CUMIN HEARTS (CUMIN N PEPPER SALTED CRACKERS)

Posted on July 13, 2012 by nituchugani

Ever tried making your own salted crackers at home? It is a little time consuming, but since i find spending time in the kitchen so gratifying and de-stressing i try out all sort of recipes.
What gives me a high is when i post the pictures of my creations on my facebook page and get sooo many comments! This recipe was one of them with comments from my whole facebook community asking me to give them the method.
In India ( i say India because i am Indian) its a custom to serve these salted crackers known as “namkeen” with tea or as an evening snack. India being a country of so many vegetarians one tends to carry their own food on journeys and these salted crackers are popular as they last for days.
Can they be baked instead of deep fried? Well i have never tried… maybe they can… i will make a baked version next time… but as of now am giving you the recipe as it is….
1heaped cup of all purpose white flour (maida)
2 tablespoons of semolina (sooji)
3 tablespoons of cooking or olive oil
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
Can also add (but i did not)
chilli flakes, oregano, and other chopped dried herbs as you like
Water to make a dough
Oil for deep frying
METHOD:
Put the flour in a bowl and add all the ingredients except the water and mix well. Add the water bit by bit and knead into a firm dough. Do not add too much water, just enough for the dough to become into a ball. Knead this dough well for about 5 minutes. Make small balls (size of a tennis ball) out of the dough and roll into a thin round. Cut with heart shaped cookie cutter or any cookie cutter of your choice. You can even cut them into squares. Deep fry them in hot oil till golden brown and crispy. Put into an airtight container when cooled.

Posted in Everything Vegetarian, Floury Matter, Low Cost, Tupperware Food, Veg Starters, Vegan | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

CHICKEN SATAYS (ALA NITU DIDI)

Posted on July 12, 2012 by nituchugani

Satays are soo popular nowadays in partys and barbecues. I think the fact that these succulent pieces of fish, meat or chicken in a bamboo stick are easy to serve
The marinade is equally important as the marinade time so do plan in advance if you want to make this perfectly.
This can be made with any meat substitute as seitan , mockduck or tofu,
INGREDIENTS:
500 grams of cubed chicken, fish or meat of your choice
2 tablespoons of ginger juice (just grate some ginger and squeeze it in the palm of your hand to extract the juice)
2 tablespoons of garlic juice (same as above)
2 tablespoons of honey or sugar
2 tablespoons of soya sauce
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of tahina (sesame paste)
1 tablespoon of sesame oil
1 good pinch of black pepper
2 tablespoons of extra virgin Spanish Olive Oil
salt to taste
This is the basic marinade….You can also add
1 tablespoon of Nitu Didi London Fine Curry Powder
OR
1 teaspoon of sweet or spicy paprika
some onions, cut into chunks
some red or green peppers cut into chunks
a few mushrooms , quartered of halved (acording to size)
wooden bamboo sticks
METHOD:
Combine the first 10 ingredients and mix well. Add the chicken /meat/fish or tofu to the marinade and mix well so that each piece is coated with the marinade. If you want to use curry powder/paprika do so. You can even make half the amount with curry powder and half with paprika. Just giving you ideas.
Marinate in a container overnight in the fridge.
Next day remove it and bring it to room temperature. Wet the bamboo sticks in water and shake off the excess droplets.
Sprinkle the cut veggies with salt and pepper and mix into the chicken for 15 minutes so it gets some of the marinade flavor.
Skewer the chicken/meat pieces onto the wet bamboo sticks alternating with the veggies (you can also add courgettes, white pumpkin and veggies of your choice or even some fresh cheese)
Grill in a hot pan till brown and done or in a barbecue…ofcourse for a barbecue you need metal skewers.
Serve with any salad you fancy!!!!
Its really awesome!!!!!

To make tahina sauce at home

Posted in Chicken, Gluten Free, Healthy Options, Made in China, Magic Bullet, Recipes with videos | 2 Comments

BROCOLLI AND NOODLES IN SOUP

Posted on July 11, 2012 by nituchugani

This is a nice light and healthy meal. All you chinese soup lovers will love this. I made it with a chinese chicken stock but you can make it with a clear vegetable stock also.
I will give you options on how to make both the stocks.
INGREDIENTS PER PERSON:
1 small round ball of chinese noodles ( i used the shrimp flavor)
1 cup of brocolli florets
2 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
1-2 dried chinese mushrooms, soaked in water for a few hours and then chopped
soya sauce and salt to taste
a few drops of sesame oil
a sprinkle of white pepper powder
FOR CHICKEN STOCK:
boil chicken bones in water removing the scum properly. Add onions, celery and a pounded piece of ginger once all the scum is removed and boil for an hour. Strain and add salt.
u have your chicken stock
FOR VEGETABLE STOCK.
boil vegetables such as celery,cabbage, onions, carrots, turnip and pounded ginger in water till tender
Add salt and strain.
u have your vegetable stock.
FOR THE DISH:
Put the stock to boil and add the brocolli and the noodles and cook till noodles are soft and brocolli is crunchy. Add the sauces to taste and serve hot.
This is the pic of the noodles i used but you can use any noodles of your choice. The amount of soup you want in your bowl depends on you!!
Light and delicious!!

