nitu didi

EGGLESS CREPES

Posted on August 18, 2011 by nituchugani

Eggless crepes!!!!! Yes yes they were yummy…took me 10 minutes to make..my daughter had a craving and i just made them for her in a jiffy..You can make them with egg also…BUT…let me give my vegetarian followers a treat………………
INGREDIENTS FOR ABOUT 8 MEDIUM SIZED CREPES:
4 heaped tablespoons of white or whole wheat flour ( i used white flour)
3 tablespoons of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
2 tablespoons of oil
a splash of vanilla essence
1/2 cup of milk or more to make the batter

METHOD:
mix all the ingredients together and add the milk and make a batter of pouring consistency. Heat a non stick pan cake pan or gridle and add a little oil or melted butter and spread it. Pour a ladle of batter and spread it. Cook on one side and flip over and cook on the other side
Make all the pancakes this way and serve with either ice cream, nutella, jam, honey, fresh fruit, whipped cream, maple syrup, butter…etc etc etc……

TIP : always make sure the pan is well heated..for the crepes not to stick and if your not particular about it being eggless you can add 1 egg to this recipe

Posted in Crepes, Eggless Sweet Temptations, Everything Vegetarian, Floury Matter | Tagged crepes, eggless crepes, flour, vanilla | Leave a comment

PEPPER PANEER ( PEPPER FRESH CHEESE)

Posted on August 18, 2011 by nituchugani

This recipe was sent to me by SAJNA BASANT along with the pic…You all are welcome to send me your recipes and a clear pic and i shall post them here with your name 🙂 I made this with a little change…i used lemon pepper instead of black pepper to give it a tang 🙂 I could have taken a pic but i wanted to use the pic sent to me as a token of appreciation 🙂 So all of you do send me your recipes and pics if you want to be a part of me 🙂

INGREDIENTS FOR PANEER PEPPER FRY

Paneer – 250 grams
Onion-2 medium
garlic cloves -5 nos
Red pepper (red capsicum)-1
Nitu Didi Lemon Pepper, 2 teaspoons
red chilli flakes, a pinch
gharam masala -1 tspn
salt to taste and 2 tablespoons of olive oil

METHOD

Cut the paneer into small cubes and saute in oil and keep aside.
Saute onion , garlic ,red pepper, gharam masala, pepper powder and salt. Now mix paneer to this sauted mixture . cook on low flame with lid closed till the flavour is mixed with paneer.garnish and serve

TO MAKE PANEER:

Posted in Everything Vegetarian, Paneer | Tagged capsicum, fresh cheese, lemon pepper, paneer, pepper | Leave a comment

LOLI (SINDHI PARATHA)

Posted on August 17, 2011 by nituchugani

LOLI!!! If you ever go to a Sindhi home in the morning, chances are this is what you will be served for breakfast. A whole wheat paratha served with yogurt, papad and maybe a cup of hot steaming CHAI?????
I am sorry the pic isnt a bit too clear but this has been a request on my facebook page by many and i decided to share it with the pic i already had in my system.
The lolis can be frozen half cooked and then reheated up. Do try them with scrambled eggs or omlette!!!!
They are yummy eaten cold also and can be taken on journeys because of their long shelf life…..
Do try out this recipe of mine and let me know 🙂

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup of whole wheat flour (atta)
a little chopped onion (2 tablespoons)
a little chopped green coriander(2 tablespoons)
a little chopped green chillies
a pinch of salt and pepper
a pinch of Nitu Didi cumin seeds
a pinch of dry pomogranet powder ( anardhana)
a pinch of Nitu Didi coriander seeds, crushed
abt quarter cup of oil for kneading..you can add a bit less and then add water if needed
METHOD:
mix all the ingredients together and knead it together with oil and make a hard dough, its important to knead it well,
leave it to sit for abt an hour covered and then reknead it a bit.
heat an iron gridle and make balls of your dough and roll it out not too thin.
bake it the hot girdle till brown. u can also add a bit of oil or butter when its nearly done.

Posted in Everything Vegetarian, Floury Matter, Typical Sindhi Dishes, Vegan | Tagged coriander, cumin seeds, loli, sindhi, whole wheat flour parathas | 2 Comments

CHICKEN PIE N BUNS

Posted on August 17, 2011 by nituchugani

I dont know if this is a “quiche” or a pie because the crust is pizza like…while quiches have much for fat i have made this with not much fat content… The extra dough was made into buns!!! That way you can have both options!!

