I am very pleased to share this lovely pic and recipe which Shobha Keshwani has sent me. This is the link to her interesting blog.
Thank you so much Shobha for sharing your lovely recipe with all of us.
NITU DIDI TIP: You can use the Magic Bullet to grind the rice and milk together
This is a nice n spicy fried chicken without a coating. It is easy to make and goes well with a nice soupy daal or a vegetable gravy. The chicken can be marinated a day in advance and just fried. I love fried chicken and this has to be one of my all time comfort food!
This is best made with chicken legs and thighs or wings as its very succulent.
INGREDIENTS:
500 grams of chicken legs and thighs or just legs or thighs or wings skin removed
1 cup of thick coconut milk for soaking the chicken
1 teaspoon each of red chilli powder, coriander powder and cumin powder
1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
1 teaspoon of salt or to taste
Oil for frying.
METHOD:
Wash the chicken legs and thighs well and make some cuts in them. Pat them dry. Mix the coconut milk with all the spices and the salt and soak the chicken in this overnight or at least for 6 hours. Next day drain the chicken from the marinade. Add the ginger garlic paste to it and some more red chilli powder if you want it really spicy. Let it rest for another hour. Heat about two inches of oil in a non stick frying pan ( i used my ceramic pan) and when hot add the chicken pieces to the oil taking care not to over crowd the pan as the oil tends to bubble up and rise and we don´t want any accidents. Cover the pan to avoid the chicken splattering and fry till the chicken is golden brown on both sides, crispy and cooked through. Serve hot with wedges of lemon.
NITU DIDI TIP.
For best results fry on medium heat. Can this be baked? Yes it can but it wont be that crispy and crunchy.
Please be careful while frying chicken as it tends to splutter. Thats why i tell you to cover the pan. If you want a real different taste do add some curry leaves to your ginger garlic paste.
Can you use olive oil to fry the chicken? Yes you can. Do you need to use a lot of oil to fry the chicken? Well , its always better to fry it in a good amount of oil, but you can´t use the oil after frying the chicken as it gets thick so i would suggest putting two inches of oil in the pan is good enough. What does one do with the remaining coconut milk ? Well that can be frozen and used for chicken curry 🙂 Please do not waste 🙂
To buy my ceramic pans click here
I am often told by many that “garam masala” is too strong and causes them indigestion and heart burn. I am very choosy about the garam masala i use to flavour my dishes and just have a few ready made brands i like apart from making my own. I even have a youtube video on how to make a good home made garam masala . Today i am sharing with you an alternative to garam masala, a mild blend of spices to flavour your “desi cooking” and not cause you any uneasiness. If you are grinding your own spices for the first time and feeling a little apprehensive, do not be. There is a first time for everything in life. Once you get used to grinding your own spices i am sure you will think twice about buying ready made garam masalas!
INGREDIENTS:
100 grams of coriander seeds
75 grams of cumin seeds
75 grams of fennel seeds
20 grams of black peppercorns
METHOD:
Put all the spices in a non stick frying pan ( i used my ceramic pans) and put them to roast on low heat. Keep on stirring the spices from time to time and let them just heat up a bit till you get a lovely aroma. Take off the heat and let it cool to room temperature. Put the spices in a blender ( i used my magic bullet) and blend to the consistency of your choice.
Use this spice in the place of regular garam masala for all your meat, fish, chicken and paneer dishes.
NITU DIDI TIP:
This spice blend can be kept for weeks in an airtight bottle. I suggest you make a little quantity first to see if you like it and if you do then you can make up bigger amounts.
HEALTH BENEFITS OF FENNEL:
To buy good quality ceramic pans
To buy my amazing blender bullet please email me at cookingwithnitu@gmail.com
This dish is an outcome of a cake that went wrong! I baked an eggless saffron flavoured cake using a different recipe and it did not rise to the ocasion…literally!! This recipe is a fusion between rabri, custard and a trifle! Something i whipped up in no time to use the cake gone wrong because i did not want to throw it in the bin! It can be combined with layers of fruit or jelly to make it into a trifle. I do not have the exact measurements of the ingredients as i used half a baked cake…more or less so its just a matter of trying this out and getting the desired texture.
INGREDIENTS:
Left over cake or a cake that has flopped, crumbled
1 litre of semi skimmed milk, lactose free or soya milk, plus 2 tablespoons extra
1 tablespoon of custard powder
1 pinch of Nitu Didi pure spanish saffron
1 pinch of powdered cardamom
sugar to taste (keep in mind the cake is also sweet)
METHOD:
Boil the milk with the saffron till its reduced to half its quantity. Add the cardamom powder. Mix the 2 tablespoons of milk with the custard powder and blend into the milk and keep on stirring. Add the crumbed cake and let the cake soak in all the milk. Add sugar to taste. Take off heat and let it cool. At this point you can add some essence such as rose, or vanilla, almond, etc. Put into a dish or a container when cooled . It will thicken even more. Serve cold.
