Persian Style Pilaf with Almonds and Mixed Fruit

Fluffy rice pilaf with crunchy bell peppers, roasted almonds and mixed dry fruits. Quick and flavour packed rice with nice textures. Best served with spicy chicken or lamb stew / curry. Perfect rice to make on a busy week night dinner or best way to use the left over basmati rice.

Preparation Time : 10 Minutes
Cooking time : 25 Minutes
Yield : Two Servings

Recipe Source : http://www.zeekhanakhazana.com/recipes/persian-style-pilaf-with-almonds-and-mixed-fruit.html

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Basmati Rice / Long Grained Rice + 1/2 teaspoon salt + 3 Cups of water to cook basmati rice
• 1 Tablespoon Butter / Ghee
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1 Green Bell Pepper
• 1 small White onion finely chopped
• 1/4 Cup Almonds
• 1 Tablespoon Raisins
• 1/4 Cup Dried Apricots
• Salt to taste
• 1/4 Teaspoon Freshly Ground black pepper

Directions

1. Wash basmati rice several times and soak it in regular tap water for 15 minutes
2. Heat 1/2 cup water in microwave safe mug for 2 minutes. Add almonds to this hot water and let them remain in the hot water for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove skin and slice the almonds thinly and set aside
3. Chop Raisins and dried apricots finely and set aside
4. In a pot bring 3 cups of water to boil. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the water. Add basmati rice and cook until the rice is cooked al dente. Drain water completely and set aside
5. In a pan, heat butter. When the butter melts, add slivered almonds and fry until the almonds are golden. Then add chopped raisins and dried apricots and fry until the raisins plum up
6. Remove the nuts and fruits from butter and drain them on a kitchen towel
7. In the same pan, add olive oil. When the oil is hot , add chopped onions, green bell peppers and sauté on high flame for a minute
8. Add salt and pepper to taste
9. Add the cooked rice and give it a nice stir
10. Finally add the roasted nuts and dry fruits to the rice and toss
11. Serve hot with spicy lamb curry / chicken stew
 

Cabbage Vada / Mixed Lentil Fritters with Cabbage

Masala Vada / Vadai is a popular evening snack of South India. It is made out of lentils and spices. Cabbage vada is a variation to the basic masala vada in which we use finely chopped fresh cabbage along with ground lentils.They are crispy outside and soft inside. These fried savoury fritters are best served with coconut chutney/  Green Chutney or just plain with a cup of hot masala chai. One of my all time favourite evening snack to indulge on a rainy day. 

Channa dal / spilt Bengal gram dal, urad dal , moong dal are soaked for 2 to 3 hours. Soaked lentils are then grind in to coarse paste. Then we add chopped cabbage,  onion, ginger, green chilli and cilantro leaves to the batter. Batter is spread as thin discs and fried in hot oil. 

 

 

Ingredients

• 1/2  Cup Channa dal (soaked for 3 hours atleast )
• 1/4 Cup Urad Dal (soaked for 45 minutes)
• 1/4 Cup Moong Dal (soaked for 45 minutes)
• 1 Cup finely shredded or chopped cabbage ( I grated cabbage finely)
• 1 Medium onion chopped finely
• 2 Green Chillies
• 1 inch piece ginger
• 4 to 5 curry leaves (optional)
• 1 Tablespoon chopped cilantro leaves
• 1/2 Teaspoon Fennel Seeds
• a pinch of Hing / Asafoetida
• Oil for deep frying
• salt as required

Directions

1. Wash Channa dal serveral times and soak it in water for 3 hours
2. Wash urad dal and moong dal and soak them together for 45 minutes
3. Take 2 tablespoons of soaked channa dal and keep it separately. Grind remaining channa dal, urad dal, moong dal along with 2 green chillies, and ginger to coarse paste. Add minimum water while grinding. I just sprinkled 1 or 2 teaspoon of water while grinding                 
4. Add shredded cabbage , chopped onion, salt, hing, chopped cilantro leaves, curry leaves, fennel seeds and mix everything together. Now add reserved 2 tablespoon of channa dal also to the batter and mix well. Check for seasoning and add salt if required
5. Heat oil for deep frying the vada. Take about 1 tablespoon of vada batter and make a disc. Drop the discs gently in the hot oil

                                                                     

6. Fry them in medium flame for 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, flip them and fry on the other side for 2 minutes                                   

7. Remove from oil and drain on paper towel                               

8. Serve vada hot

 

Roasted Bell Pepper and Potato Croquette

These croquettes are bursting with flavours - soft and melt in mouth center and crispy outer covering. Roasted bell peppers , paneer and potato croquette , breaded and deep fried. Perfect as a starter or after school snack for kids.


