Spicy Prawn/Shrimp Fry

Ingredients:
Shrimp - 40 to 50
Onion - 1 large
Tomato - 1 deseed them
Ginger - small piece crushed
Garlic -  5 to 6 crushed
Green chili - 4 crushed
Pepper corns - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - ¼ tsp

Garam masala - ¼ tsp

Curry leaves- few
Salt to taste
Oil - 2tbs

Preparation:

Wash the shrimp nicely and marinate it with turmeric powder, pepper corns (powder them) garam masala and salt for 15 to 20 minutes. Heat 1tbs oil in pan and fry the shrimp and keep aside. In the same pan add another 1tbs of oil and saute the crushed ginger, garlic and green chili until raw smell goes away. Then add the chopped onion and tomato and fry. When it changes its color to light  brown add salt and the fried shrimp and mix well. Finally add the curry leaves and turn off the heat. 

Serve with steamed rice. 

Carrot Cake

Ingredients:
All purpose flour - 2 cups
Butter - 1
Egg - 4
Sugar - 2 cups
Carrot - 3 cups grated
Baking powder -2 tsp
Nutmeg powder - 1 ¼ tsp
Cinnamon powder - 1 ¼ tsp
Salt - a pinch

Preparation:

Sieve flour, baking powder, cinnamon powder, nutmeg powder and salt and keep it aside. Take a large bowl add butter and sugar into it and beat till smooth with cake mixer. Then add eggs and beat until fluffy.  Finally add carrot and  mix well. Preheat the oven to 350 degree c. Pour the batter into a greased baking pan and bake. When it is done, remove cake from oven, and allow it to cool and serve..

Pappadam Thoran

Ingredients:
Pappadam 5 to 6
Garlic - 5 flakes
Ginger - small piece
Red chili - 3

Mustard seeds - ½ tsp

Cumin - ¼  tsp

Channa and Urad dal - ½ tsp

Curry leaves - few
Grated coconut - 2 tsp (optional)
Oil for frying
Salt a pinch

Preparation:

Heat the oil in a pan and fry the pappadam, drain and keep aside.  Take another pan, and heat 1 tsp oil and add  mustard seeds, when the mustard seeds pops, add urad dal, channa dal, cumin, red chili and curry  leaves and saute it, then add  crushed ginger and garlic and saute until raw smell goes away. Now add the  grated coconut and  pappadam ( make into small pieces with you hand ) mix well. Serve with steamed rice or kanji

Chicken & Potato Gravy

Ingredients:
Chicken - 1 lb
Potato - 2 large
Onion - 2 no's
Ginger - small piece
Garlic - 6 flakes
Green chili - 3 -4 slit lengthwise

Turmeric powder - ¼ tsp

Red chili powder - 1 tsp
Coriander power- 2 tsp

Garam Masala - ½ tsp

Salt to taste
Oil  - 3 tbs

Preparation:

Wash the chicken nicely and cut into bite pieces. Slice onion, chop ginger and garlic, slit the green chili and add to the chicken pieces, followed by the spices (turmeric, red chili and coriander powder) salt and  2 tbs oil and mix well with your hand. Take a pan add remaining 1tbs of oil, and  add the mixed chicken pieces cover with lid and allow it get cooked.  Meanwhile peel skin of the potatoes and cut into pieces. When chicken is half done, add the potato pieces, and garam masala and mix well. Do not add water, keep stirring in between. Let it cook until thick gravy is formed. When its done remove from heat and serve.

Palkova - Microwave

Ingredients:
Condensed milk - 1 tin/can
Yogurt -3 tbs
Ghee - 1tbs

Cardamom powder -  ¼ tsp

Preparation:

Take a microwave bowl, grease with ghee and pour the condensed milk into the bowl. Add 3 tbsp of yogurt to the condensed milk and mix well.  Place the bowl in the microwave  and  microwave for 10 to 15 minutes. (this depends upon the type of microwave you use). Keep stirring in between every 1 or 2 minutes. When you see the change in color and consistency, add cardamom powder, mix well and allow it to cool.

Yummy palkova is ready to serve now.

Chicken Roast with Crushed Spices

Ingredients:
Chicken thigh - 4 no's
Onion - 1 large
Tomato - 1 no
Yogurt  - 1 tbs
Ginger - Small piece
Garlic - 10 flakes
Red chilli - 6 No's
Pepper corns - 1tsp

Turmeric powder - ¼ tsp

Salt as required
Oil for frying

Preparation:

Wash and  cut the chicken thighs into two pieces. Crush nicely ginger, garlic, red chili and pepper corns. Marinate the chicken pieces with crushed ingredients, yogurt  and salt for 30 minutes and fry the chicken pieces and keep aside. Cut the onion into thin slices, deseed the tomato and cut into small pieces,  Use the same pan in which chicken pieces was fried, and add sliced onion and chopped tomato and fry until it turns brown. Now add the fried chicken pieces to it, mix well and turn off the flame.