If you cant have gluten you can use rice noodles 🙂

Posted in Chicken, Everything Vegetarian, Floury Matter, Fusion, Healthy Options, Low Cost, Made in China, Pasta, Vegan | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

SIMPLE DRUMSTICKS

Posted on July 10, 2012 by nituchugani

Drumsticks are very good for health. This vegetable is sold in most asian stores and tho it might look a little daunting to make believe me its soo simple, delicious , low calorie and healthy,
The seeds are an excellent source of Vitamin C
I have written this recipe on request by my dear friend Rakhee Khiani whos daughter Geeta is also a real follower of mine.
Its not easy to get drumsticks where i live and i bought these from an indian grocery in Madrid.
How to cut and clean them? Its simple…just scrape them with a knife so that the outer layer peels off… its like peeling green beans… Cut the tips and then with your kitchen knife just peel the outer edge which is dark green. Cut it into one inch pieces and then proceed to cook. You can either parboil them and then cook them in a gravy or make a gravy and cook them in the gravy till done. I pressure cooked mine and it was made in a jiffy!
INGREDIENTS:
250 grams of chopped drumsticks
100 grams of chopped and peeled tomatoes
4-6 curry leaves
1 tablespoon of chopped ginger
1 tablespoon of chopped green chillies
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
2 tablespoons of cooking or olive oil
a pinch of turmeric powder
coriander leaves chopped fine
1 cup of water
1/2 teaspoon of salt or to taste
METHOD:
Heat the oil in the pressure cooker and add the cumin seeds and then after 30 seconds add the chopped ginger and curry leaves.
Cook till the ginger is slightly pale golden taking care not to burn and add the chopped tomatoes and the turmeric powder.
Cook till the tomates have mashed up completely. Add the coriander leaves and green chillies and the chopped drumsticks.
Add salt.
Add the water and cover the pressure cooker and cook just till one whistle.
Open the cooker when the pressure has lowered.
Taste, check seasoning and serve.
This is a typical sindhi way of making drumsticks.. You can also add some potatoes if you wish…if you do please increase the amount of tomatoes n spices,.
This is a delicious way of cooking drumsticks with not too many spices.
If you dont have a pressure cooker you can make it in a normal pan. Just cook til the drumsticks are soft. You might need to add more water.
Delicious, healthy and low calorie!!

Posted in Everything Vegetarian, Healthy Options, Low Cost, Vegan | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

TRES LECHES CAKE (3 MILK CAKE) BY RAVNEET ARORA

Posted on July 10, 2012 by nituchugani

Tres leches literally means three types of milk. This cake has its origins from latin america. It has always fascinated me but i have never made it because im scared i will eat the whole thing up!!
I was so happy when i saw Ravneet Arora had made it and posted it on one of the cooking groups i am part of and i politely asked her if she would share her recipe and pic with all of us.
To my delight she did!! She told me she got the recipe from Rosabet Martorell from Puerto Rico. So thank you Rosabet!!
This recipe also shows you how to make evaporated milk at home which is another boom. If you dont want to make it with the merigue you can just make it plain ….
Ravneet served it with chopped mangoes but you can use any fruit of your choice or even serve it plain. As you can see the recipe is quite quite rich!!!!

(Three Milks Cake) (Recipe courtesy Rosabet Martorell from Puerto Rico)
 
Ingredients:

A. Cake
3       eggs
1       cups of flour
1       cups of sugar
1-1/2  tsp of baking powder
1/4    cup of milk
1/2       tsp of vanilla extract

B. “Three Milks” (Tres Leches)
1/2       can sweetened condensed milk (14 ounce)
1/2       can evaporated milk (12 ounce)
1/2       cup heavy cream (you may reduce the qty of cream)
You can also add 1-2 tbsps rum
C. Meringue
1  cup sugar
1       cup water
3       egg whites
1       tsp cream of tartar
lemon zest

Steps:

Make the cake…

1. Mix the cake ingredients slowly (group A)
2. Bake in a rectangular baking pan (9X13x2 more or less, preferably glass pan) at 350 degrees F for 30 to 35 minutes
3. Let cool completely.

