuffing

2. Roll a small round of the cover and put the stuffing in it and fold from all sides and roll that in some flour, dust the rolling surface with some flour and

3. Roll into a small round roti or paratha.

Heat a pan/skillet/tawa and roast it on both sides applying little oil or ghee on it . When it gets cooked, serve with yogurt/pickle/ketchup or sour cream., salad or just enjoy these with hot chai.

Minty Palak Panner Aloo Puri-- School Lunch/Leftover magic

Hello Sweeties!! What do you do with leftovers??? Do you keep eating them till they are done with or transform them into something the whole family will love. I try and transform things around my menu so as to reuse them keeping the interest factor alive.

Indian food and recipes are  full of such leftover magic mingles, we use leftover rice and bread in number of ways, curries get transformed into poori's or parathas and rice into different types of tadkas or pulav's.

I make aloo parathas and palak paneer roughly once in 10 days. These dishes are my kids favorites and they have no complaints and eat these with no grins or groans. There is no nagging required to eat faster or finish whats on the plate. Happy kids equals Happy moms. 

But these dishes are not so favorite with me and Mr. Ash anymore with our dietary restrictions, I end up with few leftovers. So I combined these two dishes and added some mint to freshen up the taste and made puri's for kids lunch boxes. 

My kids are like chalk and cheese, one likes slightly less fired puri's while other likes slightly burnt and browned puris. so the picture has both in respective choices.

Aloo Paratha.

Palak Paneer Recipe.

You will need;
1 to 1.5 cups leftover palak paneer
** Mash and break the paneer cubes as fine as possible
3 cups Wheat Flour 

3/4th cup potato stuffing leftover from Aloo Parathas. 

2 tbspn Dry mint powder

1 tspn red chili powder

1 tspn turmeric powder

1 tspn cumin and coriander powder

1 tsp salt or as per taste

1/2 tspn sugar-optional

2 cups Oil for deep frying--Approx

water to knead the dough

**this dough is slightly hard and not like chapati so use less water to knead the dough, only if needed as the palak paneer will also be wet enough.

In a bowl, take the flour and add the dry powders, salt and sugar, add the palak paneer paste, aloo stuffing, mint powder and knead into a hard dough . Keep aside for 10 mins.

In a wok, take oil for frying, take only as much as the pooris will immerse, I would say about 2 cups of oil, and heat it till it smokes once and then reduce the heat to medium.

Make small round balls of the dough and roll each one out (try rolling like thin cookies). 

If making for school lunches I like rolling and saving the rolled puri's in a ziplock bag in a fridge, so my mornings are better managed. Store these packs in a fridge not the freezer.

Fry each one of them in the hot oil, one at a time. Do not rush and be extremely careful when frying. The ideal way to fry poori's is to slide the poori from one side of the wok. Do Not throw the poori's in the hot oil, the oil will splutter and splash and burn your hands.

Once you slide in the poori in the hot oil, let it puff up from one side, once it puffs up, turn it and let the other side puff up.. once both sides are puffed , drain them on some paper towels to remove excess oil and enjoyy them hot or cold, either ways they are delish.

 

These make for a quick kids lunch box or picnic food item along the way.

Minty Cauliflower

Hello Sweeties!! July is BBQ month. The basic quest for all vegetarian food lovers is what's there for us in the BBQ feast!!!!! There is Indian cottage cheese/paneer, roasted veggies corn on the cobs. So to add one more interesting item to your grand BBQ menu,. my sister has this Minty cauliflowers for you.

They can be made on the grill. in the oven or on the stove top. They will surely make you love your cauliflower and  push the good old greasy French fries to the side. 

You will need;
1 whole cauliflower tore into florets, wash and drain

Enough oil to lightly coat the florets

Sea Salt to taste

Mint paste

** Make a fine mint paste with mint,cilantro, cumin, garlic and green chilies

Coat the florets with some grape-seed oil, sprinkle salt and cook in a wok on high heat. The florets cook fast so it should take about 5-7 mins. stir continuously to avoid burning Alternatively you can also roast in a pre-heated oven at 400Degress, till the florets start browning.

