CARROT HALWA(INDIAN CARROT PUDDING)

Posted on August 6, 2011 by nituchugani

RECIPE AND PIC BY MY DEAREST SAJNA BASANT..she sent it to me with lots of love 🙂 thank you soo much SAJNA

This recipee takes less than 10 minutes cooking time and also very sweeter than the one we make using milk.One more advantage of this recipee is its healthier than the pan made halwa as the ghee and sugar required are minimum.
Moreover the goodness of carrot is not lost by evaporation.

Ingredients:

Carrot – 4 big ones grated
Sugar -10 tablespoons (varies depends on the sweetness of carrot)
Ghee -6 table spoons (can also use butter)
Condensed milk-4 tablespoons
cardamom (seeds crushed) -2nos and a pinch of NITU DIDI pure spanish saffron

Method.
———
In a pressure cooker add carrot, ghee and sugar. cook for 3-4 whistles. The ghee and sugar might have seperated on top now. Now add cardamom seeds crushed, and condensed milk and the saffron if there is excess water from sugar/ghee keep on stirring under medium flame to evaporate it out.if u want to mash the carrot can do it now or if u want it like flakes then leave as such. remove from fire when it starts thickening and garnish with nuts like cashew nuts, pistachios and walnuts

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SAVOURY MUSHROOM CAKE

Posted on August 6, 2011 by nituchugani

MUSHROOM CAKE NITU

An excellent “PIE” style cake which can be either served cut or whole. If someone doesnt like sweets, why not bake this for a birthday!!! It also keeps well and tastes nice cold so makes excellent picnic food!!  You wont believe how easy it is to make and….. you can even bake small small ones in muffin cases!! I will teach you the basic recipe then  you can always add ingredients acording to your imagination and your needs..By the way this is EGGLESS!!
INGREDIENTS:
1 can (450 grams or more) of mushrooms, drained and minced in the food processor
1 handful of raw macaroni, boiled, drained and minced in the food processor)i used my amazing bullet to mince both the pasta and mushrooms separately
1 onion chopped fine
1 green capsicum chopped fine
1 green chilli chopped fine
3 cloves of garlic chopped fine
2 tablespoons of chopped ginger
1 tomato chopped fine
1/2 teaspoon each of NITU DIDIs turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and garam masala
1/4 cup of tomato paste plus chilli sauce of your choice to taste
1 cup of grated cheese (or more) of you choice
1 tablespoon of cooking oil or olive oil for the sautee

METHOD:
In a non stick pan heat the oil and put the onions, garlic, ginger to sautee. When slightly browned add the capsicum and green chillies and the mushrooms, mix well and keep on sauteeing adding the spices and salt to taste. Add the tomatoes and the tomato paste and cook till mixture is mushy and dry, Very important mixture should be dry else the cake wont bind. When the mixture is dried (you will know as it leaves the sides of the pan and starts to stick to the bottom) take off the flame. Cool it slightly and then mix in your minced pasta and the cheese. Mix well. Taste for seasoning and correct. I like to add some tomato ketchup and some tabasco to it also!!Put into a cake tin, or a baking dish or even muffin cases(which ever you prefer). You can even put it into a flat baking sheet if you want to serve it cut up in squares!!  Top with grated cheese and you can also decorate it with capsicum rings or sauce. Bake in a hot oven at 200 deg till cheese melts.
TO SERVE:
either you can serve it as a cake, or use a silicon mould , upturn it and then add some grated cheese and sauce and put it back in the oven for a few mins for cheese to melt OR you can cool it and cut it into squares!! This dish is EXCELLENT, vegetarian and an all time favorite..If you make it… you can even play a guessing game as to what it contains..
NITU DIDI TIP: Instead of minced mushrooms you can use soya mince, make it the same way instead of mushrooms, or even mixed vegetables.!!!

