Lemon Tarts

An quick easy start up dessert to finish the left over sweet tooth craving.

its a perfect balance of sweet and sour.

All you need

Refined flour: 100 gms

Salted butter: 50 gms

Cream: 100gms

Powdered sugar: 50gms

A lime 

few mint leaves

Making of a tart:

Mix the flour with chilled butter. Roll out a sheet out of the flour dough. with the help of cookie cutter, take out round dough sheet and put on greased tart moulds.

bake at 180 degree for roughly 15 mins. Make sure, to tap the dough with the fork, so that it doesnt rise.

Whip the heavy cream with the beater. As the cream doubles, add lime juice, lime rind and powdered sugar. Fold the cream with mixture. 

Fill the cream in piping bag and put in blast chiller for 30 secs.

take out baked tarts. wait while they set to room temperature. 

Fill the tarts with the flavored whipped cream from the piping bag. 

garnish with a mint leaf.

Serve and relish

Moroccan Curry - My version

                                                   
                                                             MOROCCAN CURRY

This is the recipe I re-tweaked for my cookery show. An easy protein and mineral rich recipe for a healthy back-up.

All you need:

Chicke pea (chole): boiled 1 cup

chopped onion 1 medium

chopped garlic

seasonal vegetables, like eggplant(brinjal), squash, sweetpotato, potato, bottle guard, pumpkin : 1 cup

Tea water: boil 2tsf tea in 1 cup water. strain.

for seasoning

finely chopped basil

oregano

black pepper

chilli flakes

salt

oil 2 tsf

In a cooker, heat the oil. saute onion and garlic till caramelised. add vegetables. saute. add chick peas. season with above seasonings. add tea water. whistle 5 times in the cooker.

serve with tortilla, garlic bread, kulcha or steamed rice

one can see the recipe at below link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9_9EYsL894

Potato wedges with Cheddar Cheese

Potato wedges with Cheddar Cheese

A quick recipe, great for starter or tea time.

since its a quick one, am keeping my notes short and coming to recipe directly:

All I need:

Potato wedges : Frozen 1 kg ( one can make fresh potato wedges, cut raw potatoes in wedge shape and deep fry in vegetable oil till golden brown)

onion: 1 big ( peel and chop transversely to make onion rings)

Cheddar cheese : 200gms Or as per your cheese cravings

salt, pepper, oregano powder, italian seasoning.

Recipe:

Bake the frozen wedges in oven as per packet instructions. spread onion rings evenly over them. add the seasoning. mix well with fingers. add grated cheese. bake for 10 min at 180*C .

My friends dont let me serve in dishes.. they just directly gorge it from baking tray. hope you have the same experience too.

KACCHE AAM KI BIRYANI ( RAW MANGO BIRYANI)

KACCHE AAM KI BIRYANI    ( RAW MANGO BIRYANI)

This is one of the recipes I invented for the ETV cookery show. They were demanding something innovative and going with the summer season.

I decided to innovate some classic recipe with the latest flavour of Gujarat.  I say, you imagine, feel and create the new textures only when you are creatively challenged.

Here goes my kacche aam ki biryani or say Raw mango Pilaf.. summers are synonymous to mango either raw or perfectly tender fruit. Raw mango is well known to be a remedy for heat stroke. And being a doctor, I am always searching for such ingredients to highlight and popularise my recipe. :P

Here is what one need:

Raw mango (Alfonzo is a good choice as it is little bit on sweet side): peeled and grated: 1 medium size

Steamed rice, cool : 100gms

Ghee (oil): 3tsf

Cumin: 1tsf

Onion : 1 medium: finely chopped

Ginger garlic paste: 1tsf

Green chilli: 1 coarsely chopped

Sugar : a pinch

Salt: as per taste

Turmeric powder, coriander powder, garam masala: 1 tsf

Chopped vegetables (beans, peas, cauliflower, carrots)

Freshly chopped coriander and some fried onions for garnishing.

Method:

In a pan, add ghee: add cumin, once they start crackling, add onions, ginger -garlic paste. Wait till the onions go transparent. Add the raw mango, sugar, vegetables, green chilli and all spices. Add 2tsf of water and cover the pan with the lid. After 5 minutes (the mango will be tender now), add the layer of precooked steamed rice.  Cover the lid again for minutes. Garnish with coriander and fried brown onions.

Ready to serve!

My notes:

1. Since raw mango is tangy, we do not need yoghurt here.

2. On scale of nutrition, it has fruit vegetables.  So rich in minerals.

3. Dry fruits can be added.

4. Served with raita. It makes a complete meal

KADDU KI SABZI (Pumpkin Vegetable)

KADDU KI SABZI

(Pumpkin Vegetable)

you my pumpkin pumpkin, hello honey bunny

After years of cooking, I still regret that I have never been able to produce the flavors my mom puts in her cooking. I know her main ingredient is love. Even if I follow the exact recipe and season ample amount of love, dedication and discipline in my food. At the end of the day, the recipe is not yet perfect.