 After the florets get cook reduce heat, add the mint paste till all florets get evenly coated. Minty Cauliflower is ready to be served.

Pineapple Malpua with Instant Rabri

Hello Sweeties!!! Indian sweets like malpua and rabri are known to take forever to make. It is not everyone's cups of tea  and only expert chefs take pride in making such desserts. 

I am no expert and no chef at that, but my search for good food and never scared to try attitude makes me attempt such desserts. I am a part of so many food groups, a silent reader at most, that they help me when I crave for such foods.

I don't remember where I had seen the instant rabri recipe, but it is a hit with my kids who dislike the malai or cream or milk solids in their mouth. I have some issue with the texture too, so this is good for people like me.

Traditionally malpua is made from flour, fried in clarified butter soaked in sugar syrup, this process not only is time consuming but also not figure friendly. I tweaked the malpuas to make them suit to my needs and weight. I made pineapple pancakes instead and they tasted similar. Diet food is at times compromised; but again if you name it different there is no comparison with the original. 

Different name different avatar and everyone is happy. Innovation is another name for disguise in Ashland.

To make the Pineapple Malpua's;
You will need;
6 discs of ripe pineapple
1/2 cup glutten free baking flour
2 tbspn sooji
1 tbspn sugar
3 cloves powdered
2 Elaichi/green cardamom powdered
Milk to make batter.
Ghee or clarified butter for shallow frying.

In a bowl, take the flour, sugar, clove and cardamom powder, mix well, add milk to make the batter. Dip the pineapple discs and shallow fry using ghee in a cast iron pan. Once cooked cool and keep aside.

To make the Rabri;
You will need; 
1 cup Ricotta cheese
1/2 cup condensed milk
3/4th cup milk
2 tbspn Milk masala
** Cashews/walnuts/pistas,saffron, green cardamom and nutmeg powder

In a bowl, mix the condensed milk, ricotta cheese and regular milk and stir till it is well incorporated. Add the milk masala and stir well. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

To assemble;
In a single serving dish, take 2 tbspn chilled rabri, place the pineapple pancake/malpua on it and pour some more rabri over it. Serve immediately.

My kids liked the hot malpua and chilled rabri combination. This was so easy and done in less than 20 mins of actual preparation time. I am in love with such pleasing desserts.

Quinoa Salad

Hello Sweeties!!!! Since the Dr. Ordered I have been including Quinoa in our diet, in the form of handvo, or salad. 

Quinoa as we all know is the new super food replacing the carb craving if matched with the right combination.

We are so used to dal-chawal or varan bhat at every meal, that giving it up for a bland substitute like Quinoa becomes  a fight.

This salad can be enjoyed warm or cold. I like it warm and Mr. Ash love sit at room temperature. You can pretty much add or delete anything you like. Add some beans, some corn or some sprouts. Any combination would be great.

You will need;
2 cups Cooked Quinoa
1 Small English Seedless cucumber Diced fine
1 Onion Diced fine
1 Tomato chopped fine
1/2 Red Pepper, chopped fine
1 Tbspn Lemon Juice
1 Tbspn Chopped Pistachios
Salt and Pepper for taste

In a bowl, mix the chopped onions, tomatoes , cucumbers and Peppers add salt and lemon juice and let rest for 10-15 mins. 

After some water is given out by the veggies, add pepper and mix well, then add the cooked quinoa, chopped pistachio's mix well and serve. The salad can be enjoyed warm or cold.

There is no dressing, no oil or butter that is used, so this salad works for all the weight watchers also. This is a hit at any party also, even my kids gave it a big thumps up.

Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Roasted Veggies/Bombay Sandwich

Hello Sweeties!!!!! Its already August!! Where did the months of June and July go, is what we all seem to be saying. Life is suddenly getting into action and before you blink , kids would be back to school.


If you are anything like Ms. Ash, these summer months and weekends, I try different foods that kids actually eat to make them a lunch option later.

Grilled cheese can be done in different ways, but today's is  one easy recipe as its very easy to put together and adding veggies take it a level up. Raw onions, Peppers at time are difficult for little kids to develop a liking for, roasting them or caramelizing them makes them sweet and  easy on their palate.

