Paneer Pinwheel

Ingredients:


Puff Pastry block              - Store bought / homemade
Paneer                               - 1 cup crumbled
Red Chili Powder             - 1/4 tspoon
Cumin Powder                  - 1/4 tspoon
Dry Mango Powder          - 1/4 tspoon
Salt                                    - to taste
Oil                                     - 1 tblspoon
Green Chillies                   - 1 tblspoon finely chopped
Fresh coriander                 - 2 tblspoon chopped
Green Chutney                  - 3 tblspoon
Saunth Chutney                 - 3 tblspoon


Method:

Take out a package of Puff Pastry block to defrost on the counter for 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, we will make the filling for it.
Crumble the Paneer in a bowl by hand or grate it with grater.
Now add Red Chili Powder, Cumin Powder, Dry Mango Powder, salt, green chillies and fresh chopped coriander.
Heat Oil in a skillet. Now add the paneer mix to it.
Fry the Paneer mix in the skillet for about 5 minute or so.
Switch off the flame and transfer the mix into another bowl so it cools down faster and is easy to handle.
Now check the pastry block, if it is defrosted.
Once pastry block is defrosted, dust a flat surface with some All-Purpose Flour and put the Puff Pastry on it.
Dust a little more Flour on top of the block and roll out the block to make it a square pastry sheet of 10 inch.
Now either you cut the sheet into half or just spread the chutneys in equal half of the sheet.
Now spread the paneer mix on the sheet, leaving a 1/2 inch border on all 4 sides
Now from one end start to roll the sheet gently into a cylindrical roll as tightly as possible while being gentle.
Once you reach the edge, dab a little water and gently but firmly press the edge in.
Now gently pinch the edges together.
Keep the pastry roll in the fridge for half an hour, so that it can be easy to handle and easy to slice.
Now preheat your oven for 200c.
After half an hour take the pastry roll out of the fridge and slice the roll into roundels. ( like we cut cucumber roundels).
Place these roundels on to a greased baking tray.
Place the in the oven for about 15-20 minutes and pull them out once you see them turning brown.
Once baked keep the Pinwheels on to cooling rack to completely cool down.
Enjoy the Paneer Pinwheel with various chutneys.

Choco-chip & Mixberry Drop Cookies (Eggless)

Ingredients:

Unsalted butter                          - 1/2 cup, at room temperature
Light brown sugar                     - 1/2 cup packed
Granulated sugar                       - 1/2 cup
Vanilla Extract                          - 1 tspoon
Plain Flour/Maida                     - 1+1/4 cup
Cornstarch                                 - 1 tblspoon
Salt                                             - 1/2 tspoon
Baking Soda                               - 1/2 tspoon
Chocolate chip                           - 1 cup
Any nut or berry                        - 1/2 cup lightly toasted if using nuts
Flax seed powder                       - 1 tblspoon
warm water                                - 3 tblspoon

Method:

In a small bowl, mix flaxseed powder and warm water and keep it aside for 10 minutes.
In another deep mixing bowl, cream butter and both sugar together very well.

Now mix in the flax seed gel. Keeping flax seed powder in warm water makes it like a gel, which helps the dish just like eggs do.
(I'm gonna write a note about egg replacements in the blog very soon, that will explain the use and properties of flaxseed)

In a separate bowl, sift the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt.

Add this dry mixture to the bowl of butter mix and stir well untill there is no dry flour left and everythings mixin very well.

Now mix in the chochip, berries or nuts (if using).

Now make similar size balls of this dough, preferably using ice-cream scooper, that will make about 2 tblspoon for every cookie.
Now place these rolled cookie balls onto lined baking tray and chill these cookie balls for minimum of 1 hour.

Once you chill them they will be quite set and make sounds like hard dough balls, when tapped onto tray.
You can also freeze these chilled cookie balls for baking later when need urgently.
Once cookie balls are chilled then preheat your oven at 165C / 325F.
Now arrange cookie balls on parchment lines baking tray and leave atleast 2 inch space in between cookies as they will flat out.