(I usually beat the eggs with a pinch of cream of tartar. I add sugar in 3 batches. Then I add milk and vanilla and then beat in the flour sifted with baking powder)

Three milks…

4. Mix the three milks (group B)
5. Pierce the cake all over with a fork and wet the cake with the milks (“leches”).
6. Let it sit for an hour so that the cake absorbs the milks. (I did this the day before I was to serve it)

Meringue…
7. Heat the sugar, lemon zest and water until it creates strings. (soft ball)
8. Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar to hard (I whisked to soft) peaks.
9. Add the hot syrup to the egg whites slowly, beating continuously for about ten minutes.
10. Spread the meringue over the cake
11. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

 

(I served it with fresh mangoes, it will taste awesome with fresh strawberries or raspberries)

Evaporated Milk Substitute

Prep Time: 2 minutes

Total Time: 2 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 2/3 cup non-fat dry milk
  • 3/4 cup water

Preparation:

Mix the water and dry milk powder together. Then, use in place of the evaporated milk in any recipe.

Yield: 1 cup

 

Posted in A Piece of Cake???, Floury Matter | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

ZAFRANI YAKHNI PULLAO

Posted on July 9, 2012 by nituchugani

Would you like a nice non oily rice dish for a party that will make your guests swoon? Well this is just the recipe for you!
Its made from a fragrant stock made from  chicken bones (shhhh….dont tell anyone …its a secret!!!)
You can serve it with a nice non veg or veg dish and watch your guests relish it!! For a more festive look you can garnish it with chopped nuts etc.
Believe me it tastes as good as it is!! And it tastes even better the next day (so you can make in a day in advance!!!)
INGREDIENTS:
1 kilo chicken bones
4 cups of water
2 bay leaves
a piece of ginger, pounded
salt to taste
a few peppercorns
8 cloves
2 inch piece of cinnamon
2 bay leaves
1 cup of basmati rice, washed and soaked for 30 minutes
1 pinch Nitu Didi pure spanish saffron
METHOD:
Wash the chicken bones well. Put them to boil in the water and remove the scum that forms as soon as it starts to boil. I use a strainer for this, makes life easier. Once the scum is all removed add the 2 bay leaves, ginger , salt and few peppercorns and boil this together till the stock reduces to about 2 cups. This should take an hour… Once you have your stock remove any chicken pieces that might be on the bones and keep it in the stock.
Heat a non stick casserole pan and roast the 8 cloves, cinnamon and bay leaves for about 15 seconds (this helps emit the aroma of the spices) and then add the basmati rice, and the stock and the saffron. Cook till rice is done.
This is a excellent dish full of nutrients and NO ADDED OIL. Saffron is good for health. I did not add any additional food coloring to this.

To buy nitu didi saffron

Heath benefits of saffron:

Posted in Chicken, Healthy Options, NO OIL RECIPES, Rice is Nice, Saffron | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

WHOLE WHEAT CREPES (EGG N EGGLESS)

Posted on July 8, 2012 by nituchugani

How many of you have children who study very hard?
I do and shes forever hungry….and i need to whip up quick and nourshing snacks for her.
This is what i made for her on a sunday late evening and it took me just 2 minutes to make the batter and another 10 minutes of resting time.
Savoury crepes with the filling of your choice…she wanted the standard ham and cheese…so thats what i gave her!!
This is a really easy no fail recipe…do try it out
INGREDIENTS FOR ABOUT 10 CREPES:
7 heaped tablespoons of whole wheat flour (you can use normal flour too)
1 large farm egg
1 cup of milk ( i used semi skimmed)
1 cup of water or a little less
1 teaspoon of salt
oil to grease the frying pan
filling of your choice: i used ham and grated cheese
METHOD:
In a blender ( i used my magic bullet) add the flour, egg and milk and water and salt. Blend into a batter ( took me less than a minute).
Keep the batter aside for about 10 minutes.
I kept it in the plastic jug itself.
Heat a non stick frying pan with a drop of oil.
Pour a bit of batter and swirl the pan around so the pan is covered with the batter.
Cook on one side ( about 30 seconds) and then flip over and cook on the other side.
Fill with filling of your choice and roll up.
Thats it!!! Isnt this easy??????
FOR EGGLESS BATTER: substitute the egg for 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder and 2 tablespoons of oil, The eggless batter needs to rest about 30 minutes.

the batter….just to have an idea!!