You will need;
  For Sandiwch;
Whole Wheat Bread

Butter
Cheese Slices
1 Boiled Potato
Green Chutney/Pesto
Panini Maker or grill pan

For Roasted veggies;
1/2 Green bell pepper

1/2 red pepper

1 big onion

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tbspn oil

Roasting veggies
In a wok, on high heat, take 1 tbspn oil, and add the veggies, let them caramelize for 5-7 mins without stirring often, add salt and pepper and  remove from heat, let them hang out in the hot wok.


Assembling the sandwich;
Take the slices of bread spread the butter and the chutney on both slices, stuff with roasted veggies, spread  a slice of boiled potato, cheese on one slice, top with another bread slice and grill.

The sandwich is done with cheese melts and the grill marks appear on the slices. Cut in half and share with love done or eat alone. This is a hit sandwich in Ashland.

Homemade Roasted veggie PIzza

 Hi Sweetpeas!!!!Home made pizza was and is a very easy dinner idea that everybody at home loves. After finding a new kind of yeast, the prep time is reduced to zero and I can make pizza in short amount of time.

I am not compensated to promote this brand of yeast, but I want all those moms out there who are looking for fast and easy ways to put meals on the table to know, that this Yeast actually works.

Nothing beats the aroma and taste of homemade pizza. The herbs in the crust  make it a delish on its own. Plus you can make it as per your liking, garlic, rosemary and  chili flakes take the crust to another level.

For the dough,

Prep Time; 10 mins to mix the dough

10-12 mins for first bake 

Makes 4 Thin crust Pan pizzas 

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup All Purpose flour

1 Tbspn dry active Pizza Yeast

1 Tbspn Sugar and 1/2 cup warm water to bloom the yeast

1 Tsp Dried Rosemary

1/2 tsp Dried Basil

1 Tsp Garlic powder

1 Tsp Oregano

1 Tsp red Chili Flakes

2-3 Tbspn Olive Oil and 

Salt for taste

water as needed to make the dough 

 

Toppings;

Store brght Pasta Sauce

Grated cheese to spread on the pizza

1/2 Green bell pepper

1/2 red pepper

1 big onion

3/4 cup Broccoli-Steamed

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tbspn oil

 

In a bowl, take the dry active yeast, sugar and warm water and mix well. Keep it aside to bloom for 10 minutes. The mixture will be frothy, if the yeast is active. If the yeast is old discard the mixture and get fresh yeast. I always prefer to check the yeast then move on to the dough.

In a mixing bowl, take the flour, add the salt and seasonings, garlic powder, rosemary, basil, oregano and little oil to start the mixing, as you move along making the dough, add the oil and knead into a soft dough. Cover and keep it in a warm place till you roast the veggies and get the toppings ready.

 

When the dough rises, it is ready to be baked into some yummy pizzas. Punch out the air from the dough and take small balls and roll it into small discs. I usually bake these pizza bases for 10-15 mins in a pre-heated oven at 350degrees F.

Roasting veggies
In a wok, on high heat, take 1 tbspn oil, and add the veggies, let them caramelize for 5-7 mins without stirring often, add salt and pepper and  remove from heat, let them hang out in the hot wok.

Assembling pizza;
Take the base, spread the pasta sauce, arrange the roasted veggies and sprinkle lots  or little cheese and bake @ 400 degree F till the cheese melts.

Enjoii the hot and delicious pizza that's filled with homemade goodness of healthy ingredients.

Kadhi Pakora- Fritters in yogurt base gravy

 Hello Sweeties!!!! Life is getting busy with the heat and lazy weekends. Such times you want to spend minimum time in the kitchen and  go for simple easy meals. 

Rain has been a regular feature in NJ this summer, so we are making a lot of khekda bhaji's to keep up with the rains. It is an uncompromisable ritual in Ashland, that when it rains we make bhaji. 

But we do face leftover bhaji issues. Once cold and limp, these once hard to land on the plate fritters lie around like unwanted pieces of furniture. Not to go anything to waste, Ms. Ash transforms them into Kadhi Pakodas, The menu teams well and its surely a hit, make bhaji for snacking with tea and then simple rice and kadhi meal for dinner.