 

Posted in Everything Vegetarian, Fusion, Ideas for meals, Low Cost, Magic Bullet, Pasta, Quick Recipes, Veg Starters | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

3 BEAN SALAD WITH TOMATO SALSA

Posted on August 6, 2011 by nituchugani

This healthy salad is a MUST for all vegetarians, calorie concious and all of us actually!!

You can use any kind of beans you like..canned or dried. If they are dried they need to be soaked and boiled and if canned just rinsed and drained well.

Three Bean Salad (an interesting side salad accompanied with fresh tomato salsa):Ingredients:
1/4 cup dried red kidney beans (rajma), 1/4 cup dried black-eyed beans (chauli), 1/4 cup dried butter beans, 1 small white onion, skinned and sliced into rings, salt and freshly ground pepper, lemon juice and fresh corianderleaves, to garnish.
Method:
Wash and soak beans together overnight; before preparing salad pressure cook the beans for two whistles and then drain; Combine salt, pepper, lemon juice and coriander and pour over the beans while they are still warm. Toss thorughly and leave to cool. Chill for 2-3 hours before serving. Mix the onions with the beans before serving.
Fresh tomato salsa: 2 medium tomatoes
1 white onion2 large flakes garlic
1/4 cup black olives sliced,
1 green chilly/or one small green bell pepper
capers
1Tbsp. Lemon Juice or white vinegar
1 Tbsp. Extra virgin olive oil

Dice tomatoes, onions, garlic, olives & green chilly/bell pepper. Combine oil and vinegar, pour over tomato mixture. Serve with corn or taco chips, or even better thin toasted baguette slices. For best flavor, let the mixture sit/chill for several hours before serving.

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CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA

Posted on August 5, 2011 by nituchugani

FOR THE BASIC CHICKEN TIKKA PLEASE REFER TO :

FOR THE CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA

Restaurant like CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA with half the calories!!!
Now you can eat this more often and the way you want!!
for this you will need :
Chicken tikka pieces
for the sauce..INGREDIENTS:
1 bay leaf
4 cloves
3 cardamoms
1 small piece of cinnamon
1 small onion chopped fine
1 clove of garlic chopped

a few cashewnuts
small piece of ginger chopped
1 or 2 fresh red chillies
coriander leaves
1 teaspoon each of NITU DIDIs cumin and coriander powder
2 tablespoons of HEINZ ketchup
salt to taste
a little milk/cream
Butter or oil or ghee


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CHICKEN TIKKA

Posted on August 5, 2011 by nituchugani

 

Chicken Tikka must be the most popular dish and most ordered dish in an Indian restaurant menu card!!
Its also Englands national dish!! So dont you all think its worth a try in your kitchens???
For the authentic flavor one needs a barbecue or a “TANDOOR! which is a clay oven that uses coal. It is the coal that gives the dish its distinctive flavor.
I will teach you how to get more or less that flavor in your own kitchens…provided you have a gas stove!! Its an easy recipe…not much fuss and full of flavor. Yes what you do need is a good TANDOORI SPICE POWDER…. there r some brands which are EXCELLENT and some which leave me wondering….
Anyways, do try this out and the next video shall be HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA….
By the way this is a LOW CALORIE RECIPE!!!!!
INGREDIENTS:
1 chicken breast, around 250-300 grams cut into big chunks
1/2 cup of room temperature low fat yoghurt
1 heaped teaspoon of NITU DIDIS TANDOORI SPICE POWDER
salt to taste
2 cloves of garlic
1 tiny piece of ginger
METHOD
blend all the above ingredients except the chicken in a blender. Marinate the chicken overnight . Heat a grill. or a barbeuce, or a tandoor if you have one and cook the chicken on that. In case you dont..the video shows you how to get the authentic restaurant flavor into your CHICKEN TIKKA.
NITU DIDI TIP: Please dont throw away extra marinade…you can always use it to marinate something else or freeze it!!
HAPPY EATING!!!