NITU DIDI TIP:
You can even alternate this with seasonal cut fruits. Just put a layer of this pudding and top with fruits and again pudding. You can garnish this with chopped nuts.
To buy my excellent saffron do go to my online store.
Health benefits of saffron:
Saffron is good for all over well being. It is good for menopause reducing the symptoms if taken in a small amount on a daily basis. It is also now an ingredient used in many supplements that ensure overall wellness. The active components in saffron have many therapeutic applications in many traditional medicines as antiseptic, antidepressant, anti-oxidant, digestive, anti-convulsant.
HOW TO STORE SAFFRON:
A good quality authentic saffron will not lose its flavour if well stored. I sell saffron in 1 gram plastic boxes and i store it in the fridge. When i need to use it in my food or desserts i just take a few strands and put it directly.
Nitu Chugani
This is my daughters first attempt to decorate a cake. We chose a cream cheese frosting to put on the eggless saffron cake. O often get questions about frosting and which one is best. This depends on choice. Butter cream has a smoother finish . Today i will teach you the new improved version of my eggless saffron and rose cake with the frosting.
INGREDIENTS FOR THE SAFFRON CAKE:
125 grams of white plain yogurt, put it in a cup and use that cup as your measurement
2 measurements of sugar
3 measurments of self raising white flour or cake flour
1 measurement of cooking oil
3/4 measurement of milk or soya milk
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
1 pinch of Nitu Didi Pure Spanish saffron
1(2 teaspoon of ground cardamom
2 tablespoons of rose water
a pinch of salt
2 teaspoons of baking powder
METHOD:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Line a round baking tin with parchment (wax) paper. Mix the yogurt , saffron, milk and lemon juice and leave it for 5 minutes. Then add the sugar and all the ingredients. Mix well to a smooth batter. Put in the tin and bake for about 30-40 minutes till done. Cool completely and then frost the cake.
FOR THE FROSTING:
300 ml of whipping cream (see here), chilled
130 grams of powdered sugar ( i used my magic bullet to powder the sugar)
250 grams of cream cheese , at room temperature , use this one
essence of your choice ( i did not add any)
METHOD:
Mix the cream cheese will half the sugar till its nice and frothy. Whip the cream with the other half of the sugar till its fluffly. See my youtube video on “how to make home made butter” if you need to be guided on how to whip cream. Fold in the cream cheese mixture into the whipped cream carefully. Mix in essence of your choice and color the mixture as you wish. Spread onto your cooled cake.
To buy my lovely spanish saffron do visit my online store
HOW TO MAKE BUTTER BY WHIPPING CREAM
Nitu Chugani
I am not a vegetarian but i do enjoy certain vegetables and i know how good it is for us to eat them. Over cooking vegetables kills all their nutrients. Today i bring to you a spanish way of cooking vegetables. This recipe is easy to make, delicious and has no spices. I always make up extra and then make a dip out of it! I think i prefer the dip better than the roasted veggies, so i shall show you how to make both! Please note i use fresh vegetables to make this.
INGREDIENTS FOR THE SPANISH STYLE ROASTED VEGGIES:
500 grams brinjal/eggplant/aubergine , cut into rounds
250 grams onions, sliced
250 grams red bell pepper /capsicum , cut into squares
150 grams cauliflower florets
3 tablespoons of extra virgen spanish olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of salt or to taste
METHOD:
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Mix all the cut vegetables and put into a baking tray. Sprinkle with salt and drizzle the olive oil all over the vegetables. Bake in the oven till vegetables are soft.
This makes an excellent side dish with meat or can be even served with pasta.
When you have left overs you just refigerate it and then you make this amazing vegetable dip.
ROASTED VEGETABLE DIP:
1 cup of left over cold spanish style roasted vegetables
1 small clove of garlic
1/2 teaspoon of sesame seeds
METHOD:
Put all the ingredients in the blender (I used my amazing bullet) asnd blend till you get the desired consistency, I do not like my dip blended into a fine paste. Remove and serve with crackers, crudites, toast, chips or nachos. This is an excellent dip to serve at parties. If you want it a bit spicy you can add some red chilli flakes. This even makes a good spread for sandwiches and canapes.
