KHICHDI (RICE WITH LENTILS DESI STYLE)

Posted on August 16, 2012 by nituchugani

Khichdi or lentils cooked with rice is a complete meal by itself for all! Vegans, vegetarians and all like can benefit from this lovely combination.
Its quick, nourishing and just needs a bowl of yogurt (curds) or some grilled veggies as a side dish. For me its a complete one pot dish!!
You can use any type of lentils or even a combination of lentils if you wish. Please do keep in mind different lentils have different cooking times and if you are experimenting please make sure you know how long each lentil will take to cook and add it into the dish accordingly.
First step is to make the gravy and then add the lentils and rice .
INGREDIENTS FOR 4
1 small cup of yellow chana dal, soaked in water overnight
1 small cup of basmati rice, soaked for half an hour
1 small onion chopped fine
2 cloves of garlic , grated
1 tablespoon of ginger, grated
2-3 green chillies chopped
2 red tomatoes, chopped
a few curry leaves
1/2 teaspoon each of black mustard and cumin seeds
a pinch of asafoetida (hing) which i did not put
1/2 teaspoon of Nitu Didi pure turmeric powder
a small handful of coriander leaves chopped
juice of half a lime
salt to taste
2 tablespoons of cooking oil
METHOD:
Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the mustard seeds and let them splutter for about 15 seconds then add the cumin seeds and asafoetida and let the cumin seeds splutter for 10 seconds and then add the chopped garlic and ginger. When the garlic and ginger change color then add the chopped onion and some salt. Cook till the onion sweats and then add the pure turmeric powder and cook for a few seconds. Add the chopped tomato and green chillies and cook till the tomato is totally smashed up. Now add the lentils and 1 cup of water and cook till the lentils are half cooked. Add the basmati rice and another cup of water and cook till the rice is done (by now the lentils will be cooked too). Check seasoning and correct. Add the lemon juice and mix carefully and serve immediately. This goes well with a bowl of raita or some grilled veggies.
If you are cooking this for an invalid, please omit the green chillies.

For jains please omit onions, ginger and garlic

Benefits of turmeric powder:

Turmeric can be used in treating arthritis due to its anti-inflammatory property. Turmeric can be taken as a drink other than adding to dishes to help prevent all problems. Use one teaspoon of turmeric powder per cup of warm milk every day. It is also used as a paste for local action.

Posted in Everything Vegetarian, Gluten Free, Healthy Options, Indian Restaurant Dishes, Jain recipes, Lentils, Low Cost, Nitu´s Spicy Delights, Quick Recipes, Rice is Nice, Vegan | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

HEALTHY CHICKEN PATE (WITHOUT LIVER)

Posted on August 15, 2012 by nituchugani

This flavorful chicken “pate” actually contains no liver so its light and healthy!
I keep on experimenting in my kitchen for new ideas and new saving tips for these hard times of recession.
Adela my dearest friend has already taught me how buying a whole chicken is cheaper..but many ask what does one do with a whole chicken?
Well…the butchers in my supermarket make chicken fillets for me out of the breast, and then the legs and thighs are cut up or left whole depending on the recipe i need.
The cartilage is used for making soups . The breastbone (from where the chicken fillet comes from ) usually has a lot of flesh on it. So…this is where the dish was inspired!!!
I boiled the cartilage and breastbone in water and removed all the scum, once that was done i added some salt and added the trunk of brocolli, an onion and a small piece of ginger which i bruised with the rolling pin. I boiled this for 45 minutes and then used the soup to make some rice and i deboned all the flesh and kept it aside for this recipe!!!
INGEDIENTS:
1 cup of cooked boneless chicken
1 teaspoon of mustard
3 triangles of happy cow cheese (la vaca que rie in spanish)
2 tablespoons of grated cheese of your choice
1 tablespoon of fruit jam of your choice
1/2 teaspoon of lemon pepper
chilli flakes if you like
METHOD:
Place the cooked chicken with the triangle cheese in your blender and pulse (i used my amazing bullet) till its blended into a smooth paste.
Add the grated cheese and blend once more. Remove into a plate and add the rest of the ingredients.
Check seasoning and add salt if needed. The choice of the cheese used can be upto you. If you like  sharper taste use gorgonzola cheese.
Put into a silicon mould and refrigerate.
Unmould into a plate and decorate with olives and pickled onions and serve with crackers of your choice.

