Badam halwa

We had a potluck last week and there was this dessert that one of my friends brought for us. Badam halwa ... the name makes my mouth water. I know it is nothing else but cholesterol and cholesterol but eating a little once in a while will not do any harm. This dish was creamy, rich and luscious. My aunt makes this but a little different way. Down here is my friends recipe that is sure make a delectable dessert. I tried this and it turned out perfect.

 Serves... 10 ppl 
Serve option... Warm

This is what u'll need....

Badam/ Almond 3 cups
Sugar 3 cups
Milk 1 cup
Ghee 2 tspn 
Cashews 2 tbspn
Food color - red (optional)

Here is the stir....

• Soak badam for a few hours and remove the skin
• Add the badam to a blender and pour milk just enough to cover the almonds
• Grind it to a coarse paste
• Tranfer this mimxture to a pan and cook it for a few mins till the mixture starts getting thicker. Keep stirring as it tends to stick to the bottom. Can add food color if you want
  
• Add sugar and cook till everything blends together
• Top it with ghee and you will see the mixture leaving the sides of the pan. Its ready
• Garnish with cashews slightly fried in some ghee
  

Fried spicy chana dal

Me and my litle one are 2 junkies. We are any time ready to fill junk food into our poor little tummies. My little one is just so fond of chips, fries and all that fried stuff. Sometimes if i have nothing at home, he insists me to make some... he is just 2 but always demands things as a grown-up kid.. One day we were eating mixture and my little guy was picking out boondis and chana dals from it. Not realizing that was the last portion in hee packet I popped some into my mouth. He cried so aloud that I could not figure out the reason at the first shot. When asking him over and over he said 'Mummy eat baby mixture'... thats how is his english now ;) I dint have anything to give so i said eat chocolate and i will make dal for you.. he agreed and I had to make this recipe.

I make this very rarely but love it when made. Especially love this when my mil makes with all the patience that she has :)

Serves... 2 ppl 
Serve option... at room temp

This is what u'll need....

Chana dal 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Red chilli powder
Oil 1-2 tbspn

Here is the stir....

• Soak chana dal in hot water for about an hour
• Drain, pat dry and keep it aside
• Heat oil in a pan on medium low an toss in the chana dal
• Keep stirring it till they crisp up and turn a little golden brown. Keep an eye on them as they tend burn very fast. So keep tossing them
• When they are done sprinkle salt and chilli powder. Give a final good stir so that the masala sticks on evenly on the dal
• Remove it on a paper towel to drain out any excess oil

Crispy tacos

I wanted to try crispy tacos for a long long time but wanted my own taste in it. Thought I should buy a taco kit and try it but then I saw this tortilla bunch lying around. Usually I use it to make chips for evening snacks. Yesterday I was thinking I should try something like a crispy taco and it did work great. It was a sweet surprise to fill our tummy. Loved every bite of it. It sure tastes much fresh than the restaurant/fastfood version.  Making it again today as I have a couple more shells that I made yesterday

 

Serves... 4 ppl 
Serve option... Hot sauce

This is what u'll need....

Tortillas 2
Tomato 1 (deseeded and chopped)
Chesse - combination of mozzarella and cheddar 4 tbspn
Hot sauce 2 tspn
Boiled Rajma or Chole - 1 cup
Lettuce 1/2 cup
Curd (water drained out) 2-3 tbspn
Garam masala 1/4 tspn
Salt to taste
Oil 

Here is the stir....

• Fold the tacos into half and place a little aluminium foil in the middle to hold the shape as a crispy taco would look like
• Sprinkle a little oil, salt, garam masala on each side of the tortilla. Bake it in a preheated oven - 350 degrees for about 7-8 mins on each side
• Cool it with the foil inside to retain the shape
• Meanwhile, mash the Chole or Rajma and add some salt, hot sauce to it
• Take a tortilla shell and put a spoonful of mashed chole. Top it with tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, hot sauce and a little curd. Make sure water in the curd is drained out fully
• Add more hot sauce if needed. Serve with extra curd and sauce

Chowchow kootu

I like the kootu style curries. They dont have lots of masala in them but just taste perfect on a weekday menu. It is a blend of chana dal with some vegetable of choice that is easy as it sounds like. I was making this today and felt very satisfied after the meal.. neither too heavy nor too light

Serves... 2 ppl 
Serve option... Hot rice

This is what u'll need....

Chow-chow 1
Chana dal 1/2 cup
Onion 1 med
Tomato 1 med
Garlic 2 big cloves
Green chillies 3
Sambar powder 1 tbspn
Shredded coconut 1 tbspn
Salt to taste
Oil 
Mustard seeds 1 tspn
Urad dal 1 tspn

Here is the stir....

