KULFI

The scorching heat of summer makes us feel more thirsty and to quench our thirst, we tend towards having something which is cold and could give us some relief from this summer heat. So at this time of summer nothing could be better than a chilled and yummy kulfi. Kulfi is an Indian dessert made with concentrated milk, chopped nuts and saffron. It is usually flavored with green cardamom powder.

INGREDIENTS

Full cream milk-2-1/2 cup

Condensed milk-1/2 cup

Milk powder-1/4 cup

Green cardamom (elachi) powder-1/2 tsp

Finely chopped almonds and pistachio-1/2 cup

METHOD I

Mix all the ingredients together except the nuts and the elachi powder. Bring the mixture to boil and then shimmer it for about 20 mins or till the milk thickens. Now add the chopped nuts and the elachi powder, and keep it aside for cooling. Once the kulfi mixture reaches room temperature, pour this into kulfi moulds and refrigerate it for at least 8-9 hrs in freezer.

METHOD II

Boil Full fat milk (250 ml) till it starts thickening. Then add 1/2 cup sugar (or as per taste), and stir well to dissolve the sugar. Now add cornflour (2tsp) mixed with water (1 tsp). Put 1/2 cup khoya and chopped nuts. A few strands of Kesar (Saffron) could be added to the milk to make Kesar/ Saffron Kulfi. Turn off the flame and put cardamom powder (1/2 tsp) and bring the kulfi mixture to room temperature. Now pour this mixture into kulfi mould and refrigerate it for 8-9 hrs.

CHICKEN SANDWICH

INGREDIENTS

Boneless Chicken-100 gms (boiled with crushed peppercorn, garlic cloves, ginger and salt) and shredded

Chopped Cucumber-1/2 cup

Chopped Onion-1/2 cup

Chopped Tomato-1/2 cup

Shredded Cabbage-1/4 cup

Mayonnaise-3 tbsp

Mixed herbs-2 tsp

Pepper powder-1 tsp

Chilly Flakes-1/2 tsp

Salt as per taste

Butter-for applying on breads

METHOD

To make the stuffing for the sandwiches, first take a medium sized bowl and put all the ingredients in it, and mix properly. Put the filling inside the bread slices and brush butter on the outer sides of the bread (side that touches the sandwich grill plates), and grill till the sandwich become golden brown in color.

CORN PULAO (PILAF)

Here is another healthy and tasty recipe of Pulao or Pilaf made with American sweet corn. 

INGREDIENTS

Steamed Basmati Rice-2 cups

Chopped Onion-1 medium size

Ginger-1-inch, finely chopped

Garlic-3 cloves (chopped)

Bayleaf-1

Garam masala (whole)- 3 green cardamom, 1-inch stick cinnamon, 3 cloves

Clarified Butter/ Ghee-2 tsp (amount can be increased/ decreased)

Refined Oil-2 tsp

Green chilly-1

Dry red chilly-1

Cumin seeds-1 tsp

Coriander seeds-1 tsp

Boiled corns-1 cup

Salt and sugar- as per taste

Coriander leaf-1 bunch

METHOD

Take a wok, put refined oil in it and temper it with cumin seeds, coriander seeds, bayleaf, garam masala, slitted green chilly and dry red chilly. Now add the chopped ginger and garlic, and saute a little. Put the chopped onion and fry till the onion becomes pinkish in color. Now put the boiled corn, add on the seasonings as well. Mix all the spices properly. Put the boiled rice into it and sprinkle ghee from above. Mix the whole thing nicely and with gentle hands. Sprinkle chopped coriander leaf. Now the Corn Pulao/ Pilaf is ready to be served.

MEETHI MUSHROOM

Most of us are aware of the health benefits of mushroom. It is a great source of important minerals like iron, zinc, potassium, as well as vitamin D. Not only that mushrooms are low in carbohydrates, calories, and sodium.  It is also cholesterol and fat free. People who are vegetarian, should include mushroom in their diet for its high nutritive value. Mushroom is used in the world of cuisine to make variety of dishes. Now for an Indian style recipe all you need:

INGREDIENTS

Button Mushroom-250 gm (cut into pieces)

Green peas-1 cup

Capsicum-2 diced

Onion-1 big size finely chopped and 1/2 onion diced

Ginger-garlic paste-2 tsp

Coriander powder-2 tsp

Tomato puree-1cup

Salt as per taste

Sugar as per taste

Red chilly powder-1 tsp

Turmeric powder-1 tsp

Garam masal (whole)-2 green cardamom, 1 stick of cinnamon, 2-3 cloves

Refined oil-2 tbsp

Dried Fenugreek leaf (Kasuri meethi)-3 tsp

METHODS

Blanch mushroom and green peas separately, and keep aside. Take oil in a pan, and add the garam masala.  Wait till this start spluttering. Then add the chopped onion and saute for a while. Add the ginger-garlic paste and fry for some more time.Now put the capsicum followed by mushroom pieces, and cook till the water dries up. Add coriander powder, chilly powder, turmeric powder and all the other seasonings. Add little water so that the spices wont get burnt. Now put the green peas along with the tomato puree and continue cooking till the raw smell of tomatoes fades off. Add enough water to make the gravy. Cook till it reaches the right consistency. Sprinkle kasuri meethi for a wonderful flavor.

