Kids-Lunch-Box-Recipes/Pakistani Kebabs

Excited to announce that my Pakistani Kebabs recipe has been added in the E book event called 100 Kids Lunch Box Recipes by the Indus Ladies who very often come up with such events which provides a great platform and exposure to food bloggers like me.

It all started by a message sent by them via email and on facebook inviting me to participate in the event which i instantly replied to by agreeing to share one of my recipes from the blog.

I would like to say a special Thank You to the Indus ladies for giving me such a lovely opportunity and would also like to thank my friend Afreen Mujtehadi for sharing this delicious recipe with me.

Please find my recipe Pakistani Kebabs by downloading the ebook for free. Please find the link http://www.indusladies.com/food/kids-lunch-box-recipes/

Chettinad Fish Fry

When you're out there in the market wondering which variety of fish are you going to buy and how to select the good stuff etc, few things to remember are that firstly no matter which ever fish you select, make sure its fresh. You can find it so if there's no bad odor and the eyes are bright and clear. Also check if the skin has a metallic shine and not wilted and dull, and there you go, you have a winner!

It does become a little tough when those cravings shout out loud and you could probably just die if you ignore them! Considering its slightly difficult to experiment on 'something different' on a weekday where you just want to end your daily chores and get some sleep. During such times this recipe comes as a rescue! Fish is the most easiest and the fastest to cook especially on a busy weekday to not just fill your tummy but also to satisfy those cravings. This Chettinad fish fry is an easy peasy yet scrumptious dish with succulent fish fillets marinated in a number of spices.

Ingredients:

3 Fish Fillets (surmayi)

For the marination:

1tsp cumin
1tsp fennel
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp black peppercorns
few curry leaves
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
8 cloves garlic
1 knob ginger
1 chopped tomato
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
few tsps of tamarind extract
1 tbsp cornflour
salt to taste
few tsps of water

Cooking Process:

1: Dry roast the ginger, garlic, cumin, fennel, coriander seeds, black pepper corns, curry leaves and mustard seeds and grind them in a mortar or pestle adding a little oil, water and salt.

2: Then add the chopped tomato, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and tamarind extract and grind to paste.

3: Cut the fillets into medium sized pieces and apply the above spicy mix.

4: Leave for marinating in the refrigerator for about half n hour.

5: On a flat non stick pan, fry these fish fillets for about 3-4 minutes on each side until its cooked.

Pakistani Kebabs

Posting after two weeks of the desert marathon and it feels good to be introducing you all to this spicy delicious Pakistani kebab. I do miss the madness in my kitchen of that whole one week but also slightly relieved that it’s over.  Phew!

This is the second recipe that I am sharing of my friend Afreen. She gave me this simple recipe last year and since then I’ve been making it pretty frequently. Usually potatoes act like the binding agent in cutlets but here it’s the meat alone that binds itself together to form a melt-in-the-mouth consistency. There might be few cracks or a proper shape might not form, don’t bother, as it’s meant to be that way due to its soft texture. Because they’re so effortless to make, you can choose to cook this one in huge batches either for parties/get together, or even just for family, stash it away in the fridge and fry whenever required.

Ingredients:

½ kilo mince/kheema (mutton)

2 medium onions

2 Sticks of cinnamon

Few cloves

3-4 dry red chillies

Few cloves of elaichi

1 tsp Garam masala powder

1tsp cumin powder

2tsp coriander powder

1 bunch fresh mint leaves

1 bunch fresh coriander leaves

Salt to taste

Steps:

1: In a bowl add the mince and all the remaining ingredients together and mix well.

2: In a deep non stick pan, add oil and cook the mince mixture till all the water dries up. Make sure the mince is completely cooked.

3: Once it cools, grind the mince and shape them into kebabs or patties and leave them in the freezer for 10-15 minutes.

4: In non stick pan/tawa, add just a tsp of oil and fry the kebabs till for about 2 min on each side.

