Amras ke Malai Aloo/ Deep Fried Baby Potatos In Mango Flavored gravy

Potato's are my absolute favorite ,I can eat them everyday and never get tired of them. I always make sure I  never run out of potato's .  This is one vegetable I am well stocked with . I can fix so many quick recipes with potato's and all  these  top mine & my families favorite food list .

This recipe is the master of all potato recipes for me and for everyone who tried this in my house for the first time. It is a combination of many great flavors- mango, fresh cream,kesar,lemon and watermelon & musk melon seeds powdered.The gravy is rich and tastes like no other,I can bet you on this one:)

This is a Sanjeev Kapoor recipe and I can vouch that Sanjeev kapoor's recipes are always fantastic to say the least :)

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 20-25 minutes
serves: 4

Ingredients:
Baby potato's- 10-15
Ripe Mango Pulp: 1/3 cup
Oil to deep fry and 3 tbsp
Onions: 1 large about 1/2 a pound
Ginger: 1/4 inch piece
Garlic: 2 cloves
Water melon seeds: 1 tsp
Musk melon Seeds Roasted: 1 tsp
saffron: 8-10 strands
Fresh Cream: 2 tbsp
Caraway Seeds/Shahi Jeera: 1 tsp
Green cardamoms: 4
Cloves: 4
Green Chilli's slit: 2
Yogurt whisked: 3/4 cup
Salt to taste
Garam masala: 1 tsp
Lemon Juice: 1 tsp
Caraway Seeds: 1/4 tsp
Black peppercorns: 8
Green cardamoms: 2
Cloves: 2

Method:
Wash and scrub potato's under running water. Prick them with a fork and deep fry them till well cooked.Remove & put them on paper towel to absorb the excess oil.

Grind ginger and garlic to a paste and also grind the onions to a paste. Grind water melon & musk melon seeds to a paste using very little water.

Dissolve saffron in fresh cream and set aside. Heat 3 tbsp oil and when hot add 2 cardamoms and 2 cloves and 1 tsp caraway seeds. When these change color add green chilli's and onion paste and cook till golden brown. Add ginger garlic paste and saute for 3 minutes.Add yogurt ,melon seeds & water melon seeds paste ,red chilli powder,turmeric powder and cook till oil separates from the masala. Add half a cup of water and let it come to a boil.

Now add ripe mango pulp,fried potato and salt. Stir well.
In another pan dry roast remaining shahi jeera, green cardamom,peppercorns & cloves and grind them and add them to the potato gravy. Now add saffron dissolved in fresh cream to this gravy and squeeze lemon and serve with hot paranthas :)

baby potato's deep fried

Onion,water melon & musk melon seeds paste with dry spices

Cranberry Chutney

Happy Thanksgiving to all :)!!!
I wish everyone a very happy & blessed holiday season ahead and an even happier and blessed 2011 to one & all :)!!!

Thanks Vivek & Amy for having us over to celebrate Thanksgiving with you & your family along with so many wonderful friends all these past years. This cranberry chutney is dedicated to the wonderful memories we created over the last 6 years with you & yours.

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
2 Cups cranberries fresh
2 tbsp: dried Cranberries
Dried raisins: 2 tbsp
dried Figs: 2
Dried prunes: 2
Ginger:  2 tbsp chopped
garlic: 2 tbsp chopped
Mint: 1 tbsp chopped
Cilantro: 1 tbsp chopped
Red pepper: 1 tbsp
Roasted jeera /Cumin powder: 1 tbsp
jaggery/Gud: 1 1/2 cup
Sugar: 5 tbsp
Oil: 3 tbsp
Black salt: 1 tbsp or taste

Method:
In a pan add 3 tbsp oil ,when hot add all the above ingredients and cook till cranberries are well cooked and mashed consistency.

Now puree this in the smoothie maker. You can store it in a glass bottle in the fridge. Mix some luke warm water and make it thin just before serving.

 You can enjoy this as a savory chutney with almost any snacks. I enjoy this chutney on a toast as a snack along with enjoying it with samosas and so many finger foods.

Taro root In Garlic Tomato Gravy/Kachalu thoom Main,Sindhi dish

Dear friends,I just shared the recipe for fried taro root and also mentioned taro root in gravy. So here is the recipe for Taro Root In Gravy.

Follow the same steps for shallow frying the taro root along with the masalas according to personal taste.

