Strawberry Punch

So,The other day I and my husband went out to get some fruits, and my "Chatori Husband" was all eyes on everything he could grab for his morning juice. We picked up fruits for the whole week, but I had a major problem He bought me only one box of strawberries. Though I told him it wouldn't be enough juice for 4, he said "strawberry juice at my office costs 50 bucks, and a box worth 50 should be enough". I ,sometimes don't understand why he acts like some big shot chef who knows it all. Anyways we came back and I had another morning ahead of me with strawberries enough for two serving of juice. Here comes my Mom to my rescue, I remembered her telling me,last week, of an apple smoothie recipe made with hung curd, plus the pineapple in my fruit bowl kept reminding me of the classic "Ganga Jamuna Saraswti". So I decided to experiment a bit and luckily my kitchen had a lot of stuff in small portions, including 2 bananas and a 3 day old tetrapack of cranberry juice. So I guess my recipe is clear now.Anyway, here it is.

The Magic Makers

Strawberries                  About 12

Bananas                         2(small) OR 1 (large)

Cranberry Juice            About 150ml

Hung Curd                     2 dollops

Sugar Free                     12 sachets=24 teaspoons( yes, it really took that much)

The Prestige:

Well, slice the strawberries and bananas and beat them together in the juicer. Add the hung curd,blend properly and the add cranberry juice and the sugar. Because strawberries are sour and hung curd is very sour, you do need to add a lot for the sweetener. And I must tell you, it was yumm. And My "MasterChef" Husband did ask : "Super tha, kaise banaya", Huh! As if he knows how everything else is cooked in this house 

Happy Birthday Mom

Born in 56 dels of pain,
Yet received with a smile;
Wherever I stumbled…
She held my hand every while.

Nursed me with caress,
Chided when I was wrong;
From “A” to “Alpha”…
She was always along.

Imbibed into me values,
Never let me know any dearth;
Protected and nurtured me….
Was my Goddess on earth.

Loved me before I was born,
Of your care, substitute there’s no other,
Words ain’t enough to say….
“I Love You Mother”

Shreelipta Glacialis Summer

Summer is in and nothing would quench your thirst from the scorching heat, like a glass of water right out of an earthen pot. Well, how about, a nice refreshing cooly to drink. I guess, it wouldn’t be that bad. Back in the days when I used to work, I happened to meet(well, actually we never met in person) this wonderful lady, who was the manager of a different team at a different location. Though she was so far, she was always just a call away. And however high pressure situation it might be, she always had a solution to help us out of the heat. Hence, I’m dedicating this recipe to her. Cheers Shreelipta. You Rock!!!!

The Magic Makers

Condensed Milk                       3 tbsp

Tang(Dual flavoured)             2 tbsp

Powdered Sugar                     1 heaped tbsp

Sprite or 7 Up                         1L

The Prestige

Whisk together Condensed Milk, Tang and Sugar. I use dual flavoured tang , coz it gives a good zing to the drink. Here I have used a pineapple-passion fruit flavor, though Lime n mint is my personal favorite. Whenever I have friends visiting, I ask them if they’d like some Nimbu Pani and surprise them with this instead. Well, moving ahead ,add half a glass of sprite to the mixture and obtain a concentrate. When you’re ready to serve slowly pour the rest of the sprite into the container you are using for mixing the ingredients. (I always like to use a tall, narrow mouthed container). A better way , I figured, is to fill the 3/4th of the glass with sprite first and to it add the concentrate . And....ta-da..... a refreshing cooly is ready to rid you of the summer heat.

Mehfooz........Immune

Lagta nahi hai darr ab andhere se mujhko...........
Ke Dil ki tanhaiyan hain kaali bahut ;
Mehsoos nahi hota ab dard bhi koi........
Ke sisakte Dil ki aahein hain nirali bahut.

Banana Cake

I've been meaning to try this recipe for a long time since I came across it on http://www.cookingandme.com but everytime, I wait for the bananas to ripen enough and before I realize, they've been trashed. I woke up at  3 today and there was no one at home and here I go again hunting for food. And , there in front of me lay a couple of Fully ripe bananas. And the rest of the story.......

