Mysore Pak

Mysore Pak is an authentic sweet dish of Karnataka, first created in the royal kitchens of Mysore Palace.
One of the very famous sweet dish with very few ingredients and generous amount of ghee.

My first attempt of Mysore Pak turned out really good. Here is the recipe.. Happy Cooking :)

Ingredients:

Gram Flour - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 3/4 cup
Ghee - 1 1/2 cup
Water - 1 cup

Method:

Mix two table spoons of ghee with the gram flour.

Heat water in a pan and when it starts to boil, add sugar to it and mix well. The sugar dissolves completely and starts forming syrup. Now add half cup of hot ghee to this and mix well.

Add the gram flour to the pan while stirring continuously so that no lumps are formed. Now keep adding little  ghee each time and keep stirring the mix.

When the gram flour starts to thicken, the excess ghee is released on the sides. Rub a plate with ghee and pour the mix onto it and spread. After two minutes, when the mixture is still hot, cut it into pieces.

Aloo Methi Rice

Simple and one of the best lunch box recipes.

Ingredients:

Cooked Rice - 3 cups
Potatoes - 2
Methis leaves (Fenugreek leaves) - 1 large bunch
Sambar Masala - 2 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil - 2 tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Channa Dal - 1 tsp
Urad Dal - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 5 to 6
Chopped Coriander - for garnish

Method:

Cook the potatoes in the cooker for two whistles. Peel the potatoes and chop them into small cubes and keep aside.

Chop the methi leaves finely and wash them. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds splutter, add the channa and bengal gram dal. Also add turmeric and curry leaves.

Add the methi leaves and shallow fry for 5 minutes until the leaves turn soft. Now add the chopped chunks of potatoes to it. Mix well. Add the sambar masala, coriander, cumin and chilli powder. Also add salt.

Mix well and leave it for two more minutes on low flame. The potatoes take on all the flavours.

Take the cooked rice in a large pan and add the cooked aloo methi masala to it and mix well. Garnish with coriander and serve.

Note: You can also replace Sambar powder with Garam masala. That tastes good too.

Happy Cooking... :)

Schezwan Fried Rice

     Lots of vegetables and lots of sauces....thats what makes Chinese cuisine wonderful..:) The minute you hear the name of Chinese cuisine, you remember Manchurian, fried rice, soya sauce, vinegar etc. 

     I wanted to try out the schezwan version of fried rice since long time. Recently came across a ready made schezwan sauce from "Ching's". So made Schezwan fried rice with it. The rice turned out to be really good. So wanted to share this recipe in my blog.

Here is the recipe for easy schezwan fried rice.. :) Happy Cooking.. :)

Ingredients:

Cooked Rice - 2 bowls
Chopped Vegetables (carrot, haricot beans, cauliflower, capsicum) - 1 bowl
Salt to taste
Oil - 2 tbsp
Garlic (finely chopped) - 2 tsp
Onion (finely chopped) - 1 medium size
Ching's Schezwan Paste - 4 tsp

Method:

Heat oil on high flame. Add onions and garlic. When the onion turns white and transparent, add the chopped vegetables and stir fry till they are half cooked.

Now add the schezwan paste. Add the rice and mix well. Stir fry it for two more minutes. Add salt and turn off the heat.

Serve hot with tomato ketchup.

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream with Chocolate Sauce

       This is my second trial with Ice Creams. Vanilla ice cream if topped with any flavoured sauce or syrup, it is called a sundae. The dessert is then named on the sauce used. So this dessert of mine would be called a "Chocolate Sundae". This sounds more sophisticated and tasty... :P

So here is the recipe for Chocolate Sundae. Enjoy cooking !!!.... :):)

Ingredients:


Milk - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Whipped cream - 2 cups
Vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp
Chocolate Sauce - 2 tbsp

Method:

Heat milk in a pan till it is about to boil. Add sugar to this and mix well. Let it cool completely.

One bowl of cream should be whipped until soft peaks are formed. A properly whipped cream should not fall when the bowl is inverted.

Add the vanilla extract to the cream and mix softly.

