Vegetable juice

I am never fond of juices and soups. Seeing their health benefits,I just manage to gulp them down. Lately,I have been reading that fruit juice should  be taken occasionally as they tend to up your sugar levels,but vegetable juice you can have in umpteen amount. Leading dieticians have been recommending more of vegetable juices intake regularly. Anyways this beetroot and carrot juice is my hubby's recipe. Although he knows nothing of cooking,but managed to watch the ingredients being mixed being when getting his juice prepared in the juice centres. I have added some more ingredients to add flavour to combat with the chilly winter in our area. 

Ingredients

1. Carrot - 3 nos

2. Beetroot - 1 no

3. Ginger - 2 inch

4. Raw turmeric - 2 inch

5. Mint leaves - 1 small bunch

6. Coriander - 1 small bunch

7. Anwla - 3 nos

8. Black pepper corn - 10 to 12

9. Cloves - 4 to 5

10. Rock salt to taste

11. Lemon - 1 no

Make a juice out of all this ingredients,for reference I am uploading pics of the ingredients as well.

Makki da roti with sarson ka saag

In this chilly winter,makki da roti with sarson ka saag tastes heavenly. Local vegetable markets are full with fresh sarson saag and I really feel tempted to cook this whenever I visit market for vegetable shopping. Although I had used palak with sarson saag but it tastes best when bathua saag is also added. Actually bathua having medicinal value is highly used,in my native place in MP I observed that locals used to consume a lot of bathua saag. Anyways since I did not get good quality of bathua I made with combining palak and sarson saag in equal quantities. Needless to say it tastes as good. I have made some changes too,to suit my taste,but nonetheless the outcome is equally superb. Generally makki ka roti is being served with butter/ghee but I prefer vegetable oil to curb calories. So here is my version of the dish.

Sarson ka saag

Ingredients

1. Sarson saag - 500gms

2. Spinach(palak) - 350gms

3. Onion - 1 medium

4. Garlic - 1tsp(finely chopped)

5. Ginger - 1 tsp(finely chopped)

6. Amchur powder - 1 tsp

7. Garam masala powder - 1 tsp

8. Makki ka atta- 2 tbsp

9. Cumin powder - 1tsp

10. Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp

11. Salt to taste

12. Mustard oil - 3 tsp

13. Fresh cream for garnishing

14. Green chilly - 2 no chopped

Method

Pluck the leaves of sarson and palak saag,wash well and pressure cook by adding very small amount of water for 2 whistles. Once pressure of the cooker releases,transfer them in a colander for all the extra water to drain out. Once cool,make a paste in a blender and keep aside.

Now heat oil in a pan,fry chopped onion,green chillies,ginger,garlic till oil starts separating. Pour in the saag paste and add salt,coriander powder,cumin powder,amchur powder and stir fry for 5 mins approx in medium flame. Now mix in makki ka atta and stir fry for 3 more mins. Sprinkle garam masala powder ,mix well and serve hot,garnishing with some fresh cream.

Makki ka roti

Make a dough in 3:1 ratio that is makki ka atta and plain flour,by adding some oil,ajwain seeds,little oil and water. Roll out rotis from the dough,applying some oil or ghee/butter while frying. Serve hot and enjoy :-)

Healthy cake

A very happy new year to all my readers. May you have a healthy and blessed 2014. New year eve parties have become quite  popular nowadays. Every housing complex have their own fun parties and celebrations. Yesterday I also saw so many news channels covering live parties from various cities,I liked watching them. We all have definitely progressed with well maintained hair,skin and trendy outfits,but one thing I noticed that fitness is one thing which most of us are lacking. Most of the people in the parties enjoying,I saw were having bulging bellies. Somehow we all should focus on our inner body well being too,along with the exterior maintenance.

This cake I made is healthy,cos I did not use maida which means it's glutin free plus no added sugar. Although I covered a thin layer of icing, to decorate,but you may avoid if you wish.

Ingredients

1. Whole wheat flour(atta)- 1cup

2. Organic honey - 4tbsp

3. Orange rind - 2tsp

4. Orange juice - 1/4 cup

5. Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

6. Baking powder - 1 tsp

7. Baking soda - 1/2 tsp

8. Eggs - 3 nos

9. Vegetable oil - 1/3 cup

10. Chocolate vermicelli to decorate

11. Whipped cream to decorate( I simply whipped cream with powdered sugar till it form peaks)

Method

Sift the flour,baking power,baking soda in a bowl. In a separate bowl whisk the eggs,to it add honey,oil and whisk further. Now add vanilla essence,orange juice,orange rind and mix well. Now add the dry ingredients and mix to form a smooth batter. Grease a baking tin and pour the batter to it. Now bake in a preheated oven at 180deg centigrade for 15- 20 mins or till a needle comes out clean when pricked. Let it cool on a rack and cover with the icing. Sprinkle the chocolate vermeicelli and enjoy.

Saunf murgh- Fennel chicken

After a long laziness,now in full active mode,lol blogging the very next day :-)

This recipe I had made during Durga puja festival this year,needless to say as by now you all know,this is again easy to make with very less oil. The aroma and flavour of saunf/fennel rendered a distinctive flavour to the chicken. While making the fennel paste I used the sil batta which most bengali households do have,but you may also make the paste in the small chutney jar of your mixer with the help of some water.

