12/11/14

Bread Halwa

One unique thing about muslim weddings, the wedding lunch menu remains the same. Its briyani ( veg and non veg) , the brinjal side dish and bread halwa. My favorite part ofcourse is Halwa . I learnt to make the perfect bread halwa in a Briyani Workshop conducted by Chennai Food Guide. It did give me the confidence to make Briyani and the Bread Halwa .


On to the recipe now.

Ingredients 

Bread - 1 full packet ( milk bread )
Oil for deep frying 
Khoya - 1 cup 
Sugar - 2 cups
Ghee - 3 tbsp
Dry fruits - 1/2 cup


Method
 
Cut the bread into small pieces
Deep fry them in hot oil and set it aside on a kitchen paper
You can alternatively roast the bread in an oven until its golden brown in color
 
In a heavy bottomed wok, heat the ghee and fry the dry fruits in it.
Slowly add the fried or baked bread followed by khoya and sugar.
 
Please take care to adjust the sugar according to the taste of the khoya that you are adding
 
Keep a low flame and keep stirring well until all the ingredients blend well.
The choice of dry fruits is entirely to suit you taste and to make the dish more rich in taste and texture.

 
Do check my fellow bloggers who are running this marathon along with me here

12/10/14

Rice Kheer

In India, any special occasion starts with a sweet. I am getting back to blogging after so many months that I have actually lost track. So am starting it with a sweet, that is often made at my home for Friday pujas. A simple dessert but rich in terms of what goes into it and of course the calories
 
A Simple yet Creamy and Rich Rice Kheer
 
Ingredients
 
Long Basmati Rice - 1/2 cup
Milk - 2 cups
Sugar - 1 cup
Ghee - 1 tbsp.
Cashew and Raisin- a few
Cardamom powder - a pinch
Edible camphor ( optional ) - half pinch
 
 
 

Method
 
Rinse well and soak the rice for a good half hour
Cook it separately and drain the water
Heat the milk in a thick bottomed pan
Keep the flame on medium while stirring occasionally
When it reduces to half its quantity, add sugar little by little
Reduced milk will have a sweet taste on it own, so keep a tab on the sweetness.
Keep stirring and slowly add the cooked rice.
Ensure that you don't break the rice while stirring
Add cardamom and edible cardamom powder
Serve chilled or hot.
 


 
Hope you enjoyed the Kheer, now hop on to my fellow bloggers site who are a part of this blogging marathon

 

4/1/14

BM #39 : Andhra Chicken Briyani

The very first state in the order of alphabets in Andhra Pradesh. I have a couple of my team mates who rave about the Chicken Briyani in Andhra. So when this Blogging Marathon was up. Chicken Briyani was my choice for Andhra. Spicy, tangy yummy Andhra Chicken Briyani to all who love this dish. I have made it a couple of times and those who ate it, vouched for its taste. 

Cooking non veg is always been a little scary for me, being a vegetarian, I cant taste and see if the ingredients and the proportions are correct. I just go by the flavor and smell of the dish. This is what I did with this briyani too... The verdict, my dad and my team loved it. They said that the taste was good, chicken was cooked well, spices were apt and that it was ROCKING. My day was made, when I heard it. 

So here goes my humble recipe from Andhra, a small start to the many states that will follow in this month. 



I had adapted this recipe from Srivalli s blog 

Ingredients

For Marination
Chicken - 1 kg
Curd - 1 cup
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Red Chili powder - 1 tbsp 

For Briyani

Rice - 3 cups
Spices mix - 4 to 5 
(I used clove, cinnamon, bay leaf and saunf)
Onions - 3 cups sliced
Tomatoes - 2 cups sliced
( I use less of tomato if the curd is sour)
Green chilies - 3 ( slit length wise
Coriander leaves - 1  cup
Mint leaves - 1 cup
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Red chili powder - 1 & 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 & 1/2 tsp
Roasted Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Oil - 1/2 cup
Ghee - 1/2 cup
Water - 5 cups
( for basmati rice the proportion of rice to water is 1:1.5. Since we have chicken along with it I added 1/2 extra water)
Salt to taste


Method

Wash and Soak the basmati rice in the measured water for about 20 minutes time 
Marinate the chicken in the mixture for about 30 -45 mins time

In a pressure cooker, heat oil and ghee. Add the spices of your choice to it and saute for a minute
I usually keep the spice content to a lower limit as people in my family prefer it that way. 
You can choose to increase or decrease the level of spice to your taste
Saute the sliced onions along with the spices and mint coriander leaves
The aroma will be heavenly, this is one part that I love while making biryani.
After a couple of minutes add ginger garlic paste and keep stirring ensure that the mixture does not stick to the bottom of the cooker
Add the tomatoes and stir well, followed by 1/2 cup of curd and the spice powders
Mix well and ensure that the powders, tomatoes, curd and onions blend well to form a gravy texture. 
Add one or two table spoons of water and stir well.
When the mixture is half done add the marinated chicken and adjust the salt. 
Let this mixture standalone for 2 or 3 minutes
Add the soaked rice and gently stir it.
Do not over stir the rice mixture as it may result in the breakage of rice and the texture of briyani will be lost.
Close the cooker lid and let it cook for two whistles in high flame. 
Lower the flame after the second whistle , so that it slow cooks for the third 
Switch off after the third whistle and allow the steam to release naturally
Serve hot yummy briyani with raita of your choice



3/28/14

Brunch in Little Italy

 Little Italy, at Besant Nagar, has been long due in my list of must visit restos. When my friend called me, I did not think twice and landed there promptly on a lazy Sunday morning around 11am. Was mega hungry and was looking forward to this brunch a lot. The spread was huge, and at 699/- the price does not burn our pockets. It is a perfect place to spend your Sunday mornings.


