Giving Indian snack Khandvi an Italian touch... Oh wow!! Check this pomegranate Khandvi lasagna dish..

Today I had a craving for some Gujarati snack and I had all the ingredients in my kitchen to make Khandvi. That's how I planned to make Khandvi. With that thought, I recalled Masterchef season four's much appreciated dish: Pomegranate Khandvi with water chestnut filling. The dish which was made by Chef Nikita won the hearts of all the judges. Giving an Indian dish an Italian touch was a brilliant idea. Giving Khandvi rolls a different pink color was a good idea too. As finding water chestnuts is not so easy here, I prepared bottle gourd ( lauki) kofta balls for my filling, keeping in mind that lauki goes well with gram flour.  The dish was loved by my family.

So let's start preparing this lovely snack. 

  

Pomegranate Khandvi Lasagna with Bottle Gourd kofta filling and Coconut Pomegranate Sauce.

Ingredients for Khandvi Lasagna sheets

1/2 cup gram flour (besan)

1/2 cup yogurt 

1 cup fresh pomegranate juice (adding pomegranate juice gives a brownish pink color. I think adding beet juice would give a dark pink color)

Little salt as per taste

Red chili powder 1/4 tsp

1/4 tsp Ginger paste or ginger powder ( optional) 

( Note: You can increase the quantity of flour and yogurt based on need, making sure proportions of both are same e.g. Flour 1 cup and yogurt 1 cup) 

Ingredients for bottle guord kofta ( lauki kofta) filling 

I cup shredded bottle guord ( squeeze all the water from it)

gram flour 1/2 -1 cup

Corn starch 1 tsp (optional)

Chopped green chillies 1 tsp 

Cheese grated 1 tsp

Ginger paste or ginger powder 1/4 tsp 

Cumin seeds 1/2 tsp

Red chilli powder 1/4 tsp

Til seeds 1/4 tsp

Lemon juice or amchur powder 1/4 tsp

Ajwain 1/4 tsp

Raw papaya grated 1/2 cup

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

Salt as per taste 

Ingredients for coconut pomegranate coconut sauce

1/2 fresh coconut 

1/4 cup fresh pomegranate juice

1/2 cup fresh coconut water

1 clove of garlic

1/4 tsp ginger powder 

1 tsp tamarind juice 

5-6 raisins 

2 tsp fresh cream 

Procedure.

1) Lets start with making khandvi lasagna sheets dough.

Put all the ingredients in a container. Whisk it well with a whisker to avoid lump formation.

Let it rest for 20 minutes.

2) Meanwhile let's prepare the sauce.

Put all the ingredients in the blender and make a smooth paste. The sauce is ready.

3)Lets prepare the filling.

We will be making small lauki kofta balls.

Put all the ingredients in a container and mix it well.

Make it a batter of medium consistency like bhajiya dough. Add little more flour (besan) if the batter becomes too runny.

Now make small kofta balls and deep fry in oil.

Keep the koftas aside.

4) Lets start with lasagna sheets now.

Transfer the lasagna sheet batter in a non stick pan. 

Keep the flame on medium and keep stirring the batter until it becomes thick.

Once it becomes thick, spread it thin on oiled platform/vessel with a flat spatula. 

Cut square shaped sheets with square cutter or some square shaped container. 

Let it cool down for 5-10 minutes.

Now gently take out the lasagna sheets.

5) Let's do the plating now.

 Spread some sauce on the plate. Put a lasagna sheet on the plate. Spread some sauce over it. Put 2-3 koftas over it. If you want you can also spread some tomato ketchup over it. Now put another lasagna sheet and repeat the same process of sauce and filling  and cover it with a lasagna sheet.

6) Temper the top sheet with some mustard seeds.

Garnish with grated fresh coconut and pomegranate seeds.

Enjoy the twisted lasagna dish with an Indian flavour.

Happy cooking.