5: Serve hot with chapattis or any sauce/mint chutney.

Oreo Cake Pops

Desert Marathon Day 7:

Ah! It’s finally the last day of my desert marathon(DM) and it’s pretty late as I’m working on the last minute details of the recipe. This past week has been so chaotic and exhilarating in the kitchen, plus the shopping, cooking, writing, posting, etc was hectic enough to get me all exhausted! My day of cooking for the desert would start at my little one’s nap time and then would stay on ‘pause’ mode till he goes back to sleep in the night or else my dish would never reach the table in one piece, forget the blog! I would then lay the table or whichever spot I would be working on, place the dish with any props if needed and click away till I get enough pictures I find appropriate for posting. Next would be my write up and sometimes my son would wake up crying for milk so I would rush with a bottle and once he’s asleep, I would scoot back into my seat! Once I’m done with writing, I save it for the next day to post just in case I want to consider any changes. Thanks to my page on Facebook and Google plus, I have a wider range in readers as I keep getting personal messages from many for various stuff about the blog posts. It keeps me all geared up and exciting!

This as i said is my final recipe of the DM and thought cake pops would be a good addition. I've seen many versions online and on tv of this item but when i came across Lorraine Pascale's(she's one of my favorites) version of cake pops, i just fell in love with it! Its so easy to make and is a winner all the way. Usually they're made from cake left overs but this just needed some oreo cookies and we're good to go.

Ingredients:

Oreo biscuits 150 gms

Nutella 2 tbsp

Dark chocolate 200gms
Sprinkles

Cooking Process:

1: In a food processor, blitz the biscuits and nutella together until a muddy paste is formed.

2: Roll and shape into balls and place them in the freezer for 15 minutes so they are firm.

3: Melt the dark chocolate in a double boiler and set aside to cool.

4: Take a skewer or a straw/stick and dip 1/2 an inch into the melted chocolate and then insert each one into the prepared balls. This acts as glue.

5: With a spoon, pour over the melted chocolate evenly over the balls and stick them all into a jar or glass of sugar or dough.

5: Decorate with sprinkles of your choice and leave to set in the refrigerator till they dry.

Tip:

You can use white chocolate in place of dark and add some food coloring for fun and an attractive presentation.

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No Bake Chocolate Cheese Cake

Desert Marathon Day 6:

I had decided that the last 3 recipes in my desert marathon were going to be chocolate based. Once I was sorted with that I so wanted the cheese cake to be a part of it, adding chocolate to it was a bonus! Both children and adults love cheese and chocolate and if both are amalgamated into one recipe, its going to be polished off the plate in no time, glasses to be more specific here! 

Usually cheese cake is poured into a spring form pan and left to bake. Since this is an easier no fuss no bake version you can still use the spring form pan and leave to refrigerate. But I preferred pouring it into glasses, no reason, just liked the idea than the commonly used method.

Ingredients:

20 Bourbon or Oreo biscuits 
Butter 60gms 
Cream Cheese 200gms 
Castor sugar 50gms 
Pouring cream 150ml 
Dark chocolate 200gms 
Cocoa powder 2tbsp

 Cooking Process:

1: Blend the biscuits and melted butter in a food processor until a muddy mix is obtained. Press this down at the bottom of a wide mouthed glass and leave to set in the freezer for 1/2 hour.

2: Beat the cream cheese and castor sugar until its blended well.

3: Melt the dark chocolate and set aside.

4:Boil 2tbsp of water and add the cocoa powder and set aside.

5: Beat the cream until smooth peaks are formed and add in the melted cocoa powder and dark chocolate and mix well.

6: Add the above chocolate mixture into the cream cheese and fold in gently.

7: Pour into glasses and leave to set in the fridge for 2-3 hours.

8: Remove 10 minutes before serving and garnish with any topping you prefer such as whipped cream or grated chocolate. I used the left over biscuit mix.

