Lemon-Chili Pickle [Nimbu-mirchi ka Achaar]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lemon-Chili Pickle [Nimbu-mirchi ka Achaar]

Ingredients:
Lemons- 8
Green chilies- 15
Mustard seeds [yellow split] – 3/4 cup
Coriander [coarsely ground]- 1/2 cup
Fenugreek [coarsely ground]- 1/2 cup
Cloves – ½ tbsp
Fennel seeds – 2 tbsp
Cinnamon – 2 sticks
Cardamom pods – 5
Black pepper [whole]- 1 tsp
Cooking oil – 2 cups
Red chili powder – 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder – 1 tbsp
Salt- ½ cup


Method:

• Wash and dry lemon and green chilies separately.
• Cut lemon and green chilies into small pieces. Try to discard all the lemon seeds. Add turmeric and salt to lemon and green chilies and keep it in a glass bowl over night.
• Next morning, mix well and keep aside.
• In a pan, dry roast cinnamon, cloves, coriander, fenugreek, cardamom, black pepper and fennel seeds. Grind the roasted spices in grinder and keep aside.
• In a large bowl, mix all the above roasted spices and also add red chili powder to it.
• Heat oil in a separate pan and add it to the spice mix. Mix well.
• Add all the above mixture to the lemon and green chilies. Once again mix well.
• Take a clean jar; fill it up with the above pickle. Also add some hot oil on the top.  So the pickle is completely submerged in the oil.
• Store it in a clean and dry place. Pickle is ready to eat in a week.

Serving suggestions:
Enjoy Lemon-chili pickle with garma garam parathas [Indian bread] anytime of the day.

Kashmiri Pulao

 

Kashmiri Pulao

Kashmiri pulao is one of the rich, aromatic rice dishes. It can be served at any festivities or celebrations. Saffron or Zafran gives kashmiri pulao pretty golden yellow color and makes it looks appetizing. Here I’m sharing with you my version of Kashmiri Pulao.

Ingredients:
For Kashmiri Pulao [5 servings]
Rice (Basmati) – 2 cups
Sweet Onion – 1/2 Medium size, Sliced
Cashews [kaju] – ½ cup (halved)
Golden Raisins [kishmish] – ½ cup
Almond slices [badam] – ½ cup
Walnuts [akharot]-1/4 cup
Saffron [kesar] – ½ tsp
Green Cardamom [Eliachi] – 5 whole
Cinnamon [dalchini] – 1 stick
Bay leaf [tej patta] – 2-3 whole
Cloves [laung] – 4
Milk – 2.5 cups
Ghee [Clarified butter] -1 tbsp
Cooking oil – 1tbsp
Salt to taste

Method:

• Soak the rice in water for 1 hour.
• Take 2 tbsp of warm milk and add saffron strands. Keep it aside till milk gets rich golden yellow color.
• Cook the rice with 1 cup of water and 2.5 cup milk. Let the rice cool completely or let it sit in the refrigerator for couple of hours after cooking.
• Heat a pan and add oil and ghee. Briefly sauté cashews, raisins, almond slices and walnuts and keep aside. Sauté sliced onions till golden brown and keep aside.
• Now in the same pan with oil and ghee, add cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and bay leaf.
• Add cooked rice carefully and mix well. Add fried onions and nuts to it.
• Stir in saffron milk and cook for few more seconds.
• Kashmiri Pulao is ready to serve.

Garnish:
Garnish Kashmiri pulao with fried nuts. Enjoy pulao at any meal time with raita and pickles.

Diwali Special: Walnut-Dates Roll

Walnut-Dates Roll

Continuing the tradition of posting recipes for Diwali, I am sharing the recipe for healthy and simple Walnut – Dates Roll. Hope you like it.
Walnut-dates roll is a simple and healthy recipe. Enjoy as a dessert after a meal or anytime of the day.

Nutritional facts:

Walnuts: Walnuts are a delicious way to add extra nutrition, flavor and crunch to a meal. While walnuts are harvested in December, they are available year round a great source of those all-important omega-3 fatty acids.

[Source: http://www.whfoods.com/]

Dates: California dates are loaded with the energy you need every day – to win a marathon or get you through a tough day. With only 24 calories per date (248 per 100 gram serving), dates are high in dietary fiber, carbohydrates, and contain more potassium than bananas! Yet they are virtually fat, cholesterol and sodium free!