• Boil chana dal till tender, be careful not to make it mushy
• Heat oil in a pan and add mustard, urad dal
• Toss in chopped onions, garlic and salt and fry till onion turns translucent
• Add chopped tomatoes and green chillies and fry for 2-3 mins
• Pour a cup of water and add sambar powder, chopped chowchow
• Cook covered till the chowchow is done
• Add chana dal and cook the mixture for couple of mins
• Sprinkle coconut and give it a stir
• You can use lauki instead. That too tastes great

Coriander chutney

Chutneys can be made in so many different ways, so many flavors, with so many diff ingredients that every home has it different. Sometimes even the same ingredients and same style give diff tastes :) We love chutneys. If we have dosa batter at home then the easiest is to make chutney and enjoy relaxing. This chutney here is not only great for dosas but also comes in handy in so many dishes like chaat, sandwiches, idlis, frankies and so on. I made this yesterday when I had a friend come home. She loved it so much that there was instant recipe request. So I thought that my chutney recipe must be worth posting.

Serves... can be stored in refrigerator
Serve option... Idli, dosa, chaat...

This is what u'll need....

Coriander 1 bunch
Ginger 1 tbspn
Cumin seeds 1 tbspn
Coconut 3 tbspn 
Green chillies 4 
Lemon juice/tamarind
Salt to taste
Oil 1 tbspn

Here is the stir....

• Grind everything together except coriander and oil
• Meanwhile wash the coriander bunch and cut off the stems
• Add coriander little by little so that you can grind easily
• Finally add the oil and just give a couple of turns. Oil keeps the chutney fresh even if you store it for a long time

Simple mac n cheese

I like mac n cheese but then there is the guilt part which will before you are done with the food :) Its yum yum but its only cheese cheese and cheese. Whatever it is, there is nothing wrong in trying them once in a while. This simple recipe is quick to make and fool proof too so its something you can always rely on

Serves... 2 ppl 
Serve option... Warm

This is what u'll need....

Elbow macaroni 1/2 cup uncooked
Milk 1/2 cup
Maida 1 tbspn
Parmesan cheese 1/2 cup
Parsley 1/2 tspn
Salt to taste

Here is the stir....

• Cook the macaroni with required salt till al dente and keep it aside
• Bring milk to a boil and add flour to it. Whisk it vigorously so that no lumps remain in the mixture
• Toss in the cheese and stir till the mixture thickens
• Add the macaroni to the mixture and give it a good stir till everything is blended well
• Sprinkle parsley give a final stir. Leave the mixture a little moist to have the right texture

Veggie Patties

Veggie patties are delicious on their own and they taste even better when they are part of yummy burgers or tikki chaat. I always make a big batch of these and stock them in the freezer so they I can just pull them out, defrost and make something ready to eat in no time. Its good to have such things at hand to help ourselves some time on days that need more from us.

Serves... around 12  
Serve option... With burgers, chaat

This is what u'll need....

Potato 2 big
Carrot 1 cup
Beans 1 cup
Peas 1/2 cup 
Cumin powder 1 tbspn
Coriander 1 tbspn
Garam masala 1/2 tspn
Chilli powder 1 tspn
Turmeric 1/4 tspn 
Salt to taste
Sesame seeds optional
Oil

Here is the stir....

• Boil and peel potatoes once they are cooled
• In a pan heat oil and toss chopped onions and salt into it. Fry till onion turns translucent
• Toss in chopped carrot, chopped beans and peas into the pan and cook covered for 5 mins. Can add a little water if needed
• Add all the spices and stir the vegetables. Cook vegetables till they are done
• Mash the potatoes and add it to the vegetables. Mix till they are all blende
• Cool the mixture and divide to make it into flat round patties. Sprinkle some sesame seeds on top if you want to
  
• Heat a tawa and place few patties on it
• Drizzle a little olive oil and flip after a couple of mins
• Drizzle oil on the other side too and cook till the patties turn a little golden brown
  

Fresh Salsa

Dips always taste fresh when they are home-made. We started with store bought salsa and then thought I should try it over. I have always seen plenty of episodes on food network where they just mix few ingredients from here and there, blend them and then thats it they are ready to be eaten. It has sounded and looked so easy that I wanted to try. I can always adjust the taste to our needs. Here is a very basic salsa recipe that we love to dip our pita chips into.

Serves... 3 servings
Serve option... With fresh pita chips or tortilla chips

This is what u'll need....

Onion 1/2 small
Tomato 1/2 small
Lemon juice 1 tspn
Garlic clove 1 very small(or even half if not very small)
Green chilli 1 small (optional)
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Olive oil 1.5 tbspn
Coriander leaves 2 tbspn 

Here is the stir....

• Toss in onion, lemon juice, garlic, green chilli, salt and pepper into a food processor and run it on low till everything blends together
• Add roughly chopped tomatoes and coriander and give it a little pulse. Dont blend more else the fresh tomato taste will be lost 
• Pour olive oil and blend for one last time till you see everything coming together 
• Transfer to a serving bowl with crispy chips