Orange rind khoya besan barfi

This holi I made gujhiya and this barfi for sweets. Hope you all had a lovely holi. Although I love colours, but generally I don't prefer playing much,only to avoid undue advantage people generally try to make in the name of the festival. So to be safe I prefer playing holi only with family members.

With lot of oranges in stock I thought of preparing this barfi with orange rind,the crux being is to prepare a sweet which is not available in the market. In a way, you treasure such recipes which belongs only to you and enjoy seeing the smiling faces of your family after eating them. To prepare this sweet I had purchased khoya from the market this time and did not make it at home. Generally ready made khoya is full with milk powder,corn starch or maida,but sometimes going easy is good also. I used besan to reduce the milk powder taste from the khoya and it really turned out well.

Ingredients

1. Khoya - 200gms

2. Besan - 100gms

3. Desi ghee - 4 tbsp

4. Green Cardamom - 2 nos

5. Sugar( fine granules) - 1/4 cup( add more if you want sweeter)

6. Orange rind - 2 tsp(simply grate the orange  colour skin of an orange)

7. Orange food colour as required

Method

Crumble the khoya as much as possible. Actually I grated them to get a fine texture.

Heat desi ghee in a wok,add besan and stir fry in low heat till besan starts changing colour. 

It leads to Lots of exercise for the hand muscles :-)

Now add khoya,sugar,mix well and keep stirring till the mixture gets little dry. Initially khoya will release it's fat and will be a little greasy. Will take 8 to 10 mins.Peel and add cardamom,orange rind,food colour and mix well for another minute. Grease a plate with ghee and spread the mixture on it. Press the mixture with a spatula on the plate. Cool and cut into desired shape and enjoy.

Zucchini spinach salad with green chilly pickle

The display of new crockeries continues,heeheee. Actually recently I had posted the green chilly recipe where I mentioned that it may be used in salads to give that extra kick. So thought of doing a salad and post it here. Salads are simple,nutritious and easy to make.

Ingredients

1. Zucchini - 1 cup(diced)

2. Cucumber - 1 cup(diced)

3. Spinach - 1/2 cup( blanched and chopped)

4. Carrot - 1/2 cup(roughly chopped)

5. Tomato - 1 no big ( diced )

6. Roasted salted peanuts  to garnish

7. Salt to taste

8. Garlic fry - 2 tsp

9. Green chilly pickle for seasoning ( I had posted the recipe recently)

Method

Just mix all the veggies in a salad bowl,add salt,green chilly pickle,garlic gry,mix and garnish with peanuts.

Arahar dal with raw papita

In my native place in MP,we had this beautiful papita tree which yielded very good variety of papita. It produced so much,that we used to distribute them to our neighbours as well as give away to our maids. This dal recipe were made with freshly harvested papita.Such experiences are no more possible now,when staying in a metro city means living in flats. Sigh!!

Anyways,whenever I visit my parents or even my in-laws, I try making this recipe by first plucking a papaya from tree. This recipe mainly belongs to my Mom,who eats only this recipe of dal,hahaha,she is a fussy eater :-)

Ingredient 

1. Arhar dal - 1 cup(100gms approx)

2. Raw papaya - 500gms (diced)

3. Tomato - 1 no medium

4. Turmeric powder - 3/4 tsp

5. Salt to taste

Boil the dal in a pressure cooker with all the above ingredients until done.

For tempering

1. Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

2. Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

3. Coriander seeds - 1 tsp

4. Whole dry red chilly - 3 nos

5. Asafoetida (heeng)  -  1/2 tsp( depending upon the sharpness,I used Ramdev hing)

6. Garlic chopped - 2 tsp

7. Desi ghee -1 tsp(add more if desired,but lesser the better for calorie conscious)

8. Garlic grass for garnishing(optional,can use coriander leaves instead)

9. Refined oil - 2 tsp

Method

Heat oil in a wok,add garlic and fry till golden brown,then add mustard seeds,coriander seeds,cumin seeds,fry till they start changing colour.tear the red chilly and add along with asafoetida into the oil. Pour in the dal and boil for few seconds . Switch off the flame add ghee and stir. Garnish with garlic grass/coriander leaves and serve hot.