Bake these cookies for 15-18 minutes or untill the edges starts to brown.
Now cool the cookies completely on cooling rack.
if you are baking them from frozen, leave them on baking tray for 20 minutes before putting in the oven.
Choco-chip & Mixberry Drop Cookies are ready to eat with chilled glass of milk or cold coffee.

Homemade Pizza/Pasta Sauce

Ingredients:

Extra virgin olive oil           -4 tblspoon
Shallots                                -2 finely chopped
Garlic                                   -5 clove, crushed
Chopped tomatoes               -1 tin
Oregano                               -1 teaspoon
Tomato puree                      -2 tblspoon
Italian Seasoning                 -2 tblspoon

Method:

Heat oil in a saucepan. Add the shallots and sweat down for about 5 minutes.
Now add the garlic cloves and cook for another minute.
Now add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to the boil and simmer on low flame for an hour or until the sauce is thickened.
Now let the sauce cool down.
I blended half of it to a smooth paste for my pizzas and kept half of it chunky for the pasta.
Give the sauce atleast a day before using to develop the taste.
Store the sauce
in air-tight bottles and into the fridge for 1 week.

Saunth Chutney

Ingredients:

Tamarind Pulp/ Imli pulp        - 1/2 cup (Seedless)
Dry Ginger Powder/Saunth     - 1 tblspoon (If using fresh ginger, grate,squeeze 2 tblspoon of juice)
Asafetida                                 - 1 pinch
Jaggery/ Gur                           - 1/2 cup
Oil                                           - 1 tspoon
Red Chilli Powder                  - 1/2 tspoon
Black Salt                               - 1 tspoon
Water                                      - 1 n 1/2 cup


Method:
Heat oil in a small pan, add asafetida to it.
lower the flame and add red chilli, ginger powder to it.
now add salt and jaggery to it. give it a minute to melt down.
now add tamarind pulp to it and stir well.
now cook the mixture untill tamarind pulp is fully mixed to the melted jaggery and it starts to bubble and thicken up.
Switch off the flame and let the chutney cool down.
Once cooled down, store it in an air-tight container in the the fridge.
This Chutney goes very ell with Samosa, Chaat, Pakodi and Kachoris.

Peanut Chutney

Ingredients:

Red Peanuts                                      -1/2 cup
Roasted bengal gram (chana dal)         -2 tblspoon
Urad dal                                                  -1 tspoon (Split & washed black gram)
Green chillies/Red chillies                       -2
Salt                                                      -As required
Oil                                                            -1/2 tspoon
Water                                                       -As required

To temper the chutney:

Oil                                                        -1 tspoon
Mustard seeds                                    -1/4 tspoon
Asafetida                                               -1 pinch
Curry leaves                                       -5-6 roughly torn

Method:

Heat 1/2 tspoon oil in a pan and tip peanuts in it.
Roast the peanuts in medium flame. in a minute or 2 peanuts will start to crackle.
Now add chana dal and Urad dal into it and roast them until they get brown. Do not burn them.

Now cool down the dal and peanut mix.
Take a small chutney jar or blender jar and tip dal and peanut mix in it.
Now add green/red chillies, salt in the blender.

Pour some water to it and grind it to smooth consistency. Make it to thick consistency not runny.
Now heat 1 tspoon of oil in a tadka pan and add mustard seeds, curry leaves and asafetida into it. Once mustard seeds start to splutter add this tempering to peanut chutney.
Chutney is ready and can be served with idli, Dosa, Vada, Uttapam or Pakoras.