Cheers,

Shweta

Turnips in dessert??? Are you sure?? Oh yes!!! I am sure after making this turnip walnut cake :-)

I followed Masterchef season-4 very closely. I always wanted to try the masterpiece dessert: Shalgam(Turnip) Cake made by Chef Nikita. Unfortunately the recipe was never shared for viewers nor can you find it easily on Internet. 

So I thought why not make it myself and share the recipe. I was so happy to have a moist, spicy and soft cake as an output. 

Turnip ( Shalgam) is an underrated vegetable in our kitchens.. May be because of the radish like flavour that it has.. Few of us use it in salads and few prefer it cooked. Just like cabbage or radish, the flavour becomes mild when cooked. I love it in cooked form.  I am sure you would love this variation of using turnip in dessert too.

I prepared my own customized version of Turnip Walnut cake ( with little carrot and kiwi) with butter cream frosting. Here's the recipe:

Turnip Walnut Cake

Ingredients

For cake

1/2 cup butter 

1 cup powdered sugar 

1 tbsp moist brown sugar

3 eggs

1 cup or 3 boiled turnips 

1 and 1/2 cup all purpose flour 

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon powder

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg 

1/8 tsp or a pinch of ground cloves

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup chopped roasted walnuts 

1 tsp vanilla extract 

1/4 tsp orange extract

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup grated carrot (optional)

1 finely chopped kiwi (optional) or 1/4 cup pineapple pulp (optional) 

For butter cream frosting

1/2 cup butter 

3 cups confectioners sugar 

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

 2 tbsp milk

Procedure

For Cake

Prep work..

1) Remove the skin of turnips and chopped it into large pieces. Let it boil in water with little salt. I boiled it in a pressure cooker for 5-10 minutes. 

2)Put the boiled turnips in a blender to make it a smooth paste.

Procedure:

1) Beat butter and sugar together.

2) Add eggs and beat the mixture until it becomes fluffy.

3) Now in a separate container combine the all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon powder and nutmeg powder.

Sift the flour mixture using a tea strainer.

4) Now add the flour mixture little at a time in the egg mixture and beat it every time you add flour. Repeat this until all the flour is completely beaten to form a smooth paste.

5) Add milk, brown sugar,  vanilla extract and orange extract. Beat again.

6) Add turnip mixture, grated carrots and pineapple or kiwi pulp. Add roasted walnuts. Beat it once again so that all ingredients get mixed well.

9)Preheat your oven to 360 or 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Pour the flour in a butter greased baking tray.

Bake it for 30-35 minutes. Insert a tooth pick to see nothing liquidy sticks to it. If so, cake is baked and done.

10) Let the cake cool down. You can frost it with the cream of your choice.

 I prepared a quick butter cream frosting with a violet color to match it with a turnip skin color.

Procedure for preparing Frosting

1) Beat the butter in a container with a beater such that it softens. 

2) Add little sugar at a time and beat the mixture again. Repeat the same until all sugar is mixed well. 

3) Now you will see cream getting formed. Add vanilla extract, milk and color if you wish. Beat it again. 

Note: If you want to make the cream sweeter, you can take one more cup of confectioners sugar.

Ahhhha...now your cake is ready.. Frost  it with the cream prepared and garnish it with walnuts.. 

Enjoy the lovely cake with your friends and family. 

Happy baking!!

Cheers,

Shweta 

I love Mumbai.. But more than that I love the Mumbai Ice Halwa...

Mumbai Ice Halwa.. That's the sweet which lures me for its looks and the cool taste.. Love the texture and its thin sleek square shape.. Needs some patience to dry it for long hours but later you know it's worth it...  So friends let's make this wonderful dessert at home... It's simple to make. It does take some hand strength though.. Never mind skip the gym today. Let's get ready for the kitchen exercise :-)

Mumbai Ice Halwa

Ingredients

1) 1/2 cup white fine Rasa( semolina)
2) 1 cup powdered sugar
3) 2 cups of milk
4) 1/2 cup sliced pistachios
5) 1/2 cup sliced almonds
6) freshly ground cardamom
7) rose essesnce/saffron/yellow food colour
8) 1/4 cup ghee

