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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