Quickfix chocolate icing

I did this for a friend's birthday cake. Turned out pretty decent.

You need:

1. Approx 60 g of milk chocolate ( I used Cadbury's)
2. 1 cup of cream ( I used the layer of cream on milk and churned it a bit in the mixer)

How to:
Melt the chocolate in the microwave. Add the cream and mix well. Should be of icing consitency. If you want add a capful of rum. All set to be put on the cake now :)

Pineapple Raita

A nice accompaniment to a heavy meal. Very simple to make.

You need:

• canned pineapple slices - 3
• Thick curd - 600 gms
• Black salt - 1 tsp
• Canned pineapple syrup - 1/2 cup
• Sugar - 1 tbsp
• Fresh coriander leaves

How to:

• Tie the curd in a muslin cloth and hang it to let excess water drip
• When the curd is really thick, sieve it through to remove any lumps
• Chop the pineapple slices finely
• Mix the salt, sugar, pineapple syrup, and pineapple slices in the curd
• Serve chilled garnished with fresh coriander

Aloo Tikki (Spicy Potato Fritters)

A tasty evening snack to be enjoyed on a nice rainy day. There are two versions to it, plain tikki and tikki chhole. I am going to write about the plain tikki in this post and follow it up with tikki chhole (ideal for a kitty party) in the next one.

It's fairly easy and quick to make :)

You need

1. 4 large potatoes - boiled
2. Salt to taste
3. 1 cup of Oil for frying
4. Bread crumbs for coating
5. Sweet tamarind chutney
6. Green coriander chutney
7. Red chilly powder to garnish
8. Chaat masala to garnish
9. namkeen (optional)
10. Finely chopped onion (optional)

How to:

1. Grate the potatoes. Add salt and mix well.
2. Shape the potato mixture into round balls and flatten in the middle to make patties
3. Roll in the bread crumbs to give an even coating of crumbs and keep aside
4. Heat the oil on a griddle and deep fry the tikkis in the center of the griddle. As they turn golden move them away from the center and arrange onto the sides. Cook till crisp and serve hot.
5. For serving - Crush the tikki slightly and garnish with sweet tamarind chutney and green coriander chutney. Sprinkle some red chilly powder and chaat masala. Can also add some namkeen and finely chopped onions.

Pav Bhaji

This Mumbai delicacy is easy to make while being a veggie fix for the kids. Just the thing when you want to eat something warm and spicy.

You need:

• 1 large potato - diced into cubes
• 1 cup of mixed vegetables - peas, carrots, cauliflower, beans, capsicum
• 2 large onions - finely chopped
• 2 large tomatoes - finely chopped
• 5-6 cloves of garlic - crushed
• Oil - 3 tbsp
• Butter - 2 tbsp
• Red chilly powder - 2 tsp
• Pav bhaji masala - 3- 4 tbsp (available ready made in the market)
• Salt to taste
• Lemon slices and chopped onion to garnish

How to:

• Boil the potato and mixed vegetables together till soft (one steam in a pressure cooker will do)
• Heat the oil in a deep pan and saute till lightly brown. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and cook till soft.
• Add the pav bhaji masala, salt and red chilly powder and cook till the oil leaves the sides
• Mash the steamed vegetables well and add to the onion mixture. Mix well and add water if needed to make it a thick paste.
• Add the butter and stir well
• While serving add lemon juice and chopped onion. Serve with lightly roasted Pav ( a kind of bun)

Maggie Aglio Olio TM

This is hubby's recipe for Maggie.. I am TradeMarking it for him right here...100% original and makes the ho-hum same noodles extra special.

You need:
Maggie noodles - 1 pack
Black olives - a handful (chopped)
Jalapaenoes - a few pieces - depends on how spicy you like it (chopped)
Garlic - 2 cloves (finely chopped)
Olive oil - 1 tbsp
Chilly flakes - 1 tsp
Oregano - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste

How to:
Make maggie as per directions on the pack. Heat the oilve oil in a pan. Saute the garlic, olives and jalapaenoes for 1 minute. Add the salt, oregano and chilly flakes. Stir in the maggie. Ready to eat :)
The perfect midnight snack!!

Matar ki subzi

A long gap in this one. This is the usual accompaniment to the Bajre ka Khichda.
You need:
- Peas (Matar) - 2 cups (make sure they are the really small ones, they have the sweet flavor needed for this dish)
- Ghee - 1/2 cup (sorry folks - needed here.. cannot make it without ghee)
- Milk - 1 cup
- Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
- Red Chilly powder - 1 tsp
- Salt to taste

How to:
- heat ghee in a pan. Add turmeric and salt. Add the peas and saute for 3-4 minutes. Add red chilly powder and milk. Cook till the gravy thickens a bit. Serve hot.

Bajre ka Khichda and Matar ki Subzi - 1

This is a traditional rajasthani dish.. meant for cold weather. It's your typical comfort food that makes you feel nice and warm all over. You can the salty version with peas or the sweet version with Bura (powdered sugar). The ingredient that gives it the taste is ghee (Clarified butter).

I'll split this post in 2 parts. One deals with the Khichda (that's a kind of porridge) made from Bajra (Pearl Millet) and the other with a peas preparation that you eat the khichda with.

So part 1. For the Khichda:
You need:
Pounded Bajra - 2 cups
Water - 6 cups
Milk - 1 cup
Salt - to taste
Ghee - 1 cup

How to:
In a large cooker add the pounded bajra, water and salt. Close the cooker and give 5 whistles on high flame. Let the cooker cool. Open and put it back on medium flame. Add milk. Keep cooking for another 15 minutes stirring occasionally to avoid the khichda sticking on the bottom of the cooker. Add more water if needed. The consistency should be semi-liquid. Cook till the millet is soft to eat. Add the ghee and beat it into the khichda. Serve hot with matar ki subzi, green, chutney, and pickle.

Shortly coming up - post 2 with the matar ki subzi.

Vegetable Porridge

Not like the usual bland porridge, this daliya is healthy and tasty. Perfect for any meal and quick and easy to make.

You need:
Broken wheat (Daliya) - 1 cup
Split moong dal (green gram lentil) - 1/2 cup
Onions - 2 finely chopped
Tomato - 1 finely chopped
Chopped mixed vegetables - 1 cup (carrots/peas/cauliflower/turai/bottle gourd)
Green chilly - 1 finely chopped
ghee - 1 tbsp
red chilly powder - 1 tsp
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Juice of 1/2 lemon
water - 5 cups
Salt to taste

How to:

• In a pressure cooker, heat the ghee and fry the daliya (broken wheat) till it is fragrant and nicely roasted.


• Add onions and cook for 1 minute


• Add tomatoes, green chilly and the other vegetables and cook for 1 more minute


• Add everything else except lemon juice and mix well


• Close the cooker and cook on high flame for 1 whistle


• Reduce the flame and cook for another 10 minutes


• Remove from flame and let the cooker cool before opening


• Open the cooker, add the lemon juice and mix well. Ready to eat. Tastes yum with green coriander chutney and pickle.