Procedure
1) Add the three main ingredients ( rawa, sugar and milk) in a non stick pan.
2) Turn on the stove. First put it on high flame and after few minutes reduce it to low.
3) Keep stirring. It will start bubbling.
4) Keep on stirring. Before it turns into a dough, add the flavours and colors that you want. I like the yellow colored Halwa. So I added 1-2 drops of yellow food color and some saffron(kesar). You can also add vanilla essence (1 tsp)  if you do not want to use saffron.
5)Keep stirring. It will become a dough no.
6)Add 1 tsp of ghee to make the batter smoother. Stir it for final 1 minute.

So it totally takes around 20 minutes to have the dough ready. I know it takes lot of hand power to stir it continuously. But consider it as a good muscle exercise and enjoy it.

7) Line up an aluminum foil or a wax paper. Put the dough in middle. Cover it with a plastic or wax paper. Now roll the dough with a rolling pan. Remember the thinner the better. It should be as thin as a credit card size.

8) Now top it up with ground cardamom, sliced almonds and pistachios.

9) Roll it over one more time gently so that the toppings stick properly.

10) Run a pizza cutter gently on the thin lined Halwa to form squares. Now let it dry for sometime. As soon as one side is dry, turn it over gently. Now let he other side dry.

It will require around 24-48 hours for the Halwa to dry out completely. So have some patience :-). After it's dry, it's ready to be served. You can line up each piece with a wax paper and preserve it or gift it to someone. They will feel it's directly from the sweets' store..

Enjoy the super cool ice Halwa with your loved ones. Everyone will love it.

Cheers,
Shweta

Healthy and Green Starter.. Hara Bhara Kebab

It was our new year day. I thought why not make some delicious green starter for a healthy wealthy new year.. That's how these yummy green spinach and peas patties a.k.a Hara Bhara Kebabs became a part of my menu..  We always order it in our starters when we go to restaurants. So let's learn how to make these at home.. I tell you, your friends and family are going to love it...

Let's start with the recipe.

Hara Bhara Kebab

As it is a simple one, we will directly go with the procedure:

1) Heat a non stick pan.
2) Put about 2-3 tsp oil. Let's first roast the spices. Add 3-4 cloves, 1 cinnamon stick,  green cardamom(2-3),Shahi jeera(1 tsp), turmeric powder( 1 tsp), red chilli powder(1 tsp), cumin seeds(1 tsp), coriander seeds (1 tsp), roasted chana daal (1 tsp).
3) Add 4-5 cloves of garlic, ginger chopped ( 1 tsp), 4-5 green chillies whole, mint leaves coriander leaves chopped ( 2 tbsp), onion chopped  ( little bit) ( 2 tbsp).
4) Add green peas (1/2 cup) ( boiled in water for 3-4 minutes) and spinach (1 cup) ( blanched and chopped).
5) Grated paneer (1 tbsp)
6) Boiled potatoes ( 1 cup)
7) Salt ( as per taste). Spinach has salt of its own. So consider that fact.
Cook until the mixture dries.
8) Now put the dried mixture in a blender and blend it to make it a coarse paste.
If the paste becomes very soft, add some bread crumbs.
9) Add some chaat masala. Make small round dumplings.
Roast these on a pan with very little oil.

Healthy green Hare Bhare Kebabs are ready. Serve it with some red sauce or chutney of your choice :-)
Enjoy the delicious starter with your loved ones and after they taste it see the smile on their face.

Cheers,
Shweta

Mouth Watering Nawabi Special .. Galouti Kebab

Galouti Kebab..  Aaahhh.. I had it first in one of my team outings..I loved it then.. The concept of something melting in mouth allures me... Galouti a.k.a Galawati (something that easily melts) .. These kebabs did pass the test of softness and melting in mouth.. Quite happy to have made it and more than happy to share the recipe with you all..

Here's the recipe..

