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March 29, 2009

CHOAQ VAGAN (HOT & SPICY KASHMIRI EGGPLANT)

choaq vagan.jpg


Choaq Vagan are a favorite in all kashmiri homes, we love these sour and spicy eggplant with rice, and I feel they are the perfect accompaniment for any meat dish, the sourness perfectly offsets the meaty flavors,I sometimes pack up some with a parantha for a quick, spicy snack!


If you are interested in authentic kashmiri food, do check out my other posts in the sidebar, for newbies I also have an illustrated list of special kashmiri ingredients here.



  • Ingredients-

  • Small brinjals/eggplant-1/2 kg

  • Tamarind imli-1 walnut sized ball, boiled in a cup of water and strained

  • Garlic paste-1/2 tsp

  • Cumin seeds-1/2 tsp

  • Kashmiri red chilli powder-1 tsp

  • Onion paste-2 tbsp

  • Turmeric-1/2 tsp

  • Green cardamom powder- a pinch

  • Cinnamon powder-1/4 tsp

  • Black cardamom powder-a pinch

  • Dry ginger powder-1/4 tsp

  • Refined oil for deep frying

  • Yogurt 1/2 cup


Method-


Score eggplants into four and wash well, heat oil and fry a few at a time till reddish, drain and keep aside.Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan, add the cumin seeds, onion paste and garlic paste, fry till brown add the rest of the ingredients and season with salt, fry till masala leaves sides of pan, add a cup of water and then add eggplant, cook for another 10 minutes, serve piping hot!


choaq vagan1.jpg

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March 25, 2009

ARMENIAN CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH ALMONDS

armenian chocolate cake with almonds.JPG


An Armenian friend taught me how to bake this exotic cake, she is a professional and has her own bakery in Armenia,so you can just imagine what a great experience it was learning from her,I really loved the rich, velvety, nutty taste of this superb cake.I tried to learn other dishes too, but most of the ingredients were unavailable here in India, so all we did was make loads of cakes and she also made a wheat based yogurt soup, which was also very nice.I will definitely be making this cake a dozen times over, the rich frosting/icing is particularly special, here's the recipe....


Ingredients-



  • Flour-2 cups

  • Baking powder-3 tsp

  • Powdered sugar-3/4 cup

  • Salt-1/2 tsp

  • Egg-1

  • Milk-1 cup

  • Melted butter-1/4 cup

  • Finely ground almonds-1/2 cup

  • Cocoa powder-2 tbsp


for frosting-



  • Full cream milk-2 cups

  • Cocoa powder-2 tbsp

  • Sugar-2 tbsp

  • knob of butter/refined oil


Method-Preheat oven, line and grease a cake tin.Take a large clean bowl, add all the ingredients and whisk together till just mixed and little lumpy, pour into pan and bake at 200C for 45 minutes, it will rise well.Take a small saucepan and add ingredients for the frosting, boil rapidly for 20-25 minutes till thick,add butter/oil, let cool.Ice cake with frosting and decorate with some slivered almonds, here your Armenian chocolate cake is ready to be served...yummmmm...so easy and yet so elegant...


armenian cake.JPG


This lovely cake is off to-Let's go nuts-Almonds event and to Poornima's for the love of chocolate event




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March 21, 2009

SPICY DAHI BHALLA(lentil dumplings in yogurt)

dahi bhalla

Whenever you think of Indian street food, the first thing that comes up is chaat papdi, dahi bhalle, samose, jalebi’s and so on…,coming to think of it, the scene is actually totally dominated with “chaat” and it’s variants, the sweet,sour,salty taste of chaat is loved by all, 99% of us find it irresistible and most of us salivate at the mere thought of it…

I think the combination of the freshest and best ingredients is the recipe for superb dahi bhalle, In fact I like it more than “papdi chaat”, the soft melting bhalla’s are mind blowing!Here I am taking it a notch higher and stuffing them with dry fruit, bhallas that are stuffed like this and shaped into semi circ'les are known as “gujiya”,not to be confused with the sweet version of it, this is salty, live, robust and bursting with energy….a definite kick to the tastebuds and a must try!!!