                                

Ingredients 

• 3 Medim Sized Potatoes ( Boiled, peeled and mashed )
• 1 Green Bell pepper
• 1 Red Bell pepper
• 150 Grams finely grated Paneer / Indian Cottage Cheese( You can use 200 Grams of Minced Chicken instead of paneer if you eat meat )
• 1 Tablespoon finely chopped ginger
• 1 Tablespoon finely Chopped Garlic
• 1 Tablespoon Finely chopped Cilantro / Parsley
• 1 Teaspoon Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 Green Chilli chopped finely ( optional. Skip adding this if you do not like it spicy )
• 2 Tablespoon Corn Flour
• Salt to taste
• Oil for Deep frying 

For the Outer Coating

• 1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour (Maida) + Salt + black pepper ( mix everything together)
• 3 Egg whites + Salt + Black pepper ( Substitute : You can use 4 Tablespoon Corn flour mixed in water to form thick paste)
• 1 Cup Bread Crumbs + 1/2 Teaspoon Italian seasoning or dried thyme ( Adding seasoning is optional)
   

Directions

Preparation 

1.  Boil Potatoes with two pinches of salt until they are totally cooked and you should be able to mash the potatoes without lumps. I pressure cooked potatoes for 3 whistles. Peel Potatoes and mash them completely

2. Roast the bell peppers.  Here is a useful link on roasting bell peppers. I roasted them in direct flame on stove top. After they are roasted, I peeled remove the skin and deseeded them. Then chop the bell peppers finely and set aside

 

                             

                             

                             

 

                             

 

                            

Directions for making Croquettes :

 

1. In a large mixing bowl, add mashed potatoes, grated paneer, finely chopped roasted bell peppers , corn flour and mix together

 

                          

 

 

2. Then add chopped ginger, garlic, green chillies, cilantro leaves , salt and black pepper. Mix everything together into firm dough           

 

                       

 

       

3. Divide the dough in to 18 equal sized portions

 

4. Take one portion of the mixture/ dough and roll them into cylindrical shape ( as shown in the picture). You can also roll them into balls instead of cylindrical shapes.                      

 

                          

 

4. Roll other portions of the dough also in croquette shape and set them aside

6. Coat the croquettes: Take one croquette, roll it into All purpose flour. Then dip it in egg white mixture and then coat it with bread crumbs. Again dip it in egg white, coat it with bread crumbs. Double coating gives a nice crispy outer layering to the croquettes. You can use corn flour paste instead of egg white. Take 4 tablespoon corn flour, add 2  and 1/2 Teaspoons of water and make a thick paste

 

7. Coat rest the croquettes also as specified in step number 6

 

                      

 

 

 

8. Refrigerate the coated croquettes for 45 minutes

 

9. Heat oil in kadai / wok for deep frying

 

10. Keep the flame medium. Add 3 croquettes at a time and deep fry them until they are crispy and golden. Flip sides so that they get crispy on all sides

 

11. Drain them on paper towel

 

 

Milk Peda / Doodh Peda - a quick Microwave Version with Milk Powder

Peda / Pera is an Indian Sweet made with Khoya/ Khoa flavoured with cardamom and saffron topped off with pistachios or almonds. This is a quick microwave version of making peda in just 2 to 3 minutes. In this version, we will be using milk powder and condensed milk to make peda.