Galouti Kebab

Ingredients
Minced chicken (1 kg)
Raw grated or mashed papaya (2 tbsp)
Ginger garlic paste (2 tsp)
Red chilli powder (1 tsp)
Chopped coriander (15 gm)
Cardamom powder (1 tsp)
Curd ( 4 tsp)
Javitri / Jaffran powder ( 4 tsp)
Kebab Masala (ready made) (1 tsp)
Green chillies paste (2 tsp)
Garam Masala (2 tsp)
Black pepper powder ( a pinch)
Roasted besan ( 1 small bowl)
Chopped fried brown onions (1 bowl )
Ghee (50 gram)

Procedure
1) Take the minced chicken in a container and add some salt to it.
2)  Add grated raw papaya to it. Mix well.. In no time the papita melts and chicken becomes soft. That's the secret ingredient to make the kebabs Galouti..
3) Add red chilli powder, cardamom powder, fried onions, ginger garlic paste, coriander, green chilly paste, curd, kebab masala, besan, jaffran, all the remaining ingredients and mix well.
4) Add 1 tsp ghee.
5) Smoke the mixture with coal. Smoke a small piece of coal. Clear up a little space in the chicken container. Now put the coal piece there. Cover the container for a minute.
You will feel the smoky aroma in the kebab mixture. ( As I didn't have coal pieces handy I replaced the same with a cinnamon stick. :-) )
The kebab mixture is ready.
Cover it with plastic. Let it rest for around 30 minutes. You can refrigerate it too and prepare the kebabs later.. The taste becomes better :-)).
6) Take small portion of the mixture in your palm, prepare medium sized ball and flatten it gently to form round shaped kebab. Repeat the same for the rest of the mixture to have all kebabs ready.
7) Heat a non stick pan. Put some oil.  Shallow fry the kebabs until brown on both the sides.

Yummy, juicy, mouth melting Galouti kebabs are ready. Serve it with a Chutney of your choice.

Enjoy the nawabi food with your loved ones.

Happy cooking!!

Cheers,
Shweta

Yummilicious Chicken Seekh Kebab

Chicken Seekh Kebab…

Ahh.. Sometimes you get the craving for these juicy delicious seekh kebabs.. When you cannot go to those famous kebab centers, why not make your kitchen your favorite kebab house??? I bet it will be as mouth watering as the kebab house ones.. So, are you ready to cook the delicious kebabs?  Let’s start with the recipe.

To make it simple we will divide it into following 5 steps:

1) Mince the chicken.

Take some boneless chicken. I took two big boneless chicken breasts around 400 gms.
You can take depending on your need.
Remove moisture from it by wrapping/rubbing it with tissue/dry cloth all around.
Now cut in small or medium sized pieces and mince it in mixer. It should become a smooth paste.

2) Add spices to the minced chicken.

Some people only prefer dried spices. But I used few other ingredients for better taste.

Add about 1 tsp ginger, garlic and chilli paste
Add about 2 big spoons of fried onions.(Optional but enhances taste)
Add 2 tsp of cashewnut paste (boil the cashewnuts in little water and mix it in a mixer to form a paste). (Optional but enhances taste)
Add some garam masala powder, chaat masala powder, amchur (dried mango) powder, coriander powder(little).
Lemon juice 2 tsp
Fresh coriander leaves
Salt as per taste,
Red Chilli powder (little)

Mix everything well. You can again use mixer to mix things well.

Add about ½ -1 egg. (Optional but it makes the kebabs very soft and juicy)

You can add little grated cheese to make the kebabs juicy. (Processed cheese)

Mix it well. Your kebab mixture is ready.

If the mixture is too runny, you can add some bread crumbs/corn starch. If you want to cook later, you can also keep the mixture for rest for time (in refrigerator). (To know if the mixture is OK, take any thin rod like steel /wooden kitchen instrument (tongs, spoon etc). Grease the end with little oil. Try to stick kebab mixture on it. If it sticks fine you are good to go).


3) Make the kebabs.