Fresh Coriander Chutney

Ingredients:

Fresh Coriander Stems                          -1/2 cup
Fresh Coriander Leaves                        -1/2 cup
Fresh Green Chillies                             -10
Citric Acid/Nimbu ke phool                 -1/2 tspoon
Cane Sugar                                            -2 tblspoon
Salt                                                        -1 tblspoon


Method:

Wash and chop the coriander stems, coriander leaves and green chilies.
Put these chopped greens, cane sugar, salt and citric acid in a grinder.
If you have chutney grinder, you do not need to add water.
If it's a regular grinder use a tablespoon of water while grinding it to paste.
Grind everything untill smooth paste and everything is mixed.
Take out the chutney in a bowl and serve with your snacks.

Red Velvet Cupcakes (Eggless)

Makes – 12 Cupcakes

Ingredients :

Plain Flour                 – 1 Cup
Cornstarch                 – 2 Tblspoon
Baking Powder          – 1/2 tspoon
Salt                             – 1/4 tspoon
Cocoa powder            – 2 Tblspoon
Unsalted Butter          – 1/4 cup (room temperature)
Sugar                          – 3/4 cup
Vanilla extract            – 1/2 tspoon
Butter Milk                 – 3/4 Cup (Runny consistency)
Red Color                   – as required
lemon Juice                – 1 tspoon
Baking Soda               – 1/2 tspoon

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting:

Unsalted Butter             – 1 tblspoon (room temperature)
Lemon Extract              – 1/2 tspoon (Optional)
Cream Cheese               – 1/2 cup (room temperature)
Confectioners sugar      – 1 Cup
Yellow Colour                 - as required (Optional)


Method:

Preheat your oven to 180C / 350F, Ready your muffin tray. Line the tray with paper liners.
Sift Plain flour, baking powder, Cocoa powder and salt into a big bowl and mix with a whisk till mixed very well together. keep it aside.
Take another deep mixing bowl add butter, sugar and vanilla mix it till very smooth and creamy.
Now Add in the flour mix and buttermilk alternating in three parts mixing well everytime. This alternate should end with flour mix.
Add in the red color and mix well. keep it aside.
Now mix baking soda, lemon juice together add this will starts to be foamy.
Now add this foamy mixture to the cake batter. Mix gently to get this air build in the batter.
Pour the batter into the cupcake liners and fill them 3/4 leaving some space for cupcakes to rise.
Bake these for 20 to 25 mins or until the toothpick test comes out clean.
While the cakes are baking , we can prepare the frosting for them.
Take a deep mixing bowl add butter, cream cheese, confectioners sugar, Lemon extract and Yellow Colour.
Beat everything with hand beater or mixer to Cream all these together till thick and smooth.
Transfer the frosting to a piping bag if you want to pipe the frosting.
Check your cupcakes after 20 minutes, sometimes the temperature differs depending of brand and make of your oven.
Once the cupcakes are done rest them to cool down completely before frosting them
Now pipe the frosting onto cupcakes with choice of nozzle. I used star nozzle.
My kids loved eating them hope you family will Love them too.

Methi Mathri

Ingredients:

Plain Flour/Maida          - 1 cup
Semolina/Sooji               - 1/2 cup
Vegetable Oil                 - 2 tblspoon for moyen
Kasuri Methi                  - 2 tblspoon
Black Pepper Powder     - 1/4 tsp
Ajwain/Carom Seeds      - 1 tspoon
Salt to taste                      - to taste
Oil                                    - enough for deep frying

Method:

In a deep bowl, tip maida, sooji, salt, black pepper powder, ajwain, kasuri methi and 2 tblspoon oil.
Check the moyen in the flour by making fist (Mutthi) with flour if it holds the shape, moyen is right else add 1 more tblspoon in the flour.
With the help of water start to knead it and make it a firm but smooth dough.
Now roll out the dough into a big round sheet.

keep the thickness of the sheet to 1/2 inch.
Now prick the whole sheet with a fork making fork marks all over the rolled sheet.
Now cut out the desired shape with the cooking cutters or cut the sheet with a knife in small diamond shape or square shapes. Please refer the pictures for the shapes.