NITU DIDI TIP:
These two recipes are very healthy and can be only made with a good pure extra virgen olive oil (preferably spanish).
BENEFITS OF OLIVE OIL
This is a very easy recipe of how to make a delicious restaurant like garlic bread. I have learnt this from my mother and have added some ingredients to this age old family recipe. Garlic bread is delicious on its own or as a side dish with a salad, or some grilled meat/chicken or vegetable dish. Frankly i can just eat this on its own because it is so delicious.
To peel garlic easily without getting your hands smelly use the Garlic Pro which is available in my online store!
INGREDIENTS FOR THE GARLIC BUTTER:
6 cloves of garlic peeled and minced, i used the garlic pro to peel and mince it
1/2 cup of room temperature butter with salt
1 teaspoon of finely minced fresh parsley
a good pinch of black pepper
Bread of your choice, you can use french loaf, baguette, buns, or even sliced bread or hamburger buns, halved
METHOD:
Mix the minced garlic with the softened butter, the black pepper and the minced parsely. Mix it very well till its all well blended. Make cuts in the french loaf or baguette without going through all the way. Gently spread some of this garlic butter between each cut . If using sliced bread or hamburger buns apply the galic butter on it. Toast the bread in a medium hot oven 200 degrees till the bread is toasted. Serve hot.
NITU DIDI TIP:
I never use refrigerated minced garlic for this as it has a different aroma. I always mince the garlic fresh, You can make a large amount of garlic butter and keep it in the fridge. When you want to use it just thaw and use. This garlic butter is excellent to top grilled fish or grilled vegetables. You can also add grated cheese to this , but i find it makes it too heavy on the calories and prefer to make it this way. You can also use unsalted butter and add some salt.
VIDEO ON THE GARLIC PRO
Nitu Chugani
This recipe comes with a small story which i need to share with all of you! I was sitting and writing my recipe of the day when i get a message on facebook from someone by the name of Farhana Nanabhai asking me for a recipe on how to make a vegetable called “chibra or gherkins). As most of you know i only cook what my family eats, and this vegetable is not easily available in my city. I was fascinated because the name “chibra” triggered a lot of faint memories of my childhood. I am part of many forums so i asked in a few and was delighfully surprised that a facebook friend of mine from Pune who was holidaying in Manila sent me the recipe immediately . I forwarded it to Farhana and asked her to please share a pic when she made it! She agreed and did the needful the next day! She also sent me the pic of the vegetable which i posted on cooking with nitu on facebook asking everyone if they knew what vegetable it was! To my surprise this pic got over 100 comments! I am amazed at technology, i am sitting in Valencia, get a message for a recipe from a lady in South Africa, the recipe is then asked on some forums and i get a reply from Manila.. i send the recipe to South Africa and now i am sharing her pic with all of you. The recipe has been sent by Padu Mahtani and the pic by Farhana Nanabhai. Thank you so much both of you! I am posting the recipe as it was sent to me and after that i shall write another innovative way to make this vegetable Nitu Didi Style 🙂
HOW TO MAKE GHERKINS/TINDLI/CHIBRA/PARWAL By Padu Mahtani
1/4 kg of chibra and cut it into french fries style meaning lengthwise into quarters shallow fry them in oil until they are cooked.. then add boiled potatoes also cut into fries length… season with any masala you like i normally add salt, cumin, coriander, amchur powder, red chilli powder, a little black salt and a slight dash of black pepper…. if she want a more spicy flvor she can use garam masala… its that simple…. or if she wants with gravy then fry chopped onions, ginger garlic paste and add chopped tomatoes, choped gren chillies keep stirring till tomatoes become mushy then add the chibra and keep stirring for a few mins and add water enough to make a thick gravy… and keep on simmer until the chibber is cooked season again wth masala of your choice.. garnish both ways with fresh coriander…
Farhana said she did not have fresh coriander so she garnished it with curry leaves
NITU DIDI STYLE OF MAKING THIS:
250 grams of gherkins/tindli/chibra cut into half lengthwise
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of minced garlic
1 teaspoon of chopped parsely
2 teaspoons of lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon of extra virgen spanish olive oil
salt to taste
a pinch of black pepper
METHOD:
Mix the garlic with the parsley, salt , lemon juice and extra virgen spanish olive oil and whisk well for about a minute. Keep aside while we grill the vegetable.
Heat the olive oil in a good nonstick frying pan ( i strongly recommend using ceramic pans) and add the vegetable to the pan. Sautee on medium heat till done and yet crunchy, Remove off the heat and pour the garlic/parsley mixture onto the vegetables and toss. Serve immediately, Serve from the pan itself with frech bread. This is a delicious way to make this and its delicious dipping your bread in the sauce!