The Magic Makers

All Purpose Flour                          1 cup
Salt                                                 1/4 tsp
Baking Soda                                  1 tsp
Very Ripe Bananas                      2,medium sized
Egg                                               1
Sugar                                           3/4 cup
Vanilla Essence                           3/4 tsp
Cream                                        1/4 cup
Cooking Butter                          2X4 piece
Oil                                              for greasing


The Prestige

My Mum always says, whenever you're making a cake, combine the dry ingredients first. So I mixed together the flour, salt and baking soda.

Now, in a food processor add the bananas and whisk till they make a smooth paste. To this, add the egg and sugar and blend till they are well combined. Now add the Vanilla essence and the cream and blend to get a smooth creamy paste. Next, add the Flour mixture and blend for about 2-3 mins making sure there are no lumps. Finally add the butter and give it another little run. The mixture has 1 string consistency.

Grease a baking mould and bake on medium heat for 20 mins. And if you can , hold yourself back, coz the aromas springing forth from the oven are just irresistible.

Dum Handi Chicken

I picked this recipe off some TV show,a very long time ago. And since I have a "Handi" now, I decided that this would be the time to try it.....The product.......A delectable, creamy chicken curry with earthen flavours. Go ahead and try it yourself.

The Magic Makers

Boneless Chicken                             100g

Marinade

Lime Juice                                            1 tsp

Salt                                                        to taste

Garlic Paste                                          1/2 tsp

Ginger Paste                                         1/2 tsp

Green Chillies,Finely chopped             1/2 tsp

Red Chilli powder                                1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder                                1/4 tsp

Cumin powder                                    1/2 tsp

Coriander powder                              1/2 tsp

Curd                                                    2 tsp

Roasted & Skinned peanut paste       3 tsp

For Gravy

Oil                                                       2 tsp

Onion,Finely chopped                       2 tsp

Ginger,finely chopped                       1/2 tsp

Garlic,Finely chopped                       1/2 tsp

Tomato,Finely chopped                    2 tsp

Turmeric powder                              1/4 tsp

Cumin powder                                  1/2 tsp

Coriander powder                            1/2 tsp

Salt                                                    to taste

Coriander leaves                              2 tsp

Water                                               1 small cup

The Prestige

Marinate the chicken for an hour with the ingredients mentioned under marinade. 

Meanwhile heat water in a open pan.

In an earthen pot heat some oil and saute onions till translucent. Now add Ginger and garlic and cook till the raw smell is gone. Now add tomato and cook till they are soft. Now add the powdered spices and mix till well incorporated. Add salt and the add the chicken. Keep stirring until the chicken is well coated with the spices. Add water for gravy.

Transfer the pot to the pan with boiling water. Seal the edges of the pot with dough and put the lid on. Cook till the chicken is tender. Remove the lid and mix in the coriander leaves.Serve with rotis.

Stuffed Omlette

I believe this is the first thing I ever cooked. It worked like "Red Bull" for me, giving me wings to explore the arena of cooking and ever since there has been no looking back. This one has been an all time favourite among almost everyone I know and the recipe has been shared time and again, so here I am continuing the tradition for the evergreen recipe of a delectable omlette.

The below mentioned ingredient sizes suffice for one omlette.

The Magic Makers
Eggs                                         2
Ginger-Garlic Paste                1/4 tsp
Red chilli powder                    1/4tsp
Black Pepper Powder             1/8 tsp
Salt                                          to taste
Turmeric Powder                  1/8 tsp
Finely Chopped Onion          1/2 a medium sized onion
Boneless Chicken                   1 small piece
Oil                                          1 tbsp
Butter                                    1 cube
Coriander Leaves                 1tsp

The Prestige
Heat Oil in a pan and fry onions till soft. Add ginger garlic paste and saute till the raw smell is gone. Now add the dry spices and mix well.. Now shred the chicken and add to the pan. I used the chicken left over from a curry. You can also use fresh chicken by boiling it with salt. Add coriander leaves. Saute for a minute and remove.
Break 2 eggs into a bowl and beat along with the chicken mix.
Heat Butter in a pan and add the egg mix spreading it evenly. Cook covered on low heat. When it starts to brown flip the omlette to the other side and cook covered till done. And Ta-da.....