Take a skewer. Put a thin layer of kebab mixture all around. Leave the ends so that you can hold the skewer well while cooking.
You can check the picture. The ends are left uncovered.

4) Grill it in Tandoor/Broil it in oven.

Now put the skewers(metal/wooden rods) in tandoor grill or oven (broil mode) at maximum temperature(450-500).
            After 5-7 minute, you will see the kebab turning brown.
             Rotate the skewer to grill the other side well.

             The kebabs should be ready in 10-15 minutes.

(Note: If you don’t have oven /tandoor or skewers, don’t worry. You can still make delicious kebabs.
You can use any big cooking spoon/tongs (wooden/steel) (round/flat in shape).  Grease the end with with little oil. Put the kebab mixture around with hand. Now remove it gently with hand.
Now fry it in oil. It hardly takes 2 minutes for the kebab to be ready due to the hole in the middle. You will have the same taste as grilled ones. And guess what..no one would understand the difference. )

5) Serve the kebabs with green chutney and some salad

I am sure you will love it. Enjoy cooking


Regards,
Shweta

Italian delight .. Strawberry Pannacotta

Strawberry Pannacotta 

Today I got a call from my friends saying they are visiting us.. Now what do I do in desserts for them. I wanted something that is delicious but could be done quickly. Ok then came to my mind this delicious dessert named Pannacotta. It is an Italian dessert made up of cream, milk, sugar and some flavor.  We are making strawberry flavored  pannacotta. You can also use coconut, plain vanilla or pineapple flavor based on your choice.

So let’s start with the recipe ☺️.

It goes like this.

1) Heat the milk, cream and sugar mixture. 

Take 1 cup milk, 2 cup fresh cream and 1/4th cup sugar. You easily get cream in India (You can use Amul Fresh Cream). I used heavy whipped cream instead. Heat it until everything is mixed well.. 

2) Put the above cream mixture aside in a bowl.

3) Dissolve gelatin/agar agar in water. 

Take about 1 tsp of gelatin powder in little water (use cold water) and let it dissolve. Then mix it well. Keep it for 5 minutes. It will become a sponge like paste with the all water absorbed.

Gelatin helps binding milk and cream well and gives a jelly effect to your dessert.

(You can easily get gelatin in baking section of any grocery store. If you are a vegetarian you can use agar-agar instead. Follow the same process for it.)

4) Cut 3-4 fresh strawberries in very small pieces. Remove the stem. Keep them aside.

5) Add ½ cup of strawberry crush in the cream mixture. Mix well.

You can easily get ready made strawberry crush in grocery stores. If not, you can make it at home yourself.  I made it at home. Recipe for strawberry crush is given below at the end of this recipe.

6) Add 1 tsp gelatin and mix well. Can add more gelatin (2 tsp) if you are not worried about fat 

7) Pannacotta mixture is ready.

Take 8 silicon moulds or dessert cups (if you do not want to unmould it and serve it directly in the cup) 

Put some fresh strawberry pieces in each mould. Pour the pannacotta mixture in the moulds. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours. 

I kept it in deep freeze for quick and good results.  You can have it ready in 15-20 minutes.

You can unmould it easily after sometime by keeping it in normal refrigerator mode or outside.  (I   kept it in refrigerator mode for some time and then unmoulded it.)

So, enjoy the quick dessert with your friends and family. :-)

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Recipe for strawberry crush:

1) Take 2 cups grained sugar, 2 cups water and a pinch of citric acid. Heat it until it becomes a sugar syrup with two strands like we do in gulab jamun. 

2) Take 10-12 strawberries or more for more concentration. Clean them. Remove stem. Crush these in a crusher/mixer.

3) Once the sugar syrup is thick (two strand level –forms two strands when you stretch it with two of your fingers) add the crushed strawberries to it. Let the mixture heat till it thickens again. Strawberry crush is ready.

4) You can add 2 drops of strawberry essence for flavor. (Can skip this if not available at home).

5) If you want to preserve it for longer, add sodium benzoate (skip it if you want to use it immediately) and put it in an air tight container.