My mom visits me twice a year, every time I request her to cook Kaddu ki Sabzi and Bharwa Paratha. She makes a perfect blend of sugar and tanginess of tomatoes.

Well, It started this way, that my friends planned a hangout at Drive-in cinemas along with dinner. One of my friend is little fussy about eating vegetables. I chose to prepare this recipe and asked him to trust me and try it. Amazingly he liked it. (considering he is a blunt man and gives only honest opinions. I am not gonna name him here, but il tag this link to his wall J).

Here goes the recipe:

Pumpkin medium riped 250gms (peeled & chopped in one inch cubes)

Tomatoes medium size 2 in number

2 tsf sugar

Quarter spoon fenugreek seeds (methi ke dane for tempering)

Salt, chilli flakes, turmeric powder for seasoning.

2tsf vegetable oil

In a pan, heat the oil on medium heat. Add fenugreek seeds, sauté for a minute. Add chopped tomatoes. Stir occasionally till they get tender. Add sugar. Wait for a minute. Add the seasoning. In the last add pumpkin cubes. Mix well. Cover the pan with lid. No need to add water as pumpkin releases its juices. Wait for ten minutes with occasional stirring. The recipe is ready if the pumpkin is nicely tender and juicy.

Garnish with coriander.

Best goes with paratha, poori, thepla.

My notes:

My mom is the best cook ever.

You can avoid peeling the pumpkin, it adds roughage to recipe.

The correct blend of sugar, tanginess of tomatoes and exact amount of salt is learnt with time. (don’t get disheartened if it doesn’t turn out well in first trial)

Masala Vermicelli

MASALA VERMICELLI

A morning breakfast or an afternoon snack, Masala or vegetable vermicelli is a good option to rely on. A quick ten minutes recipe I usually relish after my work hours. Sometimes my day  goes too hectic and I feel like munching something spicy after work. Being a diet conscious I usually avoid kachori and samosas.

Vermicelli is generally used in kheer or desserts. But I usually make it full of vegetables like a pulao.

Here are the notes of recipe

What we need

Roasted vermicelli  200gms ( if you don’t get roasted one, you can roast it on medium heat in a pan with a tsf of oil). These days whole wheat vermicelli is available. It’s healthier than regular refined flour product.

Ajwain  1/4tsf

Chopped one onion

Ginger garlic paste 1tsf

Finely chopped vegetables: anything you like as capsicum, carrot, peas, beans etc

Chopped green chilli

Turmeric powder 1/4tsf

Cumin powder 1/4tsf

Salt

1 tsf vegetable oil

Lemon juice

Chopped coriander to garnish

In a non stick pan, heat the oil on medium heat, add ajwain. Once it gets golden brown, add onions, garlic ginger paste. Once the onion gets tender. Add all the spices, add vegetables. Sauté for a minute. Add vermicelli. Add 100ml of water. Be careful, don’t add excess water, it will make it soggy. Add lemon juice. Cover the pan for five minutes. Now switch off the gas and let the vermicelli absorb the juices.

Serve hot. Garnish with chopped coriander. To make it more chatpata: chat masala can be added.

Besan Chilla

Besan Chilla or Gram Flour Pan cake

Mornings are always beautiful if we get a full, healthy breakfast. The breakfast forms the integral part of our diet. The dietitian says that you can skip your lunch but a heavy breakfast to begin a day is must. I have seen my colleagues who don’t indulge in habit of having breakfast, cribbing and lazing out at work. I always say: Eat healthy, Stay fit.

A common recipe used in north Indian houses for breakfast is besan chilla  or we can say besan pan cake, as the recipe is quite similar. But the richness of protein derived from gram flour beats the refined flour used in pan cakes. They are the healthiest way to start a day.

Here is the recipe:

Besan (gram flour) 200gm

Onion 1 diced finely

Ginger garlic paste 1tsf

Coriander finely chopped

Cumin

Asafoetida

Green chilli

Fruit salt (baking soda)

Salt

Vegetable oil to cook.

In a bowl sieve the flour, mix all the ingredients. (You can use roasted cumin, but I like unroasted cumin here). Add 100ml of water. The consistency of batter should be flowy i.e. neither too thick nor too thin similar to pan cakes or dosa. The batter should be vigorously mixed as to avoid lumps and better turn out.

Put a non stick pan on medium heat, put one tsf of oil and spread the batter in round shape. Wait for two minutes. Flip to other side and cook again till golden brown. Instead of oil, butter can be used.

Serve with green chutney and ketchup.