Its easy to make… but one thing you have to be careful about is the yeast… the water should be warm (if you can put your finger in to test it…the water should be pleasant..) if the water is too warm or not warm enough the yeast wont rise…..
FOR THE DOUGH:
1 envelope of dry active yeast
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
1 small cup of warm water
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2-2.5 cups of white flour (as much as the liquid takes in )
Method:
in a big mixing bowl add the yeast, salt and the sugar and mix in the warm water. Leave it to ferment for about 15 minutes…(if it doesnt get frothy means the water isnt the correct temperature and u will ahve to redo this ). Once you see the yeast fermenting add the olive oil and as much white flour one needs to make a dough. Knead the dough well for about 5-7 minutes till its elastic (good workout!!). Cover it and leave it in a wam place to rise. It should rise till double its size….. once thats done knead it again and roll it to fit a oven tray or make into small balls to make buns. For the buns roll the small balls of dough out into a small circle and fill with filling of your choice. If making a pie just spoon the filling over your pastry.
CHICKEN FILLING
1 cup boiled and chopped chicken breast
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
1/2 cup of boiled peas
1 onion chopped
2 tablespoons of butter or olive oil
1 cup of milk
2 tablespoons of white flour
salt and pepper to taste
oregano to taste
METHOD:
in a skillet melt the butter or heat the oil and sautee the chopped onions till transparent. Add the flour and stir for about a minute taking care it does not burn. Then add the milk and cook till thickened. Add the mushrooms, peas and the chicken and season with salt pepper and oregano. Cook till thickened. Cool the mixture thoroughly and then spread it on the dough if you want to make a pie or fill it into the dough to make buns.
Brush the buns with beaten egg or milk and bake in a preheated oven at 200 till done.

Posted in Chicken, Floury Matter | Tagged butter, chicken, flour, milk, mushrooms, olive oil, peas, pie, quiche | Leave a comment

SPANISH OMLETTE (TORTILLA DE PATATA)

Posted on August 16, 2011 by nituchugani

Been to Spain??? Miss those lively tapas bars and the most common sight there??? SPANISH OMLETTE!! Its eaten anytime…. and is soo popular. The spanish make many types of omlettes but the typical “tortilla de patata” literally translated as “potato omlette” is the most common. They say theres a trick to making the perfect spanish omlette. The ratio of the potatoes to the egg, and the fact that the centre should be soft… etc etc.. but actually it depends on the individual. I like to cook eggs thoroughly to avoid all kinds of health issues that do crop up with uncooked egg. So let me guide you into making that TYPICAL TORTILLA DE PATATA!!
Do remember to serve it with french baguette…. and also a glass of chilled beer, wine of your choice or sangria!!!!! Creating the spirit of Spain in your kitchen!!!
INGREDIENTS:
for a small sized omlette
350 grams of potatoes, cut in rounds of about 1/4 inch thickness…thats not too thick and not too thin
1 white onion, cut into small pieces
2 inches of oil, olive oil or cooking oil
salt to taste
6 eggs

METHOD:
Heat the oil in a non stick skillet and put the potates and onions in to cook on low flame. Cover the potatoes and keep on stirring so they dont brown. Keep aside to cool. Beat the eggs well .
Reheat the skillet and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and when heated add the potato egg mixture and cover it and leave it to set on medium flame. You can check it by lifting the side of the omlette to see if its browned on the bottom. Using a plate big enough to cover the whole skillet flip the omlette and cook on the other side also. When its done leave it to rest a bit covered for it to be thoroughly cooked. Cut it into wedges and serve it with sliced french baguette..THIS IS HOW ITS SERVED IN SPAIN!!!!!!!!

To see the video:

To buy my ceramic pans visit my online store

Posted in Crack an egg???, Quick Recipes, Spanish Tapas | Tagged eggs, olive oil, potatoes, spanish, spanish omlette, tapas, tortilla, tortilla de patata | Leave a comment

MOIST CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Posted on August 15, 2011 by nituchugani