Tip:  Whenever you cook with butter, add a few drops of oil to the heating utensil, else the butter burns.

Mutton Handi Biriyani

There aint no meat, like one that's slow cooked and to heighten the flavours, something that's cooked in a good old fashioned way in the earthen pot. Over the next few days I'll try and share some delicacies , all of them cooked in the traditional "Handi". Cheers foodies!!!!

The Magic Makers
For the Mutton Curry
Ghee                                4 tbsp

Cinnamon                       2-3 pieces,1 inch each
Cloves                              4-5
Green Cardamom          4-5 crushed pods
Bay Leaf                          2
Mace                               1 flower
Starannise                      1
Black Cardamom          1, crushed
Black PepperCorns       8-10
Shahjeera                       1 tsp
Onions                           2,large, finely chopped,
Ginger-Garlic paste      2 tbsp
Green Chillies               4, finely chopped
Red Chilli powder         1 heaped tsp
Cumin Powder             1 tsp
Coriander powder        1 tbsp
Turmeric powder         1/4 tsp
Salt                                to taste
Mutton                          500 gm, preferably chops
Garam Masala              1/2 tsp
Mint leaves                   one small bunch
Coriander Leaves         one small bunch
Water

For the Rice

Cinnamon                    2-3 pieces,1 inch each
Cloves                          4-5
Green Cardamom      4-5 crushed pods
Bay Leaf                     2
Black Cardamom      1, crushed
Black PepperCorns   8-10
Basmati Rice             500 gms
Salt                             to taste


For Dum
Ghee                             2tbsp
Mint leaves                   one small bunch
Coriander Leaves         one small bunch
Green Chillies               2, Slit
Garam Masala             1/4 tsp
Juice of half a lime


The Prestige

Soak the rice in water and keep aside.

Heat Ghee in an earthen pot. Add the whole dry spices and fry for a while. Then add the onions and cook till translucent. Now add the ginger garlic paste and cook till the raw smell disappears. Then add the green chillies and fry for a minute. Now add the powdered spices and fry till well incorporated. Now add the mutton pieces and stir till the meat is well coated in the spices. Leave it covered on a low flame allowing the meat to cook in its own juices. Once all the moisture has evaporated add the garam masala, coriander and mint leaves. Mix well and add water,enough to cover the meat and leave it on sim for about 2 hours till the meat is tender.

For the rice, Tie all the dry spices into a "Potli". Cook the rice with the salt and the spice potli, till rice is almost done.

Tip from My Mom: When making Biriyani, Once the rice is done add it to the meat immediately. Do not keep it resting. So you need to time your cooking accordingly.

When the meat is cooked, remove the potli from the rice and add the rice to the meat curry and mix well.

Finally add the ingredients "for dum" and cook covered for about half an hour.

Hot and delectable Handi Biriyani is ready. So go try it out and flatter your taste buds.

Stuffed Onion Rings

I've been challenging myself into making vegetarian food for a while, and given my Mom's saatvik food habits, what can I say.......it has heightened the challenge. With this recipe here, I passed with flying colors. I had a little bit of a lot of stuff left in my fridge and there couldn't be a better use for it. Handful of paneer, some mushroom, one small capsicum,2 little potatoes. It came out really well, For people who don't like paneer or mushrooms, trust me you'll curse yourself if you aren't trying this.

The Magic Makers

Onion ,Large                               3-4

Oil                                                for shallow frying

Cumin seeds                               1 tsp

Finely Chopped Onion              2tbsp

Green Chilli, Finely Chopped   2

Mushrooms,Chopped               150g

Paneer                                       50g

Potato,Boiled & Mashed          1,medium

Capsicum,Chopped                  1,small

Salt                                            to taste

Coriander leaves,Chopped      1tbsp

Refined Flour(maida)             5 tbsp

Cornflour                                2tbsp

Bread Crumbs                        1cup

Oregano                                  2tsp

The Prestige

Cut the onions horizontally into rings and secure the outer scales for using as rings.