 

Posted in Chicken, Indian Restaurant Dishes, NO OIL RECIPES | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

DRESSED TOMATOES

Posted on August 3, 2011 by nituchugani

 

Summer is here and there are soo many tomatoes everywhere!!! Wikipedia says there are 7500 different types of tomatoes…so imagine what a choice we have!! We can stew, cook, puree, soup,salad and do what not to our tomatoes…So today lets DRESS them up!!! My way is always the easy, time and budget saving way…Delicious food doesnt need to cost the earth!! Make this recipe when tomatoes are abundant and cheap!! So here we go!!!
INGREDIENTS:
red ripe and firm tomatoes, cut into round slices
grated parmesan cheese
olives of your choice, i used de-seeded green ones
For the dressing:
a good splash of a good SPANISH EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
salt to taste
a pinch each of dried or fresh oregano, basil,parsley and rosemary and garlic powder
a pinch of black pepper
mix the ingredients for the dressing and keep for about 30 minutes for the flavors to infuse.
METHOD:
Place the tomato slices on a plate. If any juice of the tomato oozes out while cutting add it to the dressing, it enhances its flavor!!!
Pour the dressing on top of the tomatoes. Sprinkle generously with the grated cheese and decorate with olives!!
Serve immediately with hot baguette!!
VERRY HEALTHY AND LOW CALORIE… Olive oil is very good for health

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CHEESY SQUARES AND PICADILLO

Posted on August 2, 2011 by nituchugani

I simply love KRAFT CHEDDAR CHEESE!!! We  dont get it in Spain and i always have to ask someone to bring me some. I use it as gold…verry sparingly but this time i couldnt resist making my favourtie snack with it. CHEESY SQUARES…pure vegetarian snack…and soo delicous..even the most fussy eater will love this!!
You can serve it with the sauce of your choice but i chose to be a little health  concious(ahem ahem!!!) and make a no oil picadillio!! So here we go with the recipe..By the way if anyone knows anyone in KRAFT.. please ask …why oh why dont we get this cheese in Spain????
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup of semolina(sooji in hindi)
4 cups of skimmed milk (you can use full fat milk if you wish, and please use the same cup as the measurements)
1 pinch of NITU DIDIs cumin seeds
1 pinch of NITU DIDIs chilli flakes
1/2 teaspoon of grated ginger
green chillies and coriander leaves as you wish
1 pinch of NITU DIDIs black pepper powder
salt to taste
1 cup of grated cheese ( i used KRAFT CHEDDAR CHEESE)
breadcrumbs as needed
oil for deep frying
METHOD:
Heat 3 cups of milk with the cumin seeds, black pepper, grated ginger, chilli flakes and when well heated add the semolina(sooji) and cook it till the whole mixture is thick and leaves the sides of the pan. Add the green chillies and the coriander leaves and remove from the heat. Stir in the grated cheese and spread on a baking tray or a flat plate. With wet palms pat it on the surface to even it out. I say wet palms because you wont burn yourself and the mixture wont stick to your palms, I like my squares pretty fine so i spread the mixture onto 3 plates. When cool cut into squares. Separate the squares and dip into the remaining 1 cup of milk and then coat in breadcrumbs. Deep fry in hot oil till brown and crispy…SERVE WITH OIL FREE PICADILLO(please do not laugh!!)
OIL FREE PICADILLO
cut small pieces of tomato, onion, green chillies, capsicum, coriander leaves and cucumber. Season with salt and lemon juice…If you want you can add a good Virgin olive oil..i didnt!!