HEALTH BENEFITS OF EATING GHERKINS/CHIBRA/PARWAR/TINDLI
Tinda is a low calorie vegetable with a high water and fibre content making it a good choice for inclusion in a weight loss diet as well as diabetic and cholesterol lowering diet plans
To buy my amazing quality ceramic pans click here
My dear friend Sarita Wadhwani sent me this lovely pic with the recipe of her dish to share with all of you. Thank you so much Sarita!
She used a variety of steamed vegetables such as brocolli, french beans, potato, corn, spinach, capsicum, cabbage and cauliflower and carrots
Just cut up the vegetables into bite size pieces and steam them in a steamer or in a pan till cooked but still crunchy.
Make the white sauce:
Makes about 2 cups of rich white sauce:
3 tablespoons of butter or olive oil
2 tablespoons of white flour or cornstarch
500 ml of whole milk or soya milk
salt and pepper to taste
a pinch of nutmeg
grated cheese (optional ) for a cheesy white sauce or you can use tofu
METHOD:
Melt the butter in a saucepan taking care not to burn. Add the flour and cook for half a minute on low heat so that the flour loses its raw taste and then add remove from the heat and quickly mix in the milk whisking so that no lumps are formed. Put back on heat and stir continuously till thick. Add salt, black pepper powder and a pinch of nutmeg. If you want you can also flavour it with herbs such as oregano and a bit of garlic powder. Add the grated cheese and mix well. This is your white sauce (bechamel).
Mix the vegetables with the white sauce. Top with grated cheese and grill in a hot oven till the cheese is melted and the vegetables are bubbly.
This dish can be also made with chicken with veggies, or pasta or a combination of all three. You can use the vegetables of your choice . This can be also made vegan by using soya milk and olive oil instead of butter .
Nitu Chugani
I know this recipe is going to do a lot of good to all of you who are suffering from a cold. Please make this tea and drink it as soon as you start feeling a cold coming on. It soothes your uneasiness and leaves you with a warm, comfortable sense of well being. My son swears by this tea and feels better as soon has he has a few mugs of this tea. I will try my best to write an explanation for all the good each ingredient does for you. I am not a doctor, not am i a professional but i just leant this tea from my nanny who used to make it for us. All i can say is that each time anyone feels a cold coming on in my home i make it for them and they seem to feel better. Ofcourse this is not a medicine so if you are really feeling very ill please go see a doc. This tea helps when you feel a cold coming on.
INGREDIENTS FOR 2 CUPS OF CURATIVE TEA:
3 cups of mineral, bottled or filtered water
1 tea bag, or 1 teaspoon of tealeaves, use anyone you are used to having at home… this is the one i used
3 whole black peppercorns (black peppercorns help clear up congestion of the chest)
1/2 ” stick cinnamon (cinnamon has many health benefits and its good in combination with honey to help arthritis)
1/4 piece of a lime, wash the lime and cut it into a quarter or an eight if its a big lime or lemon
3-4 tablespoons of honey or to taste
a pinch of Nitu Didi pure turmeric (tumeric has many health benefits, it is anti-inflamatory easing throat or chest pain)
1″ piece ginger, crushed (Ginger can not only be warming on a cold day, but can help promote healthy sweating, which is often helpful during colds and flus)
4 strands of Nitu Didi Spanish Saffron (The active components in saffron have many therapeutic applications in many traditional medicines as antiseptic, antidepressant, anti-oxidant, digestive, anti-convulsant.Additionally, it is also rich in many vital vitamins, including vitamin A, folic acid, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin-C that is essential for optimum health.)
METHOD:
Put the water to boil with the peppercorns, ginger, cinnamon and when it starts boiling let it simmer for about five minutes. Then add the saffron, the tea bag and the lemon piece and let it simmer for another 5 minutes. Add the honey as per taste. Take it off the heat and put the tiny pinch of turmeric powder . Strain it and sip it as hot as you can. I guarantee you will feel better in a few minutes. This is not a cure if you have a very bad cold/cough and fever, then you should see a doc. This is just a home remedy if you are beginning to show symptoms of a cold or a drink just to make you feel better.
NITU DIDI TIP: You can make more cups of this and keep it in a thermos or in a jar , just heat when you feel like having a comfortable drink, mix in the turmeric and sip away 🙂 Jains please omit the ginger 🙂
To buy my premium quality saffron and pure turmeric powder do visit my online store
Which tea bag did i use?
Nitu Chugani
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