Imli ki Chutney

Had a few friends over for dinner and wanted to make some chaat. Figured out my stock of mom's chutney is over so had to whip this up myself.

You need:
- Imli (Tamarind) - 1 cup (soak for 2 hours)
- Gud (Jaggery) - 1 cup (or less if you want it more sour)
- Salt - to taste
- Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
- Raisins - a handful - soaked
- Dry ginger - 1 tsp
- Jira (cumin seeds) - 1 tsp - roasted

How to:
- Sieve the pulp from the tamarind in a pan, add as much water as needed to make it soupy in consistency.
- Add jaggery and bring to a boil.
- Add everything else and cook on low flame till the chutney thickens.
- Taste and adjust spices if needed

Tip - leave a chutney slightly runny as it will thicken when cold

Poached pears in red wine

I think I need classes in food photography, this looked much better than it does in the picture.

Anyway, for those of you who need a guilt free dessert, poached pears to the rescue. And it's quite simple too.

You need:

1. 2 pears
2. 1 cup dry red wine
3. 1/2 cup orange juice
4. 1/4 cup sugar (adjust according to taste)
5. A small stick of cinnamon

How to:

1. Take a deep pan and add the wine, sugar, orange juice and cinnamon.
2. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 2-3 minutes
3. Peel the pears without removing the step
4. Remove some portion from the bottom to make it flat so that the pear can stand
5. Put the pears in the simmer liquid. Cover and cook till the pears are cooked but firm. Turn the pears from time to time to ensure even cooking
6. When cooked, remove from flame and let the pears rest in the liquid. When cool, put in the fridge to chill. 
7. Before serving, bring the pear to room temperature, thicken the sauce on a flame if needed. Serve the pear with a spoonful of the sauce. 

Banana walnut cake

I was looking out for some eggless cake recipes on the internet and found many options. Made a few tweaks, experimented a bit and came up with this one.

You need:
Dry ingredients

1. All-purpose flour (maida) - 1 cup
2. Icing Sugar - 3/4 cup
3. Baking powder - 3/4 tsp
4. Baking soda - 1/3 tsp
5. Salt - 1/4 tsp
6. Cocoa powder – 1 tbsp
7. Cinnamon powder - 1 pinch
8. Walnut pieces - 1/2 cup

Wet ingredients

1. Ripe Bananas - 1 medium
2. Buttermilk (unsalted) – 1/2 cup
3. Melted Butter or vegetable oil - 1/2 cup
4. Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

How to:

1. Sift maida, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder and cinnamon powder and keep aside.
2. In a bowl add oil (I used vegetable oil, you can use melted butter also) and butter milk and mix well. (I gave it a quick whisk in the blender for a smooth finish)
3. Either mash or cut the banana into really small pieces and add to the liquid. Also add the vanilla essence.
4. Fold the flour mix into the liquid now. Don’t beat.
5. Dust the walnuts in some flour and add to this mix. Fold in. The mixture will be of a thick consistency.
6. Preheat the oven to 180⁰ C for 10 minutes. (You can turn it on while starting the preparation for the cake)
7. Pour the mix in a rectangular tin. You can add walnuts on top as garnish. Bake at 180⁰ C for 35-40 minutes. Do a check at 30 minutes as the cake may bake earlier if your layer is thinner.
8. Remove from oven and let it cool. Remove from the tin and cut into thick slices. Dust with some icing sugar.

Dessert topping

Quick and easy to do :) and you can store it for later use. Can also be used as a filling in chocolates for that extra crunch.

You need:

A handful of cashew nuts ( or groundnuts)

A cup of sugar

How to:

Grind the nuts to a grainy powder. Heat a  nonstick pan and caramelise sugar. When it's turning a nice golden brown, remove from the flame and quickly add the powdered nuts and stir well. In a greased plate pour this mix out as small dollops and wait for it to set.

Once it's cool and hard. Give it a turn in the blender to a coarse consistency. Ready to be sprinkled!

To store keep in a sealed container and refrigerate 

Sabudana Vada

Most people eat it during fasts, but i just love the snackiness of it :). It does take some prep time though since the Sabudana needs to soak. So you need to plan at least 2 hours in advance.

You need:

1. Sabudana - 1 cup (soak for at least two hours)
2. Boiled potatoes - 4 small or 2 medium
3. Green chilli - 1 - finely chopped
4. Roasted unsalted peanuts - 2 tbsp (optional)
5. Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
6. Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
7. Salt to taste
8. Bread crumbs/ Maida/ Rice flour  - whatever is available to coat the vadas before frying
9. Oil to deep fry

How to:

1. Wash the soaked sabudana till all the starch is gone and only the pearls remain
2. Crush the peanuts
3. Mash the potatoes
4. In a bowl mix all ingredients (except the coating ingredients)  and knead well till it sticks together
5. Make small patties and roll them in the bread crumbs
6. Heat oil in a deep pan. When it's really hot, add the vada's to fry till they are a darker shade of brown
7. Serve hot with green chutney 

Aate ka halwa (Kadah Prasad)

The simplest and quickest sweet dish to make in my opinion. Plus it tastes yum.

You need:

1. Wheat flour - 1 cup
2. Ghee (clarified butter) - 1/2 cup
3. Water 2 cups
4. Sugar - 1/2 cup
5. A handful of raisins and cashew nuts (optional)

How to:

1. Put ghee and wheat flour in a pan over a medium flame. Stir continuously to cook the flour evenly
2. In another pan add water and sugar and leave to heat on a low flame
3. When the flour is a dark chocolate brown (not burnt!) quickly add the dry fruits and give a stir. 
4. Quickly add the water and sugar mix and stir furiously till its a smooth finish. Make sure there are no flour lumps.
5. Cook till the ghee leaves sides.
6. Ready to eat :) 

Bhindi Masala

Again a very simple recipe and my favorite dish.

You need:

• Bhindi (Ladyfinger) - 250 g
• One small onion - optional - cut into quarters
• Cooking oil - 4 tbsp (sorry folks - this is a high oil dish, you can use lesser oil, but then make sure to use a non-stick pan)
• Mustard seeds (rai) - 1/2 tsp
• Cumin seeds (jeera) - 1 tsp
• Asafoetida (hing) - 1 pinch
• Salt - to taste
• Red chilly powder - 1 tsp (If you want it spicy, add another 1/2 tsp)
• Coriander powder - 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Dry mango powder (amchur) - 1/2 tsp - option (i.e. if you like your food with a slight tang)
• A pan (preferably non stick) that can be covered

How to:

• Remove the top and tail of the ladyfinger and slice into 4 pieces vertically (lengthwise)
• In the pan, heat oil. Once hot add asafoetida, cumin seeds and mustard seeds. 
• When they start crackling, add the chopped ladyfinger. Mix well so that the oil coats all pieces and cook for a minute.
• Add all the spices except Amchur, cover and cook on a low flame for 15 minutes. Keep stirring well after every few minutes to avoid the masala burning or sticking to the pan
• Once the ladyfinger is cooked, add Amchur and stir well. Remove from flame, cover and keep aside. 
• After 5 minutes, move the ladyfinger to the serving dish. In the cooking pan there will be some oil and masala left over. Heat the pan again, add chopped onion and cook till it is nicely translucent.
• Use as a garnish on top of the Bhindi Masala
• Serve hot with rotis