Ingredients

1. Chicken pieces(preferably with bones) - 500gms

2. Ginger garlic paste - 2tsp

3. Garam masala powder - 1/2tsp

4. Saunf/fennel seeds - 3tsp

5. Tomato - 1 medium size chopped

6. Turmeric powder - 3/4 tsp

7. Green chilly - 2 no chopped

8. Coriander powder - 1 tsp

9. Cumin powder - 1tsp

10. Mustard oil - 2tbsp

11. Salt to taste

12. Onion - 1 medium size chopped

Method

Heat oil in a pan and add green chilly,1 tsp fennel seeds and allow to splutter. Next add onion,ginger,garlic and tomato. Stir fry till oil starts separating. Now add all the dry spices and stir fry for few secs. Add chicken,salt and stir well. Cover and cook in a low flame till chicken gets cooked completely. Meanwhile make a paste of 2 tsp fennel seeds with the help of water. Once the chicken gets cooked through, add the fennel seed paste and cook for 2 more mins. Garnish with fresh cream and serve hot with chapati,bread or fried rice.

Chocolate coconut laddoo

Christmas is round the corner and we all are busy baking some thing or the other. I have also started baking since few days and am enjoying the aromas of freshly baked stuff in my house. Recently I discovered to make healthy fruit cakes with whole wheat flour and honey,to substitute maida and sugar. I never knew that cakes can taste so delicious even with the ordinary atta. Will soon share the recipe of them soon.

Today while making chocolate,yes I know, I will make em again and publish the recipe. Back to the point,while making chocolate,a minor mistake happened,which led to this new recipe which is quick and apt for Christmas. While melting white chocolate on a double boiler,I didn't realise that the water was touching my chocolate utensil base,so as soon as I added butter,it started curdling and butter started getting cooked. Immediately I pulled the utensil out and randomly started adding ingredients and voila a new recipe got discovered. Before I again got lazy of writing,I thought of sharing it right away in my blog

Ingredients

1. White chocolate compound -1/2 cup

2. Butter - 1/4 cup

3. Cocoa powder - 1/2 cup

4. Brown sugar - 1/4 cup(powdered)

5. Coconut powder - 1/2 cup approx

Method

On a double boiler melt white chocolate compound along with butter. Once they melt completely remove from flame,now mix in sugar powder,cocoa powder and coconut powder to form a soft dough. Once they cool down a little and you find it comfortable to handle,make laddoos out of them. Now Refridgerate for 30 mins and roll some coconut powder for garnishing. I have simply sprinkled some of it.

Sweet potato snacks

With the onset of winter in Delhi/NCR evening tea has become more of a celebration nowadays. Although with the chill in weather,everything seems to be at it's best,be it food,travelling or even just soaking the bright sunshine Ina lazy afternoon. I look forward to this season for one more reason,being my favourite hobby of knitting woollies. This time of the year I realise, that I hardly sit and mostly moving around. Actually for knitting you have to sit in a place,either chatting or watching tv,both being a not so practising things for me. Watching television has never been on my hobby list.

Markets are full with variety of vegetables and fruits,though prices are soaringly high this year. This dish can be savoured with hot piping tea and kids will love them too. It's not high in calories,so all the weight watchers like me can enjoy them. The mantra as always is to eat in moderation.

Ingredients

1. Sweet potato - 4 medium size( boiled and mashed)

2. Coconut powder - 4 tbsp

3. Maida - 2 tbsp

4. Fennel seeds - 1tsp

5. Salt to taste

6. Jaggery - 25 gms approx

7. Refined oil for pan frying

Method

I had boiled the sweet potato in the morning and kept it in a colander till evening so that all the extra moisture dries up really well. It's very important that the potato is well drained before starting with the recipe. Crush the jaggery as much as possible so that they mix well. Now in a mixing bowl add boiled and mashed sweet potato,jaggery and mix well. To it now add,fennel seeds,coconut powder,salt,maida and mix to from a firm dough. Heat some oil in a frying pan and make small tikkis out of the mixture and fry till golden brown and firm. 

Dry fruits stuffed instant sondesh

Durga pujo brought in lot of excitement,happiness and joy to my life. I went berserked with food,pandal hopping and dressing up,leaving almost no time to blog any recipe here. Hence,writing after a long break,although not a very long one. This time of the year is my favourite as it not only brings joy with so many festivities,but also the climate is super cool,making me feel to travel around more.

Diwali being just a few days away,I thought of sharing this recipe which is fast to make and involves no cooking,once the chana has been prepared. This recipe will be less sweet in taste and can be consumed by those who are on diet. 

Ingredients

1. Full cream milk - 1 litre

2. Dry fruits chopped - 1/2 cup approx

3. Milk powder - 1/2 cup

4. Cardamom powder - 1 tsp

Method

Boil and curdle the milk with curd. You can also curdle with lemon,in that case wash the chana with water so that the lime flavours gets removed. I generally prefer using curd while making sweets. The trick is once the milk starts boiling,lower down the flame and keep adding curd in small portions in intervals till the milk curdles. Strain in a muslin cloth and squeeze hard to remove all the moisture from it. I made almost 1/2 cups of chana,the ratio should be 3:1 of chana to milk powder. Once it cools down completely press with the lower side of your palm and knead for at least 5 mins till it has a smooth texture. Add milk powder to the chana and further knead till smooth texture. Make small balls and fill small amount of chopped dry fruits inside the balls. Layer with some dry fruits on top and press slightly. Repeat till you have used the entire mixture. Refrigerate for minimum 1 hr and serve.