PANEER (Cottage Cheese) IN TOMATO GRAVY

I make this recipe at my home whenever I run short of time but at the same time, want to eat something yummy. This paneer recipe needs very few ingredients to prepare and could also be made only in 20 mins.

INGREDIENTS

Cottage Cheese (paneer)-500 gm

Garam masala (whole)-2 green cardamom, 1-inch stick of cinnamon, 3 cloves

Bayleaf-1

Tomato puree-1 cup

Raisin paste- Soak 8-10 raisins in water for 10 mins and then make a smooth paste of it.

Ginger paste-1 tsp

Green Chilly-1-2

Capsicum-1 diced

Red chilly powder-1 tsp

Turmeric powder-1 tsp

Salt-as per taste

Sugar-as per taste

Fresh Cream- 1 tbsp

Milk-1/2 cup

Cornflour-1 tsp

Dried Fenugreek leaf (kasuri meethi)-2 tsp

Refined oil-2 tbsp

METHOD

Take oil in a pan, put bayleaf and crushed garam masala in it as tempering. Now put the diced capsicum and saute little. Add ginger paste and fry again. Now add the tomato puree and cook for a while. Add all the seasonings, raisins paste, red chilly powder and turmeric powder. Add enough water to make the gravy. Now put the paneer cut into any shape. Then add the cornflour mixed with little water to thicken the gravy. Add the milk and stir a little. Finally, when the dish is almost done, to finish off, add the fresh cream and sprinkle kasuri meethi from above.

MURG (Chicken) MAKHANI

Murg Makhani is a wonderful preparation of chicken in 'makhani gravy'. In this recipe, both the chicken and the gravy are cooked separately first, and then are assembled to complete the dish. This recipe is also cooked with some familiar ingredients. Though the list of ingredients is little long but when you are done with the preparation, you would find that the effort put into making of this dish is really worth. The magic of this recipe lies in its rich and yummy gravy. In this recipe of Murg Makhani, if we replace the chicken with paneer/ cottage cheese, it will become the recipe of Paneer Makhani. So we can make two yummy dishes using the same gravy. Now let's get into its ingredients and the preparation method.

INGREDIENTS

Boneless Chicken-500gm

Lemon juice-1 lime

Tandoori Color-1 pinch

Hung Curd-1/2 cup

Salt-2 tsp

Refined Oil-2 tsp

Ginger-Garlic paste-3 tsp

Red chilli powder-2 tsp

Marinate the boneless chicken pieces with the above ingredients and keep it in refrigerator for 1-2 hrs.

Ingredients for Gravy

Refined Oil-2 tsp

Ginger-garlic paste-3 tsp

Red chilli powder-1 tsp

Tomato puree-1 and 1/2 cup

Cashew nut (kaju) paste-1/2 cup

Milk-1/2 cup

Tomato Ketchup-1 tsp

Sugar to taste

Salt to taste

Fresh Cream- 1 tbsp

Kasuri Meethi/ Dried Fenugreek Leaves (it would give the dish a nice flavour)

Garam masala powder-1 tsp

METHOD

Take oil in a pan, and saute the marinated chicken, and keep aside. In another pan, again take some refined oil, and add the ginger-garlic paste. Saute a little while till the raw smell goes off. Then add chilly powder and the tomato puree. Add the seasonings also. Shimmer it in low flame for sometime. Add the kaju paste, garam masala and pour in some water; stir constantly so that the gravy doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. Cook the gravy till it reaches the right consistency. Add the fresh cream and sprinkle the kasuri meethi. Now the dish is ready to be served.  

SWEET PILAF/ MISHTI PULAO (BENGALI STYLE)

There are innumerable recipes of rice available in the world of cuisine and the pulao ('Pilaf' in English) claims a good share in it. Pulao is an awesome preparation of rice. Pulao itself could be made in a number of ways. Sweet Pulao or Mishti (name for sweet in Bengali) Pulao is a very familiar preparation of rice made in almost all bengali houses during festivities. Even if guests are going to drop by, and the host wants to serve his guests something traditional, Mishti Pulao tops the menu list. This rice recipe is very easy to make with only a very few readily available ingredients. 

INGREDIENTS  

Basmati Rice-2 cups (Soaked in water for 1 hr)

Lukewarm Water-3 and 1/2 cups

Garam Masala (whole)-1-inch cinnamon stick, 4 green cardamom, 3 clove)

Bayleaf-2

Ginger paste-1tsp

Clarified butter/ghee-2 tbsp (the amount can be increased or decreased)

Refined Oil-1tbsp

Sugar-2 tbsp

Salt-according to taste

Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp

Cashew nuts-1/2 cup

Golden Raisins-1/2 cup

METHOD

Smear turmeric powder to the water soaked rice and spread it in a platter to get dried up. Keep aside the rice for about half-an-hour. Now take a wok and put the refined oil into it. Put the bayleaf and garam masala, and wait till it start sputtering. Add the rice to it and keep stirring the rice for about 8-10 mins.

Now pour the water into the wok. Add the ginger paste, nuts and the raisins; lid-cook it till the water gets dried up and the rice is 90% done. Now it is the right time to add the seasonings. As the taste of this pulao is little towards sweet, so the amount of the sugar used is usually more than that of salt. Now mix the seasoning well and sprinkle ghee from above. Now the Bengali Mishti Pulao is ready to be served.