Heat oil in a pan. Add Cumin seeds. When they splutter, add finely chopped onions and sauté till soft. I used the insides of the onions after securing the outer scales for rings. Add green chillies and cook for a while. Now add the mushrooms and cook till moisture is gone. Now add crumbled paneer and cook for a minute. Then mix in the potatoes and capsicum and cook till capsicum is soft. Add a spoonful of maida and mix well. Add salt and coriander leaves and mix well.

Make batter with cornflour, maida, salt and water. The batter should be of one string consistency.

Mix the oregano with bread crumbs.

Stuff the onion rings with the mushroom mix and press tightly. Dip them in the batter and roll in bread crumbs and Shallow fry till golden brown. Ummmmmmmmmm........yummy, aromatic Onion Rings are ready. Goes well with fried rice.

Eid-e-Milad Special.....Zarda

Happy Mild-un-Nabi To all of you.....Well our Milad begins with a traditional Fateha, which is done with the Zarda. Here is the recipe.

The Magic Makers
Rice                                                     1cup
Crystal Sugar                                     1 1/4 cup
Ghee                                                    As much as you can add
Green Cardamom                              8-10pods
Cashew & Raisins                               1/2 cup
Milk                                                     1/2 cup
Saffron or Yellow Food Colouring    a pinch

The Prestige
Boil the rice with cardamom pods till almost done. Drain and leave it on a colander. Heat some ghee in a heavy bottomed pan and fry the cashew and raisins in it. Remove the dry fruits and keep aside. In the same ghee toss the rice for a minute. Now add the sugar and cook covered on low flame for 5 minutes. Dissolve the food colouring in the milk and mix in with the rice. Cook covered on a low flame till done. It will take about half an hour. Mix in the dry fruits and serve.

Tip from my granny: Top with some grated/sliced dessicated coconut.(shallow fried).

Upma

Well,I'm not a huge fan of upma,infact I didn't like upma at all until I tried some at a South Indian friend's place. I loved it so much that I would always ask her to get it for my lunch whenever my Mom was out of station. And all my friends in college who were anti-upma liked it too. Ok. Enough of the history. Here's the recipe.

The Magic Makers
Oil                                                 2tbsp
Mustard seeds                              1 tsp
Finely Chopped Onion                1large
Grated Ginger                             1 inch piece
Curry Leaves                              10-15
Finely Chopped Tomato             2
Finely Chopped Green Chillies   2
Salt                                              to taste
Turmeric Powder                      1/4 tsp
Finely Chopped Carrots            1/2 cup
Peas                                            1/2 cup
Semolina                                   1 cup
Water                                       2 cups
Coriander Leaves                    1 small bunch

The Prestige
Heat Oil in a kadai. Throw in some mustard seeds. When they splutter add onion. Saute till the onion is soft. Add ginger and cook till the raw smell is gone. Throw in the curry leaves. Then add the tomatoes and cook till they are soft. Now add the chillies. (I like my food spicy , so I chopped the chillies fine, you might just long slice it to avoid the spice). now add the vegetables and cook covered till soft. Then add water and stir in salt and turmeric. My Friend's Mom told me that water should always be twice the quantity of the semolina. When the water reaches boiling point slowly stir in the semolina such that there are no lumps. Add more water if needed. Cook for 5 mins. Add chopped coriander leaves and remove from heat. Yummy South Indian Upma is Ready.

Fried Rice-Indian IStyle

Ever since I saw this ad of Bikaji bhujia where he adds the bhujia to each and everything , I've been wanting to try it out with rice. 

When I walked into the kitchen at 1 o' clock today, all I find is boiled rice and then it strikes me that Mom had told me to make some curry before she left for her Jumme Ki Namaz. This is when the remeberance of Bikaji's ad comes to my aid. Here's how I pulled it together.