You can also use this spread as a sandwich spread.

To buy my amazing bullet please contact me

Posted in Chicken, Fusion, Gluten Free, Healthy Options, Magic Bullet, Quick Recipes, Sandwiches | 2 Comments

HOME MADE SOYA MILK AND TOFU

Posted on August 14, 2012 by nituchugani

Soya milk is a real blessing to those who are lactose intolerant or those who want to lower cholesterol.
Soya is rich in protein and 125 grams of soya beans contain 9% of protein.
I have recorded a video tutorial showing how to make soya milk at home and then tofu.
The video tutorial is in two parts.
For a tofu slightly lighter in consistency just make up your soya milk adding more water.
INGREDIENTS:
250 grams of soya beans soaked for at least 12-15 hours…the more you soak the better the milk and tofu
1.5 litres of bottled water
a little vinegar as needed
Please follow both the video tutorials to see how the soya milk and tofu is made.
METHOD:
Soak the soya beans for 12-15 hours in a lot of water. These beans will double in size so make sure theres enough water.
Then mash them with ur hands so that all their skin loosens off and under running water remove all the skin. Its easy because the skin will float on the top and all you need to do is scoop it with your palm. Once most of the skin is off drain the beans and put into the blender little by little at a time with a bit of bottled water. You will need about 1.5 litres for this amount of beans. Make into a real smooth paste. Strain the paste in a fine colander or use a cloth over a collander and press to get all the milk out. Put the milk into a saucepan and boil for five minutes stirring all the time because it tends to burn at the bottom. This is your soya milk which you can add sugar or flavor it.
TO MAKE TOFU:
Bring the soya milk to a boil and add a few drops of white vinegar or lemon juice and boil till the milk curdles. If it doesnt curdle add a little more of vinegar till it does.
Strain onto a cloth over a colander and press out all the water carefully. Place a heavy pot full of water on it so it sets and all the water is drained out.
Please watch the video tutorial
You now have tofu which you can cut into cubes and cook, stir fry etc.
I have just pan fried it with a little oil in  a frying pan and added some soya sauce on top
To buy my amazing bullet do contact me

Posted in Everything Vegetarian, Gluten Free, Healthy Options, Jain recipes, Made in China, Magic Bullet, NO OIL RECIPES, Recipes with videos, Step by Step, Vegan | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

HOME MADE BREAD FILLED WITH CHEESE

Posted on August 13, 2012 by nituchugani


This is an easy bread which can be flavored with any kind of herb or mild spice like say cumin, poppy seeds or nigella seeds.
Making your own bread is easy if you have a little practice and for that you can watch my various videos on how to make doughs….
The secret is in kneading it…well as you know i always relate cooking to making love 🙂
The secret to a good bread is leaving the dough to rise once..punching it down, shaping the bread and leaving it to rise again
I have created a step by step pictorial to guide you and make things easy for you
To watch my tutorials just log on to my youtube channel
INGREDIENTS:
1 envelope, (7 grams ) of dry yeast…if using wet yeast just follow the instructions on packet
500 grams of white flour ( maida) or any flour you would like like multigrain or whole wheat
1 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of sugar
1/4 cup of pure spanish extra virgen olive oil ( i used carbonell)
2 teaspoons of nigella seeds (kalaunji)
2 teaspoons of dried oregano plus some to sprinkle on the top
1 cup of chopped cheese of your choice, i used edam (red ball)
Warm water as needed to knead the dough
METHOD:
In a bowl put the yeast with the salt and sugar and add about half a cup of warm water. Let the yeast rise for ten minutes till frothy. Once frothy add the flour, the seeds and oregano and knead into a very soft dough using water. The dough should be very soft. Cover it and leave it in a warm place or in the sun for about four hours till it rises to double its size. Once risen you need to punch it down and use a little olive oil to manage it a bit because it will be sticky. Break it into two parts and shape it into a square or round or whatever shape you want your bread to be using your palms or a oiled rolling pin. Put it into an oven tray previously greased with olive oil. Add the cubed cheese and scatter it around (look at the pic) , Shape the other half of the dough and cover the previous shaped dough with it. Seal the edges lightly. Brush with olive oil and leave to rise for an hour. Sprinkle oregano on the top and bake at 200 degrees till well browned.
Cut and eat..its delicous hot or cold!!