The Healthy and Delicious snack.. Sprouts cutlet

The other day I had some left over moong sprouts at my home.  So I thought let me make a delicious snack out of it.. Believe me it turned out so well and my family loved it.  The best part about it is it is super healthy and simple to make. Try it out..

Here's the sprouts cutlet recipe for you..

Sprouts cutlet

Ingredients
1)1 cup sprouted moong. Boil it in water for 3-4 minutes so that it becomes soft.
2)1/2 cup frozen peas. Boil it in water for 3-4 minutes so that it becomes soft.
Note: You can take any of the sprouts you wish and boil it for 3-4 minutes.
3) 2 big sized boiled potatoes
4) 1/2 cup bread crumbs
5) 4-5 tbsp oil for frying cutlets
6) 2 tbsp roasted gram flour (besan) or corn flour
7) 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
8)2 chopped green chillies
9) 1 tsp ginger paste
10) 1 tsp coriander powder
11) 1/4 tsp dried mango powder( amchur)
12) 1/4 tsp red chilli powder
13) salt as per taste

Procedure
-Mesh the boiled moong and peas. Mix them together.
-Peel off the potatoes and grate it. Add the grated potatoes to meshed sprouts mixture.
-Now add the spices.
 Green chillies
 Ginger paste
 Coriander powder
 Dried mango powder
 Red chilli powder
 Salt
 Coriander leaves
 Roasted chick pea powder/ besan

-Now mix everything well.  The cutlet dough is ready.

- Now form medium sized balls from the dough and flatten those to form cutlet shapes.

-Cover each cutlet on both the sides with breadcrumbs.

-Let the cutlets rest for 20 minutes.

-Heat a non stick pan and add 3-4 tbsp oil. Shallow fry each cutlet on both the sides until it turns brownish.

So now the healthy tasty sprout cutlets are ready.. Savour it with your favourite sweet red chutney.

Enjoy ☺

Cheers,
Shweta

My green velvet cake

How I took a big risk today. I made a Spinach cake with cream cheese frosting..I call it my green velvet cake.. I know it sounds so weird to even think of that and you might think I have lost my mind.. My quest of doing something interesting with spinach, not just using it in main dish and soups was the trigger point.. So amazed to see it turn out so well.. I bet if you taste it you would love it just like any other cake. So next time when someone suggests you to have spinach, consider of having it in form of dessert too..

Here's the recipe for spinach cake.

Spinach Cake


Ingredients
3-5 oz / 100 gm of fresh spinach leaves
2 cups all purpose flour( Maida)
1 and 1/2 cup powdered sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup of milk
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp nutmeg powder ( optional but enhances taste)
1 tsp cinnamon powder ( optional but enhances taste)
1/2 tsp salt( optional but enhances taste)

Procedure
1) Chop spinach leaves and let it cook in a vessel with a lid without adding anything(water or oil) on a low flame.
In 10-15 minutes the spinach leaves will become very soft and you will be able to feel the aroma..
2) Now take the cooked spinach out. Let it  cool down. Add it in a blender and let it become a cream. Keep the cream aside.
3) Take the 3 eggs and sugar in a container and beat the mixture with a beater until it becomes fluffy.
4) Add vegetable oil and milk to the egg mixture and beat again.
5) Combine spinach with the egg mixture.
6) Also add vanilla extract.
7)In a separate container, combine the all purpose flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon powder and Snutmeg powder.
Sift the flour mixture using a tea strainer.
8)Now add the flour mixture little at a time in the egg mixture and beat it every time you add flour. Repeat this until all the flour is completely beaten to form a smooth paste.
9)Preheat your oven to 360 or 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Pour the flour in a butter greased baking tray.
Bake it for 30-35 minutes. Insert a tooth pick to see nothing liquidy sticks to it. If so, cake is baked and done.
10) Let the cake cool down. You can frost it with the cream of your choice then.

Enjoy the healthy green velvet cake with your loved ones.

Happy baking!!

Cheers,

Shweta