This is a simple moist chocolate cake which is amazingly light. It is soo soft it tends to break when you unmould it so please let it cool down thoroughly also please use a proper cake pan which is greased well and dusted with flour. You can either slice it in half and sandwich it with a white chocolate spread, strawberry jam or just plain whipped cream. I this time did not sandwich it, i just cut it up and served it with a chocolate sauce and ice cream.
INGREDIENTS FOR THE CAKE:
1 cup sugar
1 cup white flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon each baking powder and soda bicarbonate
2 tablespoons of nesquik drinking chocolate powder
1/2 tsp each salt and white vinegar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup boiling water , TO BE ADDED LAST
METHOD:
mix all the 1st 7 ingredients well. add rest of ingredients and lastly the boiling water. put into a baking dish and bake in a preheated oven at 170 and COOL IT COMPLETELY….or even better keep in the fridge for a few hours. Then you can slice it in half through the middle to fill it.
FOR THE CHOCOLATE SAUCE:
100 grams milk chocolate
1/2 cup of milk ( i used semi skimmed milk coz its what i have at home, but i think it would have a better consistency with full fat milk)
Melt the milk and chocolate till its all melted. Keep it aside and it wont be thick…so you can use it as a sauce
This cake gets more moist and softer as its kept
ITS SUCH AN AMAZING CAKE!!

Posted in A Piece of Cake???, Floury Matter | Tagged . chocolate sauce, cake, chocolate, moist cake | 6 Comments

NITUS SPECIAL INDIAN RICE PUDDING

Posted on August 14, 2011 by nituchugani

have never made KHEER before and this time for the indian festival of RAKSHA BANDHAN i decided to make a few desserts instead of just one. So i made the chocolate cake (that collpased!!) and then i also made this indian rice pudding which we call KHEER. I wanted to make it different and give it my own touch..and also my own texture. I added ingredients which usually arent there in the typical KHEER. like white chocolate and oats!!!.there already is one recipe of that called PAYASAM… so now you have a choice!!! How wonderful is that????
INGREDIENTS:
1 litre semi skimmed milk
250 grams of white chocolate bar
1/2 cup of rice (washed)
2 heaped tablespoon of oats
1 pinch of NITU DIDI pure spanish saffron
1/2 teaspoon of NITU DIDI ground cardamom powder
1 teaspoon of rose essence
1/2 cup of sliced pistachos
METHOD:
In a thick bottomed saucepan put the milk to boil for at least 10 minutes taking care it does not burn. Then you add the saffron, and the rice and the oats. Keep on cooking for about 30 minutes stirring constantly. The milk will get thick and the rice will cook. When you see the rice has cooked and the whole mixture is thick add the white chocolate and let it melt and take it off the heat. Cool it and then add the chopped nuts, the ground cardamom and the rose essence. Refrigerate and then eat it!!! I like my KHEER a little thick so i can have it with a spoon…if you like it a bit runny you can skip the 1st step of boiling it for 10 minutes.
TIP: To make this richer…you can add whole milk…and when its done and cooled you can add some cream. If you dont want it sweetened with white chocolate you can add sugar to taste or condensed milk. The oats give it a real nice texture and its healthy too!!!
DO ENJOY!!

TIP FOR DIABETICS: just omit the white chocolate and use a sweetener to sweeten your kheer!!!

LOW CALORIE KHEER????? why not!!! use skimmed milk, sweetener, omit the rice and just add the oats….

To buy Nitu Didi pure spanish saffron

Posted in Eggless Sweet Temptations, Everything Vegetarian, Indian Restaurant Dishes, Rice is Nice | Tagged cardamom, kheer, oats, rice pudding, saffron | 2 Comments

BOUNTY CAKE

Posted on August 13, 2011 by nituchugani

I am posting the recipe of this cake which tastes amazing but collpased coz i did not let it cool thoroughly. I am yet posting the recipe for those of you who want to try it out!

This is the pic of the collapsed cake!!

I managed to cut a decent piece for the pic…my kids just ate it alll!!

This is a pic of the same cake i had made earlier…i always tend to make this cake..Its a HOT favourite at home!!

This cake is called BOUNTY CAKE..because of its rich chocolate sponge and then creamy coconut filling and excellent chocolate topping
This recipe was taken from the internet and i adjust it a bit to suit myself. It is a verry delicate cake and each time i make it i pray it doesnt crumble or fall apart. The cake has to be cooled totally before its cut to do the filling and i never seem to have the patience…I think thats where i fail!! I will share a few pics of the way i have made it various times so you can have an idea.
INGREDIENTS FOR THE CHOCOLATE SPONGE (verry light and amazingly moist=
1.25 cup sugar
1.25 cups white flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon each baking powder and soda bicarbonate
2 tablespoons of nesquik drinking chocolate powder
1/2 tsp each salt and white vinegar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup boiling water , TO BE ADDED LAST
METHOD:
mix all the 1st 7 ingredients well. add rest of ingredients and lastly the boiling water. put into a baking dish and bake in a preheated oven at 170 and COOL IT COMPLETELY….or even better keep in the fridge for a few hours. Then you can slice it in half through the middle to fill it
COCONUT FILLING
200 grams white chocolate
1/4 cup cream
1/4 cup or more dessicated coconut
over a double boiler melt the white chocolate and then add the cream and mix well. Add the coconut and mix well again and cool. If it gets a bit hard and cant be spread add some liquid milk to it.
FOR THE GANACHE
200grams milk or dark chocolate slab
1/4 cup cream
sugar to taste if needed
over a double boiler melt the chocolate. add the cream and sugar and mix well.
TO ASSEMBLE:
cut the cake in half and spread the white chocolate mixture on it. Cover with the other half of the cake and then spread the GANACHE well all over it.
WHY IT COLLAPSED:
it collapsed because i did not allow it to cool thoroughly……………