 

 

 

Prepation Time : 5 minutes
Cook Time : 3 Minutes
Total Time : 8 Minutes

Yield : 8 Pedas as shown in the picture

Recipe Source : 'Nagina Hasan' on one of the FB groups

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Milk Powder ( I used Nestle Everyday dairy whitener Powder)
• 200 Grams of Sweetened Condensed Milk ( half a tin )
• 1 Tablespoon Ghee / unsalted butter
• a pinch of nutmeg powder
• a big pinch of green cardamom powder
• a pinch of saffron strands
• 2 Tablespoons of Almond flakes for garnish

Directions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Take a deep microwave safe bowl. The mixture might spill out if your bowl is too small and shallow. Add milk powder, ghee and condensed milk in the bowl and mix well using a fork until the mixture is smooth with no lumps

                                   


                                    

                                   

2. Microwave on high for one minute

3.Take the bowl out, add saffron , cardamom powder and nutmeg powder and give it a nice stir

                                  


4. Microwave again on HIGH for one more minute. The mixture will bubble and rise. Make sure it doesn't spill out of the bowl. Watch it closely while it is in the microwave. If the mixture is about to spill out, pause the microwave and start again after 5 seconds

6. Remove the bowl from the microwave and stir the mixture. Check for the consistency. The mixture still has moisture and kind of liquid, you need to microwave again.

7. Microwave in the intervals of 10 seconds and stir in between. I got the right consistency at 2 minutes and 40 seconds. How to check for the right consistency : the mixture would have thickened and it would start to leave from the sides and would become bubbly and frothy

                            


8. Once it is done, remove from the microwave and let it cool enough to handle with hands

9. Once it is warm enough, make small balls out of the mixture and flatten them little bit

10.  I made 8 pedas out of the mixture. Garnish peda with almonds flakes on the top and gently press the almonds flakes over the top of the pedas

11. Serve once or refrigerate in air tight container. These pedas will keep good in the fridge for 2 to 3 days
 


 

Dal Amritsari

Dal Amritsari is a popular Punjabi dal that is served in Langar ( a community feast) at Gurudwara. This dal is made with whole black gram (sabut urad dal ) and Split Bengal gram (channa Dal ). Lentils are soaked over night and then simmered until they are cooked through. Ideally this dal is slow cooked for hours in huge pots. However I cooked the lentils in pressure cooker.Dal is best served with roti / naan or rice.

                                                     

                                      

                                 

              

  

 

Ingredients 

• 1 Cup Whole Black gram ( Sabut Urad Dal )
• 1/4 Cup Channa Dal
• 2 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
• 1 Medium sized onion chopped finely
• 1/2 inch Fresh Ginger julienned
• 10 mint leaves
• 1 Green Chilli slit in the middle
• 1 Medium sized tomato chopped finely
• 1/2 Teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
• 1/4 Teaspoon Turmeric Powder
• Salt to taste 

Directions

1. Wash Lentils and soak them overnight or atleast for 6 hours in plenty of water 

                             

2. Next day , drain the water completely and add the lentils to the pressure cooker. Add salt to taste and a big pinch of turmeric powder and 2 and 1/2 cups of water and pressure cook for 2 whistles. You should be able to mash the cooked lentils easily with spoon or potato masher
3. In a pan, heat oil. When the oil is hot, add mint leaves, ginger, green chilli and the onions and fry until the onions are golden

                           


                           

4. Then add chopped tomatoes and fry nicely until the tomatoes are mushy

                           


5. Then add red chilli powder and remaining turmeric powder and give it a nice stir
6. Add the cooked lentils along with the remaining water to the pot and mix everything together. With the back of the spoon , mash the lentils slightly.

7. Simmer for 5 minutes until the dal thickens

8. Switch off the flame and serve dal as an accompaniment to naan/ roti


 

Phirni - Rice Pudding

Phirni is a rice pudding made with full cream milk, almonds , pistachios and ground basmati rice. It is easy to make and tastes creamy and delicious and very very light.