The Magic Makers

Oil                                                   1tbsp

Cloves                                             3-4

Cumin Seeds                                   1tsp

Mustard Seeds                               1tsp

Asafoetida                                     a pinch

Finely Chopped Onion                 1

Finely Chopped Green Chillies    2

Turmeric Powder                        1/4 tsp

Red Chilli Powder                       1tsp

Salt                                               to taste

Chopped Carrots                         1/4 cup

Peas                                             1/4 cup

Boiled Rice                                 2 cups

Boondi Mixture                          1/2 cup

Sev                                              4 tbsp

Juice of 1/2 a Lime

The Prestige

Heat Oil in a pan. Throw in the cloves, Cumin seeds, mustard seeds and asafoetida. When the seeds splutter add onion and saute for a minute. Then add green chillies. Well I prefer spicy food, so I added green chillies. You might just skip it or may want to add slit green chillies instead of chopped ones. Now add salt, turmeric and red chilli powder. Throw in the carrots and peas and cook covered on sim till done. Now add the boiled rice and mix well. Squeeze in some lime. Before serving mix in the boondi mixture. Transfer to a plate and top with some Sev. Serve with papad.

Cheating Wala Vada Pav

Well, the primary purpose of my blog, is to make daily food better and share easy recipes. Hence, the name, Cheating Wala Vada Pav. 

Yesterday,was the first time I was going to see my best friend, after her marriage. We had met, but I'd never been to her in-laws place. So I thought, I can't go empty handed. She called me suddenly and I had not much time left. So, I took the cheat's way out to make this world famous snack. I always have some Hari Chutney ready at my home. I grabbed some, Pav and Samosa from a local bakery downstairs. And here's what I did. 

Instead of making the Vada for the Vada Pav I used Samosa. Press down the Samosa lightly with both the hands and lightly roast it on a tava.

Slit the Pav Bun horizontally from the middle and slightly fry over a tava in some oil. Apply generous spoonfuls of Hari Chutney on the insides of both pieces of the pav. 

Place the samosa on the lower half of the Pav and before you close it...cherry on the pie....add a full Green chilli Pickle. You get these in  any of the local departmental stores. Cheating Wala Vada Pav is ready to eat.

PS : For Hari Chutney:

Heat Some oil in a pan. Add Cumin seeds. When they splutter add a  a few cloves of garlic, a Big bunch of Coriander leaves and half the volume of Pudina Leaves, Add Green Chillies according to taste. Grind with some tamarind paste till you get a smooth Chutney.

And Tonight I Fall Asleep With You In My Heart

                                                                          I need an hour..........to look into your eyes.

                                                                          I need an hour..........to hug you tight.

                                                                          I need an hour..........to kiss you right.

                                                                          I need an hour..........of a pillow fight.....

                                                                          I need a day.............to walk with you.

                                                                          I need a day.............to talk to you.

                                                                          I need a day.............to play with you.

                                                                          I need a day.............to sleep by you........

                                                                         I need a lifetime........to feel your breath.

                                                                         I need a lifetime........to breathe your smell.

                                                                         I need a lifetime........to hold your hand.

                                                                         I need your life.........to feel alive.........

Dr Neha Arora's CoFream

Well, its high time I dedicated a recipe to the person who pushed me so much to share my recipes online. I saw a recipe of the kind on some TV show on TLC, can't remember most of it, 'coz it wasn't a cookery show. So here is my own simple, simpler,simplest version of it, 'coz my friend, just like me, is too lazy to put in so much effort into cooking. She loves coffee and coffee couldn't get simpler and tastier than this.

Heat 2 cups of water. Add 2 spoonfuls of sugar. When the sugar has dissolved and the water comes down to a cup's volume, remove it from heat and mix in some instant coffee powder(2-3grams). I would say, making some filter coffee would enhance the taste, but for something to be ready in a bit, instant coffee is good to go. Take a scoop of vanilla ice-cream in a glass and pour the coffee over it. (I think the guy on the TV show might have added some hazelnut syrup, but I didn't have any at home, and again too lazy, thanks to the weekend syndrome, to go out and get some.) Never the less, what turned out does taste great.Cheers Neha!!!!