Posted in Everything Vegetarian, NO OIL RECIPES, Veg Starters | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

CHICKEN KABABS AND SPICY GREEN BEAN SOUP

Posted on August 1, 2011 by nituchugani

 

I have named this folder “Nitus Spicy Delites” as i love my food spicy and when i do have the time i do just cook something for myself 🙂
My meals are simple, id like to call them “balanced!!” but half the time they are just what i want to indulge in!!
Todays meal is quite balanced : CHICKEN KABABS , SPICED GEEN BEAN SOUP and ROTI
FOR THE CHICKEN KABABS
250 grams chicken mince ( i used breast mince)
2-3 cloves of garlic, a small piece of ginger, 1/4 onion, green chillies to taste and a  handful of coriander leaves all ground to a paste
1/2 teaspoon each of NITU DIDIs cumin powder and garam masala powder
salt to taste
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
Mix all the ingredients together well. Shape into kababs and keep in a container and let it marinate for a few hours for all the flavours to mingle. Then heat a non stick pan with a little oil and shallow fry the kababs till golden in color and done. Sprinkle with slices of onion or in my case i just added some chopped red chillies !!!

FOR THE SPICED GREEN BEAN SOUP
250 grams or 1 bowl of chopped green beans
1/2 onion
1 red tomato
a small piece of ginger, chopped
salt to taste
a good pinch each of NITU DIDIs turmeric powder, cumin seeds
green chillies to taste
juice of half a lime or less if you dont like it soo tart
METHOD:
Put the beans, the onion and tomato into a pressure cooker with about 2 cups of water and pressure cook it till its done. Alternatively you dont need to use a pressure cooker, i do to save time and retain all the nutrients of the vegetables.Once its done, cool and blend into a puree.
Heat a tablespoon of oil (or less) in a pan and then add the cumin seeds and let them splutter, then add the chopped ginger and cook for a few seconds. Add the pureed beans , the salt, turmeric and the green chillies. Let it come to a boil. Taste for seasoning and then add chopped coriander leaves and the lime juice
Thats it!!!My simple spicy meal….. i had it with ROTI which are like tortillas home made out of whole wheat!!

Posted in Chicken, Everything Vegetarian, Nitu´s Spicy Delights, Soups-hot and cold | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

EGGLESS MANGO-SAFFRON TARTS

Posted on July 31, 2011 by nituchugani

This recipe has been inspired by my EGGLESS CHOCO TART recipe by my follower Rashmita Dhanraj. She did not want a chocolate filling and since it was mango season in India we thought of a mango saffron custard filling.She made it according to my guidance and sent me the pic(thank you soo much sweetie)

For the eggless tart recipe please refer to EGGLESS CHOCO TARTS

The mango saffron custard is basically vanilla custard made up as the instructions from the packet but with NITU DIDI PURE SPANISH SAFFRON…. then the custard is cooled and filled into the tart shells and topped with chopped fresh mango….

LOVELY FRUITY EGGLESS TARTS…THANK YOU SOO MUCH RASHMITA FOR THE LOVELY PIC..AS LOVELY AS YOU ARE 🙂

Posted in Eggless Sweet Temptations, Everything Vegetarian | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

STIR FRIED SQUID WITH SPRING ONIONS

Posted on July 31, 2011 by nituchugani

This yummy squid dish has an ASIAN  flavor because of the spring onions and ginger. It took me exactly 3 minutes to stir fry!! The cleaning process does take time but if you use frozen pre-cleaned squid then its ok…It tastes soo deliciously tender and you can just pick on them with a fork…light, low calorie. If you want it spicy you can add some chilli flakes or crushed red chilli paste..DO NOT ADD SALT as the squid is already salty with the seasalt content…i did not find the need to add any
INGREDIENTS:
250 grams of squid, cleaned and cut into bite size pieces ( i use a kitchen scissors for this)
1 tablespoon of finely chopped ginger
red chilli flakes or paste if you want it spicy…i did not have
a little chopped spring onion
1 tablespoon of sesame oil
2 tablespoons of oil for stir frying
METHOD:
heat a wok and then add the oil and then the ginger pieces and stir it for a few seconds and then add the squid. Stir fry it on high heat till it turns opaque and add the chillies, the spring onions and the sesame oil. Its important not to over cook the squid or else it gets hard and rubbery. I did not need to add salt… it was salted …. Serve hot… it tastes nice on its own as a starter

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