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Choco-Vicious!

Desert Marathon Day 5:

Until now I have been cooking and posting traditional Indian deserts and thought let me think of something that is non-Indian yet the ingredients are mostly Indian. I was going through a lot of recipes in my head and came up with a chocolate based desert. Who doesn’t love chocolate? Whether its breakfast, lunch, dinner or a midnight snack, one doesn’t think twice before gorging on it.

This recipe took a lot of time to think. Basic ingredients had to be chocolate and milk/cream and I was thinking on the lines of a mousse or a fudge. I randomly went through my kitchen cupboard and looked at all the stuff I had store board. The very first ingredient I found was condensed milk. After that it didn’t take me much time to bring together the remaining elements. Mum in law usually gets us a lot of dry fruits from the Middle East so they were going to be a part of my dish as well. Have to mention and brag a bit here that my in-laws and husband loved the smooth n nutty texture during my sampling sessions!  I asked them all for help in suggesting a name for this dish and after lot of thinking I said “chocolicious” would sound good but husband felt it had to be something more interesting and not so commonly used. And he said, "since it’s so tempting and sinful let’s call it Choco-Vicious!" I couldn’t agree more and just went with the apt title!

Ingredients:

½ litre milk

400gms condensed milk

Sugar 2-3 tbsp

Cocoa Powder 2 tbsp

Chopped Dark Chocolate 1 cup

Butter 1 tbsp (unsalted)

Chopped walnuts 3-4 tbsp

Vanilla essence 2 drops

Roasted desiccated coconut or grated white chocolate

Cooking Process:

1: In a heavy bottomed non stick pan, mix the milk, condensed milk, sugar, cocoa powder and dark chocolate and once it boils add the butter and cook till it thickens.

2: Keep stirring for about 20 minutes till the mixture thickens and is paste like but not too firm.

3: Switch off the flame, add the vanilla essence and walnuts and mix well.

4: Cool and pour into individual glasses and leave to chill for 2-3 hours.

5: Grate some white chocolate or roasted desiccated coconut and serve.

Tip:

If you just want to enjoy the chocolate without the nuts, just go ahead. I added it as i love dry fruits for their richness and fabulous taste

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Healthy Nutty treat

Desert Marathon Day 4:

Its day 4 of my desert marathon already and I do get a strong vibe that I’m striking the right cord with all of my readers. That each one of you is enjoying my sweet treats this festive season. I mostly make sure that the ingredients I use are easily available and that are usually store-board in our respective kitchens.

Until now I was posting some sinful deserts, something to be apprehensive for all those folks who’re diet conscious! But what the heck, its good to binge on some once in a while, don't you think? I see a lot of people, mainly in my own family who consume dry fruits on a daily basis(my mom to be more specific!). So for a change I have something to offer on the healthier side. My dry fruits and oats laddu does the trick. It’s delicious and at the same time does wonders to your body. Its good for the heart, reduces cholesterol, keeps you more active,etc. Instead of just having plain dry fruits in the morning or whichever part of your day, try making and storing these in air tight containers and make sure you have it every morning as it helps you to have a full stomach until lunch and can save you from having those cravings for oily snacks.

Ingredients:

 ¼ cup Quick cooking Oats

12-14 almonds

5-6 dry figs (anjeer)

2tbsp flax seeds

14-15 arab dates (pitted)

¼ cup peanuts

10 walnuts

2tbsp pistachios

Cooking Process:

1: Dry roast all the dry fruits and oats separately one by one, except the figs and dates.

2: Grind all the roasted items in a food processor separately one by one into a coarse mixture. Make sure they don’t get powdered completely.

3: Chop the figs and the dates and grind them into a coarse texture as well. These help in binding the laddu mixture together.

4: If you find it a little difficult to bind these together then add a tbsp or two of hot ghee and then mix and shape into laddus. Usually it’s easy to mix with a little patience and the ghee can be avoided.