 

Posted in Everything Vegetarian, Floury Matter, Fusion, Jain recipes, Low Cost, Sandwiches, Step by Step, Veg Starters | 2 Comments

PRAWN CUTLET WITH SWEET CHILLI DIP

Posted on August 12, 2012 by nituchugani

My friend Adela came over the other day with a huge tray of boiled prawns and a bottle of wine!
These are typical spanish style prawns which are peeled and eaten on its own. They are boiled right and are really succulent.
Its a delicacy here…unfortunately in my home we dont eat too many of them in this style. The spanish can go on and on eating with a glass of beer or wine.
If you have been to Spain these prawns are on every menucard in most tapas bars!!
Anyways…what could  i do with soo many prawns which were boiled? The first thing that came to my mind was a prawn cocktail. So i made that and there were soo many remaining that i served some just peeled with a sweety chilli sauce dip.
I had just too many so i decided to make some prawn cutlets….
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup of boiled, shelled prawns, drained well
1 cup of boiled, mashed potatoes
1/4 onion chopped fine
green chillies and coriander leaves chopped fine
1 teaspoon of Nitu Didi Garam masala
a squeeze of lemon juice
1/2 to 1 cup of breadcrumbs as needed
METHOD:
Mix the mashed potatoes with all the ingredients except the breadcrumbs. Put the prawns in a food processor and blend (i used my amazing bullet)
mix it into the potato mixture. Add half a cup of breadcrumbs first to the mixture. If the mixture is too soggy add a bit more. Try not to add too much breadcrumbs but just enough so you can bind the dough and shape it into small round flat cutlets. Heat oil for deep frying and try frying a small piece first..if it doesnt break or split you have got it right. If it does add a bit more of breadcrumbs. Deep fry and serve hot with sweet chilli dip
TO MAKE SWEET CHILLI DIP:
I made two types… i took sweet chilli sauce and added some chopped green chillies and coriander to it.
The second type i took sweet chilli sauce and added some chilli pickle to it
My family loved both!!

 

To make the prawns spanish style just buy fresh prawns and cook in boiling water for 3 minutes. Cool and refrigerate. Peel and eat..thats the way the spanish do it 🙂
To buy my amazing bullet do contact me

Posted in Indian Restaurant Dishes, Magic Bullet, Nitu´s Spicy Delights, Quick Recipes, Something's Fishy, Spanish Tapas | Tagged , | 1 Comment

CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH UNIQUE FROSTING

Posted on August 11, 2012 by nituchugani

I baked this chocolate cake for my son whos home for the holidays and frosted it with a “unique” frosting.
I posted the picture on facebook and had soo many comments to share the recipe.
You can use any of my eggless  or normal chocolate cake recipes for the cake, it makes no difference.
Once the cake has been cooled just slice it in half and sandwich and cover with the frosting.
Here is the recipe for the frosting
INGREDIENTS:
100 ml of whipping cream
100 grams of white cream cheese(the philadelphia kind)
50 grams of powdered sugar or to taste ( i used my amazing bullet to powder it)
100 grams of milk chocolate bar, or if you prefer dark chocolate use dark chocolate
METHOD:
Chill the whipping cream for about 2 hours till well chilled. The cream cheese should also be refrigerated. Whip the cream till its stiff (please see my how to make butter video on youtube which shows you how to whip cream). Separately beat the cream cheese till fluffy. Add the sugar to the cream cheese and fold it carefully into the whipped cream. Taste and correct sugar. Put it in a container and freeze it till firm. Meanwhile melt the chocolate in the microwave till melted. Now put the melted chocolate while its warm into the chilled whipped cream mixture and mix quickly. The warm chocolate will instantly cool into the mixture and will sort of stiffen into tiny particles. Something like stracciatella. Sandwich and cover your cake with this frosting. The frosting should be enough to cover the cake.
Thats it!!! Simple enough???? Do try this out and comment!!

How to whip cream and make home made butter

Posted in A Piece of Cake???, Cooking Disasters!!, Crack an egg???, Eggless Sweet Temptations | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

SAVOURY GRAM FLOUR CREPES

Posted on August 10, 2012 by nituchugani

These gram flour crepes (besan chilla) are a hot favourite in most desi households.
For breakfast, teatime or even as a dinner side dish these crepes are delicious and soo easy to make.
They can be made in quantity and frozen if one is into making and freezing food.
I am often asked what to make with gram flour so this is a good option.
You can even make them plain and then fill them with a nice filling.
I just made them simply but i will give you all the options.
INGREDIENTS:
2 big spoonfulls of gram flour(besan)
a little chopped onion, fresh coriander and green chilli
1/2 teaspoon each of cumin and carom seeds(ajwain)
salt to taste
water to make a paste
Mix all the ingredients and make sure the batter has no lumps. Please see the attached video.
OPTIONS: you can also add grated vegetables such as carrots, courgette(zuchini/turai) capsium, grated cauliflower or finely chopped cabbage.
Benefits of gram flour:
Gram flour contains a high proportion of carbohydrates[4] but no gluten.[5] Despite this, in comparison to other flours, it has a relatively high proportion of protein.[6]

For a jain version just omit the onion and proceed

Posted in Everything Vegetarian, Gluten Free, Indian Restaurant Dishes, Jain recipes, Low Cost, NO OIL RECIPES, Quick Recipes, Typical Sindhi Dishes, Vegan | 2 Comments

WHITE CHOCOLATE BROWNIE (BLONDI!!)

Posted on August 8, 2012 by nituchugani

BLONDI

I just learnt that “white chocolate brownies” were called “blondis” and i was soo tickled! If you think about it it makes a lot of sense! a brownie is brown (made of chocolate) and a blondi is white (made of white chocolate)!! Now why didnt i realise or think about this before. This recipe has been given to me by my dear freind in valencia Victoria Martinez and she got it from a spanish blog http://www.sweetmama.es
I wasnt too happy with the result because of the quality of white chocolate i used. For best results try and use Nestles cooking white chocolate if you can find it and if not just use the white chocolate available. I will give you the original recipe quantity and then tell you what i would prefer putting.
If you want an “eggless” version just make one of my eggless cakes and add some melted white chocolate instead of the oil or butter!!! It should work !!
INGREDIENTS:
180 grams of white chocolate, preferably Nestles cooking white chocolate
100 grams of butter (or a little less) salted
150 grams of powdered sugar, i used my amazing bullet
2 lovely freshly laid farm eggs
95 grams of white flour, sifted (maida), i would use about 120 grams
150 grams of frozen or fresh raspberries, id use a bit less
pinch of salt
METHOD:
Heat the oven to 180 degress
Put the butter and the white chocolate in a microwavable bowl and melt in the microwave slowly without burning… put it in for about 30 seconds.. remove stir..and repeat till the white chocolate has melted with the butter beautifully and smells heavenly!!
Add one egg and mix well, you might feel the mixture is curdling. Dont panic, just mix and mix well. When well mixed add the second egg and mix.
Add the sugar and mix. Add the flour , and salt and mix.
Add half the raspberries and mix.
Butter and flour a silicone square baking dish and pour the lovely batter into it. Top with remaining raspberries and bake for about 30-40 minutes till its done and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Cool thoroughly and cut and eat!!
TIPS: Mine turned out a bit too soft and too brown on the top…i think its to do with the quality of chocolate and excessive butter. I just let it cool and refrigerated it and it was ok…a bit soft…more like a pudding than a blondi 🙂 I think using 120 grams of white flour is a better idea… If you do make this do let all of us know ok????