[Source: http://www.nutsonline.com/]

Ingredients:

For Walnut–Dates Roll [Approx 20 rolls]

Walnuts [Akhrot]– 1.5 cups
Dates pitted [Pind khajoor] – 1.5 cups
Cardamom powder – 1/2 tsp
Brown sugar [golden] – 1 tbsp
Ghee [Clarified butter] – 2 tbsp
Whole milk – ¼ cup

Method:

• In the food processor, coarsely chop walnuts and dates separately.
• Heat a pan, add ghee and chopped walnuts. Sauté for 2-3 minutes on medium flame.
• Add cardamom powder, chopped dates, brown sugar and milk. Keep stirring for 5 minutes. The mixture should be evenly mixed.
• Divide the above mixture in two parts.
• Take each part and tightly roll it in a square piece of aluminum foil. Rolls should be at least 10 inches long and 2 inches in diameter.
• Put both the rolls, with the aluminum foil, in the freezer for 2 hours.
• Take out the rolls after 2 hours, take off the aluminum foil and with a clean knife, cut the roll into half inch thick discs.
• Lay the discs flat in a plate and again put it in the refrigerator of 2 hours.
• Serve chilled or at the room temp.

Serving Suggestions:

Enjoy Walnut-dates roll as a dessert after any meal.

I’m glad to announce that this recipe is included in a french site’s database, on their website

Link to the site: en.petitchef.com

Diwali Special: Mathri [Savory snack]

Happy Diwali!

Diwali [Festival of lights] is celebrated with great pomp and show throughout India and all around the world by Indians. Festive food, sweets and snacks play a huge part in the Diwali celebration. So I’ll be sharing few of my favorite recipes with you this week. Enjoy and happy cooking…

Mathri (Savory Snack)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Namkeen mathri is one of the most common north Indian snack. It is great on its own with tea/coffee and even tastes better with spicy pickle or mango chutney. It lasts for few weeks if stored properly in air tight container, so it is a great anytime snack.

Ingredients:

For Namkeen Mathri [Approx. 30 pieces]

All purpose flour [Maida] – 1.5 cup
Whole wheat flour – ¾ cups
Yogurt [Dahi] – ½ cup
Vegetable oil/ Butter – ½ cup
Ajwain – 2 tsp
Whole black pepper – 2 tbsp
Water (enough to make firm dough)
Cooking oil to fry
Salt as per taste

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Method:

• Combine all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, yogurt, ajwain seeds, vegetable oil and salt.
• Mix together well and add water very slowly(spoon by spoon) to make dough. Knead well to make it a firm dough .
• Keep the dough aside for 10-15 minutes.
• Divide the dough into 4 parts. Make a long rope of each part.
• Take each rope and cut small discs with the help of knife. Now with the help of rolling pin, roll each disc into 2 inch diameter mathris. Prick each mathri with with the fork so that it will not puff when fried.
• Place one whole black pepper in the center of each mathri and press down gently.
• Repeat the process with the remaining 3 parts of dough.
• Heat cooking oil for frying the mathrisi. Oil should be medium hot.
• Deep fry mathris very slowly till it is crisp and golden in color.
• Drain it on paper towel and let it cool down. Store it in an air tight container.

Note: Mathris can be made in different flavors such as using Kasuri methi (one of my favorite) [fenugreek leaves], mango pickle masala in the dough etc.

Serving Suggestions:

Enjoy mathris with the tea/coffee any time of the day.

I’m glad to announce that this recipe is included in a french site’s database, on their website

Link to the site: en.petitchef.com

Nutritious Almond-Walnut Cookies

Nutritious Almond-Walnut Cookies
Kids love cookies. But getting healthy, nutritious cookies for them, is a challenge.  This is my all time favorite cookie recipe. You can substitute any nut for almonds and walnuts. But I like this combination. So I’m sharing this recipe with you. Hope you like it too.


Ingredients:
For Almond-Walnut cookies [Approx. 24 cookies]
All purpose flour (maida) -1 cup
Almonds -1 cup [chopped in food processor]
Walnuts  -1 cup [chopped in food processor]
Melted butter – 1/2 cup
Brown Sugar [golden] – 1 cup
Baking powder – 1/2 tsp
Baking soda –  1/2 tsp
Vanilla essence – 1 tsp
Milk – ¼ cup
Salt  – ½ tsp

Method

• Preheat the oven at 350 degrees (F).
• Chop almonds and walnuts in the food processor and keep aside.
• In a large bowl, add all the above ingredients. Mix well with a spatula.
• Take a cup of raw almonds and slice them in half. Keep aside.
• Make marble sized balls of the mixture and press it lightly with the thumb. Now place the halved slices of almonds on each cookie.
• On a lightly greased baking tray, place the cookies gently.
• Put the baking tray in the oven for 10 minutes approximately.
• Cookies are done if they are golden brown and crispy.
• Take the tray out and place the cookies on the cooling rack.
• Transfer all the cookies in an air tight container when cookies are completely cool.

Enjoy cookies with a cup of tea/coffee or warm milk any time of the day.

Great News: This recipe is included in the french site's database:
http://en.petitchef.com/recipes/nutritious-almond-walnut-cookies-fid-574563