Serve with chapathi, steamed rice, poori.

Raw tomato pickle

Ingredients:
Raw tomato - 10 No's

Gingle oil - ¼ cup

Ginger - small piece - chopped nicely
Garlic - 5 pods finely chopped

Turmeric powder- ¼tsp

Red chili powder - 2 tsp
Fenugreek  - a pinch ( dry roasted and powder)
Mustard - 2tsp
Cumin - 1tsp
Asafetida -¼ tsp

Salt as required

Preparation:

Wash tomatoes nicely, cut into pieces. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds when it splutters, add cumin, followed by fenugreek powder and asafetida. The add chopped ginger and garlic and saute it until raw smell goes away. Add  tomato pieces, turmeric, red chili powder, salt and remaining oil ad cook on medium flame. Do not add water. When it its cooked well, remove from heat allow it to cool and store it.

Serve with steamed rice.

Note: You can add 1 tsp vinegar to the pickle before you store it.. This is optional.

Ney Choru/Ghee rice

 Ingredients:
For rice:
Basmati rice - 2 cups
Water - 4 cups

Ghee -  ¼ cup (4 tbs)

Cardamom - 4 no's
Salt as required
Star aniseed - 5
Bay  leaves - 2 no's
Cinnamon - 1 stick

For garnishing:
Onion - 1 no( sliced thin)
Cashew - 1tbs
Raisin  - 1tbs

Preparation:

Wash the rice, drain well and keep aside . Take a pan add 3 tbs of ghee and fry the sliced onions until golden brown, drain them  and keep it separate. In the same pan fry cashews and raisins in  ghee  and keep aside. Then fry the spices ( star aniseed, bay leaves, cardamom and cinnamon stick). In the same pan add the drained rice and keep stirring for few minutes. Then pour water to it add salt,  cover it with a lid and cook until its done.

When rice is cooked, garnish with fried onions, cashews and raisins and serve.  Mutton gravy or chicken gravy can be used a side dish.

Note: I used food color. But this is optional

Bombay Halwa

Ingredients:
All purpose flour - 1 cup
Corn flour - 1 tbs
Sugar -2 cups

Ghee/butter - 1 ½ cup

Salt - a pinch
Lime juice - 1tbs
Almond -  1tbs
Cashew - 1 tbs
Cardamom - 10 no's (powdered)

Food color - ¼ tsp  - can be added more if u want

 

Preparation:

• Take a bowl and mix corn flour, all purpose flour ,salt and food color with 2 cups of water and keep aside. 

• Fry the cashews and almonds in 1 tsp of ghee  and set aside 

• In a heavy bottom  pan pour 1 cup of water and dissolve  sugar and  bring it to boil until it reaches single string consistency, at this point add lime juice and stir well. Now add the mixture and stir it vigorously, do not stop stirring.  When its cooked and starts getting thick, slowly add ghee little by little and stir it continuously till it leaves the sides. Add the cardamom powder, mix well and add the fried nuts (cashews and almonds) to the halwa leaving a little bit for garnishing . 

• Grease a tray with butter/ghee and pour the mixture into the tray, garnish with remaining nuts and allow it to cool. Cut into desired shapes and serve.

Note:
You can use any food color of your choice - orange, yellow or green
Sugar can be increased or decreased.

Rabdi

                                         Happy Diwali

 

Ingredients:
Milk - 4 cups
Sugar - 1 cup
Condensed milk - 5 tbs (optional)
Almond - 1tsp
Pistachios - 1tsp
Cardamom - 2 powdered

  

Preparation:

Take a wide and heavy bottom pan add milk in the pan and boil on medium flame.When milk starts boiling, a layer of malai  will start forming over the milk. Take the malai with the spoon and keep aside in a bowl. Keep collecting it by stirring the milk in between so that it will not stick in the bottom. Keep repeating the process till the milk is almost reduced to half.  Now add sugar and condensed milk and boil for 10 to 15 minutes.  Add the scraped, collected malai, cardamom powder, chapped nuts to it and mix well, remove from the flame. Allow it to cool, keep in refrigerator and serve chilled.

Note: You can add saffron strands, i did not use.