Tip:

There is no requirement of sugar or jaggery unless you want them really sweet. Mine were absolutely fine as the dates are sweet enough to avoid the sugar.

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Instant Rabdi

Desert Marathon Day 3:

I just realized that the advantage of having a food blogger in the house is the entire family ends up having a huge variety of food on a regular basis and obviously no one’s complaining! Specially now as I am on a desert making spree, father in law and husband are enjoying it to glory as both of them have a sweet tooth.  

I have never seen cooking as tiresome or energy consuming as I care a lot doing it for loved ones as often as I can. I also have a plan of taking food orders from people soon for stuff like laddus, cakes,etc., it all depends on the amount of time I can dedicate to all of it.

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you must have noticed that all of my recipes are quick, easy and simple to make. In today’s fast paced world, nobody wants to sweat it out for hours in the kitchen. All one wants is to cook some quick meals and get out! The instant rabdi recipe that I am sharing is faster and easier than the original, elaborate and time consuming version.

Ingredients:

Milk ½ litre

Condensed milk 2/3 cup

Fresh bread slices 3

Sugar 3 tbsp

Green Cardamom powder(elaichi) ¼ tsp

Saffron strands

Chopped almonds or Pistachios for garnishing

Cooking Process:

1: Remove the crusts of the bread and blend in a food processor.

2: Boil the milk and add the bread crumbs, condensed milk and sugar and stir continuously on high flame for about 8-10 minutes until the mixture thickens.

3: Switch off the flame and add the green cardamom powder and saffron that’s been added in a little warm milk.

4: Garnish with chopped almonds or pistachios and refrigerate for 2-3 hours and serve chilled.

Tips:

Before serving if you find the rabdi a little too thick, just add a dash of milk to loosen it a bit till you find the desired consistency.

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Moong dal laddus

Desert Marathon Day 2:

Rakshabandhan, a day celebrated and dedicated to all the lovely brothers and sisters, is such an emotional sight in my head. God’s gifted me with two most wonderful brothers (kaushik and theja) who are my cousins and related to mum’s side. They’re my two pillars of strength and are best buddies for life. Though I’m the eldest of the lot, they’ve always treated me like a kid and have been very protective. I’ve never felt the need of an own sibling. Since three years they have been living and working in America and we so miss our late night chats and crazy jokes. Every year without fail I would tie them both a rakhi and I treasure those moments at this point in life where we're so away from each other. I’m sure everyone has that one cousin at least with whom you’re the closest to and share a special bond.

Food is a very integral part of all the festivities in India and the varieties in sweets and savories are endless. The laddu recipe that I’m sharing with you today is a simple yet delicious one. The ingredients are basic and can be a lovely present to friends/neighbours/relatives etc.

Ingredients:

Moong Dal 1 cup
Powdered sugar 1 cup
Chopped almonds 12-14
Chopped cashew nuts 12-14
Ghee 2-3tbsp

Cooking Process:

1: Roast the moong dal for about 5 minutes and grind to powder(flour) after cooling.

2:Mix and sieve the roasted moong dal flour and powdered sugar together to avoid any lumps.

3: In a pan, fry the chopped almonds and cashews till slightly browned and set aside.

4: Add the moong dal and sugar mix into the cashew/almonds and mix well.

5: Apply ghee on to the palm of your hands and shape them into laddus of your desired size.

Tip:

Can be stored in air tight containers for more than a month.

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Coconut laddus

Desert Marathon Day 1:

It’s the festive season coming up with rakhshabandhan and Ganesh chaturthi being the closest, followed by dassera and diwali, seems to be never ending! And the best and most awaiting part of festivals other than shopping for new clothes is FOOD! Mostly “mithaai” taking over completely, that one cant ignore it.