 

 

Preparation time : 20 minutes

Cooking Time : 30 Minutes

Total Time : 50 minutes

 

Yield : 4 Servings

Ingredients

• 1/4 Cup Basmati Rice
• 1 Litre Full Cream Milk
• 1/2 Cup Sugar ( Add more sugar if required )
• 1/2 Teaspoon Green Cardamom Powder
• 8 Strands of Saffron / Kesar ( soak in 2 tablespoon of warm Milk)
• 20 Almonds ( blanched )
• 20 Pistachios ( blanched)
• 1 Tablespoon  chironji/ charoli ( I had a cup full of Chironji and raisins left over from the Sheer Khorma I made for Eid. And I used it for garnish here. You can skip adding Chironji)
• 1 Tablespoon Raisins ( optional)

Preparation :

 

Blanch Almonds : 

1. In a microwave safe mug heat 1 cup of water on high for 4 minutes

2. Add 20 almonds to the hot water in the mug. Let them rest in the water for 10 minutes

3. Take a almond out from the hot water and try to pinch / rub it between your fingers. If the skin comes off easily, your almonds are ready. Otherwise, let them remain in the hot water for 5 more minutes

4. Remove skin of all the almonds. Sliver them lengthwise into thin pieces.

5. Transfer the chopped almonds to a kitchen towel and let them dry for 2 to 3 hours or overnight. You can blanch the almonds the previous day and store it in air tight container when they are dry

 

Blanch Pistachios :

Follow the above posted steps, blanch and sliver pistachios and dry them overnight

 

Blanch chironji :

1. In a microwave safe mug heat 1 cup of water on high for 4 minutes

2. Add Chironji to the hot water in the mug. Let them rest in the water for 10 minutes

3. Drain water completely and transfer the chironji to a kitchen towel. Bring the edges of the kitchen towel together and gently rub the kitchen towel over the chironji. This will loosen the skin of Chironji.

4. Now transfer them to a bowl of water and rub them gently. Skin of the Chironji will float on the top. Fish out the skin. Drain water and spread Chironji on a kitchen towel and dry overnight

 

Directions to make Phirni :

 

1. Rinse Basmati rice couple of times in a colander under running water. Soak the rice for 20 minutes. Drain completely

2. Grind the drained basmati rice in a food processor / mixie into fine paste. I used 2 tablespoons of milk while grinding. Grind it to the consistency of fine Sooji / Rava. Set aside

 

 

3. In a heavy bottomed pot bring milk to boil. Simmer and let the milk boil on lowest flame setting till it reduces to 3/4 of its original volume

4. Lower the flame and add the ground rice paste in steady stream into the milk stirring continuously with other hand. It is important to stir the mixture while you are adding rice to the milk otherwise you will end up with lumps in the milk and it will be difficult to bread all those lumps

5. Next add sugar and give it a nice stir. Now increase the flame to medium and cook the rice in milk for 5 to 7 minutes

6. When the rice is almost cooked, add half of the blanched almonds, pistachios, chironji and cardamom powder and stir it

7. Cook the rice for 2 more minutes and switch off the flame

8. Serving : Pour the phirni in to the serving bowls. Once cooled, refrigerate the serving bowls for 2 hours or until chilled

9. Serve chilled. Garnish with remaining almonds and pistachios while serving phirni

 

Homemade Easy Plum Jam

Easy Homemade Jam with just 3 ingredients. No Food preservatives, no artificial colors or flavours. Tastes absolutely divine. This jam is sweet, tart and full of freshness. Perfect on toast, or layer it in yogurt parfait for breakfast.

 

 

 

Ingredients

 

       

 

 

• 2 Cups Fresh Plums - pitted and chopped finely
• 1 and 1/2 Cups of fine Sugar
• 2 Tablespoon Orange Juice

Directions

1. Place the plums in a colander and rinse them under cold running water. Drain them completely. Cut the plums in halves and remove the seeds. Discard Seed and chop the plums finely

                               

                              


2. Place the plums in a heavy bottomed pan. Toss them with Sugar and orange Juice

                            


3. Bring the plum mixture to boil over medium heat , stirring often

                          


4. Continue to rolling boil for 15 to 20 minutes until the plum dissolves completely and the mixture becomes thick. Make sure to stir intermittently while the mixture is boiling

5. Switch off the flame and allow the mixture to cool completely

6. Once cooled, store the jam covered in refrigerator. This jam will keep good in the refrigerator at least for 2 weeks

7. To keep the jam longer , pack and seal in canning jars according to the manufacturer's instructions