Posted in Everything Vegetarian, Floury Matter, Healthy Options, Low Cost, Magic Bullet | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

STUFFED BREAD ROLLS BY REEMA KHAN

Posted on July 8, 2012 by nituchugani

Another fantastic recipe by Reema Khan of Islamabad…Thank you soo much sweetie…

1- Mashed Potatoes, Chopped Onions, Chopped Carrots, Chopped Cabbage, Black Pepper, Salt, Red Chilli Powder, Green Chillis.

2- Mix all these ingredients and fry them in a skillet.

3- Take a Bread slice and moist it with water, do not soak it complete, it will break off…. make sure it’s wet/moist enough so you can put your veggie filling….set your veggie filling in it and wrap it up with bread slice, so it looks like a ball…

4- Deep fry it and slice it in half looks so sexy to eat!!! Simple as it looks!

Posted in Everything Vegetarian, Fusion, Low Cost, Veg Starters | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

EGGLESS SESAME COOKIES

Posted on July 7, 2012 by nituchugani

These cookies and delicious and i dont know if they are healthy or not but then who cares? A cookie never harmed anyone anyways…. just one…right?????
Its easy to make with store cupboard ingredients and thats the beauty of some recipes…if your in a mood to bake cookies and dont have the ingredients it just puts you off…
Or at least it puts me off!! These cookies have powdered oats but if you dont have oats then just substitute it for the same amount of white or whole wheat flour.
INGREDIENTS:
125 grams of softened butter (salted or unsalted)
120 grams of white sugar
200 grams of all purpose white flour (maida)
50 grams of oats
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of good vanilla essence
3 tablespoons of toasted sesame seeds
METHOD:
beat the butter till its soft and fluffy (for about 3 minutes in an electric hand beater) after that time add the sugar and continue beating till its fluffy and almost white in color. This should take about another 5 minutes.
Grind the oats in a blender to a fine powder ( I use my magic bullet)
Add the flour and the oats with the baking powder and essence to the fluffy sugary butter mixture and fold in with a spoon gently. Add the sesame seeds.
The mixture should be dough like and easy to manage with your hands.
Shape into small flat rounds with your hands. Place in a baking tray lined with oven proof paper (butter paper) or foil paper.
Bake at 180 degrees for about 10-15 minutes till pale brown.
Cool and eat!!!
Thats it!! Simple isnt it?????

Posted in Eggless Sweet Temptations, Everything Vegetarian, Floury Matter, Low Cost, Magic Bullet | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

PASTA GAMEBERONI BY CHEF MOHAMED HASSAN

Posted on July 6, 2012 by nituchugani

I am so lucky and grateful to have such talented and important people on my page. One example is Chef Mohamed Hassan who works for the Sheraton Group of Hotels and sent me this lovely recipe. My family does not much care for pasta so my recipes are just a few, so this recipe is a real welcome change for my blog and also for all of you who love pasta. I hope you do try it out and give me feedback. Thank you soo much Chef!!

Ingredients for 4 servings:

400 g king prawn large, shelled (1x100g prawn per portion)
50 g extra virgin olive oil
20 g garlic, finely chopped
8 g large red chilli, seeded, fine dice
10 g italian parsley chopped
12 g fresh red chilli padi (bird’s eye), whole (8 whole – 2 per portion)
2 g dried chilli flakes
2 g salt
2 g black pepper (freshly ground)
40 g extra virgin olive oil (to dress before serving)
760 g dried pasta, blanched (190g blanched pasta per portion if guest ordered dried pasta)
560 g fresh pasta (140g per portion if guest ordered fresh pasta)
120 g rucola
1. In a large frying pan, sear the king prawns (shelled, leaving the tail and head intact) over high heat on the both sides.
2. Add in a quarter of the chopped garlic and a pinch of the dried chilli flakes into the pan and season with salt and pepper.
3. Remove the prawns and finish in the oven until cooked.
4. Meanwhile, using the same pan, heat the oil and sauté the remaining chopped garlic over medium heat.
5. Add in the diced red chilli and chopped parsley.
6. Sauté for about 20 seconds and add in the remaining dried chilli flakes.

7. Season with salt and pepper.
8. Blanch the pasta add into the pan and toss with a spoonful of the pasta water.
9. Portion the pasta into a pasta plate and lay a king prawn on top.
10. Garnish the side with the arugula salad.
11. Sprinkle with extra virgin olive oil and serve immediately.

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Posted in Floury Matter, Fusion, Healthy Options, Pasta, Something's Fishy | Tagged , , | 3 Comments