As I was battling with my mind for quite a few days about what recipes should be posted on the blog next, my savior in disguise turned out to be my husband! I  was discussing with him about my problem and he instantly came up with a superb solution saying, “why don’t you post 7 laddoo recipes for seven days nonstop since rakshabandhan is coming up?” I jumped with joy and gave him a tight peck on the cheek and thanked him for such a wonderful idea! Couldn’t be happier and it was such a relief!

Since that was done, now was the time to lay out all the laddoo recipes I knew that I learnt from mom, aunt, etc. I also just thought to add other desert recipes and not just laddoos for a wider variety. It didn’t take me much time to sort it all out and I was ready with my to-do list. First thing was shopping for all the ingredients and hubby dearest did it for me in a jiffy. Each day I would do all the cooking preparations during my kid’s nap time as that’s the only time my mind and body are at peace.

As a child and even as a teenager I never really had a liking for sweets and neither for coconut. The thought of eating coconut would make me feel weird, so I always used to be pretty far from it. The only dish I liked were the two varieties of coconut chutney that my aunt would make. Apart from that it was a big NO! But after I met my husband, things changed pretty drastically. He has a sweet tooth and I guess I began to like sweets since then. During my pregnancy I would literally hog on sweet delicacies and used to be surprised with myself. During my second trimester I had to take a blood test and to my surprise my sugar levels went up pretty high! I was shocked and was in disbelief that it was actually happening to me at such a young age. The doctor warned me that I better keep a check on my sweet food intake as women are more easily prone to diabetes during pregnancy. So obviously I cut down on it majorly.

Coming to the recipe, coconut now by the way is my most favourite ingredient. I use it in curries, sweets, rice etc and the reason for this is probably my mother in law. She’s from kerala and they, as everyone knows breathe on coconut and curry leaves! These two ingredients have to be present in almost all the dishes that they prepare. So post marriage I somehow never hesitated on trying out the coconut based dishes that she would cook. I don’t know why! And this coconut laddoo recipe was the first that popped up in my head when I was getting ready with my list. Its extremely easy to make, specially because there are just two ingredients and you have a mouth watering fudgy dish in your hands!

Ingredients:

400Gms condensed milk (I used milkmaid)

3 cups desiccated coconut

Cooking process:

1: In a heavy bottomed pan pour the condensed milk and 2 cups of desiccated coconut and mix without taking your eyes off because you do not want it all burnt. Cook for about 5-10 minutes on low flame till the milk starts coming off the sides of the pan and a sticky dough like texture is formed.

2: Allow it to cool and shape them into laddoos with the palm of your hands.

3: Roll them into the remaining desiccated coconut and serve.

Tip:

There's no need to use sugar as condensed milk contains enough of it.

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Rainbow cake

Its father in law's birthday today and i wanted to bake a really special cake for him rather than the usual chocolate/coffee cake that i would generally do. Was going through a wide variety of cakes in the internet to find something that would make him happy since he has a sweet tooth!  But nothing really caught my eye, also i had just a day to buy all the ingredients and bake as well. And suddenly i remembered the rainbow multi-layered cake i had once seen ages ago on the internet and was in love with it and wanted to bake it ever since then and luckily for me this was the perfect occasion!

Its pretty easy to make and the food coloring just makes it look so lovely. I made a three layered cake and you can go up to 6 layers if you have the patience and tins! I had just two round tins so had to quickly wash up one tin when the other two were in the oven. The ingredients are mostly available at home since its basic and is the reason why i opted for this one to bake in such less time. Also mother in law is a pro at baking so i had some good help from her and had some really useful tips coming in.

After last night's preparation, i was so excited to surprise my father in law in the morning and was waiting anxiously( so was my mother in law!) Finally the moment came and he cut the cake,was pretty impressed with the final outcome, obviously i was super excited! Mother in law was present on his birthday after a very long time so it was even more special. The only thing that has'nt convinced me are the pictures. There was absolutely no time as father in law and my husband had to leave quickly for work, so i could manage only this of what you see!