Heat the enough oil in a Kadahi to fry the Mathris. Put mathris in the oil , make sure not to over crowd the karahi, give mathris some space to puff up.

Checkout the pictures to see the size difference before and after frying Mathris.

Once all the mathris are fried, cool them down before storing in an air-tight container.
We serve Mathris with different condiments at tea-time but they can be enjoyed any time with anything.

Tofu & Veg Rice

Ingredients:

Basmati rice               -2 cup cooked
Tofu                           -1/2 cup cut into chunks
Mix Vegetables         -1/2 Cup Boiled (Mix bell peppers, sweetcorn, green peas)
Green chilli paste      -1 tspoon
Ginger paste              -1 tspoon
Garlic Paste               -1 tspoon
Onions                       -1 medium cut in julienne
Ghee/oil                     -1 tblspoon
Water                         -1 1/2 cup
Fresh Coriander         -1 tblspoon chopped
Cumin Seeds              -1/4 tspoon
Asafetida                    -1 pinch
Turmeric powder       -1/2 tspoon
Coriander powder      -1/2 tspoon
Garam Masala           -1/2 tspoon
Amchoor Powder      -1/2 tspoon
Salt                            -to taste

Method:

Heat the oil into a heavy bottom pan and shallow fry the Tofu chunks.
Once they are golden brown from each side take them out on a paper towel lined plate.
Now temper the remaining oil with cumin seeds and asafetida.
Add onion, green chilli paste, ginger and garlic paste and fry till transparent.
Keep frying until the raw smell goes away, but make sure not to burn it.
Add ground spices, turmeric, coriander, amchoor, garam masala, salt and give it a good mix.
Now add the vegetables and tofu in the pan and give it a good mix and let it cook for 2 minutes and cover the pan by lid.
Now open the lid and tip the rice in the pan. Mix it very well with vegetables and tofu.
cook the rice for 5 minutes. Now sprinkle some fresh coriander and mix again.
Serve the rice as a breakfast or as a side dish in your dinner and lunch parties.
My kids love eating tofu so i make these rice for them in after school snack.

Potatoes in Poppy & Sesame Seeds

Ingredients:

Baby Potatoes                  - Boiled, peeled and cut in half
Onion                               - 1 medium
Garlic                               - 5-6 cloves
Ginger                              - 1 inch
Green Chillies                  - 2-3
Tomato                             - 2 medium
Poppy Seeds                     - 2 tblspoon
Sesame seeds                    - 1 tblspoon
Mustard Seeds                   - 1/2 tspoon
Asafetida                           - a pinch
Turmeric powder               - 1/2 tspoon
Coriander powder              - 1 tspoon
Garam Masala                    - 1/2 tspoon
Amchoor Powder               - 1/2 tspoon
Mustard Oil                        - 1 tblspoon
Salt                                      - to taste
Fresh Coriander                  - 1 tblspoon finely chopped for garnish


Method:

Wash and Soak poppy seeds in warm water for 1/2 hour
Wash and boil the potatoes. Peel them and cut in half, keep them aside.
Puree the onion, garlic and ginger in a blender, keep aside.
Now puree poppy seeds, tomato and green chillies in the blender.
Heat the oil in a heavy bottom pan.
Put mustard seed, sesame seeds and asafetida in the oil. Beware the sesame seeds will sputter wildly.
Now add onion, garlic and ginger pure in the oil and cook untill the raw smell is gone.
Now add poppy seeds, tomato and chilli pure to it. cook for another 2 minutes.
Now add all dry spices, turmeric, coriander, amchoor, garam masala and salt to it. Mix well.
Now cover the pan with a lid and let this mix cook for about 5-7 minutes or untill the mixture starts to leave the oil.
Once you can see the oil around the spice mix add the potatoes and give it a good mix.
Cover the pan again and let it cook for another 5-7 minutes, so that potatoes can soak the flavours of the spices and poppy seeds.
After 7 minutes you can see ll the moisture from curry is gone and spice mix will be well around the potatoes.
You potatoes are ready to serve, garnish with fresh coriander and serve as a side dish in your lunch or dinner parties.