Keep the shallow fried taro root aside and follow the steps for the gravy now.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking time for gravy: 15 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
tomatos: 3 medium sized
Ginger: 1 tbsp
Garlic: 1 tbsp
Cilantro: 2 tbsp
Salt: to taste
Corrinader Powder: 1 tsp
Red pepper: 1 tsp
Turmeric: 1/2 a tsp
Garam Masala: tip of the tsp
Oil: 2 tbsp
asfoetida: a pinch

Method:
take a pan and add 2 tbsp oil.
When hot add tomatos,ginger,garlic and cilantro( chopped or pureed in the food processor) cook in the oil with all the dry masalas,till the oil starts to seprate from the masala on the edges of the pan. Add half a glass of water or depending on how thick  or thin you want the gravy to be .
Now add the fried taro root to this gravy and cook for 5 minutes covered so that the taro root absorbs some juices from the gravy.
Serve this with rice or roti.

Kachalu shallow Fried/ Taro root,corm boiled& shallow fried

Phew*wipes sweat off the brow* It took me a while to figure out the English name for Kachalu , honestly preparing taro root was easier than looking up the English name for it  :)

 As kids I remember eating Kachalu Chat prepared by my father for an evening snack . I was never found of it and always turned my nose,every time dad gave me some . Apparently  I did not mind the taste of taro root but I guess what bothered me was its texture . This vegetable has too much of soluble starch which gives it , its slimy texture. Later  on I learnt there are better ways to eat  & enjoy this vegetable.  I am sure there are those of you who probably like this vegetable for its  characteristic slimy texture but for those of you who do not-Then this recipe is for you :)

I have prepared the boiled & then fried taro root & then used the same fried taro root for a gravy based dish. I will be writing the recipes for both.

Taro Root/Kachalu Shallow Fried





Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
Taro Root/Kachalu: 8 pieces
Salt,pepper,carom seeds,coriander powder,mango powder : as per your taste
Oil: 4 tbsp

Method:

Take taro roots and boil them with little water in the microwave for 8 minutes or till well cooked.
Peel the skin,and slice the taro root vertically in two pieces with a sharp knife.
Take a shallow pan,heat 2 tbsp oil,when hot add carom seeds. Now keep the sliced pieces of taro root on the pan,let them shallow fry for 5 minutes or till the side in the oil starts to turn golden brown. Change sides and cook on the other side. Now add all the dry masalas and toss them,so they are coated well in the dry masalas. Sprinkle mango powder and add 2 tbsp oil and cook for some more time,till all the masalas are cooked well with the taro root.

Serve as a side dish with daal & roti .

Milk chocolate- Walnut Coffee Cake

Early morning starts with a cuppa tea & multi tasking : watching news, reading mails & going through new posts by blogger friends and writing comments on their posts . I start feasting my eyes on these amazing dishes and baked breads & fantastic cakes. Mary has baked an amazing coconut bread. I was tempted to give it a try but realized I did not have a couple ingredients. OK I said to myself,"I will wait for this one". The rest of the day went by doing routine  stuff - regular chores including morning walk, lunch,  running errands and so on and so forth .  it is late  in the evening and I read the updated post on http://food&thriftfinds/ on my dashboard. I had to visit happygo Marni  blog when I read about her on Elizabeth's blog & visit  I did  & I see this milk chocolate-walnut coffee cake beauty on Marnie's blog. I noticed I had everything the cake called for in my pantry. I was thrilled- I had been itching to bake something  since early morning :) This sounded fun ,I liked the layering of sugar with Cinnamon & walnuts with milk chocolate chips. This cake turned out exactly what I had hoped for & more . Almost half of it was eaten as dessert after dinner & hopefully we will have some left for our evening tea tomorrow :) This  is a very simple cake to bake. Thank you !!! Elizabeth for leading me to happy go marni's blog . It is one amazing place for baking good stuff.

Ingredients:
1 stick butter or 8 tbsp unsalted & room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar & 3 tbsp
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter milk or low-fat  plain yogurt ( I have used Greek fat free yogurt )
2 tsp ground cinnamon
6 ounces milk chocolate or milk chocolate wafers ( I have used milk & peanut chocolate chips)
1 cup(4 ounces) of walnuts or  pecans roasted

Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degree F. Lightly butter and flour a 9 inch spring form pan .
In a large bowl cream butter & sugar ( reserve the 3 tbsp granulated sugar) together with a wooden spoon or an electric mixer and beat in the eggs & vanilla until smooth. In a medium bowl sieve flour,baking powder,salt and baking soda. Now stir the  dry ingredients into the creamed mixture alternately with the buttermilk/yogurt in two increments until the batter is smooth.

Stir together the cinnamon and sugar. Now pour half of the batter in the prepared pan. Sprinkle half of the granulated sugar with cinnamon and top it with the chopped walnuts & chocolate chips. Now pour the rest half of the batter and sprinkle the remaining half of the granulated sugar mixed with cinnamon and then layer it with roasted walnuts and chocolate chips.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick poked in the centre comes out clean.