Starting off with a capacino, which was flavored with cinnomon. I used brown sugar to enhance the taste. Simply Loved it.


Next to be served was, the soups and starters. 

Tomato basil and Mushroom soups
Buritto, Corn Cheese Balls and Enchiladas along with garlic bread were the starters.
I particularly liked the corn cheese balls.



Ingredients ready at the side of the live pasta counter, the veggies made me go gaga, that I asked the chef to make me a white sauce pasta with all the veggies. 


Yummy, creamy white sauce pasta loaded with veggies.



Vareity of freshly baked breads to savour your taste palettes


Wine and cheese pair, alas you can only taste the cheese and not the wine. 
But what is Italian food without wine. :( 


Pizza, that is made really really thin crust, with loads of veggies and mild cheese. It was just right for my taste


You can either choose to end your meal with fruits or with desserts. Trust me you will be spoiled for choice from a variety of cut fruits to shot glass desserts.

Mango Mousse
Tiramisu
Strawberry Cheese Cake 
Chocolate Shots



Little Italy is located at the address given below

E-50, 17th Cross Street,, Behind State Bank of Travancore, Besant Nagar,, 17th Cross St, GOCHS Colony, Besant Nagar, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600090
044 4214 0600

Its in on the road adjacent to Besant Nagar Food World

So is your sunday plan ready? 

Bon appetit!!


2/13/14

Chapathi with Onions Subji

Often at night, I am so confused on what should be made subji to be made for rotis or chapatis.. its should be easy breezy to make and at the same time taste. One quick fix that I end up making at least twice in a week is the Onion subji . I say this is a quick fix as the ingredients are available in any normal kitchen. 
I would make this dish to make my menu look large too. 


Ingredients 

Onions ( sliced ) - 2 cups
Curry leaves - a few
Red Chili powder - 1 tbsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil and jeera seeds for tempering

Method

Heat oil in a wok and add jeera seeds 
Once they turn golden add the sliced onions and saute well
Add the spice powders and mix well
Sprinkle a little water to give the subji a consistency
When they all come as a gravy adjust salt and temper with curry leaves.
Yummy Onion Subji Ready


2/12/14

Hot breads : Valentine Special Fondants

Its that time of the year when love is in the air. To add more to all the celebrations going on Hot Breads have come up with their own line of Fondant Cakes. Please check for an interesting contest on their page in Facebook. The winners get to walk away with an exclusive fondant cake. So like their page and stay tuned for the competition that is gonna come up. 

Back to fondant cakes, that Hot breads make. They taste good and look very attractive. You can order a normal round cake for Rs 1000/kg and any other design or shape would cost you Rs 1800/kg

For all you valentines who wanna surprise your loved ones. Go in and order for their heart shaped cakes with red and pink fondants. You can also write a personal note on them using the edible ink pens that are available with them. What is more fun and special than writing a personalized message on the cake for your loved one.

Here is a glimpse of the fondant cakes that they have to offer



Red Velvet Cake for V Day celebrations.


Butterscotch cake with yellow fondant


Red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. This is for individual serving.



Chocolate cake with butter cream filling and blue fondant


There you go, write your own message on the cake using Edible ink pens.


Pretty cake with lovely pink bow


Various Heart shaped cakes exclusive for the season



This is how the cakes look when they are cut and ready to be devoured.

Happy Valentines Day to all you lovely people out there. Go on to surprise your loved ones. 

Hot Breads is located at various places, find the closest one using the link below






Blogging Marathon Meeting : One year gone by, but memories still fresh...

Just a year back, a group of bloggers from across the country decided to meet in person and have some good fun, sharing love and knowledge. So the plan was to meet at Ahmedabad and hence our journey began. We got to meet the faces behind the blogs that we visit daily and interact over the various technologies available. Today each of our day starts and ends with this wonderful group of ladies from across the globe. One thing that brings us together is the love for cooking and trying various recipes from around the subcontinent and the globe. I am very very proud to be a part of this group. I must also admit that though I am not a regular blogger as compared to all others, they serve as inspiration to me in more than one aspects.

Let me refresh our memories with some photos that I clicked during the trip. (I was the official photographer of the whole trip)


Loads of goodies that I had got from my very sweet and thoughtful friends


Papdi Chat yummilicious


An array of pretty white metal bangles, when we went shopping and gorging side by side 


Colorful dresses in display


Tawa Pulao in the making


Oh my Oh my.. Tawa Pulao... my favorite street food..


This was besan pakoda.



Sunrise by Sabarmathi river


Pretty faces early in the morning. Oh how much I love this group. We did not take even a minute to  mingle with each other.. Felt like we knew each other for ages only


Like real crazy people, we stopped a amla vendor to click and smell the fresh fennel he had. 


All decked up with our aprons. thanks to Vaishali. I treasure that apron a lot .



At cream and crunch, where we learnt to make chocolate cigars and wings. 

Baby boo of blogging marathon



The most amazing Gujarathi thali I  have had till date.


Proud poser with our aprons. We did not take them off at all...even when we were on the streets. What fun it was. 


A surprise evening party at Vaishali s house, All decked up beauties.


Carrot halwa with Gulab  Jamun center, at her house.


Tasty tasty, jilebi, fafda, kadi for breakfast


Chocolate glitters to decorate home made chocolates


Making Chocolate Cups



Filled with cream and strawberry


Chocolate with glitter


A wonderful click , when we forgot that the camera was on auto click after 2 secs. 

It was truly a wonderful trip. wish we could do it one more time. Memories etched forever and gives me a smile whenever I think about it. This post is dedicated to all the members of the Blogging Marathon group. Love you all


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