Eggless Banana Walnut Cupcake

Ingredients:

Banana                        -1
Plain Flour                  -3/4 cup
Walnut,chopped         -1/4 cup + 2 tblspoon to Sprinkle on top
Sugar                          -1/2 cup
Oil                               -1/4 cup
Baking powder           -1/2 tsp
Baking soda                -1/2 tsp
Vanilla essence           -1/2 tsp

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 C.
Peel and mash the banana if it is over-riped otherwise use blender to mash the banana well and make it a paste.
Now add oil,vanilla and sugar to banana mash and mix well. Keep it to aside.

Now mix the flour,baking powder,baking soda in another bowl. Mix it with the help of a hand whisk.

After mixing properly make a dent and pour the banana mixture in the dent.

Fold gently,do not over mix,just mix well so that everything blends properly.
Make sure not to use electric beater to mix the cake batter.
Now add 1/4 cup of walnuts to the batter.

Line the muffin tray with paper liners and spoon the batter in it up to 3/4 th of it.
Sprinkle some walnut over the cupcakes.

Cupcakes will rise a bit so make sure to leave some room for it.
Bake for 25 minutes or until the toothpick inserted comes out clean and top turns golden brown.
I made fun sized cakes, so they came out in 20 minutes.

But the one normal size cupcake took 27 minutes to bake.
Once baked, keep the cupcakes one rack to cool down before serving.

Cupcakes are ready to be served as dessert for the parties!!!!

Chinese Chilla Rolls

Ingredients:

For Chilla: (Serves 5-6)

Besan (gram flour)                    -1 cup
Ajwain (Carom Seeds)              -1 tblspoon
Asafetida                                   -1 pinch
Fresh coriander leaves              -1 tblspoon, finely chopped
Green Chilli                              -1 tblspoon, finely chopped
Salt                                            -to taste
Oil                                             -2 tblspoon for making Chilla

For Filling:

Noodles                            -1 cup boiled
Carrot                               -1/8 cup grated
Cabbage                           -1/8 cup finely chopped
Onion                               -1/8 cup finely chopped
Capsicum                         -1/8 cup finely chopped
Spring Onion                   -1/8 cup finely chopped
Garlic                               -1 tspoon paste
Ginger                              -1 tspoon paste
Soya Sauce                      -1 tspoon
Salt                                  -to taste
Black pepper                   -1/2 tspoon
Chinese 5 spices             -1 tspoon
Oil                                  -1 tblspoon

Method:

Chilla Batter:

Combine besan, salt, Ajwain, Asafetida, Coriander, and green chilli with enough water to make a batter for Chilla and set aside.

Chilla Roll Filling:

Now heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan or kadahi over medium heat.
Now add onion and cook until lightly browned. Add ginger garlic paste to onions and mix well. fry all of this well for 2 minutes.
Add spring onion and cook for 3-4 minutes.
Now add other vegetables into pan and mix well.
Now add salt, black pepper, chinese 5 spice powder, soy sauce and again mix very well. Cover the Pan and let the mixture cook for 8-10 minutes on medium flame.
Once vegetables are cooked, add boiled noodles into vegetables and mix gently but well. avoid breaking the noodles.
After mixing all of it switch the flame off and take it out in a plate/bowl and let it cool down.

Making Chilla Rolls:

Heat a non-stick Tawa over medium heat, add 1/2 ladle full of the batter and spread it like dosa, cook it on both the sides by adding oil. Try to keep the chilla thin.

Now transfer it the plate or onto a clan working surface, put 2 tblspoon of filling onto it, roll it and Cut it in the middle.

Chinese chilla rolls are ready to serve with different chutneys.
These Chilla rolls make brilliant breakfast, evening snack or could be a starter for your Dinner parties. Best is to serve it in your kid's parties.