Posted in A Piece of Cake???, Crack an egg???, Floury Matter | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

PESTO SAUCE WITH PASTA OF YOUR CHOICE

Posted on August 7, 2012 by nituchugani

This healthy and pure vegetarian pesto sauce was made by my follower Paco Herrero and sent to me. He made the pesto sauce in the amazing bullet and was happy with the results.
He told me a “secret tip” to use while making the sauce…he said to put the jar in the freezer for an hour before making the sauce! That way the ingredients remain cool while blending. ç
To use the amazing bullet please use the pulse and wait method and also put the ingrdients bit by bit
Here is the recipe he sent me…Thank you soo much Paco 🙂
INGREDIENTS:
40 grams of fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons of pine nuts, roasted and cooled
1 clove of garlic
50 grams of grated parmesan cheese( or any cheese of your choice)
salt to taste (very little as cheese is salty)
a good generous splash of Spanish extra virgin olive oil (be generous !!! pure olive oil is good for you)
METHOD:
We have our amazing bullet jar sitting in the freezer for an hour…so lets take it out and proceed to make our pesto sauce
Add the garlic and the pine nuts in the blender first and pulse….add the grated parmesan cheese a bit by bit with the basil leaves and keep on pulsing. You can add some olive oil to make the process easy. Add salt to taste and more olive oil to correct the texture.
Serve with pasta of your choice,
Paco has served it with gnocchis…
Thank you soo much Paco!
Benefits of olive oil

to order your amazing bullet please mail me cookingwithnitu@gmail.com

Posted in Everything Vegetarian, Floury Matter, Fusion, Healthy Options, Magic Bullet, Pasta, Quick Recipes, Sauces and Chutneys, Veg Starters | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

MELON GRANITA (MELON SLUSH)

Posted on August 6, 2012 by nituchugani

Ooh this summer heat! Sometimes we have fruit that gets a lil too over ripe for our own good! Waste not!!! You can use it to make lovely granita…..
The riper the fruit the sweeter it is and that way you dont need to add sugar. I made this granita out of melon but you can make it out of any juicy fruit.
You can add mint  to it. I did not have any.,….but i will give you all the options. I used my amazing bullet to puree the fruit and then saved the puree in the jug and put it into the freezer.
This is how i did it!
INGREDIENTS for about 2 glasses of granita
1 big bowl of chopped ripened melon
2 teaspoons of lemon juice
2 teaspoons of sugar (optional)
METHOD:
Puree the fruit with the sugar and lemon juice and then freeze it. Once its frozen remove it from the freezer about 15 minutes before you want to serve it.
Scrape the frozen puree with a fork and put into a fancy glass. Decorate with mint leaves or cherries or whatever you have on hand
For the alcoholic version : you can add some rum or vodka to this and make yourself a lovely fruity cocktail!!
You can also create a fizzy drink by adding some chilled lemonade to this or some wine or champagne
Fruits which taste yummy pureed? watermelon, peach, nectarines, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, mangos, kiwi, lychee, the list is endless…you can even use a variety of fruit!
So next time your fruit is a little ripe…dont throw it away please 🙂
Granita it!!!!!!

My amazing bullet to buy it contact me on cookingwithnitu@gmail.com

Posted in Cocktails, Eggless Sweet Temptations, Everything Vegetarian, Gluten Free, Healthy Options, Jain recipes, Low Cost, Magic Bullet, NO OIL RECIPES, Quick Recipes, Vegan | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments