KFT-A Toast to the last weekend of 2012

So, I woke up at 12, lazied away another hour on the sofa till my tummy urged me to put my sleep aside. I always prefer to start my morning with something sweet rather than savory. So , I go around looking for something nice n sweet to fix my hunger. There’s some bread in the fridge and I think why not make a nice French toast-Shaheda style.

The Magic Makers

Egg                                                                                         1

Milk                                                                                        1 cup

Squash/Crush(Any flavor of your choice)                        4 tbsp

Sugar                                                                                    to taste

Bread Crumbs                                                                     1 cup

Bread                                                                                   8-10 slices

Icing Sugar                                                                         for dusting

Oil                                                                                        for shallow frying
Vanilla Essence                                                                   a few drops

The Prestige

Beat an egg. Stir in the milk and crush and mix well. Since the crush adds sweetness you wouldn’t need so much sugar. Add a little accordingly. Add vanilla esence. Dip the bread slices in the milk mix. You do not have to soak them, just dip and remove. Coat with bread crumbs and shallow fry on a griddle. Dust with some icing sugar and may be a little cinnamon powder if you have it ready. And here we are, a nice, light Krispy French Toast(KFT) is ready to flatter your taste buds. Cheers!!!!

Tip for veggies: cut out the egg

Choode ke Cutlet

With My mom gone vegetarian,owing to her meds which also put a lot of restrictions on milk products and many vegetables too, the poor thing aint got much of an option . Well, she's not much of a foodie, and I always told her "khana aap jaise logon ke liye nahi bana hai", but then, given the restrictions her meds impose ,she does land into a sorry state with almost nothing to eat. So I decided to give her taste buds a fun ride. Well, I find it a little difficult to get something vegetarian taste great,and with so many vegetables cut down, it was tough. But never mind, thanks to the guy who invented the internet and Jai Ho Sanjeev Kapoor,he really is the God of Indian Food.

The Magic Makers
Chooda/Chidwa                              1cup

Grated Ginger                                 1 inch piece
Finely Chopped green chillies        4-5
Boiled & Mashed Raw Banana      3
Turmeric Powder                           1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds                                    1 tsp
Cornflour                                        1 tbsp
Dry Mango Powder/Amchur        1 tsp
Salt                                                   to taste
Juice of a Lime                                to taste
Chaat Masala                                   for dusting
Oil                                                   for shallow frying

The Prestige
Soak the chooda for 2-3 mins. Mash and mix all ingredients together except the oil and chaat masala. Shape into tikkis and shallow fry. Sprinkle chaat masala while cutlets are still hot. Easy and tasty recipe.Makes about 25-30 tikkis and hardly takes 30 mins.Enjoy!!!!

Egg Chaat Cones

I remember, when I was a kid, we went to our aunt’s place and then in the name of showing us around the town, My Mum, aunt and other ladies of the house disappeared shopping . Bored as we were, waiting  for them, my uncle bought us a unique egg chaat. Well, I wasn’t so much of a cook back then, but the day somehow came back to my mind and I tried to redo it in my own way giving an edge to the daily food. Here is the recipe as requested by Mrs Narinder Kaur Bedi, my sweet friend’s sweet aunt. Cheers!!!!

The Magic Makers:

Black gram                                          2 cup

Mustard Oil                                         2-3 tsp

Black Cardamom                                3

Green Cardamom                               5-6

Green Chillies,finely chopped             2-3

Cinnamon                                            1 inch piece

Bay Leaf                                              1

Cumin Seeds                                       1 ½ tsp

Mustard seeds                                    1 tsp

Onion,Finely Chopped                        2-medium sized

Garlic,Finely chopped                        7-8

Ginger,roughly pounded                    1 inch piece

Turmeric powder                                ¼ tsp

Red chilli powder                                 1 ½ tsp

Coriander powder                               1 tbsp

Salt                                                       to taste

Coriander leaves                                  1 small bunch

Boiled Eggs                                           2

Juice of 3 limes

Rotis                                                    8

Onion,Sliced                                         1-large

Sprig of mint for garnish

The Prestige:

Soak the Black grams overnight or for 4-5 hours. Well, I just soaked it for an hour and pressure cooked it.

Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan till steaming point. Reduce heat and add the dry spices , cumin and mustard seeds. When the seeds splutter throw in the onions and sauté till golden brown. Well speaking of onions, my Mom says, you should add salt along with your onions, it helps the onions cook faster. So be it. Now we add our garlic and ginger and cook till the raw smell is gone. Add the chillies, turmeric, red chilli powder and coriander powder. Stir a bit and add some water. Now add the black grams. Mix well, so that the grams are nicely coated with the masala. Add water, and coriander leaves and cook for 10-15 mins.

Right before you serve, squeeze in the lime juice, chop the eggs and mix into the curry. Mix in the sliced onions.

Shape the rotis into cones and stuff in the chana mix. Garnish with a sprig of mint. Serve in glasses.

Wahin jahan tum chhod gaye

Armaanon ka janaaza uthaye,

Kafan ko hi libaaz banaye,

Behosh si kuch saansen liye,

Rondhi hui chahaton ke tukdon ko sambhale.....

Kahin kaanton ke baaganon mein,

Bikhri yaadon ke veeranon mein,

Sulagte dil ke angaaron mein,

Aansuon ki majhdharon mein.....

Aaj bhi khade hain hum

Wahin jahan tum chhod gaye;

Aaj bhi nikle hai dum,

Us pal mein jahan tum chhod gaye....

Yeeeeeeeeeh......Yeh Lazy lazy Sunday.....Cheese Toast

Well on a Sunday I definitely want to give myself a treat, but then being a Sunday there’s always the Sunday Syndrome..... Yes, I’m feeling way too lazy to cook but not willing to have the regulars either. So this Sunday I treat myself to the Perfect Cheese Toast. Simple , Delicious and Ready in a Jiffy. Here it goes.

On a slice of bread apply mustard. Place a slice of cheese. Throw in a generous sprinkling of paprika and a dash of oregano. Place another slice of bread over it. Cover with a mix of grated cheddar, gouda and mozzarella.  Close with another slice of bread. Toast in a sandwich maker and ta-daa. The Perfect Cheese Toast is ready.

Eggless Lemon Cake

Christmas time is here. Lets jump in with a simple aromatic cake to go with.

"Christmas is all about Sharing"

What you need

Maida or Flour                                   1 cup

Icing sugar                                          ¾ cup

Baking powder                                   ½ tsp

Milk                                                   ¼ cup

Butter                                                 ¾ cup

Lemon rind                                         1 tsp

Juice of 1 lemon

Method

Mix the dry ingredients together. 

Then add the other ingredients one by one and mix well. 

The batter smells yumm when you add the lemon rind. 

Pour the batter into a grease tray and bake on medium heat or 180°C for 10 mins. 

Lebanese Chicken Barbeque

The grill or the barbeque is one sweetheart which can turn any kind of meat into a fantabulous delicacy. Here is one of the simplest barbeque recipes I picked off some TV show a long time ago.

Ingredients

                Crushed Garlic                         1tbsp

                Turmeric Powder                     ¼ tsp

                Cumin Powder                         ½ tsp

                Black pepper powder               ½ tsp

                Red Chilli Powder                     1 tsp

                Salt                                           to taste

                Mace powder                           ¼ tsp

                Lime Juice                                 3 tbsp

                Olive Oil                                    4-5 tbsp

                Chicken                                     250g

Method

Mix all the ingredients together and rub well over the chicken. Marinate for 5-6 hours. Cook in oven at 180°C for 20 mins or cook over a barbeque. As simple as that. Enjoy!!!!

Lehsuni Murg

The Recipe is taken from a popular show called Lock stock and Two Smoking Tikkas by Chef Marut Sikka. Giving in to my newly caught infatuation with garlic, I finally decided to try it out today.....And turns out garlic is one flavour worth falling in love with!!!!