  • Ingredients-
  • Urad dhuli dal(white lentils)-1/4 cup
  • Mung dhuli dal(yellow lentils)-3/4 cup
  • Cool, whipped fresh yogurt-1/2 kg
  • Fresh ginger juliennes
  • Roasted cumin seeds powdered-2 tbsp
  • Garam masala-1 tsp
  • Fresh ground red chilli powder-acc. to taste
  • Tamarind paste-1/2 cup
  • Sugar-1/2 cup
  • Boiled kabuli chana- 1/2 cup
  • Fresh chopped coriander-1/2 cup
  • Asafetida-1/4 tsp
  • Almonds/cashews and raisins-a few
  • Black pepper powder-acc.to taste
  • Refined oil for deep frying

Method-

Soak both the dals overnight, next morning grind to a smooth paste with the help of little water.add asafetida, coriander and some chopped green chillies if desired, salt and black pepper, shape into semi circles as shown in picture and stuff with sliced almonds/cashews and raisins, shape with wet hands as it will be sticky-

making dahi bhallas

Keep oil hot in a kadhai ready, drop two at a time into the oil, fry till golden, meanwhile put the tamarind paste and sugar to a boil, stirring frequently to make the imli chutney, add some garam masala and boil rapidl till thick, season and keep aside.

frying dahi bhallas

Drop the gujiyas into a pan of hot water and soak for 5 minutes.

soaking them

To serve, squeeze water out of gujiyas by pressing down lightly with hands, place on serving plate, drizzle cooled whipped yogurt, then imli chutney, garam masala, chilli flakes, chana, ginger juliennes, salt, roasted cumin seed powder, pepper and green coriander as shown in picture…indulge in a piece of heaven!!!

dahi bhalla1

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March 18, 2009

CRISPY NAMKEEN- BESAN SEV

besan sev

I made this on Holi, as my mom really loves it in fact anyone who tastes this once is bound to do so, it is simply fabulous with a cup of Tea/Coffee, and is very addictive! You can make loads in advance as this keeps well for weeks stored in an airtight container, have fun munching away…

  • Ingredients-
  • Gramflour(besan)-2 cups
  • Garlic paste- 1 tbsp
  • Ajwain- 1/2tsp
  • Salt –acc. to taste
  • Oil –2 tbsp
  • Red chilli powder-1/2 tsp
  • Black pepper powder-1/2 tsp
  • Refined oil for deep frying

Method-

Combine all the above and with the addition of water knead into a smooth dough, just be careful while adding water, add little at a time, or dough will be too sticky, use oiled hands and rest the dough awhile if it seems too sticky to handle. Next take a sev press which has these holes in the bottom and oil the press, make a cylinder of the dough and stuff into press, turn around while keeping a wok of hot oil ready, press out directly into oil, a small batch at a time and fry till crisp.Drain on paper towels.Repeat with rest of the dough.

Garlic paste adds a special flavor but can be omitted if you want something regular.A great way of serving this sev is with some chopped onion, tomatoes, coriander and lemon juice on top, yum!

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This namkeen is off to SWC-Meals on wheels, as it can be stored without worrying about spoilage and is great while travelling.

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March 16, 2009

CREAMY CHICKEN SANDWICHES

chicken sandwiches

These are one of my favorite snack food,incredibly soft and delicious with a lovely crunch to them and so easy to put together!,just looking at the pictures makes me want to get up and fix one for myself!!

 

 

Here’s how to make them-I simply slice up 2 freshly boiled chicken breasts, add 2 tbsp fresh cream +1 tbsp mayonnaise, season with salt ,loads of pepper and about a quarter teaspoon mustard powder,the filling is now ready, (at times I also like to add 1 tbsp cheese spread to make it extra creamy and cheesy), next butter bread on both sides, spread with the prepared filling, I often add a fresh lettuce leaf from my garden,or bought from the market, stack the slices up and remove crusts, it is better to use sandwich bread preferably a day old to make this easy.These are so good for picnics too, just wrap in a slightly moist napkin, serve with potato crisps! yummy!!!

creamy chicken sandwiches

 

 

 

  These are off to

  Divya’s Think spice think pepper event.