Healthy mutton curry with zucchini and coconut milk

The beginning of mall culture in India not only gave us variety in fashion,electronics,eatery departments but for persons like me,a new place to shop endlessly for my kitchen. Whenever I visit mall,I end up buying something for my kitchen,even a small container or crockery,anything. Result is over the years,my kitchen is full of colour with many handy and useful items. Whenever my Mom or Mom-in-law visit my house,they say that it looks like a small kitchenware shop in itself.heehee. No wonder I really enjoy spending time there,although I can still accommodate many more items :-)

Now hubby dearest is also showing interest in shopping for my kitchen. Recently we had gone to bigbazar,to my utter surprise I saw my hubby carrying some beautiful and bright coloured bowls and matching serving spoons,while I was engrossed in grocery section. When I queried about the crockery,he said "I thought you would have loved it so for your kitchen". I wanted to jump in joy,but managed with a broad grin. Lol

So here is this simple recipe,in my new bowl,vegetarian readers you may substitute with paneer/mushroom/soya chunks,Will taste heavenly and is fast to cook.

Method

1. Boneless mutton pieces - 250 gms

2. Zucchini - 250 gms( chopped)

3. Spring onions - 200 gms (chopped)

4. Ginger grated - 1tsp

5. Garlic grated - 2tsp

6. Green chillies - 3 nos(finely chopped)

7. Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

8. Coriander seeds - 1 tsp

9. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

10. Salt to taste

11. Mustard oil - 2 tsp

12. Tomatoes - 2 no medium size chopped

13. Coconut milk - 200 ml ( I had used dabur homemade tetra pack can)

Method

Heat oil in a pressure cooker,add cumin seeds,coriander seeds,allow to splutter. Now add grated ginger,garlic,chilly and fry till they start change colour. Now add the mutton pieces and fry for few mins in low flame. Add salt and turmeric powder along with 1 cup of water and close the lid,cooking on high flame. After the first whistle,lower the flame and cook for at least 25 mins till the mutton is cooked. Once the steam dissipates open the pressure cooker lid and place the cooker back on flame. Add zucchini and allow to cook on medium flame for 3 min approx. now add tomato and half of the spring onion,cook in medium flame for 1 mins approx. If it becomes too dry add some water. Now add coconut milk and cook for 1 more minute. Garnish with remaining spring onion and serve piping hot with steamed rice.

Instant green chilli pickle

The chillies which I used here are the big ones,which do not have much heat. Somehow I have found that few may be hot so I prefer desseeding them before using for pickle. This way,even children can also enjoy this spicy treat sometimes. Generally we use it as an extra addition in our plate for a spicy tang,but these type of pickles can also be used in a bland vegetable to add the extra zing. It can also be used as a seasoning in salads to give a spicy burst of flavours in a boring salad.

Ingredients

1. Broad and big green chillies-250 gms

2. Mustard oil - 125ml approx

3. Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

4. Dry mango powder (amchur) - 2 tbsp

5. Fennel seeds - 2 tbsp

6. Mustard seeds - 2 tbsp

7. Fenugreek seeds - 1 tbsp

8. Cumin seeds - 2 tbsp

9. Coriander seeds - 2 tbsp

10. Salt to taste

Method

Dry roast,fennel seeds,fenugreek seeds,mustard seeds,cumin seeds,coriander seeds and make a coarse powder of it. Deseed the chillies and cut in big chunks. Heat mustard oil till smoking point and switch off the flame. Wait for a minute or two till the oil has slightly cooled down,add green chillies to it. Since the chillies are added in the warm oil,it gets cooked slightly but not completely. Once the chillies and oil has come to room temperature add the spice mixture,turmeric,salt,amchur powder. Give a nice mix and store in a dry glass container. It can be consumed soon after,but I prefer to start using,from the next day. Stays good for 15 to 20 days in room temperature. Actually,although I don't like pickle much,but I finish it off by then, :-D

Chocolate fudge - no baking required

I made this quick fudge,with only 3 ingredients and no baking. Just assembling the ingredients and set it,a cheat dessert for a lazy Sunday lol. With chocolate flavour it is equally loved by children and adults.

Ingredients

1. Milkmaid condensed milk - 1/2 tin

2. Hide n seek chocolate buiscuit - 12 to 14 

3. Cocoa powder - 25 gms

4. Edible coloured beads for decoration

Method

I had bought the standard size hide n seek buiscuit,which contains 16 buiscuits in them,but while in process I guess I gulped down 3 or 4 of them.hahaha. Anyways just coarse ground the buiscuits in a mixer and place it in a big bowl. To it Add milkmaid and cocoa powder and give a good mix. Take a muffin mould tray,grease with butter or vegetable oil. Sprinkle edible coloured beads into each mould,now fill all the mould with the prepared mixture.once done tap the tray,three four times,don't do with the spoon as it may disturb the beads underneath,so just tap the tray. Refridgerate for a minimum 1 hr and enjoy :-)