You will need;
1 cup thick Yogurt
1 tbspn Besan
2 Cups water
leftover Khekda Bhaji
Few Curry leaves
1 tsbpn grated ginger
2 cloves,
1 tspn sugar
small lump of Jaggery
salt to taste
and pinch of black pepper powder

Tempering; 
1 tbspn Ghee/ Clarified Butter
1 tspn jeera/Cumin Seeds
1/s tspn hing/Aesafodita
1 tspn Corriander seeds
1 tspn Fenugreek Seeds
1 Green Chili-Slit

Take yogurt in a bowl add water and besan.. and mix well, as no lumps should be formed...heat this mix in a pot.. to this add the jaggery, salt, sugar, cloves and pinch of black pepper powder and grated ginger....Simultaneously make the Tempering in a diff pan.

For tempering;
In a pan heat some Ghee.. add  cumin seeds, Coriander and Fenugreek seeds, hing, curry leaves and green chilies.. let them splutter.. then add this to the yogurt mix...and boil the whole thing for 5-6 mins on low to medium heat.. garnish with cilantro and enjoii this with the khichadi or plain rice.

Vegetable Paneer Tikka Biryani

Hello Sweeties!!!! What do you do when you are in no mood to cook anything elaborate yet there is some celebration needed. You make this vegetable paneer tikka biryani. Easy!!!!

Donut finished his exams and we thought like always, we might dine out and this Momma might get lucky on a week day. Surprises never cease us, Donut declared he liked home cooked food much better than outside spicy food.

Mr. Ash was in mood for some Biryani and kids love Paneer/Indian cottage cheese.  There is a debate as American cottage cheese is  different than paneer, But since I don't know another word for Paneer, I am sticking to Indian Cottage cheese.

I had got the spicy paneer tikka masala paste to try from the last grocery trip, I decided to satisfy everyone and use that. 

Birayni can be jazzed up in million ways and use of ingredients can be  added or minimized. This is my version of kid friendly biryani. 

You Will Need;
For Rice;
2 cups Basmati rice washed and drained 
2 cups boiling hot water
one tspn lemon juice

For Vegetable Paneer Tikka Masala;
2 medium onion
2 Tomatoes
2 Medium Potaoes diced
around 8-10 1 inch paneer cubes
1 cup mixture of corn, peas, and beans 
1 inch ginger
2-3 cloves Garlic
3 tbspn paneer Tikka Masala Paste  
* I get the ready to use masala paste in my Indian grocery store, alternatively use the dry spice powder mixed in yogurt 
1 tbspn chopped mint
1/2 cup Milk or cream
Salt to taste
1 tbspn chopped mint
2 tbspn Ghee for tempering
1 tspn jeera/cumin seeds 

To assemble The Biryani;
1 heavy pot/Handi
few Saffron Strands mixed in warm milk
1 onion cut in Strips and fried
Chopped mint
Cooked basmati rice
Prepared Vegetable Paneer tikka Masala Gravy

Take the washed and drained rice and add boiling water and lemon juice to it and cover and let cook for 10-12 minutes. Do not cook the rice fully, we need it al-dente. Fluff and Keep aside

In a small food chopper, take the onion, tomatoes,  ginger and garlic and pulse into a fine paste. 

In a handi/deep pot, take the ghee, add the jeera, add the onion tomato paste and fry till the oil separates. Then add in the paneer tikka masala paste and the chopped mint. The paste is very spicy and has all the ingredients of the whole garam masala. 

IF you are not using this paste, then add 2 heaped tbspns of garam masala/paneer tikka masala and 1 tbspn red chilli powder now and fry the onion tomato mixture,. then add the vegetable and let cook till the potatoes get cooked al-dente.  Do not cook everything through or else they will get mushed when you further cook the biryani.

After the poatoes get partially cooked add the milk/cream and paneer and  let cook and reduce. we need some gravy, but don't make it too liquid.

We are ready to assemble the biryani. 