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March 5, 2009

“MY FAVORITE THINGS”Love Heart shaped foods roundup

February was such a romantic month!, with such beautiful

 

 

  heart-shaped entries, each with a little love story of it’s own, I am simply floored…

 

 

I would like to thank each one of you for your efforts and participation and now for the roundup of this lovely event…………

ajAJ’S CRISPY ALU TIKKIS 

        

 

 

andhraflavors SITAKIRAN’S HEALTHY CARROT JUICE         aquadaze

AQUADAZE’S

 

 

PECANBUTTER CAKE

 

                                                                        archy ARCHY’S YUMMY CHOCOLATE

COOKIES                                                                                          asha's carrot heart cake ASHA’S AWESOME CARROT FENNEL WALNUT CAKE                                                                                  bull's-Eye PREETI’S BULLS EYE           chamCHAM’S PRETTY SAVORY PALMIERS                   choco hearts MY CHOCOLATE DIPPED COOKIES

      divya kudua DIVYA’S CHOCOLATE CAKE       homeoriyafood ORIYA FOODS HEALTHY CARROT BIRYANI                                                                             kesari EASY CRAFTS PREETY KESARI SHEERA                                                                                          madhumatiMADHU’S LOVELY MARSHMALLOWS WITH HOT CHOCOLATE                               mahimaMAHIMAA’S PISTACHIO KALAKAND             notyet 100  NOTYET1OO’S BRUNCH OF EGG TOAST AND PEAS FRY                                                            poonam POONAM’S DELICIOUS CHOCOLATE CARROT CAKE                                                          poornima POORNIMA’S MANGO CHEESECAKE, YUM!  priya cranberry and cornmeal cake PRIYA’S CRANBERRY CORNMEAL CAKE                                                                       priya eggless pineapple and ricotta cake PRIYA’S SECOND ENTRY PINEAPPLE RICOTTA CHEESECAKE WOW!                                       priya microwave browniesAND (CLAPPING) PRIYA’S THIRD ENTRY MICROWAVE BROWNIES!                                                      rajee RAJEES LOVELY GAJAR HALWA                                                                                         ramya RAMYA’S SWEET LITTLEPALMIERS

                    shobha SHOBHA’S COLOURFUL SANDWICHES                                                                                sowmya SOWMYA’S HEALTHY MINTY FRITTERS  sumathi SUMTHI’S PRETTY SAFFRON WALNUT EGGLESS CAKE

 

                                                                    swapna SWAPNA’S AWESOME CINNAMON ROLLS                                                                      truptiTRUPTI’S EGGLESS FRENCH TOAST valentine-cake1

 

 

 

 

 

 

MADHURAM’S WACKY VEGAN CHOCOLATE CAKE                                                                  BEAR HEARTS once again I would like to thank you all for your love and participation and would like to apologize for lack of editing in this roundup and that the pics are posted just as you all sent them, I am facing a lot of problems with my blog writer and with my internet connection and after typing this post out at least 6 times over past few days I am finally able to post it!, thus I think I would not be able to carry on with “My favorite things” event, due to all the above reasons, though it makes me sad… one thought though would any of you take the responsibility of hosting it monthwise???…I would be really happy,do drop me a line if you would like to..

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March 2, 2009

HEALTHY SAVOURY INDIAN CRACKERS-BAKED NOT FRIED!

All of you appreciated the previous change of In love with food, but I was experiencing some technical difficulties so finally I decided to design the header myself , and I am so excited by the outcome!, hope you like it as much!!...


I am always on the lookout for some healthy substitutes and since my father in law is diabetic I try and cook stuff that can be enjoyed by him, this is precisely such an innovation, a simple yet delicious savory snack!


mathri

Ingredients-

  • All purpose flour- 1 cup
  • Millet flour(bajra atta)- 1/2 cup
  • Wholewheat flour-1/2 cup
  • Gram flour(besan)-1/2 cup
  • Fresh coriander- a handful chopped
  • Green chillies-2 chopped
  • Salt to taste
  • Black pepper-1/4 tsp
  • Ajwain-1/2 tsp
  • Turmeric-1/2 tsp
  • Ghee- 2 tbsp

Method-

Dry roast the millet, gramflour,and wheatflour together. Combine the rest of the ingredients and with the addition of cold water knead into a stiff dough, roll out into thin sheets, cut into rounds sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired and bake in a preheated oven at 200 C, enjoy with a cup of hot tea! Keeps for several month's in an airtight container!


healthy savoury crackers

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