Posted in A Piece of Cake???, Cooking Disasters!!, Floury Matter | Tagged bounty, cake, choc, chocolate, chocolate cake, coconut, ganache, white chocolate | 6 Comments

MINI PIZZAS WITHOUT CHEESE

Posted on August 12, 2011 by nituchugani

These “cheeseless” pizzas are my creation for those who cant have cheese due to some reason or the other. You can enjoy a pure vegetarian pizza without cheese! They are healthy and delicous even when cold!!
I am sorry the pic isnt much to look at …but the taste was awesome!! I minced everything up because my husband has a phobia to zucchini and eggplants!! This way he didnt know what he was eating which was good as well!
FOR THE DOUGH:
1 envelope of baking powder (2.5 teaspoons)
2 tablespoons of oil
1 teaspoon oil
1 tablespoon sugar ( you can omit this if you want)
1 cup of warm milk(FOR VEGAN please use water)
2.5-3 cups of white flour (or as much as you need to make the dough)
METHOD:
put the baking powder in a bowl and add the warm milk and leave it to froth (10 minutes) add the salt, the oil and the sugar and as much white flour as you need. Make a pliable dough and knead it well ( 5minutes at least…good arm work out!!!). Keep covered for about 6 hours.
FOR THE SAUCE:
1 onion chopped
2 cloves chopped garlic
3 red ripe tomatoes chopped
1 peeled small zucchini
1 peeled small eggplant (aubergine)
1 small red capsicum ( if you use the red one u will get a better color, i used the green 😦 thats why the color isnt soo red)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and sugar to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
METHOD:
in a pan heat the olive oil and add the chopped onions, and cook till transparent. Then add all the vegetables and salt and cook till all is mushy and dry. Add the sugar and the oregano. Cool the mxiture and blend in a blender. Taste n correct seasoning.
TO ASSEMBLE:
heat the oven to 180 deg. Make small balls of the dough (for mini pizzas). Roll each ball into a small round (not too thin else you will get a biscuit type crispiness..i dont mind it). Spread some of the vegetable sauce on it and bake for about 10-15 mins till done.
IF YOU WANT YOU CAN ADD GRATED CHEESE!!!!!!

NITU DIDI NOTE: Please excuse me for the pic… i just couldnt get it right…but since soo many of you wanted the recipe… here you are 🙂

Posted in Everything Vegetarian, Floury Matter, Veg Starters, Vegan | Tagged capsicum, cheeseless, egglplant, mini pizza, Vegan, vegetarian, zucchini | 2 Comments

GRILLED MEAT WITH CHILLI DIPPING SAUCE

Posted on August 12, 2011 by nituchugani

GRILLED MEAT WITH CHILLI DIPPING SAUCE
I walked into a Latina supermarket searching for some nice vanilla essence and was greeted by the most amazing aroma of grilling meat.
The owners asked me to try a piece of their Argentianian beef…and i did…IT WAS AMAZING!!! So i bought some from them and even made the CHILLI DIPPING SAUCE with the hot hot peppers they sold me!! Result was fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!
INGREDIENTS:
250 grams of good quality thickly cut beef or lamb
salt , pepper and lemon juice and abit of olive oil
METHOD:
cut the meat into cubes and marinate with salt, pepper and lemon juice and the olive oil
Heat a grill very well and put the pieces of meat to grill till done as you like it. I like my meat well done

CHILLI DIPPING SAUCE

2-3 hot peppers as shown in the pic (im sorry i dont know the name of the peppers),2 cloves of garlic, 1 small piece ginger, 1 tomato,salt,a few citric acid crystals. Blend everything in a blender. Serve with the grilled meat… DELICOUS!!

TIP: citric acid crystals give your sauces and chutneys more life!! I always use them as a souring agent and also as a preservative!!