Add the milk to the cream and mix well.

Spread it in a flat dish and keep it in the freezer for around four hours or until it if firm. Remove from the refrigerator and scoop out the ice cream in a bowl. Top it with Chocolate Sauce and serve. You can also use other flavours for the ice cream.

Babycorn Pakoda

Spicy and yummy treat for a wonderful evening. It is very easy to make tastes best with tomato ketchup.

Ingredients:


For the Masala Paste:


Ginger-garlic paste - 2 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Oil - 2 tsp
Salt to taste


For the Batter:


Corn flour - 3 tsp
Gram Flour - 3 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Cooking Soda - a pinch

Method:

Blanch the baby corn in boiling salt water for 5 to 10 minutes. The babycorn needs to be softened. If it is not yet soft keep them in hot water for some more time. Then drop them in ice cold water to stop the cooking process.

Mix all the ingredients for the masala, and coat the babycorn with it. Refrigerate it for 15 to 20 mins.

Mix all the ingredients for the batter and refrigerate it too for the same amount of time as the masala.

Heat oil in a pan. Dip the masala baby corns in the batter and deep fry them in oil.

Serve hot with tomato ketchup.

Recipe Courtesy: ndtv good times

Mughlai Vegetable Biryani

I am always fond of trying out different rice varieties and Biryani tops the list. Mughlai Biryani always sounds very royal and exotic and relished by everyone. I am sure the Mughals wound never have opted for a veggie version but it is always good to try out one. Tried to find a nice recipe for Mughlai Biryani and finally found one. This turned out to be super tasty and not so difficult to make.

Enjoy a  wholesome meal with this recipe... :)

Ingredients:

For Rice:

Long grain Basmati Rice - 2 cups
Lemon -  1/2
Salt to taste
Oil - 1 tsp

For Vegetables:


Mixed vegetables (Carrot, Haricot Beans and Cauliflower) chopped - 1 bowl
Green peas - 1/2 bowl
Salt - 1 tsp

For the Masala:

Onion Chopped - 1 (approx 1/2 bowl)
Tomatoes - 2
Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp
Cashewnuts - 10
Poppy seeds - 1 tsp
Coconut grated -  2 tsp
Cardamom - 2
Cinnamom - 1 inch piece
Cloves - 4
Thick curd -  2 tbsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Chilli powder - 2 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil - 2 tbsp
Chopped Coriander - 1 cup
Chopped Mint - 1 cup

For garnish:

Deep fried chopped onions - 1/2 cup
Deep fried cashewnuts - 1/2 cup

Method:

Rice:

Wash the rice and soak it in enough water for 15 mins. Then add half lemon juice, half teaspoon salt and oil and cook it in open for 15 mins till it is done enough.

Vegetables:

Take a saucepan and add water to it. Add salt and blanch the chopped vegetables for five minutes. Beans take more time to get cooked. So add it first and then after 2 minutes, the rest of the vegetables can be added. Once the vegetables are blanched, remove them from heat and place them in cold water. This stops them from cooking further.

Masala:

Take cashewnuts, poppy seeds, coconut and tomatoes and grind them to fine paste.

Take oil in a large pan, add chopped onions, cardamom, cinnamom and cloves. Then add ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute. Now add the ground cashew paste to the pan. Saute for a minute.

Reduce the flame and add the curd. Also add the coriander, cumin, chilli powder and garam masala. Add salt. Now add the half cooked vegetables and cook on low heat till the masala comes to a side dish consistency.

Now add the boiled rice, chopped mint and coriander and mix well. Cook for another ten minutes on low flame till all the moisture evaporates and the rice takes up the flavours.

Garnish with onion and cashewnuts and serve hot.

This tastes best with curd raitha ( curd blended and mixed with chopped onions, coriander, chilli powder and salt).

Note:

1. Adding lemon juice make the rice more bright and grainy.
2. Use chilled curd so that it does not split when added to the hot pan.
3. Haricot beans is round beans and tastes best for Biryani. I found them in Namdhari's. You can always replace them with normal ones.

Enjoy a wholesome exotic meal.. Happy Cooking :)