Ingredients

1/2 kg boneless chicken

2-3 tbsp ghee

1 small bowl water

1 small bowl finely chopped onions

5-6 tsp garlic paste

3-4 tsp ginger paste

3 tsp coriander powder

4 tsp yogurt

2 tsp red chilli powder

5-6 tsp badaam paste

Salt - to taste

1/4 tsp jaifal powder (nutmeg)

1/4 tsp javitri powder

1/2 tsp pepper powder

4 tsp fried chopped garlic

2 tsp kesar ka ghol

2-3 tsp coriander leaves

Method

Lightly roast the badam and soak it in water for a while. Grind it into a paste and keep aside. 

Heat ghee in a pan, and fry onions. Pour in the garlic paste and ginger paste. Mix well. 

Add coriander powder and add 4-5 tbsp of water. Continue to stir. 

Mix in the yogurt, add the red chilli powder and mix again. 

Pour in the badaam paste and cook for some time. 

Add the chicken and mix well. 

Add salt and water, cook for sometime or till the chicken is well cooked. 

Add jaifal powder, javitri powder, pepper powder, fried chopped garlic and kesar. 

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Rajasthani Bhindi Pakode ki kadhi with Chota Pulao

Ingredients for Rajasthani Bhindi Pakode ki kadhi

Gram Flour                                            ½ cup + 2 tbsp

Green Chillies, Chopped                   1+2

Red Chilli Powder                                ¼ + ½ tsp

Carom Seeds                                          ¼ tsp

Turmeric powder                                ¼ + ¾ tsp

Coriander powder                              ¼ tsp

Salt                                                            to taste

Oil                                                              2 tbsp + to deep fry

Yoghurt                                                  2 cups

Cumin seeds                                         ½ tsp

Asafoetida                                             a pinch

Ginger , Chopped                                1 inch piece

Curry leaves                                         10-12               

Bhindi, chopped                                  250g                                        

Method
For pakoda mix all the ingredients with bhindi except for oil with one fourth cup of water. Heat sufficient oil in a kadai, drop small portions of this mixture and deep fry till golden brown. Drain and place on an absorbent paper and set aside. For kadhi, mix together yogurt, gram flour, salt, turmeric powder and beat well. Heat one tablespoon of oil in a kadai and add cumin seeds. When they change colour add asafoetida, green chillies, ginger and sauté for a minute. Add curry leaves, red chilli powder and the yogurt mixture. Cook stirring continuously until it boils and turns thick. 

Ingredients for Chota Pulao

2 cups basmati rice-washed and soaked for at least 1 hour
2 Tbsp ghee
1 Tbsp cumin seeds
1 Tbsp shredded ginger

5-6 finely chopped green chillies
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp garam masala
Salt to taste
1 tsp turmeric
Water

Method

In a heavy-based pan, heat the ghee and add the cumin seeds and ginger.
When the ginger browns a little, add the rice, garam masala, salt and turmeric and chillies. Stir-fry well. Leave uncovered.
Add 4 cups water and bring to a boil. Lower heat and cover.
The rice should be done in about ten minutes.

Leja Mujhe.....Churake mujhse

Pyar bhi hai gaddar tere bagair....

Muskaan bhi hai aansundaar,

Feeka hai gul-e-firdos bhi....

Zindagi ko bhi hai afsos tere bagair,

Lele mujhe apni panahon mein....

Ya apni parchhaiyon se aazaad kar de,

Karle apni zindagi mein shaamil mujhko....

Ya is zindagi se mujhe aazaad karde.

Jeena nahi hai mumkin tere bagair....

Ujaalon mein bhi nahi roshni,

Ummeed bhi maayoos hai....

Mele bhi hain khamosh tere bagair,

Bhar de aawaaz teri , meri in khamoshiyon mein....

Ya in sannaaton se mujhe aazaad kar de,

Karle apni zindagi mein shaamil mujhko....

Ya is zindagi se mujhe aazaad karde.

Raatein soti nahi tere bagair....

Din ke lamhe pad jaate hain bhari,

Is duniya se main hoon anjaan....

Dil ki galiyan hain veeran tere bagair,

Lagale seene se mujhe....

Ya is dil ko dhadkanon se aazaad karde,

Karle apni zindagi mein shaamil mujhko....

Ya is zindagi se mujhe aazaad karde.