The best part about this cake is cutting into it and revealing its true colours!

Ingredients:

285 grams self raising flour
285 grams castor sugar
285 grams unsalted butter or margarine (softened)
5-6 eggs (room temperature)
2tsp vanilla extract/essence
A little milk
Food colouring ( i chose 3 colours for 3 layers)
Icing sugar 350-400 grams

Baking process:

1: Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F

2: Grease the cake tins with butter or butter paper and set aside.

3: Cream the butter  with an egg beater either electric or by hand till softened and gradually adding the castor sugar.

4: Pour in the eggs one by one and the vanilla extract and mix until smooth.

5: Sift the flour in a separate bowl and fold it in the butter mix.

6: Divide the batter into three different bowls equally and the add the food colouring of your choice into each bowl.

7: Pour in the batter into the greased cake tin and bake each layer for 20-25min. Check with a skewer or tooth pick by inserting it in the centre, if it comes out clean then its done.

8: Cut off the extra topping on the cake for an even effect or else your cake will not be even for spreading the butter cream icing

9: Until the cake's getting ready in the oven, start to cream the remaining butter by gradually adding the icing sugar until nice and thick. For a glossy and whiter effect add just a tsp or two of milk and  add  the same amount of lemon juice, it helps cutting down on the sweetness of the cake overall.

10: Take the first layer onto a plate or a cake board and spread the butter cream icing and repeat with the other two layers and then gradually onto the entire cake with a flat knife or spatula. A palette knife is the best option for an easy spread. Do this in two batches by first spreading a layer of the icing and leaving it in the fridge for about 15min and then remove and again spread the remaining icing, because the colours of the cake are pretty transparent after the first spread. So by placing it in the fridge the icing sets and helps you for an even final coating.

11: Lastly stick some gems/m&m's onto the bottom of the cake rim like shown in the above picture and grate some dark chocolate on top or use colourful sprinkles of your choice.

Tips:

Powdered sugar can be used in place of castor sugar.

If self raising flour is unavailable, just use plain flour and add baking powder. ( In this recipe 2-3 tsps of baking powder should be good )

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Cilantro Chicken

Firstly its good to be back to blogging after 6 months! I missed it big time as i have a growing toddler at home and was a bit difficult to manage my blog/cooking/coming up with recipes, etc. But i had to get back to it and now will post recipes/tips etc as much as i can.

A while ago i was watching a cookery show on tv and happened to come across this dish, i was so caught up with my little one running around that i could only catch glimpses of it here and there. The two ingredients i remembered were cilantro and almonds. And so i decided to come up with something that would include these two. Here it goes...

Ingredients:

chicken 1/2 kilo (boneless)
cilantro 1 whole bunch
almonds 7-8
cashews 5-6
fresh grated coconut 1 cup
garlic cloves 5-6
green chillies 4-5
Sesame seeds
Salt to taste
oil

For the spice mix:

cloves 4-5
coriander seeds 1tsp
cumin seeds 1tsp
bay leaf 1
dry red chilli 1
cinnamon 2 sticks
green cardamom 4-5
black pepper few

Cooking Process:

1: Roast all the spices mentioned in the spice mix, grind it well and mix it with the chicken and set aside.

2: In a food processor add cilantro, almonds, cashews, fresh grated coconut, green chillies, garlic cloves, salt, little water and grind to paste.

3: In a deep frying pan add a little oil and fry the chicken mix for about 5-8 minutes.

4: Then add in the cilantro paste prepared, into the pan, cook for 2-3 minutes and add a little water.

5: Cook it on simmer for about 15-20 minutes or till the chicken is soft and tender and you get a good gravy consistency.

6: Squeeze in some lemon juice as it magically lifts up the flavors and sprinkle some sesame seeds for garnishing.

Tips:

 Fresh coriander can be used in place of cilantro and if fresh coconut isn't available then dry coconut can replace it as well.

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