Remove half of the gravy from the handi into another bowl, add in a layer of rice, Sprinkle half of the fried onion and mint and  the saffron milk over the layer, then another layer of paneer gravy, rice and garnish with remaining onions, mint and saffron milk. Spread some ghee over this mixture. Cover this tightly with a lid. 

On low-medium heat, take  a flat pan and  arrange the handi over it and let cook for another 30-45 minutes. The more you keep, the better the tastes develop. We ate after about 30 minutes, but the tastes was very much there.

The Biryani was modest in taste. The gravy can be made rich by using cashew nut paste/almond paste, heavy cream, full fat milk instead of regular milk. The biryani was good for a quick weekday dinner and was light on our tummies.

We enjoyed the biryaniw ith some lime and boondi raita.

Pita-Stove top Method

Hello Dearies!!!! We are having some nice sun here in NJ and it is getting warmer for us. The cold and the long winter seems to be ending and  traces of windy days are also reducing.

As we cannot take leave from work/school and  simply leave on  a holiday, we try making the day in our favorite part of the world by eating food from that part. I posted Hummus, Baba Ganoush and today I bring Pita, to complete the mezze.

Pita is roasted in a clay oven and it has no marks of the roasting. But since my oven was busy and  I was super excited to wait; I made it on a Gas Stove. The idea is same like a phulka/puffed Indian Bread, but the thickness of the bread and the addon of the yeast is what is different.
Source
You will need;
**Makes about 7-8 Pitas
2 Cups Whole wheat Flour
1 Cup All Purpose flour
2 Tbspn yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 tspn Sugar
1 tsp Salt
Water to knead the soft dough
1-2 tbspn Olive Oil, to coat the dough 
 
In a small bowl, take the warm water, add the salt and sugar and then the yeast and let it rest for 10-12 mins. If the yeast froths, its good to work with. 

Take the flours, add the frothed yeast and enough water to knead  a soft dough. Liberally coat it with oil, cover and rest for an hr or till the dough doubles.

After the dough has doubled, divide it into 7-8 tennis ball size rolls. Take one and keep the rest covered. Roll out a thick roti/pita of about 1 cm height, and 6 inches wide and dust with some All purpose flour and keep aside. Ccomplete rolling rest of the dough balls similarly. 

Now you can roast these roti/s pitas in a pre- heated pan at 300 degree F or alternatively roast them in a pan on a direct gas stove. Start with one side, let the bubble come up, flip and roast till similar bubbles form on that side and then on direct flame puff them on both sides.

The Pitas will be ready. You can cut in half and make wedges and serve it like a pita pocket with fillings or as a  chip or as a whole with the  other dips. whichever way you make, enjoy these little food trips around the world in comforts of your own homes sans the hassle of packing and unpacking.

Baba Ganoush- Mediterranean Dip

Hello Dearies!! Today I bring to you another dip from the Middle-east. Baba Ganoush or Eggpant dip is a very popular dip and it is very easy to make. It resembles to a very homely mush that we make at home i.e baingan ka bharta, yet it is very different in the cooking technique. 

When making this I realized that this dish will be ideal when you are traveling as there is not much that will spoil the dip in heat and that it does well without refrigeration. We will be making this dip many times come BBQ season, hope that you will too make it just as often.
Source
You will need;
1 Eggpant baked in oven at 400degree F-
1 Bulb garlic Baked along with the eggplant.
**I baked the eggplant and the garlic bulb in the oven at 400Degree F for 40-45 minutes, then removed the flesh from the eggplant and the garlic bulb and mixed that well.

1 Tbspn Tahini Sauce
**Soak 1/2 cup Sesame seeds with water, grind them in a mixer with some salt and olive oil.

1 tsbpn Cilantro leaves
1 tspn cumin 
1 green chilli
Salt to taste
Juice of 1 Lemon
1 tspn cayenne pepper-Optional
Olive Oil to coat the dip

 In a food processor, take the above except the olive oil and pulse till everything blends into a smooth paste. My Baba Ganoush is slightly green in color as I used cilantro and baked garlic. Lastly remove it in a bowl and coat with olive oil. The dip is ready to be served and enjoyed with some pita goodness.