This is the batter that goes in the oven

The cake is ready

Bake & make a toast to the holiday breakfast :) This will be loved by one & all !!!

Biscotti's with Goji Berries & Walnuts & Chocolate Chips

One of my friends got me a box of raisin & chocolate chips biscotti's and I noticed that my daughter was religiously eating 2 every morning with a glass of milk. I knew once these were over I had to bake her a new batch and incorporate some healthier  ingredients :)  So I started surfing the net and came across Kate's recipe for pistachio cranberry biscotti's made with olive oil, it had already been rated and had super reviews.  I knew this was the one for my daughter .I just finished baking a batch of 2 dozen biscotti's and have my daughter raving about how good these are :) Mission accomplished !!!

I baked these with Goji Berries,walnuts & pistachio's . On very popular demand I also added chocolate chips ;) These turned out crispy soft  on the inside with a perfect crunchy crust and the nuts and berries add that extra nutty goodness. I am happy that my daughter now gets her share of the magic Goji Berries -The latest wonder/magic food packed with the most essential anti oxidants. Here goes the recipe :

Preparation Time: 25 minutes
cooking time: 45 minutes
Ready in: 1 hour 45 minutes
Makes: 2 dozen

Ingredients:
Olive oil: 1/4 th cup ,light
3/4 cup white sugar
vanilla extract: 2 tsp
almond extract: 1/2tsp
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
eggs: 2
1/4 tsp salt
baking powder: 1 tsp
walnuts,pistachio's & Goji berries: 1 1/2 cups
Chocolate chips: 2tbsp

Method:
1. preheat oven to 300 degree f
2. In a large brown mix sugar & olive oil and mix till well blended. Mix in the vanilla & almond extract and then beat in the eggs. Combine flour,baking powder & salt; gradually add this to the egg,sugar & oil mixture. Mix the nuts and berries by hand.
3. Divide dough in half. make two logs 12 by 2 inches on a cookie sheet that has been lined by a parchment paper.Dough will be sticky so use cold water on your hands to handle it better, and then spread this on the parchment paper.
4.bake for 35 minutes in the pre-heated oven or until the logs turn a little brown. remove from oven and set them aside for 10 minutes to cool down.Then cut them diagonally into 3/4 inch slices with a sharp knife. Meanwhile turn the oven temperature to 275 degrees f.
5. Now put these slices back on the parchment paper on the cookie sheet and bake them for 10 minutes or until dry. Cool and store them in an air tight container. They store well :) enjoy them with a glass of cold milk,a cuppa hot tea or coffee.

Note: If the pistachio's are salted,then eliminate the salt from the recipe.

Khaas seekh/Best combination of cottage cheese and minced chicken

I have so far tried various seekh/skewers but this one looked like a piece of art when I looked at the pictures on sanjeev kapoor's recipes. I was a little reluctant to try these as they looked very time consuming,and I had quite a lot of cooking to do for the over due gathering in my house. The adage- A picture is worth a  thousand words definitely  applied here & it was hard to turn this recipe down,the fact that I had all the ingredients made it a little  less cumbersome to start with :) I hope the pictures I have taken for this will do justice to this mouth watering Khaas seekh that I finally did prepare and realized that they were not as time consuming as I initially thought they would be. These have hands down become my favorite seekh now and I will be doing these more often as they are delicious and are ready in 20 minutes once you thread them onto the skewers :) These were a instant hit and everyone kept asking for more and they were  all over in a jiffy:)

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
cooking Time: 20 minutes
serves: 4
This is a sanjeev Kapoor recipe and I have for the first time I think made no changes:)

Ingredients:
Cottage Cheese: 1 cup
Minced Chicken: 600 gms
Green Cardamom powder: 1 1/2 tsp
Garam masala: 1 tbsp
Mint leaves chopped: 1 tbsp
Salt: to taste
egg: 1
White pepper powder: 1 tsp
Olive Oil: To baste
Chaat Masala: 1 tsp
satay sticks

Method:
Soak the satay stick in the water for some time. preheat oven to 425 d degree f on mark 7 Take  the paneer in a bowl and add half the cardamom powder,half the garam masala powder,mint leaves and mash with your hands. Take  a portion of this mixture and press it around the satay stick till it is a thin layer.

Press the ends firmly.Now take the minced chicken in another bowl and break an egg and mix in this along with salt,remaining cardamom powder,white pepper powder & garam masala powder and mix well along with salt. Now  take a portion of this mix and spread it over the paneer mixture. You can keep the prepared sticks in the refrigerator for some time before you bake them in the oven.

Stick these in the pre heated oven for 10 to 15 minutes basting them with oil in between till they are done. Serve them with mint and cilantro chutney as hor 'dourves or enjoy them for a meal with naan :)